And here it is… Nobody’s favorite recurring feature. Every year at year’s end, Daily Grindhouse attempts to remember the many talented and remarkable people that were lost to natural causes and otherwise. Sometimes it comes after year’s end because doing a post like this is a lot of work, checking various news sources and collecting images and formatting the post so it’s somewhat readable. Sometimes that’s why. And sometimes the delay comes because the guy doing the compiling, while he’s a manly macho tough guy who is unable to cry, not because of any posture but because that’s just how it is, just plain can’t take so much loss, and now we’re talking in his personal life and not just in his duties to an entertainment site.
In 2023, the world lost some bold-faced names, and I personally lost more than my share of essential people, not names you’d know, but names I can’t imagine a world without. And without tears to cry, I sort of shut down. So this post is late, and for the first time since I took the reins as editor at Daily Grindhouse, there hasn’t been much Daily Grindhouse to look at, since mid-October. I am sorry for that. A back can only take so much weight, especially metaphorically.
Skipping the middle part, here’s the part where I’m back, and here’s the massive post containing dozens and dozens of names and pictures of people from movies, TV, comics, comedy, sports, fine art, wrestling, books, modeling, cartooning, pornography, music, reality-TV, and just about every other kind of entertainment or artistic expression there is. Invariably there are names and pictures missing. Please feel free to comment or email or social-media-shame and this post will be updated accordingly. Last thing intended here would be to leave anyone out. If you want to see someone on here who isn’t, let us know.
M237, Swiss wolf who died in 2023
Please also allow me my indulgence of placing animals alongside human beings in this tribute. I do it not to undermine how important the lives of human beings are, but to attempt to elevate the importance of other creatures we share this world with.
All right? Cue the sad music.
Death is always waiting. Death is undefeated. Death always wins in the end. Nobody’s ever left and come back, even if saying that means dissenting from The Boss. Ain’t none of us getting off this planet alive. Baby, that’s a fact. Tomorrow is promised to no one, which is what a friend of mine always says. It’s maybe the best lesson any friend of mine ever taught me. Also. He and I are not friends any more. Friendship dies too. There is no forever. Even this Earth will one day die. We’ll all be long gone by then. Maybe the universe is infinite. But maybe it’s not! One thing is for certain: None of us, writer or reader, are going to make it that far.
All of that said… There is meaning in this life. Death is the end, but while we live, we can make an impact on each other. If we are worth a half a god-damn, we want that impact to be good. People, they do die. The people below, they are gone now. But they had an impact on the rest of us when they were here. Some of them made very much of a positive impact. Some of them may even have saved some lives, through their actions, or through their art. There are people here who have done that for me. I put a few people on here who saved me, in art, or in action. While I’m still here, for however long that might be, I hope I can yet follow their good example. They had a spark. We carry their spark.
And yeah, I do still hope, maybe at the end of the universe, that I will see some of them again some day.
IN MEMORIAM
…
Sharon Acker
Canadian film actress and model
Joss Ackland
English actor
Alawa
American wolf
Alison
chimpanzee
Martin Amis
British novelist
Kenneth Anger
American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author
Alan Arkin
American actor and filmmaker
Clarence Avant
American music executive and film producer
Burt Bacharach
American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist
Russell Banks
American writer of fiction and poetry
Bob Barker
American television game show host
Jeff Beck
English guitarist
Harry Belafonte
American singer, actor, EGOT winner, and activist
Richard Belzer
American comedian
Tony Bennett
American jazz and traditional pop singer
Helmut Berger
Austrian actor
Jane Birkin
British and French actress and singer
Robert Blake
American actor
Vida Blue
American professional baseball player
Bobi
Portugese dog, oldest dog ever at 31
Bokito
German-born Dutch western gorilla
Barbara Bosson
American actress
Fernando Botero
Colombian artist
Tori Bowie
U.S. Olympic gold medalist
Kwame Brathwaite
American photojournalist and activist who made the phrase “Black is Beautiful”
Andre Braugher
one of the greatest American actors to ever live
Emory X. Brooks
President, CEO, and Founder of Community Counseling & Mediation, mentor to hundreds
Al Brown
American character actor
George “Funky” Brown
American drummer and co-founder of Kool & The Gang
Jim Br0wn
NFL legend, civil rights icon, action film star
Chris Browne
American cartoonist
Ricou Browning
