Willie Garson Kept His Cancer Battle A Secret From Everyone On ‘And Just Like That…’ Except For Sarah Jessica Parker

The Sex and the City revival And Just Like That… dropped last week, and it instantly made news. There was that big surprise, which we won’t spoil here. There was a simple explanation about why it lacked Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones. And there was also our last view of Stanford Blatch, gay bestie to Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw. Willie Garson, who played the stylish character on 27 episodes and in both movies, sadly passed away in September at the age of 57 following a battle with pancreatic cancer — something he kept mostly private from his colleagues.

As per Deadline, Cynthia Nixon, the franchise’s resident Miranda Hobbes, told reporters on Friday that they had no idea what the actor was going through — with one exception.

“The death of Wille Garson was obviously, completely unlooked for, unknown,” Nixon said. “Sarah Jessica was the only one that knew he was sick when we were filming until things became undeniable and then we were told. Thankfully we were able to shoot with him not just before he was sick but after so it could be something we could discuss and listen to him about. I know that was very important for us and I think it was something that was important to him, too — not to be hiding that from us anymore.”

Nixon added, “As Charlotte [Kristin Davis] says, ‘Death is a part of life,’ but it does remind us of how precious our loved ones are to us.”

Stanford can be seen during the funeral scene for [SPOILER]. It’s currently unknown how the series will handle the death of one of its most beloved supporting characters. In the meantime, the first two episodes of And Just Like That… are now streaming.