Natasha Richardson continued to be mourned as colleagues recalled her legendary stage career and paid tribute to the Tony-winning actress who died from a brain injury after a fall on a ski slope.
Broadway theaters dimmed lights in Richardson's honor about 8 p.m. Thursday _ the traditional starting time for evening performances _ for exactly one minute.
Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The Broadway League, the trade organization for Broadway theaters and producers, called Richardson “one of our finest young actresses.”
“Her theatrical lineage is legendary, but her own singular talent shined memorably on any stage she appeared,” she said.
Descended from one of Britain's greatest acting dynasties, including her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson was known for her work in such plays as “Cabaret” (for which she won a Tony) and “Anna Christie” and in the films “Patty Hearst” and “The Handmaid's Tale.”
Richardson died on Wednesday from bleeding in her skull caused by the fall she took on a ski slope at a Canadian resort, an autopsy found. The medical examiner ruled her death an accident.
A spokesman for the family, Los Angeles-based Alan Nierob, said he had no information about funeral arrangements. Instead of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the amfAR foundation for AIDS research, Nierob said. Richardson, whose father died of complications from the disease in 1991, was a longtime supporter of the charity and served on its board of trustees since 2006.
Besides her several memorable stage performances _ among them, the title character of Eugene O'Neill's “Anna Christie,” a 1993 revival in which she co-starred with future husband Liam Neeson _ she appeared in dozens of movies.
Her final feature film, “Wild Child,” has been released internationally but has not been released in the U.S., and Universal Pictures said one had not been scheduled.
