A real-life tragedy has befallen the Treme family.
The body of Michael Showers, an actor who had a recurring role as police Capt. John Guidry on the HBO drama about New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, was found floating in the Mississippi River this morning. He was 45.
A steamboat captain spotted him at around 11:15 a.m. in waters near New Orleans' French Quarter and Harbor Police recovered the body about 30 minutes later, authorities told E! News.
"He had ID on him and the coroner's office confirmed it was him," said Chris Bonura, a spokesman for the Port of New Orleans." A mariner spotted his body in the river, called it into Harbor Police. The Harbor Police dispatched our fire boat, the Roy S. Kelley. Kelley arrived at the scene where the body was spotted. It was retrieved and brought back to Kelley's dock. The coroner picked it up from there."
An autopsy will be performed to determine cause of death, but the chief investigator for the Orleans Parish coroner's office estimated that Showers' body had been in the water for two days.
The Times-Picayune identified Showers as being from Chalmette, a village in southeast Louisiana situated on the east bank of the Mississippi River.
In addition to Treme, Showers made appearances in Breaking Bad and The Vampire Diaries, and his movie credits include Traffic, I Love You Phillip Morris and The Tree of Life.