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Jane Goodall
CBS via Getty
Jane Goodall, the legendary zoologist who dedicated her life’s work to the study of chimpanzees, died from natural causes on Oct. 1. She was 91. Born in London in 1934, Goodall began researching chimps in what is now Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park in 1960, kicking off a lifelong career that revolutionized primatology. Goodall’s research revealed that chimps are capable of using tools to fish for ants, that they hunt and eat smaller primates, and that they would sometimes cannibalize their own in acts of aggression. Goodall also advocated against animal testing in medical research, warned of climate change’s dangerous effects on wildlife, and promoted a meatless diet, penning the vegan cookbook Eat Meat Less in 2021. Goodall published over two dozen books in her lifetime, and also participated in a number of documentaries, including 2010’s Jane’s Journey and 2017’s Jane. Goodall also voiced herself in episodes of The Wild Thornberrys and The Simpsons, and was the inspiration for Stevie Nicks’ 1994 song “Jane.”
Ben Scripps
Jeopardy
Ben Scripps, a Jeopardy alum who won twice on the show in 2020, died at age 52 on Sept. 20, in Holland, Mich. Born in 1972 in Cadillac, Mich., Scripps studied broadcasting at Central Michigan University and worked for the news team at Cadillac’s local CBS station, Channels 9 & 10, where he began by covering high school football games and ended his career producing the news from behind the switcher board. Scripps, who aspired to appear on Jeopardy from a young age, won $18,000 during his first appearance on the show on May 18, 2020, which came during Alex Trebek’s final year as host. He triumphed again the following day with an additional $19,358, bringing his two-day total to $38,158. His streak ended on May 20 when he lost to Nathan Berger.
Robert Redford
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Robert Redford, the movie star and founder of the Sundance Film Festival, died Sept. 16 at his home in Utah. He was 89. Born Aug. 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, Calif., Redford starred in more than two dozen films over a career spanning over half a century, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and All the President’s Men (1976). In 1973, he starred in two big hits, The Way We Were and Best Picture Oscar winner The Sting, the latter producing his only Oscar nomination for acting. Behind the camera, he became the first actor to win a Best Director Oscar for his debut film, 1980’s Ordinary People. He also created the Sundance Film Festival and Institute in Park City, Utah. Redford’s last feature directorial project was 2012’s The Company You Keep, but he continued acting through the final decade of his life and appeared in films like 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Redford is survived by his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, daughters Shauna and Amy, and seven grandchildren.
Marilyn Knowlden
Bowman Funeral Home
Marilyn Knowlden, a former child star of the 1930s and ’40s who appeared in such high-profile films as Little Women, Les Misérables, and David Copperfield, died Sept. 15 at 99. Though her screen credits ended in 1944, she packed many titles into her relatively short time in Hollywood, including Imitation of Life in 1934 and Angels With Dirty Faces in 1938.
Stuart Craig
Todd Williamson/Getty
Stuart Craig, the Oscar-winning production designer known for creating the visual worlds of all eight Harry Potter films and the three Fantastic Beasts spinoffs, died Sept. 14 at 83. After studying film design at the Royal College of Art, Craig worked on such movies as Casino Royale; Three Sisters; Scrooge; The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes; The Secret Garden; and Notting Hill. He won three Oscars, for Gandhi (1982), Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The English Patient (1996). His work on the Harry Potter films also carried over into the Wizarding World attractions at Universal’s theme parks in Los Angeles, Florida, Beijing, and Japan.
Pat Crowley
Bettmann Archive/Getty
Pat Crowley, the prolific actress who appeared on the ABC soap Dynasty and the ’60s sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, died of natural causes on Sunday, Sept. 14. She was 91. The young star made her Broadway debut as a high school senior, playing the lead in Southern Exposure in 1950. She then broke into film three years later, with roles in Paramount’s Forever Female and Money From Home, winning the 1953 Golden Globe for New Star of the Year for her dual performances. Crowley later led Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, the 1965-67 NBC series based on the 1960 movie starring Doris Day. She went on to accrue over 100 screen credits, with guest-starring roles on TV shows including The Untouchables, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Columbo, Friends, Hawaii Five-O, Frasier, Charmed, and Murder, She Wrote. Crowley also appeared on several daytime soaps, including the General Hospital spinoff, Port Charles, Dynasty, Generations, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Falcon Crest.
