CINEMA
Donald Sutherland’s wives, children, family life: Was he close to his son Kiefer?
The late American actor was married three times and leaves behind five children - some of whom were named after his close friends and peers.
Hollywood is in mourning with the new that iconic Canadian actor Donald Sutherland has passed away. The news was confirmed by his eldest son Keifer. Sutherland had been suffering from a long illness and died aged 88.
Sutherland’s enjoyed a lengthy career, spanning nearly 60 years, and first gained prominence for his performances in some of the big films of the early 70s such as in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H, Kelly’s Heroes, Klute and Don’t Look Now, showing himself to be a highly versatile actor, who could seamlessly shift from comedy to more serious, complex character roles.
He was married three times. He wed his college sweetheart Lois May Hardwick in 1959. The marriage lasted seven years, the couple separating just as Sutherland’s acting career was starting to take off.
Sutherland becomes a father to twins
Through work he met actress Shirley Douglas, the daughter of New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Tommy Douglas, a politician who was partly responsible for setting up Medicare and Canada’s pension system. The couple married in 1966. With Shirley, Donald became a father for the first time - to boy-girl twins: Kiefer and Rachel, born at St Mary’s Hospital in London in December 1966.
Sutherland decided to name his son after American film director Warren Kiefer, who worked with him in his first feature film, Castle of the Living Dead in 1964. It was the start of a trend, as Donald would successively honor those who had helped him in his career, colleague and superiors, by naming his own children after them. His marriage with Shirley grew strained after she became increasingly immersed in politics during the turbulent end of the 60s. They separated and divorced in 1970. Shirley passed away, aged 86 on 5 April 2020.
An affair with Klute co-star Jane Fonda followed - Fonda was married to Roger Vadim during the time of their romance. But their tryst was intense and all over by the time Sutherland met French Canadian actress Francine Racette on the set of Alien Thunder in 1972. The couple married that year and had three sons: Rossif, Angus Redford and Roeg - once again all named after people who had a positive influence in Sutherland’s life - Rossif was named after French director Frédéric Rossif, Angus Redford after Robert Redford and Roeg after English director Nicolas Roeg (Don’t Look Now, Performance, Walkabout, The Man who Fell to Earth...).
When Donald met Francine
Donald’s marriage to Francine turned out to be his most enduring and one of the longest lasting in Hollywood - they were together for 52 years, until his death in Miami this week.
A family now in mourning with the news of his passing. Donald always expressed how proud he was of his sons, but for a while, Keifer, who wuith his twin sister was raised by Shirley, was estranged from his father and unaware of his earlier work.
The two did appear together, as father and son, in in 2015′s Forsaken. His father also accompanied him when he was inducted into Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2008 and delivered a memorable speech.
It was Kiefer who had the heartbreaking task of announcing his father’s passing. He said in a statement: “With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived..”