Allee Willis, the Grammy-winning songwriter who composed the Friends theme “I’ll Be There for You” and the Earth, Wind & Fire song “September”, has died aged 72.
Willis’s death was announced by her long-term partner Prudence Fenton. She shared a photo of Willis next to the caption, “Rest in Boogie Wonderland 10 Nov 1947 – 24 December 2019” in reference to one of the Earth, Wind & Fire hits Willis co-wrote.
Fenton, an animator and producer, was described as being “in total shock” over Willis’s sudden death, which was reportedly caused by cardiac arrest and occurred just after 6pm on 24 December.
Willis was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018 for her work on hits such as “Neutron Dance” by the Pointer Sisters, Patti LaBelle’s “Lead Me On,” EWF’s “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” and the theme from The Karate Kid, “You’re the Best”.
She composed “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts, which was used as the theme song for NBC’s hit sitcom Friends. It went on to become one of the biggest and most recognisable TV themes in history, and also earnt Willis an Emmy nomination.
1/75 Dean Ford
Ford, whose real name was Thomas McAleese, was the frontman of guitar-pop group Marmalade. The band the first Scottish group to top the UK singles chart, with their cover of the Beatles’ Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da in December 1968. Ford died in Los Angeles on 31 December 2018, at the age of 72 from complications relating to Parkinson’s disease.
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2/75 Pegi Young
A singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist, she was also married to Neil Young for 36 years. She died of cancer on 1 January, aged 66, in Mountain View, California.
Getty
3/75 Daryl Dragon
The singer and pianist achieved fame as half of the musical duo Captain & Tennille, best known for their 1975 hit “Love Will Keep Us Together”. Dragon died on 2 January, from kidney failure in Prescott, Arizona, aged 76.
Getty Images
4/75 Darius Perkins
The actor was best known for playing the original Scott Robinson on Neighbours when the show launched in 1985 on Australia’s Channel Seven. Perkins died from cancer on 2 January, aged 54
Ten
5/75 Bob Einstein
The Emmy-winning writer appeared in US comedy shows Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development, becoming known for his deadpan delivery. He died on 2 January, shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia, aged 76.
HBO/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
6/75 Carol Channing
The raspy-voiced, saucer-eyed, wide-smiling actor played lead roles in the original Broadway musical productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Hello, Dolly!, while delivering an Oscar-nominated performance in the 1967 film version of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. Channing died on 15 January of natural causes at her home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 97.
Getty
7/75 Mary Oliver
Oliver, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wrote rapturous odes to nature and animal life that brought her critical acclaim and popular affection, writing more than 15 poetry and essay collections. She died on 17 January, aged 83, in Hobe Sound, Florida.
Getty
8/75 Windsor Davies
The actor was best known for his role as Battery Sergeant-Major Williams in the TV series It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum, which ran from 1974 to 1981. He died on 17 January, aged 88, four months after the death of his wife, Eluned.
Getty
9/75 Jonas Mekas
The Lithuanian-born filmmaker, who escaped a Nazi labour camp and became a refugee, rose to acclaim in New York and went on to work with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Janis Joplin and Andy Warhol. He died on 23 January, aged 96, in New York City.
Chuck Close
10/75 Diana Athill
The writer, novelist and editor worked with authors including Margaret Atwood, Philip Roth, Jean Rhys and VS Naipaul. She died at a hospice in London on 23 January, aged 101, following a short illness.
Getty
11/75 Michel Legrand
During a career spanning more than 50 years, the French musician wrote the scores for over 200 films and TV series, as well as original songs. In 1968, he won his first Oscar for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair film. He died in Paris on 26 January at the age of 86.
Getty
12/75 James Ingram
The singer and songwriter, who was nominated for 14 Grammys in his lifetime, was well known for his hits including “Baby, Come to Me,” his duet sung with Patti Austin and “Yah Mo B There,” a duet sung with Michael McDonald, which won him a Grammy. Ingram died on 29 January, aged 66, from brain cancer, at his home in Los Angeles.
Getty
13/75 Dick Miller
The actor enjoyed a career spanning more than 60 years, featuring hundreds of screen appearances, including Gremlins (1984) and The Terminator (1984). The actor died 30 January, aged 90, in Toluca Lake, California.
Warner Bros
14/75 Jeremy Hardy
The comedian gained recognition on the comedy circuit in the 1980s and was a regular on BBC Radio 4 panel shows, including The News Quiz and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. He died of cancer on 1 February, aged 57.
Rex
15/75 Clive Swift
Known to many as the long-suffering Richard Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances, the actor’s first professional acting job was at Nottingham Playhouse, in the UK premiere of JB Priestley’s take the Fool Away, in 1959. He died on Friday, 1 February after a short illness, aged 82.
