Sam Neill quietly battled pneumonia after beating cancer, co-star claims
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: The entertainment world remains in deep mourning following the sudden and unexpected death of Hollywood icon Sam Neill at the age of 78.
While his family confirmed that the 'Jurassic Park' legend died peacefully surrounded by loved ones, new details have emerged about the private health challenges he faced in his final days.
Shortly after celebrating a hard-won victory over a rare form of cancer, his co-star Rima Te Wiata claimed that the actor had been battling pneumonia.
Sam Neill battled pneumonia before death
Following his family's announcement that Neill remained strictly "cancer-free" at the time of his passing, his 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' co-star, Rima Te Wiata, told the New Zealand Herald that the actor had quietly battled pneumonia.
Reflecting on his strong spirit, Te Wiata shared, "It really sucks, actually. I think he would be like: 'For goodness sake, I got over my cancer. And now look, now I get pneumonia. What next?'" While pneumonia's role in his sudden death has not been officially confirmed as the cause, the Australian actress added, "He’s on his big journey now.”
Meanwhile, Neill's former partner, Laura Tingle, explained that his intensive cancer treatment had left his body severely weakened. She said that fighting the disease for five years with extensive chemotherapy and immunotherapy had significantly compromised his immune system.
"The bottom line is he’d been fighting various forms of cancer for at least the last five years, intensively. That takes a toll on anybody’s body. He’d had a lot of chemo and a lot of immunotherapy," Tingle shared, noting that he had been sick for a couple of weeks.
"Thankfully, it had finally cleared him of the blood cancer that he had. But that left him pretty compromised in terms of his immune system. I think his poor old body sort of got a bit exhausted."
Sam Neill died cancer-free, family confirms
The Instagram update from Neill's family read, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.”
The statement also expressed the late actor's family's 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,” it added.
