Rueben's Ramblings

The following industry personalities, athletes, politicians (etc.) passed away in 2023 and heartfelt condolences are extended to their families, friends and fans.

The celebrities we have lost this year are (in alphabetical order):

Jim Abrahams (Film Director and Writer, Airplane, Hot Shots and the Naked Gun franchise) [He was 80]
Anouk Aimee (French Actress, A Man and a Woman) [He was 92]
Steve Albini (Recording Engineer, Worked with Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, among countless others) [He was only 61]
Bobby Allison (NASCAR Hall of Fame Driver) [He was 86]
Jean Allison (Character Actress, Bonanza, McCloud, Highway to Heaven and more) [She was 94]
Angela Alvarez (Cuban-born Singer and Songwriter, Oldest Performer to Win Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist at age 95) [She was 97]
John Amos (Actor, Good Times and Roots) [He was 84]
Wallace “Wally” Amos, Jr. (Founder of Famous Amos Cookies) [He was 88]
William Anders (Flew on First Manned Space Mission to Orbit the Moon and Took “Earthrise Photo) [He was 90]
Alfa Anderson (Chic Lead Vocalist, “Good Times” and “Le Freak” [She was 78]
Iris Apfel (Fashion Icon and subject of Albert Maysles documentary) [She was 102]
John Aprea (Actor, Godfather Part II and Full House) [He was 83]
Erica Ash (Actress, Survivor’s Remorse and MADtv) [She was 46]
Dick Asher (Veteran Music Executive) [He was 92]
John Ashton (Actor, Beverly Hills Cop franchise)
Jonathan Axelrod (Studio Executive, Screenwriter and Producer; Responsible for producing over 2 dozen Hallmark movies)
Robin Ayers (Entertainment journalist and Radio Host) [She was only 44)]

Hinton Battle (3-time Tony Award winner, Singer, Dancer, Producer, Director, Choreographer, Actor, the original production of The Wiz and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer “Once More With Feeling” musical episode) [He was only 67]
Billy Bean (Former Openly Gay Outfielder for Detroit Tigers, LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres, MLB’s First Ambassador for Inclusion) [He was only 60]
Bob Beckwith (9/11 Fireman who stood beside President Bush at Ground Zero) [He was 91]
Soma Golden Behr (Senior Editor at The New York Times) [She was 84]
Joan Benedict (Soap Opera Star, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives) [She was 96]
Robyn Bernard (Actress, General Hospital) [She was 64]
Susie Maxwell Berning (Trailblazing 3-Time Champion of US Women’s Open Golf Tournament)
Roy Battersby (Director and Stepfather to Actress Kate Beckinsale)
Dickey Betts (Guitarist, Allman Brothers) [He was 80]
Frankie Beverly (Singer, R&B Group Maze)
Michel Blanc (French Actor, the film Les Bronzes and crime drama Monsieur Hire)
Christine Boisson (French Actress, Emmanuelle) [She was only 68]
Angela Bofill (R&B Singer, “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” “I Try” and “Angel of the Night”)
Joe Bonsall (Member of Legendary Country Singing Group Oak Ridge Boys)
Barbara Taylor Bradford (Best-Selling Author, “A Woman of Substance”) [She was 91]
Marshall Brickman (Oscar-Winning Co-Screenwriter, Annie Hall) [She was 85]
Cole Brings Plenty (Actor, Yellowstone and 1923) [He was only 27]
Kevin Brophy (Actor, TV Series Lucan and Cult Horror Film Hell Night)
Aaron Brown (Former ABC News and CNN anchor)
Joe “Jellybean” Bryant (Professional Basketball Player and Coach, Father to the Late Kobe Bryant) [He was only 69]
Don Buchwald (Longtime Agent to Howard Stern) [He was 88]
Susan Buckner (Actress, Grease)
Edgar Burcksen (Emmy-Winning Film and TV Editor, Young Indiana Jones Chronicles)
Janice Burgess (Creator of Nickelodeon’s The Backyardigans)

Joe Camp (Creator and Director of Benji movies) [He was 84]
Adan Canto (Actor, The Cleaning Lady and Designated Survivor) [He was only 42]
Peter Caranicas (Long-Time Variety Editor) [He was 80]
Eric Carmen (Singer, “All By Myself” and “Hungry Eyes”)
Caleb Carr (Military Historian and Author, ‘The Alienist’) [He was only 68]
Jimmy Carter (39th President of the United States) [He was 100]
Jenne Casarotto (Founder of Brit Talent Agency)
Roberto Cavalli (Fashion Designer) [He was 83]
Cindy Charles (Head of Music at Twitch and Digital Music Veteran) [She was only 69]
Pei-pei Cheng (Cheng Pei-pei in proper Chinese culture) (Actress, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Come Drink With Me)
Thom Christopher (Actor, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and One Life to Live)
Christopher Cicone (Artist, Interior Designer and younger brother of Madonna) [He was only 63]
Bill Cobbs (Veteran Actor, The Bodyguard and The West Wing) [He was 90]
Sherry Coben (Creator, Kate and Allie)
Pat Colbert (Actress, Dallas)
Michael Cole (Actor, Mod Squad) [He was 84]
Dabney Coleman (Veteran Actor, 9 to 5, Tootsie, Buffalo Bill, Yellowstone and Boardwalk Empire) [He was 92]
Charlie Colin (Founding Member and Bassist of the band Train) [He was only 58]
Eleanor Collins (Canada’s First Lady of Jazz, First Black person in Canada to host a TV program) [She was 104]
Roger Cook (PBS’ This Old House Cast Member)
Roger Corman (Pioneering Independent Producer, King of B Movies and Discovered Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro) [He was 98]
Mickey Cottrell (Veteran Publicist and Champion of Independent Filmmakers)
Gavin Creel (Tony Winner and Broadway Star, Hair, Hello Dolly and Into the Woods) [He was only 49]
Arlene Croce (Dance Critic for The New Yorker) [She was 90]
Peter Crombie (Actor Seinfeld and House of Frankenstein)
Kathryn Crosby (Actress, Singer and Widow of Bing Crosby) [She was 90]
Charles R. Cross (Music Journalist) [He was 67]
Michael Culver (British Actor, Sherlock Holmes, Star Wars franchise and A Passage to India) [He was 85]
Sarah Cunningham (British Painter of Hypnotic Canvases) [She was only 31]

