Natasha Richardson critically injured in tragic Canadian ski accident

[moobu2]

Source: IrishCentral.com

IrishCentral.com has learned exclusively that famed actress Natasha Richardson, the wife of Irish superstar Liam Neeson, has been critically injured in Canada, according to an insider at the Montreal hospital to which she was taken.

Richardson, who was set to co-star with her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, in a Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," was apparently injured in a tragic ski accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.It is not known whether Neeson is at his wife's side.

Richardson made her feature film debut as Mary Shelley in Ken Russell's "Gothic" (1986). Her performance caught the attention of director Paul Schrader, who cast her in the title role in "Patty Hearst" (1988). Since then, Ms. Richardson has achieved notable success in such films as Pat O'Connor's "A Month in the Country" (1987), Roland Joffé's "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989) and "The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish" (1991), featuring Bob Hoskins and Jeff Goldblum. For her performance in Volker Schlöndorff's "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990) and Schrader's "The Comfort of Strangers" (1990), Richardson earned The London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress of 1990; and for "Widows' Peak" (1994), also starring Mia Farrow and Joan Plowright, she received the Best Actress Award at the 1994 Karlovy Vary Festival.

In 1995 she co-starred with Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson in "Nell" (1994) and, in 1998, in "The Parent Trap" (1998) with Dennis Quaid. Her recent films include "Blow Dry" (2001) released in 2001, and Ethan Hawke's "Chelsea Walls" (2001).


Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Natasha-Richardson-near-death-after-ski-accident-41340947.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Oh, that's just so sad. :^(

[Warpy]

2. Oh, no! She's a wonderful actress

The only good part is that you don't know what you've got with a head injury for a couple of weeks. We can hope it is less serious than this near obituary would suggest.

[aquart]

13. I'm going with you.

[Janice325]

14. Thanks, Warpy, for the reality check and info on head injury.

I'm really bumming out by all the "critically injured" headlines I see when I'm searching for updates on Ms. Richardson.

[K8-EEE]

18. That is nice to hear Warpy.

Wow they really don't sound very hopeful do they? Let's hope it turns around!!

[Botany]

3. Much love ... wish her well

"In the U.S., Richardson has been involved with amFAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research."

[emmadoggy]

4. Oh man. This is terrible news.

I hope it is not as serious as it seems at first and she makes a full recovery, but this doesn't sound good. How awful.

My thoughts are with her and her family.

[Stargazer09]

5. How sad

I hope she recovers.

[Lost in CT]

6. I wish her a speedy and full recovery. nt

[Garbo 2004]

7. Not yet independently confirmed. Hope it's wrong.

EW has tried to confirm but as of last posting has not been able to:

Natasha Richardson reportedly critically injured in skiing accident
Mar 16, 2009, 11:30 PM | by Alynda Wheat
Categories: Stage

Actress Natasha Richardson, best known for roles in The Parent Trap (1998), Nell (1994), and Maid in Manhattan (2002), was reportedly admitted to a Montreal hospital Monday following a skiing accident, but this report is unconfirmed. The actress, wife of actor Liam Neeson and daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave, was said to have suffered a traumatic brain injury. The original report, which came from IrishCentral.com, claimed their source was an insider at a Montreal hospital. Calls by EW.com to various Montreal hospitals (including the McGill University-affiliated Royal Victoria Hospital and Montreal General Hospital), yielded no information on the alleged accident. Neeson’s spokesperson, Alan Nierob, said he had not been able to reach the actor and could not confirm the reports. Calls and emails to Richardson's talent agency, CAA, were not returned, presumably due to the late hour. The 45-year-old mother of two, who won a Tony Award in 1999 for her performance as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, was said to be in talks to co-star with her acting legend mother in a revival of the Sondheim musical A Little Night Music on Broadway. http://breaking-news.ew.com/2009/03/natasha-richard.html

[moobu2]

8. "It is being reported by numerous sources that

actress Natasha Richardson has been critically injured"

<snip>

"The reports indicate that Ms. Richardson was critically injured with a brain injury and there are rumors that she is near death."

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/269335

[Garbo 2004]

9. The media sources reporting it were citing the original Irish report. Now People has confirmed.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20266061,00.html

[aquart]

10. Oh, that sucks. "Traumatic brain injury" is never good.

Damn.

