Corey Parker, ‘Will & Grace’ Actor and Revered Acting Coach, Dies at 60 After Cancer Battle

A New York City native, Parker was raised on the stage. He began acting at age 5 and was training with teachers from the Actors Studio by 14, according to his IMDb biography.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 3/9/2026, 11:11:13 PM EDT

Corey Parker, ‘Will & Grace’ Actor and Revered Acting Coach, Dies at 60 After Cancer Battle — An ambulance in a stock photo. (Shutterstock)

Corey Parker, the veteran actor best known for his recurring role on the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace," has died after a battle with terminal cancer. He was 60.

Parker's sister, Noelle, confirmed his passing. "I believe he left this world weightless, at peace & surrounded with love," she said, according to a March 7 post shared on Instagram by BGB Studio and longtime friend Risa Bramon Garcia.

A New York City native, Parker was raised on the stage. He began acting at age 5 and was training with teachers from the Actors Studio by 14, according to his IMDb biography. He graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts before launching a career spanning more than four decades in film, television, and theater.

Parker appeared in "Scream for Help" in 1984 and in 1985, appeared in "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning," a sequel in the slasher franchise. Throughout the late 1980s and '90s, he built a résumé including the military dramedy "Biloxi Blues" in 1988, the romantic comedy "How I Got into College" in 1989, the Téa Leoni sitcom "Flying Blind" from 1992 to 1993, and the spin-off "Love Boat: The Next Wave" from 1998 to 1999.

It was his turn on "Will & Grace" that brought Parker his widest recognition. He joined the hit comedy in its second season in 2000, playing Josh, a sensitive wellness guru and boyfriend of Debra Messing's character, Grace Adler.

Messing paid tribute to Parker in her Instagram stories Sunday night, writing “So sad … Corey was so kind. Just lovely. What a tragic loss. My love to all who loved him.”

Actress Diane Franklin, who appeared alongside Parker in "How I Got into College," mourned his death in a March 8 Facebook post. "Sometimes you work with an actor who makes the world a better place. This is Corey Parker," Franklin wrote. She recalled reconnecting with him at a 2024 screening at the New Beverly Cinema. "It was like no time had passed. Still a good guy, inspiring acting students, making the world a better place," she wrote.

Beyond the screen, Parker built a respected second career as an acting teacher and coach, working since 2000 at institutions including Duke University, the University of Memphis and Rhodes College, as well as prominent studios in New York and Los Angeles, according to a GoFundMe page organized by his collaborators and students to help cover his medical expenses after his cancer diagnosis. His students won Tony Awards, SAG Awards, and Emmy Awards.

He served as a master teacher at BGB Studio, a North Hollywood acting school founded by Bramon Garcia and acting coach Steve Braun. He was also a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and the Ensemble Studio Theatre, and had worked with the Steppenwolf Theater Company and Joseph Papp's Public Theater.

Bramon Garcia, who had known Parker for 45 years, wrote in her Instagram post: "You were a massive part of my creative work, my creative family, for decades," she wrote. "We celebrate your incredible talent, your unparalleled passion and joy in the work and in your family, your huge gift for and devotion to teaching."

Parker was diagnosed with advanced stage 4 metastatic cancer after bone from a hip replacement surgery was sent to pathology in the fall of 2024, according to the GoFundMe campaign. The diagnosis left him unable to work, and he had recently lost his SAG health insurance after more than 45 years as a union member.

In a Feb. 17 update, he shared that radiation had helped ease pain but affected his esophagus and ability to speak, and that his family had begun preparing for hospice care at their Memphis home. The campaign raised more than $60,000 of its $65,000 goal.

"I think actors are the gold mine, the source of authenticity and creativity," Parker once said, BGB Studio quoted in their post. "While the industry is impersonal, our class is a place where we make personal connections and we feel safe to take risks and to grow."