It has been a tough year for all of us with more uncertainty and evil than in a very long time. Many have fled into sports, entertainment and art to escape the flow of negative news.
We have some hope for a better 2026
Many greats have passed away in the year that is about to end.
Les: Gets 500 million dollars in “Christmas present” to make Manchester United champion
These celebrities from film, television, music, and literature are the ones we lost in the year that is soon ending.
On Boxing Day, the news came that Perry Bamonte, best known as guitarist and keyboardist for the British band The Cure, has died at the age of 65.
Sam Moore – one half of the duo Sam & Dave, known for songs like “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin'” – died at the age of 89.
Wayne Osmond, singer and guitarist in the Mormon family band The Osmonds, passed away at the age of 73.
Garth Hudson, the keyboard wizard who was the last surviving member of the legends in The Band, died at the age of 87.
Marianne Faithfull, singer, songwriter, actress – and former girlfriend of Mick Jagger in the 1960s, died at the age of 78.
David Johansen, frontman of the punk legends New York Dolls, who performed, among other places, at Notodden, died at the age of 75 from brain cancer.
Gene Hackman (95) was found dead in his home along with his wife Betsy Arakawa (63) and their dog. He won two Oscars and starred in films such as “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Mississippi Burning,” and “The French Connection.”
Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, known from “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” was found dead at the age of 39.
Carl Dean – husband of country icon Dolly Parton for 58 years – passed away at the age of 82. “Words cannot do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,” she wrote in her tribute.
Val Kilmer, known from films like “Top Gun,” “Batman Forever,” “The Doors,” and “Heat,” died of pneumonia at the age of 65 after having had throat cancer. His last film was “Top Gun: Maverick” from 2022, in which he returned to his old role as Iceman.
Jean Marsh – who co-created “Upstairs, Downstairs” and herself played the housemaid Rose – died at the age of 90.
Clem Burke, the drummer of Blondie, died at the age of 70 from cancer.
George Wendt, best known for his role as the character Norm in “Cheers,” which earned him 6 Emmy nominations, died of heart failure at the age of 76.
Funk legend Sylvester Stewart – better known as frontman Sly Stone of the group Sly and the Family Stone – died at the age of 82.
Author Frederick Forsyth, who wrote, among other works, “The Day of the Jackal” and “The Odessa File,” both adapted into films, died at the age of 86.
Actor Michael Madsen – known from Tarantino films like “Reservoir Dogs,” “Kill Bill,” and “The Hateful Eight” – died at the age of 67.
The same month, professional wrestler and reality TV star Hulk Hogan died at the age of 71.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, known for playing the son in the TV series “The Cosby Show” in the 1980s, drowned while on vacation at the age of 54.
Country star Connie Francis died at the age of 87 – just months after her 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” went viral.
Loni Anderson died just days before her 80th birthday. She is best known from the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” in the early 1980s – and for being married to Burt Reynolds.
Recently departed Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 51.
Claudia Cardinale, the Italian actress from a strong trio of 1960s films – Federico Fellini’s “8 ½,” Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West,” and the Peter Sellers comedy “The Pink Panther” – died at the age of 87.
Supertramp vocalist and songwriter Rick Davies passed away at the age of 81.
Fashion designer Giorgio Armani passed away at the age of 91. He ran his fashion house, known for a modern, minimalist, and elegant style, until the end.
The four-time Grammy-winning soul legend D’Angelo passed away at the age of 51 from pancreatic cancer.
Diane Keaton, Oscar-winning star from, among many others, numerous Woody Allen films, died at the age of 79 from pneumonia.
Many will likely remember the British actress Prunella Scales best as Sybil Fawlty, the unflappable wife of John Cleese’s mad hotel owner in “Fawlty Towers.” She was 93 years old.
Patricia Routledge, known from “Keeping Up Appearances” as Hyacinth – “it’s pronounced Bouquet” – Bucket, passed away at the age of 96.
“Lassie” star June Lockhart died at the age of 100.
Electronic music pioneer Dave Ball, producer and instrumentalist in the group Soft Cell, died at the age of 66.
Limp Bizkit bassist Sam Rivers was found dead in the bathroom at the age of 48. Grieving bandmates called him “the pulse in every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound.”
American singer-songwriter Todd Snider, known for songs like “Alright Guy,” died at the age of 59.
Actress Diane Ladd, known from films like “Rambling Rose,” “Wild at Heart,” and Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” passed away at the age of 89.
Author and playwright Tom Stoppard, who won an Oscar for the screenplay of the 1998 film “Shakespeare in Love,” died at the age of 88.
German film legend Udo Kier, known among other roles from Lars von Trier’s “The Kingdom,” “Dogville,” and “Nymphomaniac” as well as Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho,” died at the age of 81.
Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield died at the age of 63.
Raul Malo, who fronted The Mavericks with his Latin-inspired country-rock, died at the age of 60 from cancer. The band won a Grammy and performed several times in Norway.
Director and actor Rob Reiner, 78, was found murdered along with his wife Michele Singer Reiner (68). He was behind films such as “Stand by Me,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and “A Few Good Men.”
British musician Chris Rea (74) died just before Christmas after a short illness. As a guitarist, songwriter, and singer, he sold over 40 million albums since his debut in 1978. For many, he is perhaps best known for the legendary Christmas hit “Driving Home for Christmas.”
Legendary filmmaker David Lynch died at the age of 78. He created the TV series “Twin Peaks” and films like “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet,” and “Mulholland Drive” – all characterized by a dark and surreal style.
Roberta Flack, who sang her way to fame with songs like “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” passed away at the age of 88 after living with ALS since 2022.
Richard Chamberlain, known from films and TV series such as “Dr. Kildare,” “The Thorn Birds,” “Centennial,” and “Shōgun,” passed away at the age of 90.
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, Peru’s most famous author, died at the age of 89. He was also one of Latin America’s most acclaimed writers and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010.
Loretta Swit – forever famous for her role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in “MAS*H” – died at the age of 87.
Pop pioneer Brian Wilson, who helped found The Beach Boys, passed away at the age of 82.
A greatly diminished Ozzy Osbourne (76) performed his farewell concert sitting down at Villa Park, surrounded by a host of other rock legends who wanted to honor him – and died 17 days later.
Terence Stamp, who among other roles played Superman’s archenemy Zod in the first two “Superman” films, died at the age of 87.
Acting legend Robert Redford, known from films like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting,” and “All the President’s Men,” died at the age of 89. He also founded the Sundance Film Festival.
Ace Frehley, one of the founders of Kiss, passed away at the age of 74 after a brain hemorrhage.
Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, known for songs like “I Can See Clearly Now,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” and “The Harder They Come,” died at the age of 81.
Guitar hero Steve “The Colonel” Cropper from the legendary bands Booker T & The MGs and The Blues Brothers Band died at the age of 84.
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