'One Last Hurrah': Gena Rowlands' Son Nick Cassavetes Shares Heartfelt Tribute For Late Mom After Her Passing At 94
The iconic actress, known for her roles in A Woman Under the Influence and The Notebook, passed away at her California home on August 14.
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Nick Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands’ son, will keep her spirit alive to honor her after she passed away recently. Rowlands, an iconic actress of the past decades who starred in The Notebook and A Woman Under the Influence, died at 94 of respiratory complications at her home in Indian Wells California on Wednesday, August 14. With her were her husband, Robert, her daughter Alexandra, and many other relatives.
The next day after her death, Cassavetes also posted a heartfelt message about his mother on Instagram. Attached to the photo where the two are smiling, he wrote: “One last hurrah. Love you, mom. See you soon…” Considering the nature of their relationship and Scheana’s popularity as an actress, the post can be seen as the son bidding farewell to his dear mother.
Nick Cassavetes, 65, remained devoted to keeping the memory of his mother, Gena Rowlands, alive and celebrating her legacy with posts on Stories. Of the posts, one could quickly identify an image of Rowlands in a scene from the 1980 movie, Gloria, where she played the lead character.
Another slide included a close-up photograph of Rowlands with her husband John Cassavetes caressing his hand while acting in their 1977 film Opening Night. The message that was sent along with the photograph said, “Another great team reunited! RIP Gena Rowlands," which indicated the closeness of the couple that was portrayed in the series and in their actual lives. John was married to Gena S. and they were blessed with three children namely, Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe before the demise of John in 1989 through cirrhosis disease complications at the age of 59 years.
Rowlands wed retired businessman Robert Forrest in 2012, Nick calls him Bob. Their marriage gave Rowlands comfort and company in her old age. By these payers, Cassavetes pays his tribute to his mother’s life, a career woman, and the love that both he and his father treasured from her.
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Gena Rowlands’ passing at 94 is something that changes the lives of family members and friends, most especially Nick Cassavetes. The two had a strong friendship that was both personal and professional, especially when they jointly worked on the movie titled The Notebook in 2004. Rowlands portrayed Allie, an older character with Alzheimer’s disease, something Rowlands would be faced with later in her life.
In an interview to the Entertainment Weekly two months before the death of Lisa, Nick said that his mother was a victim of the Alzheimer’s disease that had been affecting her for the last five years. Looking back to their collaboration on The Notebook, he mentioned that they had invested a lot of time in research of the Alzheimer’s disease in order to make the events of the movie true to life. The experience of making the film turned into a painful drama when Rowlands began experiencing dementia herself.
He told Entertainment Weekly, "I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer's and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she's had Alzheimer's."
During the shooting, Cassavetes was able to capture the surreality of the shooting saying he never thought his mother was acting Alzheimer's when she was truly diagnosed with it. However, The Notebook is a rather popular movie, and Cassavetes virtually stated that he is happy it was made and people appreciated it, “She's in full dementia. And it's so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it's on us."
Rowlands continues to make a difference today through the impact of her roles and through the stories of people who knew her. Her work as a producer and the story of her life is, without a doubt, tied to her exciting and cherished role of Allie.
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