Rex
16/75 Julie Adams
The actor starred in the 1954 horror classic Creature From the Black Lagoon, playing Kay Lawrence, the girlfriend of hero ichthyologist Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson) and the target of the Creature’s obsessions. She died 3 February in Los Angeles, aged 92.
Rex
17/75 Albert Finney
The actor was one of Britain’s premiere Shakespearean actors and was nominated for five Oscars across almost four decades – for Tom Jones (1963), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Dresser (1983), Under the Volcano (1984) and Erin Brockovich (2000). He died aged 82, following a short illness.
Getty
18/75 Peter Tork
Born in 1942 in Washington DC, Tork became part of The Monkees with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones in the mid-sixties, when the group was formed as America’s Beatles counterpart. All four were selected from more than 400 applicants to play in the associated TV series The Monkees, which aired between 1966 and 1968.
GETTY IMAGES
19/75 Mark Hollis
As the frontman of the band Talk Talk, Hollis was largely responsible for the band’s shift towards a more experimental approach in the mid-1980s, pioneering what became known as post-rock, with hit singles including “Life’s What You Make It” (1985) and “Living in Another World” (1986).
20/75 Andy Anderson
Musician Andy Anderson, former drummer for The Cure and Iggy Pop, died aged 68 from terminal cancer, after a long and successful career as a session musician
Alex Pym/Facebook
21/75 Lisa Sheridan
Having attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Sheridan went on to star in a string of film and TV credits of the next two decades, including Invasion and Halt and Catch Fire. She died aged 44, at her home in New Orleans.
Getty Images
22/75 Janice Freeman
Freeman appeared on season 13 of the TV singing competition The Voice, making a strong impression early on with her cover of ‘Radioactive’ by Imagine Dragons, performed during the blind auditions. She had an extreme case of pneumonia and had a blood clot that travelled to her heart. She died in hospital on 2 March.
Getty Images for COTA
23/75 Keith Flint
Flint quickly became one of the figureheads of British electronic music during the Nineties as a singer in the band The Prodigy. He died, aged 49, on 4 March.
EPA
24/75 Luke Perry
Perry rose to fame as teen heartthrob Dylan McKay in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’, and most recently played Fred Andrews in The CW’s ‘Riverdale’. He died on 4 March after suffering a ‘massive stroke’, his representative said in a statement.
AFP/Getty Images
25/75 Jed Allan
Allan was best known for his role as Rush Sanders, the father of Ian Ziering’s Steve Sanders, on Beverly Hills, 90210; Don Craig on Days of Our Lives; and CC Capwell on Santa Barbara. He died on Saturday, 9 March, aged 84.
Rex Features
26/75 Hal Blaine
As part of the Wrecking Crew, an elite group of session players, Blaine played drums on some of the most iconic songs of the 1960s and 1970s, including The Beach Boys’s “Good Vibrations”, the Ronettes’s ”Be My Baby”, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs Robinson”. He died on 11 March, aged 90.
Getty
27/75 Pat Laffan
The Irish-born actor had roles in almost 40 films and 30 television shows, including in BBC’s Eastenders, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, and RTE’s The Clinic. He died on Friday, 15 March, aged 79
PA
28/75 Mike Thalassitis
Mike Thalassitis was a semi-professional footballer before finding fame on the third season of Love Island. He died aged 26.
Rex Features
29/75 Dick Dale
Dale is credited with pioneering the surf music style, by drawing on his Middle-Eastern heritage and experimenting with reverberation. He is best known for his hit “Misirlou”, used in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. He died on Saturday, 16 March, aged 81.
Getty
30/75 Bernie Tormé
Guitarist Bernie Tormé rose to fame in the seventies before joining Ozzy Osbourne on tour in 1982, following the death of guitarist Randy Rhoads in a plane crash that same year. The Dublin-born musician died on 17 March, 2019 at the age of 66.
YouTube
31/75 Andre Williams
R&B singer and songwriter Andre Williams co-wrote “Shake a Tail Feather” among many other hits, signing first with Fortune Records then with Motown. The Alabama native, who relocated to Detroit as a young man, died on 17 March, aged 82.
YouTube
32/75 Scott Walker
The American British singer-songwriter and producer who rose to fame with The Walker Brothers during the Sixties and was once referred to as “pop’s own Salinger”, died on 22 March, aged 76. He was one of the most prolific artists of his generation, despite shunning the spotlight following his brief years as a teen idol, and released a string of critically acclaimed albums as well as writing a number of film scores, and producing albums for other artists including Pulp.
Rex
33/75 Agnès Varda
French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda died on 29 March, aged 90. She was best known for the films “Cléo from 5 to 7” and “Vagabond” and was widely regarded to be one of the most influential experimental and feminist filmmakers of all time.
AFP/Getty
34/75 Tania Mallet
Model and Bond girl Tania Mallet died on 30 March, aged 77. She earned her only credited acting role opposite Sean Connery in 1964 film Goldfinger, playing Tilly Masterson.
