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| Bob Newhart |
Comedian BOB NEWHART died at the age of 94 on July 18th. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his record album of comedic monologues, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, became a bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart; it remains the 20th-best-selling album in history. The follow-up album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!, was also a success, and the two albums held the Billboard number one and number two spots simultaneously.Newhart hosted a short-lived NBC variety show titled The Bob Newhart Show (1961) before starring as Chicago psychologist Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show from 1972 to 1978 and then as Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon on series Newhart from 1982 to 1990. He also had two short-lived sitcoms in the 1990s, Bob and George and Leo. Newhart acted in films such as Catch-22 (1970), Cold Turkey (1971), In & Out (1997), and Elf (2003). He also voiced Bernard in the Disney animated films The Rescuers (1977) and The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Newhart played Professor Proton on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory from 2013 to 2018, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award.
Actress JANIS PAIGE, died on June 2nd at the age of 102. Paige was one of the last stars of the "Golden Years Of Hollywood". She started her career in 1944, and was popular in Warner Brothers and later MGM musicals. Stardom came in 1954 with her role as Babe in the Broadway musical The Pajama Game. She danced with Fred Astaire in MGM's Silk Stockings in 1957.Paige appeared in touring productions of musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun, Applause, Sweet Charity, Ballroom, Gypsy: A Musical Fable, and Guys and Dolls. Roles on television continued throughout the 1990s, but she retired from perofrming in 2001, but made appearances through 2022.
Comedian, RICHARD LEWIS, died of a heart attack on February 27th at the age of 76. Lewis came to prominence in the 1980s and became known for his dark, neurotic, and self-deprecating humor. As an actor, he was known for starring in the ABC sitcom Anything but Love from 1989 to 1992, and for playing the role of Prince John in the 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Lewis also had a recurring role as a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm from 2000 to 2024. He quit stand up in 2018, but kept on making acting appearances through this year.
Actor LOUIS GOSSETT JR, died on March 29th at the age of 87. Gosssett started on broadyway in critically acclaimed plays including A Raisin in the Sun (1959), The Blacks (1961), Tambourines to Glory (1963), and The Zulu and the Zayda (1965). In 1977, Gossett appeared in the popular miniseries Roots, for which he won Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards. In 1982, for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and became the first black actor to win in this category. He was last seen in the movie muscal remake of The Color Purple in 2023.
Actress, GLYNIS JOHNS, died on January 4th at the age of 100. She made her screen debut in 1938's South Riding. She is best remembered for playing the mother in 1964's Mary Poppins. In 1973, she introduced Stephen Sondheim's song "Send In the Clowns" on Broadway in A Little Night Music. She played the camera-toting grandmother in the 1995 Sandra Bullock hit While You Were Sleeping. and made her last appearance on film in 1999.
Actress, CHITA RIVERA, died at the age of 91 on January 30th. After making her Broadway debut as a dancer in Guys and Dolls (1950), she went on to originate roles in Broadway musicals such as Anita in West Side Story (1957), Velma Kelly in Chicago (1975), and the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). She was a ten-time Tony Award nominee, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice for her roles in The Rink (1984) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). She was Tony-nominated for her roles in Bye Bye Birdie (1961), Chicago (1975), Bring Back Birdie (1981), Merlin (1983), Jerry's Girls (1986), Nine (2003), Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life (2005), and The Visit (2015). She had her last acting role in 2021.
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| Donald Sutherland |
Actor DONALD SUTHERLAND, died on June 20th at the age of 88. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. He is cited as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. He received an Academy Honorary Award in 2017. Sutherland rose to fame after starring in films such as The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), and Kelly's Heroes (1970). He subsequently starred in many films both in leading and supporting roles, including Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), The Day of the Locust (1975), Fellini's Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), 1900 (1976), Animal House (1978), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Ordinary People (1980), Eye of the Needle (1981), A Dry White Season (1989), Backdraft (1991), JFK (1991), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Without Limits (1998), The Italian Job (2003), and Pride & Prejudice (2005). More recently, Sutherland portrayed President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise. Donald continued working through 2023.