[tavalon]

22. Well, let's wait for the swelling to go down, sometimes, sometimes

things are better than they originally sound.

[KT2000]

11. Ohh no...

wishing her a miracle.

[Janice325]

12. Add me to the list of those wishing for a miracle.

:cry:
Sending positve, healing vibes Ms. Richardson's way.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

15. Sending good vibes and healing wishes her way.

She is a great actress and her hubby is a great actor.

[progressoid]

16. damn.

[K8-EEE]

17. So sorry to hear this. Enjoyed her guest appearance on "Top Chef!"

It was nice to see an actress EAT!! I always really liked her. I really hope she beats the odds here!

[moobu2]

19. "The Handmaid's Tale"

[mackerel]

20. The Montreal Gazette just ran with it.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Entertainment/Actress+Richardson+critical+after+Quebec+accident/1396075/story.html

She has two sons. I hope they're holding up well.

[chatnoir]

24. No longer in the hospital?

From the Montreal Gazette:

"A staff member at Sacre Coeur hospital in Montreal, who didn't give her name, confirmed that Richardson had been in the hospital's intensive care unit Monday night. However, by 11 p.m., she was no longer in the hospital, the staff member said."

[The Hope Mobile]

51. Flown to another hospital. They say she has brain swelling not brain death.

At least that's the latest twist I heard.

[kestrel91316]

84. They flew her to NYC. She is supposedly near death.

[DangerousRhythm]

21. Oh no!

I love "The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish". Awful news. :(

[Bluenorthwest]

23. Sending deep good thoughts

Natasha is a wonderful actor, married to another. Her mother is my all time favorite. Here's to full recovery for a great artist.

[Javaman]

25. This article reads like an obit. I hope she recovers! nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

26. Just saw this -- terrible, terrible. :(

She is a very fine actress who has had a very eclectic career.

Her husband had been in a terrible accident (motorcycle?) years ago and was almsot killed.

This family is not having the best of luck. :(

I wish her a speedy and full recovery.

[Garbo 2004]

27. She fell while taking a beginner's class according to resort. No obvious sign of injury, but had

headache.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2009/17/c9619.html

More at Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aAqGpFLeTxRg&refer=muse

[wordpix]

65. very icy conditions East Coast skiing - bad accidents hitting the ice

not that I know it was icy but there is always a freeze-thaw cycle as spring nears and ice on the slopes is rock hard, esp. treacherous in spring

[MilesColtrane]

28. Rumor site is saying she has passed away.

perezhilton.com

I'm skeptical.

[chatnoir]

29. TimeOut NY had that up but apparently have retracted it

Time Out Retracts Their Report of Natasha Richardson's Death
By Richard, 1:09 PM on Tue Mar 17 2009, 15,237 views

After originally reporting that Natasha Richardson had died, Time Out New York is now reporting that the actress, who was in a skiing accident yesterday, is not expected to survive her injuries.

Update: A Time Out spokesperson has retracted their original report that Richards had already succcumbed to her injuries. Their web site is currently downThe site's back up, but the link is still not loading. According to their P.R., they are amending their post to report that Richardson is, and this is a direct quote, "brain dead and not expected to survive."

Citing "sources close to Richardson's family and friends," Time Out said those close to the actress are being notified of the sad news.

Richardson was taking a skiing lesson at Mont Tremblant in Quebec and took a spill. According to Bloomberg, she had seemed fine initially after the fall, laughing and joking with her instructors, but a few hours later complained of headaches and was rushed the hospital. The Cabaret star, who is the wife of actor Liam Neeson, was listed in critical condition when admitted to a Montreal hospital last night.

Time Out's site is apparently overloaded at the moment. Here is Adam Feldman's original post:

EXCLUSIVE: Time Out New York learns of actress's untimely death. She will be greatly missed.

Last night it was reported that the actor Natasha Richardson had critically injured her head in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant resort outside of Montreal, Canada. Although public reports have not yet confirmed it, sources close to Richardson's family and friends say they have already been told the awful news: She did not survived the accident.

