Hollywood is mourning Ed Asner following the news that the seven-time Emmy-winning actor died Sunday at age 91.
Seven-time Emmy winner Ed Asner, known for ‘Lou Grant’ and Disney’s ‘Up,’ dead at 91
Khloe Kardashian is Tired of “People Creating” Stories Online The “KUWTK” star is letting the online haters have it in a series of tweets just a day after she was spotted with ex Tristan Thompson at a birthday party. Watch! E! News
‘Little People, Big World’s Amy Roloff Marries Chris Marek at Roloff Farms ‘Little People, Big World’ star Amy Roloff married Chris Marek on Saturday. The couple got engaged in Sept. 2019. Amy and ex-husband Matt Roloff divorced in 2016 after nearly 30 years of marriage. Amy and Matt share four children: Jeremy, Zach, Molly and Jacob. Zach teased the big day for ET earlier this summer. He said, ’Weddings are just fun. You see family, a lot of my mom’s family don’t live here. We never met Chris’ side of things, family, friends, really. This is Chris’ first wedding too. It’s going to be exciting for him.’ ETonline
‘Broken’ Nene Leakes Shares Gregg’s Health Update: ‘My Husband Is at Home Dying’ Staying strong. Nene Leakes shared an update on husband Gregg Leakes‘ cancer battle, but she didn’t have any good news to share. “My husband is transitioning to the other side,” the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 53, told the guests at her Linnethia Lounge in Duluth, Georgia, on Saturday, August 28. Gregg had been diagnosed […] US Weekly
UP NEXT
Asner became a TV fixture as gruff but good-hearted newsman Lou Grant on CBS’ “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and spinoff “Lou Grant” in the 1970s and ’80s. But he was embraced by younger audiences when he starred in 2003’s “Elf” and 2009’s “Up.”
Those in Hollywood who crossed paths with Asner over the course of his more than 400 screen credits (and some who simply idolized him) paid tribute to the late actor on social media.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady on “The Brady Bunch,” tweeted she was “heartbroken” over the loss of her “sweet, kind and dear friend.”
“You made and will continue to make this world a better place,” she added. “I love you and will miss you so very much.”
Ed Asner dies at 91: TV’s beloved Lou Grant and star of ‘Up’ was a seven-time Emmy winner
I’m heartbroken. Rest In Peace my sweet, kind and dear friend Ed. You made and will continue to make this world a better place. I love you and will miss you so very much. 💔 pic.twitter.com/L0tatwgEvt
Michael McKean dubbed Asner a “fine man and a great actor.”
“He was tough in the ways that count and suffered no fools. I acted with him just once and knew how lucky I was to do so. A hero. Rest in peace, Ed.”
Mark Hamil remembered the late actor as “A great man…a great actor…” who led “a great life.”
“Thank you Mr. Asner,” he tweeted.
Bradley Whitford recalled having the “privilege of locking eyes” with Asner on the set of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” an Aaron Sorkin dramedy starring Whitford and featuring guest appearances from Asner.
Had the privilege of locking eyes with #EdAsner on Studio 60 and it meant a lot to me because I grew up loving him and he was one of those rare actors who just shot straight. He couldn’t help it. Rest In Peace, sir. Well done.
“It meant a lot to me because I grew up loving him and he was one of those rare actors who just shot straight. He couldn’t help it,” the “West Wing” actor tweeted Sunday. “Rest In Peace, sir. Well done.”
Josh Gad mourned Asner in a post celebrating his appearance on “Central Park,” an adult animated sitcom Gad co-created and stars in for Apple TV+, for which Asner voiced Bitsy’s (Stanley Tucci) brother Ambrose.
“He was a Legend, a beautiful soul and a truly brilliant actor. Love you sir! We will miss down here, but smiling that you are have fittingly gone Up,” Gad wrote, nodding to his fellow Disney alum’s role in the Oscar-winning animated film.
Comedian and voice actor Harry Shearer, who lent his voice to “Up,” thanked Asner “for a lifetime of great work.”
Director Judd Apatow shared on Twitter that Asner reached out to him “as recently as a few weeks ago” about raising money for charity.
“He was always a brilliant and often hilarious actor, but more importantly he worked till his final days trying to be of service to other people,” Apatow wrote.
Mia Farrow wrote that to “know Ed, even a little, was a privilege. You could not find a more honorable person.”
She added: “He will be missed. Love to his wonderful family.”
RIP #EdAsner, forever Lou Grant to me. Thank you for the laughs and for a life of intelligence and integrity. 1929-2021. pic.twitter.com/Kg5fFiumLn
“Heaven has its hands full,” tweeted comedian Andy Richter. I’m so lucky to have gotten to know him.”
Television journalist Katie Couric took to Twitter to share that Asner would “forever” be “Lou Grant to me.”
“Thank you for the laughs and for a life of intelligence and integrity. 1929-2021,” she wrote.