United Artists
35/75 Boon Gould (right)
One of the founding members of Level 42, Boon Gould, died on 1 March, aged 64. He was a guitarist and saxophone player.
Rex Features
36/75 Freddie Starr
Comedian Starr was the star of several eponymous TV shows during the 1990s such as Freddie Starr, The Freddie Starr Show and An Audience with Freddie Starr. Starr was the subject of one of the most famous tabloid headlines in the history of the British press, splashed on the front page of The Sun in 1986: “Freddie Starr ate my hamster.”
Starr was found dead in his home in Costa Del Sol on 9 May 2019.
Rex
37/75 Peggy Lipton
Twin Peaks star Peggy Lipton died of cancer, aged 72 on 11 May.
38/75 Doris Day
Doris Day became Hollywood’s biggest female star by the early 1960s starring in Calamity Jane, Pillow Talk and Caprice to name a few. Day died on 15 May after a serious bout of pneumonia.
Rex
39/75 Andrew Hall
Andrew Hall died on 20 May, 2019 after a short illness, according to his management group. The actor was best known for playing Russell Parkinson in the BBC show Butterflies and Marc Selby in Coronation Street. He had also recently appeared as The Gentleman in Syfy’s Blood Drive.
Photo by ITV/REX
40/75 Carmine Cardini
Carmine Cardini, who was most famous for playing two different roles in the Godfather franchise, died on 28 May, 2019 at Cedars Sinai Hospital, aged 85. He played Carmine Rosato in The Godfather Part II (1974) before returning to the franchise in 1990 as Albert Volpe in The Godfather Part III.
Paramount Pictures
41/75 Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone died on 30 May, 2019, aged 69. The singer-songwriter, who was noticed by Bob Dylan in the Seventies and was an early guest on Saturday Night Live, released more than 15 albums over the course of four decades.
Photo by Chris Capstick/REX
42/75 Cameron Boyce
Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce died in his sleep on 6 July, aged 20. His family later confirmed the actor, who appeared in Jessie and descendants, had epilepsy.
Getty
43/75 Rip Torn
Rip Torn, the film, TV and theatre actor, died on 9 July, 2019, aged 88. His career spanned seven decades.
AFP/GETTY
44/75 Michael Sleggs
Michael Sleggs, who appeared as Slugs in hit BBC Three sitcom This Country, died from heart failure on 9 July, 2019, aged 33.
BBC
45/75 Rutger Hauer
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer famously played replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. As Batty, he delivered the iconic “tears in the rain” monologue. Hauer died on 19 July, 2019 aged 75.
TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images
46/75 Paula Williamson
Actor Paula Williamson, who starred in Coronation Street and married criminal Charles Bronson, was found dead on 29 July, 2019.
Getty
47/75 David Berman
David Berman, frontman of Silver Jews and Purple Mountains, died by suicide on 7 August, 2019, aged 52.
MediaPunch/REX
48/75 Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda died of respiratory failure due to lung cancer on 16 August, 2019. aged 79, his family said. He was the co-writer and star of counterculture classic Easy Rider (1969).
AP
49/75 Ben Unwin
Home and Away star Ben Unwin was found dead aged 41 on 14 August, according to New South Wales Police. He starred as ‘bad boy’ Jesse McGregor on the popular Australian soap between 1996-2000, and then 2002-2005 before switching to a career in law
Getty
50/75 Franco Columbu
Italian bodybuilder, who appeared in The Terminator, The Running Man and Conan the Barbarian, died on 30 August, 2019, aged 78. The former Mr Olympia enjoyed a successful career as a boxer and was best friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Getty Images
51/75 Kylie Rae Harris
The country singer died in a car crash on 4 September, 2019, at the age of 30. Harris, of Wylie, Texas, she was scheduled to perform at a music festival in New Mexico the next day.
YouTube / Kylie Rae Harris
52/75 LaShawn Daniels
Songwriter and producer LaShawn Daniels died 4 September aged 41. He was best known for his collaborations with producer Darkchild, and had songwriting credits on a number of pop and R&B classics by artists including Beyonce, Destiny’s Child, Janet and Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Brandy and Whitney Houston.
Rex
53/75 Carol Lynley
The actor, best known for her role as Nonnie the cruise liner singer in The Poseidon Adventure, died on 3 September at the age of 77.
Dove/Daily Express/Getty Images
54/75 Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson, revered session guitarist and co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, died 5 September 2019, aged 76.
AP
55/75 John Wesley
John Wesley, the actor who played Dr Hoover on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, died in September 2019 aged 72 of complications stemming from multiple myeloma, according to his family. His other acting credits included Baywatch as well as the the 1992 buddy cop comedy film ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’.
YouTube / Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution
56/75 Daniel Johnston
Influential lo-fi musician Daniel Johnston died in September 2019 following a heart attack, according to The Austin Chronicle. His body of work includes the celebrated 1983 album ‘Hi, How Are You’.
ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images
57/75 Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek, frontman of new wave rock band The Cars, died 15 September at the age of 75.
Ocasek was pronounced dead after police were alerted to an unresponsive male at a Manhattan townhouse. A cause of death has yet to be confirmed, though The Daily Beast reports that an NYPD official said Ocasek appeared to have died from “natural causes”.
Ocasek found fame as the lead singer of The Cars, who were integral in the birth of the new wave movement and had hits including “Drive”, “Good Times Roll” and “My Best Friend’s Girl”.
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Netflix
58/75 Suzanne Whang
The former host turned narrator of HGTV’s House Hunters died on 17 September. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and initially recovered, until the disease returned in October 2018.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
59/75 Robert Hunter
The lyricist, who’s behind some of the Grateful Dead’s finest songs, died on 23 September at the age of 78. His best known Grateful Dead songs include ‘Cumberland Blues,’ ‘It Must Have Been the Roses,’ and ‘Terrapin Station’.
Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame
60/75 Linda Porter
Linda Porter, best known for her role as elderly supermarket employee Myrtle on the US sitcom Superstore, died 25 September after a long battle with cancer. She also appeared in series including Twin Peaks, The Mindy Project, ER and The X-Files
Tyler Golden/NBC
61/75 Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker, the legendary drummer and co-founder of rock band Cream, died at the age of 80 on Sunday 6 October after being critically ill in hospital. The musician co-founded Cream in 1966 with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce.
Alamy
62/75 Robert Evans
Producer Robert Evans died on 26 October aged 89. He backed seminal films such as ‘Chinatown’, ‘The Godfather’, ‘Harold and Maude’ and ‘Love Story’.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
63/75 Ariel Burdett
Ariel Burdett died on 12 November, aged 35. She appeared on The X Factor in 2008 and is considered to have had one of the most memorable auditions in the ITV show’s history.
ITV
64/75 Jill Galloway Heitz
Jill Galloway Heitz died at the age of 78 from congestive heart failure on 13 November. Her TV appearances included Glee and Prison Break, and she also starred in David Lynch film The Straight Story.
Fox
65/75 Goo Ha-ra
South Korean singer and actor Goo Ha-ra died in November 2019 at the age of 28.
AFP
66/75 Gary Rhodes
Gary Rhodes died on 27 November, aged 59. The English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of British cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style, fronted shows such as MasterChef, MasterChef USA, Hell’s Kitchen, and his own series, Rhodes Around Britain.
AFP
67/75 Godfrey Gao
Godfrey Gao died on 27 November, aged 35. He suffered a cardiac arrest after collapsing on set of a game show in China. Gao was considered the first Asian supermodel, and appeared in 2013 Hollywood film The Mortal Instruments.
Getty Images
68/75 Ron Leibman
Ron Leibman, who played Rachel’s father in Friends, died 7 December at the age of 82.
The actor died from pneumonia, a representative for his family confirmed.
Leibman won a Tony Award in 1993 for originating the role of the closeted gay lawyer Roy Cohn in the first Broadway production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. He also appeared in films including Norma Rae and Slaughterhouse-Five.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
69/75 Juice Wrld
Chicago-born rapper Juice Wrld, real name Jarad Anthony Higgins, died 8 December at the age of 21.
The Associated Press confirmed that the “Lucid Dreams” rapper suffered a “medical emergency” at Chicago’s Midway International Airport, and was later pronounced dead in hospital.
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Power 105.1
70/75 Caroll Spinney
Puppeteer Caroll Spinney, who portrayed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on the children’s programme Sesame Street, has died at the age of 84.
Spinney died 8 December at his home in Connecticut after suffering from Dystonia for some time, the Sesame Workshop confirmed.
Robin Marchant/Getty Images for SiriusXM
71/75 Rene Auberjonois
Prolific character actor Rene Auberjonois died 8 December at the age of 79. His credits included the Robert Altman film MASH and TV shows Benson and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Getty Images
72/75 Marie Fredriksson
Marie Fredriksson, one-half of the pop duo Roxette, died 9 December after suffering a long illness. Roxette’s most famous hits include “It Must Have Been Love” and ‘Listen to Your Heart”.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
73/75 Chris Cotton
The US comedian Chris Cotton, best known for the Comedy Central web series Every Damn Day, died on 13 December at the age of 32.
A cause of death has yet to be announced.
Cotton is survived by his wife Ericalynn, who is due to give birth to their first child in February.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Comedy Central
74/75 Danny Aiello
Actor Danny Aiello, best known for his role as Sal in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, died on Thursday, 12 December at the age of 86.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
75/75 Chuy Bravo
Comedian and entertainer Chuy Bravo, who found fame as the sidekick to comic Chelsea Handler, died 15 December at the age of 63.
