Ralph Ahn has died aged 95.
Jake Johnson paid tribute to Ralph Ahn
The ‘New Girl’ actor – who played Tran on the hit sitcom between 2011 and 2018 – has passed away in Los Angeles after being admitted to hospital due to an illness, according to Korean news outlet YNA.
News of his death was confirmed by James Ahn, the president of the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, on Monday (01.03.22).
He said the organisation was “deeply shocked and saddened” by Ralph’s sudden death, and hailed him as “the best spiritual leader of our time”.
His cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
The actor appeared in seven episodes of ‘New Girl’ as a friend and grandfatherly figure to Jake Johnson’s character Nick Miller.
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Although he had very few lines – he only spoke twice, including calling Nick and “huge baby” in season two, and then in season seven he told Russell (Dermot Mulroney) to drive – but made an impact on the cast and viewers.
He usually used his facial expressions and body language to help Nick through his problems as he provided an ear to listen in the park.
Johnson wrote on Instagram: “RIP. So much fun to work with. He gave so much with literally no lines.
“I loved when he was on set. I was always expecting to somehow work with him again.
Condolences to his family/friends.”
Zooey Deschanel – who played Jess Day on the show – replied with a crying emoji and simply added: “Noooooo (sic)”
And their co-star Lamorne Morris (Winston Bishop) shared his own tribute and said: “Damn. RIP to Ralph Ahn. He played Tran on New Girl.
“Always the funniest scenes in the episode. This man lived a lot of life, keep his friends and family in yall thoughts and prayers. (sic)”
As well as ‘New Girl’, Ahn – who served in the US Navy during World War II – also appeared in the likes of ‘Gilmore Girls’, ‘The King of Queens’, ‘ER’, ‘Eyes of an Angel’ and ‘Suddenly Susan’.
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