James Van Der Beek, known for his roles in Varsity Blues and Dawson’s Creek, died the morning of Feb. 11 after battling cancer for more than two years. He was 48 years old. As we mourn the loss of the man who gave us the introspective Dawson Leery, we remember the time he took on Morgan Wallen and John Denver during his stint on Fox’s The Masked Singer.
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In November 2024, James Van Der Beek revealed that he had been “privately dealing” with a stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis since August 2023.
Still, he chose to continue working, appearing in the Prime comedy Overcompensating and season 13 of the Fox reality series The Masked Singer.
James Van Der Beek’s Kids Inspired Him to Compete on ‘The Masked Singer’
Disguised as the Griffin—a mythical creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle—James Van Der Beek kept it country for two performances prior to his elimination on The Masked Singer. He first started out with John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which he dedicated to wife Kimberly and their six children.
Despite having the judges on their feet by the end of the performance, Van Der Beek headed to a Battle Royale. Facing off against the Boogie Woogie (later revealed as singer-songwriter Andy Grammer), he performed the Morgan Wallen-Post Malone collab “I Had Some Help.”
‘The Masked Singer’ Helped Take Van Der Beek’s Mind off His Daunting Health Battle
Pulling off the Griffin mask following his elimination, James Van Der Beek revealed that singing was part of his original career plan.
“When I was a kid, I did children’s musicals in my hometown,” the Dawson’s Creek alum said. “I thought I would be a singer. I thought I would be on Broadway and, like, virtually unknown outside of New York. And then I was 20, I accidentally became a teen idol, so that plan went out the window.”
[RELATED: Country Stars Dominate ‘The Masked Singer’ Finale, Taking First and Fourth Place]
Following a burst of laughter, Van Der Beek continued, “But yeah, singing’s the one thing I’ve never gotten to do, so I was like, ‘You know what? This looks like a lot of fun.’ This was the perfect thing to be doing right now. I’ve been dealing with some health stuff. It’s all kind of come out publicly, so to be able to put on a mask, inhabit a character, and connect with an audience just with a song… it’s been just a blast. Thank you.”
Our thoughts go out to James Van Der Beek’s family and friends.
Featured image by FOX via Getty Images
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