The Ghoul Pool: 2020 Deaths in Movies, Stage, & Television

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

— B —
Bobbie Batista (age 67) - Battista began her career in radio, quickly moving to television with a Raleight (NC) station, where her team won a 1981 Peabody Award. She was one of the original anchors pn CNN's Headline News, moving to the network's main channel in 1988. Her career with CNN ended soon after the merger of the parent company, Time-Warner, with AOL. Battista died of cervical cancer March 3, 2020.

Orson Bean(age 91) - Bean was best known as a comedian and actor with a long career in film and televsion. He had small parts in several films plus an Oscar nomination for Subways are for Sleeping (1962), and made many television appearances as a comedic guest. He was a favorite of late-night elevision hosts, and held down a slot in long-running syndicated game shows such as "To Tell the Truth." Bean was struck by a hit-and-run driver on February 7, 2020, and killed by a second collision.

Honor Blackman (age 94) - Although the British know Blackman for her starring role in their version of "The Avengers," any man who came of age in the early 1960s will remember her as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger opposite Sean Connery in the role of James Bond. Blackman was also a singer who released several records in the UK. She died April 5, 2020.

Mark Blum (age 69) - Blum acted in all three media, especially in film and television. His face is familiar to television viewers for a wide variety of guest appearances, as well as a recurring part in "Mozart in the Jungle." On the big screen, he appeared in Desperately Seeking Susan and Crocodile Dundee. He was well-known for acting off-Broadway for decades. Blum died of COVID-19 on March 26, 2020.

Timothy Brown (age 82) - Brown was an NFL running back for the Eagles and Colts, three times a Pro-Bowler After retirement, he embarked on an acting career, where he held such roles as "Spearchucker" Jones in the film and television version of M*A*S*H and Nashville. He also recorded several record albums under the nickname Timmy Brown. He succumbed to dementia on April 4, 2020.

Jack Burns (age 86) - An actor, writer, and director; Burns began his career as part of a comedy duo with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. On television, he was cast as the equally bumbling replacement for Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show." He made guest appearances on a number of television shows, hosted an early "SNL," and received Emmy nominations for his work as writer for "The Muppet Show." Burns died January 28, 2020.

Edd Byrnes (age 87) - Byrnes was the essence of beat-era hipster in his role as "Kookie" Kookson, sidekick to Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in "77 Sunset Strip." Byrnes himself invented the character's trademark greasy pompadour and frequent applications of his comb. After the show's six-year run, he went on the guest-appearance circuit, appearing in such shows as "Love, American Style" and "Mannix." Byrnes died January 8, 2019.

Diana Serra Cary (age 101) - Cary was the last surviving star from the silent film era, when she appeared in more than 20 films as "Baby Peggy" or "The Million-Dollar Baby." As a toddler, Cary sometimes worked fifty-hour weeks on the stage and performed her own stunts. She was the victim of a "stage father," which essentially black-listed her at the age of seven, She made few film appearances afterwards, and spent most of her ensuing career in vaudeville before leaving show business. Cary died February 24, 2020.

Lynn Cohen (age 86) - Cohen began her career on the stage in the 1970s, and transitioned to film and television two decades later. She made many guest appearances and had a recurring role in the televisions series and movie Sex and the City. One recurring role was that of a judge in the "Law & Order" home franchise. She also appeared in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Cohen died February 14, 2020.

Robert Conrad (age 84) - Conrad, a lead actor in a number of television shows, may have been best known for almost being killed during a stunt on the set of "The Wild Wild West" in 1969. IN addition to his role as Jim West, he also starred in "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Hawaiian Eye." He was also a musician, producer, and director; collecting a People's Choice Award as favorite male performer in 1977. Conrad died of heart failure on February 8, 2020.

Mart Crowley (age 84) - Crowley was a playwright whose best-known work was 1968's The Boys in the Band, which ran off-Broadway for some three years and was adapted for film in 1970. He ealso worked in television, scripting the series "Hart to Hart" and writing the plays People Like Us and adapting the book There Must be a Pony. Crowley passed away March 7, 2020, after a heart attack.

Jason Davis (age 35) - Davis was a child actor who had a small number of roles as an adult. He may be best known as the voice of the recurring character Mikey Blumberg in the animated film series Recess. Davis was the grandson of millionaire Marvin Davis, who at one time owned 20th Century Fox. He died February 16, 2020.

