Tributes pour in for Richardson from acting world

Luminaries from the world of cinema and theatre came together to pay tribute to late
British actress Natasha Richardson.

Broadway dimmed its lights on Thursday in honour of Richardson, who died on Wednesday in a New York hospital two days after suffering serious head injury during a beginners' skiing lesson in Canada where she was holidaying with her two children.

"The Broadway community is shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our finest young actresses," said Charlotte St Martin, director of the Broadway League.

Richardson is survived by her husband, actor Liam Neeson, and their sons Micheal, 13, and Daniel Jack, 12. Dame Judi Dench, who worked with Richardson on a 1987
production of Ibsen's Ghost, said, 'She had an incredibly luminous quality that you seldom see, and a great sense of humour. She was a really great actress and seemed to simply shine in both film and theatre," she was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.

Lindsay Lohan, who played her daughter in the 1998 film The Parent Trap, said, "She was a wonderful woman and actress, and treated me like I was her own. My heart goes out to her family. This is a tragic loss."

Film director Michael Winner said, "She was a wonderful actress and she had not yet fulfilled her possibilities. It's a twinkle and a sparkle that has left the world." 

Hollywood stars Demi Moore and Martha Stewart also left messages of condolences on Twitter. 

"I am sending out prayers for Natasha Richardson and her family," Moore wrote.

Jane Fonda wrote on her official blog, "I first met her on the set of Julia [in which she starred with Vanessa Redgrave]. She was a little girl but already beautiful and graceful. It didn't surprise me that she became such a talented actor.

"I wanted to go to the Lenox Hill Hospital where I was told she had been taken to see if there was anything I could do for Vanessa (Redgrave), any comfort I could bring but today was a two-show day and as the curtain went up tonight I heard the tragic news.

Actor Kevin Spacey, artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre in London, paid tribute to the late actress for her "passion, devotion and talent".

"There are no words to express how tragic Natasha Richardson's untimely passing is for the theatre community. 

"Her passion, devotion and talent will forever be etched on those who saw her work on the stage. The bloodlines of greatness were always there and she committed herself to
every role she tackled." 

Sam Mendes, who directed her in a 1998 Broadway production of "Cabaret," said, "Natasha combined the best of Redgrave and Richardson: the enormous depth and emotional force of a great actor on the one hand, and the intelligence and objectivity of a great director on the other.

"She was one of a kind, a magnificent actress," the British media quoted him as saying.

The daughter of Oscar-winning British stage and screen legend Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson suffered a brain damage from the fall which was a "blunt impact to the head," a spokeswoman for New York's medical examiner said following a post-mortem examination.

The actress was reportedly not wearing a helmet when the accident happened.        Richardson, who belonged to the Redgrave dynasty of actors, starred in more than 30 Hollywood films like Parent Trap, Maid In Manhattan and Wild Child but was best known for her stage work.

She won a Tony award for her performance in as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes's production of Cabaret in 1998.