‘New Girl’ Tran Actor Ralph Ahn Dies at 95, Jake Johnson Honors Him in Instagram Post
New Girl Tran actor Ralph Ahn has died at 95. While he only appeared in seven episodes of the sitcom, starting with New Girl Season 2, Ahn’s quiet character Tran quickly became a fan favorite. He became a sort of father figure when Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) took time away from Jess (Zooey Deschanel), Winston Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and Winston (Lamorne Morris). Jake Johnson and the rest of the New Girl cast posted on social media to honor their former co-star Ralph Ahn.
Jake Johnson remember the ‘fun’ he had starring with Tran actor Ralph Ahn in ‘New Girl’
In New Girl, Jake Johnson turned to Ralph Ahn’s character. Tran turned into something of a father figure of very few words.
“RIP. So much fun to work with,” a post on the Jake Johnson Instagram read. “He gave so much with literally no lines. I loved when he was on set. I was always expecting to somehow work with him again. Condolences to his family/friends.”
Ralph Ahn continued playing Tran through New Girl Season 7, Episode 7, “Curse of the Pirate Bride.”. His other New Girl episodes include “Menzies” and “First Date” in Season 2 with Jake Johnson, “Birthday” and “Big News” in Season 3, “Thanksgiving IV” in Season 4, and “Wedding Eve” in Season 5.
Ralph Ahn also guest-starred in Gilmore Girls, The King of Queens, and Golden Girls.
Zooey Deschanel, Lamorne Morris, and Olivia Munn also posted in honor of their ‘New Girl’ co-star
Zooey Deschanel and Lamorne Morris lamented the death of their New Girl co-star. A Lamorne Morris Instagram post read.
“This man lived a lot of life, keep his friends and family in y’all thoughts and prayers,” A Lamorne Morris Instagram post read (via USA Today).
Olivia Munn (Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse) starred in New Girl Season 2 as Jake Johnson’s love interest, and she posted about Ralph Ahn as well.
“You brought so much joy to our lives and helped pave the way for all of the AAPI actors that would follow you. We love you,” she said.
Jake Johnson had suggested making Ralph Ahn a recurring role in ‘New Girl’
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, New Girl showrunner Liz Meriwether and Brett Baer talked about the New Girl Season 4 “bangs-giving” episode. They said that Jake Johnson played a role in having Ralph Ahn as a recurring character on New Girl.
“He’s really easy to write for,” Meriwether laughed. “It was Jake Johnson’s idea, originally. He texted me about it. We all thought it was so funny. Going into this year, I think one of the writers in the retreat pitched his granddaughter being a love interest. But Jake also wanted to do something like that.”
Baer commented that Johnson and Ahn have a tight friendship off-camera.
“Johnson is so funny with that guy,” Baer added. “And they get along so well off-camera. Tran coming to Thanksgiving was actually something that was supposed to take place during the second season, but then we broke the story of Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner being Jess’ parents – and it was too much to fulfill.”
Ralph Ahn might have very few lines, but the New Girl cast and fans loved knowing and working with him. From Jake Johnson, to Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris, Ahn will be missed.