Mark Damon (Actor turned Independent Sales Executive, Producer on Monster) [He was 91]
James Darren (Teen Idol Actor in Gidget, Singer and Director) [He was 88]
Lynn Yamada Davis (TikTok star known for Cooking with Lynja) [She was only 67]
Vontae Davis (Former NFL Player) [He was only 35]
Lorenza de’Medici (Descendant of Storied Italian Family, Author, TV Host and Cooking School Director) [She was 97]
Diane Delano (Actress, Northern Exposure) [She was only 67]
Alain Delon (French Actor, Le Samourai) [He was 88]
Daniel C. Dennett (Widely Read and Fiercely Debated Philosopher) [He was 82]
Michaela DePrince (World-Renowned Ballerina) [She was only 29]
Geoffrey Deuel (Actor, The Young and the Restless and Chisum) [He was 81]
Paul Di’Anno (Former Iron Maiden Lead Singer) [He was only 66]
Shannen Doherty (Actress, Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed) [She was only 53]
Lou Dobbs (Conservative Political Commentator)
Charles Dolan (Founder of HBO and Cablevision) [He was 98]
Phil Donahue (Legendary Talk Show Host) [He was 88]
William Donaldson (Chairman of the S.E.C.) [He was 93]
Shelley Duvall (Actress, The Shining)

Bob Edwards (Host of the NPR news program Morning Edition)
Duane Eddy (Grammy-winning Guitarist) [He was 86]
Ron Ely (Actor, 1960’s TV series Tarzan) [He was 86]
Jeannie Epper (Stunt Double for Lynda Carter in Wonder Woman) [She was 83]
Dr. Anthony Epstein (Doctor who found virus capable of cousin cancer in humans) [He was 102]
Art Evans (Actor, A Soldier’s Story and Die Hard 2) [He was 82]

Abdul “Duke” Fakir (Last Surviving Member of the Four Tops) [He was 88]Henry Fambrough (Last Original Member of The Spinners, “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” and “The Rubberband Man”) [He was 85]
Tisa Farrow (Actress, Only God Knows and younger sister of Mia Farrow)
Neill Fearnley (TV Director)
April Ferry (Acclaimed Costume Designer, Maverick, Game of Thrones and Rome) [He was 91]
Joe Flaherty (Comedian-Actor, SCTV and Freaks and Geeks) [He was 82]
Vic Flick (English Musician/Guitarist, Responsible for the classic guitar riff on the iconic James Bond Theme) [He was 87]
Herbie Flowers (Bassist, Performed with David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Lou Reed) [He was 86]
Woody Fraser (Producer and Creator, The Mike Douglas Show and Good Morning America) [He was 90]
Frank Fritz (American Pickers) [He was only 60]
Yvonne Furneaux (Actress in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Polanski’s Repulsion) [She was 98]

David Gail (Actor, Port Charles) [He was only 58]
Teri Garr (Actress and Oscar Nominee, Tootsie, “Young Frankenstein” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”) [She was 79]
Chris Gauthier (Actor, Once Upon a Time and Eureka) [He was only 48]
Mitzi Gaynor (Actress, South Pacific) [She was 93]
Cecilia Gentili (Actress, Pose and longtime trans activist) [She was only 52]
Eric Gilliland (Writer and Producer, Roseanne) [He was only 62]
Nikki Giovanni (Poet, Activist, Professor and Children’s Book Author) [She was 81]
Cat Glover (Muse and Choreographer who worked with Prince) [She was 62]
Richard Goldstein (Trailblazer in Mapping Other Planets) [He was 97]
Benny Golson (Saxophonist and Composer) [He was 95]
Louis Gossett Jr. (Oscar-Winning Veteran Actor, Office and a Gentleman and Roots) [He was 87]
David Graham (British Actor, Peppa Pig, Thunderbirds franchise and the Daleks on Doctor Who) [He was 99]
Gary Graham (Actor, Star Trek and Alien Nation)
Nancy Green-Keyes (Casting Director, The Notebook and Rush Hour) [She was 68]
Benji Gregory (Former Child Actor, ALF) [He was only 46]
Greg Gumbel (Sports Broadcaster)
Mark Gustafson (Oscar-Winning Director) [He was only 64]

Dayle Haddon (Actress and Former Supermodel)
Francoise Hardy (French Singer and Actress) [She was 80]
Ron Harper (Actor, Land of the Lost and Planet of the Apes) [He was 91]
Bill Hayes (Actor, Days of Our Lives) [He was 98]
Rickey Henderson (Hall of Fame Outfielder) [He was only 65]
Greg Hildebrandt (Famed Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and Marvel Artist) [He was 85]
Bernard Hill (Actor, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings)
Nonny Hogrogian (Honored Illustrator of Children’s Books) [She was 92]
Rod Holcomb (Emmy-Winning TV Director, ER and Lost)
Thomas Hoepker (Photographer whose 9/11 photo of 5 people lounging on a Brooklyn waterfront as the World Trade Center burned in the background, left an indelible mark. [He was 88]
Drake Hogestyn (Actor, Days of Our Lives)
Earl Holliman (Actor, The Rainmaker and Forbidden Planet) [He was 96]
Cissy Houston (Renowned Gospel and Soul Singer, Two-Time Grammy Winner and Mother of Whitney Houston) [She was 91]
Barbara Howar (Nonconformist and Author, “Laughing All the Way) [She was 89]
Olivia Hussey (Actress, Romeo and Juliet and Black Christmas’ Star)

Doug Ingle (Founder of band Iron Butterfly, Singer and Co-Writer ‘In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida’)

Khyree Jackson (Recently Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings) [He was only 24]
Sheila Jackson Lee (Long-time Texas Congresswoman)
Tito Jackson (Founding Member of the Jackson 5)
Jill Jacobson (Actress, The New Gidget and Falcon Crest)
Tom Jarriel (ABC News Correspondent and Anchor) [He was 89]
Norman Jewison (Director, Moonstruck, Jesus Christ Superstar and In the Heat of the Night) [He was 97]
Will Jennings (Grammy and Oscar Winner and Songwriter, “My Heart Will Go On,” “Tears in Heaven” and “Wind Beneath My Wings”) [He was 80]
Glynis John (British Actress, Mary Poppins) [She was 100]
Harry Johnson (Actor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica and Law & Order)
Dub Jones (Football Player, Cleveland Browns) [He was 99]
Jack Jones (Singer, Theme Song of The Love Boat) [He was 86]
Jacoby Jones (Super Bowl Champion and Former NFL Wide Receiver) [He was only 40]
James Earl Jones (Legendary Film and TV Actor) [He was 93]
Quincy Jones (Artist, Grammy-Winning Producer and Film Composer) [He was 91]

