Charles C. Stevenson Jr., known for roles in Will & Grace, House and Ghost World, has died at the age of 95.
The actor died on January 19 in the city of Camarillo, California, of natural causes. A California native, he grew up in the city of Piedmont and served in the Navy during the Korean War before returning to his home state to study English at the University of California, Berkeley.
He started acting at the age of 50, making his debut in a 1982 episode of the sci-fi series Voyagers!, but is probably best known for playing the bartender Smitty in Will & Grace. He appeared in 12 episodes from 2002 to 2020.
Another of his biggest roles was Sheriff Ryan in the 2008 Disney movie Snow Buddies, while he also had parts in the likes of House, Ghost World, Glee, The Middle and My Name Is Earl. He became known for playing preachers, priests and pastors, with his son, Scott, saying in a statement to Variety: “In his own words, his job was ‘marrying or burying people.’”
He continued: “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.”
Between his studies and his acting career, Stevenson worked in fundraising, chapter development and public awareness drives for causes including the Epilepsy Foundation and Project Hope. In the 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles and began working on public service announcements with the likes of Henry Winkler, James Stewart and Jack Lemmon.
He is survived by two children, Charles III and Valerie, from his marriage to Barbara Keller, and three, Catherine, Scott and William, from his marriage to Joy Stevenson. He is also survived by eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.