Matt Damon’s Father Passes At 74
Matt Damon’s father has passed on after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jennifer Allen, a representative for Matt Damon, speaking to the Hollywood Reporter revealed that Kent Damon died December 14 after fighting cancer for several years. The 74-year-old had publicly talked about the disease in 2011 and was in remission from complications stemming from multiple myeloma.
Myeloma is a rare blood disease that affects the bone marrow.
According to the rep, the Oscar-winning actor’s father was first diagnosed with the disease in 2010 and was responding to treatment. However, his condition worsened recently, with the Jason Bourne star imploring fans to pray for his dad just a few weeks ago.
In a bid to drum up awareness for the incurable disease, Damon had hosted private fundraisers in Los Angeles and attended benefits for Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cancer Center in Boston to raise money for cancer research and treatment.
The Good Will Hunting actor had told the press that his father was valiantly fighting the disease but pulled out of the BAFTA Britannia Awards in October to be by his side. The esteemed awards saw the 47-year-old actor honored with the Stanley Kubrick Award for Excellence in Film in absentia.
Kent Damon had consistently showered praise on his famous son for being a great husband and father to his four daughters.
Kent Damon, Father of Matt Damon, Dies at 74 https://t.co/4vwWkY1YPU pic.twitter.com/5hERqOPgLf
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) December 24, 2017
In a 2011 event, organized by his son to honor doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for devoting their time to cancer treatment, Kent Damon joked about the celebrity status of his son after seeing his Academy Award nomination for Good Will Hunting in 1997, alongside other seasoned actors.
“We try not to take this celebrity deal too seriously. There was a picture of Robert Duvall, Peter Fonda, and Dustin Hoffman—then there was a picture of my 27-year-old son. He didn’t belong there with all these seasoned actors!”
The LA Times is reporting that Kent’s worsening health was the reason why Matt backed out of a promotional campaign for his latest movie, Downsizing.
Many people had believed that the Hollywood actor was a no-show because of the inflammatory remarks he made about sexual assault in Hollywood during an ABC News interview.
As reported by the Telegraph, his controversial remarks have generated a firestorm with over 20,000 people petitioning that the role of The Departed star in the all-female Ocean’s 11 reboot be scrapped.
