Posted on 03/30/2008 7:54:41 AM PDT by lunarbicep
Dith Pran, a Khmer Rouge survivor whose experiences in Cambodia were adapted into the award-winning movie The Killing Fields, died early on Sunday at the age of 65, his friend and former New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg said.
Dith, who had been battling pancreatic cancer since January, died in the early hours at a hospital in New Jersey, with his ex-wife at his side.
"Pran was a special person, a very special person. Messages are pouring in from people who met him only once saying that he made a deep impression on them. And he did, on everybody," Mr Schanberg said.
"He really meant everything to me."
Dith had lived in New Jersey while working as a photojournalist at The New York Times - a position he had held since 1980.
Dith's connection with the newspaper began when he worked with Mr Schanberg from 1972 to 1975 covering the Cambodian civil war, when fighting spilled over from neighbouring Vietnam.
When Americans were evacuated from Phnom Penh on April 12, 1975, Dith and Schanberg stayed behind to cover the fall of the city to the communist Khmer Rouge, who were then closing in on the capital.
Mr Schanberg, Dith and two other reporters were arrested by the Khmer Rouge and held for execution, but Dith managed to persuade the Khmer Rouge that the three Westerners were neutral French journalists.
The four were later released and sought refuge in the French embassy until foreigners there were asked to surrender their passports.
RIP Dith Pran, you helped expose the true face of Communism and what happens when politicians sell-out their allies and don’t have the courage and commitment that their soldiers/Marines do.
RIP, Good Man
RIP and prayers for his family.
Didn’t the actor that played him in The Killing Fields also die not that long ago?
I think he was killed in a car-jacking back around 1996.
He is in the Lord’s hand now.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Michael Berch
On 25 February 1996, Ngor was found shot to death in the garage of his apartment building in Los Angeles. Relatives and friends speculated that the killing was revenge for his opposition to the Khmer Rouge.
Haing S. Ngor was a native of Cambodia, and before the war was a physician (obstetrics) and medical officer in the Cambodian army. He became a captive of the Khmer Rouge during the and was imprisoned and tortured; in order to escape execution he denied being a doctor or having an education. He moved to the U.S. as a refugee in 1980, and though he had no formal acting experience, he was chosen to portray photographer Dith Pran in The Killing Fields (1984) and won an Academy Award. He went on to a modestly distinguished acting career, while continuing to work with human rights organizations in Cambodia on improving the conditions in resettlement camps, as well as attempting to bring the perpetrators of the Cambodian massacre to justice. On 25 February 1996, Ngor was found shot to death in the garage of his apartment building in Los Angeles. Relatives and friends speculated that the killing was revenge for his opposition to the Khmer Rouge.
Source: imdb.com
I think initially it was thought that he was killed for political reasons, but later it was determined that it was a theft/murder by a couple of older teens who just wanted money for drugs.
thank you for finding this answer for us.
Prayers to his family and friends. The poor guy got what a few months of social security at best...ugh!!!
A salute to a brave, honorable man!
I had the chance to hear him speak when he was at A&M for a lecture back in the mid 80’s.
He said they had to tone the movie down, as it was much more gruesome than portrayed.
They were afraid that an audience would become numbed.
Rest in peace.
Terrific movie. Amazing times.
RIP to a good man.
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