Daniel Kahneman (Renowned Psychologist and Nobel Prize Winner) [He was 90]
Jay Kanter (Agent to Stars Like Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando) [He was 97]
Aaron Kaufman (Producing Partner to Robert Rodriguez) [He was only 51]
Toby Keith (Country Singer) [He was only 62]
Jamie Kellner (TV Maverick who launched both FOX and The WB)
Ethel Kennedy (Widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy) [She was 96]
Greg Kihn (Singer-Songwriter, Hitmaker of Songs “Jeopardy” and “Breakup Song”)
James Kottak (Former drummer for hard-rock band Scorpions) [He was only 61]
Daniel Kramer (Bob Dylan Photographer) [He was 91]
Wayne Kramer (Guitarist and Co-Found of MC5, He influenced the creation of punk rock)
Kris Kristofferson (Actor, A Star Is Born, and Country Singer) [He was 88]
Thomas Kurtz (Inventor, BASIC, the computer programming language) [He was 96]

Jon Landau (Oscar-winning producer, Titanic and Avatar) [He was only 63]
Linda Lavin (Tony Winner and Veteran Actress, Alice) [She was 87]
Rev. James Lawson Jr. (Strategist for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Taught Protesters Painful Techniques of Nonviolence) [He was 95]
Mary Wells Lawrence (First woman to Own and Run a Major National Advertising Agency) [She was 95]
Steve Lawrence (Singer and Actor) [He was 88]
Richard Leibner (Agent who made news anchors into stars) [He was 85]
Phil Lesh (Bassist for The Grateful Dead) [He was 84]
Gerald Levin (Media Executive Behind Time Warner-AOL Merger Debacle) [He was 84]
Richard Lewis (Actor and Comedian)
Joseph Lieberman (Senator and Former Vice-Presidential Candidate) [He was 82]
David Liederman (Creator of David’s Cookies)
Rachel Lillis (Voice of Misty and Jessie in Pokémon) [She was only 46]
Robert Logan (Actor, 77 Sunset Strip and Wilderness Family) [He was 82]
Dave Loggins (Grammy nominated Hall of Fame singer/songwriter, “Please Come To Boston”)
Bill Lucy (Trailblazing Black Union Leader, Fought for Civil Rights in American South and against Apartheid in South Africa) [He was 90]

Angus MacInnes (Actor, Star Wars and Rogue One)
Robert MacNeil (Legendary PBS News Anchor and Writer) [He was 93]
Mandisa (American Idol finalist and Grammy winning Christian Artist) [She was only 47]
Bernie Marcus (Co-Founder, Home Depot) [He was 95]
Peter Marshall (Original TV Host, Hollywood Squares) [He was 98]
Mary Martin (Grammy-winning Talent Scout, Manager and Record Executive) [She was 85]
John Mayall (British Blues-Rock Legend and 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee) [He was 90]
Jane McAlevey (Fierce Labor Organizer and Scholar) [She was only 59]
Les McCann (Legendary Jazz Pianist)
Murray McCory (Founder of JanSport) [He was 80]
Chad McQueen (Son of Steve McQueen and Actor, The Karate Kid) [He was only 63]
Melanie (Singer and Songwriter, Performer at Woodstock in 1969 and wrote lyrics to “The First Time I Loved Forever,” the theme song for the 1980’s TV series Beauty and the Beast)
Hudson Meek (Actor, Baby Driver) [He was only 16]
Kent Melton (Character Sculptor, Aladdin, The Lion King and Coraline) [He was 68]
Sergio Mendes (Brazilian Pop Innovator) [He was 83]
Steve Mensch (President and General Manager, Tyler Perry Studios) [He was 62]
Sam Mercer (Hollywood Producer and M. Night Shyamalan collaborator) [He was 69]
Spencer Milligan (Actor, 70s Kids Show Land of the Lost)
Sandra Milo (Actress, Fedrico Fellini’s 8½ and Juliet of the Spirits) [She was 90]
Kenneth Mitchell (Actor, Jericho, Star Trek: Discovery and Switched at Birth) [He was only 49]
Peggy Moffitt (Actor and 1960’s Mod Icon) [She was 86]
Josette Molland (French Resistance, Nazi Forced-Labor Camp Survivor and Painter) [She was 100]
Bob Moore (Founder of Bob’s Red Mill whole-grains company) [He was 94]
Cindy Morgan (Actress, Tron and Caddyshack) [She was only 69]
Chris Mortensen (ESPN NFL Reporter)
Michael Mosley (Popular UK TV Doctor) [He was 67]
Martin Mull (Veteran Comedic Actor)
Alice Munro (Nobel Prize-Winning Canadian Author) [She was 92]
Ana Ofelia Murguia (Mexican Star and Voice of Disney’s Coco) [She was 90]
Don Murray (Actor, Bus Stop and Knot’s Landing) [He was 94]
Alec Musser (Actor, All My Children) [He was only 50]
Dikembe Mutombo (NBA Hall of Fame Player) [He was only 58]

Bette Nash (World’s Longest-Serving Flight Attendant) [She was 88]
Alexei Navalny (Russian Opposition Leader) [He was only 47 and in a Russian prison at time of death]
Tyka Nelson (Singer and Only Full Sibling of Prince) [She was only 64]
Bob Newhart (Comedy Icon and Actor) [He was 94]
Michael Newman (Real-Life Lifeguard and Firefighter and Actor, Baywatch) [He was only 67]
Annie Nightingale (Pioneering BBC Radio DJ)
Zack Norman (Comedian, Film Producer and Actor, Romancing the Stone) [He was 83]
Wayne Northrop (Actor, Days of Our Lives, Dynasty and Port Charles)