Actor Denis O’Hare wrote that “one of the joys of my life was having Ed Asner as my Dad.”
About working with Asner, O’Hare added “he kindly said yes to doing my first screenplay. It was a crazy shoot and he showed up every day ready to go. He loved being an actor and I loved him.”
One of the joys of my life was having Ed Asner as my Dad. He kindly said yes to doing my first screenplay. It was a crazy shoot and he showed up every day ready to go. He loved being an actor and I loved him. #RIPEdAsnerpic.twitter.com/2Q2WzXli42
Mira Sorvino shared she was “so sorry to hear that the great, magnanimous, talented and loving Ed Asner has passed.”
“He leaves the world a better place for his having been in it!!” she tweeted.
“Modern Family” actor Eric Stonestreet remembered Asner as having played “one of the best characters in television history.” He added he was “honored that (he) got to work with him, a fellow Kansas Citian, on Modern Family.”
Hard-drinking, tough-talking Grant (Asner, left), who originated on CBS’ “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and grew to headliner on drama spin-off “Lou Grant,” made Asner a household name. But he was much more than one indelible character.
Asner, back center, poses with the cast of “Mary Tyler Moore.” From left to right: Gavin MacLeod, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, Ted Knight. He was the last surviving member of this group.
Valerie Harper and Asner pose with their supporting-actor statuettes at the annual Primetime Emmy Awards presentation May 9, 1971.
Harper and Asner repeated their Emmy wins the following year, and Sally Struthers won for her role in “All in the Family.”
Cast members of the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” pose backstage at the 28th annual Emmy Awards on May 18, 1976. From left are Ed Asner, who plays the news producer on the show but won his Emmy for his role in “Rich Man, Poor Man”; Betty White, supporting actress; Moore for best actress in a comedy show; and Ted Knight for supporting actor.
In 1978, Asner’s TV news producer returns to print journalism in “Lou Grant.” In the updated drama, the character has moved to California to run the city desk of the Los Angeles Tribune. When Asner won the acting Emmy that year, he became the first person to win for portraying the same character in both a comedy and a drama.
Asner mugs for the cameras as Moore unveils a portrait of him March 7, 1978. Asner was being honored as Man of the Year in broadcasting by the Hollywood Radio and Television Society for his role in the series “Lou Grant.”
Gavin MacLeod, who’d set sail on “The Love Boat,” and Asner keep their paddles moving during a local art museum’s fund-raising ping-pong tournament in Downey, Calif., on Jan. 6, 1980.
1980 Golden Globe winners Natalie Wood, for “From Here To Eternity,” and Ed Asner, for “Lou Grant.'”
Actors Charles Durning, left, Elliott Gould and Screen Actors Guild President Ed Asner take a break before the filming of the 50th Anniversary Special celebrating the guild in Santa Monica, Calif., on March 3, 1984.
“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” alums Betty White, Asner, Ted Knight, Cloris Leachman and Gavin MacLeod at the 1986 Television Academy Hall of Fame Awards.
Asner and Tom Selleck in CBS’ “The Closer,” a short-lived CBS sitcom in 1998.
Santa (Asner) gives Olive (Drew Barrymore) a very special gift for saving Christmas in 1999’s “Olive, the Other Reindeer.”
Asner walks with thousands of others in Detroit’s Labor Day parade Sept. 4, 2000. Asner served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild.
In LA on March 10, 2002, Asner accepts the Life Achievement Award at the 8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Moore hosts “The Mary Tyler Moore Reunion” in 2002.
Will Ferrell is Buddy for Asner’s second stint as Santa, this time in the 2003 film “Elf.”
Asner stars with John Goodman in the 2004 show “Center of the Universe.”
Gavin MacLeod, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White, Valerie Harper and Asner pose at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences celebrating White’s 60 years on television at the Leonard Goldenson Theatre on Aug. 7, 2008.
In October 2010, Asner plays the title role in the stage production of “FDR” at the The Pasadena Playhouse.
At the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the 14th Annual Mark Twain Prize awards ceremony on Oct. 23, 2011. Asner was there to fete honoree Will Ferrell.
Louis Gossett Jr. and Asner attend the Atomic Age Cinema Fest Premiere of “The Man Who Saved the World” on April 27, 2016, in Los Angeles.
Asner attends the premiere of Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Leisure Seeker” at Pacific Design Center on Jan. 9, 2018, in West Hollywood.
Asner attends his 90th Birthday Party and Celebrity Roast at The Roosevelt Hotel on Nov. 3, 2019, in Hollywood.
24/24 SLIDES
Niecy Nash recalled first meeting Asner as a “young girl visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame” before she was awarded her own star on the walk of fame in 2018 – with Asner in attendance.
“I spoke a word over myself when I promised him that my name (would) be a star,” she wrote on Instagram. “I was then blessed many years later to receive what I confessed and Mr. Asner was there to see it. Rest well sir…. And thank you.”
