Julian Sands (1958 - 2023)
Julian Richard Morley Sands (4 January 1958 – 13 January 2023) was an English actor. He is best known for his breakout role as George Emerson in A Room with a View (1985). Other notable films he has appeared in include The Killing Fields (1984), Warlock (1989), Arachnophobia (1990), Naked Lunch (1991), Boxing Helena (1993), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Medallion (2003), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).
On 13 January 2023, Sands went missing while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. On 24 June 2023, human remains were discovered in the area he had been visiting, which were identified as Sands' three days later.
Career
Julian Sands began his film career appearing in supporting roles in films, including Oxford Blues (1984) and The Killing Fields (1984). He also had a cameo as a Greek soldier in the BBC adaptation of The Box of Delights in 1984. He was cast as the romantic lead in the 1985 film A Room with a View. Following the success of A Room with a View and Ken Russell's Gothic (1986) Sands decided to move to Hollywood and pursue a career in American films. In 1986 he starred with Nancy Travis and Omar Sharif in HAREM and in 2002 he starred with Nancy Travis again in Stephen King’s ROSE RED.
Personal life
From 1984 until 1987, Sands was married to Sarah Harvey, a British journalist and author. The couple had one son. On 22 September 1990, Sands married Evgenia Citkowitz – an American playwright, author and journalist who is the daughter of Israel Citkowitz and Lady Caroline Blackwood – after being introduced by John Malkovich, a friend of Sands. The couple had two daughters. Sands was fiercely protective of his family and rarely spoke about his wife or children in interviews.
From 2020 until his death, Sands and his family lived in Los Angeles, California.
Death
On 13 January 2023, just over a week after his 65th birthday, Sands, a dedicated mountaineer, went missing while hiking in Mount Baldy, California, in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. The investigation was hindered by severe storms that occurred shortly after Sands went missing. On 19 January, it was reported that his three adult children had joined the ground search for their father, with his son Henry, along with an experienced climber, retracing the route his father is believed to have taken.
On 25 January, Nick Sands, one of Sands's four brothers, was quoted by the BBC as saying: "I have come to terms with the fact he's gone and for me that's how I've dealt with it."
On 24 June 2023, human remains were found by hikers in the area where Sands had disappeared. His family released their first statement since his disappearance saying "we continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer". On 27 June 2023, the remains were positively identified as Sands.
RIP