Edna O’Brien (Prolific Irish Author) [She was 93]
Dr. Thomas O’Brien and Ruth Reardon O’Brien (Parents of Late-Night Host Conan O’Brien, who passed asway within days of each other) [They were 95 and 92 respectively]
William O’Connell (Veteran Actor, Star Trek and Clint Eastwood movies) [He was 94]
Lynda Obst (Producer, Sleepless in Seattle, Flashdance and Adventures in Babysitting)
Charles Osgood (Host, CBS Sunday Morning) [He was 91]
Edwin Overland (Football and Speedway Commentator)

Ken Page (Actor and Cabaret Singer, Broadway’s Ain’t Misbehavin and Cats)
Conrad Palmisano (Veteran Hollywood Stuntman, Stunt Coordinator and Director) Weekend at Barnie’s and Sleepless in Seattle)
Larry H. Parker (Personal Injury Attorney in Southern California known for motto “We’ll fight for you”)
Francine Pascal (Author, “Sweet Valley High” Novels) [She was 92]
Liam Payne (Member of British boy band One Direction) [He was only 31]
Chance Perdomo (Actor, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Gen V) [He was only 27]
Chuck Philips (Pulitzer-Winning LA Times Journalist)
Mike Pinder (Founding Keyboardist of the Moody Blues) [He was 82]
Nicholas Pryor (Veteran Actor, Port Charles, 90210 and Risky Business) [He was 89]
Judi Pulver (Singer-Songwriter and later Sales Executive at Variety)

Alan Rachins (Actor, L.A. Law and Dharma & Greg) [He was 82]
Alvin Rakoff (Director, “A Voyage Round My Father” and “Shades of Greene”) [He was 97]
Joyce Randolph (Actress, Honeymooners) [She was 99]
Catherine “Kasha” Rigby (Big Mountain and Expedition Skier) [She was only 54]
Leonard Riggio (Founder of Barnes &Noble) [He was 83]
Chita Rivera (Two-time Tony Award winner, West Side Story, Chicago and Kiss of the Spider Woman) [She was 91]
Thomas Rockwell (Son of Artist Norman Rockwell and Children’s Book Author) [He was 91
Richard Romanus (Actor, Mean Streets and The Sopranos)
Sam Rubin (KTLA Entertainment Reporter) [He was only 64]
Barbara Rush (Actress, It Came From Outer Space and Peyton Place) [She was 97]
Marian Robinson (Mother of Former First Lady Michelle Obama) [She was 86]
Chi Chi Rodriguez (Legendary Professional Golfer) [He was 88]
Fred Roos (Oscar-Winning Producer-Casting Director, The Godfather and Godfather Part II) [He was 89]
Pete Rose (Major Little Baseball All-Time Hit King) [He was 83]
Eddie Rosenblatt (Longtime Geffen Records President) [He was 89]
Gena Rowlands (Veteran Actress, A Woman Under the Influence and The Notebook) [She was 94]
Al Ruddy (Producer, Godfather, Million Dollar Baby and Co-Creator Hogan’s Heroes) [He was 94]
William Russell (Stage and Screen Actor, Doctor Who and Father of Harry Potter actor Alfred Enoch) [He was 99]

Alan Sacks (Co-Creator, Welcome Back Kotter and TV Producer) [He was 81]
Pamela Salem (British Actress, Doctor Who and EastEnders) [She was 80]
Bengt Samuelsson (Nobel Prize-winning biochemist) [He was 90]
CJ Sansom (British Author)
John Savident (U.K. Actor, Coronation Street) [He was 86]
Alan Scarfe (Actor, One Life to Live, Double Impact and Seven Days]
George Schenck (NCIS Writer, Producer and Showrunner) [He was 82]
Marvin Schlachter (Record Executive, Launched the Careers of Dionne Warwick and the Shirelles and later created influential disco label) [He was 90]
Al Schultz (Makeup Artist, The Carol Burnett Show and Good Times) [He was 82]
Lillian Schwartz (One of the First Artists to Use the Computer to Make Films) [She was 97]
David Seidler (Oscar-winning screenwriter, The King’s Speech) [He was 86]
Tom Shales (Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post TV Critic and Author)
Marlena Shaw (Jazz Vocalist, “California Soul”)
Doug Sheehan (Actor, General Hospital and Knots Landing)
Shifty Shellshock (Frontman of Rap Rock Band Crazy Town) [He was only 49]
Richard Sherman (Songwriter of ‘Spoonfuls of Sugar’) [He was 95]
Vladimir Shklyarov (Russian Ballet Star) [He was only 39]
James B. Sikking (Actor, Hill Street Blues and Doogie Howser) [He was 90]
Steve Silberman (Journalist, Author and Grateful Dead archivist) [He was 66]
Richard Simmons (Fitness Guru)
O.J. Simpson (Former Football Star and Actor Turned Murder Suspect and Ex-Con)
McCanna “Mac” Sinise (Son of Actor Gary Sinise) [He was only 33]
Bud S. Smith (Editor, Sorcerer, The Exorcist and Flashdance) [He was 88]
Dame Maggie Smith (Legendary Actress, Harry Potter franchise and Downton Abbey) [She was 89]
Maxine Solters (Publicist, Writer, Actor and Producer) [She was only 37]
Jae-lim Song (South Korean K-drama actor, Moon Embracing the Sun) [He was only 39]
David Soul (Actor, Starsky & Hutch and Singer, “Don’t Give Up On Us, Baby”)
John David “JD” Souther (Prolific Songwriter and Musician, Collaborator with The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt)
Adele Springsteen (Bruce Springsteen’s Mom) [She was 98]
Stephanie Sparks (Host of Golf Channel’s Big Break) [She was only 50]
Dr. Werner Spitz (Famed Forensic Examiner) [He was 97]
Morgan Spurlock (Documentary Filmmaker) [He was only 53]
Alice Stewart (Long Time Political Reporter and CNN Commentator) [He was 58]
Rob Stone (Co-Founder of Cornerstone Agency, Music Marketing Company, and its magazine the Fader) [He was only 55]
Donald Sutherland (Veteran TV and Film Actor, Emmy-Winner) [He was 88]
Anthea Sylbert (Costume Designer, Chinatown, Rosemary’s Baby and Shampoo) [She was 84]

Richard Tandy (Keyboardist for ELO)
Ruth Ashton Taylor (Pioneering Radio and TV Journalist) [She was 101]
Esta TerBlanche (Actress, All My Children) [She was only 51]
Duane Thomas (Running Back for the Dallas Cowboys)
Dennis Thompson (Drummer and Last Surviving Member of Detroit Rock Band MC5)
Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Manga Creator) [He was only 68]
Jeremy Tepper (SiriusXM’s ‘Outlaw Country’ Chief and a Leader of the Americana Movement) [He was 60]
Tony Todd (Actor, Candyman and Final Destination) [He was only 69]
Robert Towne (Oscar Winning Writer, Chinatown) [He was 89]

