Actor Charles C. Stevenson Jr., known for his roles in “Will & Grace,” “Dr. House,” and “Ghost World,” died of natural causes on January 19 in Camarillo, California. He was 95 years old.
Throughout his decades-long career, Stevenson became known for his supporting roles in various films and television shows. The actor is perhaps best known for his role as bartender Smitty on the 1998 sitcom Will & Grace, which he appeared on until its final season at age 89. He landed his first major role at the age of 76, playing a sheriff in the Disney film Snow Buddies.
Stevenson also specialized in his roles as a preacher, priest, and pastor. “In his own words, his job was to ‘marry people or bury them,'” his son Scott said in a statement. “He said panicked directors would come to him all the time and beg him to find a way to fill in the unscripted space between ‘We are gathered here’ (perhaps in a close-up) and the ‘Amen’ at the end of a scene (where it normally wouldn’t be). Stevenson admitted that he had gotten pretty good at it.” Over the years, he has worked on films such as “Murder, She Wrote” and “Men in He also appeared in projects such as “Black,” “Glee,” and “Bunheads.”
Stevenson grew up in Piedmont, California, and served in the Navy during the Korean War before earning a degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, before giving up on acting at the age of 50. After graduating, he began fundraising, establishing chapters, and raising public awareness for organizations such as Project Hope and the Epilepsy Foundation. He moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s and worked on public service announcements and community events with Hollywood luminaries such as James Stewart, Jack Lemmon, and Henry Winkler.
Stevenson has two children, Charles III and Valerie, from his marriage to Barbara Keller, and three children, Katherine, Scott, and William, from his second marriage to the late Hollywood agent and manager Joy Stevenson. He also has eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
