Celebrity deaths in 2019: Stars who died this year – syracuse.com

Another year gone, another 12 months of saying goodbye to singers, actors and other famous people who died this past year.

Celebrity deaths in 2019 included ’90s heartthrob Luke Perry, “Star Wars” actor Peter Mayhew, “Easy Rider” star Peter Fonda, “Take Me Home Tonight” singer Eddie Money, rapper Juice WRLD, “Sesame Street” puppeteer Caroll Spinney, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John, fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, The Monkees’ Peter Tork, Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, and young Disney actor Cameron Boyce.

Scroll through to see the full list of stars we said goodbye to this year:

• Eugene “Mean Gene” Okerlund: The WWE personality died Jan. 2 at 76.
• Bob Einstein: “Smothers Brothers” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” comedy actor, also known for his character Super Dave Osborne, died Jan. 2 at 76.
• Daryl Dragon: The singing captain of Captain & Tenille, who performed hits “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Muskrat Love” with his then-wife Toni Tenille, died Jan. 2 at 76.
• Mel Stottlemyre: New York Yankees pitcher and MLB coach died Jan. 13 at 77.
• Carol Channing: Musical comedy legend who starred in “Hello, Dolly!” and more Broadway shows, died Jan. 15 at 97.
• Antonio “Tony” Mendez: Played by Ben Affleck in “Argo,” the former CIA technical operations officer who helped rescue six U.S. diplomats from Iran in 1980 died Jan. 19 at 78.
• Russell Baker: Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and “Masterpiece Theatre” host died Jan. 21 at 93.
• Michel Legrand: Oscar-winning composer whose credits include “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” and “The Windmills of Your Mind” died Jan. 26 at 86.
• James Ingram: The Grammy-winning R&B singer died Jan. 29 at 66.
• Dick Miller: “Terminator,” “Gremlins” actor died Jan. 30 at 90.
• Harold Bradley: Country Music Hall of Fame guitarist, who played on hundreds of hits with his brother Owen Bradley, died Jan. 31 at 93.
• Kristoff St. John: “The Young and the Restless” soap star died Feb. 4 at 52.
• Albert Finney: Oscar-nominated actor in “Skyfall,” “Tom Jones,” “Erin Brockovich” died Feb. 8 at 82.
• Jan-Michael Vincent: “Airwolf” TV star died Feb. 10 at 73.
• Karl Lagerfeld: Chanel fashion designer died Feb. 19 at 85.
• Peter Tork: The Monkees singer died Feb. 21 at 77.

• Stanley Donen: “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Funny Face” director died Feb. 21 at 94.
• Katherine Helmond: Emmy-nominated “Soap,” “Who’s the Boss?” actress died Feb. 23 at 89.
• Nathaniel Taylor: “Sanford & Son” actor died Feb. 27 at 80.
• Andre Previn: Jazz-classical pianist, composer and “My Fair Lady” conductor died Feb. 28 at 89.
• Keith Flint: The Prodigy frontman known for hits like “Firestarter” and “Smack My B—- Up” died March 4 at 49.
• King Kong Bundy: Wrestling legend and actor, also known as Christopher Alan Pallies, died March 4 at 63.
• Luke Perry: “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Riverdale” actor died March 4 at 52.

• Dick Dale: Influential surf guitarist known for “Miserlou” died March 16 at 83.
• Scott Walker: Influential singer-songwriter in The Walker Brothers died March 22 at 76.
• Larry Cohen: B-movie director of cult horror films like “It’s Alive” died March 23 at 77.
• Ranking Roger: The Beat (also known as The English Beat) and General Public singer on hits like “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Save It for Later” and “Taking the Day Off” died March 26 at 56.
• Billy Adams: Rockabilly musician best known for “Rock, Pretty Mama” died March 30 at 79.
• Nipsey Hussle: The influential rapper and Grammy nominee died March 31 at 33.
• Charles Van Doren: The game show contestant in the “Quiz Show” scandal died April 9 at 93.
• Georgia Engel: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” actress died April 12 at 70.
• Bibi Andersson: Swedish actress in “The Seventh Seal” and “Persona” died April 14 at 83.
• Lorraine Warren: The paranormal investigator whose cases with her husband Ed Warren inspired “The Conjuring” and “The Amityville Horor” movies died April 18 at 92.
• Ken Kercheval: “Dallas” actor best known for playing J.R. Ewing’s oil tycoon rival Cliff Barnes died April 21 at 83.
• Mark Medoff: “Children of a Lesser God” playwright died April 23 at 79.
• John Havlicek: The Boston Celtics legend who famously stole the ball in the 1965 NBA playoffs died April 25 at 79.
• John Singleton: Oscar-nominated “Boz N The hood” director died April 29 at 51.
• Peter Mayhew: The “Star Wars” actor who played Chewbacca in the original trilogy and two other movies died April 30 at 74.

