Chelsea Handler, 44, just shared the most touching tribute to her former Chelsea Lately sidekick Chuy Bravo, who sadly passed away at just 63 years old. “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,” Chelsea wrote via Instagram on Sunday, Dec. 15. “@chuybravo gave us so much laughter and I’ll never forget the sound of his laughter coming from his office into mine. Or his ‘business calls’ with his ‘business manager,’ or his shoe rack with all his children-sized shoes.” Chelsea and Chuy worked closely together over the years at the E! late night show, and he was a tour-de-force on series, often playing a role in long running jokes.
“I’ll never forget him coming to Christmas with my family one year in the Florida keys, and when my niece who was 5 or 6 at the time—saw him, she ran in the other direction saying she was scared,” Chelsea continued. “My sister and I were mortified and were apologizing to Chuy, who told us, ‘it’s ok, lots of little kids get scared when they see big kids coming their way.’ I love you, Chuy!” Chelsea shared a sweet montage of the duo to go along with the message, including a snap of them on a red carpet and several behind-the-scenes moments from her show. Both were all-smiles in the pics, proving just how much they really cared about each other.
News of Chuy’s death broke just a week after his 63rd birthday, which Chelsea also took to social media to celebrate. “Happy Birthday to my OG Nugget @chuybravo,” she captioned a snap of them on-set of her now-cancelled E! series. “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.” The entertainer — who has appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and The Honeymooners — didn’t get a chance to respond on the social media platform, but had some sweet words to say about her tribute. “I have been out of town in Mexico. Wow. Thank her very much. She loves me,” he said to Radar Online in an interview last week. “We have both been busy trying to do our thing that we haven’t seen each other since. But we text, we call each other. She called me last week actually before my birthday.”
The cause of Chuy’s death is currently unknown, however, he has been open about his past health struggles: the actor revealed he received treatment for prostate cancer in 2012 and has also been open about his past struggles with alcohol.