Actor Ralph Ahn, who played Tran in several episodes of the hit series "New Girl," has died at the age of 95.
His co-star Jake Johnson took to Instagram to share the sad news alongside stills from an episode showing the two characters meeting on a park bench.
"RIP. So much fun to work with," the actor wrote Monday. "He gave so much with literally no lines. I loved when he was on set. I was always expecting to somehow work with him again."
He added, "Condolences to his family/friends."
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Ahn's death was also reported by YNA. According to the Korean news outlet, the Korean-American actor died on Feb. 26 and had recently been admitted to the hospital due to an illness.
Zooey Deschanel, after hearing news of her former co-star, wrote in the comments section, "Noooooo."
In the Fox comedy series, which ran from 2011 to 2018, Ahn portrayed Tran, a special elderly friend of Johnson's character Nick. Although he hardly spoke, Tran would laugh and nod and wordlessly advise Nick whenever he was in need. At one point in the series, Nick also dated Tran's granddaughter Kai, played by Greta Lee.
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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "New Girl" creator Elizabeth Meriweather said it was Johnson who wanted to make Tran a recurring character on the show.
"He's really easy to write for," Meriweather said in 2014. "It was Jake Johnson's idea, originally. He texted me about it. We all thought it was so funny."
At the time, executive producer Brett Baer said Johnson and Ahn "get along so well off-camera."
In addition to "New Girl," Ahn -- who served the U.S. Navy in World War II and is the son of prominent Korean independence activist Ahn Chang Ho, according to NBC News -- appeared in films such as 1993's "Amityville: A New Generation," 1995's "Panther" and 1996's "Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace."
