Gary Sinese tearfully discussed son’s ‘very serious health challenges’ in TV interview before his death
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Gary Sinise got candid about his late son McCanna’s illness just weeks before his death.
McCanna — also affectionately known as Mac — died on Jan. 5 at the age of 33 after a 5½-year battle with a form of cancer called chordoma.
The “Forrest Gump” star, 68, opened up about Mac and his love of music on Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle” in December 2023.
“For the past several years, he has been dealing with some very serious health challenges,” Sinise said on the program at the time. “[Mac] use to be a drummer and he can’t do that anymore. He put that aside.”
Mac attended the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. He was also a composer, who took up playing the harmonica as his illness progressed since he couldn’t hold drumsticks anymore.
Sinise explained how Mac began listening to songs he penned in college, and reconnected with friend Oliver Schnee to bring the tracks to life.
“To see him come alive again, and rediscover something that was part of his past and rejuvenated him so beautifully,” the “CSI: NY” actor trailed off.
When asked how it felt to see Mac embrace his music again, the proud dad gushed: “It’s beautiful to see. He’s a very talented guy.”
The “Apollo 13” actor shared Mac with wife Moira Harris. They are also parents to daughters Sophie and Ella.
Mac was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and his death was announced on the Gary Sinise Foundation website on Tuesday.
In a tribute to his only son, Sinise wrote: “He fought an uphill battle against a cancer that has no cure, but he never quit trying.”
“Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can,” he went on. “As parents, it is so difficult losing a child. My heart goes out to all who have suffered a similar loss, and to anyone who has lost a loved one.”
Chordoma is a rare form of spinal cancer, that affects one person for every 1 million people per year.
A bone tumor forms in one’s spine or skull base and is considered malignant.
