Coronavirus Kills a Veteran Actor

Mark Blum of 'Desperately Seeking Susan,' 'Law & Order: SVU,' dies at 69
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 27, 2020 8:23 AM CDT
Coronavirus Kills a Veteran Actor
This theater image shows Mark Blum, left, and Gretchen Mol, in a scene from Francine Volpe’s off-Broadway play "The Good Mother."   (AP Photo/Seven17 PR, Monique Carboni)

Madonna is among those mourning veteran actor Mark Blum, who died this week of complications from COVID-19. The 69-year-old starred alongside Madonna in 1985's Desperately Seeking Susan, in which he played the husband of character Roberta Glass. "This is really tragic … I remember him as funny warm, loving, and professional," Madonna said in an Instagram post, showing the pair together on set. Rosanna Arquette, who played Glass, remembers Blum as "a wonderful actor and a very good and kind man." Blum also starred as Paul Hogan's romantic rival in 1986's Crocodile Dundee, per the BBC, in addition to nabbing TV roles in Us, Mozart in the Jungle, The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU, Frasier, The Sopranos, The West Wing, and NYPD Blue, per NBC News and the New York Post.

Cynthia Nixon and James Van Der Beek also paid tribute to the actor, who was active in the Screen Actors Guild and starred in a number of theater productions. Nixon said she was "devastated" by the loss of "one of the loveliest humans ever," per the Wrap. Van Der Beek, who took the stage with Blum, said he was "SO good… and generous and kind and I learned so much from him about how to be a professional." Another member of the Law & Order: SVU family died of complications from COVID-19 on Thursday. Costumer Josh Wallwork, who also worked on Madam Secretary, was just 45, per Page Six. ICE T said he'd worked with Wallwork every day. Co-star Mariska Hargitay said she was heartbroken. "I don't think I ever saw him without a smile on his face. He brought love and kindness everywhere he went," she tweeted. (More coronavirus stories.)

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