Spielberg, 79, and his wife Kate Capshaw contributed $25,000 to a GoFundMe created by friends of the late actor's wife
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NEED TO KNOW
- Steven Spielberg has donated $25,000 to a fundraiser for James Van Der Beek’s family following the Dawson Creek star’s death
- Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw contributed $25,000 to a GoFundMe created by friends of the actor’s wife
- Van Der Beek’s character in Dawson Creek, a wannabe filmmaker, idolized Spielberg throughout the series
Steven Spielberg has donated $25,000 to a fundraiser for James Van Der Beek’s family following the Dawson Creek star’s death.
On Thursday, Feb. 12, Spielberg, 79, and his wife Kate Capshaw contributed $25,000 to a GoFundMe created by friends of the Dawson Creek star’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, to raise money for their family after the actor’s death from colorectal cancer on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Although the goal for the campaign was originally set at $250,000, the page raised at least $1.8 million by Thursday.
So far, over 35,000 donations have been pledged, several of which are recurring monthly payments.
Other top donors to the GoFundMe include Wicked director Jon M. Chu and talent manager and investor Guy Oseary, who each donated $10,000. The Marla Maples Foundation, a non-profit organization set up by actress Marla Maples, contributed $5,000, and one anonymous donor gave $30,000.
GoFundMe
Among other film and TV roles, Van Der Beek was known for portraying the lead Dawson Leery in Dawson's Creek. He starred on the series alongside Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams for six seasons from 1998 to 2003.
Set in the fictional small town of Capeside, Mass., the popular WB teen chronicled a group of friends whose love lives, hopes and dreams intertwined as they figured out their way through high school and college. Van Der Beek’s character, a wannabe filmmaker, idolized Spielberg throughout the series.
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During a Dawson's Creek cast reunion event held in September in New York City, which was held to benefit F Cancer and Van Der Beek, Spielberg appeared virtually to share a message with the cast.
"Dawson, you made it. Maybe someday, I will get to have a Dawson’s closet," Spielberg said in the clip.
The actor was unable to attend the event after coming down with a stomach virus, but he appeared via video with a pre-recorded message to fans. "I want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theater for being here tonight. From the cast to the crew to everybody who's doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you – you are the best fans in the world," he said.
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Van Der Beek, who shares six kids with Kimberly (daughters Olivia, 15, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 9½, and Gwendolyn, 7, and sons Joshua, 13, and Jeremiah, 4) first announced his cancer diagnosis exclusively with PEOPLE in November 2024, saying he was focusing on his health and family.
"I have colorectal cancer,” he revealed. “I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.”
The cancer was discovered after a routine colonoscopy in August 2023. Going into the appointment, Van Der Beek said he wasn’t worried, but looking back, he was experiencing symptoms.
"It was just a change in bowel habits," he told PEOPLE for the November 2024 cover story. "I thought, I probably need to change my diet a little bit. Maybe I need to stop coffee. Maybe I need to not put cream in the coffee. And then I finally took that out of the diet, and it didn't improve, and I thought, all right, I better go get this checked out."
"I felt really, really good as I was coming out of anesthesia that I had finally done it and looked into it," he continued. "And as I was coming out of the haze, the gastroenterologist said — in his most pleasant bedside manner — it is cancer."
He most recently appeared in the comedy series Overcompensating and is set to appear in Elle, the forthcoming Legally Blonde prequel series premiering later this year.
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