The Tony award-nominated Broadway actor Nick Cordero, who starred in hit musicals including Waitress, A Bronx Tale and Bullets Over Broadway, has died in Los Angeles from severe medical complications after contracting coronavirus. He was 41.
Cordero died on Sunday at Cedars-Sinai hospital after spending more than 90 days in the hospital, according to his wife, Amanda Kloots. “God has another angel in heaven now,” she posted on Instagram. “Nick was such a bright light. He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband.”
Cordero entered the emergency room on 30 March and had a succession of health setbacks including mini-strokes, blood clots, sepsis infections, a tracheostomy and a temporary pacemaker implant. He had been on a ventilator and unconscious and had his right leg amputated. A double lung transplant was being explored.
Kloots sent him daily videos of her and their one-year-old son, Elvis, and urged friends and fans to join a daily sing-a-long. She has said it was difficult to tell whether Cordero understood what was happening, but when he was alert he could respond by looking up and down. A GoFundMe page to pay for medical expenses has raised over $600,000.
The industry has paid tribute to Cordero, with many urging people to donate. Cordero was very close to the actor Zach Braff. “I can honestly tell you I have never met a kinder human being,” Braff wrote on Twitter and Instagram. “Don’t believe that covid only claims the elderly and infirm.”