Brian Dennehy (age 81) - Dennehy was a star of both the large and smaall screens and the stage as well in a career that spanned 40 years. He was twice a Tony Award Winner, a SAG Award winner, and a Golden Globe winner; along with multiple Emmy nominations. Among his best-known roles are Harrison in The Man from Snowy River and guest roles on numerous television dramas and comedies. Dennehy died April 15, 2020, from sepsis after a heart attack.

Malcolm Dixon (age 66) - The four-foot-one Dixon carved out a career as an actor, appearing in many films and televisions shows. He once appeared as one of Snow White's dwarfs (Sleepy, if you're interested) and more recently played an Ewok in Return of the Jedi. He appeared in other Steve Lucas films as well, including Labyrinth and Willow. For three years, he played the role of Bilbo in a stage production of The Hobbit. Dixon's death was announced on April 9, 2020.

Kirk Douglas (age 103) - Ever identifiable by his cleft chin, Kirk Douglas was a Hollywood icon with a career that stretched across seven decades. Douglas earned his first of three Oscar nominations in 1950, finally picking up a lifetime award in 1996. He was a Kennedy Center honoree (1994) and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom (1981). His son Michael followed him into the business. Douglas also published several novels and directed multiple films. He passed away February 5, 2020.

Shirley Douglas (age 86) - Douglas was an actor and a political activist in the United States and her native Canada. She appeared in more then ten films between 1955 and 2000, and made many television appearances, in particular as a voice actor. DOuglas was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. The mother of Kiefer Sutherland died April 5, 2020, of pneumonia.

Hugh Downs (age 99) - Downs began his career so long ago that he started in radio, an announcer at a staion in Lima, Ohio (home of the "Glee" kids). His first TV appearance was in - get this - 1945. He hosted the game show "Concentration, announced from a variety of shows, and hosted "Good Morning America for almost a decade. At one time he held the record for most hours appearing on television. Downs died July 1, 2020.

James Drury (age 85) - The handsome Irish-American Drury is probably best known for his lead role in "The Virginian," which ran from 1962-1971. He appeared as a guest in many television shows of the '60s and '70s, as well as making appearances in films. He was the 1995 winner of The Golden Boot Award. Drury died April 6, 2020.

Ja'net DuBois (age 82?) - Born Jeannette Dubois some time between 1932 and 1945 and somewhere on the U. S. east coast, DuBois was a stage actress before being approached by Norman Lear to play the role of Mama Evans' best friend on the television show "Good Times." She had several other telvision and film roles, and played Janet Jackson's mother in a music video and Momma Bosley in Charlie's Angels:Full Throttle. She also is credited with writing and performing the theme song for "The Jeffersons." DuBois won two Emmy Awards and a TVLand Image Award. She died February 17, 2020.

William Dufris (age 62) - Dufris made a name for himself as a voice actor and narrator of audio books. He was nominated a dozen times for an Audie Award, winning once in 2012 for his reading of Paul Collins' The Murder of the Century. Dufris also voiced the title character of "Bob the Builder" dubbed to American English. Dufris died of cancer March 24, 2020.

Marj Dusay (age 83) - Dusay broke into film in 1967 with a walk-on in an Elvis Presley movie, and spent most of the next 40 years in and out of soap operas, especially "The Guiding Light." She made many guest appearances in television and played the wife of the title character in MacArthur. Dusay passed away January 28, 2020.

Harriet Frank (age 97) - Frank and her husband, Irving Ravetch, were a screenwriting team who brought many projects to the silver screen. One of their earliest successes was the Paul Newman vehicle Hud (1963), for which they collaborated with director Martin Ritt. The trio met success with other films, including Norma Rae and Murphy's Romance; gaining Oscar nominations for two of the films. Frank died January 28, 2020.

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— G —
Allen Garfield (age 80) - Garfield's IMDB credits run to more than 100 film and television roles, often typecast as villain, sometimes reluctant and sometimes evil. He played police chief Harold Lutz in Beverly Hills Cop II, for instance. Garfield had been confined to a treatment home since having a massive stroke in 2004. He succumbed to COVID-19 infection on April 7, 2020.

Phyllis George (age 70) George's chief claim to fame is probably being one of the first female sport hosts on a national television show, an honor bestowed on the former Miss America (1971) when she began co-hostint the GBS pregame show for NFL football in 1975. She also hosted the SBS Morning News for three years and was the First Lady of Kentucky when her husband, John Y. Brown, was elected. George died of complications of a blood disease on May 14, 2020.

Wendell Goler (age 70) - Goler had a fourteen-year career with the Fox News Channel beginning with day one of its broadcasting. He began as a White House correspondent, much as he had acted for AP in his previous job, moving to a supervisory position in the Washington bureau in 2011. He retired in 2014. Goler died March 3,2020.

