The Blacklist, the popular crime thriller series on NBC, paid tribute to one of its crew members, Kurt Perez, who died in a tragic car accident in March 2022. The show dedicated a title card to Perez at the end of the 19th episode of season nine, which aired on May 7, 2022. The title card read: “In loving memory of Kurt Perez.”
Who was Kurt Perez?
Kurt Perez was a grip on The Blacklist for a few years, according to his daughter Skylynn Perez, who tweeted a photo of him after the episode. A grip is a technician who works on the set of a film or television production, handling the lighting and rigging equipment.
Perez was driving his Ford Explorer on the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown, New York, on March 27, 2022, when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree. State police arrived at the scene around 12:30 a.m. and found Perez dead. He was 50 years old. Wet road conditions are believed to have caused the accident, according to PopCulture.com.
How did The Blacklist honor Kurt Perez?
The Blacklist honored Kurt Perez by showing his name on a title card at the end of the episode titled “The Bear Mask.” The episode focused on a new challenge facing Aram (played by Amir Arison), one of the members of the Task Force that works with Raymond “Red” Reddington (played by James Spader), a former fugitive who helps the FBI catch criminals.
Perez had also received a shout-out from the show’s crew in a behind-the-scenes video that was posted on Instagram by makeup artist Dena Olivieri, just hours before the episode aired. The video showed the cast and crew celebrating the end of the ninth season, and Perez’s name was mentioned among the people who were thanked for their work.
How did fans react to Kurt Perez’s death?
Fans of The Blacklist were saddened and confused by the tribute to Kurt Perez, as many of them did not know who he was or what his role was on the show. Some of them took to Twitter to express their condolences and to ask for more information about Perez.
One fan wrote: “If anyone’s wondering (like me) about that tribute card to Kurt Perez at the end of #TheBlacklist 9.19, I couldn’t find out exactly what his job was on the crew. Mr. Perez was driving on the Taconic State Parkway (NY) on a Saturday night in late March when his SUV left the road and hit a tree. He was 50.”
Another fan wrote: “Kurt perez was my dad & he was a grip on the blacklist for a few years he passed in march.” This tweet was accompanied by a photo of Perez smiling with his daughter.
How did The Blacklist pay tribute to other cast and crew members who died?
The Blacklist has paid tribute to other cast and crew members who died in the past. In February 2021, the show honored actor Clark Middleton, who played Glen Carter, an eccentric DMV employee who helped Reddington with his schemes. Middleton died in October 2020 at the age of 63 from West Nile Virus.
In April 2020, the show paid tribute to actor Brian Dennehy, who played Dominic Wilkinson, the father of Russian spy Katarina Rostova and the grandfather of Elizabeth Keen, the main protagonist of the show. Dennehy died at the age of 81 from natural causes. He appeared in nine episodes of The Blacklist, two of which were in season seven, his final season on the show.
The Blacklist is scheduled to end its ninth season on May 20, 2022, with an episode titled “The Flying Fortress Bank.” The show has been renewed for a tenth season, which will premiere in the fall of 2022. The show follows the adventures of Reddington and Keen, as they hunt down the most dangerous criminals in the world, with the help of the Task Force and a mysterious list of names known as the Blacklist.