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 2024. 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 9, 2024 at age 89.
Member of the US Senate and House Of Representatives.
Inhofe was the longest serving Senator from Oklahoma, and was in some form of office for over sixty years. He was by all accounts a despicable asshole, who among other thing fought against gay marriage, tried to make English the country's national language and was a rabid climate change denier. In fact, Inhofe was the wingnut who famously brought a snowball to the Senate floor to prove that climate change was a hoax.
Died July 9, 2024 at age 76.
Member of the Oak Ridge Boys.
Died July 11, 2024 at age 75.
Actress best known for her roles in Nashville and 3 Women In 1980 she starred in both The Shining and Popeye.
For decades there were rumors that director Stanley Kubrick bullied and mentally abused Duval during the filming of The Shining. His mistreatment was allegedly so extreme that it caused her permanent psychological damage.
In recent years Duvall dismissed those rumors, saying that while Kubrick was indeed a demanding perfectionist, she wasn't treated any worse than the rest of the cast.
Duvall's role as Olive Oyl in the Popeye movie was an example of the most all-time perfect bit of casting in movie history, as she looked exactly like the comic strip character come to life.
In 2016, Duvall was interviewed by TV charlatan "Dr." Phil. Sadly, the interview made her seem like a pathetic, unhinged basket case. Recently it's come to light that she was actually fairly normal, and "Dr." Phil took advantage of her by deliberately edited the footage to make her seem crazed.
Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian even denounced the interview, calling it "appallingly cruel" and a form of "lurid and exploitative entertainment."
Fuck Dr. Phil.
Died July 12, 2024 at age 96 (!).
German sex therapist, author and TV personality.
Westheimer was a frequent talks show guest in the 1980s and 1990s (most notably on Letterman), most likely because the sight of a diminutive, elderly German woman spouting explicit sexual advice was guaranteed to generate laughs.
Her real life though was FAR more interesting than anything she ever did on TV.
Westheimer was born in Germany in 1928 to a Jewish family. When the Nazis came to power, her parents sent her to school in Switzerland while they stayed behind to take care of an elderly relative. Her family was captured on Kristallnacht and taken to a concentration camp, where they were ultimately killed.
After WWII, Westheimer emigrated to Palestine, where she joined the Haganah paramilitary organization, where she was trained as a sniper (!). She was wounded in action by mortar fire, and nearly lost both her feet.
Westheimer later moved to Paris, where she studied psychology at the Sorbonne. She moved to America in 1956, where she supported herself by working as a maid. She attended graduate school, earning an MA degree in sociology. Over the next decade she taught at a number of universities and set up her own sex therapy practice.
In 1980 she launched a radio call-in show called Sexually Speaking, and followed that in 1983 with The Dr. Ruth Show on TV. It was around that time that she began making the rounds on the talk show circuit, and the rest is history.
Died July 13, 2024 at age 76.
Health & fitness guru, and yet another perennial talk show guest (again, most notably on Letterman).
After growing up an obese child, Simmons became interested in fitness and lost a ton of weight. He thin opened his own gym, called Slimmons, in Beverly Hills. He rose to national fame through his Sweatin' To The Oldies line of videotapes, and with his Deal A Meal weight loss system. He even had his own morning talks show (The Richard Simmons Show) from 1980 to 1984.
Simmons promoted health and exercise his entire life and later became involved in politics, urging the government to support physical education in public schools.
Whether you enjoyed his high energy personality or was annoyed by it, you can't deny he was passionate about what he did and helped a lot of people get healthier.
Died July 13, 2024 at age 53.
Actress best known for Beverly Hills, 90210, as well as Charmed.
Unfortunately Doherty had a reputation for being difficult to work with, which led to friction between her and her cast mates. To her credit, in recent years she owned up to the mistakes of her youth and was able to reconcile with her costars before she passed.
James B. Sikking
Died July 13, 2024 at age 90.
Prolific character actor who appeared in dozens of movies and guest starred on numerous TV shows.
Sikking was best known for playing Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues, as well as Dr. David Howser (father of Doogie) on Doogie Howser, MD.
Benji Gregory
Died July 13, 2024 at age 46.
Former child actor best known for ALF.
Lou Dobbs
Died July 18, 2024 at age 78.
