The following industry personalities, athletes, politicians (etc.) passed away in 2022 and heartfelt condolences are extended to their families, friends and fans.
The celebrities we have lost this year are (in alphabetical order):
Shinzo Abe (Former Japanese Prime Minister)
Neal Adams (Batman Comic Artist)
Shireen Abu Akleh (Al Jazeera Journalist)
Madeleine Albright (First Female Secretary of State)
Ian Alexander Jr. (Musician, DJ and son of Actress and Director Regina King) [He was only 26]
Marie Alice (Actress, A Different World and Spakle)
Kirstie Alley (Actress, Cheers, Veronica’s Closet and Look Who’s Talking)
Louie Anderson (Comedian; Emmy Winning Actor, Baskets and Family Feud Host)
John Aniston (Veteran Actor, Days of Our Lives and Jennifer Aniston’s Father)
David A. Arnold (Standup Comedian and Showrunner)
Nicki Aycox (Actress, Supernatural) [She was 47]
Angelo Badalamenti (Composer, Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive)
Rebecca Balding (Actress, Soap and the original Charmed)
Jim Balfe (father of actress Caitriona Balfe from Outlander)
Darius Barnes (Broadway dancer and choreographer)
Jules Bass (Producer and Director, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman)
Luke Bell (Country Artist, Cowboy and Troubadour) [He was only 32]
Jana Bennett (Former President and General Manager of the History Channel and Former Director at the BBC)
Marilyn Bergman (Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning songwriter, “The Way We Were”)
David Birney (Actor, St. Elsewhere and Bridget Loves Bernie)
Stephanie Bissonnette (Broadway Star, Mean Girls) [She was only 32]
June Blair (Actress, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) [She was 90]
Peter Bogdanovich (Iconic Director, The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon)
Stephan Bonnar (Legendary Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator fighter) [He was only 45]
Lee Bontecou (Legendary Artist) [She was 91]
Stephen “tWitch” Boss (Dancer, DJ and Co-Executive Producer, So You Think You Can Dance and The Ellen DeGeneres Show) [He was 40]
Traci Braxton (Singer and Star of Braxton Family Values alongside her sisters Toni and Tamar) [She was only 50]
David Brenner (Film Editor, Justice League and Independence Day)
Raymond Briggs (Creator of “The Snowman’ picture book) [He was 88]
Todd Brodginski (Veteran Music Publicist and Art Garfunkel’s Manger)
Peter Brook (Tony-Winning British Theater Director) [He was 97]
Johnny Brown (Veteran Actor, Good Times)
June Brown (Veteran British Actress, EastEnders) [She was 95]
James Caan (Actor, The Godfather and Las Vegas)
Patrick Carlin (Author, Comedy Writer and Older Brother of Comedian George Carlin) [He was 90]
Irene Cara (Iconic 1980’s Singer-Actress, Fame and Flashdance)
Pat Carroll (Emmy Winner and voice of Disney’s Ursula)
Dick Carson (Director, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and younger brother to Johnny Carson) [He was 92]
Jeff Carson (Award-Winning Country Artist and Songwriter ) [He was 58]
Aaron Carter (Pop Singer and Younger Brother of Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys) [He was only 34]
Robbie Coltrane (Actor, Hagrid in the Harry Potter franchise)
Coolio (Rapper, Best Known for “Gangster’s Paradise”)
Kevin Conroy (Iconic Voice of Animated Batman)
Tim Considine (Disney Legend and Actor, My Three Sons and original The Mickey Mouse Club)
Ann Turner Cook (Face of Gerber’s Baby Food) [She was 95]
Zuri Craig (America’s Got Talent Finalist and Collaborator of Tyler Perry)
Bernard Cribbins (British Actor, Grandfather to Donna Tate on Doctor Who) [He was 93]
Carl Croneberg (Deaf Swedish Immigrant, Helped write first comprehensive ASL dictionary) [He was 92]
Julee Cruise (Icon Singer, Twin Peaks theme song)
David Davis (Comedy Writer, Bob Newhart Show and Taxi)
Charlbi Dean (Actress, Black Lightning) [She was only 32]
Emilio Delgado (Actor, Sesame Street)
Robert Breck Denny, Jr. (Writer and Actor, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Member of The Groundlings) [He was only 34]
