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Willie Garson, 'White Collar' Actor, Dies at 57

Willie Garson. (AP)
Willie Garson. (AP)
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Willie Garson, 'White Collar' Actor, Dies at 57

Willie Garson. (AP)
Willie Garson. (AP)

Willie Garson, an actor best known for playing Stanford Blatch in "Sex and the City" and Mozzie in "White Collar," has died. He was 57.

A family member of Garson's confirmed his death to Variety. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

In HBO's wildly popular "Sex and the City" series, Garson portrayed talent agent Stanford, the witty and stylish best male friend of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). Garson reprised the role in the franchise's films, "Sex and the City" and "Sex and the City 2," and had recently been filming HBO's upcoming revival series, "And Just Like That."

Beyond "Sex and the City," Garson co-starred as cunning con man Mozzie on USA Network's "White Collar" from 2009 to 2014. Garson was also known for playing the friendly doorman Ralph in the 2005 rom-com "Little Manhattan," Gerald Hirsch in the "Hawaii Five-0" reboot from 2015 to 2020 and Henry Coffield on "NYPD Blue" in 1993.

Born William Garson Paszamant in Highland Park, N.J., Garson studied theater at Wesleyan University and received a master of fine arts from Yale Drama School. After graduating, Garson began to book small roles on some of the most popular television programs of the day, including "Cheers" (1982), "Family Ties" (1982) and "L.A. Law" (1986). His other early television appearances included "Boy Meets World," "The X-Files," "Friends," "Twin Peaks," "Melrose Place," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Ally McBeal." More recently, Garson has held roles on "Two and a Half Men," "Hot in Cleveland," "Stargate SG-1" and "Pushing Daisies." He also dipped his toes in directing, having helmed episodes of "White Collar" and "Girl Meets World" for Disney Channel, in which he also guest starred.

Garson was also a persistent force in film, having worked with directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly on "KingPin" (1996), "There's Something About Mary" (1998) and "Fever Pitch" (2005). His other film credits included "Soapdish" (1991), "Groundhog Day" (1993) and "Being John Malkovich" (1999).

Most recently, Garson lent his voice to "Big Mouth" and had a recurring role on "Supergirl" from 2019 to 2020. Garson's upcoming projects included "And Just Like That" and the series "Duke of the Valley."

Garson adopted a son, Nathen, in 2009. He remained an active voice in the adoption community, having served twice as a spokesperson for National Adoption Day.

Nathen paid tribute to Garson on Instagram, writing: "I love you so much papa. Rest In Peace and I'm so glad you got to share all your adventures with me and were able to accomplish so much. I'm so proud of you. I will always love you, but I think it's time for you to go on an adventure of your own. You'll always be with me. Love you more than you will ever know and I'm glad you can be at peace now. You always were the toughest and funniest and smartest person I've known. I'm glad you shared you're love with me. I'll never forget it or lose it."

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Entertainment

Spielberg Teases New Alien Film 'Disclosure Day' as 'More Truth Than Fiction'

FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo
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Spielberg Teases New Alien Film 'Disclosure Day' as 'More Truth Than Fiction'

FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo

Steven Spielberg described his 1977 UFO film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as his own "speculation" about intelligent life on other planets.

His new alien movie, "Disclosure Day," will offer what Spielberg believes is "more truth than fiction," the veteran filmmaker told theater operators on Wednesday at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas.

The maker of "E.T." and 2005's "War of the Worlds" said he decided to journey back into the extraterrestrial realm after reading a 2017 ⁠New York Times ⁠report about US military pilots who reported seeing mysterious flying objects.

"I really, truly believe this movie is going to answer questions," Spielberg said of "Disclosure Day.And this movie is also going to cause you to ask a lot of questions."

"All you need to get from the beginning ⁠to the end is a seat belt," he teased, without elaborating on the plot.

Footage shown to the CinemaCon crowd gave a brief glimpse of an alien leaning over a human child. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo and Colin Firth.

"Disclosure Day" will be released by Universal Pictures in June, Reuters reported.

Universal also brought out another acclaimed director, Christopher Nolan, to promote his upcoming film "The Odyssey." The movie, set to debut in July, is based on Homer's epic ⁠about a Greek ⁠king trying to return home after the Trojan War.

"The Odyssey is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years," he said. "It is not a story. It's the story."

The "Oppenheimer" director said "The Odyssey" was "an absolute nightmare to film, but in all the right ways."

Star Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, endured rough conditions throughout the project, Nolan said.

"He was just there, out there on the boats, up in the mountains, in the caves, in beating sunshine, in sideways rain, wind," he said.

"It's meant to be difficult. That's the nature of the story."