Yvette Nicole Brown recalled Nash’s story about Asner’s “kindness to her when she was just starting out & how he then came to her #WalkOfFame Ceremony decades later.”
Brown added: “I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I’ve heard he was a lovely man!”
Filmmaker Michael Moore recalled Asner taking a chance on him when he was working on his first film, “Roger & Me,” in the 1980s.
“I was broke so I wrote to some famous people to ask for help. Only one responded: Ed Asner,” Moore tweeted. ” ‘I don’t know you, kid, but here’s 500 bucks’ said the note attached to the check. ‘Sounds like it’ll be a great film. I was an autoworker once.’ R.I.P. Ed”
Making my 1st film, Roger & Me, I was broke so I wrote to some famous people to ask for help. Only one responded: Ed Asner. “I don’t know you, kid, but here’s 500 bucks” said the note attached to the check. “Sounds like it’ll be a great film. I was an autoworker once.” R.I.P. Ed pic.twitter.com/AuGCNlyNnC
George Takei dubbed Asner “a giant on the screen, and a philanthropist, too. A man of true heart and talent. He will be missed.”
Rosanna Arquette highlighted Asner’s work for the Screen Actor’s Guild (he served as president from 1981 to 1985), expressing gratitude for his dedication.
“Oh Ed Asner Rest In Peace and power friend. what a truly good and honorable human you were,” she wrote.
“There have been few actors of Ed Asner’s prominence who risked their status to fight for social causes the way Ed did,” SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris told USA TODAY in a statement. “He fought passionately for his fellow actors, both before, during and after his SAG presidency. But his concern did not stop with performers. He fought for victims of poverty, violence, war, and legal and social injustice, both in the United States and around the globe.”
Contributing: Bill Keveney and Kim Willis
‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ anniversary: 50 ways we still love the classic sitcom
More: The 10 best (and five worst) TV spinoffs of all time
Ed Asner, the actor and activist adored as gruff Lou Grant on TV’s classic “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and spinoff “Lou Grant,” died Aug. 29 at age 91. The star had more than 400 screen credits and won seven Emmy Awards (a record for a male actor), five of them for his role as Lou, plus two more for his work in the blockbuster miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots.”
“We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully,” his family posted on the actor’s official Twitter account, where he tweeted as recently as two days before his death. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head – Goodnight dad. We love you.”
Former child star Matthew Mindler, who starred in “Our Idiot Brother,” was found dead after being missing since Aug. 26. He was 19.
Mindler was enrolled in Millersville University in Pennsylvania, which reported him missing two days after he did not return to his room. University president Daniel A. Wubah announced Aug. 28 that Mindler had been found dead. His body was discovered in a wooded area near campus, according to Millersville University spokesperson Janet Kacskos.
“This is a time of grief for the family, our campus and the community,” Wubah wrote in a letter on Twitter. “I ask that the campus community come together to support each other, and our students, during this difficult time.”
Drummer Kenny Malone, a prolific session player who played on hits for Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Dobie Gray and many others, has died. He was 83.
Malone’s friend and former bandmate Dave Pomeroy said he died on Aug. 26 after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
“He expanded the vocabulary of Nashville drumming, and was always an innovator who invented his own unique style of hand drumming, often combining sticks and brushes with hand percussion to create a unique sound and feel that left lots of space for other instruments and the vocals,” said Pomeroy in a statement.
Brian Travers, saxophonist and founding member of UB40, died Aug. 22, 2021, at the age of 62 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. The band’s hits over the decades included reggae versions of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine” and The Temptations’ “The Way You Do The Things You Do.” The band confirmed the news on their official Twitter account on Aug. 23, 2021.
Don Everly (right), one-half of the trailblazing duo Everly Brothers, whose harmonies helped shape rock ‘n’ roll, died Aug. 21 in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 84. His younger brother Phil Everly (left) died in 2014 at 74. The pair’s lengthy string of top 40 hits, including “Bye Bye Love,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream” and “Wake Up Little Susie,” influenced a generation of rock stars, among them The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. The Everlys were ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 as part of the inaugural class, alongside Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard.
Tom T. Hall, a Country Music Hall of Fame artist who wrote unassuming songs with distinct depth, died Aug. 20 at age 85 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee, according to his son, Dean Hall.
A consummate country songwriter who captured life’s intimate details with lighthearted songs such as “I Like Beer,” penned the classic “That’s How I Got To Memphis” and showcased era-defining sharpness with “Harper Valley PTA,” Hall entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, alongside Emmylou Harris, The Statler Brothers and Ernest Stoneman.
His songbook of country hits includes “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine,” “A Week in a Country Jail,” “I Love” … and the list goes on.
Carl “Chucky” Thompson, a music producer who helmed hits for artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, has died. He was 53.