Conservative political commentator and host of Lou Dobbs Tonight.
Charles Cyphers
Died August 4, 2024 at age 85.
Character actor best known as the Sheriff in the original Halloween. He also starred in Assault On Precinct 13 and Major League.
Chi-Chi Rodriguez
Died August 8, 2024 at age 88.
Puerto Rican Hall Of Fame Golfer, as well as model for Devo's Are We Not Men? album cover.
Mitzi McCall
Died August 8, 2024 at age 93.
She had roles in movies such as The White Palace, The Cry Baby Killer, Machine-Gun Kelly (about the gangster, not the rapper) and many more.
Greg Kihn
Died August 13, 2024 at age 75.
Founder of the incredibly originally-named The Greg Kihn Band, who rose to fame with their 1983 hit Jeopardy.
Wally Amos
Died August 13, 2024 at age 88.
Founder of the Famous Amos cookie brand.
Gena Rowlands
Died August 14, 2024 at age 94.
Award-winning actress best known for her roles in A Woman Under The Influence, Gloria and The Notebook.
Ironically, in The Notebook, Rowlands played a woman suffering from Alzheimer's— which is what killed her in real life.
Peter Marshall
Died August 15, 2024 at age 98 (!).
Long time host of The Hollywood Squares game show. He also occasionally dabbled in acting.
Apropos of nothing, Marshall's real name was Ralph Pierre LaCock. I can't imagine why he decided to change that name!
Robert Weatherwax
Died August 15, 2024 at age 83.
Hollywood animal trainer, and son of famed Lassie creator Rudd Weatherwax.
Phil Donahue
Died August 18, 2024 at age 88.
Writer, producer and daytime talk show pioneer.
John Amos
Died August 21, 2024 at age 84.
Damn, Damn, DAMN! Amos was best known for playing James Evans Sr. on 1970s sitcom Good Times, as well as Gordy the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He appeared in numerous movies as well.
For some inexplicable reason his death wasn't reported until October 1st! His own family didn't even find out about his demise until then, along with the rest of the world. No idea what's up with that.
James Darren
Died September 2, 2024 at age 88.
Singer & actor.
Daren's big break was the 1959 film Gidget, in which he played Moondoggie. He also sang the title track, which led to a successful music career. His biggest hit was Goodbye, Cruel World.
Darren starred in several Gidget sequels, as well as The Guns Of Navarone. Over on TV he costarred in The Time Tunnel, TJ Hooker and was a recurring character in the latter seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, of all things.
Sergio Mendes
Died September 5, 2024 at age 83.
Brazilian bossanova musician and Grammy winner. Best known for his songs The Look Of Love and The Fool On The Hill.
Mendes died from complications due to Covid, which (thankfully) seems unusual these days.
Peter Renaday
Died September 8, 2024 at age 89.
Voice actor who performed as Splinter on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (there've been about forty seven Turtles series at this point-- I assume he worked on the first one in the 1980s). He also worked on The Transformers and The Black Cauldron.
James Earl Jones
Died September 9, 2024 at age 93.
Multiple award winning actor (Two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, a Golden Globe and an honorary Academy Award).
Another one that hurts!
Tommy Cash
Died September 13, 2024 at age 84.
Country music performer, and younger brother of Johnny Cash.
Tito Jackson
Died September 15, 2024 at age 70.
Member of The Jackson 5, and elder brother of King Of Pop Michael Jackson.
JD Souther
Died September 17, 2024 at age 78.
Hall Of Fame singer & songwriter. Souther wrote primarily for Linda Rondstadt and The Eagles, penning such hits as You're Only Lonely, Her Town Too and New Kid In Town.
John Ashton
Died September 26, 2024 at age 76.
Character actor best known for his role of John Taggert in the Beverly Hills Cop movies.
Dame Maggie Smith
Died September 27, 2024 at age 89.
Kris Kristofferson
Died September 28, 2024 at age 88,
Singer, songwriter and actor.
Ken Page
Died September 30, 2024 at age 70.
Theater actor, and the voice of Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Pete Rose
Died September 30, 2024 at age 83,
Famed baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. Rose was a multiple World Series champion, and later became a manager.
