Charles C. Stevenson Jr. Dies: ‘Will & Grace’ Actor Was 95
What To Know
- Charles C. Stevenson Jr., best known for his recurring role as Smitty the bartender on Will & Grace, has died at age 95 of natural causes.
- Stevenson’s prolific career included appearances in numerous popular TV shows such as The Office, Shameless, Glee, and films like The Naked Gun and Men in Black.
- Fans and colleagues remembered Stevenson fondly on social media, highlighting his memorable presence and contributions to television and film.
Charles C. Stevenson Jr., the actor best known for playing Smitty in Will & Grace, is dead at 95.
On January 19, Stevenson died of natural causes in Camarillo, California, his son, Scott, recently confirmed to Variety.
In addition to playing the bartender on Will & Grace for 12 episodes from 2002 to 2020, Stevenson appeared in TV shows like The Office, Shameless, and Glee. He had credits in countless other series, including Dynasty, L.A. Law, Cheers, Knots Landing, Murder, She Wrote, Baywatch, Melrose Place, Boy Meets World, Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, House, According to Jim, My Name is Earl, and more.
“In his own words, his job was ‘marrying or burying people,’” Scott told Variety of his late father’s acting career. “As he told it, the panic-stricken director would invariably come to him to beg him to find a way to fill in unscripted space between ‘We are gathered here together’ (where he’d probably get his close-up) and the ‘amen’ at the end of the scene (where he usually wouldn’t). Stevenson admitted that he got pretty good at that.”
Stevenson had acting credits in a number of films in addition to his TV roles. He notably appeared in The Naked Gun (1988), Ed Wood (1994), Men in Black (1997), Pleasantville (1998), Ghost World (2001), Behaving Badly (2014), and more.
In 2020, his final acting credit was as Smitty in Will & Grace in an episode titled “It’s Time.” The NBC sitcom initially ran for eight seasons from 2002 to 2006. However, three more seasons aired from 2017 to 2020.
On social media, Will & Grace fans reacted to the news of Stevenson’s death, with one X user sharing, “One of those characters you didn’t realize you loved until he was gone. Smitty always felt like home. RIP.”
A second X user wrote, “As Karen might eulogize him—only the good die young. RIP.”
Someone else commented, “‘Oh, Smitty…, what’s it all about??'”
Meanwhile, yet another X user wrote, “You did good, Smitty, here’s to you.”
Will & Grace, streaming on Hulu and Disney+