• Peggy Lipton: “The Mod Squad” and “Twin Peaks” actress died May 11 at 72.
• Doris Day: The singer-actress who starred opposite Rock Hudson and Cary Grant in 1950s and ’60s movies died May 13 at 97.
• Tim Conway: The Emmy-winning actor known for “The Carol Burnett Show,” “McHale’s Navy” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” died May 14 at 85.
• I.M. Pei: The architect who designed the glass pyramid at The Louvre in Paris and The Newhouse School at Syracuse University died May 16 at 102.
• Ashley Massaro: The former wrestling star, who won the WWE Diva Search in 2005 and appeared on “Survivor: China,” died May 16 at 39.
• Niki Lauda: The Formula One racing legend died May 20 at 70.
• Bart Starr: The Green Bay Packers quarterback won the NFL’s first two Super Bowls died May 26 at 85.
• Bill Buckner: The Boston Red Sox player who memorably missed a ground ball between his legs in the 1986 World Series died May 27 at 69.
• Leon Redbone: The blues-jazz singer died May 30 at 69.
• Frank Lucas: Harlem drug kingpin who inspired the 2007 film “American Gangster” died May 30 at 88.
• Dr. John: New Orleans singer, pianist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer known for hits like “Right Place, Wrong Time” and the “Blossom” theme song ‘My Opinionation” died June 6 at 77.

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• Sylvia Miles: Academy Award-nominated actress in “Midnight Cowboy” and “Farewell, My Lovely” died June 12 at 94.
• Pat Bowlen: The Denver Broncos owner who saw the NFL team win three Super Bowls died June 13 at 75.
• Gloria Vanderbilt: The famed heiress and jeans designer died June 17 at 95.
• Dave Bartholomew: The Fats Domino collaborator who co-wrote songs like “Ain’t That a Shame,” “I’m Walkin'” and “Let the Four Winds Blow,” died June 23 at 100.
• Max Wright: “ALF” actor died June 26 at 75.
• Beth Chapman: Duane “Dog” Chapman’s wife and “Dog the Bounty Hunter” co-star died June 26 at 51.
• Charles Levin: “Seinfeld,” “Hill Street Blues” and “Alice” actor died in June at 70.
• Lee Iacocca: Auto executive who put the Mustang in Ford’s lineup in the 1960s and became a corporate folk hero when he resurrected Chrysler 20 years later, died July 2 at 94.
• Joao Gilberto: Brazilian singer-songwriter who popularized bossa nova died July 6 at 88.
• Cameron Boyce: Disney’s “Jessie” and “Descendants” actor died July 6 at 20.

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• Martin Charnin: Tony-winning Broadway director, actor and lyricist whose credits included “West Side Story” and “Annie,” died July 6 at 84.
• Ross Perot: The Texas billionaire who ran for president of the United States twice died July 9 at 89.
• Rip Torn: The “Men in Black,” “Dodgeball” and “The Larry Sanders Show” actor died July 9 at 88.
• Jim Bouton: The New York Yankees pitcher and “Ball Four” author died July 10 at 80.
• Jerry Lawson: The Persuasions a cappella singer did July 10 at 75.
• Pernell Whitaker: Olympic gold medalist and boxing champion died July 14 at 55.
• John Paul Stevens: The Supreme Court justice died July 16 at 99.
• Johnny Clegg: The South African musician whose songs were heard in “George of the Jungle” and “Ferngully” died July 16 at 66.
• Rutger Hauer: The “Blade Runner” actor died July 19 at 75.

