Grizz Chapman

Grizz Chapman played Grizz on 30 Rock for seven seasons. If you watched the show you remember him — he and Dot Com were the two huge guys flanking Tracy Jordan, deadpan to the point of art. He's gone now, and the right way to remember him is to rewatch the show.

What he was actually doing in 30 Rock

The Grizz-and-Dot-Com bit is one of the most underrated jokes in 30 Rock. Two enormous men, hired as muscle, who turn out to be smarter, more well-read, and more emotionally literate than anyone else in the writers' room. Grizz's storylines — his wedding, his book club, his earnest devotion to Tracy — were tiny but they landed every time. The show used him sparingly and he made every line count.

He wasn't a stand-up before 30 Rock. He was a security guard and a bouncer who got pulled into the show through a chain of New York connections. That's the part of his story that nobody told well at the time. He earned his way into the room.

How to rewatch

30 Rock is on Peacock in the US and Sky/NOW in the UK. Seven seasons, 138 episodes — the comedy density is still unmatched. If you want the Grizz episodes specifically, the season 4 episode "Verna" and the season 5 wedding episode "Plan B" are the obvious starts.

If you don't already have a way to stream it, a Fire TV Stick 4K with Peacock installed is the cheapest path in — about $50. The full series is also available on disc, and the 30 Rock complete series box set on DVD is the kind of thing that's surprisingly cheap now that nobody buys discs.

Reading

Tina Fey's Bossypants doesn't focus on Grizz specifically but it's the only book that captures how a show that funny actually got made. Worth the $15. Robert Carlock's interviews on the various comedy podcasts are also out there if you want more.

For a wider look at the late-2000s NBC comedy era that produced 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, and The Office, the oral histories from that period are mostly excellent. Comedy nerds will eat them.

Watching with the right setup

30 Rock is a dialogue show and you'll miss half the jokes on a laptop with bad speakers. A basic soundbar in the $100-150 range fixes that. For headphone watching, the Anker Soundcore Q45 punches well above its $80 price.

Some performers get a retrospective the day they die. Grizz Chapman deserves a rewatch. That's the better tribute.