Willie Garson‘s cause of death has been publicly confirmed.
The actor, 57, died from pancreatic cancer, his loved ones said in his obituary published in The New York Times on Thursday. PEOPLE confirmed his death on Tuesday afternoon.
In the touching obituary, his family wrote that they always knew he was destined to act, adding that “nothing could better describe” the Sex and the City star than the term “working actor.”
“A working actor has been defined as ‘an actor who while never achieving stardom, has a long and productive career and earns a better than decent living and has the admiration of his peers,’ ” the obituary reads. “Nothing could better describe Garson. For the last four decades, he appeared in over 300 television shows and over 70 films.”
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In addition to his expansive filmography, Garson also acted in theater productions across the country, working with companies including Naked Angels, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company and the Geffen Playhouse.
“Garson was a ubiquitous presence in American pop culture,” his loved ones wrote. “He could be a classmate of Michael J. Fox on Family Ties or a waiter on a Cheers episode, or L. Harvey Oswald in an independent film Ruby or Bill Murray’s assistant in Groundhog Day. He could just as easily be a TV executive in Soapdish as a man with mysterious luck in The X-Files as the president of an apartment board on Friends.”
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Following the news of Garson’s death on Tuesday, celebrities from across Hollywood members remembered his legacy.
Garson was perhaps best known for his role as Stanford Blatch, the best friend of Sarah Jessica Parker‘s Carrie Bradshaw, in Sex and the City and its spinoff movies. He had already filmed scenes for the upcoming reboot And Just Like That… .
SATC creator Darren Star described Garson to PEOPLE as “sweet, soulful and hilariously funny.”
“Willie touched all of us with his big heart and generous spirit,” Star says. “The man behind Stanford was a loving father, a mensch to his friends and radiated kindness to all. He is gone much too soon.”
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Star Cynthia Nixon also shared a tribute to her costar, writing on Twitter that he was “loved” and “adored” on set.
“So deeply, deeply sad we have lost @WillieGarson. We all loved him and adored working with him. He was endlessly funny on-screen and in real life. He was a source of light, friendship and show business lore. He was a consummate professional — always.”