Bobby Hart
Johnny Franklin/andmorebears/Getty
Bobby Hart, the songwriter who worked on some of the Monkees’ greatest hits, died Sept. 12 at 86. Born in Phoenix in 1939, Hart began playing music as a kid and met his best friend, Tommy Boyce, in the ’50s. Together they would go on to write a series of popular Monkees tunes, including the theme song for the TV series that spawned the fictional group. In addition to their work on The Monkees, Hart and Boyce released three albums and had one big hit, the gold-selling single “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight,” which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.
Charlie Kirk
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty
Charlie Kirk, the right-wing commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. He was 31. Known for his viral “Prove Me Wrong” series, Kirk emerged in recent years as an influential media and internet personality after founding Turning Point at 18. He became a frequent Fox News guest and a staple on college campuses, where he would man a booth and invite students to challenge his stances. Similarly, at events he would bring audience members on stage to debate him. Kirk was a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, who announced his death.
Paula Shaw
Katie Yu/Hallmark Entertainment/courtesy Everett
Paula Shaw, an actress who appeared in the Hallmark Channel series Cedar Cove and multiple TV movies for the network, died Sept. 10 at 84. In a career that dated back to 1969, she also appeared on classic TV shows such as Little House on the Prairie and Starsky and Hutch. Shaw also portrayed the mother of horror icon Jason Vorhees in the 2003 movie Freddy vs. Jason. In addition, Shaw was part of the Actors Studio, and she worked internationally teaching acting and self-expression.
Rick Davies
Brill/ullstein bild via Getty
Rick Davies, the influential co-founder and vocalist of the English rock band Supertramp, died on Sept. 5 at the age of 81. Davies wrote, composed, and sang many of the band’s most iconic hits, like “Bloody Well Right” and “Goodbye Stranger.” Born in Swindon, England, in 1944, Davies formed Supertramp (originally called Daddy) in 1969 with Roger Hodgson, his primary creative partner until a bitter falling out prompted Hodgson’s exit in 1983. Davies carried Supertramp to multiple Grammy wins and several bestselling albums, and his music remains resonant, appearing in films and series like The Office, I, Tonya, and The Simpsons. Davies is survived by Sue, his wife since 1977 and the band’s manager since 1984.
Mark Volman
Bobby Bank/Getty
Mark Volman, a founding member of the ’60s rock group the Turtles, died on Friday, Sept. 5, at the age of 78. Born in Los Angeles on April 19, 1947, Volman began playing music and performing at an early age. It was at Westchester High School where he met classmate and future bandmate Howard Kaylan, joining the latter’s band, the Crossfires. After graduating from high school in 1965, he and Kaylan founded the Turtles alongside lead guitarist Al Nichol, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker, bassist Chuck Portz, and drummer Don Murray. Together, the group released their No. 1 hit “Happy Together,” as well as such songs as “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “You Baby,” “She’d Rather Be with Me,” and “Elenore.” After the band split in 1970, he and Kaylan reinvented themselves as the duo Flo & Eddie. They toured with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, created infamous background vocals on various hit albums from T. Rex to Bruce Springsteen, wrote for children’s television shows like Strawberry Shortcake, and earned a reputation for irreverent humor and versatility. Volman returned to college in his ’40s, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University before teaching music business at several institutions, most notably Belmont University in Nashville. He is survived by his significant other, Emily Volman; his ex-wife Pat Voman and their daughters, Hallie Volman and Sarina Miller; and his brother, Phil Volman.
