Grizz Chapman, best known for playing Tracy Jordan’s bodyguard on 30 Rock, has passed away at the age of 52. He leaves behind his wife Diana and their two children. His cousin, Harlem Globetrotter Donte Harrison confirmed Chapman’s death.
Grizz was a bouncer at a strip club when he met Tracy Morgan. The two became friends and Grizz decided to make a career change after booking a commercial: “I made $20,000 for 40 minutes of work, so I thought I was in the wrong business at that point and I needed to change.” He said he fell in love with acting after he began taking acting classes.
After being cast as part of Tracy’s entourage on 30 Rock, NBC told Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan that they could only afford to keep two of the actors. Grizz credited Tracy with making sure he was one of the two entourage members who got to remain in the cast. He played Grizz in 80 episodes of the show’s seven seasons. While filming the show, he spent a year in dialysis treatments, three days a week for four hours a day, eventually receiving a kidney transplant in 2010.
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