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Farewells of 2024 Part 4 – Actors and Entertainers

Posted on February 13, 2025 | 3 comments

A day late but no less sincere as I didn’t finish this one yesterday. First I misplaced a few actors, (!) then a couple got numbered twice, and there’s a whole rigamarole you have to go through — new layers, new lines, new numbers and so forth. ANYWAY — Here are the many wonderful Actors and Entertainers we last in 2024. And, as I encourage you whenever you read these posts, look up the ones you’ve never heard of, you may find a new favorite! Too many, too soon but thanks for the memories. 🙂

Next time: Actresses and Entertainers

Actors and Entertainers

  1. Dabney Coleman, 92 Tootsie, Nine to Five, Never Forget, Dysphagia and heart failure.
  2. Donald Sutherland, 88, M*A*S*H, The Dirty Dozen, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Animal House, The Hunger Games,COPD
  3. Ron Ely, 86, Tarzan. Doc Savage. End Stage Heart disease
  4. Alain Delon, 88, French Legend. Purple Noon, Samurai. B Cell Lymphoma, Cardiac arrest.
  5. James Earl Jones, 88, The Great White Hope, The Lion King, Field of Dreams Complications of diabetes.
  6. Steve Lawrence, 88, Singer, Actor with beloved wife Eydie Gorme. Carol for another Christmas. The Carol Burnett Show, Alzheimer’s
  7. Richard Simmons,76, Fitness Guru, General Hospital, Heart attack
  8. Lou Gossett Jr., 87, An Officer and a Gentleman, Roots, COPD
  9. Bob Newhart, 94, Brilliant, subtle comedian, The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, Elf. Natural causes.
  10. Earl Holliman, 96, Forbidden Planet, Twilight Zone, Police Woman. (undisclosed)
  11. Chris Gauthier 48, Smallville, Eureka, Once Upon a Time. Short illness.  
  12. Scott L Schwartz 65, Oceans 11,
  13. Mark Withers, 70, Dynasty, Kaz, Pancreatic cancer.
  14. Michael Newman, 67 Actor, Real life Fireman and Lifeguard, Baywatch, Parkinsons Disease
  15. Martin Mull 80, Actor and Comedian, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Fernwood Tonight, Roseanne, Long illness.
  16. Terry Carter 95, McCloud Battlestar Galactica (undisclosed)
  17. Tony Mondente,88, West Side Story, Family Ties. Short illness.  
  18. Bobby Bana, 90, West Side Story, Mary Poppins. Pneumonia.
  19. Carl Weathers, 76, Football player, Actor, Rocky, Predator, Cardiovascular disease
  20. Perry Kurtz 73, Comedian, killed by hit and run driver.
  21. Hiram Kasten, 71, Comedian-Actor, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Long term illness.
  22. Richard Lewis, 77, Comedian, Actor Men in Tights, Anything But Love, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Parkinson’s,Heart attack
  23. Thom Chistopher, 84, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, One Life to Live, (undisclosed)
  24. David Emge, 77, Dawn of the Dead, Hellmaster, (undisclosed)
  25. Chance Perdomo, 27, Gen V, After Ever Happy, Motorcycle Accident.
  26. John Aprea, 83, Godfather II, Matt Houston, Another World, Full House. Natural causes.
  27. Christian Oliver, 51, The Good German, Speed Racer, I Am Fear, Plane crash.
  28. Alec Musser, 50, All My Children, Desperate Housewives, Suicide
  29.       (The Amazing) Kreskin, (George Joseph Kresge Jr.), 89, Clinical Psychologist, Mentalist, The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show, The Amazing World of Kreskin. Dementia.
  30.   Peter Marshall, 98, Actor, TV host, The Hollywood Squares, Annie, Kidney Failure
  31. Chuck Woolery, 86. Host, Wheel of Fortune, The Love Connection, (undisclosed)
  32. Michael Culver, 85, All-AroundBritish Actor,in over 300 Stage, Radio, TV and Motion Pictures, as well as voice work.  The Empire Strikes Back, A Passage to India, (undisclosed)
  33. Angus MacInnes 77, Canadian Actor, Star Wars,Half Moon Street, Witness,(undisclosed)
  34. Harry Johnson, 81, Battle Star Galactica, Law and Order Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Long illness.
  35. Spencer Milligan 86, Land of the Lost. The Bionic Woman, General Hospital (undisclosed)
  36. Timothy West, 90, English Actor of Stage Film, and TV, Royal Shakespeare Company, Edward VI, Day of the Jackal, Cry Freedom Coronation Street, East Enders.  Complications from a fall.
  37. John Amos, 84. Beloved American Actor, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, The World’s Greatest Athlete. Congestive Heart Failure.
