Will & Grace Stars React to Death of 'Rosario'

Actress Shelley Morrison is dead at 83
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 2, 2019 6:14 AM CST
Will & Grace Star Shelley Morrison Dead at 83
In this 2000 photo, Shelley Morrison, at left, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes celebrate their awards for their work in "Will & Grace" at the 52nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Her character was supposed to appear in one show and be gone. But actress Shelley Morrison made such an impact on viewers with her portrayal of Rosario Salazar on Will & Grace that she ended up appearing in 68 episodes. Morrison, who played the maid of Megan Mullally's character Karen Walker, died Sunday at the age of 83 of heart failure after a brief illness, reports the AP. Morrison had said recently that Rosario was one of her favorite characters because "she reminds me a lot of my own mother, who loved animals and children, but she would not suffer fools." It's "significant to me that we were able to show an older, Hispanic woman who is bright and smart and can hold her own." Her former cast-mates agreed, and People rounds up their reactions to the news.

"Oh, Shelley… what a loss," wrote actress Debra Messing. She "had a career that spanned decades, but she will always be our dear Rosie." Mullally tweeted that her "heart is heavy" and thanked Morrison for her "friendship & partnership." Co-star Sean Hayes also weighed in. "She was absolutely hilarious and had the biggest heart," he wrote. As did Eric McCormack: "Her work as Rosario, season after season, was as nuanced and real as it was hysterical." (More obituary stories.)

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