‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Will & Grace’ Actor Dead at 95: RIP to Charles C. Stevenson Jr.

Charles C. Stevenson, Jr., an actor well known for his roles in Will & Grace and Gilmore Girls, has died. He was 95 years old.

Stevenson died on Jan. 19 in Camarillo, Calif., of natural causes, his son Scott told Variety Thursday.

Throughout his decades in Hollywood, Stevenson appeared in supporting roles across numerous TV shows and films, also appearing on House, The Office, Shameless, Scandal and Glee.

He’s best known for his role as Smitty the bartender on Will & Grace, appearing throughout the show, oftentimes opposite Megan Mullally’s Karen Walker, until the show’s final season in 2020. Stevenson also played Charlie on the Gilmore Girls Netflix revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

Stevenson often appeared in the role of a preacher, priest or pastor. “In his own words, his job was ‘marrying or burying people,’” his son told Variety in a statement. “As he told it, the panic-stricken director would invariably come to him to beg him to find a way to fill in unscripted space between ‘We are gathered here together’ (where he’d probably get his close-up) and the ‘amen’ at the end of the scene (where he usually wouldn’t). Stevenson admitted that he got pretty good at that.”

Having grown up in Piedmont, Calif., Stevenson served in the Navy during the Korean War before going on to get his degree in English at UC Berkeley. After graduating, Stevenson worked in fundraising, chapter development and public awareness drives for causes such as Project Hope and the Epilepsy Foundation before becoming interested in acting at age 50.

Stevenson made his onscreen debut in an episode of Voyagers! and went on to appear in shows including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dynasty, LA Law, Cheers, Knots Landing, Designing Women, Matlock, Murder She Wrote, Sister Sister, Family Matters, Melrose Place, Boy Meets World, ER, Charmed, Scrubs, Six Feet Under, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

His film credits include The Naked Gun (1988), Ed Wood (1994), Men in Black (1997), Pleasantville (1998), Ghost World (2001), Snow Buddies (2008) and more.

Stevenson is survived by five children: Charles III and Valerie, whom he welcomed during his marriage to Barbara Keller; and Catherine, Scott and William from his second marriage to late Hollywood agent/manager Joy Stevenson. The late actor is also survived by eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.