Star Scope: Stars who died in 2023: Part 4

Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Zephaniah, poet and actor, died Dec. 7 at age 65. The U.K.-born Zephaniah published his first collection of poetry, Pen Rhythm, in 1980 and two years later released the album Rasta on which he was backed by Bob Marley’s band the Wailers. In addition to writing and performing his poems, Zephaniah took small roles on the British TV shows Eastenders and The Bill and was ultimately cast as the character Jeremiah Jesus on the Cillian Murphy headlined Peaky Blinders. Zephaniah’s passing was announced on social media by his family. According to the message, the poet was diagnosed with a brain tumor eight weeks prior to his death.

Denny Laine

Denny Laine, a co-founder of The Moody Blues and Wings, died Dec. 5 at age 79. He founded The Moody Blues in 1964 with Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas, spending two years with the band and singing on its first hit, "Go Now." In the years after he left, Laine performed as a solo artist and in groups such as the Electric String Band, Balls, and Ginger Baker's Air Force. In 1971, he joined Paul and Linda McCartney to form McCartney's post-Beatles group, Wings. He was the only non-McCartney member of Wings who remained with the band for the full decade before it disbanded in the early '80s. After Wings, Laine continued to perform as a solo artist, releasing his last studio album, The Blue Musician, in 2008.

Shane MacGowan

Shane MacGowan, the Pogues frontman and singer behind the classic Christmas favorite "Fairytale of New York," died Nov. 30 at age 65. An early adopter of the punk-rock movement, MacGowan played in several bands before founding the Pogues in 1982. Drawing lyrical inspiration from Irish history, MacGowan went on to pen many of the group’s greatest hits across five albums over the next nine years, including their debut single, “Dark Streets of London.” He also co-wrote his 1988 duet with Kirsty MacColl, “Fairytale of New York,” which remains one of most beloved holiday songs. MacGowan was temporarily kicked out of the Pogues in 1991, but reunited with the band a decade later when they embarked on a sold-out tour in 2001. Although its members did not release any new music together, the group remained active until 2014.

Jack Axelrod

Jack Axelrod, the actor who played mob boss Victor Jerome on General Hospital and had guest roles on Grey’s Anatomy, My Name Is Earl, and many other shows, died on Nov. 28 of natural causes. He was 93. A Korean War veteran, Axelrod began acting while studying architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and went on to study for six years under legendary actress Uta Hagen at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City. Best known for his three-year stint as mob boss Victor Jerome on General Hospital, he also played the Electrolarynx Guy on My Name Is Earl and Charlie Yost on Grey’s Anatomy. Axelrod's other television credits include guest roles on Kojak, The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Frasier, and Scrubs, and he also appeared in films like Hancock, Super 8, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Frances Sternhagen

Frances Sternhagen, the two-time Tony Award winner also known for roles in hit TV shows including Sex and the City, died Nov. 27 at the age of 93. An acclaimed actress of both stage and screen, Sternhagen made her Broadway debut in 1955 as Miss T. Muse in The Skin of Our Teeth and, over the course of the next five decades, would go on to receive seven Tony nominations and two wins for Featured Actress in a Play. She was also nominated for three Emmy awards throughout her television career: twice for her recurring performance as Cliff Calvin’s mother on Cheers and once for playing Charlotte's stuffy mother-in-law Bunny MacDougal on Sex and the City. Sternhagen's additional film and television credits include ER, Julie & Julia, and Independence Day.

Jean Knight

Jean Knight, the Grammy-nominated singer behind the 1971 hit “Mr. Big Stuff,” died on Nov. 22 of natural causes. She was 80. Her family confirmed the news in a statement shared by New Orleans broadcaster LBJ following the holiday weekend. Born Jean Caliste, the R&B singer launched her career straight out of high school when she began singing publicly and released her first song, a demo of Jackie Wilson’s “Stop Doggin’ Me Around.” In 1970, she was working as a baker when she recorded “Mr. Big Stuff,” which went on to become a hit on the charts, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female alongside the likes of Diana Ross, Janis Joplin, Freda Payne and the year’s winner, Aretha Franklin. A decade later, Knight garnered more acclaim for her song, “You Got the Papers (But I Got the Man),” and also charted with a cover of Rockin’ Sydney’s “(Don’t Mess With My) My Toot Toot.”

Marty Krofft

Marty Krofft, who with his brother Sid helped revolutionize children's programming in the 1970s, earning him the nickname "King of Saturday Mornings," died Nov. 25 at age 86. Known for their large-scale, vividly colorful puppets that found a following among adults with a fondness for LSD, Sid and Marty Krofft created iconic shows such as H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and Land of the Lost. The brothers also expanded into primetime television with the camptastic variety shows Donny & Marie, The Brady Bunch Hour, and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters. In 2018, the Kroffts were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys and two years later they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Mars Williams

Mars Williams, saxophonist for the Psychedelic Furs and the Waitresses, died Nov. 20 at 68 following a battle with ampullary cancer. Born in Elmhurst, Ill., Williams grew up listening to jazz music from a young age and played classical clarinet for a decade before taking up the saxophone in high school. In 1980, he joined the new wave band the Waitresses, appearing on both of the band's albums Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful? and Bruiseology. When the Waitresses broke up in 1983, Williams was tapped by the Psychedelic Furs to join them on tour before going on to become a permanent member of the post-punk band. After departing the Furs in 1989, Williams re-joined the band in 2005 and played his final performances with the band in October. In addition to the Waitresses and the Furs, Williams was a founding member of the acid jazz group Liquid Soul and a member of the free jazz group, NRG Ensemble.

Joss Ackland

Joss Ackland, whose acting career spanned eight decades of theater, film, and television, died Nov. 19 at age 95. The British actor was perhaps best known for his villainous role in Lethal Weapon 2, however, had more than 130 film and TV credits, ranging from The Sicilian and The Hunt for Red October to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey andThe Mighty Ducks. He was nominated for two BAFTA awards, first in 1989 for Best Supporting Actor for White Mischief, and again in 1990 as Best Actor for First and Last. As a player at London's Old Vic Theatre, Ackland shared the stage with Maggie Smith and Judi Dench and he went on to originate the role of Juan Perón in the West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. Ackland also appeared in the Pet Shop Boys music video for "Always On My Mind," and made his final film appearance in 2014's Decline of an Empire.

Peter Spellos

Peter Spellos, an actor best known for his role on NBC's American Dreams, as well as his copious voiceover work, died Nov. 19 in Indianapolis. He was 69. Throughout his career, Spellos guest starred on shows such as Growing Pains, The Wonder Years, Married...with Children, Step by Step, and Newsradio. From 2002 to 2005 he portrayed Gus on American Dreams. He also had small parts in films including City of Angels, Heartbreakers, and Men In Black II. Spellos worked predominantly as a voiceover actor, playing Sky-Byte on the 2000 series Transformers: Robots in Disguise, and he also had roles on Cowboy Bebop, Digimon, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Bleach, and Naruto.

Suzanne Shepherd

Suzanne Shepherd, the actress known for playing onscreen mothers to iconic mob wives in both Goodfellas and The Sopranos, died peacefully in her New York City home on Nov. 17 at the age of 89. Born Suzanne Stern on Oct. 31, 1934, Shepherd made her film debut in her mid-50s, after landing the role of Aunt Tweedy in Mystic Pizza. Two years later, she portrayed the mother of Lorraine Bracco’s Karen in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. In the 2000s, she played a similar role as Mary DeAngelis, the disapproving mother of Carmela (Edie Falco) in 20 episodes of The Sopranos. Her additional screen credits include Bullet, Lolita, Requiem for a Dream, and A Dirty Shame. Shepherd also directed in theaters across the U.S. and worked as an acting coach at her own studio in New York. She is survived by her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter.

Dex Carvey

Dex Carvey, stand-up comedian and son of former Saturday Night Live star Dana Carvey, died of an accidental drug overdose on Nov. 15, his family confirmed. He was 32. Following in his father's footsteps, Carvey pursued his own career as a comic and opened for his dad's 2016 Netflix special, Straight White Male.

George Brown

George "Funky" Brown, the longtime drummer and co-founding member of the genre-blending band Kool & the Gang, died Nov. 15 after a battle with cancer. He was 74. Brown was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer earlier this year, which led him to retire nearly 60 years after forming Kool & the Gang in New Jersey with brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky West. In addition to playing drums, Brown wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including "Celebration," "Ladies Night," "Jungle Boogie," "Get Down on It," and "Too Hot." He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, and Kool & the Gang were inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2015.

Kevin Turen

Kevin Turen, an Emmy-nominated producer known for his work on HBO's Euphoria and Ti West's X film series, died at 44 from multiple heart issues in November. Turen was driving on a California freeway when he was stricken by acute cardiac dysfunction and coronary artery atherosclerosis, reported the Los Angeles Times. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Together with Ashley and Sam Levinson, Turen founded Little Lamb Productions and produced Euphoria (which earned the trio Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series in 2022), The Idol, and Levinson's 2021 film Malcolm & Marie. Turen also worked with West on the Mia Goth–led slasher movies X, Pearl, and the upcoming MaXXXine. Turen's other producing credits include Waves, Pieces of a Woman, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Birth of a Nation, 99 Homes, and All Is Lost. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Conny Van Dyke

Conny Van Dyke, the actress and Motown singer-songwriter, died Nov. 11 from complications due to vascular dementia. She was 78. Born Sept. 28, 1945, Van Dyke got her start in the entertainment industry at 15, recording music while still in high school. That same year, she starred in the film Among the Thorns with Tom Laughlin, Bill Wellman Jr., and Stefanie Powers. She signed with Motown records in 1961, becoming one of the first white artists on the label. Her first two singles, "Oh, Freddy" and "It Hurt Me Too," were written by Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, respectively. She would later release two country albums and star in films such as Hell's Angels '69, Framed, and W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, which also featured Burt Reynolds and Art Carney. Her TV credits included Adam-12, Barbary Coast, Nakia, Cold Case, and CSI.

Brandi Mallory

Brandi Mallory, a makeup artist and dancer who was featured on the ABC series Extreme Weight Loss in 2014, died Nov. 9 at age 40 from complications of obesity. She appeared on season 4 of the reality show, which highlighted a different person each week as they underwent rigorous programs to shed weight. Mallory went from 329 pounds to 178 pounds during her time on the show. She went on to run a fitness and makeup Instagram account with hundreds of thousands of followers, documenting her day-to-day life with glamorous photos and motivational captions, and also worked as a dance instructor for Dance Your Pounds Off in Atlanta.

Janet Landgard

Janet Landgard, who starred in The Swimmer and on The Donna Reed Show, died Nov. 6 at 75, following a brain cancer diagnosis. Her former costar Paul Petersen confirmed the news on Facebook, calling Landgard "the best TV girlfriend my alternate ego, Jeff Stone, ever had." Born Dec. 2, 1947, Landgard made her screen debut in 1963 on The Donna Reed Show, playing a girl named Sabrina in a single fifth-season episode. She would later return as Jeff's girlfriend, Karen, becoming a series regular from 1963 to 1965. She went on to star opposite Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer, from Academy Award–nominated husband-and-wife duo Frank and Eleanor Perry. Her other screen credits included Land Raiders, The Deadly Dream, and Moonchild.

Ross McDonnell

Ross McDonnell, the Emmy-winning Irish cinematographer and director, died Nov. 5 at 44, his family confirmed in an obituary. The filmmaker went missing on Nov. 4 after going on a bike ride in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn. A body that seemed to be McDonnell's remains was discovered at Breezy Point Beach on Nov. 17, NBC News reported. McDonnell won two cinematography Emmys: one for the Showtime doc The Trade and another for the National Geographic COVID-19 documentary The First Wave. He was also nominated for an Emmy for Elián, a documentary abhttps://rip.ie/death-notice/ross-alexander-mcdonnell-dublin-howth-536969out Elián González that he co-directed with Tim Golden. He is survived by his parents Maureen and Nicky, sister Louise, and niece Eva.

Evan Ellingson

Evan Ellingson, the former child actor best known for his roles on the series CSI: Miami and 2009 film My Sister's Keeper, died Nov. 5 at the age of 35. His cause of death was determined to be accidental fentanyl overdose. Ellingson began his career with small roles on General Hospital and Mad TV before landing a recurring role on 2004 sitcom Complete Savages. Other credits included shows Bones and 24, and films Time Changer, Confession, The Bondage, and Walk the Talk. His last screen role was as Kyle Harmon, son of David Caruso's Lt. Horatio Caine, on CSI: Miami in 2010.

Peter White

Peter White, the actor best known for his groundbreaking role in The Boys in the Band, and a recurring stint in All My Children, died at age 86 after battling melanoma. The actor who got his start in soaps, made his first big splash with a role in the original 1968 off-Broadway production of The Boys in the Band. The provocative play was an instant hit, spawning several revivals and two feature film adaptations. In the original film, directed by William Friedkin, White reprised the role of Alan McCarthy. He later took on the mantle of Lincoln Tyler in All My Children, and reappeared in the soap throughout four decades — from 1974- 2005. White's other credits include The Jeffersons, Hart to Hart, Dynasty, The West Wing, Flubber, and Armageddon.

