Sam NeillAn old girlfriend Laura Tingle breaks his silence with a touching tribute after his sudden death.
“Sweet Dreams dear Sam,” Tingle, 65, wrote on Instagram on Monday, July 13, after news broke earlier that day that Neill had died at the age of 78.
An Australian journalist shared a video of the former couple's time together John Hiatt2014 single “Long Time Comin'.”
Pictures of Neill and Tingle holding hands, kissing each other sweetly on the forehead and smiling for the camera appeared among the pictures Jurassic Park the actor walks with friends, sings with friends and explores the great outdoors.
The tribute had an added sense of melancholy and heartache with the lyrics along the lines, “And if I'm telling the truth / All these memories of you / So that's why I play the game / My friend said, 'It's been a long time coming' / Like it never came.”. Hiatt's verse continued, “I've sung these songs a thousand times / Since I was young / It's been a long time comin' and the drummer keeps the drum / Your work is never done.
Sam Neill and Laura Tingle.
Courtesy of Laura Tingle/InstagramAt one point in the video, Tingle and Neill do a translation of the John Prine“Despite Us” during the song, giving a rare glimpse into their relationship.
Neill's family confirmed his death on Monday, sharing that he died in Sydney, Australia, “surrounded by family.”
Celebrities are mourning the loss of Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders star Sam Neill. Neill's family announced on Monday, July 13, that he had died suddenly at the age of 78. They promised that “more details will be shared later,” asking for privacy as they assess the loss. “It is with great sadness that Sam Neill's whānau […]
They noted in a statement on social media that although his death was “sudden and unexpected,” his loved ones were “blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free” after battling the disease for five years before being given a clean bill of health in April.
Tingle, on the other hand, was Neill's last girlfriend before his death. The couple dated from 2018 to 2021.
Neither Tingle nor Neill have spoken much about their three-year romance, but Australia's Nine.com reported that Neill once joked about their swing, saying, “My idea is that I'm going into politics; it's on the wine.”
Sam Neill and Laura Tingle.
Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for AFIBefore his relationship with Tingle, Neill was married to her Lisa Harrow from 1980 to 1989. The couple has one child, son Tim, born in 1983.
The actress married a Japanese makeup artist Noriko Watanabe in 1989 after meeting in Dead Calm. The couple welcomed daughter Elena in 1991 and Neill adopted Watanabe's daughter, Maiko, from a previous relationship. Neill and Watanabe split in 2017.
Neill's eldest son, Andrew, was born in his early 20s and was put up for adoption. Father and son reunited in 1994.
After the actor's death, Heather MitchellNeill, with whom she briefly dated in the '80s – and went on to become a lifelong friend – also mourned the loss, recalling how she heard the heartbreaking news on Monday.
“I received this news, a call, from someone really close to him. [I] he didn't ask too many questions,” Mitchell, 68, told ABC's 7.30, noting that “it's up to the family and those closest to him to disclose the circumstances.”
I The Great Gatsby The actress admitted, “I haven't processed it at all. I'm so shocked.”
Despite the hole Neill's death left in Mitchell's heart, he said, “I feel strongly that Sam, like in that award, said he feared retirement more than death. I think that's true. He identified a lot with his work and it meant a lot to him and I don't think Sam would be happy not working. If he couldn't work I wouldn't have thought about it.”
