Friends and family members gather for Natasha Richardson's private wake

Friends and family members gather for Natasha Richardson's private wake

Liam Neeson looked distraught as he greeted the grieving family members and friends who attended a private viewing for wife Natasha Richardson on Friday.

Neeson and sons namely Micheal and Daniel attended the viewing at the Upper East Side's American Irish Historical Society. Natasha Richardson’s mother, Vanessa Redgrave, and sister, Joely Richardson also are present.

Other attendees  are Mike Nichols, Diane Sawyer, Matthew Modine, Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Mathilde Krim of the American Foundation of AIDS Research — amfAR, the charity for which Richardson had served on the board of trustees since the year 2006.

Krim said, "She looked incredibly beautiful." It is also reported that everyone appeared to in shock and Neeson looked distraught as he received everybody.

Earlier on Friday, friends continued to express their sorrow over her death from the fall that she took on a ski slope.

"Natasha was a very close friend of our family, so it's been a very, very sad few days and I think it will stay that way for a good while," added Matthew Broderick.

Actor Jonathan Cake remarked, “I had dinner with her Saturday night. ... She left to ski the next day."

The theaters in London's West End dimmed their lights on Friday in remembrance of  Richardson, just as Broadway theaters did on Thursday. In a tribute to the stage and screen actress, the lights were lowered before the curtains went up on for the evening performances.

Theatergoer Andrew Nicol of London thought it was fitting.

Forty five year old Richardson passed away on Wednesday at Lenox Hill Hospital after falling at the Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec on Monday. The office of New York City medical examiner ruled that her death was an accident.

In the meantime Montreal’s top head trauma doctor added on Friday that the lack of medical helicopters in the province of Quebec might have played a role in the tragic death of Natasha Richardson.

"It's impossible for me to comment specifically about her case, but what I could say is ... driving to Mont Tremblant from the city (Montreal) is a 2 1/2-hour trip, and the closest trauma center is in the city. Our system isn't set up for traumas and doesn't match what's available in other Canadian cities, let alone in the States." Tarek Razek, the director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, which represents six of Montreal's hospitals has made the comment.

He said that she was being driven by ambulance to two separate hospitals instead of being airlifted by helicopter directly to a trauma center could have cost Richardson crucial moments

"A helicopter is obviously the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B," added the same person.

When Centre Hospitalier Laurentien, the first treatment center Richardson was brought to, it was found out that he did not specialize in head traumas. Thus her speedy transfer to Sacre Coeur Hospital in Montreal was critical.

Razek added, "It's one of the classic presentations of head injuries, `talking and dying,' where they may lose consciousness for a minute, but then feel fine,"

Considering the fact that immediate treatment might have helped Richardson he further said, “There are so many variables it's hard to speculate what might have been done differently."