Entertainment Earth

9/12/2011

R.I.P. Andy Whitfield 1972-2011

Last night, I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Andy Whitfield on Twitter. At only 39 he had sub come to lymphoma. I teared up immediately as I read the tweet.

Andy was born in Amlwch, Wales on July 17, 1972. While, he did a few films and TV shows, most fans, myself included knew him best from the amazing Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. I was a HUGE fan of the first seasons of the show. It was, to me, the ultimate guy's show with action, drama, kick ass characters, babes, nudity, sex, and graphic violence. The season finale left me pumped and excited.

Whitfield made for a great hero, one you could rally for and cheer on. You wanted him to kick the bad guy's asses and kill them for what they did to him. To that extent, Whitfield embodied the ultimate hero in Spartacus. Sadly, it was soon revealed that he had lymphoma. The second season was a prequel to the first one, done because they wanted Whitfield to recover. I never watched that season, cause I wanted to see what happens next. I didn't care to see what happened before. Maybe, it was a mistake on my part, I don't know.

When it became apparent that Whitfield couldn't come back for the upcoming, next season, Spartacus: Vengeance, he got replaced by Liam McIntyre. I look forward to seeing that in January.

But, I will miss Whitfield. McIntyre has huge shoes to fill. It won't be easy. But, I wish him the best of luck.

As for us fans, we lost a great talent and who seems to be a good man in Whitfield. My prayers go out to his family and loved ones. God bless him, and may he R.I.P. We will surely miss him.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I was sad when you broke the news to me. Wally couldn't believe it either. I didn't realize his cancer was this far along. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not that they're continuing the show without him. The first season stand alone is magnificent enough to keep watching over and over again. You're right, those are big shoes to be filled~

Giovanni Deldio said...

I think I need season 1 on blu-ray.