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I was shocked this week when the news broke that Welsh actor Andy Whitfield had passed away at the young age of 39, after having been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, just eighteen months prior.
Whitfield had a wife and two children and resided in Sydney, Australia until his passing. Whitfield is best known for starring as Spartacus in the first season of the popular cable-television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Whitfield’s wife Vashti released a statement that revealed: “On a beautiful sunny Sydney spring morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18-month battle with lymphoma cancer.”
Whitfield was originally diagnosed with the life-threatening illness in March of 2010 and when it appeared that he would not be quickly entering into full remission, the actor had to walk away from the job that made him famous. The role of Spartacus was eventually reassigned to Australian actor Liam Mcintyre, while Whitfield focused on living with the deadly form of cancer.
Spartacus co-starLucy Lawless released a statement toEntertainment Weekly that declared: ”Obviously, Andy Whitfield left an indelible mark on all of us in the Spartacus family. He was a gentle man who never said a bad word about anyone, a gifted photographer, engineer (no really!) and a brilliant actor. Andy’s incandescent film presence made men want to be him and women want to marry him. Andy’s two babies will always know that their Daddy cherished them and their mother, Vashti, above all things. How lucky we were to have him grace all our lives. Godspeed, Andy!”
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