Remembering the stars we lost in 2024

Best known for her role as Mrs. Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins, Glynis Johns was considered one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age Of Hollywood. Johns appeared in dozens of films starting in 1938, earning an Academy Award nomination for her role in 1961's The Sundowners. She went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for her role in 1963's The Chapman Report, and in 1998, she was deemed a “Disney Legend,” a hall of fame recognition from the studio.

On stage, Johns is best remembered for originating the role of Desirée Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim’s 1973 musical A Little Night Music. Johns received a Tony Award for her leading role. The song “Send In The Clowns”—quite possibly Sondheim’s best-known tune outside of theater circles—was written to suit Johns’ voice. “Glynis had a lovely, crystal voice, but sustaining notes was not her thing. I wanted to write short phrases, so I wrote a song full of questions,” Sondheim toldThe New York Timesin 2003. [Drew Gillis]

David Soul was born in Chicago in 1943 and began his career on stage, often performing songs in his persona as “The Covered Man”; he appeared in his mask multiple times on The Merv Griffin Show (per The Hollywood Reporter). After landing a contract with Columbia Pictures he began working in television, eventually landing the role of Joshua Bolt on the comedy Here Come The Brides. After working steadily through the late ’60s and early ’70s, he was cast by Clint Eastwood in the film Magnum Force (per Deadline).

In 1975, he was cast as Kenneth Hutchinson in Starsky & Hutch, which would become the defining role of his career. Playing opposite Paul Michael Glaser as Sergeant David Michael Starsky, Soul also had the opportunity to direct several episodes over the course of the series’ four seasons. (They would later appear together in a cameo in the 2004 Starsky & Hutch film starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.) [Mary Kate Carr]

Cindy Morgan has died. An actor best known for roles in iconic ’80s staples Caddyshack and Tron, Morgan’s career charted a surprisingly wide breadth of 1980s cultural touchstones, making her a convention circuit fixture for the rest of her life. Beyond those two films, the Chicago-born Morgan appeared in a number of other TV shows and movies, too, across a career that stretched all the way up to 2022. Per TMZ, which reported her death on Saturday afternoon, Morgan was 69. No cause of death has been reported.

Beyond Caddyshack and Tron, Morgan appeared with some regularity, mostly on TV, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most notably with a multi-episode run on prime time soap opera Falcon Crest. In interviews, meanwhile, she appeared eternally game to talk with, and about, the fans she’d picked up in both the comedy and sci-fi worlds (joking at one point that she was careful to keep her Tron and Caddyshack photos at opposite ends of her convention tables), and remained enthusiastic about those projects that had briefly made her a household face to millions of people. [William Hughes]

Adan Canto, the star of The Cleaning Lady and Designated Survivor, died last night. Per Deadline, the actor had appendiceal cancer, a diagnosis he kept private. He was 42.

‌Fox’s The Cleaning Lady made Canto a star in the United States. The thriller about a doctor who becomes a cleaning lady for the mob became an immediate hit on Fox, where Canto’s smoldering, soft-spoken charms earned a legion of new fans. He appeared in the first two seasons of Cleaning Lady and hoped to rejoin the show for season three before his health declined. [Matt Schimkowitz]

Tom Shales has died. As a professional TV critic for The Washington Post for more than 30 years, Shales was one of the leading voices in pop culture criticism in the 1980s, ’90s, and beyond, winning the Pulitzer Prize For Criticism in 1988 for his work. His death was made public on social media on Saturday by fellow author James Andrew Miller, with whom Shales wrote two books: Those Guys Have All The Fun, an oral history of ESPN published in 2011, and Live From New York, a massive 800-page oral history of Saturday Night Livethat still stands, more than 20 years later, as one of the definitive texts on the show’s history. Shales was 79. [William Hughes]

Lynne Marta, the actor known for roles in Footloose and Joe Kidd, has died, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Marta’s friend Chris Saint-Hilaire confirmed to the outlet that she had been battling cancer. She was 78 years old.

