Gary Sinise’s son Mac has died aged 33 after battling rare cancer
Gary Sinise.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Capital concertsGary Sinise‘s son McCanna ‘Mac’ Sinise died after five and a half years of battling a rare form of cancer. He was 33.
“Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and are coping as best we can,” said Gary, 68, wrote in tribute at the announcement of his son’s death on Tuesday, February 27 (Mac died on January 24).
Gary continued, “As parents it is so hard to lose a child. My heart goes out to anyone who has suffered a similar loss, and to anyone who has lost a loved one. We all experienced it in one way or another.”
Gary, who is known for his role as Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump and Detective Mac Taylor enter CSI: NYdescribed his son’s battle with Chordoma after being diagnosed in August 2018. (Chordoma is “a rare form of bone cancer that most often occurs in the bones of the spine or skull,” according to the Mayo Clinic.)
Life is like a box of chocolates… or so says Forrest Gump, the beloved Tom Hanks character who won over moviegoers in 1994 with his Southern charm and folksy proverbs passed down from his mother (Sally Field). Based on the novel by Winston Groom, Forrest Gump hit theaters less than four months after Hanks […]
“While our hearts ache as we miss him, we are comforted by the knowledge that Mac is no longer struggling, and inspired and moved by the way he made it happen. He fought a tough battle against a cancer that has no cure, but he never stopped trying,” Gary’s tribute continued, noting that he and his wife Moira Harris – who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2018 but has since gone into remission – had compared Mac to the soldier in 1917 who “keeps getting up again, refuses to give up and keeps running forward.”
Sinise initially revealed Mac’s cancer battle during an interview in December 2023. That same month, he and Harris, 69, took their son to the emergency room.
“He had difficulty breathing and after stabilizing him he was admitted. I stayed with him, as I had done so many times before. For the first few days I thought this was going to be another trip where we would get things under control and go home,” Gary wrote. “But the days became harder and on January 5, with the family around him, he let go. His fight with Chordoma was over and he was at peace.”
The CSI: NY star also provided detailed information about Mac performance. His late son held the position of assistant manager of education and outreach at the Gary Sinise Foundation from February 2017 to 2020, when he left his job due to his battle with cancer. Mac graduated from the University of Southern California, where he studied songwriting and composition at the Thornton School of Music. His album Mac Sinise: resurrection and revival will be released posthumously.
Hollywood mourned many celebrities in 2024. Speed Racer star Christian Oliver (born Christian Klepser) died at the age of 51 in a fatal plane crash on January 5. Oliver was heading home from a Caribbean vacation with his two daughters — Madita and Annik, whom he shares with wife Jessica Klepser — on Jan. 4. […]
“I am so blessed, fortunate and proud to be his father,” Gary wrote, noting that he and Harris wanted to share Mac’s story to “shine a little light on what has been a difficult time.”
Mac is survived by his parents, Gary and Harris, along with his sisters, Sophie and Ella, and their children.
“We were blessed to have you in our lives as a son, brother and friend,” Gary concluded. “And we will miss you and love you forever.”