If this story doesn’t restore your faith in humanity, then nothing will.
People are often too quick to dismiss celebrities and famous pop-culture figures, but in this example, some very notable Hollywood stars came through for a terminally ill man, making him immeasurably happy on his birthday before he passed away.
The sick man’s son, James Calder (who shares the name with his father), wanted to do something special for his dad, who was suffering from an advanced case of non-smoker’s lung cancer. As Calder outlined in a blog for The Huffington Post, the idea started off as a “virtual birthday party” on Facebook, where friends and family could post well wishes, photos, video messages and written words.
As the posts started multiplying, an idea started gestating in Calder’s brain: “We thought about who we could reach out to for a birthday message that would really impress my dad. We immediately thought of his favourite TV show, Seinfeld,” he wrote.
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But Calder’s family never anticipated what would come next: a slew of video and phone messages from the Seinfeld cast, including biggies like Michael Richards (Kramer) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine).
“We were in complete shock,” said Calder to Global News. “They started rolling in as dad’s health was declining, so they were a great distraction for my mom, siblings and wife during a tough time for our family. Each one that came in motivated us to try to reach out to others. We also posted them in the private Facebook group for all of dad’s friends and family to see.”
You can watch some of these video messages in the clips, above. To see them all, you can visit Calder’s YouTube page.
Calder believes his father would have been overjoyed at the attention this story has gotten.
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“I know that my dad would have enjoyed how this story went internationally viral, and I know that his spirit is with us along for this ride,” said Calder. “He was a big news guy, constantly talking about politics and current events. Today, the story was on CNN and trending on Facebook and I called my mom and we talked about how dad really would have been impressed with the outpouring of love.”
He is eternally grateful to the cast of Seinfeld for helping provide happiness to his father during his final days.
(Calder hopes that his story can help contribute to the cause, and if you’re feeling moved, head on over to the Canadian Cancer Society to donate.)
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