“It was the most beautiful memorial, very touching”: Friends of the Family and A-List, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Keeley House, join Damien Lewis for a service in honor of his wife Helen McCrory, a year after the Peaky Blinders star died from cancer at the age of 52
- EXCLUSIVE: Stars wrap St. Paul’s Church to mark the year of Helen McCrory’s death from breast cancer
- Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Keeley House and Helen’s widow Damien Lewis celebrated their lives
- Beethoven’s Ode to Joy was followed by a prayer and hymn Guide Me, O You Great Savior
- Her children, daughter Manon, 15, read, and son Gulliver, 14, played guitar for the guests.
- She has read about her “leading men,” Bob Dylan’s “Being Alone with You,” and a film called In Her Own Words
By Emma Powell for the Daily Mail
Posted: 22:01, 20 May 2022 | Updated: 01:53, 21 May 2022
Advertising
She was a tour of stage and screen talent.
And those who worked with Helen McCrory backed away from the rain to appear in the crowd to celebrate her life at a “beautiful” memorial service yesterday.
Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Keeley House were among those who packed St. Paul’s Church in London’s Covent Garden, a year after Miss McCrory’s death from breast cancer at the age of 52.
Friends and family reunite a year after Helen McCrory died of breast cancer at age 52
Harry Potter co-star Helen Bonham-Carter (left) is sheltered from the rain as she arrives at St Paul’s Church in London to reminisce about Helen McCrory’s life. Pictured right: Her husband Damian Luis, 51, is pictured arriving with their children.
Keeley House (right) and Matthew McFadden arrive at the Helen McCrory Memorial Service at St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden yesterday
Her husband, Damien Lewis, 51, was pictured arriving with their children, daughter Manon, 15, reading, and son Gulliver, 14, playing guitar.
The one-hour service began with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and was followed by a prayer and hymn Make Me, O Great Redeemer.
The readings included one about her “leading men”, while another was a recital of Maya Angelou’s poem “Touched by an Angel”.
Bob Dylan’s “Being Alone with You” was presented and a film entitled “In Her Own Words” was performed.
A family guest told the Daily Mail: “It was absolutely wonderful and Damian was fantastic in organizing it despite his grief. Gully played guitar, and Manon read all the other actors who played with her, and of course the director of her first National play was here.
“We knew she had been ill for a long time. Fight your way through it, Peaky Blinders, other plays. She had only one arm – the operation had cut the nerve.
“And in the end, she died at home with Damian and everyone around her, just organizing everything, including that [the memorial]. ‘
Stars shrugged in the rain to celebrate Ms. McCrory’s life at a “beautiful” memorial service yesterday in Covent Garden
Dozens of friends, family and colleagues pay tribute to the late actress: Natasha McElhaun (left) leaves the service for Helen McCrory, who died last year at the age of 52 after a battle with cancer
Miss McCrory was best known for her roles as the villain Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films and as the matriarch of Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders, the latest series of which honored her. Pictured: Other guests include Eddie Redmain (above)
A close friend said: “It was just the most beautiful monument. It was very touching. Silent.
Miss McCrory was best known for her roles as the villain Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films and as the matriarch of Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders, the latest series of which honored her.
In addition to her Harry Potter colleagues Miss Bonham Carter and Fiennes, many Peaky Blinders actors were present, including brothers Joe and Finn Cole, who play her screen nephew and son John and Michael Shelby. Other guests included Eddie Redmain, Benedict Cumberbatch and Natasha McElhan.
Lewis, who married Miss McCrory in 2007, announced his death in a heartbreaking statement on social media in April last year.
Named OBE at the 2017 New Year Awards for Merit in Drama, Miss McCrory was also an award-winning stage actress, working with the National Theater, Almeida and Donmar Warehouse, and played Lady Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Rufus Norris, artistic director of the National Theater, said she was “arguably one of the greatest actors of her generation.”
Miss McCrory made her last television appearance in March last year, joining Lewis in Good Morning Britain to promote her work with the charity The Prince’s Trust.
Add Comment