Josh Grisetti, the Broadway and TV actor known for his work on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Something Rotten! and It Shoulda Been You, died by suicide on Friday. He was 44.
Grisetti’s Something Rotten co-star Rob McClure announced the news in an emotional Instagram post on Sunday. The two starred together in the show on Broadway as well as on its national tour.
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“It is with a shattered heart that I share that the brilliant Josh Grisetti took his own life on Friday,” McClure wrote. “I’m not ready to even attempt to understand. My heart is with his wife and family as they try to deal with the reality of this.”
“[My wife] and I are beyond heartbroken,” he wrote, adding that he served as the best man at Grisetti’s wedding. “Communities around the world will never be the same without him.”
“We love you Josh. Just a cataclysmic loss. Memorial info to come in time,” he concluded.
Sierra Boggess, who starred opposite Grisetti in It Shoulda Been You on Broadway, shared a tribute to him on Instagram. “We all loved him to unbelievably much. He created light and thought and humor everywhere he went. He was a BRILLIANT actor and director and writer,” she wrote, in part.
“I loved the way he looked at the world and how he challenged ideals and norms,” she continued. “I loved his humor and his brain and deep, deep philosophical conversations.”
“Our It Should Have Been You family was as close as can be and this is so heartbreaking I will be processing with the show family and all of you for a very long time. And all the other show families he made along the way.”
Grisetti was best known to TV audiences for his recurring role as Ralph Emerson in the fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, appearing in eight episodes. Before that, he starred opposite Donal Logue and Sofía Vergara in ABC’s 2007 sitcom The Knights of Prosperity.
Grisetti grew up in Southwest Virginia, attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated in 2000 with a drama diploma before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the Boston Conservatory in 2004.
In 2015, he starred on Broadway in It Shoulda Been You. The next year, he played Nigel Bottom in Something Rotten! opposite McClure. The two spent more than a year touring the musical across the country.
His other theatrical credits include Broadway Bound, Camelot in concert and several Off-Broadway productions such as Rent, Peter and the Starcatcher, Enter Laughing, Red Eye of Love, Candida and After the Ball.
In film, he appeared in The Immigrant, Revolutionary Road and The Namesake. He also wrote the book God in My Head.
He was also passionate about teaching the next generation, serving as head of the Musical Theatre program at California State University, Fullerton after previously teaching acting, musical theater and business of theater at Fullerton College and Loyola Marymount University.
He is survived by his wife of six years, real estate agent Mackenzie Grisetti. The two resided in Southern California.
In his final Instagram post, he wrote that he had to leave his directing duties for Legally Blonde: The Musical at Italy’s Trentino Music Festival “for personal reasons” and thanked the cast for their support.
“When you have to leave a production for personal reasons before getting to see the show open, and the cast and team do stuff like this…” he wrote. “Literally cried on the plane… little gestures go a long way when your heart is hurting… Love this group of misfits right back!! Happy opening, Legally Blonde… I’m so proud of you all.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available.