American film director, actor, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer, and stuntman
Jimmy Buffett
American musician and singer-songwriter
Jeff Burr
American film director, writer, producer, and horror lifer
Dick Butkus
American football linebacker, sports commentator, actor, mustache legend
Bill Butler
American cinematographer
A.S. Byatt
British novelist, short-story writer, and critic
Sergio Calderón
Mexican-born character actor
Rosalynn Carter
writer, activist, and former First Lady of the United States
Dex Carvey
actor and editor, son of comedian and former “SNL” star Dana Carvey
Ron Cephas Jones
American actor
Dr. Matthew Charms
uncle, father, husband, radiologist, lifesaver
Kathy Chow
Hong Kong actress and singer
Tyler Christopher
American soap actor
Ralph Cirella
American radio personality, FX artist, and king-of-all-hangers-on
Marlene Clark
American actress, animator, and fashion model
Angus Cloud
American actor
Nichole Coats
American model
Van Conner
American bass guitarist
Pat Cooper
American comedian
Michel Cordes
French actor, author, and stage director
James “Buster” Corley
co-founder of the Dave & Buster’s entertainment chain
David Crosby
American singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Alessandro D’Alatri
Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor
Terence Davies
British film director
Karen Davis
American animal rights advocate
Kenny DeForest
American stand-up comedian
Melinda Dillon
American actress
Arnold Díaz
American television consumer watchdog journalist
Diego
Mexican gray wolf
Ian Falconer
American author and children’s book illustrator
Safi Faye
Senegalese film director and ethnologist
Benjamin B. Ferencz
American lawyer, thinker, writer, advocate, Last Surviving Nuremberg Prosecutor
Amp Fiddler
American singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and record producer
David Finfer
American film editor
Frederic Forrest
American actor
William Friedkin
American film director
Terry Funk
American professional wrestler
Michael Gambon
Irish-English actor
Paul Giambarba
American graphic designer, cartoonist, writer, and illustrator
Nicolas Gessner
Hungarian-born filmmaker
Joe Giella
American comic book artist
John Giblin
British musician and acoustic and electric bass player
Ian Gibson
British comic book artist
Keith Giffen
American comic book artist and writer
Astrud Gilberto
Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter
Brian “Brizz” Gillis
American pop singer
Lelia Goldoni
American actress
Len Goodman
English professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach
Bert I. Gordon
American filmmaker and visual effects artist
Robert Gottlieb
American writer and editor/ editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and The New Yorker
Christina Ashten Gourkani
OnlyFans model
“Superstar” Billy Graham
American Hall of Fame professional wrestler
Paul Grant
British actor and stuntman
Dan Green
American comic book illustrator
Shecky Greene
American comedian
Jacques Haitkin
American cinematographer
Terrence Hardiman
English actor
Johnny Hardwick
American voice actor
C.J. Harris
American singer and American Idol contestant
Steve Harwell
American musician and singer
Masanori Hata
Japanese zoologist, essayist, and film director
D.J. Hayden
American football cornerback
Linda Haynes
American actress
He Ping
Chinese film director, screenwriter, and producer
Anthony Hickox
English film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter
Jim Hines
American Olympic track and field athlete and National Football League player
Mang Hoi
Hong Kong actor
Maurice Horn
American comics historian
Blake Hounshell
American journalist and editor
Frank Howard
American professional baseball player, coach, and manager
Hugh Hudson
English film director
Barry Humphries (Dame Edna)
Australian comedian, actor, author, satirist, and drag artist
Leon Ichaso
Cuban-born American writer and film director
Ronald Isley
American singer-songwriter and record producer
Nathan Louis Jackson
American playwright
Al Jaffee
American cartoonist
Ahmad Jamal
American jazz pianist
Lisa Janti (Montell)
American actress and author
David Jude Jolicoeur aka Trugoy The Dove
American rapper
Kamau
African lion and star attraction at California’s Sacramento Zoo
Ken Kelsch
American cinematographer, teacher, and Vietnam veteran
Gary Kent
American film director, actor, and stuntperson
Bobby Knight
American basketball coach
Eugene Kozlovsky
Russian writer, screenwriter, theatre and film director
Frank Kozik
American graphic artist
Marty Krofft
Canadian puppeteer
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
American rabbi, author, and lecturer
Rob Laakso
American musician, record producer, and engineer
Aldo Lado
Italian film director
Piper Laurie
American actress
Norman Lear
writer, producer, veteran, television visionary
Peggy Lee Leather
American professional wrestler
Bill Lee
American jazz musician and film composer and father of Spike
Coco Lee
Chinese-American singer and songwriter
Eugene Lee
American set designer
Ralph Lee
American puppeteer and theatre artist
Lee Sun-kyun
South Korean actor
Stew Leonard Sr.
