Once again Death proved that neither fame nor fortune makes one immune to its icy touch, as so far there've been hundreds of celebrities and public figures who met their makers in 2022. Here's a partial list of the most notable ones who died in the second half of the year.
Note that there were many more high profile celebrity deaths this year than the ones I've listed here. I'm only including the ones I recognize or who had an impact on my life.
Died July 6, 2022 at age 82.
Prolific actor who starred in hundreds of films, including Rollerball, Thief, Misery and of course, The Godfather.
He also proved he had a comedic side when he appeared as Buddy The Elf's father in Elf.
Died July 8, 2022 at age 99 (!).
Best known for his role as Agarn in the 1960s sitcom F Troop. Storch also did numerous voiceover work, including Drac in Groovie Goolies. Amazingly he was still working well into his 90s!
Died July 9, 2022 at age 94.
Character actor who starred in The Wild Bunch, Hang 'Em High and The Patriot, among many others.. He also wrote and directed A Boy And His Dog, based on the Harlan Ellison novella.
Ivana Trump
Died July 14, 2022 at age 73.
Proof that the gods have lousy aim, she was once married to a certain Orange Man.
Alan Grant
Died July 20, 2022 at age 73.
Scottish comic book writer who worked on Judge Dredd, as well as a lengthy run on DC's Batman titles.
Died July 23, 2022 at age 93.
Artist and illustrator who worked for Hallmark and MAD Magazine.
This one hurts, as I've been a fan of Coker's work since I was a wee lad. He was a huge influence, and to this day you can see a lot of him in my work.
David Warner
Died July 24, 2022 at age 80.
Prolific character actor who starred in hundreds of films, usually playing suave and sophisticated baddies. Much like Vincent Price, Warner could elevate even a subpar film and make it worth watching.
Died July 24, 2022 at age 80.
Prolific character actor who starred in hundreds of films, usually playing suave and sophisticated baddies. Much like Vincent Price, Warner could elevate even a subpar film and make it worth watching.
He appeared in In The Mouth Of Madness, TRON, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, Titanic and many, many others.
Died July 25, 2022 at age 83.
Character actor who generally played mobsters or authority figures. Starred in Goodfellas, Nixon and The Rocketeer.
Burt Metcalfe
Died July 27, 2022 at age 87.
Producer of the MASH TV series
Burt Metcalfe
Died July 27, 2022 at age 87.
Producer of the MASH TV series
Bernard Cribbins
Died July 27, 2022 at age 93.
A staple of British TV for decades. Cribbins was best known in the States as Wilfred Mott, grandfather of Donna Noble on Doctor Who.
Died July 27, 2022 at age 77.
Best known for playing Wally Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver. Unfortunately there was some confusion about his death, as it was originally reported on the 26th. It turns out he went into hospice care on that date, and died a day later.
Mary Alice
Died July 27, 2022 at age 85.
Actress best known for playing Lettie on 1990s sitcom A Different World.
Died July 30, 2022 at age 89.
Actress and singer, world famous for playing Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek. She broke down a ton of racial and gender barriers in the 1960s, by portraying a competent female officer in an era when blacks were relegated to playing servants and women were stuck in housewive roles.
Died July 30, 2022 at age 95.
Character actress and comedienne who was on pretty much every sitcom in the 1960s. She also did a lot of voiceover work, starring as Ursula in Disney's The Little Mermaid.
Bill Russell
Died July 31, 2022 at age 88.
Famed basketball player for the Boston Celtics.
Vin Scully
Died August 1, 2022 at age 94.
Famed sportscaster and voice of the Dodgers.
Died August 5, 2022 at age 93.
Another character actor with a ton of credits, who started out specializing in westerns. To me though his crowning achievement was starring as Burt in The Return Of The Living Dead.
Died August 8, 2022 at age 73.
