‘Will & Grace’ actor Corey Parker dies of cancer at age 60
Corey Parker, an actor known for his time on the 1990s sitcom “Will & Grace” and the “Friday the 13th” franchise, has died.
He was 60 years old.
The veteran actor and trainer died of cancer Thursday in Memphis, his aunt Emily Parker told TMZ, which was first to report the news. His official cause of death was not given, although an online fundraising appeal indicated that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer. After several updates on his treatment, Parker posted on February 17 that he was preparing for hospice.
“Parker has finally left us, this land, this reality, to rest,” the BGB Studio, where he had taught for several years, said on social media on Saturday. The studio shared a quote from his sister Noelle, who wrote: “I believe he left this world weightless, at peace and surrounded by love.”
Born and raised in New York, Parker began acting at the age of 5, according to his IMDB bio. At the age of 14, he studied with teachers at the Actors’ Studio and graduated from the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. At the age of 20, the Actors’ Studio accepted him as one of its youngest members.
In 1985, Parker played doomed Pete in “Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning” and was cast alongside Christopher Walken and Matthew Broderick in 1988’s “Biloxi Blues.”
Parker held many television roles over the next decades, perhaps most memorably as Josh, the hippie boyfriend of Debra Messing’s Grace Adler, during the second and third seasons of “Will & Grace” when it first aired from 1998 to 2006. Before that, he played Dr. John Morgan, the ship’s doctor in both seasons of “Love Boat: The Next Wave” from 1998 to 1999, and appeared in 22 episodes of the comedy series “Flying Blind” from 1992 to 1993, among many other television stints.
He was also no stranger to the stage, appearing in numerous productions on Broadway and elsewhere, according to Ensemble Studio Theater, of which he was a member.
After “Will & Grace,” Parker turned to coaching and was beloved by his students and collaborators at BGB Studio, where he directed talent on screen and stage. “I think actors are the gold mine, the source of authenticity and creativity,” he once said, according to the studio.
“I have known and loved you for 45 years, since our EST days in New York as wild and hungry artists,” wrote fellow BGB and longtime friend Risa Bramon Garcia, addressing him directly in the studio tribute. “You have played a major role in my creative work, in my creative family, for decades.”
She praised his generosity as well as “your incredible talent, your unprecedented passion and joy in your work and in your family, your immense gift and your dedication to teaching.”
