The following industry personalities, athletes and politicians passed away in 2021 and heartfelt condolences are extended to their families, friends and fans.
Before we get to the list, however, we need to take a moment of silence to remember all those who have been lost this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The celebrities we have lost this year (in alphabetical order):
Hank Aaron (Pro Baseball Player)
Granville Adams (Actor, Oz)
Raymond Allen (Actor, Sanford and Son)
Michael Apted (British Director, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist and Nell)
Ed Asner (Legendary Actor, Lou Grant and The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Eve Babitz (Chronicler and Muse of the L.A. Scene)
F. Lee Bailey (Famed Lawyer to Patty Hearst and OJ Simpson)
Lisa Banes (Actress, Gone Girl and Young Guns)
Anne Beatts (Original Writer, Saturday Night Live and Creator of Square Pegs sitcom)
Ned Beatty (Veteran Actor, Deliverance and Network)
Jean-Paul Belmondo (Beloved French Actor)
Walter Bernstein (Blacklisted Writer and Oscar Nominee, The Front) [He was 101]
Biz Markie (Rapper)
Frank Bonner (Actor, WKRP in Cincinnati and Saved By the Bell)
Connie Bradley (Longtime ASCAP Nashville Head)
Harry Bring (TV Producer, Criminal Minds and The X-Files)
Eli Broad (Billionaire Philanthropist)
Allan Burns (Emmy-Winning Screenwriter and Co-Creator of The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Jessica Campbell (Actress, Freak and Geeks and box office film Election)
Linda Carlson (Actress, Murder One and TV adaptation of Clueless)
Sonny Chiba (Martial Arts Legend and Japanese Actor, Kill Bill)
Roy Christopher (Famed Production Designer)
Beverly Cleary (Best-Selling Author, ‘Ramona the Pest’ and ‘Henry and Beezus’) [She was 104]
Michael Collins (Apollo 11 Astronaut)
Michael Constantine (Actor, My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
Alex Cord (Actor, Airwolf)
Chick Corea (Jazz Fusion Pioneer)
Johnny Crawford (Former Child Star, The Rifleman and Original Mousketeer)
Dave Creek (Lead Character Designer, Bob’s Burgers)
Irv Cross (Former NFL Player and first black TV Analyst)
J.D. Crowe (Master Banjo Player and Grammy Winner)
Arlene Dahl (Veteran Actress, One Life to Live; Cosmetics Executive)
Stuart Damon (Veteran Soap Actor, General Hospital)
Sarah Dash (Labelle Co-Founder and “Lady Marmalade” Singer)
Nick Davatzes (Cable Pioneer who launched A&E Network and the History Channel)
Martha De Laurentiis (Film and TV Producer, Hannibal and Red Dragon and Wife of late Dino De Laurentiis)
David H. DePatie (Cartoon Co-Creator and Producer, The Pink Panther)
Dustin Diamond (Actor, Saved by the Bell) [He was 44]
Eric Jerome Dickey (Best-Selling Author) [He was 59]
Joan Didion (Beloved Author and Screenwriter)
DMX (Rapper)
Bob Dole (Former Senate Majority Leader and Republican Presidential Candidate) [He was 98]
Young Dolph (Rapper, killed in Memphis shooting) [He was only 36]
Richard Donner (Director, Superman, The Goonies and Lethal Weapon)
Anne Douglas (Producer and Widow of Kirk Douglas) [She was 102]
Jerry Douglas (Veteran Actor, The Young and the Restless)
Suzzanne Douglas (Actress, The Parent ‘Hood)
Robert Downey Sr. (Director and father of Robert Downey, Jr.)