  38. Mark Damon, 91, Actor and Producer, The Longest Day, House of Usher,Black Sabbath. Natural causes.
  39. John Lassell 95, The Twilight Zone, As the World Turns. (undisclosed)
  40. M. Emmet-Walsh, 88, Movie, TV, and Voice Actor, The Sandy Duncan Show, Harry and the Hendersons, 100+ more. Cardiac arrest.
  41. Don Murray, 94, Bus Stop, A Hatful of Rain, The Outcasts, Knot’s Landing. (undisclosed)
  42. Frank Fritz 60,Free-Styling Antique Collector, American Pickers (a.k.a. The Pickers) Complications from Stroke
  43. Johnny Russel, 91, (John Russell Countryman) Child Actor, The Blue Bird, The Man I Married US Ambassador to Oman. Pneumonia
  44. Benji Gregory, 46, Alf, Punky Brewster, Never Forget.  Heatstroke.
  45. Taylor Wily, 56, Actor, Sumo Wrestler and UFC Competitor (known as Teila Tuli) Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hawaii 5-0 Natural Causes.
  46. Eddie Driscoll 60 The Last Ship, Entourage. Stomach cancer
  47. Hinton Battle, 67, Three-Time Tony Winner, The Wiz, many more, Lengthy illness
  48. Niels Arestrup, 75. French Stage, Screen, TV Actor and DirectorLumiere, The Future is Woman,   Long Illness
  49. Ron Harpur, 91, Love of Life, The Planet of the Apes (tv) Land of the Lost, Capital. (undisclosed)
  50. Wayne Northrop 77, Days of Our Lives, Dynasty. Early-Onset Alzheimer’s  
  51. David Harris, 75, The Warriors, Fatal Beauty, Cancer.
  52. Chad McQueen, 63, Actor, Martial Artist, Race Car Driver, The Karate Kid I and II, Red Line. Son of Steve McQueen. Organ failure.
  53. Doug Sheehan, 75, General Hospital, Knots Landing, Sabrina The Teenaged Witch, (undisclosed)
  54. Nicholas Pryor, 89, General Hospital, Risky Business, Hunger Games, Cancer.
  55. Ken Page, 70, Actor and Cabaret Singer,Ain’t Misbehavin’. Torch Song Trilogy, Dreamgirls, Nightmare Before Christmas (as Oogie Boogie)(in his sleep)
  56. Jonathan Haze, (Jack Aaron Schachter), 95, Little Shop of Horrors, Not of this Earth. Natural causes.
  57. Geoffrey Duel, 81, Chisum, The FBI Mannix, The Mod Squad, The Young and the Restless. COPD
  58. Darryl Hickman, 92, Grapes of Wrath, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Island in the Sky, Tea and Sympathy, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (as Davey) Older brother of Dwayne Hickman. (undisclosed)
  59. Phil Donahue, 88, Talk Show Host, Donahue, husband of Marlo Thomas. Long illness.
  60. Bill Hayes, 98, Actor and Singer, Your Show of Shows,Days of Our Lives, Frasier (undisclosed)
  61. Michael Cole, 84, The Mod Squad, The Return of the Mod Squad, General Hospital. (undisclosed)
  62. Tom Bower, 86, The Waltons, Two-Minute Warning, Beverly Hills Cop II, True Believer,Clear and Present Danger, Natural causes.
  63. Ron Hale, 78, All the President’s Men, General Hospital, Port Charles, Ryan’s Hope, Natural causes.
  64. Drake Hogestyn, 70, Days of Our Lives. Pancreatic Cancer
  65. Adrian Bailey, 67 Broadway Veteran,Sophisticated Ladies, My One And Only, Legs Diamond, Black and Blue, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Who’s Tommy, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Little Mermaid. In 2008, Bailey fell through a trap door 30 plus feet before a matinee of The Little Mermaid, breaking many bones. Eventually he was able to walk again, but his career was halted. He died from complications in 2024.  
  66. John Ashton, 76, Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run. Cancer
  67. Sam Art Williams, 78, Actor, Playwright, Producer, Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole
  68. Paul D’Amato 76, Slap Shot, The Deer Hunter, Suspect, Heart Attack
  69. Paul Teal, 35, One Tree Hill, Dynasty, The Walking Dead Pancreatic cancer
  70. Ken Brophy, 70, Lucan, Hell Night.  Cancer.
  71. Robert Logan 82, 77 Sunset Strip, Daniel Boone, Adventures of The Wilderness Family. Natural Causes
  72. Tony LoBianco, 87, The French Connection, The Seven- Ups, Cancer.
  73. Fritz Wepper-82. German Actor, Derrick, Cabaret, The Bridge, Sepsis, followed by a long illness.
  74. Hudson Meek, 16, Baby Driver, Fall from moving vehicle
  75. Adan Canto, 42, Mexican Actor, X-Men:Days of Future Past. Blood &Oil, The Cleaning Lady.  Appendiceal cancer
  76. Gavin Creel 48 Broadway actor, Hair, Into the Woods, Cancer
  77. Art Evans, 82, Leadbelly, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling, Everybody Hates Chris, Diabetes.

