Wake held for Natasha Richardson in New York

Wake held for Natasha Richardson in New York
Wake held for Natasha Richardson in New York (Image credit: PA Wire/PA Photos)

The family of actress Natasha Richardson, who died following a skiing accident this week, have held a wake for her in New York. Richardson's husband, actor Liam Neeson, and the couple's two teenage sons were joined by her mother Vanessa Redgrave and sister Joely Richardson at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan. On Friday night, theatres in London's West End dimmed their lights in tribute to the actress, who was renowned for her stage work. A similar gesture was made at Broadway theatres on Thursday. Neeson was present to see the tribute on Broadway, along with her mother and sister, as well as actors Laura Linney, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. In London, the lights went down in 52 theatres "as a mark of respect for both Natasha Richardson and her immediate family and for the Redgrave family as a whole who have made such a unique contribution to British theatre". Meanwhile, it emerged that the 45-year-old's life could have been saved if she had worn a rented ski helmet costing just £6. Staff at the Mont Tremblant ski resort in Canada, where the accident happened, said she had refused the offer of a helmet. "We are heartbroken that we didn't do more to persuade her to wear one," a staff member at the resort told The Sun.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.