Actor Philip S Hoffman buried in New York

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s private funeral was held in Manhattan on Friday, with stars Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ethan Hawke, Brian Dennehey, Amy Adams and Ellen Burstyn paying their respects to an actor widely considered among the best of his generation, CBS News reported.

The coffin holding Hoffman’s body was brought out of the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola by pallbearers and put in a hearse, and family and guests streamed out Friday afternoon. Streep hugged Diane Sawyer as they left.

The list of mourners also included Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Louis C.K., Mary Louise Parker, John Slattery, Jerry Stiller, Marisa Tomei, Spike Lee and Sawyer’s husband, the director Mike Nichols.

Playwright David Bar Katz, who found Hoffman’s body, looked visibly upset as he arrived.

“I loved the guy. Great artist. I was only able to work with him one time but, love him. Big loss, big loss,” Spike Lee told WCBS 880′s Ginny Kosola following the service.

“He was an incredible person, he was a good man and a great talent and I think it’s really a loss for humanity,” friend John Doman told CBS 2′s Kathryn Brown. ”It’s just a tremendous loss.”

“He touched so many people. Not just his fans but within the industry as well and so we’re just here to kind of honor him,” Milo Carbia said.

Mourners said the private service was moving.

“It was many things. It was sad, it was celebratory, it was emotional, it was inspirational. It was terrific,” Doman told CBS 2′s Andrea Grymes. ”He brought everything to every role he did. And I think it’s really a loss for humanity because he brought so much to so many people.”


Loved ones described Hoffman as a devoted father to his three young children and a humble entertainer.

“If you saw Phil walking down the street, you wouldn’t think he had the importance he really did,” the actor’s cousin Bryan Loucks told Grymes. ”He just did a lot of good things for a lot of people.”

Police did not allow anyone to linger on the block outside the church and the media was penned in an area far from the mourners.

On Thursday evening, family and close friends gathered for a private wake at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan.

Among them was Blanchett, Adams, Phoenix, Sawyer, Billy Crudup and Williams, who buried her face in her coat as she walked into the funeral home.