The Oscar nominee's Chihuahua, Loki, one of the dogs memorably thanked by Rourke in his Golden Globe acceptance speech, died in his arms Monday night.
I'd like to thank all my dogs, the ones who are here and the ones who aren't here anymore," The Wrestler star said when accepting his Best Actor prize last month.
A representative for Rourke, Judy Woloshen, said the actor's beloved dog died Monday night.
Says Rourke: "Loki is deeply missed but with me in spirit. I feel very blessed that she fell asleep peacefully in my arms."
Loki will leave behind a legacy. Just last month, the comeback actor and his favorite Chihuahua posed in a PETA ad touting spay/neuter, which read, "Have the Cojones to Fix Your Dog."
Loki was a constant companion to the actor, who called the pup the love of his life, at the Venice Film Festival in September.
"Sometimes, when a man is alone, that's all you got is your dog. And they've meant the world to me," he said.
In a pre-Oscar interview, Rourke told Barbara Walters that his dogs were the only ones there for him when his life was self-destructing, with both his marriage and career faltering.
His other pets include a pug and several rescue dogs saved from shelters.
Rourke credits Loki's father, a chihuahua called Beau Jack, with saving his life during a low point in his career. "One time things were so bad I didn't want to be here any more. Then I see Beau Jack looking at me as if to say, 'But we need you.'"
When Beau Jack died in 2002, Rourke attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for 45 minutes then took his body to a nearby church to be blessed. According to a New York Times interviewer, Rourke has set up a room in his Greenwich Village home as a shrine to his late chihuahuas, with framed photographs surrounded by candles and rosary beads.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment