THE theatre community is mourning the death of roots play actor Cleve 'Chu Chu' Warren.
Warren, 46, was pronounced dead at the St Ann's Bay Hospital on Thursday after complaining of feeling dizzy while en route to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
Actor Maxwell Grant, known for his roles in Maama Man and Bashment Granny, said it will take a while for anyone to fill Warren's shoes.
"Roots theatre is going to miss Chu Chu. He was the kind of actor and person who can always lift your spirit. He was also very popular when we travel overseas and he had a big following over there."
Grant and Warren met on a Ralph Holness production in the 1990s. They also starred in Everton Dawkins-produced Man Fi Get Bun, Delilah, School Boy, Passa Passa and Passa Passa 2.
The shock was still very raw for actor Lascelles Parnell, best known for his hilarious, cross-dressing character 'Girlie'.
"It is so sudden...the truth is you never know when, how or the hour, it knock me off my feet," Parnell lamented.
It was the same for actor Garfield 'Bad Boy Trevor' Reid.
He got the news while in rehearsal for Bashment Granny 3, which opens in December.
"I got to see the man behind the character. While audiences know Chu Chu, I got to know Cleve. He was a really great person. I will miss my brother, friend and co-worker," said Reid.
Actress Suzette Barrett, who appeared alongside Warren in Family Affair, remembers him as a complicated actor, who, despite all that was happening, always managed to bring joy to the set.
"Every single emotion is running through me -- love, regret, sadness, joy, everything. It has taken a toll on me... I couldn't sleep. It's just sad," said Barrett. Warren's friend Mytania Samuels, better known as Sambo, was the last person to see him alive.
"He stopped by me in Ocho Rios on his way to the airport and complained of feeling dizzy. I saw he had some food in the car and wondered if it was that was making him sick so I went to get some Andrews (antacid) to settle his stomach. When I came back to his car, he fell on the ground and started kicking. I thought he was choking and some people came around and told me he was having a fit," Samuels recalled.
Warren reportedly revived and wanted to continue his journey to the airport but Samuels insisted that he come to his house and rest before taking on the journey.
"When we get to Fern Gully he started telling me that he was going to die. I encouraged him to pray. He began shaking violently. When we got to my house he began to vomit so I went for some Epsom salts to help him bring up when I got back to the car, I realised he was bringing up blood and I rushed him to the hospital where he died."