Thompson’s publicist Tamar Juda confirmed the news in a statement to USA TODAY on Aug. 9. She did not disclose his cause of death.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I can confirm the passing of Chucky Thompson,” she wrote. “To anyone in his orbit, you know how generous he was with his energy, creativity and love. Both the music industry, and the world has lost a titan.”
Thompson got his start in go-go music as part of Chuck Brown’s band The Soul Searchers. As a producer, he had a hand in bringing forth hit songs like Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa” and Faith Evans’ “Soon As I Get Home,” as well as Blige’s 1994 album “My Life.”
Jane Withers, a major child star of the 1930s, who starred alongside James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson as an adult in “Giant,” died on Aug. 7 at age 95. Withers found renewed popularity in the 1960s as Josephine the Plumber in classic Comet cleanser commercials.
Her daughter, Kendall Errair, confirmed that Withers died surrounded by loved ones in Burbank, California.
“My mother was such a special lady. She lit up a room with her laughter, but she especially radiated joy and thankfulness when talking about the career she so loved and how lucky she was,” Errair said in the statement.
Markie Post, who played the public defender in the 1980s sitcom “Night Court” and was a regular presence on television for four decades, has died. She was 70.
Post’s manager, Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, said Post died August 7 in Los Angeles after a years-long battle with cancer.
Post was a longtime television regular who appeared in shows from “Cheers” to “Scrubs.” But she was best known for her seven-season run on NBC’s “Night Court,” the Manhattan municipal court sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1992 and starred Harry Anderson as Judge Harry T. Stone.
“General Hospital,” “Days of Our Lives” and “Port Charles” actor Jay Pickett died July 30 on the set of the Western movie “Treasure Valley” in Idaho.
The veteran daytime drama actor, 60, starred in 372 episodes of “Port Charles as Frank Scanlon. Pickett, an excellent horseback rider, became a Western movies actor. “Treasure Valley” director Travis Mills wrote on the film’s official Facebook page “He was doing what he loved: acting, riding horses, making movies. And he was magnificent.”
Dusty Hill, a founding member of ZZ Top and the iconic band’s bassist, died in his sleep at his Houston, Texas home, according to a statement shared with USA TODAY. He was 72.
“We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’…You will be missed greatly, amigo,” bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard said in a statement.
Rick Aiello, the son of late actor Danny Aiello, died on July 26 after his battle with pancreatic cancer, his wife Arlene confirmed in a statement. “Ricky was a wonderful father, husband and a good friend to so many people,” she said. “After losing his brother and then his Dad, he continued to show such courage and strength throughout his own battle with cancer.”
Rick followed in his dad’s footsteps and started his acting career in the 1980s, starring alongside his father in Spike Lee’s 1989 film “Do the Right Thing.”
Phyllis Gould, one of the millions of women who worked in defense plants in World War II and who later relentlessly fought to honor those “Rosie the Riverters,” died on July 20, 2021, from complications of a stroke, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Rabbi-turned-comedian Jackie Mason, whose standup routine took him to nightclubs, talk shows and Broadway, died July 24 in Manhattan at age 93. Originally a rabbi with congregations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, he eventually found work as a social director at a resort in the Catskills, his springboard to comedy. He got his breakthrough on Steve Allen’s and Ed Sullivan’s TV variety shows, performed for Queen Elizabeth II and appeared in “30 Rock,” “The Simpsons” and “Chicken Soup.”
Biz Markie, the rapper-producer-actor who became a pop culture staple following his platinum-selling Top 10 1989 hit “Just a Friend,” died July 16. He was 57. Born Marcel Theo Hall in Harlem, Markie was known in the music industry as the “Clown Prince of Hip-Hop.”
Suzzanne Douglas, the actress known for her roles in “The Parent ‘Hood” and “When They See Us,” died on July 6. She was 64. Douglas appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career, including “Bones,” “The Good Wife,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” 2003’s “School of Rock,” 1998’s “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and 2015’s “Whitney.”
Robert Downey Sr., the accomplished countercultural filmmaker, actor and father of superstar Robert Downey Jr., died on July 6 at age 85. In a touching Instagram tribute, Downey Jr. said his father “passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson’s ..he was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout.”
Richard Donner, the directer of beloved films like “Superman” and “The Goonies,” died July 5. He was 91. Donner also directed the 1988 Christmas classic “Scrooged,” featuring Bill Murray as a selfish television executive, and 1992’s coming-of-age drama “Radio Flyer.”
Multifaceted Italian entertainer Raffaella Carrà, a child performer who became a show-business sensation in television, music and film, died July 5 after a lengthy private illness. She was 78. Carrà, known as “the queen of Italian TV,” was embraced as a gay icon in her later years and enjoyed a career that spanned six decades.
