{"id":2279858,"date":"2026-02-13T03:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2279858"},"modified":"2026-02-13T03:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:02:09","slug":"steven-spielberg-hero-to-james-van-der-beeks-dawsons-creek-character-donates-25k-to-late-actors-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/steven-spielberg-hero-to-james-van-der-beeks-dawsons-creek-character-donates-25k-to-late-actors-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Spielberg, hero to James Van Der Beek&#8217;s \u201cDawson&#8217;s Creek\u201d character, donates $25K to late actor&#8217;s family"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Key points<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw donated $25,000 to James Van Der Beek&#8217;s family on GoFundMe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Other famous donors to the campaign include Jon M. Chu, Derek Hough, and Ricki Lake.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Van Der Beek&#8217;s character on <em>Dawson&#8217;s Creek<\/em> was a noted Spielberg fan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/steven-spielberg\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Steven Spielberg;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Steven Spielberg<\/a> is lending a helping hand to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/james-van-der-beek\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:James Van Der Beek;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">James Van Der Beek<\/a>&#8216;s family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <em>Jurassic Park<\/em> filmmaker and his wife, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/kate-capshaw\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Kate Capshaw;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Kate Capshaw<\/a>, together donated $25,000 to the late <em>Varsity Blues<\/em> actor&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-for-james-van-der-beeks-family\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:GoFundMe campaign;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">GoFundMe campaign<\/a> on Thursday. Their contribution marked the second-highest sum donated to the campaign thus far, with one anonymous donor giving $30,000 two hours later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Other donors included <em>Wicked<\/em> director Jon M. Chu and <em>Dancing With the Stars <\/em>alums Ricki Lake and Derek Hough.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">At the time of writing, the campaign has raised over $1.9 million, well above its goal of $1.5 million.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>James Van Der Beek, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their children <\/i><\/p>\n<p>James Van Der Beek\/Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Van Der Beek&#8217;s friends <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/james-van-der-beek-gofundme-widow-asks-for-help-supporting-their-6-kids-11905158\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:established the campaign;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">established the campaign<\/a> to benefit his wife, Kimberly, and their six children after the actor <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/james-van-der-beek-dawsons-creek-star-dies-at-48-11904646\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:died at 48;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">died at 48<\/a> on Wednesday after battling colorectal cancer. Kimberly shared a link to the campaign on social media, writing that donors wanted to &#8220;support me and our children during this time&#8221; and saying that she has both &#8220;gratitude and a broken heart.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;In the wake of this loss, Kimberly and the children are facing an uncertain future,&#8221; organizer Jason K wrote in the description of the campaign. &#8220;The costs of James&#8217;s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds. They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time. The support of friends, family, and the wider community will make a world of difference as they navigate the road ahead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Van Der Beek&#8217;s most iconic character, Dawson Leery from <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/dawsons-creek\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dawson\u2019s Creek;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/em><\/a>, was an avid Spielberg fan, constantly citing him as his primary influence to become a filmmaker. Throughout the series, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/tv\/2018\/03\/30\/dawsons-creek-reunion-kevin-williamson-steven-spielberg\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:posters for a variety of Spielberg's films;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">posters for a variety of Spielberg&#8217;s films<\/a> adorned Dawson&#8217;s walls, including <em>Hook<\/em>, <em>Schindler&#8217;s List<\/em>, <em>The Lost World: Jurassic Park<\/em>, <em>Always<\/em>, and <em>Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Dawson&#8217;s bedroom was sort of a temple to Spielberg, and so I had to write a letter to him because he retains the rights to all that stuff,&#8221; <em>Dawson&#8217;s Creek<\/em> creator Kevin Williamson told <em>Entertainment Weekly<\/em> in 2018. &#8220;And I was like, &#8216;Please, Mr. Spielberg, you don&#8217;t know me, but I was this kid. I had this bedroom. I had all your posters in my bedroom. Can I please present Dawson the way that he really was?&#8217; And it was really interesting, he wrote back and he wrote the loveliest response. He was like, &#8216;You can use everything.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"James Van Der Beek in 'Dawson's Creek' Warner Bros.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"536\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/d72_RFMqIJ_cLgBilF_7Iw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTUzNjtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/entertainment_weekly_785\/6f68ecfc8167d8410bd5fea12d15e5f4\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>James Van Der Beek in &#8216;Dawson&#8217;s Creek&#8217; <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Warner Bros.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Spielberg recently sent a video message to the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/how-dawsons-creek-cast-honored-james-van-der-beek-at-final-reunion-11905091\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dawson's Creek cast reunion;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Dawson&#8217;s Creek<\/em> cast reunion<\/a> event in New York City in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Dawson, you made it. Maybe someday, I will get to have a Dawson&#8217;s closet,&#8221; the filmmaker said in the video.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Van Der Beek previously said that he <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/james-van-der-beek-said-years-before-death-dawsons-creek-residuals-paid-almost-nothing-11905944\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:got &quot;no residual money&quot;;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">got &#8220;no residual money&#8221; <\/a>from <em>Dawson&#8217;s Creek<\/em> due to a &#8220;bad contract.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The actor spent months <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/james-van-der-beek-auctioning-dawsons-creek-items-for-cancer-treatment-11848563\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:auctioning off ephemera;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">auctioning off ephemera<\/a> from <em>Dawson&#8217;s Creek<\/em>, <em>Varsity Blues<\/em>, and other Hollywood projects to pay for his cancer treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve been storing these treasures for years, waiting for the right time to do something with them, and with all of the recent unexpected twists and turns life has presented recently, it&#8217;s clear that the time is now,&#8221; Van Der Beek told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/james-van-der-beek-auctions-dawsons-creek-varsity-blues-memorabilia-exclusive-11847179\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:PEOPLE;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">PEOPLE<\/a> in November. &#8220;While I have some nostalgia tugging at me as I part with these items, it feels good to be able to offer them through Propstore&#8217;s auction to share with those who have supported my work over the years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/steven-spielberg-gives-james-van-der-beek-family-25-thousand-dollars-on-gofundme-11906062\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Entertainment Weekly;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key points Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw donated $25,000 to James Van Der Beek&#8217;s family on GoFundMe. Other famous donors to the campaign include Jon M. Chu, Derek Hough, and Ricki Lake. Van Der Beek&#8217;s character on Dawson&#8217;s Creek was a noted Spielberg fan. Steven Spielberg is lending a helping hand to James Van Der [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2279859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[350837,435719,343995,350582,353108,401957,372356,309280,350581,385983],"class_list":["post-2279858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-dawson-leery","tag-dawson39s-creek","tag-derek-hough","tag-james-van-der-beek","tag-jon-m-chu","tag-kate-capshaw","tag-ricki-lake","tag-steven-spielberg","tag-van-der-beek","tag-varsity-blues"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Steven-Spielberg-hero-to-James-Van-Der-Beeks-Dawsons-Creek.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2279858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2279858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2279858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2279860,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2279858\/revisions\/2279860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2279859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2279858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2279858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2279858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}