Russell Crowe, 56, took to on Twitter on Tuesday to announce that his beloved father John Alexander Crowe, 85, had sadly died.
WATCH: Terri Irwin’s unwavering love for Steve Irwin
In a series of tweets, the Kiwi-born actor wrote that his “dear old man, my beautiful dad, the most gentle of men, has passed away”.
Among the people sharing their condolences to the Gladiator star was longtime friend Terri Irwin who penned her own touching tribute to Russell’s dad.
“Today is heartbreaking. Alex Crowe was the most loving, loyal, funny, cheeky, wonderful person,” Terri wrote on Twitter.
“The love he shared with Jocelyn will most certainly live on. He was truly blessed to have such a close family, dear friends, and full life. He will be missed. He will be remembered.”
John Alexander tragically died onboard a regional flight to Coffs Harbour, NSW as the airline crew battled to keep him alive.
“They basically gave him CPR for who knows how long… probably 18 to 20 minutes,” passenger Andrew Fraser told 7News.
“They worked tirelessly and continued after the flight had landed.”
In Russell’s heartfelt Twitter post, he wrote: “I arrived back in the bush last night. Today, although the sun is shining and the torrential rain has abated, this date will forever be tinged with sadness. My dear old man, my beautiful dad, the most gentle of men has passed away.”
The actor continued: “I’m posting this because I know there are people all over the world whose heart he touched and whose ribs he tickled with his sparkly eyes and his cheeky attitude to everyone and everything and this is probably as efficient a method as any to pass on the news.”
Russell and Terri have long been close, with their friendship spanning many years.
In fact, when Terri lost husband Steve in 2006, it was Russell that had been one of the first people to offer his condolences.
“It meant a lot,” she previously said. “And now I kind of feel sorry for him because he is forever being linked to me so I could be cramping his style – same for Richard Wilkins.”
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