From the debut of “Spartacus: Blood & Sand” on Starz, I was hooked on the amazing series.  I sat on the edge of my couch to catch every new episode, and fell in love with Spartacus, Crixus, and the rest of the talented cast.

My love for the show blossomed into a full out lust for Manu Bennett, who played the role of Crixus, and along side of that I could easily profess my love for Spartacus played by Andy Whitfield.  I know what you are thinking, “Jake, you just like oily naked gladiators, and that is why you liked the show.”

Indeed.  However heterosexual fans across the globe also fell in love with the show for it’s amazing “edge of your seat” plot, and the edgy portrayal of Rome that finally did the story of Spartacus some real justice.  Look this has been a hard year, and full of death for me.  I am not going to go into that, but today I was laying in bed with a huge migraine, and sleeping in my dark room.  At about 10:30 tonight I began to feel better, and I went to check my Facebook and my friend Tom had posted an article that made my heart break.

Spartacus Star Andy Whitfield Passes Away (Source)

With all of my financial woes, and hardships over the past month it was the straw that broke the camel’s back and I busted in to a very loud fit of crying and have not been able to stop since.  As I write this, tears are streaming down my face, because I have been sending well wishes to Andy Whitfield since his diagnosis almost 18 months ago.  Starz, who follows me on Twitter, knows that I am a tremendously dedicated fan (Re-Tweeting to their followers about my lust for Manu Bennett) and now I am just completely without words.

I feel like I am going through the stages of grief, stricken with anger that Andy Whitfield would be stricken with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and taken from us at the peak of his career with the success of Spartacus at the age of 39.  Not to mention it is 9/11, and that date already carries a weight on me anyway.

Andrew, I love you.  I wish Andrew’s wife all of the love that I can give through my blog, and I am so sorry for your loss.  I wish that I could single handedly change the course of time, and change this outcome.  I wish that I could have had the opportunity to do more to help with his fight.  I wish, simply, that I could do something to ease the pain of this tradgety.

The irony of all of this is that Spartacus held his wife in “Spartacus: Blood & Sand” as she lay dying in his arms, and in reality Andrew Whitfield passed away “on a sunny Sydney morning,  in the arms of his Wife.” (Source)

Starz had this statement to make about the passing of Andrew Whitfield:

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield,” said Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht. “We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in Spartacus and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life. Andy was an inspiration to all of us as he faced this very personal battle with courage, strength and grace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. He will live on in the hearts of his family, friends and fans.”

“No words to express the depth of such a loss. You will be deeply missed, my brother,” said Spartacus creator Steven DeKnight on Twitter. (Source)

Another posting that I ran across today said it best about how much people loved Andy Whitfield, and had come to embrace the character of Spartacus with open arms:

Backstage at Comic-Con in 2010, Whitfield was preparing to greet Spartacus fans after spending a months out of the limelight to recover. He was so nervous because he didn’t want fans to somehow be disappointed. Yet when he walked out, Whitfield didn’t have to say a word — the crowd just roared. Here’s that interview: (Source)

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Andy, I love you.  My heart goes out to you and your family, and I will always appreciate your amazing talent.  To my FRIENDS at Starz, and the rest of the Spartacus cast – I am sorry for your loss as well, and I will always support you.  I love you all as well too.

With All My Love,
Jake A. Wheat

PS.  I will be crying for your loss for a while, because that is how much I respected you, Starz, and everything that Spartacus represented.