Tyler Christopher

Tyler Christopher, the actor best known for his work on General Hospital, died from a cardiac event in San Diego at age 50 on Oct. 31. His first screen role came when he joined GH in 1996 as Nikolas Cassadine. The actor left the daytime drama in 1999 to pursue other projects but returned in 2003. During his second run with the show, he also played Nikolas' doppelganger, Connor Bishop. Christopher then left the soap opera again in 2011 to appear in The Lying Game, and returned once more in 2013 before concluding his time on the show in 2016. He won a Daytime Emmy for the role in his final year on GH. The actor then joined the cast of Days of Our Lives from 2017 to 2019. Throughout his career, he also appeared in episodes of primetime shows like Angel, Charmed, Felicity, and CSI.

Aaron Spears

Aaron Spears, the Grammy-nominated drummer known for his work with Usher, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and more stars, died Oct. 30, at 47. A Washington, D.C., native, Spears began playing drums at a young age and went on to earn a Grammy nomination as a producer on Usher's album Confessions in 2004. Over his decades-long career, Spears also performed on Late Night With Seth Meyers, served as the drummer and music coordinator for season 3 of The Masked Singer, and collaborated with artists including Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Chaka Khan, and the Backstreet Boys.

Matthew Perry

Friends star Matthew Perry was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on Oct. 28; he was 54. His cause of death was later determined to be acute effects of ketamine, while darowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects were also contributing factors. The actor was most famous for playing the role of sarcastic but lovable Chandler Bing on all 10 seasons of beloved NBC sitcom, starring alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer. Perry also appeared on such shows as Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Go On, and The Odd Couple, and in films including Fools Rush In, The Whole Nine Yards, and 17 Again. After participating in the long-awaited Friends reunion in 2021, Perry made headlines again with his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, in which he opened up about his drug and alcohol addictions.

Judy Nugent

Judy Nugent, the former child actress best known for her performances on Adventures of Superman and The Ruggles, died from cancer Oct. 26. She was 83. Born in Los Angeles, Nugent made her Hollywood debut at 6 years old in the 1947 film It Had to Be You and would go on to star as Donna Ruggles on the ABC family sitcom The Ruggles from 1949 until 1952. She also had memorable turns as Jet Maypen, one of Annette Funicello's pals on the third season of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and as Ann Carson, a young blind girl who flew around the entire globe with the Man of Steel in the Adventures of Superman. Nugent's acting career largely came to a halt after marrying Gunsmoke actor Buck Taylor in 1961, but she returned to star in 1974's Summer Run and 1978's Beartooth opposite her then-husband.

Richard Moll

Richard Moll, the towering, deep-voiced actor known for playing the lovable bailiff "Bull Shannon" on all nine seasons of the NBC sitcom Night Court, died Oct. 26, at 80. Born in Pasadena, Moll graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in history but realized he didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue a career in law. Turning to acting, he started performing Shakespeare at the Will Geer Theatre and transitioned to film, TV, and voice-over work. In addition to Night Court, his screen credits included Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, The Rockford Files, three Batman cartoons, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, The Flintsones, Jingle All the Way, Scary Movie 2, Babylon 5, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, 7th Heaven, and Smallville.

Richard Roundtree

Richard Roundtree, the actor best known for playing John Shaft across five Shaft movies and seven made-for-TV movies, died from pancreatic cancer on Oct. 24 at age 81. Roundtree instantly shot to fame in the 1971 blaxploitation classic. Roundtree played supporting roles in films like Se7en, George of the Jungle, Earthquake, Speed Racer, What Men Want, Brick, Steel, and Moving On. He also appeared in numerous TV shows, including Roots, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 21 Jump Street, Alias, Desperate Housewives, and Grey's Anatomy.

Haydn Gwynne

British actress Haydn Gwynne, whose many credits included The Crown, died Oct. 20, at 66, following a recent cancer diagnosis. In the '90s, Gwynne starred on the U.K. sitcom and the satire Drop the Dead Donkey and subsequently received Olivier and Tony nominations for her portrayal of a dance teacher in Billy Elliot the Musical. More recently, Gwynne played Princess Camilla on British TV show The Windsors and Lady Susan Hussey, one of Queen Elizabeth II's ladies in waiting, on season 5 of Netflix's The Crown.

Star Scope

Friday, December 29, 2023

Stars who died in 2023: Part 4