Bravo was taken ill during a trip to his native Mexico, and died in hospital.
David Livingston/Getty Images
1/75 Dean Ford
Ford, whose real name was Thomas McAleese, was the frontman of guitar-pop group Marmalade. The band the first Scottish group to top the UK singles chart, with their cover of the Beatles’ Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da in December 1968. Ford died in Los Angeles on 31 December 2018, at the age of 72 from complications relating to Parkinson’s disease.
Getty
2/75 Pegi Young
A singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist, she was also married to Neil Young for 36 years. She died of cancer on 1 January, aged 66, in Mountain View, California.
Getty
3/75 Daryl Dragon
The singer and pianist achieved fame as half of the musical duo Captain & Tennille, best known for their 1975 hit “Love Will Keep Us Together”. Dragon died on 2 January, from kidney failure in Prescott, Arizona, aged 76.
Getty Images
4/75 Darius Perkins
The actor was best known for playing the original Scott Robinson on Neighbours when the show launched in 1985 on Australia’s Channel Seven. Perkins died from cancer on 2 January, aged 54
Ten
5/75 Bob Einstein
The Emmy-winning writer appeared in US comedy shows Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development, becoming known for his deadpan delivery. He died on 2 January, shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia, aged 76.
HBO/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
6/75 Carol Channing
The raspy-voiced, saucer-eyed, wide-smiling actor played lead roles in the original Broadway musical productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Hello, Dolly!, while delivering an Oscar-nominated performance in the 1967 film version of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. Channing died on 15 January of natural causes at her home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 97.
Getty
7/75 Mary Oliver
Oliver, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wrote rapturous odes to nature and animal life that brought her critical acclaim and popular affection, writing more than 15 poetry and essay collections. She died on 17 January, aged 83, in Hobe Sound, Florida.
Getty
8/75 Windsor Davies
The actor was best known for his role as Battery Sergeant-Major Williams in the TV series It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum, which ran from 1974 to 1981. He died on 17 January, aged 88, four months after the death of his wife, Eluned.
Getty
9/75 Jonas Mekas
The Lithuanian-born filmmaker, who escaped a Nazi labour camp and became a refugee, rose to acclaim in New York and went on to work with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Janis Joplin and Andy Warhol. He died on 23 January, aged 96, in New York City.
Chuck Close
10/75 Diana Athill
The writer, novelist and editor worked with authors including Margaret Atwood, Philip Roth, Jean Rhys and VS Naipaul. She died at a hospice in London on 23 January, aged 101, following a short illness.
Getty
11/75 Michel Legrand
During a career spanning more than 50 years, the French musician wrote the scores for over 200 films and TV series, as well as original songs. In 1968, he won his first Oscar for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair film. He died in Paris on 26 January at the age of 86.
Getty
12/75 James Ingram
The singer and songwriter, who was nominated for 14 Grammys in his lifetime, was well known for his hits including “Baby, Come to Me,” his duet sung with Patti Austin and “Yah Mo B There,” a duet sung with Michael McDonald, which won him a Grammy. Ingram died on 29 January, aged 66, from brain cancer, at his home in Los Angeles.
Getty
13/75 Dick Miller
The actor enjoyed a career spanning more than 60 years, featuring hundreds of screen appearances, including Gremlins (1984) and The Terminator (1984). The actor died 30 January, aged 90, in Toluca Lake, California.
Warner Bros
14/75 Jeremy Hardy
The comedian gained recognition on the comedy circuit in the 1980s and was a regular on BBC Radio 4 panel shows, including The News Quiz and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. He died of cancer on 1 February, aged 57.
Rex
15/75 Clive Swift
Known to many as the long-suffering Richard Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances, the actor’s first professional acting job was at Nottingham Playhouse, in the UK premiere of JB Priestley’s take the Fool Away, in 1959. He died on Friday, 1 February after a short illness, aged 82.
Rex
16/75 Julie Adams
The actor starred in the 1954 horror classic Creature From the Black Lagoon, playing Kay Lawrence, the girlfriend of hero ichthyologist Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson) and the target of the Creature’s obsessions. She died 3 February in Los Angeles, aged 92.
Rex
17/75 Albert Finney
The actor was one of Britain’s premiere Shakespearean actors and was nominated for five Oscars across almost four decades – for Tom Jones (1963), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Dresser (1983), Under the Volcano (1984) and Erin Brockovich (2000). He died aged 82, following a short illness.
Getty
18/75 Peter Tork
Born in 1942 in Washington DC, Tork became part of The Monkees with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones in the mid-sixties, when the group was formed as America’s Beatles counterpart. All four were selected from more than 400 applicants to play in the associated TV series The Monkees, which aired between 1966 and 1968.