Yoshihiro Uchida (Judo Coach at San Jose State University) [He was 104]

Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles Dodgers Pitcher) [He was only 63]
Tom Van Amburg (Broadcast TV Veteran at KABC-TV) [He was 83]
Toni Vaz (One of the first Black Stuntwomen in Hollywood and Created the NACCP Image Awards) [She was 101]
Simon Verity (British Stone Carver, one of his statues adorns the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Upper Manhattan)
Michael Villella (Actor, The Slumber Party Massacre) [He was 84]
Ozzie Virgil, Sr. (Dominican-born Baseball Player, New York Giants and Detroit Tigers) [He was 92]

Johnny Wactor (Actor, General Hospital) [He was only 37]
M. Emmet Walsh (Veteran Actor, Blade Runner and Raising Arizona) [He was 88]
Bill Walton (NBA Star and ESPN Commentator)
Carl Weathers (Actor, Rocky franchise and The Mandalorian)
Paula Weinstein (Emmy-Winning Producer, The Perfect Storm and The Fabulous Baker Boys and Former Tribeca Enterprises Executive)
Mary Weiss (Lead Singer of Shanri-Las, “Leader of the Pack” and “Out in the Street”)
Jerry West (NBA Hall of Famer) [He was 86]
Ruth Westheimer (Sex Guru Dr. Ruth) [She was 96]
Mark Withers (Actor, Dynasty)
Maurice Williams (R&B Singer and Composer, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, “Stay”) (he was 86]
Taylor Wily (Actor, in both remakes of Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I.) [He was only 56]
Robin Windsor (Professional Dancer, Strictly Come Dancing) [He was only 44]
Steven Wise (Animal Rights Activist)
Susan Wojcicki (Former YouTube CEO and Influential Google Executive) [She was only 56]
Chuck Woolery (Legendary Game Show Host) [He was 83]

Eduardo Xol (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) [He was only 58]

Patti Yasutake (Actress, Beef and Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Lloyd Ziff (Magazine Designer and Photographer) [He was 81]

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

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The following industry personalities, athletes, politicians (etc.) passed away in 2023 and heartfelt condolences are extended to their families, friends and fans.

The celebrities we have lost this year are (in alphabetical order):

DJ Mark the 45 King (Music Producer for Eminem, Jay-Z and Queen Latifah) [He was 62]

Sharon Acker (Canadian Actress, Point Blank and rebooted Perry Mason in the 1970s)
Joss Ackland (Actor, Lethal Weapon 2 and White Mischief) [He was 95]
Scott Alexander (America’s Got Talent Magician) [He was only 52]
Martin Amis (British Author, “Zone of Interest”)
Katherine Anderson-Schaffner (Founding Member of The Marvelettes “Please, Mr. Postman”)
Kenneth Anger (Experimental Filmmaker and Artist) [He was 96]
Selma Archerd (Actress and wife of long-time Variety columnist Army Archerd) [She was 98]
Alan Arkin (Veteran Actor TV, Film and Broadway)
Clarence Avant (Music Executive and known as the Godfather of Black Entertainment) [He was 92]

Burt Bacharach (Legendary Songwriter-Composer) [He was 94]
Robbie Bachman (Co-Founder and Drummer of Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
John Bailey (Former Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President and Cinematographer) [He was 81]
Rich Barancik (Last surviving member of Monuments Men and Women, who preserved European artworks and cultural treasures that Nazi Germany had looted) [He was 98]
Ady Barkan (Healthcare Activist who had ALC) [He was only 39]
Bob Barker (Legendary TV Game Show Host, Price Is Right) [He was 99]
John Barrett (Celebrity Hairdresser) [He was only 66]
Norma Barzman (Screenwriter Blacklisted During McCarthy Era) [She was 103]
John Beasley (Actor, Everwood)
Cari Beauchamp (Hollywood Historian and Author)
Jeff Beck (Guitar Master of the Rock Era)
Richard Belzer (Actor, Law & Order: SVU and Homicide: Life on the Street)
Nick Benedict (Soap Actor, All My Children and Days Of Our Lives)
Silvio Berlusconi (Italian Media Magnate and Former Prime Minister)
Tony Bennett (Legendary Singer and 20-time Grammy winner) [He was 96]
Helmet Berger (Star of acclaimed European Art Cinemas in the 60s and 70s)
Jane Birkin (British-French Actor and Singer)
Robert Blake (Actor, Baretta)
Jake Bloom (Legendary Hollywood Attorney)
Jean Boht (Beloved Actress, BBC Sitcom Bread) [She was 91]
Barbara Bosson (Actress, Hill Street Blues)
Fernando Botero (Artist of Whimsical Rotundity) [He was 91]
Michael Boyd (Artistic Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company)
Bertie Bowman (Longest-serving Black congressional staffer) [He was 92]
Howard Bragman (Veteran of Entertainment Public Relations; his clients included Cameron Diaz and Paula Abdul) [He was only 66]
Kwame Brathwaite (Celebrity Photographer and Catalyst for “Black is Beautiful Movement in the 1960s)
Andre Braugher (Emmy-winning Actor, Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine) [He was only 61.]
George Brown (Founding Member, Kool & The Gang)
Jim Brown (NFL Great and Actor, The Dirty Dozen)
James D. Brubaker (Producer, The Right Stuff, Cobra and Rocky IV
Dick Butkus (NFL Legend and Prolific TV Star) [He was 80]
Jimmy Buffett (American Singer-Songwriter, “Margaritaville”)
Colin Burgess (Original drummer AC/DC)
A.S. Byatt (English Critic, Novelist, Poet and Short Story Writer)
John Byrne (Creator, acclaimed TV show Tutti Frutti) [He was 83]