• Art Neville: The Neville Brothers musician and founding member of funk band The Meters died July 22 at 81.
• Harold Prince: Broadway director who won 21 Tony Awards for shows like “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Cabaret,” “Company” and “Sweeney Todd” died July 31 at 91.
• D.A. Pennebaker: The Oscar-winning director of documentaries like “The War Room” and “Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back” died Aug. 1 at 94.
• Henri Belolo: The Village People co-founder who co-wrote hits “YMCA” and “Macho Man,” died Aug. 3 at 82.
• Toni Morrison: The Nobel Prize-winning author died Aug. 5 at 88.
• Peter Fonda: The “Easy Rider” actor and screenwriter died Aug. 16 at 79.
• Richard Williams: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” animator died Aug. 16 at 86.
• David Koch: The conservative billionaire industrialist died Aug. 23 at 79.
• Valerie Harper: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Rhoda” star died Aug. 30 at 80.
• Jimmy Johnson: Muscle Shoals Sound Studios founder and The Swampers guitarist died Sept. 5 at 76.
• Robert Mugabe: The former Zimbabwe leader died Sept. 6 at 95.
• Robert Axelrod: Original “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” actor who played villain Zedd died Sept. 7 at 70.
• T. Boone Pickens: The famed oil tycoon died Sept. 11 at 91.
• Daniel Johnston: Influential Texas singer-songwriter died Sept. 11 at 58.
• Eddie Money: “Take Me Home Tonight” and “Two Tickets to Paradise” died Sept. 13 at 70.

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• Phyllis Newman: The Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran who became the first woman to host “The Tonight Show” died Sept. 15 at 86.
• Ric Ocasek: The Cars singer, known for hits like “Just What I Needed,” died sept. 15 at 75.
• Cokie Roberts: The longtime broadcast journalist died Set. 17 at 75.
• Howard “Hopalong” Cassady: The 1955 Heisman Trophy winner who played running back for Ohio State and the Detroit Lions died Sept. 20 at 85.
• Robert Hunter: The Grateful Dead lyricist died Sept. 23 at 78.
• Jacques Chirac: The French president who opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 died Sept. 26 at 86.
• José José: Mexican singer known as the “Prince of Song” died Sept. 28 at 71.
• Jessye Norman: The Grammy winning opera singer and Kennedy Center honoree died Sept. 30 at 74.
• Diahann Carroll: The Oscar-nominated actress and singer who was the first black woman to star in a non-servant role in a TV series as “Julia” died Oct. 4 at 84.
• Ginger Baker: The drummer for Cream and other rock bands died Oct. 6 at 80.
• Rip Taylor: The confetti-throwing comedian who frequently appeared on TV game shows died Oct. 6 at 88.
• Dottie Grover: Syracuse’s famed baton girl died Oct. 10 at 90.
• Robert Forster: The veteran character actor who was nominated for an Oscar in “Jackie Brown” died Oct. 11 at 78.
• Elijah E. Cummings: Civil rights champion and longtime Congressman died Oct. 17 at 68.
• Bill Macy: The “Maude” actor died Oct. 17 at 97.
• John Conyers: Longest-serving black Congressman died Oct. 27 at 90.
• John Witherspoon: The actor-comedian known for roles in “Friday” and “The Wayans Bros.” died Oct. 29 at 77.

• Bernard Slade: Tony and Oscar-nominated “The Partridge Family” creator died Oct. 30 at 89.
• Walter Mercado: TV astrologer and Latin media icon died Nov. 2 at 88.
• Jack Morse: Longtime TV, radio and Syracuse Chiefs broadcaster died Nov. 13 at 84.
• Jake Burton Carpenter: The snowboarding visionary died Nov. 20 at 65.
• Irving Burgie: Composer who co-wrote Harry Belafonte’s hit “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” died Nov. 29 at 95.
• Shelley Morrison: ‘Will & Grace’ actress died Dec. 1 at 83.
• Jimmy Cavallo: Syracuse’s father of rock and roll died Dec. 2 at 92.
• Denise D’Ascenzo: Syracuse University alumna and former Syracuse TV broadcaster who was an anchor at Connecticut’s WFSB for 33 years died Dec. 7 at 61.
• Juice WRLD: The rising rapper who hit No. 1 with the Sting-sampling hit “Lucid Dreams” died Dec. 8 at 21, just months after he performed at the New York State Fair.

• René Auberjonois: “Benson,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “M.A.S.H.” actor died Dec. 8 at 79.
• Caroll Spinney: ‘Sesame Street’ puppeteer, who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for nearly 50 years, died Dec. 8 at 85.
• Pete Frates: The former college baseball player whose battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease helped inspire the ALS ice bucket challenge died Dec. 9 at 34.
• Marie Fredriksson: Roxette singer known for “The Look” and “It Must Have Been Love” died Dec. 9 at 61.
• Danny Aiello: Oscar-nominated character actor in “Do the Right Thing,” “Moonstruck” and “The Professional” died Dec. 12 at 86.
• Robert O’Connor Sr.: Syracuse Nationals car show founder died Dec. 13 at 75.
• Herman Boone: Virginia high school football coach who inspired the Denzel Washington movie “Remember the Titans” died Dec. 18 at 84.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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