Olympia Dukakis (Oscar-Winning Actress, Moonstruck and Steel Magnolias)
Dianne Durham (First African American Senior National Gymnastic Champion) [She was 52]
Graeme Edge (Drummer and Co-Founder of the Moody Blues)
Mark Elliott (Longtime Voice of Disney Trailers)
Don Everly (Half of the Everly Brothers, best known for song “Wake Up Little Susie”)
Frances “Sissy” Farenthold (Liberal force in Texas politics, championed racial parity and women’s rights)
Siegfried Fischbacher (Magician, Siegfried & Roy)
Larry Flynt (Founder and Publisher, Hustler Magazine)
Jahmil French (Actor, Degrassi: The Next Generation) [He was 29]
Chuck Fries (Prolific TV and FIlm Producer) [He was 92]
Mira Furlan (Actress, Babylon 5 and Lost)
Willie Garson (Actor, White Collar and Sex in the City)
Richard Gilliland (Prolific Actor, Designing Women, Thirtysomething, Operation Petticoat and Heartland)
Arlene Golonka (Veteran Character Actress, Mayberry R.F.D.)
Pedro Gomez (Veteran ESPN Sports Center Reporter) [He was 58]
Saginaw Grant (Actor, Breaking Bad and The Lone Ranger)
Alison Greenspan (TV Series Producer, For Life and 2014 movie If I Stay) [She was 48]
Nanci Griffith (Grammy-winning singer-songwriter)
Charles Grodin (Veteran Actor, Midnight Run, Beethoven and Heaven Can Wait)
Tom T. Hall (Country Music Hall of Fame legend)
James Hampton (Writer and Director, F Troop, Longest Yard and Teen Wolf with Michael J. Fox)
Sarah Harding (Actress and Singer from British girl group Girls Aloud) [She was only 39]
Al Harrington (Actor, Hawaii Five-0, original series and reboot)
Billie Hayes (Actress, H.R. Pufnstuf) [She was 96]
Monte Hellman (Director, Two-Lane Blacktop, The Shooting and Road to Nowhere) [He was 91]
Tony Hendra (British Satirist and Comic)
Gloria Henry (Actress, Dennis the Menace)
Dusty Hill (Bassist, legendary band ZZ Top)
Patricia Hitchcock (Daughter of legendary director Alfred Hitchcock) [She was 93]
Hal Holbrook (Veteran Actor, Emmy- and Tony-Winner, All the President’s Men and Lincoln)
bell hooks (Renowned Author and Social Activist
Sally Ann Howes (Actress, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) [She was 91]
Joye Hummel (First woman to write Wonder Woman) [She was 97]
Halyna Hutchins (Cinematopher who was killed on set of western movie Rust)
Ravil Isyanov (Actor, The Americans and NCIS: Los Angeles)
Anthony “A.J.” Johnson (Actor, Friday and House Party)
Geoffrey Johnson (Tony Award winning casting director of Cats and Phantom of the Opera)
Vernon Jordan (American business executive and Civil Rights Activist)
Joey Jordison (Co-founder and original drummer of the band Slipknot) [He was 46]
Irma Kalish (Prolific and Pioneering TV Comedy Writer, Maude and Gilligan’s Island)
Larry King (Legendary Interviewer and Talk Show Host)
Tommy Kirk (Disney Actor, Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson)
Julie E. “Tawny” Kitaen (80’s Music Video Vixen)
Yaphet Kotto (Bond Villain and Actor, Alien and Live and Let Die)
Art LaFleur (Actor, Sandlot, Field of Dreams and Santa Clause)
John Langley (Creator, Cops, the long-running TV reality series)
Tommy Lasorda (Famed Baseball Coach and Manager, Los Angeles Dodgers) [He was 93]
Cloris Leachman (Veteran TV Actress)
Gregg Leakes (Real Housewives of Atlanta star and Husband to NeNe Leakes)
G. Gordon Liddy (Convicted Watergate Operative and Talk Show Host) [He was 90]
Rush Limbaugh (Right-Wing Radio Host)
Joanne Linville (Actress, Star Trek) [She was 93]
Ernie Lively (Actor, Father of actress Blake Lively)
Norman Lloyd (Actor, Producer and Director, Hitchcock flick Saboteur and TV’s St. Elsewhere) [He was 106]
Sean Lock (British Comedian)
William Lucking (Veteran Actor, Sons of Anarchy)
