‘Home Alone’ Actor Diagnosed With Cancer, Undergoes 10-Hour Surgical Procedure as Financial Support Grows
An actor from a beloved Christmas film has been diagnosed with cancer and is preparing to undergo a surgical procedure as part of his treatment plan.
‘Home Alone’
In 1990, a then-unknown ten-year-old child actor named MacCauley Culkin forever changed Christmas-themed movies with several iconic scenes in a new film titled Home Alone. In the holiday flick, which also starred Catherine O’Hara, Kieran Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern, Kevin McCallister, played by MacCauley Culkin, is accidentally overlooked and left at home when his parents and siblings leave for the airport to board an airplane and jet off for the holidays.
It’s bad enough that Kevin’s distraught mother can’t get a flight back home to Chicago to see her son and to make sure he’s ok, but something more sinister is at work, as Kevin soon finds out.
Related: Exactly How Rich Were the McCallisters In ‘Home Alone’?
Two bandits have been casing Kevin’s neighborhood, one of them posing as a police officer checking to make sure residents have their homes protected over the holidays, as the majority of them are traveling away for Christmas. Instead, the “Wet Bandits” plan to use that information to break into the homes and take anything they want. They’re sure the McAllisters’ home will be empty, but when they make their first attempt to break in, they discover the house is occupied.
Related: ‘Home Alone’ Star Listed in Critical Condition in a New York Hospital Ahead of Criminal Trial
What ensues is a series of hilarious holiday hijinks that has kept merry movie-watchers laughing for more than three decades.
No Laughing Matter
Though Home Alone is a holiday comedy film, news about an actor in the film is no laughing matter.
Actor Ken Hudson Campbell, 61, who played the role of Santa Claus in the 1990 film, was diagnosed with cancer and has been raising funds to cover the expenses of a related surgical procedure via a GoFundMe page. Per a statement from his daughter Michaela on the page, the actor had a tumor that had “elusively grown on the bottom of his mouth and began encroaching on his teeth.”
Related:This Hotel is Offering Guests a ‘Home Alone’ Experience
The actor underwent a surgical intervention on December 7, 2023, which was said to have lasted for ten hours. According to his daughter, his treatment plan will also include a six-month recovery period and the possibility of chemotherapy as well.
“We need the world’s help to save Ken,” writes Campbell’s daughter on his GoFundMe page.
“Huge Out-of-Pocket Costs”
She goes on to explain that Campbell lost the health insurance he had through the SAG-AFTRA union, and that he has since switched to a new insurance carrier:
“We are anticipating huge out-of-pocket costs for caregivers/skilled nursing, insurance premiums, medical equipment, transportation, dental implants, dentures, and who knows what else,” his daughter writes. “Our entire immediate family–Kathleen, Richard, and Michaela–are planning on taking care of him as much as we can during this long journey.”
Campbell’s daughter describes her father as a loving family man:
“Ken Campbell is a family man. A loving father of two children with an admirable lust for life and a passion for acting, writing, & sports. It is possible that this procedure will affect his ability to work as an actor in the future. We are asking for your help so that Kenny can use the time ahead to return to health and spend more time with family & friends. Every prayer, positive thought, dollar, or gesture of support means the world to our family.”
UPDATE
As of March 2024, more than $121,000 of the Campbell family’s $150,000 goal has been raised, thanks to the generosity of more than 1,500 fans and fellow actors alike. The largest donations so far have come from actor Steve Carell ($10,000) and producer and television writer Bill Prady ($5,000).
On December 25, 2023, Ken (“Kenny C.”) posted a message stating:
“I am moved beyond belief by your generosity and well wishes. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s true. Thank you all! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all, Merry Christmas and Happy Everything!”
Ken’s GoFundMe page remains active, with donations still trickling in.
