Obituaries
Melinda Dillon, Actress in ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘A Christmas Story,’ Dies at 83
Melinda Dillon, who received supporting Oscar nominations for her turns in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice and portrayed the doting mom in the holiday perennial A Christmas Story, died Jan. 9, her family announced. She was 83. Right out of the gate, Dillon earned a Tony nomination and Theatre World […]
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George R. Robertson, Chief Hurst in the ‘Police Academy’ Films, Dies at 89
George R. Robertson, the Canadian actor who portrayed the police chief and later police commissioner Henry Hurst in the first six Police Academy films, has died. He was 89. Robertson died Sunday at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, his family announced. Robertson also showed up in small roles in three films that were nominated […]
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Paco Rabanne, Spanish-Born Designer Synonymous With a Space-Age Aesthetic and Best-Selling Perfumes, Dies at 88
Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born designer synonymous with a Space Age aesthetic and best-selling perfumes, has died at age 88 in Portsall, France. His death was confirmed by Spanish group Puig, which controls the Paco Rabanne fashion house and fragrance business. “Paco Rabanne made transgression magnetic,” said José Manuel Albesa, president of Puig’s fashion and beauty […]
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Charlie Walker, San Francisco Icon Portrayed by Mike Colter in Biopic, Dies at 89
Charlie Walker, a San Francisco business owner and social justice icon who was portrayed by Mike Colter in the 2022 biopic I’m Charlie Walker, died Thursday in his hometown, it was announced. He was 89. Colter, perhaps best known for his turns as Marvel hero Luke Cage, starred alongside Safiya Fredericks and Dylan Baker in […]
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Kevin O’Neal, Actor on TV’s ‘No Time for Sergeants,’ Dies at 77
Kevin O’Neal, the younger brother of Oscar-nominated actor Ryan O’Neal and a regular on the 1960s ABC comedy No Time for Sergeants, has died. He was 77. O’Neal died Saturday in his sleep of natural causes in Thousand Oaks, a family spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. O’Neal also appeared as the character Yale in one […]
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Cindy Williams, Star of ‘Laverne & Shirley,’ Dies at 75
Cindy Williams, the energetic actress who appeared in a pair of Oscar best picture nominees before starring as the idealistic Shirley Feeney on the beloved ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died. She was 75. Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a […]
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Lisa Loring, Original Wednesday Actress on ‘The Addams Family,’ Dies at 64
Lisa Loring, the actress who played Wednesday Addams on the classic TV adaptation of The Addams Family, has died. She was 64. Loring died Saturday night at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank of complications from a stroke caused by high blood pressure, her daughter Vanessa Foumberg told The Hollywood Reporter. “She went peacefully […]
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Barrett Strong, “Money” Singer Who Wrote Motown Hits Including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Dies at 81
More than 73 years ago, Barrett Strong, as a singer, declared “Money (That’s What I Want)” — for the first hit single from the Motown empire. What he actually wound up getting was musical immortality. As a songwriter. Strong — who died Sunday, Jan. 29, at the age of 81 in Detroit — co-wrote some […]
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Annie Wersching, Actress in ‘Bosch,’ ‘24,’ ‘Runaways,’ Dies at 45
Annie Wersching, an actress known for her roles in TV dramas Bosch and 24, as well as her portrayal of Leslie Dean, the mother of alien superhero Karolina on Marvel’s Runaways, has died. She was 45. Wersching died from cancer on Sunday morning in Los Angeles, a rep for the actress told The Hollywood Reporter. […]
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Tom Verlaine, Influential Guitarist and Songwriter in the Band Television, Dies at 73
Tom Verlaine, the frontman of the band Television, which heavily influenced the New York punk rock scene in the 1970s, has died. He was 73. The Hollywood Reporter learned on Saturday that the guitarist and songwriter died following a short illness in New York City, surrounded by close friends. Born in New Jersey on Dec. […]
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Gregory Allen Howard, ‘Remember the Titans’ and ‘Harriet’ Writer, Dies at 70
Gregory Allen Howard, who wrote Remember the Titans and was a producer and writer behind Harriet, died Friday. He was 70. Howard died following a brief illness in Miami, his rep Jeff Sanderson told The Hollywood Reporter. Howard, born on Jan. 28, 1952, in Norfolk, Virginia, moved to Los Angeles in the ’90s to pursue […]
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Sylvia Syms, British Star of ‘The Queen’ and ‘Victim,’ Dies at 89
Sylvia Syms, the British actress whose body of work stretched back to the 1950s and included roles in Ice Cold in Alex, Victim and The Queen, has died. She was 89. In a statement to Sky News, her family said she “died peacefully” on Jan. 27 at a London care home for those in the […]
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