This precipitate loss is a terrible one. Richardson was only 45 and had two adolescent sons; our thoughts go to them and to her husband, the actor Liam Neeson. The theater world, too, is bereft by her departure. Richardson has been the most verdant new branch of one of the great English theatrical family trees: the child of Vanessa Redgrave and the late Tony Richardson, the niece of Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, granddaughter of Michael Redgrave. She has pursued the family business with uncommon class and distinction. On Broadway-in Anna Christie, Closer, A Streetcar Named Desire and especially in her Tony-winning turn as Sally Bowles in Cabaret-her work has been elegant, smart and forceful. She will be missed.

Shakespeare's words from Cymbeline cascade to mind:

Fear no more the heat o' the sun
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

http://gawker.com/5172167/update-time-out-retracts-their-report-of-natasha-richardsons-death

[MilesColtrane]

34. "She did not survived the accident."

That sentence should have told me everything I needed to know about this "news" source.

[chatnoir]

35. She 's no longer in Canada apparently

So surely it couldn't be as serious as some reports are saying?

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/03/update-natasha-richardson-leaves-canada-new-accident-details

[AndrewP]

63. I don't think she would be in an airplane right now unless it was over

Hope I'm wrong.

She is a good actress and has been involved in good works in her life.

[chatnoir]

68. How horrible :(

True it is from E! online but I read sth similar a few hrs ago:

“Her body’s being flown back to New York,” good friends to gravely injured Natasha Richardson tell me. “They would not put her on a plane with the air pressure changes if she had brain swelling and was still alive. It is so sad.”

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_awful_truth/b104857_friends_of_natasha_richardson_mourning.html

[Mad_Dem_X]

32. I'll wait until a more reputable source says it.

I really hope it's not true!

[bigworld]

30. Montreal Gazette reports her as brain dead

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Richardson+hospitalized+Montreal/1397685/story.html

[MaineDem]

31. Very sad for the family. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. Comes via the New York Post

which claims:

Actress Natasha Richardson is brain dead, after falling in a ski accident in Canada, friends told The Post today.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03172009/news/worldnews/natasha_richardson_is_brain_dead_160027.htm

The Post isn't that reliable, is it? Let's hope they've got it wrong.

[npk]

83. I feel so bad for her and her family

She has two young boys. No child should have to go through something like this. It absolutely breaks my heart. There is no greater loss than losing your parent, regardless of when the loss occurs. I hope that the family is able to find strength to get through this. I will pray for them.

[havocmom]

36. UPDATED: Natasha Richardson Injured In Accident

Source: NY Times

Updated | 1:20 p.m. TORONTO — The Tony-award winning actress Natasha Richardson was taken to a Montreal hospital after a skiing accident on Monday, a Montreal-area resort confirmed on Tuesday.

Lyne Lortie, a spokeswoman for the Mont Tremblant ski resort in the Laurentian Hills north of Montreal, said Ms. Richardson had fallen during a beginner’s lesson. She was not wearing a helmet at the time, she said.

...

When Ms. Richardson, 45, began experiencing headaches about an hour later, she was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Ste. Agathe, Quebec about 20 minutes from the resort. Ms. Lortie said that Ms. Richardson was transferred to the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal later in the afternoon.



Read more: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/natasha-richardson-injured-in-accident/?scp=2&sq=Natasha%20Richardson&st=cse

---

Not official reporte but it has been updated that Ms Richardson is brain dead

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/17/natasha-richardson-brain_n_175764.html

"Hours after reports that Natasha Richardson suffered a serious brain injury while skiing, Time Out New York posted a story online with a "RIP" headline and the claim she is brain dead.

They have no official confirmation, but at 12:39 they wrote RIP: Natasha Richardson (1963-2009) and that she is brain dead, although alive.
:

Although public reports have not yet confirmed it, sources close to Richardson's family and friends say they have already been told the awful news: She will not survive the accident, and is currently brain dead."

strength to her husband, family.

[Javaman]

37. How truly sad. nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

38. Shit shit shit shit shit.....

:( If this is true, it is horrible.

[apnu]

43. Relax, could be just a concussion.

This happens to sports athletes often, and more times than not, they're OK after proper medical attention and rest.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

48. I used to work for the litigation law firm....

that handled the insurance carrier for all the ski resorts in the nation.

Reading those files would make your hair stand on end.

"Ski" and "head injury" are not words you really want to see together.

[bigworld]

53. TMZ says she's in flight to another hospital

UPDATE 2:00 PM ET -- The hospital tells TMZ Richardson is sedated and suffering from brain swelling -- but is not brain dead.

