James Van Der Beek arrives at the premiere of ‘Overcompensating’ at Hollywood Palladium on May 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Fans and celebrities alike are supporting James Van Der Beek’s family following his death at age 48.
A GoFundMe page set up to support the late Dawson’s Creek actor’s family shows Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, donated $25,000 to the fundraiser, adding to the more than $1.8 million raised so far.
Along with Spielberg, Wicked director Jon M. Chu donated $10,000 to the fund.
GoFundMe lists a total of more than 35,000 donations tallied so far.
The fund was created by a user account titled “Friends of the Van Der Beek family” and lists Kimberly Van Der Beek, James Van Der Beek’s wife, as the beneficiary.
James Van Der Beek was best known for playing the titular character, Dawson Leery, on Dawson’s Creek, and later took on a number of roles in films, including Varsity Blues, as well as TV shows such as Mercy, One Tree Hill and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23.
James Van Der Beek died Wednesday morning following a battle with colorectal cancer.
His family shared the news on his official Instagram page. He is survived by his wife and their six children.
The GoFundMe page describes the financial strain that the family experienced throughout James an Der Beek’s illness, which he revealed to People in 2024.
“Throughout his illness, the family faced not only emotional challenges but also significant financial strain as they did everything possible to support James and provide for his care,” the page says.
“Kimberly and the children are facing an uncertain future,” it continues. “The costs of James’s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds. They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time.”
: Actor Chuck Norris arrives at Lionsgate Films’ ‘The Expendables 2’ premiere on August 15, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Actor Chuck Norris, the martial artist known for a string of hit action movies and the series Walker, Texas Ranger, has died, according to his family. He was 86.
“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” Norris’ family said Friday in a statement shared on his Instagram page. “While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
The family said Norris was “a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family.”
“While our hearts are broken, we are deeply grateful for the life he lived and for the unforgettable moments we were blessed to share with him,” the family statement continued. “The love and support he received from fans around the world meant so much to him, and our family is truly thankful for it. To him, you were not just fans, you were his friends.”
Norris’ family said the actor had been recently hospitalized but did not share further details on his condition.
The actor turned 86 on March 10, just days before his death. He shared a video of himself boxing on his birthday, saying in the video, “I don’t age. I level up.”
Norris, born Carlos Ray Norris, was born in Oklahoma but spent much of his childhood in California. He learned karate while serving in the U.S. Air Force in South Korea, with the hopes of becoming a police officer after his service, he told The New York Times in a 1985 interview.
When he returned to Southern California after his military service, he instead opened a chain of karate schools.
It was through teaching karate that Norris was introduced to acting when he instructed the late Steve McQueen and McQueen’s son, he told the Times.
“He told me that I should think about projecting a presence, and never do a part that had a lot of dialogue,” Norris said of McQueen’s advice. “He told me, ‘Movies are visual, and when you try to verbalize something, you’re going to lose the audience.’ He said to let the character actors lay out the plot, and that when there were important things to say, you say it, and people will remember.”
From that fateful meeting with McQueen, Norris went on to have an acting career that spanned several decades and featured starring roles in blockbuster action movies including The Way of the Dragon, Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action, The Delta Force and Invasion U.S.A.
In the 1990s, Norris became a television star with the series Walker, Texas Ranger, which he both starred in and executive produced.
In addition to acting, Norris was an author, including of his 2004 autobiography, Against All Odds: My Story.
Offscreen, Norris also entered the political arena, endorsing and campaigning for several conservative candidates over the years.
In his later years, Norris reached unexpected online fame when jokes known as “Chuck Norris Facts” went viral online, touting Norris’ seeming invincibility with lines like, “Chuck Norris doesn’t sleep. He waits.”
Norris revealed his personal favorite in 2008, telling Extra, “My favorite is that they wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard.”
Norris capitalized on his online fame, growing a social media following of nearly 3 million followers on Instagram, where he continued to post everything from his workouts to life advice until the time of his death.
Norris is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Gena O’Kelly, with whom he shared two children, twins Dakota Norris and Danilee Norris.
Norris is also survived by three other adult children, two sons, Eric Norris and Mike Norris, and a daughter, Dina Norris.
Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon in the Hal Ashby-directed 1971 film, ‘Harold and Maude.’ (FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)
Bud Cort, the actor known for his co-starring role in the 1971 film Harold and Maude, has died. He was 77.
Dorian Hannaway, a television producer and friend of Cort, confirmed Cort’s death to ABC News on Wednesday. Cort died of what was described as a long illness.
Cort was born Walter Edward Cox on March 29, 1948, in Rye, New York. Director Robert Altman discovered the actor and cast him in two 1970 films, M*A*S*H and Brewster McCloud, which both went on to be hits.
He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Harold Chasen, a young man who falls in love with a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor played by Ruth Gordon, in director Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude. The movie was selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 1997, as the Library of Congress deemed it to be “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
Other notable roles of his include parts in Michael Mann’s 1995 film Heat, the 1999 movie Dogma and Wes Anderson’s 2004 film The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. He also appeared in Coyote Ugly, Pollock, She Dances Alone and Electric Dreams.
Cort is survived by his brother, Joseph Cox, and his family; his sister Kerry Cox; his sister Tracy Cox Berkman and her family; and his sister Shelly Cox Dufour and her family.
