Stanford Blatch and Anthony Marentino may just be the best couple to come out of the Sex and the City universe.
Willie Garson, who played Carrie's BFF, Liza Minnelli lover Stanford Blanch, on SATC and the series' reboot And Just Like That... died of pancreatic cancer in September. On Dec. 14, Mario Cantone, Willie's on-screen husband, opened up about missing his dear friend on SiriusXM's Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Show.
"Well, Willie, he's in the first three episodes and he's so alive and brilliant and hilarious in this," Mario explained on-air. "And it was a real shock. None of us knew, and it was just, it was terrible. It was very sad."
Though he was set to star as Carrie Bradshaw's closest confidant throughout the duration of the season, Willie's passing occurred while the cast was filming season one, which led to his starring in only three of the 10 episodes.
"And he was an incredible father to his son, Nathen (Garson); that's all he talked about was Nathen," Mario continued. "He just loved him very much. And you know, Nathen is 18 years old."
Mario went on to discuss how much he loved Garson not only as a colleague but also as a friend.
"We lived on separate coasts, so I didn't see him a lot, but every time we did a benefit together, or like we did a couple of readings on Zoom, during COVID we were zooming. We were always like texting each other talking sh–t," Mario said of the actor.
Seems fitting, because as Stanford would say, "Some people do arts and crafts. We judge."
Continued Mario, "But I miss him, he made me laugh so hard and he was a great TV husband. Oh God, he was loved. And he was brilliant and hilarious and just, he was everything. I miss him a lot."
While we all imagine how incredible it would be to talk sh–t with Mario and Willie, scroll through to revisit Stanford's most iconic Sex and the City moments.
And Just Like That... airs every Thursday on HBO Max.
"How can you not have a shrink? This is Manhattan. Even the shrinks have shrinks. I have three," Stanford told Carrie in the episode "Games People Play," season two, to which she replied, "No, you don't."
But as he put it, "Yes, one for when I want to be cuddled, one for when I want tough love and one for when I want to look at a beautiful man."
"That's sick!" Carrie responded as he interjected, "Which is why I see the other two."
Stanford's motto? "We all judge. That's our hobby. Some people do arts and crafts. We judge."
"Oh God, I love Sleeping Beauty! The music, the sets, the costumes! It's so romantic!" Carrie gushed in the episode "The Turtle and the Hare," season one. But Standford brought her back to reality, saying, "You only like it because she gets to sleep for a hundred years and she doesn't age."
Although this landline quote might be outdated, the sentiment still rings true. "Monogamy is on its way out again. It had a brief comeback in the '90s, but as the millennium approaches, everyone's leaving their options open," Standford explained to Carrie in the episode "The Monogamists," season one, to which she responded, "Come on, you wouldn't commit to a nice guy, given the option?"
He replied, "I can't even commit to a long-distance carrier."
"Puberty is a phase, 15 years of rejection is a lifestyle," he bluntly told Carrie in "The Turtle and the Hare," season one.
Stanford's dating life was just as complicated as everyone else's. However, he also got his own happy ending. In the second Sex and the City film, Stanford married Anthony (Mario Cantone). They are rumored to still be together in the upcoming revival series, And Just Like That.
As Standard once famously said, "A New Yorker who does not take the subway is not a New Yorker you can trust."