“Forrest Gump” star Gary Sinise: He looks back on his son’s death from cancer

At the beginning of the year, “Forrest Gump” star Gary Sinise (69) and his family had to cope with a serious loss. His son McCanna “Mac” Sinise (1990 – 2024) died of cancer at the age of just 33 after a long illness. Now the actor spoke about this tragic turning point in his family’s life and his departure from Hollywood.

He turned his back on Los Angeles in 2021 and moved to Tennessee with his family. At the time, both his son and his wife Moira Harris (70) were battling cancer. He stopped acting for this reason so that he didn’t have to be separated from his family for a long time while his wife and son were seriously ill, Sinise told Fox News. The family also includes two daughters Sophie (36) and Ella Sinise (32).

“My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. My son was diagnosed with a very rare type of cancer,” said the Hollywood star, who is best known for his role as Lt. Dan Taylor is known in “Forrest Gump”. But that’s not all: During this time, his father Robert L. Sinise (93) also suffered a stroke, which is why his mother Mylles S. Alsip (92) needed additional support.

“I had my hands full,” said Sinise. His son became “weaker and weaker” over time due to cancer. “He needed more and more care,” the 69-year-old now looked back. His wife, however, got better after her treatment and remained cancer-free. Helping his son was a “full-time job.” Mac suffered from chordoma, a rare and incurable spinal cord cancer. In February, Sinise announced that his son had died at 33.

In the interview he said that Mac was “happy at the end of his life”. Shortly before his death, he completed his passion project together with his father’s band. Although he was no longer able to play an instrument, he was still able to compose music. His goal was to record the music and turn it into a complete album. He did this together with Lt. Dan Band done it. “That gave me a lot of joy… watching him enjoy those moments,” said Gary Sinise.

The record called “Resurrection & Revival” was released posthumously at the beginning of the year. . The second album was created because Sinise discovered additional compositions in his son’s files. “I didn’t know anything about a lot of this music,” Sinise said. “I just started listening to things.”