Nick Cordero, Tony-nominated Broadway star, dies at 41 of coronavirus
NICK Cordero, a Canadian actor who earned a Tony nomination for the 2014 musical “Bullets Over Broadway” and seemed on the cusp of an even more prominent career before being hospitalized with the coronavirus, died July 5 at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 41.
His death was announced on Instagram by his wife, Amanda Kloots. Cordero had been hospitalized in late March and was subsequently diagnosed with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. He reportedly had no underlying health conditions but, after being put on a ventilator, developed blood clots that led doctors to amputate his right leg.
Cordero’s wife, a fitness trainer and former Radio City Rockette, had posted regular updates on his health, launching a daily singalong with the hashtag #wakeupnick to show support for Cordero during the six weeks he was in a medically induced coma.
Standing 6-foot-5, with dark hair and a baritone voice, Cordero was a menacing presence on TV shows such as “Lilyhammer,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and the police drama “Blue Bloods.” But he was best known for his work on Broadway, playing charismatic brutes in musicals including “Bullets Over Broadway” and “A Bronx Tale” – two shows in which his character was previously portrayed on-screen by Bronxborn actor Chazz Palminteri.
Those roles gave Cordero a chance to take major parts, after years of being passed over in favor of shorter actors who, he once joked, looked “better next to the leading lady.” Before he was cast in “Bullets Over Broadway,” he had appeared in the off-Broadway musical “The Toxic Avenger” and as a replacement performer in the jukebox hit “Rock of Ages,” but was preparing for a fallback career by taking real estate classes.