Andy Whitfield

I loved the Starz series, Spartacus.  The first season was violent, epic, and had more boobies per minute then anything else on television.  The series (both the original Blood in the Sand, and the second season, Gods of the Arena) keeps you interested with the quick cuts of violence and nudity, but the intriguing story line kept you coming back for more.  By the end of the first season, I couldn’t wait for them to continue the story.  Then something terrible happened: Spartacus caught cancer.

Andy Whitfield was the actor that took on the role of Spartacus, and his chiseled features, roguish good looks, and ability to spit out long diatribes that would sound ridiculous coming out of most actors mouths made everyone immediately love him (especially the women!)  After the first season of Spartacus ended, and everyone knew they had a hit on their hands, the future for Andy looked pretty bright.  Then he got an awful diagnosis: he had lymphoma.

The second season of Spartacus was a prequel, telling the backstory of the other actors, giving their lead actor time to heal. However, as is the case for many people diagnosed with lymphoma, Whitfield did not get better.  His disease got worse, and we recently got the sad news about his passing.  Just this week, Andy Whitfield lost his battle with cancer at age 39.

Whitfield’s wife had this to say, “On a beautiful sunny Sydney spring morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18 month battle with lymphoma cancer.  He passed peacefully surrounded by love. Thank you to all his fans whose love and support have help carry him to this point. He will be remembered as the inspiring, courageous and gentle man, father and husband he was.”

We here on the ship will miss Whitfield, and we wish his family and friends well in this difficult time.