What is Nelsan Ellis?
{{Infobox person | name = Nelsan Ellis | image = Nelsan Ellis at True Blood premiere party (crop).jpg | caption = Ellis at the ''[[True Blood]]'' second season premiere party in June 2009 | birth_date = {{birth date|1977|11|30}} | birth_place = [[Harvey, Illinois]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|07|08|1977|11|30}} | death_place = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S. | death_cause = [[Heart failure]] caused by [[alcohol withdrawal]] | education = [[Illinois State University]]<br>[[Juilliard School]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Fine Arts|BFA]])}} | occupation = Actor, playwright | years_active = 2002–2017 | children = 2 }} '''Nelsan Ellis''' (November 30, 1977 – July 8, 2017) was an [[Americans|American]] actor and playwright. He was best known for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the [[HBO]] series ''[[True Blood]]'' from 2008 to 2014. He also appeared in the [[movie]]s ''[[The Butler]]'' (2013) and ''[[Get on Up (movie)|Get on Up]]'' (2014). Ellis was born in [[Harvey, Illinois|Harvey]], [[Illinois]]. He joined the [[United States Marines]] at the age of 17. Ellis died of [[heart failure]] caused by [[alcohol withdrawal]] on July 8, 2017 in [[Brooklyn, New York]]. He was 39.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/true-blood-star-nelsan-ellis-dies-at-39-1019540 |title='True Blood' Star Nelsan Ellis Dies at 39 |last=Parker |first=Ryan |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=July 8, 2017|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Other websites== * {{IMDb name|1734700}} {{US-actor-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Nelsan}} [[Category:1977 births]] [[Category:2017 deaths]] [[Category:Actors from Illinois]] [[Category:African-American movie actors]] [[Category:African-American television actors]] [[Category:American playwrights]] [[Category:Deaths from heart failure]] [[Category:Writers from Illinois]]