British/Australian singer and actress and four time Grammy winner. She had fifteen top ten singles, including If You Love Me, Let Me Know, Have You Ever Been Mellow and of course Physical.
Died August 9, 2022 at age 89.
American stuntman and actor.
According to legend, during the filming of Under Siege, Steven Seagal bragged to Lebell that he could escape from any chokehold, no matter how strong. Lebell allegedly asked if he'd like to prove it, and Seagal agreed. Lebell supposedly got Seagall into position and instructed him to let him know when he was ready. At the signal, Lebell applied the chokehold to Seagall and instantly turned his lights out. Seagall then collapsed as he pissed and shit himself.
It's one of those infamous Hollywood stories that's probably apocryphal, but I really hope it's true.
Died August 11, 2022 at age 53.
Died from injuries sustained in a traffic accident while driving coked out of her mind.
Wolfgang Petersen
Died August 12, 2022 at age 81.
German movie director, who helmed Das Boot and The Neverending Story. Wow, now THAT'S a diverse resume!
Died August 18, 2022 at age 81.
Prolific comic book inker, notable for The Tomb Of Dracula, Batman, The Avengers and many other titles.
Died August 30, 2022 at age 91.
Russian president in the 1980s, and Nobel Prize winner.
Peter Straub
Died September 4, 2022 at age 79.
Popular horror novelist in the 1970s, who wrote Julia and Ghost Story. He also collaborated with Stephen King on The Talisman and Black House.
Died September 8, 2022 at age 96.
So much was written about her death that there's nothing more to add, other than she was the longest reigning British monarch.
Jean-Luc Godard
Died September 13, 2022 at age 91.
Avant-garde film director who helmed such films as Breathless, My Life To Live and Contempt (none of which I've ever seen). Died by assisted suicide, and who could blame him?
Died September 25, 2022 at age 88.
Oscar winning actress who played Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and Kai Winn in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Died October 28, 2022 at age 59.
Artis Leon Ivey Jr., better known as Coolio, was a Grammy winning rapper famous for Gangsta's Paradise.
Died October 2, 2022 at age 75.
Littlefeather was a Native American civil rights activist, who's sole claim to fame was appearing at the 1973 Academy Awards, where she famously declined Marlon Brando's Oscar at his request.
Died October 4, 2022 at age 90.
Prolific Country music pioneer best known for her song Coal Miner's Daughter.
Died October 6, 2022 at age 72.
Offbeat comedian who generally performed with an accordion slung around her neck. As part of her act she'd dress as a gauzy "Love Goddess," but spoke in a guttural Bronx accent and spoke of her religion called "Judy-ism."
Her humor wasn't for everyone, but I thought she was funny.
Died October 7, 2022 at age 92.
Actor best known for his role in Assault On Precinct 13.
Died October 7, 2022 at age 87.
Star of 1960s soap The Edge Of Night, which I used to watch with my Granny!
Died October 11, 2022 at age 96.
Celebrated movie, TV and stage star, best known for her roles in The Manchurian Candidate and Murder She Wrote. Lansbury was knighted and became a Dame in 2014.
Died October 14, 2022 at age 72.
Scottish actor who starred in hundreds of films, but was likely best known for playing Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies.
Died October 20, 2022 at age 86.
Staple of TV sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s.
Died October 24, 2022 at age 67.
Actor/comedian best known for his role as Beverly Leslie on Will & Grace.
Jules Bass
Died October 25, 2022 at age 87.
One half of Rankin/Bass Productions, who produced dozens of animated Christmas classics such as Frosty The Snowman, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town and of course, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Died October 28, 2022 at age 87.
Best known for his song Great Balls Of Fire. Oh, and for marrying his cousin when he was twenty two and she was all of thirteen.
Died November 7, 2022 at age 69.
Comic book artist who illustrated The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Marshall Law and many others. He had an offbeat, frenetic style that I liked.
Died November 9, 2022 at age 60.
