Josh Grisetti, the Broadway performer known for Something Rotten! and It Shoulda Been You and more recently playing comedy writer Ralph Emerson in the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, reportedly died by suicide on Friday, July 10.
The news broke over the weekend as tributes poured in on social media. Co-star Rob McClure, who played Grisetti’s onstage brother in Something Rotten!, shared the news on Instagram on Sunday.
“It is with a shattered heart that I share that the brilliant Josh Grisetti took his own life on Friday. I’m not ready to even attempt to understand. My heart is with his wife and family as they try to deal with the reality of this,” McClure wrote.
McClure was Grisetti’s best man at his wedding.
“Some of my all-time favorite memories were by this man’s side, playing his brother onstage for years, watching him inspire students while transforming the Musical Theatre program at Cal State Fullerton,” he added, “Communities around the world will never be the same without him.”
Sierra Boggess, who worked with the Broadway actor on It Shoulda Been You, posted her own tribute on Instagram the same day.
“It is with the deepest grief that I am sharing with you that our beloved friend Josh Grisetti took his own life on Friday morning,” Boggess wrote, describing him as someone who “created light and thought and humor everywhere he went.”
She remembered him a brilliant actor, director and writer and noted that his students were fortunate to have had him as a teacher. “I loved the way he looked at the world and how he challenged ideals and norms. I loved his humor and his brain and deep deep philosophical conversations,” she added.
Beyond the stage and screen, Grisetti served as head of the Musical Theatre program at California State University, Fullerton. He had previously taught acting, musical theater and the business of theater at Fullerton College and Loyola Marymount University.
Tony winner Donna Murphy described Grisetti as “a beautiful, gifted human and artist” while offering condolences to McClure, writing, “I’m so deeply sorry for your loss. You and your family and Josh’s family and dearest ones, are in my heart and highest thoughts and prayers.”
Lea Salonga wrote in the comments on McClure’s post, “Oh no, I’m so sorry, Rob,” while Rachel Zegler responded with a red heart emoji.
Erika Henningsen, who co-starred with Grisetti in Diner, shared several photos of him, writing: “Oh Josh. I just loved you. I wish you were still here. Thank you for changing my life. Thank you for making me laugh. For making me think. For making me question. For making me believe in myself.”
On television, the 44-year-old actor was best known for his eight-episode arc in the fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
His other screen credits included the ABC sitcom The Knights of Prosperity alongside Donal Logue and Sofia Vergara, pilots for NBC’s The Gates and Like Magic and appearances in The Good Fight, Nurse Jackie, The Immigrant and The Namesake.
His Broadway career began with a breakthrough in 2015, when he starred as Marty Kaufman in It Shoulda Been You, a performance that earned him the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Actor. The following year, he took over the role of Nigel Bottom in Something Rotten!, succeeding John Cariani and starring opposite McClure as Nick Bottom.
He also appeared in a 2011 Broadway concert staging of Camelot.
Just days before his death, Grisetti had posted on Instagram about leaving a production of Legally Blonde he was directing at the Trentino Music Festival, citing personal reasons for stepping away before the show opened.
“When you have to leave a production for personal reasons before getting to see the show open and the cast and team do stuff like this,” he wrote, referencing a gesture of support from the cast and crew.
Grisetti is survived by his wife of six years, real estate agent Mackenzie Grisetti.
