James Van Der Beek isn’t letting his ongoing cancer battle get him down — especially when it’s time to take his kids trick-or-treating on Halloween.
“Happy Halloween!!!!” James’ wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, wrote via Instagram early on Saturday, November 1, sharing photos of the family’s costumes from the previous evening.
James, 48, looked dapper as the titular Phantom of the Opera, completed with a tuxedo, white bowtie and a matching half-face mask. Kimberly, 43, for her part, dressed as a fox with a spiderweb painted on her neck.
“Phantom and the Fox,” Kimberly wrote via her Instagram Stories, snapping a selfie with her spouse during the Friday, October 31, holiday.
The Van Der Beeks are parents to Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 9, Gwendolyn, 7, and Jeremiah, 4, who wore individual costumes on Friday. Annabel and Emilia dressed as the Statue of Liberty and a witch, respectively, with Joshua donning a skeleton outfit. Gwendolyn, for her part, rocked out as Rumi from K-Pop Demon Hunters and Jeremiah went as an adorable lime-green bear. (Olivia did not appear in the family snaps.)
After posing for their adorable photos, James and Kimberly took their children to collect all sorts of candy from the neighbors’ houses.
“A trick-or-treat golf cart?! Don’t mind if we do,” Kimberly wrote via her Stories, sharing a pic of James in the front seat with Jeremiah. “Thanks to my babe @odetteannable.”
James announced in fall 2023 that he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
“I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” the Dawson’s Creek alum told People in November 2023, revealing he privately underwent an undisclosed form of treatment. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”
He continued, “This has been a crash course in the mastery of mind, body, and spirit. I thought, ‘This is either going to take me out of the body, or it’s going to teach me how to truly live in it.’”
As James navigated his diagnosis, his father, James William, leapt into action to support his son through the trying time.
“The way you have shown up when I’ve been down and out this year — without us having to ask, without the expectation of even a thank you has been not just life-saving, but life-affirming,” James wrote in a January Instagram tribute to his dad. “Moving onto the ranch for when I’m away for treatment. Making lunches, making fires for @vanderkimberly, driving kids, even taking care of the dogs and chickens, but it’s even more than that. I’m blown away by how you’ve been there for me emotionally as I’ve moved through everything cancer brings up.”
He concluded, “I know it’s outside your comfort zone, but especially since Mom died, you have come through for me again and again and again in ways that I didn’t even know how much I needed. Thank you for being the best. I will keep my promise that we won’t ever ask you to change Jeremiah’s diapers.”
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