Unfortunately his stellar career was forever marred by an unfortunate scandal, in which he bet against the very team he was managing. As a result he was barred from the Baseball Hall Of Fame and his image never recovered.
Ethel Kennedy
Died October 10, 2024 at age 96.
Wife of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, as well as an ardent human rights activist.
Lillian Schwartz
Died October 12, 2024 at age 97.
Early pioneer in computer generated artwork.
Fernando Valenzueala
Died October 22, 2024 at age 63.
Mexican-American baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jack Jones
Died October 23, 2024 at age 86.
Actor and singer best known for belting out the theme to the Love Boat.
Jeri Taylor
Died October 24, 2024 at age 86.
Writer and producer, best known for her work on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager.
Taylor was born in my home town of Evansville, Indiana!
Paul Morrissey
Died October 27, 2024 at age 86.
Film director and friend of Andy Warhol. He directed such films as Flesh, Trash, Flesh For Frankenstein and Blood For Dracula.
Teri Garr
Died October 29, 2024 at age 79.
Ouch, another one that hurts, as I had a bit of a crush on her back in the day. Garr starred in numerous major films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Tootsie, Young Frankenstein and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
Sadly, Garr suffered from MS the last decade or two of her life, and kept out of the public eye.
Greg Hildebrandt
Died October 31, 2024 at age 85.
Alan Rachins
Died November 2, 2024 at age 82.
Actor best known for his roles on LA Law and Dharma & Greg. He was also in Showgirls.
Jonathan Haze
Died November 2, 2024 at age 95.
Actor best known for his role in The Little Shop Of Horrors (the original version). He was also in The Terror and It Conquered The World.
Quincy Jones
Died November 3, 2024 at age 91.
Grammy-winning (twenty eight times!) record producer, composer and arranger. Among his many, many accomplishments, he produced Michael Jackson's Thriller album, as well as organizing the We Are The World charity event.
Tony Todd
Died November 6, 2024 at the much too young age of just 69.
Deep-voiced, menacing-looking actor best known for playing Candyman in the film of the same name. He was also in Platoon and Final Destination. He played roles in three different Star Trek series, as well as appearing on Babylon 5.
Thomas E. Kurtz
Died November 12, 2024 at age 96.
Computer scientist who co-created the BASIC computer programming language.
Igor Volke
Died November 14, 2024 at age 74.
Volke was an Estonian ufo-ologist. Wow, talk about a specific career! He wasn't just a ufo-ologist, he was an ESTONIAN ufo-ologist!
Dick Packer
Died November 15, 2024.
American soccer player I've never heard of, but I had to include him just because of that name.
Chuck Woolery
Died November 23, 2024 at age 83.
Original host of Wheel Of Fortune, as well as host of Love Connection.
Sadly, Woolery was a Covid-denier during the pandemic, but quickly changed his tune when his son contracted the disease.
Barbara Taylor Bradford
Died November 24, 2024 at age 91.
British/American writer, who penned over forty novels, including A Woman Of Substance and Hold The Dream.
Hal Lindsey
Died November 25, 2024 at age 95.
Evangelist who wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books, including The Late Great Planet Earth.
Earl Holliman
Died November 25, 2024 at age 96.
Prolific actor who starred in numerous movies and TV shows over the decades.
Jim Abrahams
Died November 26, 2024 at age 80.
Screenwriter and director, who-- along with his partners Jerry and David Zucker-- cowrote such films as Airplane!, Top Secret, The Naked Gun and Hot Shots!.
Brian Thompson
Died December 4, 2024 at age 50.
CEO of United Healthcare, who was assassinated on a New York City street. The alleged gunman, Luigi Mangione, was a United Healthcare customer whose medical claims had been repeatedly denied.
And lest you think I'm exaggerating, United Healthcare reportedly had the highest claim denial rate in the country, at 32%!
Thom Christopher
Died December 5, 2024 at age 84.
Character actor who specialized in playing villains. He appeared on soaps such as One Life To Live and Loving, and played the bird-like alien Hawk on Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.
Kreskin (real name George Joseph Kresge Jr)
Died December 10, 2024 at age 89.
Mentalist and perennial talk show guest in the 1960s and 1970s.