Sergio Calderon (Actor, Pirates Of The Caribbean and Men in Black)
Wally Campo (Actor, Little Shop of Horrors) [He was 99]
Bobbie Jean Carter (Sister of Nick and Aaron Carter) [She was only 41]
Jeffrey Carlson (Actor, All My Children) [He was only 48]
Rosalynn Carter (Former First Lady) [He was 96]
Paul Cattermole (Member British pop band S Club 7) [He was only 46]
Josephine Chaplin (Actress and Daughter of Charlie Chaplin)
Bobby Charlton (Soccer Great for Manchester United, World Cup Winner) [He was 86]
Michael Chiarello (Former Food Network Star) [He was only 61]
Tyler Christopher (Actor, General Hospital) [He was only 50]
Carol Higgins Clark (Mystery Writer and daughter of Author Mary Higgins Clark)
Angus Cloud (Actor, Euphoria) [He was only 25]
Gloria Coates (Prolific Female Composer, Wrote 17 in Her Lifetime) [She was 89]
Phyllis Coates (TV’s First Lois Lane) [She was 96]
Walter Cole (aka Darcelle XV) [World’s Oldest Drag Performer) [He was 92]
Van Conner (Co-Founder and Bassist of Alternative Band Screaming Trees) [He was only 55]
Carole Cook (Protege to Lucille Ball) [She was 98]
James “Buster” Corley (Co-Founder, Dave & Buster’s)
Manny Coto (Emmy Winning Executive Producer, 24 and American Horror Story)
Noah Cowan (Former TIFF Co-Director) [He was only 55]
Rolly Crump (Early Disneyland Animator) [He was 93]
David Crosby (Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist, Bryds and Crosby, Stills & Nash)
Catherine Cyran (Prolific Film Director, The Prince & Me)
Dick Curtis (Character Actor and Straight Man to Comedian Jonathan Winters) [He was 95]

Henri Dauman (Holocaust survivor and Celebrity Photographer) [He was 90]
Sandra Day O’Connor (First Woman to Serve as Supreme Court Justice) [She was 93]
Terence Davies (Esteemed British Director)
Ann de Toth (Screenwriter)
Kamar de los Reyes (Actor, One Life to Live) [He was only 56]
Arnold Diaz (New York TV Reporter)
Melinda Dillon (Tony- and Oscar-nominated Actress, A Christmas Story and Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
Carol Duvall (DIY Trailblazer and TV’s Crafting Queen) [She was 97]

Paul Eckstein (Co-Creator of TV Series, Godfather of Harlem) [He was only 59]
Evan Ellingson (Former child star, CSI: Miami and My Sister’s Keeper) [He was only 35]
Daniel Ellsberg (Analyst who leaked The Pentagon Papers) [He was 92]
Andrea Evans (Soap Veteran, One Life to Live)
Joan Evans (Veteran Actress, On the Loose, Skirts Ahoy! and Edge of Doom) [She was 89]

Sharon Farrell (Actress, The Young and the Restless) [She was 82]
Benjamin Ferencz (Last Surviving Prosecutor of Nuremberg Trials) [He was 103]
Senator Dianne Feinstein (Oldest Member of the Senate) [He was 90]
Shirley Anne Field (Actress, The Entertainer and Alfie)
Shirley Jo Finney (Actress “Wilma” and Theatre Director)
Frederic Forrest (Actor, Apocalypse Now and The Rose)
Andrew Freedman (Veteran News and Entertainment Publicist) [He was only 67]
Edward Fredkin (Influential Professor at MIT)
Gerald Fried (Composer, original Roots mini-series, Star Trek and Gilligan’s Island) [He was 95]
William Friedkin (Director, The Exorcist and The French Connection) [He was 87]
Andrea Fay Friedman (Actress with Down Syndrome, Life Goes On) [She was only 53]
Terry Funk (WWE Hall of Fame Wrestler)

Michael Gambon (Legendary Actor, Dumbledore of Harry Potter franchise) [He was 82]
Walt Garrison (Dallas Cowboys Running Back and Rodeo Cowboy)
Julie Garwood (Author)
Bill Geddie (Co-Creator of The View) [He was 68]
Bob George (Producer on Films like Newness, Zoe and Endings, Beginnings) [He was 51]
Astrud Gilberto (Brazilian Singer, “Girl From Ipanema”)
Louise Gluck (American Poet and Nobel Prize for Literature Winner) [She was 80]
Mark Goddard (Actor, Original TV Series Lost in Space) [He was 87]
David Lance Goines (Iconic Berkeley Printmaker)
Bert I. Gordon (Cult Filmmaker) [He was 100]
Bob Goldman (Oscar-Winning Writer, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) [He was 90]
Jim Gordon (Drummer for Eric Clapton and Co-Writer of “Layla”)
Bill Granger (Top Chef and Entrepreneur) [He was only 54]
Bud Grant (Hall of Fame Football Coach for Minnesota Vikings) [He was 95]
Shecky Greene (Legendary Las Vegas Standup Comedian) [He was 97]
Haydn Gwynne (Actor, The Crown and The Windsors) [She was 66}

Brett Hadley (Actor, The Young and the Restless) [He was 92]
Marlene Bauer Hagge (LPGA golf Champion)
Todd Haimes (Leader of New York’s Roundabout Theater Company)
Peter Hardy (Actor, McLeod’s Daugthers and Chopper)
Sheldon Harnick (Broadway Lyricist, Fiddler on the Roof) [He was 99]
Don Harold (Vintage Train Cars Collector, helped create the New York Transit Museum) [He was 91]
CJ Harris (American Idol Season 13 finalist) [He was only 31]
Steve Harwell (Former Lead Singer of Smash Mouth) [He was only 56]
Willie Hernandez (Baseball Player)
Maurice Hines (Tap Dancer in The Cotton Club, Choreographer and brother of Gregory Hines)
Stuart Hodes (Legendary Dancer, Danced with Martha Graham) [He was 98)
Elizabeth Hoffman (Veteran Actress, Sisters) [She was 97]
Dave Hollis (Former President of Worldwide Distribution at Disney) [He was only 47]
Ellen Holly (First Black Actor to Star in Daytime TV on One Life to Live) [She was 92]
Elizabeth Hubbard (Emmy-winning Actress, As the World Turns)
Hugh Hudson (Director, Chariots of Fire)
Bobby Hull (Legendary Hockey Player)

Rudolph Isley (Singer and Songwriter for the Isley Brothers, “Shout”)

