Tag: In Memoriam

Remembering Their Talent

Every year I look back at the list of talented famous people who have passed away. It always amazes me at how big the list is. Some on the list are still fresh in our minds, while others make you go, “Oh yeah, I forgot about them.” As we wrap up 2025, allow me to tip my hat to some of them. (This is in no way a complete list)

January

  • Brenton Wood (83) “Gimme Little Sign”
  • Peter Yarrow (86) Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary, “Puff the Magic Dragon”
  • Sam Moore (89) Sam of Sam and Dave, “Soul Man”
  • Marianne Faithfull (78) “As Tears Go By”
Sam Moore

February

  • Jerry Butler (85) The Impressions, “He Will Break Your Heart”
  • Roberta Flack (88) “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
  • Robert John (79) “Sad Eyes”
  • David Johansen (Buster Poindexter) (75) “Hot, Hot, Hot”
The Ice Man – Jerry Butler

April

  • Johnny Tillotson (86) “Poetry in Motion”
  • Lenny Welch (86) “Since I Fell For You”
  • Nino Tempo (90) “Deep Purple” (with April Stevens)

May

  • Rick Derringer (77) Member of the McCoys, Music Producer, “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo”
  • Alf Clausen (84) Composer – The Simpsons

June

  • Sly Stone (82) Sly of Sly and the Family Stone, “Everyday People”
  • Brian Wilson (82) The Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations”
  • Lou Christie (82) “Lightning Strikes”
  • Bobby Sherman (81) “Julie, Do You Love Me”
  • Lalo Schifrin (93) Composer, “Mission Impossible Theme”
Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys

July

  • Connie Francis (87) “Stupid Cupid”
  • Chuck Mangione (84) “Feels So Good”
  • Ozzy Osbourne (76) Black Sabbath, “Mama I’m Coming Home”
  • Tom Lehrer (97) “The Vatican Rag,” “The Elements”
Chuck Mangione

August

  • Jane Morgan (101) “Fascination”

September

  • Bobby Hart (86) Hart of Boyce and Hart, “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight”
  • Brett James (57) Songwriter/Singer, “Jesus, Take The Wheel”

October

  • Ace Frehley (74) Kiss, “Detroit Rock City”
Ace Frehley

December

  • Raul Malo (60) The Mavericks, “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down”
  • Steve Cropper (84), Guitarist, Producer, Booker T & The MG’s, “Green Onions”
  • Carl Carlton (72) “Everlasting Love”
Steve “The Colonel” Cropper

February

  • Gene Hackman (95) “The French Connection,” “Superman”
  • Michelle Trachtenberg (39) “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer)
Gene Hackman

March

  • Richard Chamberlain (90) “The Thorn Birds,” “Dr. Kildare”

April

  • Val Kilmer (65) “Top Gun,” “The Doors,” “Top Secret”
  • Jay North (73) “Dennis the Menace”
Val Kilmer

May

  • Ruth Buzzi (88) “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,” “Sesame Street,” “The Dean Martin Show”
  • Joe Don Baker (89) “GoldenEye,” “Cape Fear”
  • George Wendt (76) “Cheers”
  • Loretta Swit (87) “M*A*S*H*”
  • Valerie Mahaffey (71) “Northern Exposure,” “Young Sheldon”
Character Actor Joe Don Baker

June

  • Lynn Hamilton (95) “Sanford and Son”
  • Rick Hurst (79) “The Dukes of Hazzard”

July

  • Michael Madsen (67) “Reservoir Dogs”
  • Malcolm-Jamal Warner (54) “The Cosby Show”
  • Alfie Wise (82) “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Cannonball Run”
Michael Madsen

August

  • Loni Anderson (79) “WKRP In Cincinnati”
  • David Ketchum (97) “Get Smart”
  • Danielle Spencer (60) “What’s Happening”
  • Terence Stamp (87) “Superman,” “Crow”
Loni Anderson and cast of WKRP

September

  • Graham Green (73) “Dances With Wolves”
  • Pat Crowley (91) “Please Don’t Eat The Daisies”
  • Robert Redford (89) “All The President’s Men,” “The Natural,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
  • Polly Holliday (88) “Alice,” “Flo”
  • Claudia Cardinale (87) “The Pink Panther”
The beautiful Claudia Cardinale

October

  • Ed Williams (98) “The Naked Gun”
  • Diane Keaton (79) “The Godfather,” “Annie Hall”
  • June Lockhart (100) “Lost In Space,” “Lassie”
Lost in Space – June Lockhart

November

  • Diane Ladd (89) “Wild at Heart,” “Petticoat Junction”
  • Sally Kirkland (84) “The Sting,” “Private Benjamin”

December

  • Peter Greene (60) “Pulp Fiction”
  • Rob Reiner (78) “All In The Family,” “The Princess Bride”
  • Anthony Geary (78) “General Hospital”
  • Gil Gerard (82) “Buck Rogers”
  • Brigitte Bardot (91) “Rum Runners,” “And God Created Women”
Anthony Geary – Luke of Luke and Laura

