00:00 Let's turn to beloved This Is Us star Ron Cephas Jones.
00:04 On Saturday, the 66-year-old passed away
00:06 from a longstanding pulmonary issue.
00:08 If something makes you sad when it ends,
00:11 it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening.
00:14 Been in the business for 30 years,
00:15 so back then they didn't have to be able
00:16 to get a show like this.
00:17 It's just very surreal right now.
00:19 That's all I can say, you know?
00:22 Ron was best known for playing Sterling K. Brown's
00:24 biological father on the show.
00:26 He won two Emmys for the role,
00:27 playing a recovering addict with cancer
00:29 who reconnects with his son.
00:31 My beautiful boy, I haven't had a happy life.
00:34 Some would call it sad, but I don't.
00:37 Ron's only daughter, Jasmine, posted this throwback.
00:39 The two made history as the first father-daughter duo
00:42 to both take home Emmys in the same year.
00:44 My dad showed me theater at such a young age
00:47 and has inspired me my whole entire life.
00:50 In 2020, Ron underwent a double lung transplant
00:53 and was on and off a ventilator,
00:55 having to learn how to eat, breathe, and walk again.
00:58 Ron was motivated to make a speedy recovery
01:00 so he could hit the Broadway stage in Clyde's.
01:02 I always wanted to be a part of the whole Broadway scene.
01:05 Timing is everything.
01:06 The tributes poured in with stars like Viola Davis
01:09 and Octavia Spencer paying their respects,
01:11 along with Ron's This Is Us co-stars.
01:13 Mandy Moore called working with him
01:15 the greatest gift and pure magic.
01:17 Sterling called the world a little less bright,
01:20 writing, "Keep them laughing
01:21 "in the next phase of existence."
01:23 I'm about to choke up already just thinking about it.
01:26 Those friendships will always be family, you know?
01:28 So the love, we live with a lot of love.
01:32 As everything ends, everything dies.
01:35 If you step back and look at the whole picture,
01:38 it's just the start of the next incredibly beautiful thing.
01:43 (gentle music)
01:47 (chimes ringing)
01:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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