From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv



Grizz Chapman, Actor on '30 Rock,' Dies at 52
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Mr. Chapman, who played a member of Tracy Morgan's entourage on
the show, died on Friday, according to his cousin.

Grizz Chapman, an actor best known for his role as Grizz on the
NBC hit television series "30 Rock," died on Friday. He was 52.

His cousin, the Harlem Globetrotter Donte Harrison, confirmed
Mr. Chapman's death on social media.

A cause of death was not given, but Mr. Harrison said
Mr. Chapman died in his sleep "after years of fighting illness
and dialysis."

While there are several acting credits listed to Mr. Chapman's
name on IMDb, his role on "30 Rock" as a member of Tracy
Morgan's entourage was arguably the breakout part for the
towering actor.

Mr. Chapman met Mr. Morgan while working as a bouncer at a strip
club, and the two formed a friendship.

Speaking to CBR in 2012, Mr. Chapman said he worked hard to get
the part, and credited Mr. Morgan with being "an integral part
in me keeping my job."

"30 Rock," which starred Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, chronicled
the behind-the-scenes production of a fictional sketch comedy
television show and was known for its rapid-fire jokes.

"There were four members of the entourage originally, but NBC
came to Tina Fey and Tracy and said they couldn't pay for all
four," Mr. Chapman said in the 2012 interview. "So Tracy said
we're gonna keep just two guys, which included me. I made the
cut. I worked hard to get there. I worked really hard."

Mack D. Chapman was born on April 16, 1974. Information on
survivors was not immediately available.

Mr. Chapman long had kidney disease, according to the National
Kidney Foundation, where he worked as a spokesman.

Mr. Chapman spent a year in dialysis treatments, three days a
week for four hours a day, at the time he was filming "30 Rock."

He announced that he needed a transplant in 2009, and in 2010,
Ryan Perkins, a fan, donated one to him, according to the
foundation.

In an interview with The East Valley Tribune of Tempe, Ariz.,
Mr. Chapman said he "really had no life before the transplant."

"I really couldn't do anything that wasn't planned around
dialysis," he said. "I was living, but life wasn't fun. I'm
grateful and appreciative to Ryan."

Mr. Chapman got into acting after he filmed a national commercial
with Brett Favre.

In his 2012 interview with CBR, Mr. Chapman, who previously
worked as a bodyguard, said that he "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."

Mr. Chapman said that once he "got into acting, I realized it's
more than just standing there." He took some acting classes, he
said, and fell in love with the craft.



<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/23/arts/television/grizz-chapman-dead.html>





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