Swayze: Richardson's death is a great loss

NEW YORK, March 24 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Patrick Swayze called the recent death of his "Waking Up in Reno" co-star Natasha Richardson a "great loss."

The pair acted in the 2002 comedy alongside Charlize Theron and Billy Bob Thornton.

Richardson, who was married to actor Liam Neeson and was the mother of his two sons, died last Wednesday of head injuries sustained in a skiing accident at the age of 45. She was buried Sunday in upstate New York.

Swayze has been waging a high-profile battle against pancreatic cancer for more than a year.

"It is such a great loss to this community to lose an actress and person such as Natasha," Swayze said in a statement issued to People.com. "Gifts like her don't come along very often. It's a rare thing in this industry to have someone with so much talent, beauty and dedication and yet is imbued with such humility. I know for me and many other people, the world will be a different place without her. My heart goes out to Liam and his two boys but I'm sure that Natasha's light is shining down on them."