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In this Oct. 11, 2019, file photo, actor Sam Neill attends a press conference at the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival in Sitges, Spain. (Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images, FILE)
Sam Neill, known for his roles in the Jurassic Park films, died from pneumonia, a representative for the actor said in a statement on Wednesday.
Neill died Monday at 78.
“Sam passed away from pneumonia,” the statement from manager Philip Grenz said. “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
A statement earlier this week announcing his death said: “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 representative said Neill, who was also known for his role on Peaky Blinders, had filmed four projects in the past year, all of which would be released in the coming months.
Neill revealed he was being treated for stage 3 blood cancer while promoting his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?,in March 2023.
In 2022, Neill was diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, “a rare, often but not always, aggressive (fast-growing) form of peripheral T-cell lymphoma,” according to the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
The statement Wednesday said the family would hold a private memorial.
“As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date,” the statement said.
Dolly Parton will be a special guest host of the ‘The 53rd Annual CMA Awards,’ celebrating legendary women in Country Music throughout the ceremony, Nov. 13, 2019. (Mark Seliger/ABC via Getty Images)
The estate of Dolly Parton alleges that her nephew Bryan Seaver, who previously served as the late singer’s longtime head of security, is using barbed wire and a “no trespassing” sign to evade a lawsuit, according to a new court filing.
Seaver, the son of one of Parton’s 11 siblings, is being sued by She’s Alive LLC, the company overseeing Parton’s business empire, for allegedly threatening and extorting the estate of Parton, who died on Aug. 25 after a brief battle with cancer.
According to the court filing, submitted Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, a process server who tried to deliver court documents to Seaver observed that his residence has a “no-trespassing sign in the front yard and barbed wire draped across the handrails leading to the front door.”
“Mr. Seaver attempted to evade service of process, and this Court should not reward that behavior,” the filing states, adding that the server attempted to serve him three times. The estate also alleges that Seaver did not do anything to retain counsel despite saying that he would.
In the new filing, the estate asks the court to deny Seaver’s request for an extension in the case.
Last month, Parton’s estate was granted a temporary restraining order against Seaver — the family member who officially announced Parton’s death in a video message shared on her social media — and his security company.
A Tennessee judge ruled on Sept. 23 that Seaver and his company show a “present and continuing disruption and threat” to She’s Alive.
When reached by email on Tuesday, Seaver told ABC News the restraining order prevents him from speaking publicly about the case.
He previously denied the allegations against him and said he was fired as Parton’s head of security over what he calls “contrived threats.”
“I was fired. After the estate negotiated with me and my company for services in perpetuity and agreed to that service provision from my company,” Seaver said in a Sept. 23 statement to ABC News. “A week later they fired me for these contrived ‘threats.'”
A representative for Parton’s estate did not immediately reply to ABC News.
In its latest filing, the estate is asking that the temporary restraining order against Seaver and his company be converted into a temporary injunction.
Parton, who became known for her entrepreneurial skills in addition to her music prowess, left behind a multimillion dollar estate, including the Dollywood amusement park.
She and her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, who died last year, had no children.
