NEWSRussell Crowe Pays Tribute To 'Beautiful' Dad With 'Cheeky Attitude' After Father Died On Board Flight At 85
Mar. 30 2021, Published 4:01 p.m. ET
Russell Crowe’s father, John, passed away on Tuesday, March 30, in Australia. He was 85.
The Oscar-winning actor announced the loss of his "gentle" father in a series of heart-felt tweets.
“I arrived back in the bush last night. Today, although the sun is shining and the torrential rain has abated, this date will forever be tinged with sadness. My dear old man, my beautiful dad, the most gentle of men, has passed away,” he wrote on Twitter.
The actor went onto describe his father’s impact on others.
“I’m posting this because I know there are people all over the world who’s [sic] heart he touched and who’s [sic] ribs he tickled with his sparkly eyes and his cheeky attitude to everyone, and everything, and this is probably as efficient a method as any to pass on the news.”
“Rest in peace,” the Robin Hood actor ended his note.
John passed on board a flight from Sydney to Coffs Harbor; crew members and doctors reportedly tried to resuscitate the 85-year-old.
“They basically gave him CPR for who knows how long ... probably 18 to 20 minutes,” fellow passenger Andrew Fraser told 7NEWS.
Just last year, Crowe revealed that he was quarantining with his father. The Gladiator actor posted on Instagram a photo of John captioned, “Isolating with the old man. 84 now. Wearing a hat I got at Princeton while shooting A Beautiful Mind.”
Crowe grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, and moved to Sydney, Australia, at the age of four.
He started his career obtaining the role in a touring production of The Rocky Horror Show.
The Oscar-winning actor’s true claim to fame was when he was nominated for Best Actor three consecutive times in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He won in 2001 for his role in the film Gladiator.
The actor is currently filming for his role in Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder, which is being shot in Australia.