KATHRYN CROSBY, the widow of entertainer Bing Crosby died at the age of 90 on September 20th. Kathryn was a minor B-actress who met Bing on the Paramount lot in 1953. They married in 1957 and had three children together - two boys and a girl. They remained married until Bing's death in 1977. Kathryn returned to performing after Bing's death and was remarried from 2000 to 2010.
Actress SHELLEY DUVALL, died at the age of 75 on July 11th. She was a popular actress in the 1980s. Duvall gained prominence for her leading roles as Olive Oyl in Altman's adventure film Popeye, and Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's horror film The Shining, both in 1980. She appeared in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film Time Bandits (1981), and Fred Schepisi's comedy film Roxanne (1987). She ventured into producing television programming aimed at children and youth in the latter half of the 1980s, creating and hosting the programs Faerie Tale Theatre (1982–1987), Tall Tales & Legends (1985–1987), Nightmare Classics (1989) and Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories (1992–1994). She made her last movie appearance in 2022.
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| James Earl Jones |
Actor JAMES EARL JONES, died at the age of 93 on September 9th. He was one of the leading black actors of his generation. He was known as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies but he made so many other memorable movie appearances. Beside the Star Wars sequels, Jones was featured in several other box office hits of the 1980s: the action/fantasy film Conan the Barbarian (1982), the Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America (1988), and the sports drama/fantasy Field of Dreams (1989). He also lent his distinctive bass voice to the role of Mufasa in the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King. He worked doing voice over work and making appearances on television shows until later in his careeer. He retired from performing in 2021...
Singer STEVE LAWRENCE, died at the age of 88 from complications from Alzheimer's Disease on March 7th. He was best known as a member of the pop vocal duo "Steve and Eydie" with his wife Eydie Gormé, and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and friend of the main characters in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Steve and Eydie first appeared together as regulars on Tonight Starring Steve Allen in 1954 and continued performing as a duo until Gormé's retirement in 2009. Lawrence had success by means of the musical hit parades in the late 1950s and early 1960s with such hits as "Party Doll" (U.S. No. 5), "Pretty Blue Eyes" (U.S. No. 9), "Footsteps" (U.S. No. 7), "Portrait of My Love" (U.S. No. 9), and "Go Away Little Girl" (U.S. No. 1). Steve retired in 2019.
Comedian MARTIN MULL died on June 27th at the age of 80. Mull gained visibility on screen for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and its spin-off Fernwood 2 Night. His other notable roles include Colonel Mustard in the 1985 film Clue, Leon Carp on Roseanne, Willard Kraft on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Vlad Masters / Vlad Plasmius on Danny Phantom, and Gene Parmesan on Arrested Development. He had a recurring role on Two and a Half Men as Russell, the drug-using, humorous pharmacist. He made his last television appearance in 2023.
Actress TERRI GARR, died at the age of 79 on October 29th. She was a popular actress of the 1970s and 1980s. She starred in the monumental comedy Young Frankenstein (1974) starring Gene Wilder as as being nominated for an Oscar for her role in Tootsie in 1982. Garr's career began to slow in the late 1990s after a neurologist informed her that symptoms she had been experiencing for many years were those of multiple sclerosis. Garr last acted on television in 2011. She appeared at the 19th Annual Race to Erase MS event in 2012.
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| Carl Weathers |
Actor CARL WEATHERS, died on February 1st, at the age of 76. His roles included boxer Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films (1976–1985), Colonel Al Dillon in Predator (1987), Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore (1996), and Combat Carl in the Toy Story franchise. He also portrayed Det. Beaudreaux in the television series Street Justice (1991–1993) and a fictionalized version of himself in the comedy series Arrested Development (2004, 2013), and voiced Omnitraxus Prime in Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2017–2019). He had a recurring role as Greef Karga in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian (2019–2023), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Actress GENA ROWLANDS, died on August 14th at the age of 94 from Alzheimer's Disease.She is known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, including A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and Gloria (1980), both of which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Opening Night (1977). She is also known for her performances in Woody Allen's Another Woman (1988), and her son Nick Cassavetes's film, The Notebook (2004). She retired from acting in 2015, and in 2019 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.