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Farewells of 2024 – Part 3: Musicians and Singers

Posted on February 11, 2025 | Leave a comment

You can see my other farewells for last year here.

This was was a bit tough. Think of all the music you hear in your life, and how much joy it’s brought to you. Losing these musical creatives brought about many memories. I’m sure you’ll recognize many of these talents, and be sure to discover those whom you’ve never heard of. After all, there are only so many songs and music we’ll never hear in our lifetimes, so each new song is a gift.

Rest in Harmony, old friends.

Tomorrow: Actors!

  1. Les McCann, 88, Jazz Singer and Soul Piano player, Compared to What?
  2. Judi Pulver, 77, Twice as Nice, Dancing on the Moon
  3. Melanie Safka,76, Brand New Key, Lay Down (Candles in the Wind)
  4. Sergio Mendes, 83, Leader of Brasil 66, Mas que Nada, The Look of Love, Long Covid
  5. Cissy Houston, 91, Soul and Gospel singer, Think it Over, I Just Wanna Be with You, Mother of Whitney. Alzheimer’s.
  6. Liam Payne, 31, One Direction What Makes You Beautiful, Perfect. Fall from Balcony.
  7. Rich Homie Quan, 34, Type of Way, Accidental overdose, including Fentanyl
  8. Richard Sherman, 95, Composer, Mary Poppins
  9. Byron Janis 95, American classical pianist, The Philadelphia Symphony
  10. Peter Schikele, 88, American composer, musical educator and parodist, D.Q. Bach.
  11. Nell Smith, 17, singer composer Flaming Lips, Red Right Hand, Girl in Amber, Car accident
  12. Francoise Hardy, 80, French Pop Singer Songwriter, Actress and Model. Tous les garçons et les filles, Viola MALT Lymphoma, Lung cancer.
  13. Henry Fambrough 85 Last surviving original member of The Spinners, (undisclosed)
  14. Gene Merlino, 95, KCBS Radio, Voice of Lancelot in Camelot Natural Causes
  15. Brother Marquis, 58, 2liveCrew, Heart attack
  16. Maurice Williams 86, The Zodiacs Stay, So Fine (undisclosed)
  17. Cynthia Strother, 88, The Singing Bell Sisters Those Redheads from Seattle, Heart Failure
  18. James Kottak, 61, Drummer for The Scorpions, Wild Horses, Warrant, and many more. Cardiac Arrest.
  19. Joe Bonsall ,76, Tenor Vocalist with Oak Ridge Boys,Out Goin’ Cattin ALS
  20. Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir, 88, last surviving original member of The Four Tops Can’t Help Myself, Reach Out I’ll Be There, Cardiac Arrest.
  21. Screamin Scott Simon, 75, Sha Na Na Pianist, Goodnight, Sweetheart, I Wonder Why, Sinus Cancer.
  22. Roni Stoneman 85, First Lady of Banjo, Those Stonemans, Grand Ol Opry, Hee Haw (undisclosed)
  23. Anfela Bofill 70, Composer and Singer, This Time I’ll be Sweeter, Angel of the Night”, Stroke
  24. Quincy-Jones, 91, Legendary Music Composer and producer, It’s My Party, Super Bossa-Nova, Producer: We Are The World, Thriller, Film Scores: In the Heat of the Night, The Wiz, The Color Purple Pancreatic Cancer
