Dawson's favorite director and 44,000 others push James Van Der Beek fundraiser toward $2.3 million

Support for James Van Der Beek’s household continues to determination in. The GoFundMe created to enactment them pursuing the “Dawson’s Creek” star’s decease approached $2.3 cardinal successful donations Friday morning.

Steven Spielberg and his woman Kate Capshaw are among the personage donors who person contributed to the fundraiser organized by the precocious actor’s friends. The couple’s donation is listed arsenic $25,000. Those acquainted with Van Der Beek’s breakout relation connected the millennial teen play cognize that Spielberg is Dawson Leery’s favourite director.

Originally airing from 1998 to 2003, “Dawson’s Creek” was a seminal teen play that followed 4 friends increasing up successful a tiny coastal municipality arsenic they navigated their dreams, relationships and assorted coming-of-age milestones. Van Der Beek’s Dawson was an aspiring filmmaker whose dreams were bigger than his tiny hometown. Along with friends Joey (Katie Holmes), Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and Jen (Michelle Williams), Dawson grappled with precise relatable teen dilemmas including heartbreak, betrayal and atrocious decisions.

The fundraiser, which had much than 44,000 donors arsenic of Friday morning, was organized to assistance enactment Van Der Beek’s woman and children, who “are facing an uncertain future” owed to the fiscal strain of the precocious actor’s aesculapian costs. The precocious histrion died pursuing a conflict with colorectal cancer. Funds volition beryllium utilized to “help screen indispensable surviving expenses, wage bills, and enactment the children’s education,” the organizers wrote.

Van Der Beek revealed successful 2012 that helium had been paid “almost nothing” for his enactment connected “Dawson’s Creek” and had not received immoderate residuals from the deed show.

“There was nary residual money,” helium told “Today.” “I was 20. It was a atrocious contract. I saw astir thing from that.”

Before his death, Van Der Beek auctioned disconnected idiosyncratic memorabilia and sold collectibles to assistance wage for his crab treatments. In September, his “Dawson’s Creek” co-stars helped signifier and signifier a reunion fundraiser to enactment Van Der Beek and his household — a reunion the histrion had to miss due to the fact that of a virus. “Black Bird” histrion Paul Walter Hauser had besides been raising funds done Cameo videos and auctions to assistance the precocious histrion anterior to his death.

Besides Spielberg, personage donors to Van Der Beek’s GoFundMe besides reportedly see Zoe Saldaña, Jon M. Chu, Derek Hough, Busy Philipps, Jenna Dewan and others.

Van Der Beek’s “Dawson’s Creek” colleagues person besides been among the galore who person shared tributes to the precocious actor.

“Several times today, from my heart, I’ve tried to signifier the words to explicit the beauteous brilliance of James and what his beingness has meant to my life,” “Dawson’s” creator Kevin Williamson wrote Thursday successful a station shared connected Instagram. “But I americium genuinely astatine a nonaccomplishment for words. I volition person to spot that 1 time those words volition come... But today, each I tin deliberation astir is Kimberly and the full Van Der Beek family.”

Holmes, meanwhile, shared a handwritten enactment addressed to Van Der Beek connected Instagram Wednesday. She was the archetypal of “Dawson’s Creek’s” surviving halfway quartet to publically admit Van Der Beek’s death.

“Thank you,” Holmes wrote successful her note, which was addressed to Van Der Beek. “To stock a abstraction with your imaginativeness is ineffable — breathing the aforesaid aerial successful the onshore of marque judge and trusting that each others’ hearts are harmless successful their expression.”

In her remembrance, Holmes highlighted their shared “laughter, conversations astir life, James Taylor songs” and their “adventures of a unsocial youth.” She besides highlighted Van Der Beek’s “Bravery. Compassion. Selflessness [and] Strength.”

“I mourn this nonaccomplishment with a bosom holding the world of his lack and heavy gratitude for his imprint connected it,” wrote Holmes, who besides sent emotion to Van Der Beek’s woman and children successful her message.

Other members of the extended “Dawson’s Creek” family, including actors Chad Michael Murray, Kerr Smith and Sasha Alexander, person besides been among those offering condolences and paying tribute to Van Der Beek and his household online.

“James Van Der Beek was 1 successful a cardinal and helium volition beryllium everlastingly missed and one don’t cognize what other to say,” wrote Busy Philipps successful her Instagram tribute. “He was my person and one loved him and i’m truthful grateful for our relationship each these years.”