Categories Charity Helen Personal and Family Life Philanthropy Print Media Tributes

Thousands Raised in Memory of ‘Inspiring’ Brother and His Aunt, Helen McCrory

Riding all the Way from London to Madrid  for Hugo and Helen

by Lily Ford | Evening Standard | July 21, 2022

An Army officer has raised thousands of pounds for charity by cycling 2,100 kilometres from London to Madrid in memory of his “inspiring” brother and his aunt, actress Helen McCrory. Tom Yaxley, 32, is the brother of Hugo Yaxley and nephew of Damian, as well as McCrory, who died from cancer in April 2021 aged 52.

Mr. Yaxley has embarked on the cycle across Europe for Ride4Hugo, a series of fundraising events organised by friends and family which have earned more than £115,000 for four charities. Through tough gruelling climbs, injury, pain, heat, traffic and SHEEP! Nothing stopped him.

Add to their Collection Pot here
View photos of the bike challenge in our Gallery here

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Categories Charity Helen Narrator Personal and Family Life Philanthropy Tributes

Damian Lewis Narrates Helen McCrory’s Speech for Graduates

UCS Hampstead as Sir HvH Arts Foundation Patron

Source: UCS Hampstead | Twitter | June 30, 2021
Source: Sir HvH Arts | Instagram | June 30, 2021

On Wednesday, June 30, 2021, the University College School Hampstead’s graduation began proceedings by remembering Helen McCrory and her powerful message to pupils in 2018 with a narration of her speech by Damian today, speaking to the graduates remotely. UCS Hampstead supports Sir HvH Arts Foundation with their outreach, a foundation near and dear to Helen and now Damian is the Patron for Sir HvH Arts.  For more information about Helen’s UCS speech back in 2018, click here. In 2016, Damian and Helen attended an art exhibition showcasing UCS student’s artwork, chatting with them as well. Read more about that here.

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Categories Helen Personal and Family Life Print Media Tributes

How Helen McCrory Shone, Even in a Haze of Mystery – April 17, 2021

She was unforgettable onstage playing seemingly serene women who rippled with restlessness

by Ben Brantley | New York Times | April 17, 2021

Selfishly, my first feelings on hearing that the uncanny British actress Helen McCrory had died at 52 were of personal betrayal. We were supposed to have shared a long and fruitful future together, she and I. There’d be me on one side of the footlights and her on the other, as she unpacked the secrets of the human heart with a grace and ruthlessness shared by only a few theater performers in each generation.

I never met her, but I knew her — or rather I knew the women she embodied with an intimacy that sometimes seemed like a cruel violation of privacy. When London’s theaters reawakened from their pandemic lockdown, she was supposed to be waiting for me with yet another complete embodiment of a self-surprising life.

Ms. McCrory had become world famous for dark and exotic roles onscreen, as the fiercely patrician witch Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies and the terrifying criminal matriarch Polly Gray in the BBC series “Peaky Blinders.” But for me, she was, above all, a bright creature of the stage and in herself a reason to make a theater trip to London.

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Categories Announcement Helen Personal and Family Life Tributes

Helen McCrory Has Passed Away at the Age of 52 – April 16, 2021

Go Now, Little One

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 16, 2021

We are so shocked and saddened by the terrible news that Helen has passed away. We have Damian, Manon and Gulliver in our thoughts and hope they will find peace in the beautiful memories they created together. Helen was a beautiful soul, a brilliant actress, and a kick-ass woman. Please visit the Helen-McCrory.com Tribute Page to see all the memories people are sharing about her. If you would like leave your own heartfelt comments and condolences, please visit the Tribute Post here.

If you wish to make a donation, the McCrory-Lewis family has asked that donations be made to the Sir Hubert von Herkomer Arts Foundation here.

Categories Helen Personal and Family Life Print Media Tributes

Damian Lewis on His Wife Helen McCrory: The Sunday Times – April 18, 2021

“I’ve never known anyone able to enjoy life as much”

by Damian Lewis | The Sunday Times | April 18, 2021

Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

The star, who has died of cancer at 52, was a brilliant actress and an even better person, writes her husband.

As I sit down to write this, I can hear Helen shouting from the bed, “Keep it short, Damian, it’s not about you.”

I’ll try, but on a weekend when the papers, rightly, will be paying their respects to the Duke of Edinburgh, thousands of others around the world have been remembering m’Duchess, my Little One, royalty in her own right. And I’d like to throw in my tuppence worth …

When I say “royalty”, I am of course referring to the esteem in which Helen is held in our business. Her nickname to many was Dame Helen (apologies, Dame Helen), and although we’ll never know now whether that would have become a reality, I think secretly, we do know.

Continue reading Damian Lewis on His Wife Helen McCrory: The Sunday Times – April 18, 2021