Born in New Jersey, Marta began her career as a teenager on the dance program The Lloyd Thaxton Show before appearing on ’60s series like Gidget and The Monkees, ultimately landing a recurring part on the anthology show Love, American Style. She would go on to have a prolific television career, with roles on Then Came Bronson, Dan August, Cannon, Mod Squad, The Rookies, The F.B.I., Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., Kojak, The Streets Of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, ChiPs, Matt Houston, Designing Women, Law & Order, The Young And The Restless, Crossing Jordan and ER. She also appeared on several episodes of Starsky And Hutch with her longtime romantic partner, the recently deceased David Soul. [Mary Kate Carr]

David Gail, the actor best known for roles on Beverly Hills, 90210and the soap opera Port Charles, has died, according to a social media post from his sister. No cause of death has been shared publicly. He was 58 years old.

Gail’s most prominent role came on the General Hospital spinoff Port Charles, where he replaced Michael Dietz as Dr. Joe Scanlon. He appeared on over 200 episodes of the show. He worked onscreen infrequently throughout the 2000s, with minor roles in the Bradley Cooper romantic comedy Bending All The Rules and Perfect Opposites starring Piper Perabo. [Mary Kate Carr]

Filmmaker Norman Jewison, who directed such varied projects as Moonstruck, Fiddler On The Roof, and In The Heat Of The Night, has died. Specific details have not been released, but The Hollywood Reporter says that Jewison died over the weekend at his home. He was 97.

Jewison never did win the Best Director Oscar, despite being nominated three times in three different decades—for Fiddler On The Roof in 1971 and Moonstruck in 1987, in addition to In The Heat Of The Night in 1967. Those three movies alone show how varied Jewison’s filmography was (and that’s without even mentioning stuff like Rollerball), and how good he was at getting good performances out of his actors. He also directed The Hurricane, A Soldier’s Story, F.I.S.T., Other People’s Money, and 2003’s The Statement (his final feature film). [Sam Barsanti]

Gary Graham, best known for his roles in multiple Star Trek titles as well as a starring role in Fox’s Alien Nation, has died. According to his wife, Becky Graham, Graham died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Spokane, Washington (via The Hollywood Reporter). Becky was by Graham’s side when he died, as confirmed in a Facebook message posted early Tuesday morning by his ex-wife Susan Lavelle. “Gary was funny, sarcastic sense of humor but kind, fought for what he believed in, a devout Christian and was so proud of his daughter, Haylee,” Lavella wrote. Graham was 73.

Graham also acted in a handful of well-known films, including playing a porn dealer in Paul Schrader’s Hardcore (1979) and Tom Cruise’s character’s older brother in All the Right Moves (1983). He also currently has four posthumous credits listed on IMDb: two shorts called The Sons Of Kirk and The Sons Of Kirk 2: Video 2, an appearance in a TV show called Manhattan Transfer, and a thriller called Recollection. [Emma Keates]

Herbert “Cowboy” Coward—known for his chilling role in John Boorman’s 1972 thriller Deliverance—has died. As reported by ABC News, Coward was killed in a car crash Wednesday afternoon in his home state of North Carolina, along with his girlfriend, Bertha Brooks, age 78, and two pets—a chihuahua and a squirrel. He was 85.

In Deliverance, Coward plays a toothless mountain man who stages a brutal assault on another character in the film. He performed all his own stunts for the movie, including being lowered from a cliff into a river, and was well known for his oft-repeated line, “He got a real purty mouth, ain’t he?” He also appeared in Ghost Town: The Movie (2007) and a series called Hillbilly Blood in 2013. [Emma Keates]

Chita Rivera, the legendary stage and screen actress with a career spanning seven decades, has died. She was 91 years old. According to Deadline, Rivera’s daughter confirmed that the performer died after a brief illness.

Rivera was born in 1933 in Washington, D.C. She began her career at just 18, when she successfully auditioned for a touring production of Call Me Madam. Roles on Broadway in Guys And Dolls and Can-Can soon followed before she landed the role of Anita in West Side Story, which would become her big break. Three years later, she originated the role of Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie. Her appearance in the 1969 film version of Sweet Charity would mark the beginning of her professional relationship with Fosse, who went on to direct and choreograph the original production of Chicago. [Drew Gillis]

Carl Weathers, best known for his role as Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise, has died, according to Deadline. No cause of death has yet been reported. He was 76 years old.