Stuart Gordon (age 72) - Gordon was a screenwriter and director, primarily of horror films. He and several different co-writers adapted a number of H. P. Lovecrafts's works for both the large and small screens. He may be best known for his 1985 work, Re-Animator, and a "Masters of Horror" installment titled "Dreams in the Witch House"; both based on Lovecraft. Gordon died March 25, 2020.

Buck Henry (age 89) - Henry's career in television comedy spanned six decades, both as a writer-producer and an actor. He Developed and wrote for "Get Smart" and was a regular host of "Saturday Night Live" in the late 1970s (when it was funny). On the big screen he appeared in The Graduate as well as received an Oscar nomination for co-writing the script, and was also nominated for a directing Oscar for Heaven Can Wait. Henry died January 8, 2019.

Richard Herd (age 87) - Herd's face is familiar to both film and television viewers from more than forty years in show business. Among his many film appearances were roles in All the President's Men and Dog Days of Summer. On the small screen, Herd played a police captain in "T. J. Hooker" and made multiple appearances in "Seinfeld" and "Star Trek Voyager." Herd died of cancer on May 26, 2020.

Dan Hicks (age 68) - Primarily known for his appearances in horror films, Hicks spent thirty years in Hollywood. He broke into the biz in 1987's Evil Dead II and speared in thirty-plus other films up to 2019's The Blood Hunter. Hicks revealed that he had stage 4 cancer on June 5, 2020, and died on June 30, 2020.

Sir Ian Holm (age 88) - Holm was a Tony-winning (1967, The Homecoming) British actor who also made numerous film appearances. He was a BAFTA winner and an Oscar nominee for his role in Chariots of Fire. More recently, be played the role of "older" Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Holm died June 19, 2020, of complications of Parkinson's Disease.

Silvio Horta (age 45) - The Miami-born Horta was a screenwriter and television producer, including the development of three television series. The best-known of the three was Horta's adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Betty la Fea, which ran four seasons as "Ugly Betty." Horta received a Golden Globe in 2007. He wasfound dead in a hotel room on January 7, 2020, of an apparent suicide.

Paula Kelly (age 76) - Kelly had a long career in both film and television, especially appearances that used her training as a dancer. She sometimes doubled as a choreographer for television specials in which she appeared. Most of her television appearances were as guest stars, but she was a regular on the first season of "Night Court" and in the soap opera "Santa Barbara." Kelly died February 9, 2020.

Brndis Kemp (76) - Kemp was a character actress in films and television in addition to her stage appearances. Her longest-running roles were the part of Alma on "AfterMASH" and as a member of the ensemble cast on ABC's version of SNL, "Fridays." She made multiple guest appearances as well, and had small parts in many films. Kemp succumbed to COVID-19 and brain cancer on July 4, 2020.

Stan Kirsch (age 51) - Best-known for his role of Richie Ryan, Duncan McLeod's buddy and semi-apprentice in "Highlander: The Series," Kirsch also made guest appearances in a wide variety of television shows and films. He also wrote and produced screenplays with his own company, Stan Kirsch Studios. Kirsch was found dead of suicide on January 11, 2019.

Shirley Knight (age 83) - Knight was a triple-threat actress, appearing on noth the large and small screens and on the Broadway stage. She was a two-time Oscar nominee in the early 1960s, picked up a Tony in 1976, and accumulated a number of Emmy awards for guest stints on television. Her career stretched from the mid-1950s to 2018. She passed away April 22, 2020.

Jim Lehrer (age 85) - Lehrer's career began in Dallas, where he covered the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 for the Dallas Morning News. He moved to television, where he soon became a correspondent for the "Robert MacNeil Report," eventually joining MacNeil as co-anchor of the "MacNeil/Lehrer Report" on PBS. His public television career lasted until 2011, when he stepped down as anchor of the "PBS News Hour," although he still contributed pieces. He won multiple Emmy awards and a Peabody award, and is a member of the Television Hall of Fame. Lehrer passed away January 23, 2020.

Tom Lester (age 81) - Forever typecast as the hayseed sidekick, Lester's career stalled after he played Eb Dawson in "Green Acres" and two other shows of the era. He had occasional guest appearances up until 2009, but concentrated on farming in his native Mississippi and Christian motivational speaking. Lester died of Parkinson's Disease on April 20,2020.

Margo Lion (age 75) - Lion was a producer of on- and off-Broadway plays. Her best-known production is probably Hairspray, which collected eight Tony Awards in 2003. In all, her productions won more than twenty Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize. Lion suffered a brain aneurysm and died on January 24, 2020.

