“Jurassic Park” star Sam Neill died of pneumonia, his agent confirmed on Thursday.
The BBC reported that Philip Grenz, Neill’s longtime agent, decided to reveal the cause after speaking to the actor’s family in order to correct “inaccurate and outright falsehoods” in the media. Neill, who died on Monday in Sydney, Australia at the age of 78, had been battling a form of blood cancer since 2022, but revealed in April that he was cancer free. In their announcement, Neill’s family said his death was “sudden and unexpected.”
“As Sam Neill’s longtime rep, I spoke with his family and wish to clarify some details for his fans,” Grenz said in his statement. “Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
Grenz added that in the past year, Neill had “filmed four projects back-to-back… all of which will be released within the coming months.”
He added, “I’d like to thank those who were truly close to Sam for considering his privacy with the respect he earned and his loved ones need and deserve during this immeasurably difficult time.”