GETTY IMAGES
19/75 Mark Hollis
As the frontman of the band Talk Talk, Hollis was largely responsible for the band’s shift towards a more experimental approach in the mid-1980s, pioneering what became known as post-rock, with hit singles including “Life’s What You Make It” (1985) and “Living in Another World” (1986).
20/75 Andy Anderson
Musician Andy Anderson, former drummer for The Cure and Iggy Pop, died aged 68 from terminal cancer, after a long and successful career as a session musician
Alex Pym/Facebook
21/75 Lisa Sheridan
Having attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Sheridan went on to star in a string of film and TV credits of the next two decades, including Invasion and Halt and Catch Fire. She died aged 44, at her home in New Orleans.
Getty Images
22/75 Janice Freeman
Freeman appeared on season 13 of the TV singing competition The Voice, making a strong impression early on with her cover of ‘Radioactive’ by Imagine Dragons, performed during the blind auditions. She had an extreme case of pneumonia and had a blood clot that travelled to her heart. She died in hospital on 2 March.
Getty Images for COTA
23/75 Keith Flint
Flint quickly became one of the figureheads of British electronic music during the Nineties as a singer in the band The Prodigy. He died, aged 49, on 4 March.
EPA
24/75 Luke Perry
Perry rose to fame as teen heartthrob Dylan McKay in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’, and most recently played Fred Andrews in The CW’s ‘Riverdale’. He died on 4 March after suffering a ‘massive stroke’, his representative said in a statement.
AFP/Getty Images
25/75 Jed Allan
Allan was best known for his role as Rush Sanders, the father of Ian Ziering’s Steve Sanders, on Beverly Hills, 90210; Don Craig on Days of Our Lives; and CC Capwell on Santa Barbara. He died on Saturday, 9 March, aged 84.
Rex Features
26/75 Hal Blaine
As part of the Wrecking Crew, an elite group of session players, Blaine played drums on some of the most iconic songs of the 1960s and 1970s, including The Beach Boys’s “Good Vibrations”, the Ronettes’s ”Be My Baby”, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs Robinson”. He died on 11 March, aged 90.
Getty
27/75 Pat Laffan
The Irish-born actor had roles in almost 40 films and 30 television shows, including in BBC’s Eastenders, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, and RTE’s The Clinic. He died on Friday, 15 March, aged 79
PA
28/75 Mike Thalassitis
Mike Thalassitis was a semi-professional footballer before finding fame on the third season of Love Island. He died aged 26.
Rex Features
29/75 Dick Dale
Dale is credited with pioneering the surf music style, by drawing on his Middle-Eastern heritage and experimenting with reverberation. He is best known for his hit “Misirlou”, used in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. He died on Saturday, 16 March, aged 81.
Getty
30/75 Bernie Tormé
Guitarist Bernie Tormé rose to fame in the seventies before joining Ozzy Osbourne on tour in 1982, following the death of guitarist Randy Rhoads in a plane crash that same year. The Dublin-born musician died on 17 March, 2019 at the age of 66.
YouTube
31/75 Andre Williams
R&B singer and songwriter Andre Williams co-wrote “Shake a Tail Feather” among many other hits, signing first with Fortune Records then with Motown. The Alabama native, who relocated to Detroit as a young man, died on 17 March, aged 82.
YouTube
32/75 Scott Walker
The American British singer-songwriter and producer who rose to fame with The Walker Brothers during the Sixties and was once referred to as “pop’s own Salinger”, died on 22 March, aged 76. He was one of the most prolific artists of his generation, despite shunning the spotlight following his brief years as a teen idol, and released a string of critically acclaimed albums as well as writing a number of film scores, and producing albums for other artists including Pulp.
Rex
33/75 Agnès Varda
French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda died on 29 March, aged 90. She was best known for the films “Cléo from 5 to 7” and “Vagabond” and was widely regarded to be one of the most influential experimental and feminist filmmakers of all time.
AFP/Getty
34/75 Tania Mallet
Model and Bond girl Tania Mallet died on 30 March, aged 77. She earned her only credited acting role opposite Sean Connery in 1964 film Goldfinger, playing Tilly Masterson.
United Artists
35/75 Boon Gould (right)
One of the founding members of Level 42, Boon Gould, died on 1 March, aged 64. He was a guitarist and saxophone player.
Rex Features
36/75 Freddie Starr
Comedian Starr was the star of several eponymous TV shows during the 1990s such as Freddie Starr, The Freddie Starr Show and An Audience with Freddie Starr. Starr was the subject of one of the most famous tabloid headlines in the history of the British press, splashed on the front page of The Sun in 1986: “Freddie Starr ate my hamster.”
Starr was found dead in his home in Costa Del Sol on 9 May 2019.
Rex
37/75 Peggy Lipton
Twin Peaks star Peggy Lipton died of cancer, aged 72 on 11 May.
38/75 Doris Day
Doris Day became Hollywood’s biggest female star by the early 1960s starring in Calamity Jane, Pillow Talk and Caprice to name a few. Day died on 15 May after a serious bout of pneumonia.