Jan DeWitt (50-Year Veteran Producer, Bones and Judging Amy)
Tony Dow (Actor, Leave It To Beaver)
Denise Dowse (Actress, Insecure and Beverly Hills 90210)
Lamont Dozier (Motown Legend, Singer-Songwriter-Producer, Mastermind behind songs like “Baby Love” and “Two Hearts”)
Shonka Dukureh (Actress-Singer, Played Big Mama Thornton in 2022 Elvis) [She was only 44]
Sonya Eddy (Actress and Beloved General Hospital Star) [She was 55]
James Edwards (Major Figure in British Music Industry) [He was only 31]
Ned Eisenberg (Actor, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Mare of Easttown)
Ralph Emery (Country Music DJ and TV Host)
Charles Entenmann (Builder of the Baked Goods Empire) [He was 92]
Zack Estrin (Writer-Producer, Prison Break and Lost in Space) [He was 51]
Nicholas Evans (Author, The Horse Whisperer)
Ben Feigin (Executive Producer, Schitt’s Creek)
Ryan Fellows (Cast Member on Discovery series Street Outlaws) [Died in Car Crash; He was only 41]
Bobbie Faye Ferguson (Actress, Designing Women, Dallas and Dukes of Hazzard)
Steve Fickinger (Tony-Winning Producer, “Dear Evan Hansen”)
Bert Fields (Consummate Hollywood/Entertainment Lawyer) [He was 93]
Nikki Finke (Founder of Deadline and Iconoclastic Journalist)
Andy Fletcher (Founding Member of Depeche Mode)
Louise Fletcher (Oscar Winning Actress, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
Farrah Forke (Actress, Wings and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) [She was 54]
Jason David Frank (Actor, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) [He was 49]
Dallas Frazier (Songwriter, “Elvira,” “Alley Oop” and “Beneath Still Waters”)
Budd Friedman (Founder of The Improv Comedy Club) [He was 90]
Gallagher (Well-Known Comedian)
Mickey Gilley (Country Music Icon)
Clarence Gilyard, Jr. (Actor, Die Hard and Walker, Texas Ranger)
Jean-Luc Godard (King of France’s New Wave Cinema) [He was 91]
Mikhail Gorbachev (Last Soviet leader who ended the Cold War) [He was 91]
Gilbert Gottfried (Comedian)
Heather Gray (Executive Producer of “The Talk”) [She was only 50]
Jeremiah Green (Co-founder and Drummer, Rock Band Modest Mouse) [He was 45]
Stephen Greif (Actor, The Crown and Blake’s 7)
Robyn Griggs (Soap Opera Actress, One Life to Live and Another World) [She was only 49]
Clu Gulager (Veteran Actor, The Virginian and Return of the Living Dead) [He was 93]
Mike Hagerty (Actor, Friends and Somebody, Somewhere)
Patrick Haggerty (Trailblazing Gay Country Star)
Philip Baker Hall (Veteran Actor, The Loop, Falcon Crest and Seinfeld) [He was 90]
Scott Hall (WWE Hall of Famer)
Thich Nhat Hanh (Zen Master and Buddhist Monk) [He was 95]
Estelle Harris (Veteran Actress, Seinfeld) [She was 93]
Franco Harris (Legendary Football Player, Pittsburgh Steelers)
William “Poogie” Hart (Lead Singer of Soul Group Delfonics)
John Hartman (Founding Drummer of The Doobie Brothers)
Dwayne Haskins (Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback) [He was only 24]
Shelley Haus (Chief Marketing Officer of Ulta Beauty) [She was only 49]
Ronnie “Hawk” Hawkins (Rocabilly Singer, Mentor to The Band)
Rosa Lee Hawkins (Singer from The Dixie Cups, “Chapel of Love”)
Taylor Hawkins (Drummer, Foo Fighters) [He was only 50]
Anne Heche (Actress, Men In Trees)
Brad William Henke (Former NFL Player and Actor, Orange Is the New Black)
Howard Hesseman (Actor, Head of the Class and WKRP in Cincinnati)
Dwayne Hickman (Actor, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis)
Mike Hodges (British Director, Get Carter and Croupier) [He was 90]
Nick Holly (Manager, Writer, Producer and Co-Creator of ABC comedy Sons & Daughters) [He was 51]
Georgia Holt (Singer, Actress and Mother of Cher) [She was 96]
Bo Hopkins (Actor, American Graffiti and The Wild Bunch)
Joan Hotchkis (Veteran Stage and Screen Actress, The Odd Couple and Legacy) [She was 95]
Marsha Hunt (Blacklisted Actress and Activist) [She was 104]
William Hurt (Oscar-Winning Actor)
Gregory Itzin (Actor, 24)
Michael Robin Jackson (LA Talk Radio Personality)
