Celebrity Death Thread

[-Deborah-]

Actor Ron Silver, who won a Tony Award and had many roles, most recently notably on The West Wing, has passed away after a battle with cancer of the esophagus. He was 62.

That's what my stepmom died of. Rotten, rotten disease.

[tdbark]

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Natasha Richardson, a film star, Tony-winning stage actress and member of the famed Redgrave acting family, died Wednesday after suffering injuries in a ski accident, according to a family statement. She was 45.
Natasha Richardson fell on a beginners' slope in Canada.

Richardson, wife of actor Liam Neeson, was injured Monday in a fall on a ski slope at a Quebec resort about 80 miles northwest of Montreal.
Richardson's family released a statement saying, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

According to a statement from Mont Tremblant Ski Resort, Richardson fell during a lesson on a beginners' trail.

"She did not show any visible sign of injury, but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor," the statement said.

Richardson, accompanied by her instructor, returned to her hotel, but about an hour after the fall was "not feeling good," the statement said. An ambulance was called, and Richardson was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur in Montreal. From there she was transferred to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Richardson was practically born to perform. Her grandfather, Sir Michael Redgrave, was a famed British actor. Her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, is an Oscar-winning actress, and her father, the late director Tony Richardson, helmed such films as "Look Back in Anger," "The Entertainer" and the Oscar-winning "Tom Jones."

Natasha Richardson's uncle Corin Redgrave, aunt Lynn Redgrave, and sister Joely Richardson are also noted performers.


But being part of a family of actors wasn't always easy for Richardson. Her parents divorced when she was 4 and her mother, involved in controversial political causes, gave away a lot of money, putting the family in financial straits, according to the BBC.

Then there was the family heritage, of which Richardson once said, "Though my name opened doors it didn't get me work, and a lot of pressure comes from having a mother who is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation," the BBC reported.
Richardson's first film role was a bit part in her father's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1968 ), made when she was 4. After a handful of roles through her teens and early 20s, she broke through as Mary Shelley in Ken Russell's film "Gothic," and followed that up as Patty Hearst in Paul Schrader's 1988 film of the same name.

Richardson's other notable films included "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990); the TV movie "Zelda" (1993); "Nell" (1994), alongside Neeson, whom she married in 1994; the 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap"; and "Wild Child" (2008 ).

But some of Richardson's greatest successes were on the stage. At 22, she played opposite her mother and Jonathan Pryce in a London production of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull"; the performance earned her the London Drama Critics' most promising newcomer award.

She won a Tony for her performance as Sally Bowles in the 1998 revival of "Cabaret" and earned raves for her Blanche DuBois in a 2005 production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." She was scheduled to perform in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" this year, following a January benefit performance of the show.
She and Neeson have two children, Michael and Daniel. Richardson was married to Robert Fox from 1990 to 1994.

Wow, to die so suddenly. My heart goes out to her family.

[-Deborah-]

Yeah wow, it's hard to believe she was talking and seemingly okay after the accident and then winds up dying from it. Very sad.

[bimmer84]

This is very odd. I have fallen many times, and whacked my head a couple of times, once hard enough to get a little hazy. Now I wear a helmet. I just don't get this one. Freak accident.

[Chuck Cunningham]

I had a friend at 13 when head first skiing into a tree, he was in bad shape for a bit, but thankfully he came out more than fine! He was lucky.

[Panoptes]

Bimmer,

That's why I cautioned safety when you went up to BC.

From getting to, riding them and leaving them, you just never know what can happen out there.

I read yesterday she was being transferred to NY to be close to family so they could say goodbye and then let her pass.

I just read to my wife that she passed.

Very unfortunate.

RIP Natasha

[Drew]

Bummer

[DanO]

WoW. Never take life for granted. You never know when it's your time.

The article didn't say what the posssible cause of death was. Anyone know? I've been knocked unconscious several times in my life by blows to the head and luckily I'm still here.

RIP Natasha.

GO LIONS "09" !!!!!!!!!

[Rocky Bleier]

I've been knocked unconscious several times in my life by blows to the head and luckily I'm still here.


May we henceforth refrain from using the word "allegedly" when referring to your reported predilection for farm animals?

[-Deborah-]

WoW. Never take life for granted. You never know when it's your time.

The article didn't say what the posssible cause of death was. Anyone know? I've been knocked unconscious several times in my life by blows to the head and luckily I'm still here.

RIP Natasha.

GO LIONS "09" !!!!!!!!!

From what I gathered on the news..

Such "minor" head bumps can cause damage to blood vessel(s) in the brain which then bleed and clot and push on the brain - causing brain damage or death.

[DanO]

WoW. And to think how many times I've been clonked in the head but good. Lucky to still be here.

GO LIONS "09" !!!!!!!!!

[-Deborah-]

You probably weren't using that part of the brain. ;)

[bimmer84]

You probably weren't using that part of the brain. ;)

Had an MRI done once. The neurologist calls me at work and very casually says, "when did you have your stroke?".
"What stroke, I haven't had a stroke?".
"Yes you have."
"Huh??"

I go into his office the next day and we talk about it. He says it must have happened in a "clinically silent" part of my brain. I figure I can take several more shots before it finds something worthwhile

Gonz, thanks for your concern. I think her situation more falls into a category of an exceptional situation. It would seem that there must have been some kind of very low percentage issue at play. I don't feel unsafe out there. Having said that, I will turn around and underscore your point by saying that it would help me if the idiot skier that ran into me in the middle of a wide open field of snow would just stay away next time.

[-Deborah-]

Gosh, Bim, that would have freaked me out! Glad you're okay.

[YT]

Scary story Bimm.

If I remember my EMT, there are 2 types of strokes. TIA (transit ischemic attack) and CVA (cerebralvascular attack).

Perhaps Dr. Larsky can speak to this better than I.