Kreskin insisted he wasn't a psychic, and would make "predictions" based on suggestion and subliminal behaviors rather than supernatural powers. A staple of his act was to have the producers hide his check somewhere in the studio for him to find. If he failed to locate it, then he didn't get paid!
Rickey Henderson
Died December 20, 2024 at age 65.
World Series Champ and Hall Of Fame baseball player for the Oakland As, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.
Greg Gumbel
Died December 27, 2024 at age 78.
Sportscaster and older brother of Bryant Gumbel.
Olivia Hussey
Died December 27, 2024 at age 73.
British actress, best known for starring in Romeo And Juliet, Black Christmas and Jesus Of Nazareth.
Linda Lavin
Died December 29, 2024 at age 87.
Actress best known for TV sitcom Alice. She was also a Tony winning Broadway performer.
Jimmy Carter
Died December 29, 2024 at age 100 (!).
Died July 13, 2024 at age 90.
Prolific character actor who appeared in dozens of movies and guest starred on numerous TV shows.
Sikking was best known for playing Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues, as well as Dr. David Howser (father of Doogie) on Doogie Howser, MD.
Died July 13, 2024 at age 46.
Former child actor best known for ALF.
Bob Newhart
Died July 18, 2024 at age 92 (!).
Long-time stand up comic and actor.
Ouch, this one really hurts! I've been a fan of Bob Newhart pretty much my entire life. His dry, deadpan delivery has had a huge influence on my own sense of humor.
Died July 18, 2024 at age 92 (!).
Long-time stand up comic and actor.
Ouch, this one really hurts! I've been a fan of Bob Newhart pretty much my entire life. His dry, deadpan delivery has had a huge influence on my own sense of humor.
Newhart first rose to prominence in 1960, with the release of his comedy album, The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart. It instantly became a best seller, hitting number one on the Billboard charts and winning him TWO Grammy Awards. Later that same year he released a second album (The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back), which was also a huge success. In fact his albums were in the number one and two spots simultaneously!
He became even more successful in 1972 when he starred in his own sitcom, imaginatively titled The Bob Newhart show. In ran for seven seasons, winning numerous awards. Lightning struck again in 1982, when his second sitcom Newhart became a big hit.
Newhart also starred in several films, including Hot Millions, Catch-22, Cold Turkey and In & Out. He was introduced to a whole new generation of fans when he starred in Elf, and began making guest appearances on The Big Bang Theory.
Died July 18, 2024 at age 78.
Conservative political commentator and host of Lou Dobbs Tonight.
Died August 4, 2024 at age 85.
Character actor best known as the Sheriff in the original Halloween. He also starred in Assault On Precinct 13 and Major League.
Died August 8, 2024 at age 88.
Puerto Rican Hall Of Fame Golfer, as well as model for Devo's Are We Not Men? album cover.
Died August 8, 2024 at age 93.
Comedian, writer, voice over artist and actress.
She and her husband Charlie Brill were a comedy duo in the 1960s, appearing on many variety shows. In fact the two were on The Ed Sullivan Show the night The Beatles made their American debut.
McCall also made TV appearances on Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In, Life Goes On, Silk Stalkings, Seinfeld, Roseanne, Dharma And Greg, Becker and many others.
She had roles in movies such as The White Palace, The Cry Baby Killer, Machine-Gun Kelly (about the gangster, not the rapper) and many more.
She also had a successful voice over career as well, lending her vocals to such shows as Snorks, Mother Goose And Grimm, The Flintstones and The Jetsons.
She was a talented screenwriter too, penning scripts for Eight Is Enough, One Day At A Time, ALF and Charles In Charge.
And all this time I thought all she ever did was appear on Match Game and Tattletales.
Celestina Casapietra
Died August 10, 2024 at age 85.
Italian operatic soprano.
I know absolutely nothing about this woman, but she had one of the most awesome names ever.
Timothy Dudley-Smith
Died August 12, 2024 at age 97.
British clergyman and hymn writer, as well as the archdeacon of Norwich.
Again, I have absolutely no idea who this man was, but he had the most British-sounding name ever!
Died August 10, 2024 at age 85.
Italian operatic soprano.
I know absolutely nothing about this woman, but she had one of the most awesome names ever.
Timothy Dudley-Smith
Died August 12, 2024 at age 97.
