In Memoriam: Julian Sands

Actor Julian Sands’ death was confirmed at the end of June, five months after he disappeared during bad weather in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel Mountains, CA, in January 2023. Passionate about mountaineering, he was fully aware of the dangers and exhilaration of a solo ascent. Asked in an interview a couple of years ago when he was happiest, his reply was:

"Close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning."

Now it seems impossible that he is gone, leaving an extraordinary legacy of work for an actor whose official biography so often began on a variant of “tall, gaunt, and particularly effective in horror and drama films.” His roles ranged from horror, romance, sitcom to arthouse, and dozens of minor roles in TV series. A whole generation of women swooned at his breakout film role as George Emerson in A Room With A View, and he might have chosen a career in costume drama.