James Lipton (age 93) - Lipton wore many hats in the entertainment business — writer, actor, producer, lyricist, acting teacher — but he will be remembered most for his long-running Bravo series, "Inside the Actor's Studio." He was nominated for an Emmy 20 times, winning in 2013 for his Bravo show. He wrote for television, beginning in 1952 as head writer on the daytime soap opera "The Guiding Light," and published a novel (Mirrors) and a non-fiction book about collective nouns (An Exaltation of Larks). Lipton passed away March 2, 2020, of bladder cancer.

Sam Lloyd (age 56) - Lloyd's acting career was capped by a recurring role as the lawyer Ted Buckland in the sitcom "Scrubs," but he had dozens of other credits on the small screen as well as appearances on the silver screen in films like Flubber and Galaxy Quest. Lloyd, the nephew of Christopher Lloyd, also played in a Beatles cover band called the Blanks. Lloyd died of metastatic lung cancer on April 30, 2020.

Terrence McNally (age 81) - McNally was a playwright and screenwriter, and a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. His best-known works include Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime, both of which won him Tony Awards. He also received the Emmy and Obie Awards in his long career. McNally died after contracting COVID-19 on March 24, 2020.

Thomas L. Miller (age 79) - Along with his partner Robert Boyett, Miller was a principal partner in the prolific Miller-Boyett Production company, which he founded in 1969 as Miller-Milkis. The company produced dozens of televisions shows, mainly sitcoms, as well as theatrical releases. Among its products were such comedies as "Good Times," "Bosom Buddies" (which launched Tom Hanks' career) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The company ceased operation in 1999. Miller died April 5, 2020, of heart disease.

Jane Millmore (age 64) - Wyoming native Jane Millmore was an actor, producer, and writer. In addition to producing such shows as "Newhart" and "Anything but Love," Millmore published more than twenty plays with frequent partner Billy Van Zandt. She was nominated for an Emmy for a special about Lucille Ball. Millmore died of pancreatic cancer February 4, 2020.

Kellye Nakahara (age 73) - Nakahara's most familiar acting role was that of Nurse Kellye, for which she appeared in more than 150 episodes of "M*A*S*H." She had a few other roles in television and film, eventually retiring after an appearance in 2000 to return to art, her original field of study. She was a successful watercolorist under her married name, Kellye Wallett. Nakahara died February 16, 2020, of cancer.

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— P —
Earl Pomerantz (age 75) - Pomerantz was a comedy writer with a long list of credits on television sitcoms. Among his many writing credits are episodes of such standards and "Cheers," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Cosby Show," and televisions specials. Pomerantz collected two Primetime Emmy awards and a Humanitas Award for his work over a forty-year career. He died March 7, 2020.

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— R —

Kevin Rafferty (age 73) - Rafferty was a cinematographer and director of documentary films, among them The Atomic Cafe (1992) and Blood in the Face (1991). Michael Moore credits Rafferty with teaching him the art of documentary during the filming of Roger and Me, for which Rafferty was cinematographer. Strangely enough, he was a cousin of President George W. Bush. Rafferty died of cancer July 2, 2020.

Carl Reiner (age 98) - Reiner was a fixture in television and movies from the '50s up to his last years. He is known for his many comedy roles, including Dick van Dyke's boss, Alan Brady, on his eponymous show. He made hundreds of other appearances in television and films. His late wife, Estelle, had a cameo appearance in When Harry Met Sally, directed by their son, Rob, in which she delivered the iconic line, "I'll have what she's having." Reiner died June 29, 2020.

Gene Reynolds (age 96) - Reynolds was first an actor in film and, later, on television; before turning to directing and producing in the late 1950s. His most successful efforts were the TCV series "M*A*S*H" and "Lou Grant," both considered exampled of the "golden age of television." He was nominated for prime time Emmy awards more than twenty times and won six. Reynolds died of heart failure on February 3, 2020.

Naya Rivera (age 33) - Rivera was an actress and singer, best-known for her role as snarky cheerleader Santana Lopez in the television series "Glee," although she also had a role in the show "The Royal Family" as a pre-teen. After the show closed, she had a brief career as a singer. Rivera was reported missing from a boat in Ventura County, California, on July 8, 2020. Her body was located July 13; her death ruled an accidental drowning.

