During a recent interview, Irish actor Liam Neeson mentioned his bond with Natasha Richardson, comparing it to the iconic duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
In March 2009, at the age of 45, actress Richardson tragically lost her life due to head injuries she suffered in a skiing accident in Canada.
During an interview with the US show 60 Minutes, which took place in his farmhouse in New York State where the couple got married in 1994, Neeson, who is 61 years old, openly discussed his loss.
The actor from Non-Stop remembers collaborating with Richardson during their performance in Anna Christie in 1993.
He commented on how beautiful she was in every aspect. He remembered how her long hair was very attractive. He had never felt such a strong bond with an actor or actress before.
We were like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in a lot of ways. Each evening during our performances, we just had this amazing, carefree style of dancing, you know?
Richardson had a serious brain injury after falling on a beginner’s slope while skiing in Quebec, while Neeson was working on a movie in Toronto.
She refused medical help at the scene because she wasn’t wearing a helmet, then returned to her hotel and became sick.
The Star Wars actor remembered her saying, “Oh dear,” after I slipped and fell in the snow. That’s how she described it.
He said he flew up swiftly. The pilot was informed to divert the flight to the great hospital in Montreal where she was going to be taken, while I was in the air.
I took a taxi to the hospital, where I was shown her X-ray by a doctor who appeared to be no older than 17. And it wasn’t necessary to be a rocket scientist to understand what was going on.
“It was cartoon-like. As the blood struggles to escape, the brain is pressed up against the side of the skull.
I was informed she was brain dead, he continued. And when I saw this X-ray, I thought, “Wow.” She was plainly on life support, though.
I went up to her and confessed my love to her. said, “Sweetie, you’re not getting out of this alive.” Your head has been bashed.
This is what happened. I’m not sure whether you can hear me, but that’s what happened.
She and I had agreed to turn off the power if one of us went into a vegetative state. Therefore, when I first saw her with all of these tubes, I thought, “These tubes have to go.”
But she’s currently keeping three people alive because I donated three of her organs. Her liver, kidneys, and heart were all…”
The actor acknowledged that he is still having a hard time accepting her death.
“It never was real. Still, it’s not really,” he acknowledged.
“There are now times when I hear the door open in our New York home; she would always set the keys on the table and smile. Therefore, I continue to believe that I will hear her whenever I hear the door open.
“Grief comes at you like a wave, leaving you with a deep sense of instability. You have a three-legged table’s sensation. The earth is no longer stable. I still experience it occasionally as it fades and becomes less regular.
Neeson must get used to raising his boys Michael, 19, and Daniel, 18, alone, saying that it “could have been a hell of a lot worse”.
