.jpg)
4 hours ago
2
Gary Sinise’s Son McCanna “Mac” Sinise Dead at 33
Gary Sinise wanted to be there for his family.
So when the Forrest Gump star’s son, Mac Sinise, was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer called chordoma in 2019 at 27 years old, Gary stepped away from life in Hollywood to put everything he had into "trying to find this miracle for Mac."
"He was in the hospital for six out of the first eight months of the year, and that's when I stopped acting," Gary told People in an interview published May 14. "I told my team, my agents and managers and everything, I just can't leave home to go to jobs."
And while the actor shared his son "knew from the beginning that he had an uphill battle to fight," the situation was made even tougher by the fact that Gary's wife, Moira Harris, was concluding her own breast cancer treatment at the time. And while Moira recovered from her stage three diagnosis, Mac passed after a five year cancer battle in January 2024. He was 33 years old.
The composer handled his battle with "pure grace and courage," Gary emphasized, adding how it was a challenge to watch his son struggle. "There were days that were tough," he added. "Days where anyone who's gone through this kind of thing knows what I'm talking about."
Instagram/Gary Sinise
He continued, "You're trying to fight, you're the caregiver. You're trying to fight hard, you're trying to figure stuff out, you're trying to take the pain away. You're trying to take any thought of cancer away from the patient so they don't have to think about it. And sometimes you just fall down."
In those moments where he felt like he "couldn't do enough," Gary had to "say a little prayer to get back up."
But he also took joy in seeing how Mac persevered amid his cancer battle, including learning to play the harmonica after being unable to play his other instruments due to becoming paralyzed from the chest down or working with The Gary Sinise Foundation, founded by the CSI: NY alum in 2011, serving veterans.
"If he wasn't in pain or sick from the treatment," Gary noted, "he was trying to live."
When Mac passed away in 2024, Gary found solace in knowing his son was at peace in the end.
"He was graceful in accepting what was happening to him," he said. "And I saw him smile a whole bunch in the hospital before he couldn't smile anymore."
While Gary—also dad to Sophie Sinise, 36, and Ella Sinise, 33—and his family are still mourning the loss, they are keeping Mac alive through his music, with the Emmy winner expressing that he felt "blessed" that his son had such a gift.
"I want people to hear his music," he said. "I want people to share it. I’m on a mission.”
With his Hollywood life behind him, Gary's found contentment in his new home of Tennessee. And for now, he has no plans to leave, especially as he takes on his latest role of “papa” to his five grandchildren.
"I haven't been back to work since 2019," he shared, adding that when it comes to his acting future, "It's possible, something may come along and it'll be right, but it's harder to leave home now for long periods of time because I just want to be around the family."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
English (US)