David Schramm (age 73) - Kentucky native Schramm is perhaps best known as curmudgeonly airline owner Roy Biggins on the sitcom "Wings," but also made other appearances both in comedy and drama. When "Wings" was canceled, Schramm returned to the stage and appeared in such plays as Finian's Rainbow and Waiting for Godot. Schramm died March 28, 2020.

Esther Scott (age 66) - Scott was an actress and voice actress with a long list of film credits as well as some television work. She played the housekeeper, Gladys, in the one-season "Geena Davis Show," phad a recurring rols in Hart of Dixie," and voiced an Ewok in the animated "Star Wars: Ewoks." On the big screen, Scott appeared in Boyz 'n' the Hood and Transformers, among other roles. She passed away February 14, 2020.

Lynn Shelton (age 54) - Shelton came late to her career as a film director after a decade or more of other jobs in the industry, including editor. After her first feature film, We Go Way Back, won critical acclaim, Shelton directed a number of independent and art house films including Sword of Trust (2109) and Outside In (2017). She also directed episode of TV shows. Shelton died of a blood disorder on May 16, 2020.

Fred Silverman (age 82) - Silverman spent his entire career in television, beginning with an MA thesis that analyzed ABC's programming. He rose to a VP at CBS, then vaulted to head of programming. He introduced such shows as "All in the Family" and the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" before jumping to ABC, where he greenlighted "Three's Company" and "Charlie's Angels," earning the ire of those opposed to jiggle TV. Beginning in 1978, he headed NBC, where he introduced "Hill Street Blues" and "Cheers." Silverman died of cancer January 30, 2020.

Jerry Stiller (age 92) - Stiller's fame is cross-generational, as he is best known to those of his generation as half of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara, but is far more familiar to later generations as a character on the television comedies "Seinfeld" and "King of Queens." A quintessentially Jewish comedian from the 1950s, Stiller parlayed an obnoxious stage personality into roles beloved of a certain demographic. The three-time Emmy nominee was also the father of "comedic actor" Ben Stiller, and shares a Hollywood Walk of Fame star with his late wife, Anne Meara. Stiller died May 11, 2020.

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— V —
Jack Van Impe (age 88) - Van Impe broadcast a Christian evangelical program from his home base in the Detroit area every week for decades. Sometimes known as "The Walking Bible," Van Impe had memorized great swathes of scripture. He and his wife, Rexella, once received the "Ig Nobel Prize in Astrophysics" for their revelation that black holes are the likely location of Hell. Van Impe died January 18, 2020.

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— W —

Lyle Waggoner (age 84) - The hunky Waggoner carved out a career in light television and comedy, most famously on the TV version of "Wonder Woman" and as third (or fourth) banana on "THe Carol Burnett Show." He is also known for having been the nude centerfold in the first issue of Playgirl in 1973. Waggoner died March 17, 2020.

Cheryl Wheeler-Dixon (age 59) - Wheeler-Dixon spent more then thirty years in the film industry as a stunt double and martial-arts trainer, appearing in films including Back to the Future and Charlie's Angels. She trained actors for action movies, including Rene Russo for the Lethal Weapons franchises. Wheeler-Dixon and her husband were killed in a shootout with her ex-husband on February 12, 2020.

Stuart Whitman (age 92) - After leaving the Army, Whitman studied acting and picked up small roles in Hollywood. He began picking up leading roles in the late 1950s, and starred in such films as The Comancheros and Cimarron Strip. On the small screen, he played Johnathan Kent on "Superboy." He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, won a Golden Boot Award, and was nominated for an Oscar. Whitman succumbed to skin cancer on March 16, 2020.

Fred Willard (age 86) - Willard had a long and funny career as an actor, mostly on the small screen; however his most enduring roles came in Christopher Guest's "mocumentaries" such as This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. On television, he appeared in "Fernwood 2 Night" and multiple episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Roseanne," among hundreds of roles. Willard was nominated for an Emmy four times and won an American Comedy Award (2001). He died May 15, 2020.

Logan Williams (age 16) - The Canadian-born Williams was a child actor who began acting at age ten. He made appearances in several television series, including "Supernatural," "When Calls the Heart," and "The Flash." In that last he played the title character as a young child. Williams died of unknown causes April 2, 2020.

David Wise (age 65) - Considered a child prodigy for his pre-teen experiments with animation, Wise segued into writing beginning with the animated "Star Trek" series at age 16. He wrote SF stories for anthologies and television scripts for such series as "Wonder Woman." In later life, he developed and/or wrote several animated series, most notably the animated versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers. Wise died of lung cancer March 3, 2020.

The Ghoul Pool

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

2020 Deaths in Movies, Stage, & Television

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