Televions personality RICHARD SIMMONS, died on July 13th at the age of 76. Simmons was an American fitness personality and public figure. He was a promoter of weight-loss programs, most prominently through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos.Simmons began his weight-loss career by opening his gym Slimmons in Beverly Hills, California, catering to the overweight, and he became widely known through exposure on television and through the popularity of his consumer products. He was often parodied and was a frequent guest of late-night television and radio talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman and The Howard Stern Show.
Actress LINDA LAVIN, died on December 29th at the age of 87. She was a broadway star until she moved to Hollywood in 1973. She starred as the title character in the television show Alice from 1976 to 1985. Lavin continued to work until the end, and she was currently working on a Hulu series for Hulu with the working title "Mid-Century Modern" with Nathan Lane.
Actress MAGGIE SMITH, died at the age of 89 on September 27th. In later years she was known for her roles in the Harry Potter movies and Downtown Abby series, but she had a decades long career in every medium. Smith won Academy Awards for Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and Best Supporting Actress for California Suite (1978). She was Oscar-nominated for Othello (1965), Travels with My Aunt (1972), A Room with a View (1985) and Gosford Park (2001). Maggie largely retired by 2023.
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| Barbara Rush |
Actress BARBARA RUSH, died on March 31st at the age of 97. In 1954, she won the Golden Globe Award for most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film It Came from Outer Space. Later in her career, Rush became a regular performer in the television series Peyton Place, and appeared in TV movies, miniseries, and a variety of other programs, including the soap opera All My Children and the family drama 7th Heaven, as well as starring in films such as The Young Philadelphians, The Young Lions, Robin and the 7 Hoods, and Hombre. She retired from acting in 2017.
Character actor M. EMMET WALSH, died of cardiac arrest on March 20th at the age of 88 He was an American character actor who appeared in over 200 films and television series, including small but important supporting roles such as Earl Frank in Straight Time (1978), the Madman in The Jerk (1979), Captain Bryant in Blade Runner (1982), Harv in Critters (1986), and Walt Scheel in Christmas with the Kranks (2004). He worked through this year.
Record producer and musical guru QUINCY JONES, passed away on November 3rd at the age of 91. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received many accolades including 28 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for seven Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. Jones produced three of the most successful albums by pop star Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). Jones keep working up until his death.
Director and writer JIM ABRAHAMS, passed away at the age of 80 of leukemia. He is best known for the spoof movies that he co-wrote and produced with brothers Jerry Zucker and David Zucker, such as Airplane! (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) and The Naked Gun series. He suffered with leukemia for years and pretty much retired in 2019.
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| Mitzi Gaynor |
Entertainer MITZI GAYNOR, died at the age of 93 on October 17, 2023. She was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood's golden age. She appeared in movie musicals with Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor, and Bing Crosby. Her most famous role was as Nellie Forbush in the movie version of South Pacific in 1958. After the end of movie musicals, Mitzi moved to television and live performances. Mitzi continued performing live until 2014 and made appearances through 2021.
Actress OLIVIA HUSSEY, died at the age of 73 on December 27th of breast cancer. She first rose to fame as Juliet in 1968's Romeo & Juliet. She played numerous roles over the years from Norman Bate's mom in Psycho 4 (1990) to Mother Theresa in Mother Theresa Of Calcutta (2003). She was also a voice actress, voicing numerous Star Wars video games into the 2000s. She retired from acting in 2018.
These stars, icon, and entertainers are gone but never will be forgotten...
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