Ted Mann
Jason Kempin/Getty
Ted Mann, a writer and producer on TV shows including NYPD Blue and Deadwood, died Sept. 4 in Los Angeles. He was 72. Before working on what became his signature shows, Mann had written episodes of series such as Wiseguy and Miami Vice. After joining NYPD Blue in 1993, Mann was nominated for his first of seven Emmys, both individually and as part of a team. He later worked on Homeland.
Rolling Ray
Rolling Ray/Instagram
Social media personality Rolling Ray was reported dead on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the age of 28, a spokesperson at Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. A cause of death has not been revealed. The influencer, born Juan Raymond Harper, first rose to fame in 2018 after appearing on MTV’s Catfish: Trolls. He began to gain mainstream attention thanks to viral clips of an appearance on Divorce Court with Judge Lynn Toler, which quickly turned him into an internet sensation. The reality star also gained online notoriety for coining catchy phrases such as “purr” and “you’re not that girl” which became prevalent on social media. Ray used a wheelchair due to paralysis and shared serious health issues throughout the years, including burns from a 2021 fire, COVID and pneumonia diagnoses in 2022, as well as pneumonia and a blood infection in August 2024. Despite his health scares, the online personality gained a healthy following of fans that included famous figures like fellow reality star Joseline Hernandez and Cardi B. Even Beyoncé has sent Ray free Ivy Park clothing and a hand-autographed photo with a personalized message in the past.
Graham Greene
Shawn Goldberg/Getty
Graham Greene, the actor known for his Oscar-nominated role as Kicking Bird in the 1990 Western epic Dances With Wolves, died Sept. 1 at 73. Born in Canada, Greene made his big-screen debut in the 1983 sports drama Running Brave and went on to appear in such movies and TV shows as The Green Mile, Maverick, The Twilight Saga, The Last of Us, Reservation Dogs, American Gods, and Echo. He also helped run the Centre for Indigenous Theatre’s Native Theatre School in Toronto.
Kelsey Bateman
Prime Video
Kelsey Bateman, who appeared as a contestant on season 3 of the hit VH1 reality dating series Rock of Love, died on Aug. 27 at age 39. Bateman made it into top 10 of her season, which saw 23 women from across the country vie for the heart of Bret Michaels, the frontman of the hair metal band Poison. Born on May 6, 1986, in St. George, Utah, Bateman was remembered in her official obituary as “beloved daughter, sister and best friend whose presence brought light and laughter to all who knew her.”
Katie Slaton
Katie Slaton/Facebook
Katie Slaton, the cousin of 1000-Lb. Sisters stars Tammy and Amy Slaton who appeared on several episodes of the TLC reality series, died Aug. 25 at 37, after battling a rare form of stomach cancer. Amanda Halterman, Slaton’s other cousin and Tammy and Amy’s older sister, wrote in a heartfelt tribute. “She was a force to be reckoned with and showed love that was accepting and given freely.”
Floyd Levine
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Floyd Levine, the character actor and father of fellow actor, producer, and former Paramount studio executive Brian Robbins, died Aug. 24 in Los Angeles. He was 93. Born in New York in 1932, Levine worked as a cab driver to support an acting career that featured bit roles in Super Fly and Kojak before he moved his family to L.A. His expansive credits include TV shows Three’s Company, The Love Boat, T.J. Hooker, Days of Our Lives, Cagney & Lacey, and Head of the Class, starring opposite his son Robbins in the latter sitcom in a 1989 episode. He appeared across several of his producer and director son’s projects, including sitcom Kenan & Kel and films Good Burger, Coach Carter, and Norbit. Other notable stints include shows Melrose Place, Charlie’s Angels, Hart to Hart, Wonder Woman, and Baywatch, and films Bloodbrothers, A Long Way Home, Meet Dave, The Hangover, and A Thousand Words. Along with Robbins, Levine is survived by his casting director daughter Sheryl Levine, son Marc, and several grandchildren. His wife, Rochelle, died in May 2022 at the age of 85.