UPDATE: 1:37 PM ET -- We're told Richardson's jet was scheduled to take off from Montreal-Trudeau Airport. A rep for the airport said the jet is either still there or has just taken off.

We're told Natasha Richardson has been transported from the hospital in Canada via ambulance. CTV says she boarded a private jet -- we do not know where the jet has gone, but we believe it's New York City.

Richardson was accompanied by a medic team for the flight.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

55. Indy racing driver Cristiano da Mata survived an injury much like that one.

If he could pull it off, so can she.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_da_Matta#Collision_with_deer_during_test

[apnu]

59. You never want to hear "football" and "head injury" either

Or, Baseball or Hockey, or crossing the street.

They are scary injuries, but the medical technology, today, is very good and, I hope, she will have excellent care and make a full recovery.

[Wizard777]

39. Didn't Time Out retract that?

[LostinVA]

45. Yes, and so did Perez Hilton

No source has confirmed this. In fact, some sources have retracted it.

:wtf:

[bigworld]

40. Confirmed by Montreal newspaper (citing NY Post)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Richardson+hospitalized+Montreal/1397685/story.html

...citing Post stories.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

41. Very sad for Liam Neeson (her husband)

Loved her in the Handmaid's Tale

[CaliforniaPeggy]

44. We just watched that this weekend...

She was phenomenal!

I am so saddened for him, and their two boys...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

42. What dreadful news...

Safe passage to her!

My deepest condolences to her family and to all who loved her...

[The Hope Mobile]

46. I just read a retraction of this somewhere. I hope my source was right.

Don't remember where I saw it. The ski resort made it sound like it was minor and terribly overblown.

[LostinVA]

47. Several media sources have retracted it

What I just raed was: a relative NOT THERE told the media it was worse than it was, and everything went from there. I'm hoping that's tru, and she "just" has a nasty concussion, instead. I've had those, and know they make you feel terrible.

The hospital ahs said she's no longer tehre, and that that's all they can legally say.

[The Hope Mobile]

50. I just read something else that said that she's being flown to another

hospital probably in NYC and that she only has brain swelling but is NOT brain dead. Good person. Way too young to die. Her boys need her.

[LostinVA]

52. Brain swelling could mean anything

Including she goes home tomorrow.

I don't think she would be flying if she was near death.

[The Hope Mobile]

54. That's what I'm thinking but I hope my source is accurate.

Other places say that the family has already been told she's brain dead and are treating it like a death now.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

56. Se #55. Most likely, something inbetween.

[wackywaggin]

49. Somebodies reporting is wrong

or is clearly an understatement of the year in the arts world.

[Mari333]

57. kind thoughts to her mother, Vanessa Redgrave nt

[tonysam]

58. You'd Think the Media

would at least try and get it accurate. First, she is critically injured, then she's dead, then she's brain dead, then she's flown to another hospital, and now it's back to being critically injured.

She's not the first performer in history where the media have screwed up. Actress Barbara Weeks, who played in many films in the early 1930s, had her obituary published by Variety--some 49 years before she actually died.

[wickerwoman]

60. Best wishes for the family.

I was lucky enough to see her on Broadway in Cabaret and she was amazing.

[Janice325]

61. I've been "googling the news" about Ms. Richardson

and most of the fuckers in the "print media" seem like damn vultures just circling and waiting for her to die. Stupid fucks!!!! (Please forgive vulgar vocabulary).

I'm making myself sick.....

Ms. Richardson, I wish you well.....(I feel so inadequate in my choice of words right now. DU'er's, please forgive me).

[musette_sf]

62. People is now reporting a "vigil"

Natasha Richardson's Family Gathers for Vigil

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20266327,00.html

According to sources, friends and family members gathered for a vigil in New York to be with Richardson. It was not immediately known whether she was being taken to a hospital or to her home.

and Ted Casablanca reports her friends are "mourning":

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_awful_truth/b104857_friends_of_natasha_richardson_mourning.html

“Her body’s being flown back to New York,” good friends to gravely injured Natasha Richardson tell me. “They would not put her on a plane with the air pressure changes if she had brain swelling and was still alive. It is so sad.”

i think it's now confirmed, the "vigil" story in People sounds like the gentle preparation for the family statement, which i read is scheduled for tomorrow. i've also read that Neeson will make a statement later tonight. i hope i'm wrong.