January

  • Bob Uecker (90) St. Louis Cardinals (player), Milwaukee Brewers (announcer), Major League (actor)
Mr. Baseball – Bob Uecker

March

  • George Foreman (76) Boxer

July

  • Hulk Hogan (71) Wrestler

September

  • Ray Lane (95) Sportscaster

December

  • Greg Biffle (55) NASCAR

January

  • David Lunch (78) “Twin Peaks,” “Mulholland Drive”

February

  • Clint Hill (93) Kennedy Secret Service Agent

March

  • Bob Rivers (68) Radio Personality “Twisted Christmas”

April

  • Andrew Gross (72) Author “The One Man”
  • Wink Martindale (91) Game Show Host “Tic Tac Dough”
  • Pope Francis (88) Pope
Wink Martindale

May

  • Phil Robertson (79) Author/Businessman, TV Personality “Duck Dynasty”

July

  • Jimmy Swaggart (90) Evangelist
  • John MacArthur (86) Pastor

August

  • Jim Lovell (97) Astronaut
  • James Dobson (89) Author, Founder of Focus on the Family
  • Frank Caprio (88) TV Judge

September

  • Charlie Kirk (31) Co-founder of Turning Point USA
Charlie Kirk

October

  • Dame Jane Goodall (91) Zoologist

November

  • Dick Cheney (84) Politician, Former Vice President

December

  • Peter Arnett (91) Journalist
  • Michele Singer Reiner (68) Photographer, Film Producer

_______

These were people who wrote or sang the songs we sang along with.

These were people who played those memorable melodies or solos.

These were people who made us laugh or cry.

These were people who had us on the edge of our seat.

These were people with whom some had their first crush on.

These were people who told us exactly what was happening in the game.

These were people who made a mark on the world.

May their memory live on as we look back on their lives and the impact they made.

Celebrity Passings

The news broke earlier yesterday of the passing of actor Sidney Poitier at age 94. He was the Academy Award winning actor who starred in Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Lilies in the Field, In The Heat of the Night and so many other great films. I’m sure there were other minor celebrity passings already this year, but his death is the first “big” one. Betty White, of course, was the last “big” one of 2021.

I’ve always found it fascinating to go back at the end of each year and look back at those celebrities who have passed away. USA today used to (and may still) put out a special edition that saluted those famous people who passed away the previous year. I know People Magazine and other publications do this as well. There are also many In Memoriam videos that are produced by various outlets that feature those who have passed as well. Those videos are often a highlight at award shows.

The problem with them is that they are always produced before the end of the year. I remember when Dean Martin died on Christmas Day of 1995, he wasn’t in any of those publications or videos. He was often forgotten in the following year’s as well. This will probably be the case with Betty White this year.

I have found that when I go back and look through the list, there are many people I forgot about. Some celebrity passings go by with little or no fanfare and then on the anniversary of their death a year (or sometimes 3-5 years) later, people post it on social media without even realizing that the celebrity has been gone for some time.

Now that we are a week into the new year, I decided to go back and look at some of those we lost in 2021. So many great talents. Many managed to live to a nice old age, while others were gone very young. I’ll give you some of my sources for the lists. If you wish, check them out. Which ones stick out to you? Which ones did you forget passed away? Which ones did you not know passed away?

One of the most comprehensive lists for people in entertainment comes from my friend, and author James Neibaur. His blog can be found here:

https://jln4151.wixsite.com/jlneibaur-writer/single-post/farewell-to-the-showbiz-stars-we-lost-in-2021?fbclid=IwAR3a-uP1AAuCW2vSE0m_DA7GEVQ5fC2hzOZvLRyv3U6LY005QahfnRFmQ4U

Find a Grave is a site that is helpful if you are looking for ancestry stuff. It also has a section for celebrities and a yearly necrology you can check out. It is not as exhaustive as some of the other lists, and it tends to focus on just the “big” names. Here is a link to that:

https://www.findagrave.com/necrology?necYear=2021&necCat=all

A source that is extremely exhaustive (almost TOO exhaustive) can be found on Wikipedia. A simple search of “Lists of deaths by year” will bring you to a place where you can look by year, by month, and by day. The only issue I have with this is that the list has just about everybody and anybody from all over the world. While sports figures from Scotland or actors and actresses from Russia are of interest to folks in those countries, they aren’t quite what I am interested in. Here is the link to that page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_deaths_by_year

IMDB produced their video on December 20th –

ABC News’ video is a lot more thorough … produced December 27th

WMUR produced this video and it includes Betty White, John Madden and others that were left out of the earlier produced tributes:

https://www.wmur.com/article/in-memoriam-2021-notable-deaths-of-2021/38593827

One of my favorites every year is produced by Turner Classic Movies – It was produced on December 21st:

It seems like every year I look at those lists and am amazed at the talent that is represented on them. Gone, but not forgotten. How wonderful that we can revisit them often in their books, on television, in movies, by listening to their music, and many other ways.