13 September,2011 09:01 AM IST | | Agencies
Spartacus actor Andy Whitfield, who was battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma, has died. He was 39.
The Australian actor's wife, Vashti, issued a statement saying her husband died on a "sunny Sydney morning in the 'arms of his loving wife".
His TV network, Starz, also released a statement yesterday reacting to the news that he had finally succumbed to cancer.
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"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield," said Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht.
"We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in Spartacus and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life."
His Spartacus director, Steve DeKnight, took to Twitter to express his pain. "No words to express the depth of such a loss. You will be deeply missed, my brother," he wrote.
Whitfield was diagnosed with the disease in March, 2010 and began treatment immediately in New Zealand.
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