Canadian actor and singer Nick Cordero died Sunday morning at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles after three months of battling complications from COVID-19. He was 41.
Cordero's wife Amanda Kloots and his mother, Hamilton, Ont. artist and former teacher Lesley Cordero, were at his side.
“He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth,” wrote Kloots, with whom Cordero had a one-year-old son named Elvis, in an Instagram post. “I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him.
“Nick was such a bright light. He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband,” she wrote. “Elvis and I will miss him in everything we do, everyday.”
The Hamilton, Ont. native was admitted to hospital in late March with pneumonia. Later diagnosed with COVID-19, he suffered a string of setbacks, including a blood clot that forced doctors to amputate his right leg.
"I have honestly never known a kinder person," shared his friend, actor Zach Braff. "But Covid doesn’t care about the purity of your soul, or the goodness in your heart." Josh Gad wrote: "My heart is broken. I feel ill. Along with the entire Broadway community and the entire world, I mourn the loss of the incredible Nick Cordero."
Cordero dropped out of Toronto's Ryerson University to join rock-soul band LoveMethod. He starred in Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding in Toronto and worked in shows onboard cruise ships before finding work on the stages of New York City. Cordero starred in Rock of Ages on Broadway as well as A Bronx Tale, Pippin and Little Shop of Horrors.
He earned a Tony Award and Drama Desk nomination in 2014 for playing Cheech in Bullets Over Broadway and, in 2016, another Drama Desk nomination for his role in Waitress.
Among the many stars paying tribute to Cordero are Viola Davis, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Cynthia Erivo, Ashley Tisdale, Bradley Whitford, Selma Blair and Olivia Munn.
"I’m so sorry, Amanda. Because of your positivity and determination, Nick’s fight was everyone’s fight," Jennifer Garner shared. "We will keep fighting for you and Elvis to feel all the love in the world."
Musician Joshua Radin wrote: "Nick was an unbelievably kind, warm, talented, generous soul. The world is so much worse off that he is gone. I never heard him speak a negative word about anyone. He could walk into a room and you could feel the air get sweeter because everyone would smile and become better in his presence. The light he emitted was astounding. And even though he’s left us, he hasn’t. That light will stay."
Frankie Grande said his heart is broken over the loss of his friend. "He showed me such love, leadership through kindness, strength during difficult times, a true appreciation of life no matter what was happening around him... he made me smile and laugh when I was down and was magical to share the stage with," he wrote on Instagram. "Onstage, backstage, offstage Nick Cordero was one of the finest people I have ever had the chance to meet, work with or just call a friend."