Family And Friends Say A Sad Farewell To Natasha Richardson

Family and friends gathered to say a private, tearful goodbye to Natasha Richardson on Friday in New York.

Her husband, Liam Neeson, her two sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, mother Vanessa Redgrave and sister Joely Richardson were among the grief-stricken attending a private viewing at the American Irish Historical Society on the Upper East Side. Arriving soon after a hearse left the Society’s building, Neeson, wearing a black suit, was described in one report as distraught.

Mathilde Krim, the founding chairman of the AIDS research organization amfAR, told People magazine that Richardson, looked “beautiful, incredibly beautiful” in her casket.

Other attendees, including Mike Nichols, Diane Sawyer, Matthew Modine, Ralph Fiennes, and Uma Thurman, were said to be in shock and visibly upset. That has been the mood since news of Ricahrdson’s fatal accident last Monday at the Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec. She died two days later at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. “Natasha was a very close friend of our family, so it’s been a very, very sad few days and I think it will stay that way for a good while,” said actor Matthew Broderick.

On Thursday night, lights were dimmed in Broadway’s theater district. A photo showed Richardson’s mother, her head shrouded by a knit cap, being hugged by actress Laura Linney as Joely Richardson looked on. London’s theaters lowered their lights, too, on Friday.

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