The Meaningful Place Sarah Jessica Parker Was When She Got Word Of Willie Garson's Death
Television fans around the world were saddened when Willie Garson, the prolific actor best known for playing Carrie Bradshaw's best friend and close confidante on "Sex and the City," died in September 2021. His son announced his death in an Instagram post, while People and various media outlets also confirmed the news. At the time, People reported that Garson died from a "short illness," but his family confirmed in an obituary to The New York Times that the cause of death was pancreatic cancer.
Despite his diagnosis, Garson was still working at the time of his death and was seen on set with Sarah Jessica Parker for the "Sex and the City" follow-up series called "And Just Like That..." The series debuted in December and gave Garson's character, Stanford Blatch, a simple send-off by having him move to Tokyo, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Still, Garson's death left a void in the hearts of many, including Parker, with whom he had a close friendship. Now, a few months after Garson's death, Parker has revealed the meaningful place she was in when she received the dreaded news.
Sarah Jessica Parker was on set when she was notified of Willie Garson's death
While Willie Garson's death from pancreatic cancer came as a surprise to many, Sarah Jessica Parker was one of the few who knew about his diagnosis because of how many scenes they had together on "And Just Like That..." In the documentary for the show, Parker said she witnessed Garson was in "terrible pain" while filming, but she is grateful to have spent time with him, per People.
Speaking to Variety, Parker called Garson "a gift," and then recalled the moment where he told her that he couldn't continue filming because of his illness and said she was "heartbroken" by the reality of losing him and "his presence on the set." The reality was made even crueler when Parker received the news of Garson's death on set, specifically Carrie's set, where she and he spent the most time together.
"I always thought it was so interesting to me, because I always thought of Carrie's set as Stanford's set," Parker explained. "I don't remember anybody else being there, really — because Carrie and Stanford spent so much time in that apartment late at night, drinking and laughing and talking and joking and sharing." She noted that she was actually sitting in Garson's seat when she got the message and called his death "a huge loss."