  25. Shifty Shellshock 49, Seth Brooks Binzer Crazy Town, Butterfly, Accidental overdose of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine
  26. Seiji Ozawa 88 Internationally renowned Japanese Conductor of the Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Boston Orchestras and more. Esophageal cancer and Heart failure.  
  27. Tito Jackson 70, Founding Member of the Jackson 5, I Want you Back, Get it, Baby, Heart Attack
  28. Marlena Shaw 81 Jazz Singer, California Soul, Woman of the Ghetto, (undisclosed)
  29. Charlie Colin, 58, Bassist for Train, Drops-of-Jupiter, Homeless Artist Advocate, Philanthropist, Fall in shower.
  30. Kinky Friedman 79, Country Singed, Lasso from El Paso, Mystery Author Armadillo and Old Lace Parkinson’s
  31. Peetah Morgan 46 Reggae Singer of the band Morgan Heritage. Down by the River (undisclosed)
  32. Margo Smith, 84, There, I’ve Said it, Baby My Baby, Still a Woman, Stroke Complications
  33. Fatman Scoop, 56, Be faithful. Stage collapse
  34. Kris Kristofferson, 88, Singer Songwriter, Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, Actor, A Star is Born,(undisclosed)
  35. John Mayall, 90, Singer Songwriter, John Mayer and the Bluesbusters. ‘Godfather of British Blues” (undisclosed)
  36. Brit Turner, 57, Drummer, Raspberry Smoke. Glioblastoma brain cancer
  37. Wayne Kramer, MC5, Back in the USA, High Time, Pancreatic cancer
  38. Vic Flick, 87, Guitarist 007 Theme, studio guitarist for many bit artists. Alzheimer’s
  39. Duane-Eddy 86 Guitarist, Rebel Rouser, Peter Gunn, Because They’re Young.
  40. Jack Jones 86, Singer, Lollipops and Roses, Wives and Lovers, Love Boat Theme, Leukemia
  41. Chino XL 50 No Slow Rollin’, Rise /Jesus, March of the Imperial.
  42. Greg Kihn,75, Rock Guitarist, The Greg Kihn Band. Jeopardy, Rendezvous Alzheimer’s
  43. Mary Weiss, 75, The Shangri-Las, Remember (Walking in the Sand), Leader of the Pack, COPD
  44. Dave Loggins, 76, Please come to Boston, Second Cousin to Kenny Loggins (undisclosed)
  45. Eleanor Collins, 104, Canadas ‘First Lady Of Jazz’, Serenade in Rhythm, Natural causes.
  46. Mojo Nixon 66 Singer, Elvis is Everywhere Cardiac Arrest
  47. Betty Brodel, 104, Singer, Actress, Vaudevillian, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Natural causes.
  48. Frankie Beverly, 77, Singer, Maze, Before I let Go. Love is the Key (undisclosed)
  49. Juana-Bacallao 98, Beloved, Cuban Cabaret Singer, Pulmonary Thromboembolism
  50. Toby-Keith 62, Country Singer, Grateful Dead Blue Moon, Peso in my Pocket, Stomach Cancer
  51. Phil Lesh 84 Bassist, Co-Founder, The Grateful Dead. Truckin’ Uncle John’s Band. Cancers
  52. Tommy Cash 84, Country Artist, Brother of Johnny Cash, Six white Horses, Rise and Shine, One Song Away. Complications of Diabetes.

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