Former Skid Row singer Johnny Solinger died June 26, a month after revealing he was suffering liver failure. His wife, Paula Marcenaro Solinger, confirmed his death to USA TODAY. Solinger, 55, was the hard rock band’s longest-running vocalist (1999 to 2015), replacing Sebastian Bach, who left the group in 1996. He embarked on a solo career after parting ways with with the band. “Prognosis is not so good,” Solinger wrote on Facebook in May, sharing his health struggles with fans. “As with most musicians I do not have health insurance and it’s very difficult to get proper care without it.”
Joanne Linville, who made a memorable “Star Trek” appearance as a Romulan commander in the original TV series, died June 20 in Los Angeles at age 93.
In a statement to USA TODAY, her family said Linville “lived a full life. One whose spirit, passion for art and life was an inspiration to all who had the pleasure of knowing her. A loving mother and proud grandmother.”
Linville was a frequent TV guest star and film actor from the 1950s through the 1980s, with roles in more than 100 shows and movies.
John Paragon, best known for his role as Jambi the Genie on 1980s children’s show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” has died at age 66. Paragon died April 3 of heart disease and chronic alcohol abuse at his home in Palm Springs, California, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.
In 1981, Paragon first played Jambi – also voicing another character, Pterri the pterodactyl – in an adult comedy special called “The Pee-wee Herman Show.” He also had roles on “Seinfeld” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and collaborated with fellow Groundlings alum Cassandra Peterson on shows and movies based around Peterson’s 1980s Elvira character.
Janet Malcolm, the inquisitive and boldly subjective author and reporter known for her challenging critiques of everything from murder cases and art to journalism itself, died at 86, a spokesperson for The New Yorker confirmed Thursday.
The author of numerous influential books and magazine stories, the Prague native practiced a kind of post-modern style in which she often called attention to her own role in the narrative, questioning whether even the most conscientious observer could be trusted.
“Gone Girl” actor Lisa Banes died Monday, 10 days after being injured in a hit-and-run accident while crossing a street in New York City, police said.
Banes appeared in numerous television shows and movies, including “Gone Girl” in 2014 and “Cocktail” with Tom Cruise in 1988. On television, she had roles on “Nashville,” “Madam Secretary,” “Masters of Sex” and “NCIS.” She also acted on stage regularly, including Broadway appearances in the Neil Simon play “Rumors” in 1988, in the musical “High Society” in 1998 and in the Noel Coward play “Present Laughter” in 2010.
LGBTQ rights pioneer and subject of the acclaimed documentary “Love Wins,” Emily Sonnessa, right, died at age 91 on Friday, June, 11, according to her obituary posted by Ely Funeral Home.
She met her wife Jan Moore, left, in 1960, and the two were together for decades before being joined in a civil union ceremony in 2007. New Jersey legalized same-sex marriage in October 2013, and the couple was married the next month. According to their wedding announcement published in the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, Sonnessa was 84, Moore was 77, and their wedding date, Nov. 20, was their 44th anniversary.
Richard Robinson, who as the longtime head of Scholastic Inc. presided over such bestsellers as J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” novels and Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” series along with a wide range of educational materials, reading clubs and book fairs, has died. He was 84.
The children’s publishing giant announced that Robinson died Saturday, but did not immediately provide a cause.
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Dick Robinson,” Scholastic’s board of directors said in a statement. “Dick was a true visionary in the world of children’s books and an unrelenting advocate for children’s literacy and education with a remarkable passion his entire life.”
Romy Walthall, who appeared as Sean Archer’s (John Travolta) anxious secretary in 1997’s “Face/Off” and as trapped Molly McNulty in the 1989 horror film “The House of Usher,” died May 18 at age 57 after experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, her son, filmmaker Morgan Krantz, confirmed to USA TODAY. The actress, sometimes credited by her stage name Romy Windsor, burned a village of werewolves in 1988’s “The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare and returned for 1995’s “Howling: New Moon Rising,” and also held significant arcs in a number of 1990s-era TV series.
Gavin MacLeod, known for his TV stardom in shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Love Boat,” died. He was 90.
Variety and TMZ reported the longtime TV actor’s death after getting confirmation from his nephew, Mark See.
MacLeod’s acting career took off when he was cast as the news writer for the fictional “Mary Tyler Moore Show” WJM-TV news station, earning two Golden Globe nominations for that role. In the late 70s he became the lead for ABC’s “The Love Boat.” He manned the MS Pacific cruise ship as Capt. Merrill Stubing.
Kay Lahusen, a pioneering LGBTQ rights activist who chronicled the movement’s earliest days through her photography and writing, has died. She was 91. Known as the first openly gay U.S. photojournalist, Lahusen died Wednesday at Chester County Hospital outside Philadelphia, following a brief illness.
Lahusen advocated for gay civil rights years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York helped launch the modern LGBTQ era. She captured widely published images of some of the nation’s first protests.
Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other works gave millions of kids some of their earliest literary memories, died May 23 at age 91.
“‘Caterpillar’ is a book of hope: you, too, can grow up and grow wings,” he said in 1994.