Verónica Echegui
Juan Naharro Gimenez/WireImage
Spanish actress Verónica Echegui, who had worked in films and TV shows for two decades, died of cancer at a hospital in Madrid on Aug. 24, per The Daily Mail. She was 42. Echegui appeared in projects including Yo soy la Juani (2006), El patio de mi cárcel (2008), Katmandú, un espejo en el cielo (2011), and My Heart Goes Boom! (2020). She was nominated five times for the country’s national Goya Awards: four times for her acting performance and once, in 2022, winning in the category of Best Short Fiction Film for Tótem Loba, which she wrote and directed. In 2013, she starred alongside Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis in action thriller The Cold Light of Day, with Sam Claflin in Prime Video’s 2022 romantic comedy Book of Love, and in this year’s Apple TV+ series Love You to Death. Her last project, crime series Ciudad de sombras (City of Shadows), was scheduled to release on Netflix this year.
Jerry Adler
Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Jerry Adler, the veteran actor who spent six seasons as Herman “Hesh” Rabkin on The Sopranos, died peacefully in his sleep on Aug. 23, a rep for the Adler family told EW. After starting his career as a stage and production manager on several Broadway shows, Adler pivoted to acting in his 60s. He appeared on episodes of True Colors, One Life to Live, and Northern Exposure; and booked regular gigs on Mad About You, Hudson Street, and Alright Already. But one of his best known roles would come in 1999, when David Chase called him in to play a loan shark and associate of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) on The Sopranos. The actor would later play Bob Saget‘s father on Raising Dad and crude lawyer Howard Lyman on CBS’ The Good Wife. He also had a memorable role in the film Manhattan Murder Mystery as Paul House. Adler is survived by his four daughters.
Eduardo Serra
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros
Eduardo Serra, the two-time Oscar nominated cinematographer of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows duology, and a frequent collaborator of directors Claude Chabrol and Patrice Leconte, died Aug. 22 at age 81. Born in Lisbon in 1943, Serra established himself as a sought after DP in France after lensing two films by the film star Christian Drillaud. He went on to shoot seminal films by French greats like Michel Blanc and François Leterrier, before expanding internationally to collaborate with talents like England’s Michael Winterbottom (Jude), New Zealand’s Vincent Ward (Map of the Human Heart), and Portugal’s Luís Filipe Rocha (Amor e Dedinhos de Pé). Serra became a crossover Hollywood success with M. Night Shyamalan on Unbreakable and Edward Zwick on Blood Diamond. He was nominated twice for Best Cinematographer at the Academy Awards, for 1997’s The Wings of the Dove and 2003’s The Girl With the Pearl Earring.
Reggie Carroll
Reggie Carroll/Instagram
Comedian Reginald “Reggie” Carroll was killed in a fatal shooting on Aug. 20. He was 52. The Baltimore-born entertainer was known for touring the country with his stand-up routine and collaborating with the likes of Mo’Nique and Katt Williams. Carroll also made the occasional onscreen appearance, showing up in the showcase series Showtime at the Apollo, the special Knockout Kings of Comedy, and the Moesha spinoff The Parkers.
Brent Hinds
Barry Brecheisen/Getty
Brent Hinds, the founding lead guitarist for Mastodon, died August 20 after a motorcycle accident in Atlanta. He was 51. Born in Helena, Ala., in 1974, Hinds began his musical pursuits playing the banjo at the behest of his father. Hinds moved to Atlanta to pursue a music career in the late 1990s, and he connected with bassist Troy Sanders, with whom he played in the band Four Hour Fogger. The duo later joined forces with drummer Brann Dailor and rhythm guitarist Bill Kelliher to form Mastodon in 2000. The group ultimately released eight studio albums as a quartet, with Hinds sharing vocal duties with Sanders and, later, Dailor. The group has been nominated for six Grammys to date, winning the award for Best Metal Performance for “Sultan’s Curse” from their seventh album, Emperor of Sand, at the 2018 ceremony. Hinds departed Mastodon in March 2025. He also played with Fiend Without a Face, West End Motel, Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, and Legend of the Seagullmen.
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