Actor Sam Neill dies of pneumonia at 78 in Sydney

Actor Sam Neill, the celebrated New Zealand star of the "Jurassic Park" franchise, died of pneumonia on Monday, July 13, 2026, in Sydney, Australia, his longtime representative confirmed on Thursday, July 16. He was 78. His death came just three months after he announced he was cancer-free following a multi-year battle with a rare blood cancer.

His agent, Philip Grenz, issued a statement in consultation with Neill's family to clarify the cause of death and correct what he described as inaccurate media reports. Grenz stated that Neill passed away from pneumonia and that, prior to this illness, he had successfully fought and beaten stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR T-cell therapy. The family's initial announcement described the loss as sudden and unexpected but noted they were blessed by the fact he remained cancer-free.

Neill had been diagnosed with the rare blood cancer in 2022 and underwent extensive chemotherapy and immunotherapy before participating in a clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy. In April 2026, he confirmed a recent scan showed no cancer in his body. Friends and colleagues indicated that the intensive treatments had...