Through books including “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” “Do You Want to Be My Friend?” and “From Head to Toe,” Carle introduced universal themes in simple words and bright colors.
Paul Mooney, known for his comedic writing for Richard Pryor and appearances in “Bamboozled” and “Chappelle’s Show,” died of a heart attack at age 79. The Emmy-nominated comedian, who was the writer behind some of Pryor’s greatest hits like “Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip” and “The Richard Pryor Show,” offered sage and incisive musings on racism and American life that made him a revered figure in stand-up.
Pervis Staples (far left) – whose tenor voice complemented his father’s and sisters’ (from left, Cleotha, Pops, Mavis and Yvonne) in the legendary gospel group The Staple Singers – died May 6 at his home in Dalton, Illinois at age 85. The group gained fame in the 1960s by singing music that urged change on a variety of social and religious issues. The Staple Singers gained a huge audience with their first No. 1 hit, “I’ll Take You There,” in 1972 and followed with top 40 hits “Respect Yourself,” “Heavy Makes You Happy” and “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me).”
Rock ‘n’ roll founding father Lloyd Price, who sang “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Stagger Lee” and “Personality,” died May 3 at age 88. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer died at a care facility in New Rochelle, New York, of complications of diabetes. The R&B singer, who hailed from Kenner, Louisiana, was part of a generation of New Orleans hitmakers (including Fats Domino and Professor Longhair) who paved the way for rock ‘n’ roll.
Olympia Dukakis, who won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her role as Rose Castorini, Cher’s mother in 1987’s “Moonstruck,” died May 1 at age 89. The veteran screen and stage actress, celebrated for her roles in “Steel Magnolias” and TV’s “Tales from the City,” nabbed her Oscar the same year that her cousin, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, was the Democratic presidential nominee.
Twenty-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt, whose extraordinary career as a recording engineer and producer included albums by Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and many other of the top performers of the past 60 years, died April 26 at age 91.
Milva, one of Italy’s most popular singers in the ’60s and ’70s who was also beloved by many fans abroad, died April 24 at her home in Milan. She was 81.
Rapper and producer Shock G (aka Greg Jacobs), 57, famous as the creator of “The Humpty Dance” with the hip-hop group Digital Underground, was found dead on April 22 in Tampa. Digital Underground’s 1991 hit “Same Song” introduced rap superstar Tupac Shakur, the band’s roadie and backup dancer at the time, to music fans.
Les McKeown, former lead singer of the 1970s Scottish pop sensation Bay City Rollers, died suddenly on April 20 at age 65. McKeown, born in Edinburgh to Irish parents, joined the Bay City Rollers in late 1973, replacing founding lead singer Gordon “Nobby” Clark. The band split up in 1978, reuniting in 2015 for a string of sold-out performances, and McKeown continued perform and record solo throughout his life.
Burlesque icon Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks), who blazed a trail for strip-tease artists, died April 20 at home in Las Vegas at age 93. She signed a history-making $100,000 a year contract in 1956 and sold out clubs across the country. Actively involved in the burlesque community right up until the end, she gave her last performance in 2010, when she fractured her left hip, putting an end to her stage appearances.
Songwriter Jim Steinman, known for penning hit songs like “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” died April 19, according to his brother Bill Steinman. He was 73. Steinman wrote and produced Meat Loaf’s hit albums “Bat Out of Hell” and “Bat Out of Hell II.”
Alma Wahlberg (second from right), the famous Wahlberg family matriarch who appeared on their family reality show “Wahlburgers,” died at age 78, her children announced April 18.
“I feel blessed to have been brought into this world by, raised by, taught by and set on my life’s path by, such an amazing woman,” Donnie Wahlberg (right) wrote in an Instagram tribute.
She had nine children: Michelle, Paul (second from left), Arthur, Jim, Tracey, Robert, Donnie, Mark (left), and Debbie, who died in 2003 at age 43. Their father, Alma Wahlberg’s ex-husband, Donald Wahlberg, died in 2008.
Sunday Burquest, a youth pastor and competitor on 2016’s “Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X,” died April 18 of cancer at 50. The breast cancer survivor was diagnosed with terminal esophageal and ovarian cancer in 2020. “Sunday Burquest had one of the brightest smiles of any person to ever play ‘Survivor,'” host Jeff Probst wrote on Instagram. “She radiated kindness and understanding to anyone lucky enough to be in her presence.”
Helen McCrory, famed for her roles in the “Harry Potter” film series and the BBC’s “Peaky Blinders,” died at 52 following her battle with cancer, her husband Damian Lewis announced in a statement on April 16.
DMX, a rap legend known for being at the apex of hip-hop culture in the 1990s and 2000s, died April 9. The iconic performer, seen in 2001, was 50.
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, died April 9 at the age of 99. He was the oldest and longest-serving royal spouse in 10 centuries.
