Summary
- Donald Sutherland’s passing leaves a void in Hollywood, but his legacy lives on through his diverse and acclaimed filmography.
- From classic war movies to popular blockbusters, Sutherland’s career spanned the evolution of cinema and his impact was profound.
- Despite never winning an Oscar, Sutherland’s contributions to film, politics, and activism will be remembered for generations to come. His memoir is set to be published in November.
Legendary American actor Donald Sutherland has died at the age of 88, casting a sad mood across Hollywood and in the hearts of cinephiles everywhere. The actor had recently completed his first book, a memoir that will undoubtedly become treasured by his fans and film lovers in general. The book, titled Made Up, But Still True, is set to be published Nov. 12, 2024. The actor passed away in Miami. Sutherland had fought illness for most of his life. As he told The L.A. Times in 1989:
Polio, rheumatic fever, hepatitis, an appendectomy, pneumonia, scarlet fever.
“And spinal meningitis,” the actor said. “I died. . . . “
A reporter chuckled. Sutherland looked perturbed.
“Yes. I died. For four or five seconds,” he said.
Donald Sutherland’s career ran concurrent with the changes across Hollywood and film itself. He began his film career in some of the greatest war movies of all time — The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), and Johnny Got His Gun (1971). This coincided with his growing passion in politics and involvement in anti-war protests, exacerbated after meeting Jane Fonda in her Oscar-winning movie Klute (1971). The two would begin a romantic relationship and life-long friendship, and made the protest film F.T.A. (“f*ck the army”) in 1972, based on their traveling performances.
Sutherland went on to have an extremely diverse career, starring in some of the greatest movies of all time (Don’t Look Now, Ordinary People, JFK, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and some of the most popular (The Hunger Games franchise, Horrible Bosses, National Lampoon’s Animal House). It’s a travesty that he was never nominated for an Academy Award, though he had been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards.
Sutherland leaves behind an extremely talented family of performers, including granddaughter Sarah Sutherland (Catherine Meyer of Veep) and sons Rossif (Orphan: First Kill, Possessor) and Kiefer Sutherland (24, A Few Good Men).
