In a way only he could do it, Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges in his Dude persona announced Monday that he is ill with lymphoma.
“As the Dude would say ... New S**T has come to light,” the 70-year-old actor tweeted, referring to his starring role as a sweet stoner in the Coen brothers’ California cult classic ‘The Big Lebowski.’
“I have been diagnosed with Lymphoma,” he revealed. “Although it is a serious disease, I feel fortunate that I have a great team of doctors and the prognosis is good.”
Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which includes bone marrow and lymph nodes, and is part of the body’s germ-fighting network. Treatment usually involves chemotherapy and radiation.
Bridges thanked people for their “prayers and wishes” and said he was “grateful for his friends and family.”
He added: “While I have you, please remember to go vote. Because we are all in this together. Vote.org.”
He signed the tweet: “Love Jeff.”
Bridges, second son of the late actor Lloyd Bridges, made his film debut in the early 1970s. He has been nominated for Oscars seven times in a busy career that included ‘The Last Picture Show,’ ‘Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,’ ‘Starman,’ ‘The Fabulous Baker Boys,’ ‘The Fisher King,’ ’True Grit,′ ‘The Giver,’ and ‘Hell or High Water.’
He nabbed an Oscar in 2010 for his performance as a country singer battling alcoholism in ‘Crazy Heart.’
Bridges was bombarded on Twitter with quotes from ‘The Big Lebowski,’ tips and inspirational messages from lymphoma survivors. Long-time New York Times film critic Janet Maslin told Bridges he “made the world a better place ... thanks for being the beautiful guy you are and lighting up our screens since you were a baby.”
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