Sean Whitesell (March 11, 1963 – December 28, 2015) was an American film and television actor, writer and producer.
Early life and education
Whitesell was born in
Iowa Falls
Iowa Falls is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. Iowa Falls is the home of Ellsworth Community College. It is also a regional transportation center, located along U.S. Routes 20 and 65 and the Canadian National and Union Pacific Rai ...
, Iowa,
[Variety Magazine: "Sean Whitesell, Producer for ‘Oz,’ ‘House,’ ‘The Killing,’ Dies at 52" by Carmel Dagan]
December 31, 2015[Times of India: "'Oz' producer Sean Whitesell dead at 52"]
January 1, 2016[Deadline: "Sean Whitesell Dies: Television Writer-Producer And Brother Of WME’s Patrick Whitesell Was 52" by Ross A. Lincoln]
December 31, 2015 the son of Patricia and John Patrick "Jack" Whitesell.
Mar 12, 2001 He had five brothers:
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
,
Christopher, Thomas,
Patrick, and
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
.
The Wrap: "Sean Whitesell, TV Writer and Brother of WME’s Patrick Whitesell, Dead at 52" by Jeff Sneider
December 31, 2015 He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...
and then studied acting at the University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...
, where he received an MFA in acting.
Career
Whitesell is best known for his portrayal of cannibalistic inmate Donald Groves, the initial cellmate of Miguel Alvarez ( Kirk Acevedo), in season one of HBO's '' Oz'', on which he was a regular until his character's execution.
In 2002, Whitesell returned to the show, but not to act; he wrote and produced several episodes in the show's later seasons. Whitesell acted almost exclusively in television, aside from some early minor film roles, such as in '' Calendar Girl'' opposite Jason Priestley
Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian actor and television director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000), as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in t ...
. He also served as both a writer and a recurring guest actor on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', in addition to appearing in the television movie that concluded the series in 2000. Although Whitesell did no further acting after the end of ''Homicide'' ended, he was a producer for most of the fourth season of '' House'', and also wrote one episode, "Ugly". He also produced and wrote for several other successful series, including ''The Black Donnellys
''The Black Donnellys'' is an American drama television series that debuted on NBC on February 26, 2007, and last aired on May 14, 2007. Thereafter, NBC began releasing new episodes weekly on NBC.com until the series was canceled. ''The Black D ...
'', ''Boston Public
''Boston Public'' is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school in the Boston Public Schools district. It feature ...
'' and ''Cold Case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...
''.
Personal life
Whitesell was married to KTTV weather anchor and morning meteorologist Maria Quiban Whitesell; they had one son, Gus. He died on December 28, 2015, in Los Angeles from glioblastoma multiforme
Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality cha ...
, aged 52. Services were held at Saint Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitesell, Sean
1963 births
2015 deaths
American male film actors
American male television actors
American television writers
American male television writers
Television producers from California
University of California, San Diego alumni
People from Iowa Falls, Iowa
Male actors from Iowa
Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
Deaths from glioblastoma
20th-century American male actors
Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Screenwriters from Iowa
Screenwriters from California
Whitesell family