Nicholas Eduardo Alberto Cordero (September 17, 1978 – July 5, 2020) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

actor and singer. He was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality featured roles in a musi ...

for his role as Cheech in the 2014

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical '' Bullets Over Broadway'' and was twice nominated for

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

. His career also included television and film roles. Cordero died at age 41 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-related complications after more than three months in the hospital.

Early life

Cordero was born and raised in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, to a Canadian mother and a father from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. He graduated from Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton and attended

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

for two years before dropping out to perform in the band Lovemethod.

Career

Cordero's acting debut was in the title role in the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production of '' The Toxic Avenger''. He also played the role of Dennis in '' Rock of Ages'' on Broadway in 2012 and on tour. Cordero appeared on

in 2014 in the musical '' Bullets Over Broadway'' in the role of Cheech, for which he was nominated for the

and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He won the

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for the role. In March 2016, Cordero joined the Broadway production of ''

Waitress Waiting staff ( BrE), waiters () / waitresses (), or servers (AmE) are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food and drink as requested. Waiting staff ...

'', playing the role of Earl. He left ''Waitress'' to join the Broadway premiere of the musical ''

A Bronx Tale ''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age crime film, crime drama film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's A Bronx Tale (p ...

'', playing Sonny at the

Longacre Theatre The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and is named for Longacre Square, the former ...

starting on November 3, 2016. For this role, Cordero was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical in 2017. Also in 2017, he portrayed Victor Lugo in " Out of the Blue" and " Heavy Is the Head", the fourth and tenth episodes of the eighth season of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

police procedural drama ''

Blue Bloods ''Blue Bloods'' is an American police procedural drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from September 24, 2010, to December 13, 2024, across 14 seasons and 293 episodes. Its main characters were members of the fi ...

''. He reprised the role in 2018 in " Your Six", the twentieth episode of the eighth season of the show. In March 2020 Cordero moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to work in a production of '' Rock of Ages''.

Personal life

On September 3, 2017, Cordero married dancer

Amanda Kloots Amanda Kloots (born March 19, 1982) is an American television personality, dancer, model, actress, and fitness instructor. From 2021 to 2024, she was a co-host of the daytime talk show '' The Talk''. Early life Kloots is the second youngest of f ...

in a formal ceremony. Their son was born on June 10, 2019.

Illness and death

Cordero was initially diagnosed with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

while staying with his wife and son at the guest house of former '' Bullets Over Broadway'' co-star

Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed J.D. (Scrubs), John Michael "J.D." Dorian on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'' (2001–2010), for ...

. He was admitted to a hospital on March 30, 2020, where he was later diagnosed with

during the pandemic in Los Angeles. He was initially offered

hydroxychloroquine Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, an ...

. Due to his worsening condition, his doctors put him in a medically-induced coma and placed him on a

ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathi ...

, and treated him with dialysis and

extracorporeal membrane oxygenation Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a form of extracorporeal life support, providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory system, respiratory support to people whose human heart, heart and human lung, lungs are unable to provide an adequa ...

(ECMO). He was also enrolled into the clinical trial for the antiviral drug

remdesivir Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. is a Broad-spectrum antiviral drug, broad-spectrum ...

, which was taking place at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

. On April 18, 2020, his right leg was amputated due to a

blood clot A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulatio ...

as a result of complications from his illness. By May 1, 2020, he had major lung damage including "holes in his lungs" and lung scarring. A

tracheostomy Tracheotomy (, ), or tracheostomy, is a surgical airway management procedure which consists of making an incision on the front of the neck to open a direct airway to the trachea. The resulting stoma (hole) can serve independently as an airway ...

tube was inserted to help him breathe. On July 5, 2020, after 95 days in the hospital, Cordero died at

, at age 41. His body was cremated.

Legacy

On July 7, 2020, an effort was launched to rename the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

after Cordero. On September 2, 2021, the Broadway production of ''Waitress'' paid tribute to Cordero, with Kloots and the show's cast performing his single "Live Your Life". Additionally, the "Live Your Life Pie" has become a permanent part of the show's set and script. A film of a rooftop performance of a song from ''Bullets Over Broadway'' is dedicated to his memory, commemorating his portrayal of Cheech. On September 2, 2020, American singer-songwriter Finneas released the song " What They'll Say About Us", which was partly inspired by Cordero's death. On November 8, 2021, the first 'Nick Cordero Award' scholarship was awarded at

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

. The fundraising efforts of his former classmates and friends enabled this award to be given in perpetuity.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Nick Cordero
at the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

Nick Cordero
at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Nick Cordero Interview
at Playbill.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordero, Nick 1978 births 2020 deaths 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian male film actors Canadian male musical theatre actors Canadian male television actors Male actors from Hamilton, Ontario Theatre World Award winners Canadian people of Costa Rican descent Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California