Conrad Janis (Veteran Actor, Mork & Mindy)
Anthony “A.J.” Johnson (Actor, House Party and Friday) [He was 55]
Brad Johnson (Actor, Always and the original Melrose Place)
L.Q. Jones (Veteran Actor, The Wild Bunch, Casino and The Legend of Zorro) [He was 94]
Leslie Jordan (Actor, Writer and Singer)
Marvin Josephson (Founder, ICM Partners) [He was 95]
Naomi Judd (Matriarch of The Judds and mother to Wynonna and Ashley)
Max Julien (Actor, 1973 Blaxploitation classic The Mack)
Robert A. Katz (Producer, Gettysburg and Selena)
Takahashi Kazuki (Creator, Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Jack Kehler (Character Actor, The Main the High Castle and The Big Lebowski)
Sally Kellerman (Actress, Original Movie MASH)
Jessica Klein (Producer and Writer, Beverly Hills 90210)
Howie Kleinberg (Top Chef Fan Fave) [He was only 46]
Jak Knight (Stand-Up Comedian) [He was only 28]
Charles Koppelman (Legendary Music Executive and Former Chairman of Martha Stewart’s Company)
Michael Kopsa (Actor, Hallmark Channel movies)
Krishna (Major Star of 1980’s Telgui Cinema and Father of Star Mahesh Babu)
Hardy Kruger (German Actor, A Bridge Too Far, Hatari! and Barry Lyndon)
Cheslie Kryst (Former Miss USA 2019 and Correspondent for Extra) [She was only 30]
Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova (Journalist) [Killed in Ukraine] (She was only 24)
Art Laboe (Legendary Radio DJ who coined “Oldies but Goodies”)
Alan Ladd Jr. (Son of legendary actor Alan Ladd, Oscar-Winning Producer and Influential Motion Picture Executive)
Guy Lafleur (Legendary Montreal Canadiens player)
Bappi Lahiri (Bollywood Composer and Singer)
Edie Landau (Producer, The David Susskind Show and Executive President of the National Telefilm Associates) [She was 95]
Angela Landsbury (Veteran Actress, Murder She Wrote)
Mark Lanegan (Singer, Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age)
Michael Lang (Co-Creator of the 1969 Woodstock Festival)
Mike Lang (Leading Jazz and Studio Pianist)
Stephen J. Lawrence (Composer, Sesame Street)
Quentin Oliver Lee (Broadway Actor and Opera Singer)
Kevin Levene (Pioneering Guitarist and Co-Found of the Clash)
Jerry Lee Lewis (Rock Pioneer and Singer)
Lil Keed (Atlanta-based Rapper) [He was only 24]
Ray Liotta (Actor, Goodfellas and Field of Dreams)
Jon Lind (A&R Executive and Songwriter “Boogie Wonderland,” “Crazy for You”)
Sacheen Littlefeather (Native Americn Activist Who Declined Marlon Brando’s Oscar)
Bob LuPone (Actor and Brother of Broadway Icon Patti LuPone)
Loretta Lynn (Country Music Legend) [She was 90]
Patricia MacLachlan (Award-Winning Author, “Sarah, Plain and Tall”)
Lata Mangeshkar (Bollywood Singer, Known as the ‘Nighingale of India’) [She was 92]
Mary Mara (Actress, Nash Bridges, Law & Order and ER)
Jane Marczewski [aka Nightbirde] (Fan Favorite Season 16 contestant on America’s Got Talent) [She was only 31]
Stuart Margolin (TV Director, Actor and two-time Emmy winner, The Rockford Files)
Ron Masak (Actor, Murder She Wrote)
Dan McCafferty (Frontman of Scottish Rock Band Nazareth)
David McCullough (Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author) [He was 89]
Bob McGrath (One of the Original Human Stars on Sesame Street) [He was 90]
Virginia McLaurin (Sharecropper Daught in Jim Crow South/Danced with Barack & Michelle Obama at the Whitte House) [She was 113 by her accounting, as she had no birth certificate]
Dale McRaven (Creator, Mork & Monday and Perfect Strangers)
Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac, Singer-Songwriter-Keyboardist)
Meat Loaf (Singer, “Bat Out of Hell”)
Marijane Meaker (Autor, 1952 novel “Spring Fire” among countless other books) [She was at 95]
Yvette Mimieux (Actress, The Time Machine, The Black Hole, Where the Boys Are and Toys in the Attic)
Nicky Moore (Lead Singer of heavy metal band Samson)
Tommy Morgan (Harmonica Soloist for Dances With Wolves and Roots) [He was 89]
Robert Morse (Veteran Actor, Mad Men) [He was 90]
Roger E. Mosley (Actor, the original Magnum P.I.)