Anne Beats, a groundbreaking comedy writer, who was on the original staff of “Saturday Night Live” and later created the cult sitcom “Square Pegs” featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, died April 7. She was 74.
Paul Ritter, a Tony-nominated actor known for his work in theater, film and TV, died April 5 at age 54 after suffering from a brain tumor, his representative confirmed to USA TODAY.
Born in the United Kingdom, Ritter most recently starred as patriarch Martin Goodman in the British television series “Friday Night Dinner,” which ran from 2011 to 2020. In 2009, he received a Tony nomination for his lead role in the play “The Norman Conquests” and appeared as Eldred Worple in the 2009 film adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” He also appeared in the 2019 “Chernobyl” miniseries.
Arthur Kopit, a three time Tony Award-nominated playwright and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist known for fusing disparate genres, absurdism and a darkly comic world view died at age 83 on March 2.
Gloria Henry, best known for her role in “Dennis the Menace,” died March 3 at age 98, one day after her birthday. From 1959 to 1963, Henry played the beloved TV mom Alice Mitchell on the CBS family sitcom “Dennis the Menace.” She also appeared in films including 1947’s “Sport of Kings,” 1948’s “Triple Threat” and 1952’s “Rancho Notorious.”
Linda Torres, who was frequently seen on “Big Ang” and “Mob Wives,” died April 1 from COVID-19 complications in New York at age 67. Torres was Angela “Big Ang” Raiola’s friend and was diagnosed with COVID-19 nine weeks prior, Raiola’s sister Janine Detore told USA TODAY.
Bestselling children’s author Beverly Cleary, who introduced young readers across three generations to the love of reading through such characters as Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins, died on March 25. She was 104.
Who could forget Ramona, the star of Cleary’s popular book series, which began with “Beezus and Ramona,” about a rebellious rugrat who struggles with her father’s unemployment. In 2010, her book was adapted to the big-screen feature “Ramona and Beezus,” starring Selena Gomez.
Jessica Walter, known as matriarch Lucille Bluth of “Arrested Development,” died on March 24. She was 80. Walter had a long, prolific career in Hollywood, including roles in 1971’s “Play Misty for Me,” “Arrested Development” and most recently in FX’s “Archer.”
George Segal, a longtime leading man in movies like “Where’s Poppa,” “The Hot Rock” and “Blume in Love” who can be still currently be seen as the lovable grandfather on ABC’s “The Goldbergs,” died March 23. He was 87.
Norton Juster, the USA TODAY bestselling author best known for writing “The Phantom Tollbooth,” died March 8 following complications from a recent stroke. He was 91. His first and best-known work, “The Phantom Tollbooth,” about Milo, a bored 10-year-old who comes home to find a magical toy tollbooth sitting in his room, would go on to become a widely-beloved hit.
Jahmil French, an actor who appeared in “Degrassi: The Next Generation” from 2009 to 2013, died at age 29, his agent confirmed on March 2. His cause of death was not provided.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French,” Gabrielle Kachman told USA TODAY. “He will be remembered by many for his passion for the arts, his commitment to his craft, and his vibrant personality. I ask that you keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.”
Art Cervi, who reached an enormous audience as the iconic Bozo the Clown, died on Feb. 15 at the age of 86. Cervi shaped musical tastes of Detroit baby boomers as talent coordinator for the dance show “Swingin’ Time,” then found a new career by hiding in plain sight behind Bozo the Clown’s bulbous red nose, entertaining countless younger fans.
Salsa idol Johnny Pacheco, who was a co-founder of Fania Records, Eddie Palmieri’s bandmate and backer of music stars such as Rubén Bladés, Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, died Feb. 15. He was 85.
Jazz legend Chick Corea died Feb. 9 after battling cancer. He was 79.
“It is with great sadness we announce that on February 9th, Chick Corea passed away at the age of 79, from a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very recently,” a statement shared to Corea’s Facebook page Thursday read.
In 1968, Corea replaced Herbie Hancock in Miles Davis’ group, playing on the landmark albums “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew.” He formed his own avant-garde group, Circle, and then founded Return to Forever. He’s worked on many other projects, including duos with Hancock and vibraphonist Gary Burton. With 23 Grammy awards, he is the artist with the most jazz wins in the show’s 63-year history.
Larry Flynt, ‘King of Smut’ and unlikely free-speech champion, died Feb. 10 at his home in Los Angeles at age 78. Flynt’s brother Jimmy Flynt confirmed the death to the USA TODAY Network.
Crude, rude and outspoken, Flynt made his fortune in the early 1970s after he turned a racy newsletter for his Ohio strip clubs into Hustler magazine.
His sexually explicit magazine trampled over boundaries set by competitors, such as Playboy, and set the stage for court battles over obscenity that redefined the meaning of “community standards” and made Flynt a self-styled champion of free speech.
