Chuy Bravo, Sidekick on ‘Chelsea Lately,’ Dies at 63

Chuy Bravo, a Mexican-American actor best known for being Chelsea Handler’s sidekick on the former E! show Chelsea Lately, has died. He was 63. 

Chelsea Lately writer Heather McDonald took to Instagram on Sunday to offer her condolences to Bravo’s family: “I just heard minutes ago about our Chuy. I don’t have many details but we are finding now. Please keep his family in your prayers and remember all the laughs and joy he brought to so many of use.”

Bravo’s death comes just over a week after Handler paid tribute to him for his birthday on Dec. 7. 

“Happy Birthday to my OG Nugget @chuybravo. I love this picture because–not only does it look like Chuy just launched out of my peekachu, I look like a member of ZZ Top. Happy birthday Chuy, and thank you for 8 years of heavy petting,” Handler captioned the Instagram photo of the pair onset. 

On Sunday, she posted a collage of photos with Bravo on Twitter, writing: “I loved this nugget in a big way, and I took great pleasure in how many people loved him as much as I did and do.”

I loved this nugget in a big way, and I took great pleasure in how many people loved him as much as I did and do. @ChuyBravo pic.twitter.com/tEnTiBxKLa

— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) December 15, 2019

Bravo was born Jesus Melgoza in 1956 in Tangancicuaro, Michoacán, Mexico. The youngest of seven children. he immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 15 and began acting in the early 1990s. 

His acting credits include films The Honeymooners (2005) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007). Bravo went on to appear on the E! late-night talk show as Handler’s sidekick — Handler famously referred to him as her “little nugget” — from 2007-2014. 

Though the exact cause of his death has yet to be announced, in a 2012 interview with Latina, Bravo shared that he survived prostate cancer and was a recovering alcoholic. 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday to my OG Nugget @chuybravo. I love this picture because–not only does it look like Chuy just launched out of my peekachu, I look like a member of ZZ Top. Happy birthday Chuy, and thank you for 8 years of heavy petting.

A post shared by Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) on Dec 7, 2019 at 1:22pm PST

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