Virginia Patton Moss (Last Surviving Adult Cast Member of It’s a Wonderful Life)
Manfred Thierry Mugler (French Fashion Designer)
Mace Neufeld (Longtime producer, Patriot Game and Beverly Hills Cop III) [He was 93]
Olivia Newton-John (Grammy-Winning Singer and Actress, Grease and Xanadu)
Nichelle Nichols (Veteran Actress, Original Star Trek) [She was 89]
Monty Norman (Composer, James Bond Theme) [He was 94]
Terrence O’Hara (TV Director, NCIS and JAG)
Mo Ostin (Top Executive at Warner Bros.-Reprise Records for more than three decades) [He was 95]
Mimi Parker (Vocalist and Drummer for the band Low)
Tom Parker (The Wanted, British-Irish Boy Band) [He was only 33]
Fred Parris (Singer from The Five Satins, “In The Still Of The Night”)
Pelé (Soccer Legend) [He was 82]
D.H. Peligro (Drummer of Legendary Punk Rock Band Dead Kennedys)
Bill Pence (Co-Founder of the Telluride Film Festival) [He was 82]
Bob Penny (Veteran Actor, Forrest Gump and Sweet Home Alabama)
George Perez (Comic Book Artist, Wonder Woman and Teen Titans)
Nehemiah Persoff (Actor, Yentl and Some Like it Hot) [He was 102]
Wolfgang Peterson (Director, Air Force One and Das Boot)
Leslie Phillips (Actor in Harry Potter franchise as the voice of The Sorting Hat) [He was 98]
Svika Pick (Israeli King of Pop and Eurovision Winner)
Anita Pointer (Member of the Pointer Sisters)
Sidney Poiteir (Revered Actor, Oscar-Winning Trailblazer and Civl Rights Activist) [He was 94]
Jesse Powell (R&B Singer and Grammy Nominee)
Julie Powell (Food Writer of Julia Child Recipe Blog – Amy Adams played her in Julia & Julie movie) [She was only 49]
Pope Benedict XVI (German Pope from 2005 to 2013) [He was 95]
Albert Pyun (Action Director, Nemesis, Cyborg and Captain America)
Queen Elizabeth (Longest-Reigning Monarch in British History) [She was 96]
Bob Rafelson (Director, Five Easy Pieces and Co-Creator of The Monkees)
Teddy Ray (Stand-Up Comedian and Actor) [He was only 32]
Julia Reichert (Oscar-Winning Documentarian)
Ivan Reitman (Legendary Director, Ghostbusters)
Brent Renaud (U.S. Documentary Filmmaker) [He was only 50] [Killed in Ukraine]
Hargus “Pig” Robbins (Country Hall of Fame Piano Player)
Peter Robbins (Voice Actor, Original Voice of Charlie Brown in Peantus cartoons)
Cormac Roth (Musician and Son of Actor Tim Roth) [He was only 25]
Art Rupe (Specialty Records Founder and Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneer) [He was 104]
Bill Russell (11-Time NBA Champion and First Black Head Coach in US Pro Sports) [He was 88]
Mitchel Ryan (Veteran Actor, Dark Shadows, Lethal Weapon and Dharma & Greg)
Bobby Rydell (1960’s Pop Idol and Star of Bye Bye Birdie)
Bob Saget (Stand-Up Comedian and Actor, Full House and Host, America’s Funniest Home Videos)
Pharoah Sanders (Boundary-Pushing Jazz Saxophonist)
Marnie Schulenburg (Actress, As the World Turns and One Life to Live) [She was only 37]
Vin Scully (Legendary Announcer for the LA Dodgers) [He was 94]
Jim Seals (Seals and Crofts 70’s soft-rock duo)
Bernard Shaw (Legendary CNN Broadcaster) [He was 82]
Liz Sheridan (Veteran Actress on Broadway and on TV in Seinfeld and ALF)
Mark Shields (Political Analyst for PBS News Hour and CNN’s Capital Gang)
Oksana Shvets (Revered Ukranian Actress) [Killed in Russian Rocket Attack]
Charles Siebert (Actor, Trapper John M.D.)
