The cause of death for actor Sam Neill was pneumonia, his longtime representative Philip Grenz revealed on Thursday. Neill died on Monday at age 78, prompting global tributes.
Family Releases Cause Due to Media Inaccuracies
Grenz stated he disclosed the information after speaking with Neill's family, citing 'inaccuracies and outright falsehoods' in media reports. '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 wrote.
Neill had been diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a blood cancer, in 2022. After chemotherapy, he participated in a successful clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy, which is particularly effective against certain blood cancers. In recent months, he had declared himself cancer-free.
Health Struggles and Final Projects
Neill's former partner, ABC journalist Laura Tingle, told ABC Radio Sydney that years of cancer treatment had exhausted him. 'The bottom line is he’s been fighting various forms of cancer for at least the last five years intensively... that left him pretty compromised in terms of his immune system,' she said. 'He’s been pretty sick for the last couple of weeks... I think it was just a bit too much to recover from one more time.'
Despite his illness, Neill had filmed four projects back-to-back in the past year, all to be released soon. He also ran his award-winning winery, Two Paddocks.
Private Funeral and Memorial Donations
Grenz described Neill as 'an intensely private man who loathed a fuss,' so his funeral will be a private memorial at his New Zealand farm on an undetermined date. Fans are directed to donate to causes Neill cared about: Dunstan Hospital Foundation, Snowdome Foundation (blood cancer research), or New Zealand environmental charities.
Neill's family had previously stated he did not die of cancer, and reports indicated he had pneumonia in his final days. Tributes have poured in from around the world, remembering him as a gentleman.