Chuck Jackson (Singer, “Any Day Now”)
Glenda Jackson (Oscar, Tony and Emmy winning Actress)
David Jacobs (Creator, Knots Landing, Dallas and Paradise)
Kyle Jacobs (Husband to Country Singer Kellie Pickler) [He was only 49]
Al Jaffee (Creator, Mad Magazine) [He was 102]
Ahmad Jamal (Pianist who inspired generations of jazz musicians) [He was 92]
Dave Jolicoeur (aka Trugoy the Dove) [Co-Founder De La Soul) [He was only 54]
Scott Johnson (Composer and Guitarist)
Dean Jones (Director, Britain’s Got Talent) [He was only 56]
Rebecca Jones (Mexican American Actress, Popular Telenovelas)
Ron Cephas Jones (Acclaimed Actor, This Is Us) [He was only 66]

Ted Kaczynski (aka the Unabomber)
Bernard Kalb (Veteran Correspondent and Former CBS News Journalist) [He was 100]
Victor J. Kemper (Cinematographer, Dog Day Afternoon and National Lampoon’s Vacation) [He was 96]
Darren Kent (Actor, Game of Thrones and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) [He was only 36]
Lance Kerwin (Actor, James at 15 and Salem’s Lot)
Charles Kimbrough (Actor, Murphy Brown)
Terry Kirman (Singer, Songwriter and Founding Member of Folk-Rock Band The Assocation, known for the song “Cherish”) [He was 83]
Henry Kissinger (Former Secretary of State) [He was 100]
Bobby Knight (Legendary Basketball Coach)
Jean Knight (Singer, “Mr. Big Stuff”) [She was 80]
Marty Krofft (Creator, H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost) [He was 86]
Milan Kundera (Novelist, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”) [He was 94]

Paul La Farge (Inventive Novelist) [He was only 52]
Jim Ladd (Veteran Rock DJ and SiriusXM Host)
Denny Laine (Cofounder of The Moody Blues and longtime member of Paul McCartney’s group Wings)
Lewis Largent (Influential MTV VJ and KROQ DJ) [He was 58]
Milt Larsen (Co-Founder Magic Castle and TV Game Show Writer) [He was 92]
Michael Latt (Strategist on Social Justice Marketing Campaigns) [He was only 33]
David LaFlamme (Founder of San Francisco band It’s a Beautiful Day, who was at the forefront of the Haight-Ashbury acid-rock explosion) [He was 82]
Piper Laurie (Veteran Actress and 3-Time Oscar Nominee) [She was 91]
Norman Lear (Legendary Sitcom Creator and Producer) [He was 101]
Coco Lee (Hong Kong-Born Singer-Songwriter) [She was only 48]
Sun-kyun Lee (Actor, Parasite) [He was only 48]
Eugene Lee (Award-Winning Production Designer, Saturday Night Live)
Michael Lerner (Actor, Barton Fink)
Gina Lollobrigida (Actress and Italian Bombshell) [She was 95]
Erik Lomis (Veteran MGM Film Distribution Executive)
Cody Longo (Actor, Days of Our Lives) [He was only 34]
Lisa Loring (Former Child Actress, The Addams Family)
Laura Lynch (Founding member of the Dixie Chicks) [She was 65]
Lisa Lyon (Bodybuilding Pioneer and inspiration for Marvel’s Elektra)

Shane MacGowan (Singer-Songwriter and Frontman, The Pogues) [He was 65]
George Maharis (Actor, Route 66 and Fantasy Island)
Mark Margolis (Veteran Actor, Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad) [He was 83]
Eddie Marks (Emmy-Winning President of Western Costume company)
Ben Masters (Actor, Passions)
Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II (Astronaut, Help Apollo 13 crew return safely to Earth) [He was 87]
Burny Mattinson (Walt Disney Animation Studios Animator, Director, Producer and Story Artist)
James McCaffrey (Actor, Max Payne) [He was only 65]
David McCallum (Legendary Actor, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS) [He was 90]
Cormac McCarthy (Author, “No Country for Old Men”)
Tim McCarver (Award-Winning Broadcaster and Former World Series Champion)
Pat McCormick (4-Time Olympic Diving Champion) [He was 92]
Michael McGrath (Tony-Winning Actor, ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It) [He was only 65]
Randy Meisner (Eagles Co-Founder and Singer)
Joanna Merlin (Broadway Actress, Fiddler on the Roof then Renowned Casting Director) [She was 92]
Billy Miller (Actor, General Hospital and The Young & The Restless) [He was only 43]
Mildred Miller (Mezzo-Soprano at the Metropolitan Opera) [She was 98]
Walter Mirisch (Former President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
Richard Moll (Veteran Actor, Night Court) [He was 80]
Gordon E. Moore (Co-Founder, Intel, the California chip maker) [He was 94]
Max Morath (Pianist) [He was 96]
Ted Morgan [formerly Sanche de Gramont, the son of a French count] (Journalist and Author) [He was 91]
Jerry Moss (Co-Founder of A&M Records) [He was 88]

Barry Newman (Broadway and Film Actor, Vanishing Point) [He was 92]

Sinead O’Connor (Irish Singer, Musician and Grammy Winner) [She was only 56]
Paul O’Grady (Popular British Presenter of The Paul O’Grady Show and Blind Date)
Ryan O’Neal (Oscar Nominated Actor, Peyton Place, Love Story, Paper Moon) [He was 82]
Gail O’Neill (Former Fashion Model and The Early Show Correspondent)
Horace Ove (Pioneering Black British Filmmaker)

Jansen Panettiere (Child Actor and Brother of Actress Hayden Panettiere)
Hersha Parady (Actress, Little House on the Prairie)
Lara Parker (Actress, Dark Shadows) [She was 84]
Michael Parkinston (Legendary U.K. Talk Show Host) [He was 88]
Tatjana Patitz (Supermodel of the 1980’s and 1990’s) [She was only 56]
Anne Perry (Best-selling Crime Writer)
Matthew Perry (Actor, Friends) [He was only 54]
Gordon Pinsent (Canadian Actor, Due South and Away From Her) [He was 92]
Lisa Marie Presley (Singer and Daughter of Elvis Presley) [She was only 54]
Edward Pressman (Independent Producer, Wall Street, Conan the Barbarian and Badlands)

Phil Quartararo (Former Head of Warner Bros. and Virgin Records)

