Shelley Morrison Of “Will & Grace” Has Died
Everyone better fly their Members Only jacket (and I know you’ve got one) at half-mast today, because we have lost one of its most iconic ambassadors. The Associated Press brings us the sad news that yesterday, Shelley Morrison died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from heart failure after being sick for a short time. Shelley’s publicist Lori DeWaal confirmed the sadness. Shelley was in the acting game for over 50 years, but most know her as one of the reasons why we wish our remote control had a “Skip All The Scenes With Just Will And Grace And Go To A Scene With Rosario, Karen, Or Jack In It” feature. Shelley was 83.
Shelley was born as Rachel Mitrani in the South Bronx, and spent her childhood days there until her family moved to California when she was 10. After studying acting at Los Angeles City College, she started getting those roles, and throughout her career, she acted in TV shows like General Hospital, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, My Favorite Martian, Soap, Sisters, L.A. Law, Columbo, and Murder, She Wrote. And she was in movies like Divorce American Style, How To Save A Marriage And Ruin Your Life, Shark Tale, and Fools Rush In.
Shelley also played Sister Sixto in The Flying Nun. And she entered every 80s kid’s Hall Of Icons by playing Rosa in Troop Beverly Hills. That alone should’ve gotten Shelley a speed pass to the front gates of Heaven. But her biggest role came in 1999 when she was cast as Karen Walker’s Salvadoran maid (WHY DOES THE MAID ALWAYS HAVE TO BE SALVADORAN?!) Rosario Inés Consuelo Yolanda Salazar on Will & Grace. Rosario was only supposed to be in one episode at the end of season one, but the audience obviously loved her and loved her chemistry with Megan Mullally. So Rosario became a recurring character and was in 67 more episodes where she delivered this kind of brilliance and showed she was a master at delivering one-liners and was more important to the show than Will and Grace (seriously, who watched that shit for Will and Grace anyway?):
Shelley almost didn’t play Rosario, because right before the call came in about the role, she told her agent she didn’t want anymore offers to play the fucking maid since she had played a maid dozens of times already. But Shelley recently said that the role of Rosario has gone down as one of her favorites:
“Rosario is one of my all-time favorite characters. She reminds me a lot of my own mother, who loved animals and children, but she would not suffer fools. It is very significant to me that we were able to show an older, Hispanic woman who is bright and smart and can hold her own.”
Rosario wasn’t in the revival of Will & Grace, because she had already retired by then. So the character of Rosario was put to rest and they said goodbye to her with a funeral episode:
Shelley’s co-stars all said words of kindness about her on social media:
just got a bulletin on my phone that shelley morrison has passed. my heart is heavy. putting shelley, her beloved husband walter & their children in the light. thank you for your friendship & partnership, shell. you accomplished wonderful things in this world. you will be missed. pic.twitter.com/WeLGrWlRye
— Megan Mullally (@MeganMullally) December 2, 2019
Shelley was a beautiful soul & a wonderful actor. Her work as Rosario, season after season, was as nuanced and real as it was hysterical. She will be missed by everyone at #WillandGrace, she’s a huge part of it. Sending so much love to Walter and Shelley’s whole family. #Rosario https://t.co/C1vkDTU6Qk
— Eric McCormack (@EricMcCormack) December 2, 2019
Shelley’s husband of 46 years, and the father of her six children, Walter Dominguez, said in a statement that the jewel of her career was playing Rosario:
“Shelley’s greatest pride as an actress was in playing the indomitable Rosario, in a comedy series that furthered the cause of social equity and fairness for LGBTQ people. … She believed that the best way to change hearts and minds was through comedy.”
Rest in peace, Shelley Morrison. May heaven be a place where Members Only jackets and Subways do not exist (unless, like Rosario, you really love Members Only jackets and Subways, and if that’s the case, may heaven be a place where Members Only jackets and Subways are everywhere).
Pic: Wenn.com