George Segal Dead: David Spade Pens Emotional Message to ‘Just Shoot Me’ Co-Star

David Spade is paying tribute to late Just Shoot Me! co-star, George Segal after the prolific actor’s family, announced Tuesday that he had died at the age of 87. Segal, who was known for his role as fashion magazine owner Jack Gallo in the NBC comedy, had a career that spanned more than six decades and impacted countless people in the entertainment industry, including Spade, who played Gallo’s assistant on the sitcom, Dennis Finch.

“Met George Siegel on the table read of the first episode of Just Shoot Me,” Spade shared on Instagram Tuesday alongside a photo embracing Segal at a table read. While Spade was concerned about coming into the show as an outsider after his role was added to the Just Shoot Me! pilot that the main cast had already shot, he remembered everyone being “very welcoming,” with their relationships quickly becoming those of “friends for life.”

“George was someone we all really looked up to,” he continued. “He had done huge movies and was already legendary when we started. I was always trying to learn from him. About acting, about life, anything.” Spade remembered Segal often referring to their show as “4 actors and a cartoon,” a joke he shared he only got “about a week ago” had him as the cartoon. “I laughed the hardest with him,” Spade concluded. “The show was a gift and it kept on giving after we wrapped. He will be missed by fans all over the world. #ripgeorge”

Segal’s wife, Sonia Segal, announced in a statement to CNN provided by Sony Television that her husband had died following bypass surgery. “The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery,” she said. Since then, countless stars have paid tribute to the late Hollywood legend, including The Goldbergs co-star Hayley Orrantia.

“To me, George Segal was invincible, so I’m having a hard time believing that he is really gone,” she wrote on social media. “He was an absolute light that illuminated every room he walked into. His laugh was utterly infectious and so rewarding if you were the one who got him to do it.” Orrantia remembered his “beautiful stories” that ended in a “perfect punch line,” crediting the late star with teaching her what it “really means to be an actor.” She concluded, “I am devastated that I won’t get to hear him laugh again. My love and prayers go out to his family.”