Family, Friends & Colleagues Celebrate Anton Yelchin

Family, friends and colleagues of Anton Yelchin gathered together on Sunday to celebrate the life of the young actor, who was just 27 years old when he died in a freak accident in June, 2016. The event, according to People Magazine, took place at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles and involved several heartfelt speeches, a musical performance and the unveiling of a statue made in Yelchin's honor. Attendees included Yelchin's parents, Star Trek co-stars Zoe Saldana and Simon Pegg, director J.J. Abrams, as well as Jennifer Lawrence, Jon Voight, Demi Moore, Fred Parnes and others. And, hanging from a wall was a mural/poster from Star Trek Las Vegas, which was signed by thousands of fans and given to Yelchin's parents as a keepsake.

“It is a bittersweet moment, because we’re here for Anton, and he’s not here with us,” Saldana said as she stood at a lectern in front of large photos of Yelchin and addressed her fellow attendees. “But, it alleviates my heart knowing that we’ll keep him alive. We’re going to keep remembering him in the hopes that by practicing all the things he believed in and remembering all the love that he gave us, and all the joy he gave us, we’re able to just keep him here with us.”

According to People, the actress then read a chapter about friendship from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. She noted, “Ever since I read that chapter about friendship, that is the one thing I always try to seek in people, and when I find human beings who truly understand the meaning of friendship, I’m moved and inspired. Anton was one of those people. He was an exceptional friend, whether he knew you for five minutes or knew you his whole life. He was just exceptional.”