Zach Braff Posts Heartbreaking Tribute To His Friend Nick Cordero
Zach Braff paid homage to his close friend Nick Cordero on Instagram
Broadway actor Nick Cordero died over the weekend from complications of COVID-19, which he contracted in late March. His best friend, Zach Braff, wrote a heartbreaking note about his passing, telling the world he’s never known “a kinder person.”
The actor, director, screenwriter and producer took to social media to express his sadness over Cordero’s loss. “Nick Cordero passed at 11:40am today with his wife and mother by his side. I have honestly never known a kinder person,” he wrote. “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 is known for his roles in shows like Waitress, A Bronx Tale, and Bullets Over Broadway, and he was starring in a Hollywood production of Rock of Ages until the pandemic closed Broadway. According to PEOPLE, he entered the hospital on March 30 and spent the next 95 days dealing with complications including mini-strokes, blood clots, septic infections, a tracheostomy, and a temporary pacemaker. His right leg was amputated and he required a ventilator to breathe. During that time, both Braff and Cordero’s wife, Amanda, gave the public updates on his battle.
“Nick Cordero was 100% healthy with no pre-existing conditions when COVID-19 attacked him. He remains unconscious on life support in the ICU for over a month,” Braff wrote earlier this month. “His leg was amputated due to complications. Please spread the word about Nick, as the world begins to open back up, I fear far too many people assume this could never happen to themselves or their loved ones… It can happen to anyone.”
In an April interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Braff said Cordero’s wife and son Elvis were living in his guest house while house hunting and since Cordero entered the hospital. “I’m very close to this because one of my best friends in the world, Nick Cordero, and his wife [Amanda Kloots] and baby have been living in my guest house for seven months as they were house-shopping in L.A. to make the move out here,” Braff shared. He also said his friend’s coronavirus case was “worse than anyone I’ve heard of who hasn’t passed away.”
The Scrubs star also used Cordero’s situation to remind people to do their part. “It can happen to any of us,” he wrote, using the hashtag #stayhome.
“I feel so incredibly grateful I got to have Nick Cordero enter my life,” Braff concluded his post. “Rest In Peace. Rest in Power.”
