Plans for the funeral of Sam Neill have surfaced, following the unexpected death of the celebrated actor on Monday at the age of 78, a loss that has shocked many around the world.
Best known for his role in the iconic film series Jurassic Park, Neill will be given a quiet send-off in New Zealand. The ceremony will be an intimate gathering, reserved exclusively for his family and close friends.
A source revealed to TMZ that there will not be any public memorial, as Neill’s funeral is intended to be an exceptionally private event attended only by those dear to him.
Neill passed away on Monday at St. Vincent’s Private Hospital located in Sydney, leaving fans and the film fraternity in deep sorrow.
In a heartfelt message on his Instagram page, family members described his passing as both ‘sudden and unexpected.’ The actor had been battling a type of blood cancer prior to his demise.
‘It is with immense sadness that the whānau (family) of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13 July, in Sydney, Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,’ they said.
Details of Sam Neill’s funeral plans have been revealed, following the iconic actor’s shock death on Monday aged 78
‘The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.
‘More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.’
Following his passing, an outpouring of grief followed with a host of A-Listers paying tribute to him, including Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg and its stars Laura Dern and Joseph Mazzello.
Dern, who played Neill’s onscreen love interest Dr Ellie Sattler, said in a statement, ‘Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit.
‘He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.’
Spielberg said he was ‘saddened’ by the news of Neill’s death, telling Daily Mail in a statement, ‘I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gillian Armstrong and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.
‘Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children.
‘I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.’
The Jurassic Park star will be farewelled in a low-key ceremony in New Zealand open to only friends and family
No public memorial will be held for Neill, with his funeral to be an extremely private affair attended only by those closest to him
In April, Neill – who is best known for playing Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise – announced tests had found he was cancer-free.
In an interview with Channel Seven, Neill detailed how close he came to death after chemotherapy stopped working.
It was instead a costly, cutting-edge treatment that then prolonged his life.
Neill said: ‘I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and it’s a pretty miserable business, but it was keeping me alive.
‘Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously.’
Neill underwent a special treatment called CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically modifies a patient’s own T-cells to recognise and destroy cancer cells.
Private treatment costs around $540,000.