Norm Macdonald (Saturday Night Live Performer and Comedian)
Ray MacDonnell (Veteran Actor, All My Children)
John Madden (NFL Hall of Fame Coach and Broadcaster)
Bernie Madoff (Ponzi Scheme Mastermind)
Harriet Margulies (Producer’s Assistant, JAG and Audience Liaison NCIS)
Carlos Marin (Member of the British opera-pop crossover group Il Divo)
Gerry Marsden (Frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers)
Jackie Mason (Veteran Comedian) [He was 93]
Gavin MacLeod (Actor, Love Boat) [He was 90]
Liz McCann (Pioneer Broadway Producer, 9-Time Tony Winner)
Helen McCrory (Actress, Harry Potter franchise and Peaky Blinders, wife of actor Damian Lewis) [She was 52]
Les McKeown (Singer, Bay City Rollers)
Larry McMurtry (Oscar Winner, Brokeback Mountain and Author ‘Lonesome Dove’)
Eddie Mekka (Actor, Laverne & Shirley)
Roger Michell (Director, Notting Hill, Venus and My Cousin Rachel)
Matthew Mindler (Child Actor, Our Idiot Brother) [He was only 19]
Walter Mondale (Former Vice President)
Paul Mooney (Comedian, Actor and Writer for Richard Pryor)
Jovita Moore (Atlanta News Anchor) [She was only 53]
Captain Sir Tom Moore (British World War II Veteran who raised millions of pounds to battle COVID) [He was 100]
Trevor Moore (Comedian and Co-Founder of The Whitest Kids U Know Sketch Comedy Group)
Mark Anthony Morales (aka Prince Markie Dee, Rap Group The Fat Boys) [He was 52]
Roger Mudd (Veteran CBS and NBC News Correspondent) [He was 93]
Dr. Barbara Murphy (Kidney Transplant Expert)
Michael Nader (Actor, Dynasty and All My Children)
Mike Nesmith (Singer-Songwriter, The Monkees and Multimedia Entrepreneur)
Johnny Pacheco (Co-Founder, Salsa Label Fania Records)
Peter Palmer (Star of Li’l Abner on Broadway and the big screen)
Christopher Pennock (Actor, General Hospital and Dark Shadows)
Lee “Scratch” Perry (Jamaican Reggae Legend, Producer and Performer)
Prince Philip (Husband of Queen Elizabeth II) [He was 99, two months short of 100]
Jay Pickett (Veteran soap opera actor)
Ronald Pickup (Actor, The Crown and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)
Marc Pilcher (Bridgerton Makeup Designer and Emmy Winner)
Christopher Plummer (Veteran Shakespearean Actor, The Sound of Music, Departure and Beginners)
Ron Popeil (Infomercial Icon)
Markie Post (Actress, Night Court)
Anthony Powell (Three-Time Oscar-Winning Costume Designer)
Colin Powell (Former U.S. Secretary of State)
Jane Powell (Legendary Actress, Royal Wedding and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
Eddie Mekka (Actor, Laverne & Shirley)
Marion Ramsey (Broadway Actress, Film Actress, Police Academy)
John Reilly (Veteran Actor, General Hospital)
Anne Rice (Writer, ‘Interview with the Vampire’)
Jerry Remy (Former Baseball player and long-time Boston Red Sox Broadcaster)
Sonny Rhodes (Singer-Guitarist, Performed Theme Song to TV Show Firefly)
Peter Mark Richman (Stage Actor and TV Actor, Beverly Hills 90210 and Three’s Company)
Sam Riddle (Producer, Star Search and Original LA ‘Boss Radio’ DJ)
Paul Ritter (British Actor, Chernobyl and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) [He was 54]
Tanya Roberts (Actress, Charlie’s Angels and That ‘70s Show)
Charles Robinson (Actor, The Night Court)
Mick Rock (Legendary Photographer of David Bowie, Queen and Lou Reed)
Joanne Rogers (Widow of Fred Rogers aka Mister Rogers)
Max Rosenthal (Character Actor and father of series creator Phil Rosenthal) [He was 95]
Donald Rumsfeld (Former U.S. Secretary of Defense)
Richard Rush (Director, The Stunt Man) [He was 92]
Antonio Sabato Sr. (Actor, Grand Prix and Escape From the Bronx and father of actor Antonio Sabato Jr.)
