Jon Miyahara, who recurred as the stoic, mostly silent Cloud 9 employee Brett Kobashigawa on all six seasons of NBC’s 2015-2021 workplace comedy Superstore, has died. He was 83.
His death was confirmed on Instagram by Superstore cast mate Colton Dunn. Neither a cause of death nor specific date of death was cited.
Dunn wrote that Miyahara “was a really awesome guy and as a performer could speak volumes with just a look. He was such a memorable part of the Cloud 9 team. It was an honor to know him and work with him. I was lucky enough to meet some of his family and my thoughts are with them.”
Appearing in all but eight of the series’ 113 episodes, Miyahara rarely spoke, his character most often providing silent, deadpan stares as punctuation to comic or outlandish scenes. His only memorable line of dialogue – “Oh, shit” – coming when a tornado tore through the store. (Watch that moment in a clip below, with Miyahara’s line arriving at the 2:06 mark).
The tornado storyline at the end of Season 2 also gave Miyahara one of his most elaborate plots. When they presume that Brett has been blown away by the twister, the other employees hold a memorial for him, with Kaliko Kauahi’s Sandra performing Radiohead’s “Creep.” When Season 3 began, the ever-tranquil and completely alive Brett simply returned to work.
Born Jonathan Yasushi Miyahara on August 8, 1941, in Los Angeles, Miyahara briefly reprised the role of Brett in a cameo on NBC’s American Auto. Both sitcoms were created by Justin Spitzer. He had not other major acting credits.
Following Dunn’s announcement, other Superstore vets offered their social media condolences. Wrote Kelly Stables, who played Kelly, “Oh man! He was always so sweet.” Irene White (Carol) added, “What an incredible man.” And Michael Bunin (Jeff) wrote, “I’m so sad to hear this news. Many fun days and many fun conversations. Very nice guy.”