Paco Rabanne (Iconic Fashion Designer and Perfume Maker)
Taraja Ramsess (Stunt Performer and Set Dresser, Fast & Furious, Avengers and Black Panther) [He was only 41]
Betsy Rawls (Golf Champion and Golf Executive) [She was 95]
John Refoua (Film Editor, Avatar franchise) [He was only 58]
Keith Reid (Lyricist for British group Procol Harum and Co-Writer of 1960’s hit “A Whiter Shade of Pale”)
Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman (Actor)
Adam Rich (Actor, Eight Is Enough) [He was only 54]
Bill Richardson (Former Governor of New Mexico and Champion of Americans Held Overseas)
Lance Riddick (Actor, The Wire and John Wick franchise)
Bobby Rivers (TV Personality and Movie Critic)
Dave Robb (Veteran Hollywood Labor Reporter and Variety Alum)
Pat Robertson (Controversial Televangelist and Longtime 700 Club Host) [He was 93]
Robbie Robertson (Guitarist-Songwriter-Singer-Leader of the Canadian-American rock group The Band) [He was 80]
Rodriguez (Singer-Songwriter and Subject of 2012 Documentary Searching For Sugar Man) [He was 81]
Haim Roet (Holocaust Survivor, who read out the names of people murdered by the Nazis, starting the practice that has become a part of memorial ceremonies around the world) [He was 90]
Stan Rogow (Veteran Producer and Writer, Fame and Lizzie McGuire)
Owen Roizman (Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer, The Exorcist and The French Connection)
John Romita, Sr. (Marvel Comics Icon and Co-Creator of Wolverine) [He was 93]
Cari Ross (Communications Chief at Gersh) [She was only 59]
Gary Rossington (Last Surviving Original Member of Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Windham Rotuna aka Bray Wyatt (WWE Wrestler) [He was only 36]
Richard Roundtree (Veteran Actor, Shaft and Roots) [He was 81]
Andy Rourke (Bassist, The Smiths) [He was only 59]

Ryuichi Sakamoto (Oscar-Winning Composer, Last Emperor)
Julian Sands (Actor, A Room With a View)
Carlos Saura (Spanish Auteur) [He was 91]
Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter (Built Bridal superstore Kleinfeld’s) [She was 99]
Lynn Seymour (International Star and British Ballet Dancer)
Ruth Seymour (Former KCRW General Manager, Public Radio Pioneer, Integral Part of NPR)
Mark Sheehan (Lead Guitarist, Irish rock band The Script) [He was only 46]
Suzanne Shepherd (Actress, The Sopranos and Goodfellas) [She was 89]
Wayne Shorter (Jazz Titan and Saxophonist)
Elliot Silverstein (Director, Cat Ballou) [He was 96]
Sylvia Sims (British Films Actress, Ice Cold in Alex and Victim)
Tom Sizemore (Actor, Saving Private Ryan)
Shelley Smith (Model and Actress, The Associates and For Love and Honor)
Tom Smothers (Part of Smothers Brothers Comedy Duo) [He was 86]
Suzanne Somers (Actress, Three’s Company and Step By Step)
Jack Sonni (Guitarist, Dire Straits) [He was only 68]
Arleen Sorkin (Actress, Day of Our Lives and Original Voice of Harley Quinn) [She was only 67]
Seymour Stein (Legendary Music Executive at Sire Records; He Signed Madonna, The Ramones and Talking Heads)
Norman Steinberg (Screenwriter, Blazing Saddles and My Favorite Year)
Frances Sternhagen (Veteran Actress, Cheers and ER) [She was 93]
Stella Stevens (Actress, Girls! Girls! Girls! with Elvis Presley, The Nutty Professor and The Poseidon Adventure)
Ray Stevenson (Actor, Divergent and Thor franchises) [He was only 58]
Pedro Suárez-Vértiz (Peruvian Rock Icon) [He was only 54]
Robert Swan (Actor, The Untouchables and Hoosiers)
Inga Swenson (Actress, Benson) [She was 90]

Yukihiro Takahashi (Electronic-Music Pioneer)
The Iron Sheik (aka Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri) (Greco-Roman Wrestler and WWE Legend)
D.M. Thomas (English Novelist, “The White Hotel”)
Chaim Topol (Film and Stage Actor, Fiddler on the Roof)
Camden Toy (Actor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) [He was only 68]
Dorothy Tristan (Actress, Klute and End Of The Road)
Robert Trotman (Trainer, Competitive Swimming)
Shawna Trpcic (Emmy-nominated Costume Designer, The Mandalorian and Ahsoka) [She was only 56]
Lawrence Turman (Oscar-Nomination Producer, The Graduate) [He was 96]
Tina Turner (Legendary Singer, the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” and Actress)

Robin Wagner (Broadway Set Designer, Hair, A Chorus Line and Angels in America)
John Warnock (Co-Founded Adobe Systems, best known for inventing PDF) [He was 82]
Andre Watts (Groundbreaking Classical Music Pianist)
Nicholas Lloyd Webber (Composer and Son of Andrew Lloyd Webber) [He was only 43]
Cynthia Weil (Songwriter, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Make Your Own Kind of Music” and “On Broadway”)
Raquel Welch (Legendary Actress and International Sex Symbol) [She was 82]
Ans Westra (Famed Photographer)
Paxton Whitehead (Stage Veteran and Sitcom Character Actor, Camelot, Friends and Mad About You)
Tom Wilkinson (British Actor, The Full Monty and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)
Cindy Williams (Legendary Actress, Laverne & Shirley)
Mars Williams (Saxophonist, Psychedelic Furs and the Waitresses) [He was only 68]
Treat Williams (Legendary Film and TV Actor, box office movie Hair and TV series Everwood and Chesapeake Shores)
George Winston (Titan of soothing Piano Instrumental Music)
Myrtle Witbooi (Domestic Servant in South Africa turned International Activist)
Oliver Wood (English Cinematographer, original Bourne trilogy and Die Hard 2)
Gary Wright (Singer, “Dream Weaver”)
John Wright (Oscar-nominated Film Editor, The Hunt for Red October and Speed)

Mike Yarwood (Comedian and Impersonator) [He was 82]
Burt Young (Actor, Rocky Franchise) [He was 83]

Benjamin Zephaniah (Acclaimed Poet and Actor, Peaky Blinders) [He was only 65]
Zeus (the Texas Great Dane who held the Guiness World Records title of World’s Tallest Living Male Dog, standing at 3 feet and 5.18 inches) [He was only 3 years old]

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

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