Mort Sahl (Standup Comic) [He was 94]
Jay Sandrich (Emmy-winning Director, The Cosby Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Herbert Schlosser (NBC Executive)
Al Schmitt (Engineer-Mixer, Winner of 20 Grammys) [He was 91]
Peter Scolari (Actor, Newhart and Bosom Buddies)
Willard Scott (Legendary Today Show Weatherman)
Sabine Schmitz (Top Gear Presenter and Famed Racing Driver) [She was 51]
Fred Segal (Icon of Los Angeles Fashion and Retail)
George Segal (Veteran Actor, The Goldsbergs, Oscar Nominee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf)
Sidharth Shukla (Beloved Bollywood Actor) [He was only 40]
Gregory Sierra (Actor, Barney Miller and Sanford and Son)
Felix Silla (Actor, Cousin Itt on The Addams Family and Twiki on Buck Rogers)
Cliff Simon (Actor, Stargate: SG-1)
Joseph Siravo (Actor, The Sopranos, Jersey Boys and American Crime Story)
Sylvain Sylvain (Co-Founder and Rhythm Guitarist, New York Dolls)
Shock G. (Bay Area rapper-producer who fueled “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground)
William Smith (Action Star/Actor, Any Which Way You Can and Rich Man, Poor Man)
Stephen Sondheim (Legendary Composer and Dominant Voice in American Musical Theatre)
Phil Spector (Legendary Studio Producer)
Michael Stanley (Cleveland Rock Hero, Michael Stanley Band)
Jim Steinman (Composer, Lyricist and Record Producer – worked with Meat Loaf, Celine Dion and Bonnie Tyler)
Dean Stockwell (Veteran Actor, Quantum Leap and countless movie since he was a child)
Una Stubbs (Veteran Actress, Sherlock)
Jamie Tarses (TV Executive, First Woman to Lead NBC Programming Division) [She was 56]
B.J. Thomas (Singer and Grammy-Winner)
Ruthie Tompson (Animation Pioneer and Disney Legend) [She was 111]
Houston Tumlin (Child Actor, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) [He was 28]
James Michael Tyler (Actor, Gunther on Friends)
Michael Tylo (Veteran Soap Actor, Guiding Light, General Hospital, The Young and the Restless)
Cicely Tyson (Emmy- and Tony-Winner, Veteran Actress
Bobby Unser (American Auto Race, 3 time Indy winner)
Melvin Van Peebles (Legendary Filmmaker and father of actor-director Mario Van Peebles)
Alma Wahlberg (Mother of Mark and Donnnie Wahlberg)
Bunny Wailer (Founding Member, Bob Marley’s Wailers and Reggae Singer)
Jeff Wald (Manager to Helen Reddy, Sylvester Stallone and Donna Summer)
Jessica Walter (Actress, Arrested Development)
Charlie Watts (Legendary Drummer, The Rolling Stones)
Jim Weatherly (Songwriter, “Midnight Train to Georgia”)
Howard Weitzman (Celebrity Attorney to Michael Jackson, Marlon Brando and Sean Combs)
Sunni Welles (Actress and Author; and one of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault accusers)
Lina Wertmüller (first woman to be nominated for Best Director Oscar) [She was 93]
Diane Weyermann (Producer, Inconvenient Truth)
Betty White (Legendary Actress)
Clarence Williams III (Actor, The Mod Squad and Purple Rain)
Michael K. Williams (Actor, The Wire and Boardwalk Empire)
Mary Wilson ( (Co-Founder of the Supremes)
Jane Withers (Former Child Star and Josephine the Plumber) [She was 95]
Samuel E. Wright (Voice of Sebastian in The Little Mermaid)
John Sacret Young (TV Series Co-Creator, China Beach)
Wanda Young (Original member of the Marvelettes, and later the group’s lead singer)
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