‘We’ll Miss You’: Jennifer Aniston shares emotional tribute as she grieves over sudden death of The Morning Show’s camera assistant
- The 53-year-old actress paid tribute to camera assistant Eric Gunnar Mortensen
- Gunnar died at the age of 39 on Monday in a motorcycle accident on Highway 74
Jennifer Aniston paid tribute to The Morning Show’s camera assistant, Eric Gunnar Mortensen, after he died “suddenly” in the wake of a motorcycle accident.
The 53-year-old actress took to Instagram Stories on Thursday to pay her respects to her late colleague, whom she described as “skilled and dedicated to his work”.
Gunnar died at the age of 39 on Monday in a motorcycle accident on California Interstate 74, which is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
Grief: Jennifer Aniston (pictured in January 2020) paid tribute to The Morning Show’s camera assistant, Eric Gunnar Mortensen, after he died ‘suddenly’ in the wake of a motorcycle accident.
He was taken to Hemet Global Medical Center after the accident and died about an hour later at 7.47 p.m., according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Jennifer shared an emotional tribute to Gunnar, who she described as ‘one of the bright lights’ on the set of The Morning Show, where she plays Alex Levy.
She wrote: “Last week, we suddenly and tragically lost Gunnar Mortensen. One of the bright lights in our collection themorningshow.
As a photography assistant, he was very skilled and dedicated to his job. In memory of Gunnar, a page has been created to help raise funds for his wife Kelly and 2-year-old son Lars during this difficult time. We will miss you, Gunnar.
Loss: The 53-year-old actress took to Instagram on Thursday to pay her respects to her late colleague who was survived by his wife Kelly and 2-year-old son Lars.
She also shared a link to a GoFundMe page to raise money for the Gunnar family, which has already raised $128,805 (£107,800), beating its $20,000 (£16,000) goal in just two days.
The fundraising page was created by Local 600, which represents photography professionals, and Gunnar has been a member of the group for 13 years, according to diverse.
A description on the page reads: “Local 600 mourns the death of Gunnar Mortensen, the camera assistant who died on Monday, July 4, from injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident. Gunnar is survived by his wife Kelly and 2-year-old son Lars.
In memory of Gunnar, Local 600 created this GoFundMe page to help raise money for his family at this difficult time. We encourage you to donate if you can.
Gunnar has reportedly served on the National Executive Board of the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) since 2013 and has also been the co-chair of the Active Engagement Committee since 2017.
Rebecca Ryan, ICG national executive, praised him, telling Variety: ‘Gunnar was happiest when he shared stories and photos of his family. He found joy and humor in everything and showed us how to follow the guiding light of kindness and laughter.
We left too early. We will carry his spirit forward in his name.
According to Gunnar’s IMBD page, he has worked as a camera assistant on projects including Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé, Lorde’s Green Light Music Video, Yes Day, and Hubie Halloween.
Since 2007, he’s worked on a total of 81 different projects after finding a love for filmmaking when he saw a camera truck pass by him in the 1992 movie Ladybugs. He started his career shooting car commercials in Denver before moving to Los Angeles.
Gunnar was also a founding member of the Society of Focus Technicians, which is now an internationally recognized group, according to IMDB.
‘We’ll Miss You’: Jennifer Gunnar is described as ‘a bright spotlight’ on the set of The Morning Show, playing Alex Levy (pictured in 2019)
“Lifelong beer expert. General travel enthusiast. Social media buff. Zombie maven. Communicator.”