In loving memory. Willie Garson’s son, Nathen Garson, paid tribute to the late actor more than a week after his death.
Nathen posted a throwback Instagram video and photo on Friday, October 1, of himself and his dad dancing. “Missing you papa. Love you to the moon and back x1,000,000,000,” he wrote. “I’m sure your [sic] dancing and listening to the music you love on your adventure. Have a blast.”
In the clip, Willie danced as a friend chimed in from behind the camera, “This is what Willie brought his son to. Great job, Dad.”
Hilarie Burton commented, “I love you so much, bud,” while Tiffani Thiessen replied, “Grooving like mad he is.” (Both actresses starred with Willie on White Collar.)
Nathen confirmed the Sex and the City star’s death on September 21. “I love you so much papa. Rest In Peace and I’m so glad you got to share all your adventures with me and were able to accomplish so much. I’m so proud of you,” he captioned an Instagram post at the time. “I will always love you, but I think it’s time for you to go on an adventure of your own. You’ll always be with me. Love you more than you will ever know and I’m glad you can be at peace now. You always were the toughest and funniest and smartest person I’ve known. I’m glad you shared you’re [sic] love with me. I’ll never forget it or lose it.”
Willie’s obituary listed his cause of death as pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
The Freaky Friday star adopted Nathen from the foster care system when he was 7. “I very much always wanted to have a child,” he told Page Six in October 2020. “I had a long relationship, off and on, for, like, 20 years and she never wanted to have a child, which is fine. And it was like my mid-life crisis, I really wanted a child more than anything else and I got one. We’re partners, my kid and I.”
Willie told Medium’s Authority Magazine later that month that he chose to adopt an older child because he knew he “would not serve a baby well.” He and Nathen also had an immediate connection.
“He was like a light that was shining brightly,” he recalled. “He was the only kid that was playing/laughing, and I knew that was my kid! Once I interacted with him, I knew we clicked, and I had to have him.”
Willie’s longtime friend and Sex and the City costar Sarah Jessica Parker mentioned his love for his son in her September 24 Instagram tribute. “My love and deepest sympathies and condolences to you dear Nathen,” she wrote. “You were and are the light of Willie’s life and his greatest achievement was being your Papa.”