Rex
39/75 Andrew Hall
Andrew Hall died on 20 May, 2019 after a short illness, according to his management group. The actor was best known for playing Russell Parkinson in the BBC show Butterflies and Marc Selby in Coronation Street. He had also recently appeared as The Gentleman in Syfy’s Blood Drive.
Photo by ITV/REX
40/75 Carmine Cardini
Carmine Cardini, who was most famous for playing two different roles in the Godfather franchise, died on 28 May, 2019 at Cedars Sinai Hospital, aged 85. He played Carmine Rosato in The Godfather Part II (1974) before returning to the franchise in 1990 as Albert Volpe in The Godfather Part III.
Paramount Pictures
41/75 Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone died on 30 May, 2019, aged 69. The singer-songwriter, who was noticed by Bob Dylan in the Seventies and was an early guest on Saturday Night Live, released more than 15 albums over the course of four decades.
Photo by Chris Capstick/REX
42/75 Cameron Boyce
Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce died in his sleep on 6 July, aged 20. His family later confirmed the actor, who appeared in Jessie and descendants, had epilepsy.
Getty
43/75 Rip Torn
Rip Torn, the film, TV and theatre actor, died on 9 July, 2019, aged 88. His career spanned seven decades.
AFP/GETTY
44/75 Michael Sleggs
Michael Sleggs, who appeared as Slugs in hit BBC Three sitcom This Country, died from heart failure on 9 July, 2019, aged 33.
BBC
45/75 Rutger Hauer
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer famously played replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. As Batty, he delivered the iconic “tears in the rain” monologue. Hauer died on 19 July, 2019 aged 75.
TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images
46/75 Paula Williamson
Actor Paula Williamson, who starred in Coronation Street and married criminal Charles Bronson, was found dead on 29 July, 2019.
Getty
47/75 David Berman
David Berman, frontman of Silver Jews and Purple Mountains, died by suicide on 7 August, 2019, aged 52.
MediaPunch/REX
48/75 Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda died of respiratory failure due to lung cancer on 16 August, 2019. aged 79, his family said. He was the co-writer and star of counterculture classic Easy Rider (1969).
AP
49/75 Ben Unwin
Home and Away star Ben Unwin was found dead aged 41 on 14 August, according to New South Wales Police. He starred as ‘bad boy’ Jesse McGregor on the popular Australian soap between 1996-2000, and then 2002-2005 before switching to a career in law
Getty
50/75 Franco Columbu
Italian bodybuilder, who appeared in The Terminator, The Running Man and Conan the Barbarian, died on 30 August, 2019, aged 78. The former Mr Olympia enjoyed a successful career as a boxer and was best friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Getty Images
51/75 Kylie Rae Harris
The country singer died in a car crash on 4 September, 2019, at the age of 30. Harris, of Wylie, Texas, she was scheduled to perform at a music festival in New Mexico the next day.
YouTube / Kylie Rae Harris
52/75 LaShawn Daniels
Songwriter and producer LaShawn Daniels died 4 September aged 41. He was best known for his collaborations with producer Darkchild, and had songwriting credits on a number of pop and R&B classics by artists including Beyonce, Destiny’s Child, Janet and Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Brandy and Whitney Houston.
Rex
53/75 Carol Lynley
The actor, best known for her role as Nonnie the cruise liner singer in The Poseidon Adventure, died on 3 September at the age of 77.
Dove/Daily Express/Getty Images
54/75 Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson, revered session guitarist and co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, died 5 September 2019, aged 76.
AP
55/75 John Wesley
John Wesley, the actor who played Dr Hoover on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, died in September 2019 aged 72 of complications stemming from multiple myeloma, according to his family. His other acting credits included Baywatch as well as the the 1992 buddy cop comedy film ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’.
YouTube / Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution
56/75 Daniel Johnston
Influential lo-fi musician Daniel Johnston died in September 2019 following a heart attack, according to The Austin Chronicle. His body of work includes the celebrated 1983 album ‘Hi, How Are You’.
ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images
57/75 Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek, frontman of new wave rock band The Cars, died 15 September at the age of 75.
Ocasek was pronounced dead after police were alerted to an unresponsive male at a Manhattan townhouse. A cause of death has yet to be confirmed, though The Daily Beast reports that an NYPD official said Ocasek appeared to have died from “natural causes”.
Ocasek found fame as the lead singer of The Cars, who were integral in the birth of the new wave movement and had hits including “Drive”, “Good Times Roll” and “My Best Friend’s Girl”.
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Netflix
58/75 Suzanne Whang
The former host turned narrator of HGTV’s House Hunters died on 17 September. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and initially recovered, until the disease returned in October 2018.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
59/75 Robert Hunter
The lyricist, who’s behind some of the Grateful Dead’s finest songs, died on 23 September at the age of 78. His best known Grateful Dead songs include ‘Cumberland Blues,’ ‘It Must Have Been the Roses,’ and ‘Terrapin Station’.
Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame
60/75 Linda Porter
Linda Porter, best known for her role as elderly supermarket employee Myrtle on the US sitcom Superstore, died 25 September after a long battle with cancer. She also appeared in series including Twin Peaks, The Mindy Project, ER and The X-Files
Tyler Golden/NBC
61/75 Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker, the legendary drummer and co-founder of rock band Cream, died at the age of 80 on Sunday 6 October after being critically ill in hospital. The musician co-founded Cream in 1966 with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce.
Alamy
62/75 Robert Evans
Producer Robert Evans died on 26 October aged 89. He backed seminal films such as ‘Chinatown’, ‘The Godfather’, ‘Harold and Maude’ and ‘Love Story’.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
63/75 Ariel Burdett
Ariel Burdett died on 12 November, aged 35. She appeared on The X Factor in 2008 and is considered to have had one of the most memorable auditions in the ITV show’s history.
ITV
64/75 Jill Galloway Heitz
Jill Galloway Heitz died at the age of 78 from congestive heart failure on 13 November. Her TV appearances included Glee and Prison Break, and she also starred in David Lynch film The Straight Story.
Fox
65/75 Goo Ha-ra
South Korean singer and actor Goo Ha-ra died in November 2019 at the age of 28.
AFP
66/75 Gary Rhodes
Gary Rhodes died on 27 November, aged 59. The English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of British cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style, fronted shows such as MasterChef, MasterChef USA, Hell’s Kitchen, and his own series, Rhodes Around Britain.
AFP
67/75 Godfrey Gao
Godfrey Gao died on 27 November, aged 35. He suffered a cardiac arrest after collapsing on set of a game show in China. Gao was considered the first Asian supermodel, and appeared in 2013 Hollywood film The Mortal Instruments.
Getty Images
68/75 Ron Leibman
Ron Leibman, who played Rachel’s father in Friends, died 7 December at the age of 82.
The actor died from pneumonia, a representative for his family confirmed.
Leibman won a Tony Award in 1993 for originating the role of the closeted gay lawyer Roy Cohn in the first Broadway production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. He also appeared in films including Norma Rae and Slaughterhouse-Five.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
69/75 Juice Wrld
Chicago-born rapper Juice Wrld, real name Jarad Anthony Higgins, died 8 December at the age of 21.
The Associated Press confirmed that the “Lucid Dreams” rapper suffered a “medical emergency” at Chicago’s Midway International Airport, and was later pronounced dead in hospital.
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Power 105.1
70/75 Caroll Spinney
Puppeteer Caroll Spinney, who portrayed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on the children’s programme Sesame Street, has died at the age of 84.
Spinney died 8 December at his home in Connecticut after suffering from Dystonia for some time, the Sesame Workshop confirmed.
Robin Marchant/Getty Images for SiriusXM
71/75 Rene Auberjonois
Prolific character actor Rene Auberjonois died 8 December at the age of 79. His credits included the Robert Altman film MASH and TV shows Benson and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Getty Images
72/75 Marie Fredriksson
Marie Fredriksson, one-half of the pop duo Roxette, died 9 December after suffering a long illness. Roxette’s most famous hits include “It Must Have Been Love” and ‘Listen to Your Heart”.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
73/75 Chris Cotton
The US comedian Chris Cotton, best known for the Comedy Central web series Every Damn Day, died on 13 December at the age of 32.
A cause of death has yet to be announced.
Cotton is survived by his wife Ericalynn, who is due to give birth to their first child in February.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Comedy Central
74/75 Danny Aiello
Actor Danny Aiello, best known for his role as Sal in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, died on Thursday, 12 December at the age of 86.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
75/75 Chuy Bravo
Comedian and entertainer Chuy Bravo, who found fame as the sidekick to comic Chelsea Handler, died 15 December at the age of 63.
Bravo was taken ill during a trip to his native Mexico, and died in hospital.
David Livingston/Getty Images
She also co-wrote the Broadway musical The Color Purple, and the soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop, winning Grammy awards for both.
“I’m someone that absolutely loves writing very joyful music,” she told Songfacts in 2008.
“And with everything else I’ve ever written, [“September” is] still that song that when people found out I’d written that, they just go, ‘Oh my God,’ and then tell me in some form how happy that song makes them every time they hear it.
“For me, that’s it. … I literally have never been to a wedding, a bar mitzvah, anything, where I have not heard that song play. So I know it’s carrying on and doing what it was meant to do.
“I would say the main lesson I learned from Earth, Wind & Fire, especially Maurice White, was never let a lyric get in the way of a groove.”
Willis is survived by her brother, Kent Willis, and sister, Marlin Frost; and her niece, Mandy Becker.
