Actress Olivia Munn paid tribute to CAA agent Tony Etz on Tuesday, March 11, who died after a long battle with a rare type of malignant bone cancer known as Chordoma on Monday. Tony was 64 at the time of his death.
Olivia, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday to share a screenshot of an article reporting on Tony's death and wrote:
"This makes me incredibly sad. This is my literary agent who passed away from cancer yesterday; but that's not how he deserves to be remembered. He should be remembered as one of the good guys in our business. They didn't get better and kinder than Tony. Rest in love, my friend. My thoughts are with his sweet family."
Olivia, seemingly referring to cancer in general due to her own battle with it, wrote in the following story:
"We all love you, Tony. F*CK CANCER."
Chordoma, a rare form of bone cancer, primarily develops at the base of the skull where it meets the spine or at the base of the spine where it connects to the pelvis. According to the Mayo Clinic:
"Chordoma begins in cells that once made up a collection of cells in the developing embryo that go on to become the disks of the spine."
Residuals from this cluster of cells typically disappear after birth. In rare cases where some of these cells persist in the body, they can eventually become cancerous. This type of bone cancer primarily affects individuals between the ages of 40 and 60.
The treatment for Chordoma is surgical removal. However, this procedure is complex because these cancer cells are located near vital body structures, such as the brainstem or spinal cord.
Tony Etz wrote his own obituary two years before his death
Tony Etz joined the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1994 and has since been involved in multiple television series, including Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, Big Little Lies, Band of Brothers, Rescue Me, and House, among others.
Details about Tony Etz's cancer battle remain unclear. Therefore, the exact duration of his battle with chordoma is unknown. However, according to Deadline, the late CAA agent's health declined over the past few years. About two years ago, Tony requested to write his own obituary, anticipating his death.
"Over 30 years as a packaging agent, I was foundational in the sale of Jackass, House, Lost, Rescue Me, Big Little Lies, Jury Duty and Tracker and dozens of other shows. And I have been a proud citizen of the best city state in the business," he wrote.
Tony left behind his wife, Nancy, and his son Alex.
