Brian Tarantina, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actor, dies at 60
Character actor Brian Tarantina has died. He was 60.
Tarantina most recently starred on Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Jackie, the emcee at the Gaslight comedy club where Midge performs.
Early Saturday morning, the New York Police Department received a call about an unconscious person in a Manhattan apartment, a spokesperson with the department confirmed to PEOPLE. Tarantina was found on his couch, and emergency medical services officially pronounced him dead.
While the New York City medical examiner’s office will determine his official cause of death, TMZ reports that he died of an apparent drug overdose. Tarantina’s niece found him near what looked like drugs (she did not immediately respond to request for comment).
“Brian had been ill lately,” a representative for Tarantina told PEOPLE. “He was recently in the hospital and was in the process of recuperating from what I believe to be a heart-related issue.”
Tarantina joined the rest of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January when they won Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
The longtime character actor had many guest-starring roles on shows including Gilmore Girls, The Black Donnellys, The Sopranos, Heroes, Law & Order, and The Good Wife, and appeared in movies such as The Kitchen, Jacob’s Ladder, Donnie Brasco, Uncle Buck, and Summer of Sam.
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