Henry Silva (Veteran Actor, Ocean’s Eleven and The Manchurian Candidate) [He was 94]
Joanna Simon (Opera Singer and Sister of Carly Simon)
Lucy Simon (Singer, Broadway Composer and Sister of Carly Simon)
Joyce Sims (R&B Singer-Songwriter)
Tony Siragus (Former NFL PLayer) [He was 55]
Tony Sirico (Actor, The Sopranos)
Paul Sorvino (Actor, Goodfellas and Law & Order)
Ronnie Spector (Lead Singer of 60’s girl group The Ronettes)
Carol Speed (Actress, Blaxploitation film The Mack and Horror classic Abby)
Willie Spense (Season 19 American Idol Runner-Up) [He was only 23]
Meghan Stabile (New Jazz Impresario) [She was only 39]
Susie Steiner (Author of Acclaimed British Crime Novels) [She was only 51]
Morgan Stevens (Actor, Fame and Melrose Place)
Austin Stoker (Veteran Actor, Assault on Precinct 13 and Sheba, Baby) [He was 92]
Larry Storch (Actor, F Troop) [He was 6 months shy of his 100th birthday]
Alec John Such (First Bassist and Founding Member, Bon Jovi)
Marva Hicks Taha (Broadway and TV Actress)
Akira Takarada (Veteran Actor, Star of Original Godzilla and Voiceover Artist) [He was 87]
Takeoff (Rapper) [He was only 28]
Andre Leon Talley (Former America’s Next Top Model Judge and Fashion Icon)
Joe E. Tata (Actor, Beverly Hills, 90210)
Dax Tejera (Executive Producer, ABC’s This Week) [He was only 37]
Judy Tenuta (Accordian-Playing ‘Love Goddess’ Comedian)
Terry Tolkin (Veteran A&R Executive for Elektra Records)
Jean-Louis Trintignant (French Actor, A Man and a Woman and Amour) [He was 91]
Trouble aka Skoob (Atlanta Rapper) [He was only 35]
Ivana Trump (Donald Trump’s former wife)
Brett Tuggle (Keyboardist for Fleetwood Mac and David Lee Roth)
Joe Turkel (Bartender in The Shining and Blade Runner) [He was 94]
Gaspard Ulliel (French Actor, Moon Knight)
Vangelis (Oscar-Winning Composer Chariots of Fire)
Ronan Vibert (Actor, Saving Mr. Banks and The Snowman) [He was 58]
Leon Vitali (Actor, Barry Lyndon and Personal Assistant to Stanley Kubrick)
Monica Vitti (Actress, Italian movies L’Avventura and La Notte)
Lenny Von Dohlen (Actor, Twin Peaks)
Grant Wahl (Soccer Journalist) [He passed away while covering the World Cup in Qatar]
Jackie Walorski (Indiana US Representative)
Barbara Walters (Legendary News Anchor, TV Interviewer and TV Host) [She was 93]
Fred Ward (Actor, The Right Stuff and Tremors)
Shane Warne (Legendary Former Australian Cricket Player and TV Commentator) [He was 52]
David Warner (British Actor, The Omen, Tron, Time Bandits)
Shirley Watts (Wife of Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts)
Kenneth Welsh (Actor, Twin Peaks and The Day After Tomorrow)
Vivienne Westwood (Legendary English fashion designer who helped to popularize punk style)
Bobbie Whiteman (Longtime Variety Editor)
Don Wilson (Co-Founder of Rock-N-Roll Group The Ventures)
Shimada Yoko (Golden Globe Winner playing Mariko in 1980s TV series Shogun)
Pierre Zakrzewski (Fox News Cameraman) [Killed in Ukraine]
Jon Zazula (Legendary Metal Label Megaforce Records)
NOTE: This list, in no way, covers all the industry talent who passed away this year. Again, condolences are extended to one and all.
Out of respect, please take a moment of silence.
TOMORROW: TV Ratings
Rueben's Ramblings 