Matthew Morrison performed a touching tribute to the late Cory Monteith just one day after the 31-year-old was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room.
Morrison took to the stage at 54 Below in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen Sunday afternoon and dedicated the day's first song to Monteith, "What I Did For Love" from "A Chorus Line," before beginning the planned set, the New York Times reported.
"Matt came out before the show started and said, 'We lost a great young man too soon,'" a source told Us Weekly. "He said Cory was a beautiful person."
He called Monteith a "brother" and expressed sadness over his unexpected passing, the New York Times notes, and then broke into an a capella version of the "Chorus Line" tune, which wasn't his planned opener. Afterwards, he acknowledged being on stage so soon after the tragic news was "awkward," but said, “You guys came to see a show, I came to perform a show, so that’s what we’ll do. And we’ll do it in Cory’s honor.”
The deceased actor, who played Finn Hudson, and Morrison, who plays glee club director Will Schuester, co-starred on the hit Fox series since its debut in 2009. "What I Did For Love" was featured on Season 2 of the show, sung by Monteith's real-life girlfriend, Lea Michele.
The "Glee" star was found dead at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver Saturday when staff entered his room after he failed to check out on time. A cause of death has yet to be revealed, but an autopsy is scheduled for Monday. The actor previously struggled with substance abuse and entered his second round of rehabilitation back in March.
Members of the "Glee" family expressed their sorrow over Monteith's untimely passing.
I HAVE NO WORDS! MY HEART IS BROKEN CORY WAS NOT ONLY A HELL OF A FRIEND HE WAS ONE AMAZING MEN THAT I WILL HOLD CLOSE TO MY HEART FOREVER
— Dot-Marie Jones (@dotmariejones) July 14, 2013
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