Brian Tarantina, a veteran actor who appeared on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, was found dead early Saturday morning at his apartment in New York City. He was 60.
The New York Police Department confirmed to Deadline that officers found Tarantina unresponsive at 12:40 a.m. His cause of death is under investigation.
“On Saturday, November 2, 2019 at approximately 0040 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious male inside of 353 West 51 Street, apartment 11,” the NYPD said in a statement. “Upon arrival, officers observed a 60-year-old male, unconscious and unresponsive, fully-clothed, on his couch. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the aided male deceased at the scene (his residence). The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation remains ongoing.”
A rep for the actor did not immediately respond to Deadline’s request for comment. However, in a statement to People, a rep said Tarantina had recently been ill.
Tarantina (third from right) is shown with the cast of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ at the SAG Awards on Jan. 27, 2019.
“He was recently in the hospital and was in the process of recuperating from what I believe to be a heart-related issue,” the rep stated.
Tarantina played “Jackie”, emcee of the comedy club where Rachel Brosnahan’s “Midge” performs. He took home a Screen Actors Guild Award with the rest of the cast earlier this year, in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series category.
He portrayed “Bootsy” on the Gilmore Girls from 2001- 2002, as well as in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in 2016.
His many guest star credits included Law & Order, Blue Bloods, The Black Donnellys, The Sopranos, Heroes, and The Blacklist; and he had roles in the Spike Lee films BlacKkKlansman and Summer of Sam.
Tarantina was born in New York City on March 27, 1959.