Nelsan Ellis funeral will be open to public

Chicago July 15 (IANS) A public funeral for "True Blood" star Nelsan Ellis will be held on July 22 at Holy Temple Cathedral in Harvey Illinois.

Prior to the funeral there will be a public viewing on July 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Leak and Sons Funeral Home in Country Club Hills Illinois. Pastor Tyrone Gaston will officiate at Saturday s service starting at 11 a.m. reports variety.com.

Ellis died on July 8 from heart failure complications at age 39. His family issued a statement attributing the heart failure to longtime alcohol and drug abuse.

The actor was born in Harvey Illinois and lived in Alabama with his aunt and siblings before moving back to Chicago at age 15. After joining the Marines for a short period of time he studied at Illinois State University and went on to get a degree from Juilliard School.

In addition to his role as Lafayette Reynolds on HBO s "True Blood" he also appeared in "The Soloist" "The Butler" "Elementary" and "The Help".

Ellis is survived by his grandmother his father and his son Breon as well as seven siblings.

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