Natasha Richardson’s Last Song
NATASHA Richardson has died. And because Star Dies is better story than Star Lives, the media is awfully excited:
Daily Mail: ““MY DARLING NATASHA – The haunting open letter Vanessa Redgrave wrote to her tragic daughter”
The 72-year-old matriarch of the Redgrave dynasty had tenderly stroked her daughter’s face as she softly sang the melody from The Sound Of Music.
It was the same song she had performed for her daughter’s first marriage to Robert Fox in 1990.
As the caring, tender Mail told readers yesterday, that was the marriage hit by the Curse of The Redgraaaaves.
Daily Express: “Liam’s grief for tragic Natasha”
The pain of loss etched on his face, devastated Liam Neeson bravely faced the world yesterday after saying his last farewell to his beloved wife Natasha Richardson.
I’m ready for my close up, Mr Desmond.
Daily Mirror: “FAMILY’S AGONY!”
Daily Mirror: “First ambulance was turned away”
Yves Coderre, director of the ambulance service, said: “Our paramedics were told they were not needed so turned around.”
A conspiracy?
Daily Mirror: “We wish we could turn back the clock”
Bernadette Sexton, sister of Natasha’s husband Liam Neeson, said the actor was inconsolable. She added: “We’re completely bewildered and wish we could turn the clock back. I’ve spoken to Liam but I’d rather not talk about it, it’s too personal.
“Natasha was a wonderful friend, sister-in-law and auntie to my kids. She was just a warm, generous and lovely woman.”
Daily Telegraph: “Liam Neeson attends Broadway tribute to Natasha Richardson – Liam Neeson attended the dimming of the Broadway lights in honour of his wife, Natasha Richardson, who died after a freak skiing accident.”
Freak? The curse, right?
The actor was hugged by actor friends Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick during the emotional tribute, also attended by Richardson’s mother, Vanessa Redgrave. The assembled crowds solemnly applauded as, one by one, Broadway theatres dimmed their lights at 8pm…
Why do they stare?
With his eyes shielded beneath a peaked cap, the grief-stricken actor was supported by friends and fellow performers.
The Sun: “A Broken Man – Tearful Lima home after Natasha dies”
TEARS in his eyes, movie star LIAM NEESON looks a broken man arriving home from hospital after the death of his actress wife NATASHA RICHARDSON.
Her grief-stricken mother Vanessa Redgrave collapsed in shock as the tragic death of her daughter devastated one of the most famous dynasties in showbusiness.
Movingly, the 72-year-old screen and stage actress crooned the song Edelweiss to brain-dead Natasha in her last moments of life.
Belfast Telegraph: “Northern Ireland ministers pay tribute to Natasha Richardson”
The First and Deputy First Ministers last night led condolences and prayers being offered to Liam Neeson from his native Northern Ireland as he came to terms with the tragic death of his wife.
Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness issued a joint statement offering their sympathies to the family of the Ballymena-born actor after Natasha Richardson’s death in New York on Wednesday.
A united Northen Ireland.
Little About: “Lindsay Lohan pays her last respects to Natasha Richardson”
She was a wonderful woman and actress. She treated me like I was her own, the Sun quoted Lohan as saying.
Comedienne Joan Rivers, 75, also recalled Natasha as an amazing and darling and fondly remembered her love for her husband Liam Neeson, who totally doted on her.
Globe & Mail: “Chloe cast ‘bereft,’ Egoyan says in statement”
In light of the tragic death of Liam Neeson’s wife, Natasha Richardson, earlier this week, Toronto director Atom Egoyan issued a statement yesterday saying he “is devastated for Liam’s loss.” The director is currently shooting a thriller, Chloe, which co-stars Neeson, Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried. “I had the opportunity to meet Natasha at the opening of the play I did with Liam in New York last year,” said Egoyan, referring to last summer’s Samuel Beckett play Eh Joe in New York. “Her intense pride and affection for her husband was so clear, as was his passion and love for her.” A further statement from Egoyan’s production company continued: “The entire cast and crew of Chloe are bereft.”
ContactMusic: “HELEN MIRREN – QUEENS OF HOLLYWOOD MOURN RICHARDSON’S DEATH”
Mirren says, “Natasha was a great actress, a fantastic mother, a loving wife and a whirlwind of energy, with an infectious love of life expressed firstly by her wonderful deep laugh. Anyone who knew her will be in mourning today. I hope that Liam and her sons are helped in their pain by the great love and sympathy that is coming to them from people all over the world.”
Streep adds, “Tash (Natasha) was the warm sun in the center of a large constellation of family, friends, all of those lucky enough to know her – she is irreplaceable in our lives; she gave us so much, so generously – her legacy is the love that connects us all.”
Chicago Tribune: “Impact to head killed star – Autopsy: Fatal fall was an accident”
Not a curse?
The formal name for the condition is epidural hematoma. It usually is the result of bleeding from arteries torn when the skull is struck hard, often on the temple where the skull is thinnest.
Arterial hemorrhage inside the skull is one of medicine’s most dire emergencies. Each heartbeat pumps blood under high pressure into a confined space, pushing the soft and compressible brain aside. If the bleeding isn’t stopped or the pressure relieved, the vital structures of the brain eventually are crushed as the organ is forced out of the base of the skull.
What say the medics?
The Tennessean: “Severe brain injuries often develop slowly”
“Once you have more swelling, it causes more trauma, which causes more swelling,” said Dr. Edward Aulisi, neurosurgery chief at Washington Hospital Center in the nation’s capital. “It’s a vicious cycle, because everything’s inside a closed space.”
Pressure can force the brain downward to press on the brain stem that controls breathing and other vital functions, causing coma or death. Frequently, surgeons cut off a portion of the skull to give the brain room to swell. Or they drain the blood and remove clots that formed.
“This is a very treatable condition if you’re aware of what the problem is and the patient is quickly transferred to a hospital,” said Dr. Keith Siller of New York University Langone Medical Center.
Rock TownWeekly (Virginia): “About 5½ years ago, Anne Thomas was entering her workplace when she took a wrong step, fell backward and hit her head.”
Glenwood Springs Post: “Skier flown to St. Mary’s Hospital after hitting tree”
She ok?
Recently, actress Natasha Richardson, 45, died after suffering a head injury from a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec, Canada on Tuesday. It was reported that she was not wearing a helmet.
Opposing Views: “OPINION: The Natasha Richardson Tragedy & the Importance of Helmets”
Tomorrow’s podcast, A Dose of Dr. Gwenn, has been scheduled to be about youth sports for a while but given this week’s tragedy to Natasha Richardson I’ll be adding more on sports safety and concussions.
Natasha Richardson dies and breathes life into the media…
Posted: 20th, March 2009 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts Comments (4) | TrackBack | Permalink