[defendandprotect]

67. Sad news today . . . lovely actress . . . two young sons . ..

[Danascot]

64. She suffered a subdural hematoma

on the slope, which caused the fall. This has not been reported or confirmed. But it's the opinion of my wife who works in an ER and is an excellent diagnostician. I read her the description of the accident and that's what she came up with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdural_hematoma

[LostinVA]

66. That's what Haruka and I think, too

THat she had an aneurysm or something which caused the fall, or the little fall caused it to"pop."

[moobu2]

69. The family is supposed to release a statement soon,

At least it will (might) put and end to all the wild rumors floating around.

[NashVegas]

70. UPDATE: Natasha Richardson Is Brain Dead

Source: NY Post

Updated 5:11 pm EDT

Actress Natasha Richardson is brain dead - after falling in a ski accident in Canada - and is now on sad journey home to New York, friends told The Post today.

Richardson, who was being treated at a Montreal hospital, is being transported to New York this afternoon so her mom Vanessa Redgrave, two children and other loved ones can say goodbye before she's taken off life-support, friends said.

Redgrave was in London when the accident happened but arrived in New York today to see her gravely injured daughter, sources said.

Liam Neeson, husband of the Broadway and screen star, left shooting of his movie in Toronto to rush to Richardson's side in Montreal and now on the trip home.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/seven/03172009/news/worldnews/natasha_richardson_is_brain_dead_160027.htm

---

The first pic is of Richardson with her mother and her sister Joely.

[Bumblebee]

71. please see

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5275610

[Cha]

72. Confusion swirls around condition of U.K. actress Natasha Richardson

<snip>

T"he medical condition of actress Natasha Richardson — who fell Monday during a ski lesson at a Quebec resort — was being described Tuesday as anywhere from minor to life-threatening.

Friends of the British actress said she was "brain dead," according to the New York Post.

Early reports from People.com and IrishCentral.com said Richardson — a member of an esteemed British acting dynasty — suffered a serious head injury. Some Hollywood "insider" websites suggest Richardson has swelling of the brain."

<more>
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/story/2009/03/17/richardson-ski-accident-neeson-tremblant.html?ref=rss

Sure it isn't the NY post that's brain dead?

[applegrove]

73. That is so sad. When I think of how I used to ski like nuts through trees I shudder to think what

could have happened. Very sad news for her family.

[El Supremo]

74. I only remember her in one movie.

And she was great!

[NashVegas]

75. Handmaid's Tale Is the One We All Talk About On DU

But Widow's Peak was my personal fave that she was in, with Gothic close behind.

[LisaL]

76. There are conflicting reports on her condition.

[Tab]

77. She was super attractive and vulnerable-looking in The Handmaid's Tale

[avaistheone1]

79. .

[chatnoir]

78. From People...

Family Friend: 'There Is No Chance' for Natasha Richardson

As Natasha Richardson remained in a New York hospital, her family and friends had all but given up hope that she'll recover from a severe head injury.

"There is no chance," a family friend told PEOPLE on Tuesday night. "It is a fact that her heart is beating but she is brain dead."

Her dire condition – doctors described it to those close to Richardson as "leakage of blood between the brain and skull," the friend says – has the actress's family coming to grips with potentially having to make an unthinkably difficult decision. "It's not official yet," says the friend, "but they basically will detach her."

More: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20266350,00.html

[avaistheone1]

80. Liz Smith: 'Richardson Taken Off Life Support'

March 18, 2009 12:21 PM

Journalist Liz Smith reports actress Natasha Richardson has been taken off life support at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. In a post on wowowow.com Smith writes, "Word is in at 1:30 PM WEDNESDAY they have taken Natasha off of life support."

An insider revealed to Smith, "Nobody goes to Lenox Hill who is really sick; if she'd had a chance to live, they'd have found another great brain hospital!"

http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/03/natasha_richardson_off_life_su.php

[zonkers]

81. self delete

[BeyondGeography]

82. A great person, by so many accounts..."Natasha Richardson: Charming, Disarming and Real "

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/03/18/natasha-richardson-the-nicest-actor-i-ve-interviewed.aspx