'Speed Racer' Actor Christian Oliver Dead at 51 After Tragic Accident
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 19: Christian Oliver attends the Premiere Of Amazon Prime Video's "Hunters" at DGA Theater on February 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Christian Oliver, known for his work in Speed Racer, The Good German and Valkyrie, and his two young daughters are assumed dead after their plane crashed into Caribbean waters on Thursday, Jan. 4. He was just 51 years old.
According to local police, four bodies were recovered from the wreckage in the ocean surrounding Bequia, an island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, including Oliver, daughters Madita Klepser, 10, and Annik Klepser, 12, and the plane's owner and pilot, Robert Sachs.
One single-engine aircraft took off from J.F. Mitchell Airport in Paget Farm shortly after noon local time. According to police, the plane, which was bound for St. Lucia, "experienced difficulties and plummeted into the ocean" just "moments" after take-off.
Nearby fishermen and divers immediately offered assistance in the aftermath, but, unfortunately, all four souls on board were pronounced deceased after they were recovered.
Official causes of death are pending autopsies.
Oliver and his girls seemed to be celebrating the holidays with a tropical vacation, as his final social media post, a photo of a sailboat moored just off-beach at sunset, shared on Jan. 1, included the caption, "Greetings from somewhere in paradise! To community and love …2024 her [sic] we come !"
Oliver was in the middle of shooting the upcoming film Forever Hold Your Peace at the time of his passing. Actress Bai Ling, who says the two were set to shoot a scene together, took to Instagram with a heartfelt tribute to the late actor, sharing a series of photos of them on set together.
"...with tears in my eyes I cannot express the sorrow I felt when our direct Nick called me not long ago, that the plane he took had crashed," she wrote. "I just could not believe it is the truth."
She recalled filming with him last on Dec. 20, with a one-day pick-up shot scheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 6.
"...it was our first and last film together, I loved working with him so much...He was so. nice, works so hard and such a brave #actor and a beautiful gentle person, we played #lovers in this film, just so so so sad ……. And his daughters were so so young …..#rip dear Chrustian may your soul Rest In Peace..."