British clergyman and hymn writer, as well as the archdeacon of Norwich.
Again, I have absolutely no idea who this man was, but he had the most British-sounding name ever!
Died August 13, 2024 at age 75.
Founder of the incredibly originally-named The Greg Kihn Band, who rose to fame with their 1983 hit Jeopardy.
Died August 13, 2024 at age 88.
Founder of the Famous Amos cookie brand.
Died August 14, 2024 at age 94.
Award-winning actress best known for her roles in A Woman Under The Influence, Gloria and The Notebook.
Ironically, in The Notebook, Rowlands played a woman suffering from Alzheimer's— which is what killed her in real life.
Died August 15, 2024 at age 98 (!).
Long time host of The Hollywood Squares game show. He also occasionally dabbled in acting.
Apropos of nothing, Marshall's real name was Ralph Pierre LaCock. I can't imagine why he decided to change that name!
Died August 15, 2024 at age 83.
Hollywood animal trainer, and son of famed Lassie creator Rudd Weatherwax.
Died August 18, 2024 at age 88.
Writer, producer and daytime talk show pioneer.
Donahue began his career working in front of and behind the cameras at various local stations. In 1967, he began hosting The Phil Donahue Show (another imaginatively named series) in Dayton, Ohio. He gained national attention in 1970, when he moved to Chicago and the show became syndicated.
Now titled simply Donahue, the show was the first popular talk show to feature audience participation, as the host would run around the studio giving those in attendance a chance to speak their piece.
The show had an amazing twenty nine year run. Donahue paved the way for many other daytime talk shows, including Oprah.
Donahue was married to actress Marlo Thomas.
Died August 21, 2024 at age 84.
Damn, Damn, DAMN! Amos was best known for playing James Evans Sr. on 1970s sitcom Good Times, as well as Gordy the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He appeared in numerous movies as well.
For some inexplicable reason his death wasn't reported until October 1st! His own family didn't even find out about his demise until then, along with the rest of the world. No idea what's up with that.
Died September 2, 2024 at age 88.
Singer & actor.
Daren's big break was the 1959 film Gidget, in which he played Moondoggie. He also sang the title track, which led to a successful music career. His biggest hit was Goodbye, Cruel World.
Darren starred in several Gidget sequels, as well as The Guns Of Navarone. Over on TV he costarred in The Time Tunnel, TJ Hooker and was a recurring character in the latter seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, of all things.
Sergio Mendes
Died September 5, 2024 at age 83.
Brazilian bossanova musician and Grammy winner. Best known for his songs The Look Of Love and The Fool On The Hill.
Mendes died from complications due to Covid, which (thankfully) seems unusual these days.
Died September 8, 2024 at age 89.
Voice actor who performed as Splinter on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (there've been about forty seven Turtles series at this point-- I assume he worked on the first one in the 1980s). He also worked on The Transformers and The Black Cauldron.
Died September 9, 2024 at age 93.
Multiple award winning actor (Two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, a Golden Globe and an honorary Academy Award).
Another one that hurts!
Jones was born in rural Mississippi, and famously suffered from a stutter in childhood. He claimed acting helped him overcome his speech difficulties. He served in the Korean War before deciding on a career in acting.
Jones came to prominence on Broadway, starring in plays such as Othello, Hamlet and King Lear, among many, many others.
He made his film debut in 1964, in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. He then starred in numerous other films, including The Man, Conan The Barbarian, Matewan, Coming To America, Field Of Dreams, The Hunt For Red October and many, many others.
Despite all those achievements, Jones will no doubt be best remembered for lending his deep booming voice to evil villain Darth Vader in the various Star Wars films.
Actor and race car driver, as well as the son of actor Steve McQueen. He was probably best known for playing Dutch in The Karate Kid Part II.
Chad McQueen
Died September 11, 2024 at age 63.Actor and race car driver, as well as the son of actor Steve McQueen. He was probably best known for playing Dutch in The Karate Kid Part II.
Died September 13, 2024 at age 84.
Country music performer, and younger brother of Johnny Cash.
Died September 15, 2024 at age 70.
Member of The Jackson 5, and elder brother of King Of Pop Michael Jackson.
Died September 17, 2024 at age 78.