“Even though I played football in college—that was on scholarship to San Diego State—I was a theater major. I always wanted to be an actor even from when I was a young kid. I loved movies—grew up watching movies. So making the transition was, in a way, truly out of ignorance,” he recalled of starting his career in conversation with The A.V. Club. “I never really had a clue of the challenges of ‘making it in Hollywood,’ so to speak. I came here expecting to make it, not thinking it was going to be a very tough transition at all. And I was just very fortunate that, within six months of arriving, I was working.”

Of the shift in his career from serious dramas to wacky comedies to big franchises, “I’ve done some strange, off-center stuff,” the actor said with a laugh. “It’s been a varied road I’ve walked on.” [Mary Kate Carr]

Toby Keith, the country music superstar behind hits like “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” and “As Good As I Once Was,” has died, according to a statement on social media. The news comes 18 months after Keith revealed he had been battling stomach cancer, and three years after his diagnosis. He was 62 years old.

A prolific songwriter, Keith was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was named Artist of the Decade at the American Country Awards in 2011, and Billboard’s top country artist and songwriter of the 2000s. Among other accolades, the Academy of Country Music awarded him the Merle Haggard Spirit Award in 2020. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2021, he continued to work and perform, most recently appearing on the People’s Choice Country Awards and performing several shows in Las Vegas in December 2023. His final album, 100% Songwriter, was released in November of that year. [Mary Kate Carr]

Mojo Nixon—the incisive singer, actor, and DJ behind satirical cult hits like “Elvis Is Everywhere” and “Destroy All Lawyers”—died of a “cardiac event” onboard a country cruise he was co-hosting on Wednesday. “How you live is how you should die,” the Facebook page for his 2020 documentary, The Mojo Manifesto, posted last Wednesday night. “Passing after a blazing show, a raging night, closing the bar, taking no prisoners + a good breakfast with bandmates and friends. A cardiac event on the Outlaw Country Cruise is about right… & that’s just how he did it.” Nixon was 66.

Nixon went on to release five solo albums, three albums with a new band, the Toadliquors, a live album, and a soundtrack for the video game “Redneck Rampage.” He also waded into acting with roles in the 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls Of Fire, the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. film, and 1994's Car 54, Where Are You?. Later in life, he took up DJing with some local gigs and eventually a regular spot on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel where he went by the name “the Loon in the Afternoon.” [Emma Keates]

Tony Ganios—the actor best known for playing Meat in the ‘80s sex comedy series Porky’s—died Sunday following surgery for a spinal infection in a New York City hospital, according to People. He was 64.

After The Wanderers, Ganios went on to star in three films in 1981 alone—Back Roads, Continental Divide, and Porky’s. In the latter and most famous, a film about a group of high school boys who try to exact revenge on a strip club owner. Ganios played fan-favorite character Anthony “Meat” Tuperello. While critically panned, the film went on to become the sixth highest-grossing movie of 1982 (via Variety) and generated two sequels in 1983 and 1985, which also featured Ganios. [Emma Keates]

Ewen MacIntosh—best known for his role as “Big Keith” in the original, U.K. version of The Office—has died. In a statement confirming the news (via Sky News), MacIntosh’s management company wrote that “Ewen was a wonderful actor and an even better human being” who “touched the lives of all who came into contact with him.” He was 50.

Originally hailing from Wales, MacIntosh appeared in a variety of roles throughout his career, from Little Britain to After Life and even a small part in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster. His breakout and best-known role, however, occurred in Ricky Gervais’ landmark comedy The Office, in which he played Keith from the accounting department. Known for his deadpan delivery, MacIntosh’s character became a quick fan favorite. It’s not hard to see why in scenes like the below, where Keith shares his strengths and weaknesses in a performance review (accounting and eczema respectively). [Emma Keates]

Pamela Salem, the actor best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again, has died. Her death was confirmed by Big Finish, the company with whom she had worked on several audio productions. She was 80 years old.

