Images: AFP/Gregg Deguire, Instagram/@darrencriss
Darren Criss revealed that his father, Charles William Criss Jr., has passed away after years of living with a rare heart condition.
The “Glee” star announced his family’s loss on his Instagram page yesterday, April 28. Darren honored his father with a heartfelt message along with old photos of his dad and his family.
“Bill Criss has left the building,” Darren said. “After many years of coping with a rare heart condition—which, true to his form, very few would have ever been aware of—he finally checked out peacefully yesterday morning, surrounded by his loved ones.”
He added that his father had lived an “extraordinary life.”
Darren then described his father as a “well-read and well-traveled” man who could talk about anything.
“He was as deliriously charming as he was relentlessly selfless; always putting other people first, making anybody who ever got into a conversation with him genuinely feel like they were the most incredible person in the room,” he said.
“And although he would have been the first to gracefully protest it, the simple truth is that he was in fact, every inch the exemplary man: a devoted husband, an outstanding father, a loving grandparent.”
Darren also spoke about how he spent most of his life trying to be like his dad, who he considered a “true gentleman through and through” and was a “constant source of joy and inspiration” for him.
While his father has already passed away, Darren expressed how grateful he was that his dad saw him accomplish a few of the “incredible things” his father did.
“He was there for all the greatest moments of my life, which of course, he always dressed up for,” Darren added. “His kind blue eyes, big laugh and infamous warm smile could not have been a better representation of who he was to his core.”
“I cherished him every day,” he said, “and will forever.” /ra
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