CULTURE
6:07 PM PDT 7/5/2020
by
Mike Barnes
He received a Tony nomination for ‘Bullets Over Broadway’ and starred in ‘Waitress’, ‘A Bronx Tale the Musical’ and ‘Rock of Ages’.
Nick Cordero, the charming Tony nominated actor known for his work on Bullets on Broadway, waitress and A Bronx Tale the Musicaldied on Sunday After a grueling battle with the coronavirus, his wife announced. She was 41 years old.
Since he was diagnosed with what was thought to be pneumonia in late March, the Canadian actor spent weeks in intensive care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, had his right leg amputated, lost more than 60 pounds, and expected to receive a double lung transplant.
Cordero had come to Los Angeles to play Bourbon Room owner Dennis Dupree in an immersive adaptation of the Broadway hit. Rock of Ages in a new space on Hollywood Boulevard. She had played the role years ago on a national tour and on Broadway, and the remake of the musical premiered in January.
Survivors include his wife, fitness instructor and former Broadway dancer, Amanda Kloots, who reported her health issues on social media, and her son, Elvis, born in June 2019. A GoFundMe page has been created to help to the family.
“God has another angel in heaven now,” Kloots wrote on Instagram. “My dear husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded by love for his family, singing and praying as he gently left this land.
“I am incredulous and hurt everywhere. My heart is broken because I cannot imagine our lives without him. Nick was such a bright light. He was a friend to everyone, he loved to listen, help and especially speak. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and a husband. Elvis and I will miss him in everything we do, every day. “
In 2014, Cordero received a Tony nomination and a Theater World Award for his tap turn as the Ghost Writing Thief Cheech in the musical adaptation of Woody Allen. Bullets on Broadway. (Chazz Palminteri had won an Oscar for his performance as Cheech in the 1994 film.)
In his review, THRDavid Rooney gave Cordero high marks, noting “an easy reliance on Bobby Cannavale’s streak that is refreshing amid so many grueling assaults, and leads his mafia buddies in a fun number of taps to ‘Tain’t Nobody’s Biz- Ness If I Do. ‘It also helps that Cheech is the most distinctive character: an unrepentant assassin who happens to be the most natural artist of all. “
In 2016 Cordero played Earl Hunterson, Jenna’s husband Jessie Mueller’s success. Waitress, then left after a few months to play Sonny, another gangster character Palminteri made famous, in A Bronx Tale the Musical, co-directed by Robert De Niro. Rooney wrote that Cordero “steals the show” and “perfectly balances charm and menace in his compelling performance.”
Born on September 17, 1978 in Hamilton, Ontario, Cordero attended Ryerson University in Toronto for two years before quitting singing with a rock band called Lovemethod. “My parents were trying to get two other kids to go to college, so they said, ‘Great!'” He joked in a 2014 interview.
He played Tony in a Toronto production of Tony n ‘Tina’s wedding and in 2009 he attracted attention when he starred in the lead role in the rock musical The toxic avenger, an off-Broadway version of the 1984 film.
Cordero got Dennis’ share on a national tour of Rock of AgesShe then leaned onto Broadway in the ’80s musical when she joined the cast at the Helen Hayes Theater in 2012.
In 2018, he played the sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello in Little shop of horrors at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
On television, Cordero played Víctor Lugo, who led a band of car thieves, in three episodes of the CBS drama. Blue blood, and your curriculum vitae included Going in style (2017), directed by Bullets on Broadway co-star Zach Braff.
Cordero, his wife and son had been staying at Braff’s guest house in Los Angeles while they were shopping when he got sick. “He is a very dear man, one of the kindest people you will ever meet,” said Braff. THR in April.
God has another angel in heaven now. My dear husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded by love for his family, singing and praying as he gently left this land. ⠀ I am incredulous and suffering everywhere. My heart is broken since I cannot imagine our lives without it. Nick was such a bright light. He was everyone’s friend, he loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and a husband. Elvis and I will miss him in everything we do, every day. ⠀ For the extraordinary Dr. Nicks, Dr. David Ng, you were my positive doctor! There are not many doctors like you. Kind, smart, compassionate, assertive, and always eager to hear my crazy ideas or call another doctor for a second opinion. You are a diamond in the rough. ⠀ ⠀ I cannot begin to thank you all enough for the outpouring of love, support and help that we have received over the past 95 days. You have no idea how much you raised my spirit at 3pm every day as the world sang the Nicks song Live Your Life. We sing it to him today, holding hands. As I sang the last line, “They will give you hell, but don’t turn them on, kill your light not without fighting.” Live your life, “I smiled because he definitely fought. I will love you forever and ever my sweet man.
