According to The Guardian, the private funeral for Philip Seymour Hoffman was held in Manhattan today and attracted a sombre audience that included Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ethan Hawke, Louis CK, Ellen Burstyn and Spike Lee. The list of mourners also included Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Mary Louise Parker, John Slattery, Jerry Stiller, Marisa Tomei, Diane Sawyer and her director husband, Mike Nichols.
The ceremony was being held at the Church of St Ignatius Loyola, the same limestone church that hosted the funerals of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Lena Horne and Aaliyah. The 1898 Baroque-style marble interior is reminiscent of a Roman basilica.
A larger memorial service is being planned for later this month. On Thursday evening, family and close friends gathered for a private wake at the Frank E Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan.
The theatre community mourned the actor on Wednesday with a candlelit vigil outside his beloved Labyrinth Theatre Company and Broadway’s marquee lights were turned off for a minute.