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\n\tHollywood is in mourning once again after the news broke that Dawson\u2019s Creek alum James Van Der Beek<\/a> died Wednesday morning<\/a>. The actor had colorectal cancer, a diagnosis he made public in 2024.<\/p>\n \n\tChad Michael Murray, Sarah Michelle Gellar and more flooded to the comments section of the Instagram post shared by Van Der Beek\u2019s family to announce his passing.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m so sad for your beautiful family,\u201d Gellar wrote. \u201cWhile James\u2019 legacy will always live on, this is a huge loss to not just your family but the world. Fuck Cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAdded Murray: \u201cSending love and light to your beautiful family. James was a giant. We\u2019re so so so sorry for what you\u2019re going through. His words, art and humanity inspired all of us \u2013 he inspired us to be better in all ways. God bless you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tJulie Plec, who began her career working with Dawson\u2019s Creek creator Kevin Williamson, posted her own short tribute<\/a> to Van Der Beek, writing: \u201cA vibrant young man. A father and husband and friend. A generational icon. RIP JVDB. Sleep now, Dawson.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPaul Walter Hauser, in his own Instagram post on Wednesday<\/a>, shared a screenshot with the more than $14,000 he\u2019d raised on the platform Cameo to help pay for Van Der Beek\u2019s cancer treatment. Hauser started collecting money just recently in support of Van Der Beek after the beloved actor said in November he was\u00a0auctioning memorabilia from\u00a0Dawson\u2019s Creek\u00a0and\u00a0Varsity Blues<\/a>. <\/p>\n \n\tTwo months earlier, he had\u00a0dropped out of a one-night\u00a0Dawson\u2019s Creek\u00a0reunion<\/a>\u00a0to benefit F Cancer and Van der Beek. Lin-Manuel Miranda took his place for the\u00a0live stage reading of the show\u2019s pilot episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLove you, James,\u201d Hauser wrote in his post. \u201cI know you\u2019re in Heaven being pampered with love. The Van Der Beeks will be in our daily prayers and we\u2019ll be drumming up some money to support your beautiful family. Thanks for the body of work and for being one of the good guys.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n