Dustin Diamond, best known for playing Samuel “Screech” Powers on TV’s “Saved by the Bell,” died Feb. 1 after a short battle with cancer. He was 44 and had been diagnosed just three weeks earlier, his publicist Roger Paul told USA TODAY. Post-Screech, he toured as a stand-up comedian and appeared on reality TV shows (including “Celebrity Big Brother” and “Weakest Link”) and in movies (“Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star”).
Electronic pop artist and musician Sophie Xeon, popularly known as just Sophie died. on Jan. 30. She was 34.
“Tragically our beautiful Sophie passed away this morning after a terrible accident,” the artist’s family said an emailed statement provided by Sophie’s representative, Ludovica Ludinatrice. “True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us. The family thank everyone for their love and support and request privacy at this devastating time.”
On Jan. 28, Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder” and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” has died. She was 96. “With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon,” her family said in a statement provided by manager Larry Thompson.
Eight-time Emmy winner Cloris Leachman, who famously played Mary Tyler Moore’s landlady and dotty neighbor Phyllis Lindstrom on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Phyllis,” died Jan. 27 of natural causes at 94. She was known primarily as a TV actress but appeared in several Mel Brooks movies, including “Young Frankenstein” and “High Anxiety,” and won an Oscar for her performance as an adulterous gym teacher’s wife in 1971’s “The Last Picture Show.” In 2008, she became the oldest contestant on “Dancing With the Stars” and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2011.
Song Yoo-jung, a South Korean actress, died at age 26, her agency, Sublime Artist Agency, announced on social media Jan. 25. No cause of death was given.
According to Sublime Artist Agency’s website, Song appeared in the Korean show “Make a Wish” from 2014 to 2015. The website also notes that Song acted in the 2013 show “Golden Rainbow,” the 2017 show “School 2017” and the 2019 web drama “Dear My Name.”
Screenwriter Walter Bernstein, among the last survivors of Hollywood’s anti-Communist blacklist, died Jan. 23 at 101. He died from pneumonia, his wife, literary agent Gloria Loomis, told The Associated Press. His Oscar-nominated script for “The Front,” which starred Woody Allen, drew upon his years of being unable to work under his own name.
Harry Brant, a rising model and son of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and publisher Peter M. Brant, died Jan. 17 at 24.
The younger Brant died of an accidental overdose, his family said in a statement to The New York Times, saying “his life was cut short by this devastating disease.”
“He was a creative, loving and powerful soul that brought light into so many people’s hearts,” the statement said. “He was truly a beautiful person inside and out.”
Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who later was convicted of murder, died Jan. 16. He was 81.
John Reilly, longtime star of “General Hospital” along with dramas such as “Passions” and “Sunset Beach,” died at age 86. The official “General Hospital” Twitter account mourned the loss on Jan. 10. “The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of John Reilly’s passing,” the tweet said.
Marsha Zazula, who co-founded a new era in heavy metal music at the Rock and Roll Heaven record store in the former Route 18 Indoor Market in East Brunswick, New Jersey with husband Jonny Zazula, died on Jan. 10, at her Florida home after battling cancer, her family has announced. She was 68. “No man can ask for a partner like Marsha Zazula,” said Jonny Zazula in a statement to the USA TODAY Network.
Michael Apted, the acclaimed British director of the “Up” documentary series and films as diverse as the Loretta Lynn biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and the James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough,” has died. He was 79.
A representative for the Directors Guild of America said his family informed the organization that he passed on Jan. 7. No cause was given.
Tanya Roberts, who starred in the 1985 James Bond film “A View to A Kill,” as well as classic TV series “Charlie’s Angels” and “That ’70s Show,” died on Jan. 4. Roberts’ longtime partner Lance O’Brien told USA TODAY that the actress died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where she was taken when she collapsed after walking her dogs on Christmas Eve.
In a statement, Roberts’ publicist Mike Pingel said her cause of death stemmed from complications of a urinary tract infection “which spread to her kidney, gallbladder, liver and then bloodstream.”
Alexi Laiho, former frontman of Finnish death metal band Children of Bodom, died after struggling with “long-term health issues,” his bandmates announced on Jan. 4. According to the announcement on the band’s website, Laiho died at age 41 in his Helsinki, Finland home the week prior.
Gerry Marsden, the British singer who was instrumental in turning the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel” into one of the great anthems in the world of football, died at the age of 78.
After speaking to Marsden’s family, his friend Pete Price announced in an Instagram post on Jan. 3 that the Gerry and the Pacemakers frontman died after a short illness related to a heart infection.
Mike Fenton, the casting director behind some of Hollywood’s most beloved films including the “Back to the Future” movies, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” and “The Godfather Part II,” died at age 85 on Dec. 30, 2020. Fenton’s son Mick told The Hollywood Reporter in an article published Jan. 1 that Fenton died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home.
79/79 SLIDES
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hollywood mourns Ed Asner: ‘You made and will continue to make this world a better place’
