“Dawson’s Creek” alum Obi Ndefo has died. He was 51.
The actor’s sister, Nkem Ndefo, announced his passing in a Facebook post on Saturday.
“Heartbroken at the loss of my younger brother and knowing he’s finally at peace,” Nkem wrote.
She also shared a photo of the siblings smiling in a selfie.
Nkem did not reveal Obi’s cause of death.
Obi studied drama at Yale University. He made his acting debut in a 1995 episode of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” according to his IMDb.
Over the next 25 years, Obi acted in numerous shows including “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Angel,” “Columbo,” “Crossing Jordan,” “NYPD Blue,” “The West Wing,” and “Stargate SG-1.”
He was best known for playing Bodie Wells in “Dawson’s Creek” from 1998 to 2002.
Bodie is a chef in Capeside who partners with Dawson Leery’s (James Van Der Beek) mom, Gale Leery (Mary-Margaret Humes), at the restaurant Leery’s Fresh Fish. He is in a relationship with Bessie Potter (Nina Repeta).
Humes, 70, paid tribute to Obi on Instagram Sunday following the news of his death.
“These words don’t come easy ????,” she wrote. “It’s hard for me to conceive that you have left us, my dear friend. You always were and always will be a bright shining light. What an example of pure unfiltered love and tenacity you set as you faced life’s challenges of recent.”
“I will cherish all of our messages of love and support to each other over the past few years,” the actress added. “Rest in peace sweet warrior.”
Humes’ tribute featured a behind-the-scenes video of Obi on the set of The WB teen drama series.
Four years before his death, Obi lost both his legs after being hit by a car while coming out of a supermarket in Los Angeles
The late star was loading his car when an SUV hit him and severed his right leg. He had to get his left leg amputated when he was brought to the hospital, according to the LA Times.
His surgeon, Dr. Milton Little, called his survival “a miracle.”
Obi told the LA Times: “I couldn’t live in this world without becoming sort of like an Olympic athlete of certain things, you know — of kindness and of health — because there is no other choice for me. So there’s a sort of rigor to me, and I think, ‘OK my legs are severed. I don’t know how to do this, but I know how to do this.’ “
A GoFundMe page for Obi after the accident raised over $287,000. It covered the costs of his prosthetic legs and more.
