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Grizz Chapman, an actor best known for his role as Grizz on NBC\u2019s Emmy-winning comedy \u201c30 Rock,<\/a>\u201d has died. He was 52. <\/p>\n Chapman\u2019s cousin, Donte Harrison, confirmed the actor\u2019s death on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cLife gave my cousin Grizz Chapman some heavy battles, but he fought them with strength and dignity until the very end,\u201d Harrison wrote<\/a>. \u201cA lot of people knew him as the sitcom star from 30 Rock, but we knew the man behind the screen. A good heart, good energy, and somebody who made an impact in this life.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter years of fighting illness and dialysis, he passed peacefully in his sleep on May 22nd, 2026. I\u2019m thankful we got time to reconnect 2 months before his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n Born Mack D. Chapman on April 16, 1974, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chapman got the name Grizz while working as a security guard at night clubs around New York. The claim to fame of the 7-foot-tall security guard turned actor would be portraying a towering bodyguard named Grizz across 80 episodes of the wildly popular sitcom \u201c30 Rock,\u201d starring Tina Fey<\/a>, Tracy Morgan<\/a> and Alec Baldwin.<\/a> Chapman\u2019s character was part of the entourage of Tracy Jordan (played by Morgan). <\/p>\n Chapman told Cracked<\/a> in 2024 that landing \u201c30 Rock\u201d was the \u201chardest\/easiest audition I ever had in my life.\u201d <\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t until the second season of the show that Chapman felt he really broke through as a performer. On Episode 210, he performs a rendition of \u201cMidnight Train to Georgia\u201d alongside the Emmy-winning ensemble. \u201cThat showed so many levels of our talents \u2014 we got a chance to dance, we got a chance to sing, we got a chance to take direction and to be funny.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to acting in various projects, including the 2014 film \u201cThe Cobbler,\u201d which starred Adam Sandler, and the 2016 thriller \u201cMoney Monster,\u201d starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, Chapman was an advocate for the National Kidney Foundation.<\/p>\n The actor battled high blood pressure, kidney disease and struggled with his weight for years, and in 2009, he announced he was seeking a donor for a kidney transplant. During an appearance on \u201cThe Dr. Oz Show<\/a>,\u201d the actor said, \u201cI don\u2019t want to go through this forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapman told Dr. Oz that he\u2019d coped with the news by acknowledging it was \u201ca scary situation\u201d but deciding to \u201cface it one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n When Dr. Oz asked him what he wished for, the actor said, \u201cI want to stay alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapman spent nearly two years<\/a> undergoing dialysis treatments three days a week for 4\u00bd hours a day while filming \u201c30 Rock\u201d and hoping for a donor. In the process, he lost more than 150 pounds, hoping to be fit enough for the procedure. After the episode of Dr. Oz aired, a fan of Chapman\u2019s, Ryan Perkins, flew from Arizona to New York to meet the actor. Then in his early 20s, Perkins knew he wanted to do something that could change someone\u2019s life. <\/p>\n \u201cI was emotional. I was excited. I wanted to scream. It was exciting to meet someone with that kind of willingness to help,\u201d Chapman told the East Valley Tribune<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cHow do you ever repay someone for something like that? You can\u2019t. It\u2019s not like borrowing $20 from someone and telling them you\u2019re going to give it back. It\u2019s something that you can never repay someone for.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n