Spanish comic artist who worked for numerous Marvel books, including Avengers Forever, X-Men: Legacy and Fantastic Four.
Died November 10, 2022 at age 66.
Actor and talented voice artist, best known for voicing Batman in Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s.
Died November 11, 2022 at age 76.
Stand up comic who gained fame by smashing watermelons onstage with a large wooden mallet.
Few knew that Gallagher was actually quite talented at wordplay and observational humor, as sadly he became pigeonholed by the watermelon shtick.
Died November 16, 2022 at age 96 )!_.
Best known for playing French POW Corporal LeBeau on Hogan's Heroes.
Amazingly Clary actually spent time in a real concentration camp. In 1942 he and his family (who were Jews) were transported to a Nazi camp in Ottmuth. Clary was later sent to the Buchenwald camp, where he began entertaining the SS soldiers as a means of survival.
Sadly he and three other siblings were the only members of his family to survive the Holocaust.
Died November 19, 2022 at age 49.
Actor & martial artist, best known for playing Tommy Oliver— the Green Ranger (and later on the White Ranger) on Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
Sadly Frank died by suicide, allegedly after a bitter divorce from his ex wife.
Greg Bear
Died November 19, 2022 at age 71.
Noted Science fiction author.
Mickey Kuhn
Died November 20, 2022 at age 90.
Child actor and last surviving cast member of Gone With The Wind!
Greg Bear
Died November 19, 2022 at age 71.
Noted Science fiction author.
Died November 20, 2022 at age 90.
Child actor and last surviving cast member of Gone With The Wind!
Irene Cara
Died November 25, 2022 at age 63.
Actress & singer who starred in Fame and sang the hit Flashdance... What A Feeling.
Albert Pyun
Died November 26, 2022 at age 69.
Prolific B-movie director, who helmed such so-bad-they're-good films as The Sword And The Sorcerer, Nemesis, Cyborg and a pre Marvel Studios Captain America.
Christine McVie
Died November 30, 2022 at age 79.
Singer/songwriter and member of Fleetwood Mac.
Bob McGrath
Died December 4, 2022 at age 90.
Actor & singer who starred on Sesame Street for many years.
Kirstie Alley
Died December 5, 2022 at age 71.
Actress best known for her role as Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, and as Rebecca Howe on Cheers.
Alley was also a prominent Scientologist. Sadly, her views became more and more extreme in her later years, as she became a right-wing, anti-vax conspiracy theory nutjob.
Angelo Badalamenti
Died December 11, 2022 at age 85.
Composer who scored many of David Lynch's films and projects, including Twin Peaks.
Stuart Margolin
Died December 12, 2022 at age 82.
You may not know the name, but if you watched TV at all in the 1970s you'll recognize his face. Margolin was a prolific character actor who guest starred on virtually every TV show in the 1970s.
Pelé
Died December 29, 2022 at age 82.
Arguably the world's most famous soccer (aka football) player, and world champion in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
Ruggero Deodato
Died December 29, 2022 at age 83.
Italian film director, best known for helming the infamous Cannibal Holocaust.
Barbara Walters
Died December 30, 2022 at age 93 (!).
Pioneer of American journalism and broadcasting, who became the first female co-anchor of a nightly network news program.
Walters was known primarily for her interview style, which consisted of provocative questions. She famously asked Dolly Parton if her breasts were real, and queried Barbra Streisand about why she didn't get a nose job.
Her most famous question (supposedly to Katherine Hepburn) was "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?" was largely apocryphal. Hepburn stated she was strong and resilient like a tree, and Walters simply asked her "what kind?"
I was shocked to find out she was 93, as I had no idea she was that old. I've been watching her on TV my entire life though, so it checks out.
Died December 31, 2022 at age 95.
Served as Pope from 2005 to 2013.
According to rumor, as part of the death ritual his fellow clergymen have to gather around his body, shout his name three times and then tap him on the head with silver hammer to confirm he's really dead.
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