A Tribute to ‘True Blood’ and ‘Elementary’ Actor Nelsan Ellis

On Saturday, July 8, actor Nelsan Ellis died of complications from heart failure at the age of 39. Ellis is best known for his groundbreaking turn as Lafayette, the gay short-order cook in a small Southern town, on HBO's True Blood. In the books that the series was based on, the character was quickly killed off, but audiences loved Ellis's take so much that he survived through all seven seasons.