William Garson Paszamant (February 20, 1964September 21, 2021) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 films and more than 300 TV episodes. He was known for playing Stanford Blatch on the HBO series ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'', in the related films ''

'' and ''

Sex and the City 2 ''Sex and the City 2'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Sex and the City'', based on the 1998–2004 television series. Sarah Jessica Parker, ...

'' and in the spin-off '' And Just Like That...'', Mozzie in the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

series '' White Collar'' from 2009 to 2014, Ralph in the 2005 romantic comedy ''

Little Manhattan ''Little Manhattan'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mark Levin and written by Jennifer Flackett, starring Josh Hutcherson and Charlotte Ray Rosenberg. It is set in Manhattan, and follows a ten-year-old boy as he expe ...

'', Gerard Hirsch in the reboot of '' Hawaii Five-0'', and Martin Lloyd in the sci-fi series ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...

''.

Early life and education

Garson was born in

Highland Park, New Jersey Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States in the New York City metropolitan area. The borough is located on the northern banks of the Raritan River, in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States Cens ...

, the son of Muriel (née Schwartz) and Donald M. Paszamant. Garson was Jewish. He attended

Camp Wekeela Camp Wekeela is a 60-acre sleep-away summer camp in Maine with an estimated 300 campers and 135 employees each summer. It is a traditional resident summer camp for boys and girls ages 7–16, in season from June to August. 2022 marks 100 years of c ...

in Hartford, Maine, as a child for 11 years. He graduated in 1982 from Highland Park High School. In 1985, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the

Yale Drama School The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

Career

Television

Garson had a recurring role as Henry Coffield on '' NYPD Blue'' and as Stanford Blatch on ''

''. His other television appearances include '' Mr. Belvedere'', ''

My Two Dads ''My Two Dads'' is an American sitcom television series that was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with Tri-Star Television (later Columbia Pictures Television) and distributed by TeleVentures. It starred Paul Reiser, Greg ...

'', '' Coach'' ("The Loss Weekend" episode as a clerk), ''

Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a phys ...

'' (once as a newspaper salesman/hack writer, and once as

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

), ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...

'', ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

'', ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and fami ...

'', ''

Girl Meets World ''Girl Meets World'' is an American comedy television series created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that premiered on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014. The series ran for three seasons, consisting of 72 episodes, and concluded on January 20 ...

'' (playing four different characters in the latter two shows' universe), '' Ally McBeal'', ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by ...

'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'' (in the episode "Thirty Days"), ''

Special Unit 2 ''Special Unit 2'' is an American sci-fi/comedy television series that aired on UPN for two seasons from April 11, 2001 through February 13, 2002. The series focused upon the exploits of a top-secret Chicago police division known as Special Unit ...

'', ''

Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive ...

'', '' Ask Harriet'', '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', '' Friends'' (as Ross Geller's neighbor in the episode "The One With the Girl Who Hits Joey"), ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'' (twice and as two different characters), '' Cheers'' (as a waiter in the episode "Cape Cad"), ''

Yes, Dear ''Yes, Dear'' is an American television sitcom created by Alan Kirschenbaum and Gregory Garcia, that aired on CBS from October 2, 2000, to February 15, 2006, with the total of six seasons and 122 episodes. It starred Anthony Clark, Jean Lou ...

'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''

Pushing Daisies ''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to li ...

'', ''

'' (3 episodes), ''

Wizards of Waverly Place ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wiza ...

'', '' CSI: Miami'', '' Mental'', ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor' ...

'', and '' Taken''. He co-starred in the 2007 HBO series ''

John from Cincinnati ''John from Cincinnati'' is an American drama television series, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California. It aired on HBO from June 10 to August 12, 2007. Overview ''John from Cincinnati'' is the result of a collaborativ ...

''. He co-starred as Mozzie in the

series '' White Collar'' from 2009 to 2014. From 2019 to 2020, he was a regular guest star on the syndicated game show ''

25 Words or Less ''25 Words or Less'' is a party board game in which two teams of players take turns bidding words back and forth, until one team allows the other to try to give that number of clues to their team to try guessing five words from a card in only ...

''.

Film

Garson also appeared in three movies from the

Farrelly brothers Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together, including ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Outside Providence'', and '' There's Somethin ...

– '' Kingpin'', ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men w ...

'', and ''

Fever Pitch ''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992 autobiographical essay by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, U.S.). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", bu ...

''. His other film credits include '' Groundhog Day'', '' Just Like Heaven'', '' The Rock'', '' Fortress 2: Re-Entry'', ''

Being John Malkovich ''Being John Malkovich'' is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich ...

'', ''

Freaky Friday ''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...

'', '' Labor Pains'', and '' Out Cold''. He made a cameo in the end credits of ''

Jackass Number Two ''Jackass Number Two'' is a 2006 American reality slapstick comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine. It is the sequel to '' Jackass: The Movie'' (2002), both based upon the MTV series '' Jackass''. Like its predecessor and the original television ...

'', with the full context of the cameo being explained in '' Jackass 2.5''. He also appears in Before I Go (2021).

Personal life

Garson adopted a seven-year-old boy, Nathen, in 2009. Though he is mainly known for having played an openly gay man on ''Sex and the City'', he was heterosexual. He avoided discussing his sexual orientation publicly:

Death

Garson died from pancreatic cancer at his home in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2021 at age 57.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garson, Willie 1964 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from pancreatic cancer Highland Park High School (New Jersey) alumni Jewish American male actors Male actors from New Jersey People from Highland Park, New Jersey Wesleyan University alumni Yale School of Drama alumni 21st-century American Jews