Charles C. Stevenson, Jr. an actor who appeared on various TV shows throughout his nearly 40-year career, has died at age 95.
Stevenson, who is perhaps best known as the regular bartender Smitty on NBC’s Will & Grace, died on January 19 at his Camarillo, California home of natural causes, according to Variety. In addition to Smitty, Stevenson’s son noted in a statement to the outlet that his father loved getting to play religious roles like pastors, priests and preachers.
“In his own words, his job was ‘marrying or burying people,’” the statement reads. “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’s final portrayal of Smitty was in the 2020 revival of Will & Grace. He was 89 at the time. His first role was reportedly in a 1982 episode of NBC’s Voyagers! Although Smitty is thought by some to be his most prominent role, he had parts in various other projects such as Ghost World, Murder She Wrote, Men in Black, Glee, Bunheads and many more.
Stevenson was a lifelong California resident. He was also a U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Korean War. According to Deadline, he didn’t begin acting until age 50 after moving to Los Angeles for public service announcement work.
Variety reports he is survived by his two children, Charles II and Valerie from his first marriage to Barbara Keller. He is also survived by three children, Catherine, Scott and William, from his second marriage to late Hollywood agent and manager Joy Stevenson. In addition, he had eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren who he is survived by as well.