Donald Sutherland’s death rocked the nation in June 2024 when he passed away at the age of 88.
The Hunger Games star racked up more than 200 acting credits across his incredible career, welcoming five children – many of whom went on to follow in his famous footsteps. Donald was dad to son Kiefer Sutherland, who skyrocketed to fame with his starring role in US crime drama 24.
Donald also welcomed son Rossif – an actor in everything from ER to Orphan: First Kill – and Angus, who worked as a producer on flick 1917. He was grandfather to Veep actress Sarah Sutherland, and dad to daughter Rachel who also works in film production.
Sadly, he died on June 20th, 2024, after being admitted to hospice care for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (). The common condition affects around 2% of the UK population, and affects the lungs and causes breathing difficulties.
Kiefer announced the news of his father’s passing at the time, writing on X: “With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away.
Donald Sutherland died aged 88 after a long illness (Image: Getty)
“I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
His talent agency only confirmed that Donald suffered from a “long illness” – but Donald had suffered a range of health conditions in his earlier life.
As a child, he was diagnosed with hepatitis, rheumatic fever and polio, which left one of his legs shorter than the other.
Donald’s son Kiefer paid an emotional tribute to his father (Image: Getty)
While filming Kelly’s Heroes in 1970, Donald suffered a terrifying near-death experience after jetting off to Yugoslavia to film for a day.
He revealed: “They took me to hospital – I had spinal meningitis. They didn’t have the antibiotics, so I went into a coma, and they tell me that for a few seconds, I died. I saw the blue tunnel, and I started going down it. I saw the white light. I dug my feet in.”