Richard farnsworth suicide note
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Actor Richard Farnsworth Kills Himself
LINCOLN, N.M. — Richard Farnsworth, the oldest leading actor to get an Academy Award nomination, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Friday night, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department said. He was 80.
Farnsworth’s fiancee, Jewely Van Valin, said he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Farnsworth, a former stuntman, was nominated earlier this year for an Oscar for best actor for his performance in “The Straight Story.”
He had been involved in film making for more than 60 years and recently received a special award from the National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas, for his work.
Sheriff Tom Sullivan released a statement Friday night saying Farnsworth died at his home in Lincoln, about 130 miles southeast of Albuquerque. Authorities did not release any further details.
Farnsworth was nominated this year for his portrayal of Alvin Straight, an Iowa man who made headlines in 1994 for riding his lawn mower more than 250 m
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Full of stars: The Straight Story
David Lynch's most unlikely feature examines the pain, regret, love and hope that makes life worth living.
The first time inom watched The Straight Story, my grandmother was still alive.
It was Christmas of 2020, just under a year since she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We knew she was going to die; the question was when. Covid had nixed our plans for a final escape to the Italian Riviera – classed as ‘extremely vulnerable’, Audrey had spent most of that year within the confines of her house, leaving only for monthly chemotherapy appointments and hospital check-ups. She was in remarkably good spirits despite the illness, which had spread throughout her body with remarkable tenacity, but – as was her way – remained restless. Once her oncologist chastised her for moving furniture around days after having chemo. “But it needs moving,” she replied reasonably. “Ask your grandson!” countered my exasperated mother.
Audrey was a ruthlessly practical
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Richard Farnsworth, who basked in glory last April as the oldest man ever nominated for an Academy Award, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Friday at his ranch in Lincoln, New Mexico. He was 80.
His fiancee, Jewel Van Valin, revealed a secret Farnsworth had kept all through the Oscar hoopla: He had been diagnosed several years ago with terminal cancer.
“I was in the other room and I heard the shot,” she told the Associated Press. “He was in incredible pain today. He was going downhill.”
Farnsworth was nominated for his strong and true performance as the hero of David Lynch‘s “The Straight Story,” based on the life of an Iowa man named Alvin Straight, who wanted to visit a dying brother who lived 300 miles away in Wisconsin. Straight’s eyes were not good enough to drive a car, so he drove a lawn tractor all the way there.
“He was very ill in that movie,” Van Valin said, “but phenomenally he made it through. He