Who is Jackie in 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'?

We're well on our way through The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4, but we can't blame you if you're confused over some plot points, like 'Why did Mrs. Maisel get fired?' or "Who is Jackie in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?'

Season four of the hit Amazon show comes more than two years since those season-three episodes dropped—thanks, coronavirus—so you're forgiven if you need a little catch-up on what's gone down with supporting characters like Lenny Bruce and the aforementioned Jackie. 

Here's what we know about the fate of that character, as well as the actor who portrayed him.

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Who is Jackie in 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'?

Played by actor Brian Tarantina, the recurring character of Jacopo “Jackie” Dellapietra is known in the Mrs. Maisel universe as the manager of The Gaslight, the downtown club where Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) got her start and regularly performs stand-up. He is also the begrudging friend and roommate of Midge's manager, Susie (Alex Borstein).

A fixture of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel across three seasons, Jackie's story sadly came to an end in episode three of season four, titled "Everything Is Bellmore," when it's revealed to Susie that Jackie has suddenly died from a stroke. Picking up his belongings from The Gaslight, Susie realizes that she actually didn't know much about Jackie, including the fact that he received a Bronze Star whilst in the military. 

Susie gives the eulogy at Jackie's wake, but when it's revealed that only a handful of people have shown up to mourn her late friend, she grabs Jackie's portrait and takes over a stranger's memorial ceremony, tearfully telling the packed room: “I can’t talk about him to an empty room, that’s not how it should go.” She then gives him the send-off he deserves, saying that she will dedicate herself to “finding the Jackies of the world. The ones you don’t see. The ones who never catch a break.”

What happened to Brian Tarantina, 'Maisel' actor?

Sadly, like the fate of Stanford Blatch on And Just Like That, art had to imitate life for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season four. Brian Tarantina, the actor who portrayed Jackie Dellapietra on the show since its pilot, was found dead in his New York City apartment on November 2, 2019, at the age of 60, shortly before season three began airing. The third episode of season four was dedicated to the late actor. 

Tarantina had a longstanding work relationship with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Paladino and her husband Dan Paladino. On news of his passing, the couple released a statement, per TVLine: “For over twenty five years, Brian Tarantina has been in our lives. He was in Amy’s first pilot [the Rosanna Arquette-led Daisy and Chess]. And he’s been in every significant thing we’ve done since.”

“He came in with that voice and that timing and he made every scene better. And weirder,” the statement continued. “Every moment was completely unique. You can’t describe a guy like Brian, you just had to be there. And lucky for us, we were. We love him and will forever miss him.”

Series star Rachel Brosnahan also paid tribute to her co-star, writing on Instagram: “So deeply sad to hear about the passing of Brian Tarantina. He was hilarious and talented and kind and an all around golden fucking weirdo. Our family of weirds won’t be the same without him.”

Of the passing of her frequent scene partner, Borstein told Variety: “It’s a terrible loss for us. There’s no one like Brian Tarantina. His voice literally and figuratively is irreplaceable. For my character, Susie has two people in her life that she somewhat trusts: Midge and Jackie. That’s a huge hole and a huge loss.”

Borstein continued: “Brian and I were both super curmudgeonly, crabby. We would complain, and I’m going to miss that. I love working with Rachel [Brosnahan], but she is a happy, plucky person. It’s very hard. I’m an old lady and I like to complain, so I’m going to miss Brian tremendously.”

Gilmore Girls fans will likely recognize Tarantina as Bootsy from the show's original run as well as the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Netflix reboot. He also showed up in popular TV series like Law & Order, The Sopranos, Heroes and The Blacklist, as well as films like Summer of Sam and BlacKkKlansman.

You can watch Brian Tarantina in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.