Lisa Spoonauer: ‘Clerk’ Star Passes Away — See Tributes From Co-Stars

Lisa Spoonauer from the 1994 cult classic 'Clerks' tragically died at the age of 44. The beautiful memories and tributes from Lisa's director Kevin Smith and fellow costars will break your heart.

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May 24, 2017 2:00PM EDT
Lisa Spoonauer
Image Credit: Courtesy of Miramax Films

Lisa Spoonauer sadly passed away at the young age of 44. The Clerks star unexpectedly died on Saturday, May 20 after her family reportedly called 911 at 11:05pm, according to TMZ. Lisa was not breathing by the time law enforcement and EMTs arrived at her home in Jackson, New Jersey. Lisa’s family did not say what caused her death, but a private funeral has been planned for Saturday, May 27. Lisa was survived by her husband Tom Carnon, their daughter Mia Spoonauer, and her stepson Tyler Caron.

Lisa starred in the cult classic Clerks as Caitlin Bree in 1994. She only was in one other movie called Bartender in 1997 before she left the acting business to have a career as a restaurant manager and event planner. She left a powerful impression on her Clerks costars. They shared their fondest memories of Lisa in a series of heartfelt posts on social media. Clerks‘ writer and director Kevin Smith, 46, was in complete shock over the news. “Devastated to report that #LisaSpoonauer, who played Caitlin in #clerks, has passed away,” he wrote. He praised Lisa’s “natural and authentic voice” as an actress and said she absolutely “CRUSHED” her first scene with Brian O’Halloran, 47, in “one long take that still remains one of my favorite scenes I’ve ever shot.”

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Devastated to report that #LisaSpoonauer, who played Caitlin in #clerks, has passed away. In 1992, I went looking for Lisa without knowing either who she was or the integral role she'd play in my life. I'd held a night of open auditions at the #firstavenueplayhouse (where we found @briancohalloran and @marilynghigliotti) but the perfect Caitlin Bree never walked through the door. So I popped into an acting class at Brookdale Community College and watched the students from the back. Lisa was easily the most natural and authentic voice in the room. She didn't sound like she was acting at all; she delivered scripted dialogue as if she was inventing her conversation in the moment, like people do in real life. Captivated, I approached Lisa cold in the parking lot after the class and said "This is gonna sound creepy but… Do you wanna be in a movie?" Fearlessly, she replied "Not if it's porn." I told her a bit about Clerks and gave her a copy of the script and my phone number. She called me a few days later and said "Well it's not porn, but everybody talks like it is. It's funny. I'll do it." A complete stranger at first, Lisa quickly became one of the most important people I'd ever meet when she joined Brian, #JeffAnderson, Marilyn, @jaymewes, @samosier, @davidkleinasc and me as one of the chief architects of my first film. We rehearsed for a month straight in the store after hours, where Lisa perfected Caitlin (and fell in love with Jeff). The first night of the shoot, Lisa had to maneuver her way through a seven minute scene with Brian in the video store, when Caitlin finally shows up in the movie. Lisa and Brian CRUSHED it in one long take that still remains one of my favorite scenes I've ever shot – not because it shows off any directorial flare (it doesn't) but because it exemplified how great the performers were since we never had to cut away from their 2-shot. But as strong an actress as she was, Lisa was an even more excellent Mother to her daughter Mia. Whenever we'd Facebook later in life, she'd gush about her baby girl proudly. My heart goes out to Tom, Mia and Lisa's family. Thank you for dreaming my dream with me. You changed my life, Lisa.

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on

Kevin shared a hilarious story about how he asked Lisa to be a part of Clerks when he walked up to her after an acting class. “I approached Lisa cold in the parking lot after the class and said ‘This is gonna sound creepy but… Do you wanna be in a movie?’ Fearlessly, she replied ‘Not if it’s porn,'” he wrote. Marilyn Ghigliotti, 55, said she was “heartbroken” to learn about Lisa. “I was blessed to have gotten to share an experience with her and the rest of the Clerks family that cannot be measured and will always be remembered.” Brian shared his own thoughts about Lisa and wrote, “not a day goes by that she was mentioned or remembered in some fashion.” He added, “she will live on in my heart and in the hearts of millions. Always in my heart. Rest in Peace Lisa.”

HollywoodLifers, send your thoughts to Lisa’s family and friends in the comments below.