Actress Shelly Morrison, who was known for her role as Rosario Salazar in the hit sitcom series ‘Will & Grace’ died of heart failure in her Los Angeles home over the holiday weekend on Sunday at the age of 83. The long-time actress had been known to have had multiple encounters with illness throughout her life including cancer and was a breast cancer and lung cancer survivor.
Shelly Morrison’s character on the sitcom Will & Grace, played a Salvadorian maid by the name of Rosario Salazar. Her character, according to multiple sources rendered her a fan favorite character of the show because of her feisty and outspoken personality that “furthered the cause of social equity and fairness for L.G.B.T.Q. people” and minorities. According to CNN, her publicist Lori DeWaal said in part: “Shelley’s greatest pride as an actress was in playing the indomitable Rosario, in a comedy series that furthered the cause of social equity and fairness for LGBTQ people. She also took pride in portraying a strong, loving yet feisty Latina character. She believed that the best way to change hearts and minds was through comedy.” Will & Grace, which revived the show back in 2017 continued without Morrison who decided not to reprise her role as Rosario. Will & Grace which is on it 11thseason is set again to be taken off the NBC Network after the current season.
Shelly Morrison was born and raised in Bronx, New York on October 26, 1936. As a young adult, she later moved to Los Angeles and began acting. Over the years, the late Morrison participated in over 65 plays and appeared in more than 150 different TV shows throughout her career (IMDB) which began in the 1960s and included projects such as Home Improvement, General Hospital, The Flying Nun, and My Name is Earl. Other than acting, Morrison was also very involved in other aspects of theatre and television. Morrison would come to married non-fiction writer, Walter Dominguez where together they would adopt six children.