Broadway Star Nick Cordero Dies At 41 From COVID-19 After Public Fight With Virus

Broadway star Nick Cordero died on Sunday after a three-month battle with COVID-19. He was 41.

Cordero’s wife Amanda Kloots, who had kept followers updated on Instagram throughout his hospital stay, confirmed the news in a post. The couple have a 1-year-old son together, Elvis.

“God has another angel in heaven now. My darling husband passed away this morning,” she wrote in the caption. “He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth.”

“I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him,” she continued. “Nick was such a bright light. He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband. Elvis and I will miss him in everything we do, everyday.”

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Cordero is a musical theater actor who starred in the Broadway productions A Bronx Tale and Waitress. He received a Tony nomination in 2014 for his breakout role as Cheech in musical adaption of Bullets Over Broadway.

Cordero had initially been admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on March 31 after being diagnosed with pneumonia, as he was having a hard time breathing. He was given multiple tests for coronavirus, but did not test positive until the third test. One day after he was moved to the ICU doctors decided he would be put on a ventilator.

At first, according to his wife’s updates, it looked like the actor was improving, but throughout April his condition worsened as he went into a coma with a lung infection and blood pressure issues that eventually led doctors to amputate his leg because it was not receiving enough blood.

By the end of April, Cordero had tested negative for the virus, but his lung infection had spread to his blood, giving him “a little bit of a septic shock,” according to Kloots.

Cordero woke up from his weeks long coma on May 12, though he was incredibly weak. He couldn’t speak because of the ventilator, but could communicate with his eyes.

“This disease does not only effect old people. This is real. A perfectly healthy 41 year old man!” Kloots wrote in a post on Instagram.

Cordero continued to struggle with complications, doctors were cleaning his lungs out daily, according to Kloots, and he had also had two “mini strokes.”

In June, Kloots was finally able to visit her husband after some coronavirus restrictions were lifted, and she posted a picture holding his hand. On July 2, Cordero went into surgery to have a temporary pace maker removed.

“He’s fighting. I see it every day. Nick’s doctor sees it. And as long as he’s in there and fighting, I’ll continue to fight with him,” Kloots said on CBS This Morning on Thursday.

Friends remembered the actor on social media.

Cordero’s Bullets Over Broadway costar and friend, Zach Braff wrote in an Instagram post, “I have honestly never known a kinder person. But Covid doesn’t care about the purity of your soul, or the goodness in your heart. The last thing he ever texted me was to look out for his wife and one year old son, Elvis. I promise the world they will never want for anything.”

Cordero’s family had been living in Braff’s guest house in Los Angeles while house hunting, as they were planning to move from New York.

 

“He was light. Kind and gentle. Talented and humble. Funny and friendly. The best laugh. Sending so much love to the love warrior @amandakloots and little Elvis, and an immense hug to any one who is feeling the loss of this giant heart,” wrote Sara Bareilles, who worked with Cordero on Waitress.

“RIP Nick Cordero! My condolences to you Amanda who fought and loved so hard….so sorry for his little one. My heart is with you. May flights of angels…..❤❤❤🙏🏿🙏🏿” wrote Viola Davis in caption of a photo of Cordero and his family.