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‘The Monster Squad’ Star André Gower Needs Our Help After Suffering a Heart Attack
A horror icon thanks to his role in beloved ’80s classic The Monster Squad and a friend to many in the film community, André Gower needs the help of fans and friends alike right now.
Over the weekend, the 48-year-old Gower suffered a massive heart attack that nearly claimed his life, and his friends and family have put together a Go Fund Me to fund his medical bills.
The team explains, “During an ordinary round of tennis with a friend on Saturday, July 3, Andre suffered a massive heart attack caused by a blood clot, landing multiple days in intensive care. He was saved with mere minutes to spare. Andre was moved to ICU to begin minute-by-minute monitoring by staff. A pacemaker was installed to help take over when his heart beat became unstable while it learned to calibrate itself and beat on its own again.”
“He was bradycardic through the next 24 hours, and the pacemaker did 90% of the work. Unfortunately, the next day they discovered another blockage – 50% – in Andre’s LAD, which means he has a “Widowmaker.” That is currently being monitored and a decision will be made on surgery or installing a permanent pacemaker.”
“When he recovers enough to be released, he faces what many of us have unfortunately gone through: obliterating hospital bills from cath lab, stents, pacemaker, multiple days in intensive care (ICU), urgent care, ambulance, emergency room care, numerous medications, lost work opportunities, and more,” the Go Fund Me campaign goes on to explain. “He has a long road to recovery ahead, including long-term cardiac specialty care.”
If you have the means, head over to Go Fund Me to pitch in and help André move past this horrifying experience. You can also send him well wishes on Twitter and Instagram.
We love you, André. And we’re all pulling for you. Get well soon!
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Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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