Hall Of Fame singer & songwriter. Souther wrote primarily for Linda Rondstadt and The Eagles, penning such hits as You're Only Lonely, Her Town Too and New Kid In Town.
Died September 26, 2024 at age 76.
Character actor best known for his role of John Taggert in the Beverly Hills Cop movies.
Died September 27, 2024 at age 89.
Award-winning British actress, whose career spanned a whopping seven decades (!). Among her many achievements, she won two Academy Awards, five BAFTAs, four Emmys, three Golden Globes and a Tony Award.
Smith made her professional debut on Broadway in New Faces Of '56. She eventually worked for the British National Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
She starred in numerous films, including The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, California Suite, Othello, Travels With My Aunt, Death On The Nile, Hook, Sister Act and many, many others.
Smith was introduced to an entire new generation of fans in 2001, when she played Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Her most recent success was in TV, where she starred as Violet Crowley in Downton Abbey.
Smith was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1960.
Died September 28, 2024 at age 88,
Singer, songwriter and actor.
Kristofferson began his career as a pioneer in the so-called "outlaw country music" genre of the 1970s, with hits such as Me And Bobby McGee, For The Good Times, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down and Help Me Make It Through The Night. He was a three time Granny winner, inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2004 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
Kristofferson then transitioned to acting, starring in such films as Pat Garrett And Bill The Kid, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and A Star Is Born (for which he earned a Golden Globe).
His acting career fizzled after he starred in Heaven's Gate, which is widely considered to be the biggest Hollywood flop of all time. He rose to prominence again after starring in the Blade trilogy in the late 1990s.
Died September 30, 2024 at age 70.
Theater actor, and the voice of Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Died September 30, 2024 at age 83,
Famed baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. Rose was a multiple World Series champion, and later became a manager.
Unfortunately his stellar career was forever marred by an unfortunate scandal, in which he bet against the very team he was managing. As a result he was barred from the Baseball Hall Of Fame and his image never recovered.
Died October 10, 2024 at age 96.
Wife of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, as well as an ardent human rights activist.
Died October 12, 2024 at age 97.
Early pioneer in computer generated artwork.
Fernando Valenzueala
Died October 22, 2024 at age 63.
Mexican-American baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Died October 23, 2024 at age 86.
Actor and singer best known for belting out the theme to the Love Boat.
Died October 24, 2024 at age 86.
Writer and producer, best known for her work on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager.
Taylor was born in my home town of Evansville, Indiana!
Paul Morrissey
Died October 27, 2024 at age 86.
Film director and friend of Andy Warhol. He directed such films as Flesh, Trash, Flesh For Frankenstein and Blood For Dracula.
Died October 29, 2024 at age 79.
Ouch, another one that hurts, as I had a bit of a crush on her back in the day. Garr starred in numerous major films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Tootsie, Young Frankenstein and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
Sadly, Garr suffered from MS the last decade or two of her life, and kept out of the public eye.
Died October 31, 2024 at age 85.
Greg and Tim Hildebrandt were twin brothers who collaborated on hundreds of fantasy and sci-fi paintings in the 1970s through 1980s. They would often work on the same painting at the same time. They illustrated The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, but their most famous work was probably the poster for Star Wars-- which they pumped out in just thirty six hours.
Tim HIldebrandt died back in 2006.
Tim HIldebrandt died back in 2006.
Died November 2, 2024 at age 82.
Actor best known for his roles on LA Law and Dharma & Greg. He was also in Showgirls.
Died November 2, 2024 at age 95.
Actor best known for his role in The Little Shop Of Horrors (the original version). He was also in The Terror and It Conquered The World.
Died November 3, 2024 at age 91.
Grammy-winning (twenty eight times!) record producer, composer and arranger. Among his many, many accomplishments, he produced Michael Jackson's Thriller album, as well as organizing the We Are The World charity event.
He was also the father of actress Rashida Jones.
United States Of America
Died November 5, 2024 at age 248.
Nation that died when it inexplicably elected convicted felon donald j. trump for a second term as president.
Died November 5, 2024 at age 248.
Nation that died when it inexplicably elected convicted felon donald j. trump for a second term as president.
Died November 6, 2024 at the much too young age of just 69.
