Grizz Chapman, '30 Rock' actor who received kidney transplant from a fan, dies at 52

Grizz Chapman, an histrion champion known for his relation arsenic Grizz connected NBC’s Emmy-winning drama “30 Rock,” has died. He was 52.

Chapman’s cousin, Donte Harrison, confirmed the actor’s decease connected societal media.

“Life gave my relative Grizz Chapman immoderate dense battles, but helium fought them with spot and dignity until the precise end,” Harrison wrote. “A batch of radical knew him arsenic the sitcom prima from 30 Rock, but we knew the antheral down the screen. A bully heart, bully energy, and idiosyncratic who made an interaction successful this life.

“After years of warring unwellness and dialysis, helium passed peacefully successful his slumber connected May 22nd, 2026. I’m thankful we got clip to reconnect 2 months earlier his passing.”

Born Mack D. Chapman connected April 16, 1974, successful Brooklyn, N.Y., Chapman got the sanction Grizz portion moving arsenic a information defender astatine nighttime clubs astir New York. The assertion to fame of the 7-foot-tall information defender turned histrion would beryllium portraying a towering bodyguard named Grizz crossed 80 episodes of the wildly fashionable sitcom “30 Rock,” starring Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Alec Baldwin. Chapman’s quality was portion of the entourage of Tracy Jordan (played by Morgan).

Chapman told Cracked successful 2024 that landing “30 Rock” was the “hardest/easiest audition I ever had successful my life.”

But it wasn’t until the 2nd play of the amusement that Chapman felt helium truly broke done arsenic a performer. On Episode 210, helium performs a rendition of “Midnight Train to Georgia” alongside the Emmy-winning ensemble. “That showed truthful galore levels of our talents — we got a accidental to dance, we got a accidental to sing, we got a accidental to instrumentality absorption and to beryllium funny.”

In summation to acting successful assorted projects, including the 2014 movie “The Cobbler,” which starred Adam Sandler, and the 2016 thriller “Money Monster,” starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, Chapman was an advocator for the National Kidney Foundation.

The histrion battled precocious humor pressure, kidney illness and struggled with his value for years, and successful 2009, helium announced helium was seeking a donor for a kidney transplant. During an quality connected “The Dr. Oz Show,” the histrion said, “I don’t privation to spell done this forever.”

Chapman told Dr. Oz that he’d coped with the quality by acknowledging it was “a scary situation” but deciding to “face it 1 mode oregon another.”

When Dr. Oz asked him what helium wished for, the histrion said, “I privation to enactment alive.”

Chapman spent astir 2 years undergoing dialysis treatments 3 days a week for 4½ hours a time portion filming “30 Rock” and hoping for a donor. In the process, helium mislaid much than 150 pounds, hoping to beryllium acceptable capable for the procedure. After the occurrence of Dr. Oz aired, a instrumentality of Chapman’s, Ryan Perkins, flew from Arizona to New York to conscionable the actor. Then successful his aboriginal 20s, Perkins knew helium wanted to bash thing that could alteration someone’s life.

“I was emotional. I was excited. I wanted to scream. It was breathtaking to conscionable idiosyncratic with that benignant of willingness to help,” Chapman told the East Valley Tribune.

“How bash you ever repay idiosyncratic for thing similar that? You can’t. It’s not similar borrowing $20 from idiosyncratic and telling them you’re going to springiness it back. It’s thing that you tin ne'er repay idiosyncratic for.”