In 1983, she starred as Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again alongside Sean Connery, who reportedly recommended her for the role after working with her on The Great Train Robbery. She also appeared alongside Ian McKellen in the 1998 film Gods And Monsters. In recent years, Salem reprised her Doctor Who roles in the Big Finish audio series The Robots and Counter-Measures. [Mary Kate Carr]

Kenneth Mitchell, a character actor with 20 years of experience in TV, has died from complications related to ALS. The news was confirmed by Mitchell’s family, who posted a tribute to him on Instagram that points out that he played “an Olympic hopeful, an apoaclypse survivor, an astronaut, a superhero’s dad, and four unique Star Trekkers,” but that, more than anything, he was “a proud father.” The post also says that “he lived by the principles that each day is a gift and that we never walk alone” and that he “managed to rise above” the “awful challenges” he faced from ALS “with grace and commitment to living a full and joyous life in each moment.” The post also includes a piece written by Mitchell himself about his hope for the world after his death. Mitchell was 49. [Sam Barsanti]

Chris Gauthier, an actor known for his work on Eureka and Once Upon A Time, has died, according to Variety. The cause of death was reportedly an “unspecified short illness.” He was 48 years old.

Gauthier first appeared on screen in 2000 and had roles in films like 40 Days And 40 Nights, Agent Cody Banks, Watchmen, and Freddy Vs. Jason. He had a prolific television career with guest spots on shows like Dead Like Me, Kyle XY, Psych, iZombie, A Series Of Unfortunate Events, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow, and more. He also frequently worked with the Hallmark Channel, most recently in films including Ms. Christmas Comes To Town and Three Wise Men And A Baby. [Mary Kate Carr]

Charles Dierkop, a prolific character actor who dozens of credits in the ‘60s and ‘70s alone (including appearances in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Sting, and as a series regular on Police Woman), has died. This comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which says Dierkop’s daughter confirmed that he died this weekend after a “recent heart attack and bout with pneumonia.” Dierkop was 87.

Dierkop reunited with Newman on Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid—the THR obit mentions that he got the role after his agent saw that there was a character named “Flat Nose Curry” in the script and he knew that Dierkop, with his distinctive nose, would be perfect. A few years after that, Dierkop worked with Newman and Butch Cassidy director George Roy Hill again on The Sting. [Sam Barsanti]

Actor Buddy Duress (born Michael C. Stathis), a frequent collaborator with the Safdie brothers who appeared in Heaven Knows What, Good Time, and Funny Pages, has died. Speaking with People, his brother Christopher Stathis revealed that Duress died of “cardiac arrest from a drug cocktail” in November. Duress was 38.

Duress later had a cameo in the Safdie-produced Funny Pages, but as laid out by People, he still had his troubles with the police. He went back to Rikers in 2019 on charges of grand larceny, then again for threatening to burn his mother’s house down, then again “for charges of menacing and criminal possession of brass knuckles and a controlled substance.” That happened while he was filming director Cameron Van Hoy’s Flinch, with Van Hoy telling People that Duress was “pure electricity on screen” and that he “was a kind person who loved making films.” He’ll be seen in his final film, Mass State Lottery, later this year, with director Jay Karales saying he was a “once in a lifetime charismatic actor.” [Sam Barsanti]

Richard Lewis, the surly staple of the American stand-up comedian scene and an actor known for his 20-year-long role as Larry David’s best friend on Curb Your Enthusiasm, died of a heart attack last night at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist Jeff Abraham confirmed to Deadline. He was 76 years old.

Lewis was, above all else, one of the most self-deprecating and neurotic stand-ups in mainstream comedy. Often seen gesticulating wildly on stage as he delivered a motor-mouthed recollection of a failed sexual experience, Lewis was a comic’s comic who appealed to mass audiences and turned his shortcomings into comedy with theretofore unspeakable frankness. Hunched over, running his fingers through his voluminous black mane and neurotically scratching and rubbing his forehead, Lewis offered angst-ridden musings on modern life and self-absorbed reflections on his failings. His ability to connect with an audience, playing the role of an overexplaining chum, remained one of his signatures across his astonishing 50-year career, like listening to a self-loathing sibling describe every minor difficulty that stood between him and the task at hand. [Matt Schimkowitz]