Deep-voiced, menacing-looking actor best known for playing Candyman in the film of the same name. He was also in Platoon and Final Destination. He played roles in three different Star Trek series, as well as appearing on Babylon 5.
Thomas E. Kurtz
Died November 12, 2024 at age 96.
Computer scientist who co-created the BASIC computer programming language.
Igor Volke
Died November 14, 2024 at age 74.
Volke was an Estonian ufo-ologist. Wow, talk about a specific career! He wasn't just a ufo-ologist, he was an ESTONIAN ufo-ologist!
Dick Packer
Died November 15, 2024.
American soccer player I've never heard of, but I had to include him just because of that name.
Died November 23, 2024 at age 83.
Original host of Wheel Of Fortune, as well as host of Love Connection.
Sadly, Woolery was a Covid-denier during the pandemic, but quickly changed his tune when his son contracted the disease.
Died November 24, 2024 at age 91.
British/American writer, who penned over forty novels, including A Woman Of Substance and Hold The Dream.
Died November 25, 2024 at age 95.
Evangelist who wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books, including The Late Great Planet Earth.
Died November 25, 2024 at age 96.
Prolific actor who starred in numerous movies and TV shows over the decades.
Died November 26, 2024 at age 80.
Screenwriter and director, who-- along with his partners Jerry and David Zucker-- cowrote such films as Airplane!, Top Secret, The Naked Gun and Hot Shots!.
Died December 4, 2024 at age 50.
CEO of United Healthcare, who was assassinated on a New York City street. The alleged gunman, Luigi Mangione, was a United Healthcare customer whose medical claims had been repeatedly denied.
While I don't condone murder, I won't be shedding any tears for Thompson. He routinely encouraged his company to deny clients' medical claims, denying them life-saving treatments and medicines. He was a mass murderer responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.
And lest you think I'm exaggerating, United Healthcare reportedly had the highest claim denial rate in the country, at 32%!
To make things even worse, shortly before his death, Thompson approved a plan to install an AI that would automatically read customer claims and decide whether to approve or deny treatment.
In addition to being an evil and heartless CEO, Thompson was also separated from his wife after cheaying on her, and was a convicted drunk driver.
To quote Moms Mabley: "They say you shouldn't say nothin' about the dead unless it's good. He's dead. Good!"
Died December 5, 2024 at age 84.
Character actor who specialized in playing villains. He appeared on soaps such as One Life To Live and Loving, and played the bird-like alien Hawk on Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.
Died December 10, 2024 at age 89.
Mentalist and perennial talk show guest in the 1960s and 1970s.
Kreskin insisted he wasn't a psychic, and would make "predictions" based on suggestion and subliminal behaviors rather than supernatural powers. A staple of his act was to have the producers hide his check somewhere in the studio for him to find. If he failed to locate it, then he didn't get paid!
Rickey Henderson
Died December 20, 2024 at age 65.
World Series Champ and Hall Of Fame baseball player for the Oakland As, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.
Died December 27, 2024 at age 78.
Sportscaster and older brother of Bryant Gumbel.
Died December 27, 2024 at age 73.
British actress, best known for starring in Romeo And Juliet, Black Christmas and Jesus Of Nazareth.
Died December 29, 2024 at age 87.
Actress best known for TV sitcom Alice. She was also a Tony winning Broadway performer.
Died December 29, 2024 at age 100 (!).
Governor of Georgia, US president and Nobel Prize winner.
Carter was born in Plains, Georgia and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1946. After his military service he married his life-long wife Rosalyn, and revived his family's peanut farm.
He served in the Georgia state senate, later becoming governor of the state in 1971. In 1976 he became the country's 39th president.
As president, Carter pardoned all Vietnam draft dodgers, created a national energy policy and encouraged the development of solar tech. He also successfully pushed the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties and the SALT Talks.
Unfortunately, despite all his successes, his presidency was marred by the Iranian Hostage Crisis-- which made him seem weak and ineffectual as a leader.
Carter didn't stop after leaving office, as he worked extensively in human rights, leading him to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He spent his remaining years working tirelessly for Habitat For Humanity, sparking some to comment he was our country's most popular EX-president.
That's it for the second half of the terrible year of 2024. Let's hope death goes easy on 2025.
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