Entertainment

Tom Cruise Touts ‘Wild’ Dark Comedy ‘Digger’ to Theater Owners

Cast member Tom Cruise and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu of the upcoming film "Digger" react during the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Tom Cruise and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu of the upcoming film "Digger" react during the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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Tom Cruise Touts ‘Wild’ Dark Comedy ‘Digger’ to Theater Owners

Cast member Tom Cruise and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu of the upcoming film "Digger" react during the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Tom Cruise and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu of the upcoming film "Digger" react during the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 14, 2026. (Reuters)

Tom Cruise said he took four decades of acting to get to a place where he could play the eccentric oil tycoon at the center of an upcoming dark comedy, "Digger."

Cruise introduced the first images from the movie on Tuesday at the CinemaCon convention of theater owners in Las Vegas.

They showed the 63-year-old transformed into the character Digger Rockwell, an older man with thinning gray hair, a beer belly, a Southern accent and a fondness ‌for cats.

In ‌the movie, Rockwell inadvertently unleashes an ecological disaster that ‌carries ⁠the world to ⁠the brink of nuclear war, before scrambling to try and save the planet.

"It took 40 years to be able to put on the boots of Digger Rockwell and play the many, many layers of this character," Cruise said. "The movie is wild, it's funny, and I can't wait for you all to see it."

The Warner Bros movie is set ⁠to debut in theaters in October.

Cruise was joined on ‌stage by the film's director, four-time Oscar ‌winner Alejandro Inarritu.

The maker of "Birdman" and "The Revenant" said he and Cruise first discussed ‌the film seven years ago.

Cruise, who was filming "Top Gun: Maverick" ‌at the time, said he had been an admirer of Inarritu's films and rushed over to the director's house on his motorcycle when he asked to meet.

"We know that he is fearless: the stunts, the planes, the jumps," Inarritu ‌said of Cruise. "But I have to say, I think this is another kind of fearless. This ⁠role possibly could ⁠be (his) most challenging," adding, "It was a high-wire act."

Cruise kicked off a celebrity-studded presentation of upcoming films from Warner Bros, the studio coming off a year of commercial success and 11 Oscars. It is in the process of being sold to Paramount Skydance in $110-billion deal.

Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet and Jason Momoa touted "Dune: Part Three," the conclusion to the sci-fi series due for release in December. The film is set 17 years after the events of the second "Dune" movie.

"The years don't seem to have been kind to anyone on Dune," Zendaya said, explaining where the series picks up. "It's been a really difficult, challenging, ungentle and unkind few years, and I think there's so much left still to fight for."

Entertainment

Billy Crystal Will Return to Broadway in One-Man Show About the House He Lost to LA Wildfires

Billy Crystal arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 2, 2025, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Billy Crystal arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 2, 2025, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
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Billy Crystal Will Return to Broadway in One-Man Show About the House He Lost to LA Wildfires

Billy Crystal arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 2, 2025, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Billy Crystal arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 2, 2025, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)

Billy Crystal will return to Broadway this fall in a very intimate one-man show that will take the audience into his family's longtime Los Angeles home that was leveled in wildfires.

“860,” written and performed by the Tony- and Emmy-winner, will begin previews this October at a theater to be revealed later. The title comes from the street address for the home Crystal and his family lived in for 46 years, a house lost in last year's devastating Palisades fires.

“I invite you to come inside 860 and I’ll tell you all the funny and touching things that happened there, not only in my career but to our family,” Crystal said in a statement. “It’s a joyous and heartfelt visit, about how with the love of family and friends and your inner strength, you can get through tough times.”

This is Crystal’s first return to Broadway following his “Mr. Saturday Night,” which he premiered in 2022 and earned Tony nominations for best book and lead actor in a musical. Scott Ellis will direct his new work.

Crystal has had success with one-man shows before. He turned his memoir “700 Sundays” into a stage show — in 2004 and revived in 2013 — that won him a Drama Desk Award in 2005.

The Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in Jan. 7, 2025, killing 31 people and destroying about 13,000 homes and other residential properties. The fires burned for more than three weeks and clean-up efforts took about seven months.

At the televised fundraising concert FireAid, held at the end of January 2025, Crystal appeared as the first host in the same clothes he was wearing when he fled his family home.

Crystal said he returned to the wreckage of his home and began to wail: “I had not cried like that since I was 15 and I was told that my father had just died.” His daughters soon found a rock in the wreckage with the word “Laughter” engraved in it.

Crystal made a name for himself first in comedy, from stand-up to TV’s “Soap” to the films “When Harry Met Sally” and “City Slickers.” Then in 1992, he got serious with the movie “Mr. Saturday Night,” which he directed, co-wrote and starred in.