founder of Stew Leonard’s (if you haven’t ever been, you truly ought to go)
Michael Lerner
American character actor great
Linda Lewis
English singer, songwriter, and musician
Gordon Lightfoot
Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
Carol Locatell
American genre-film actress
Glen “SPOT” Lockett
American record producer
Gina Lollobrigida
Italian actress, screen icon, photojournalist, and politician
Patti Love
British actress
Shane MacGowan
English-born Irish singer
Brandi Mallory
American reality-TV star
Jessie Maple
American cinematographer, writer, producer, and film director most noted as a pioneer for the civil rights of African Americans and women in the film industry
Mark Margolis
American character actor
Leiji Matsumoto
Japanese manga artist
Joe Matt
American cartoonist
Ken Mattingly
American aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, rear admiral in the United States Navy, and astronaut who flew on Apollo 16
Burny Mattinson
American storyboard artist
James McCaffrey
American actor and video-game voiceover artist
Bruce McCall
Canadian author and illustrator
David McCallum
Scottish actor and musician
Cormac McCarthy
Great American novelist
Brian McKenna
Canadian documentary film director
J. Patrick McNamara
American actor
Tony McPhee
English guitarist & singer and founder of the Groundhogs
George T. Miller
Scottish-born Australian film director
Walter Mirisch
American film producer, president and executive head of production of The Mirisch Corporation
Gangsta Boo (Lola Chantrelle Mitchell)
American rapper, member of Three 6 Mafia
Richard Moll
American actor
Maleesa Marie Mooney
American model
Cindy Morgan
American actress
Angela Muto
American voice actor and comedian
Lawrence Steven Meyers
American film producer and actor
Ginnie Newhart
wife of comedy legend Bob Newhart for 6o years
daughter of veteran character actor Bill Quinn
Richard Ng Yiu-hon
Hong Kong actor
Mbongeni Ngema
South African playwright and lyricist
Mike Nussbaum
American actor and director
Sandra Day O’Connor
American attorney, politician, jurist, and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
Sinéad O’Connor
Irish singer, songwriter, and activist
Jacky Oh
“Wild ‘N Out” cast member
Enrico Oldoini
Italian director and screenwriter
Ryan O’Neal
American actor
Vincent Patrick
American author and screenwriter
Marisa Pavan
Italian actress
Jason Pearson
American comic book creator
Bill Perkins
Harlem councilman and New York state senator
Matthew Perry
American television star
Jean-Louis Pesch
French cartoonist
Phil Pister
California biologist, savior of the Owens Pupfish
,
Leo Plank
German stuntman and driver
Lisa Marie Presley
American singer and songwriter
Edward R. Pressman
American film producer
Taraja Ramsess
American stuntman
Michael Reaves
American writer, novelist, script writer, and story editor for a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series
Jack Rebney
“The Angriest Man in the World”
Lance Reddick
American character-actor great
John Refoua
American film editor
Paul Reubens
American Pee-Wee Herman
Chris Reynolds
Welsh comics author
Bill Richardson
American politician, author, and diplomat
Bobby Rivers
American television and radio personality
Robbie Robertson
Canadian guitarist and songwriter
Brooks Robinson
American baseball player
Lolita Rodrigues
Brazilian television actress and presenter
Rodriguez
singer, songwriter, guitarist, subject of SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (2012)
Owen Roizman
American cinematographer
Richard Romanus
American film and TV actor
John Romita Sr.
American comic book artist
Gerald Rose
British illustrator of children’s books
Al Rosenberg
American comedy writer and radio performer
Andy Rourke
English musician, bassist of the Smiths
Richard Roundtree
American icon, actor, model, superstar, trailblazer
Rusty
endangered Mexican gray wolf
Eileen Saki
Japanese-American actor
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Japanese composer and pianist
Stephen Salmons
co-founder of the Silent Film Festival
Julian Sands
British actor
Kenpachiro Satsuma
Japanese actor and stuntman
Herschel Savage
American porn actor, director, and stage actor
Ernesto Rudesindo García Seijas
Argentine comics artist
Seve
New Mexico-born chimpanzee
Suzanne Shepherd
American actress and theater director
Wayne Shorter
American musician
Tom Sizemore
American actor
Shelley Smith
American fashion model and actress
Tom Smothers
American comedian, actor, composer, and musician
Suzanne Somers
American TV icon
Jack Sonni
American writer, musician, and Dire Straits guitarist
Arleen Sorkin
American voice actress, screenwriter, television presenter, and comedian
Spike
chimpanzee
Jerry Springer
British-born American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, lawyer, and politician
Frances Sternhagen
American actress
Stella Stevens
American actress
Ray Stevenson
Northern Irish actor
Leo D. Sullivan
American animation writer & director and a pioneer in Black animation
Robert Swan
American actor and opera singer
Buichi Terasawa
Japanese manga artist
Charlie Thomas
American singer, known for singing with The Drifters
Camden Toy
American actor, writer, film editor and psychotherapist
Vivian Trimble
American musician
Shawna Trpcic
American costume designer
Pema Tseden
Tibetan film director and screenwriter
Brian Tufano
English cinematographer
Dwight Twilley
American singer and songwriter
Tina Turner
American-born Swiss singer, actor, and eternal icon
Mario Valdemarin
Italian actor
The Iron Sheik (born Khosrow Vaziri)
Iranian professional wrestler
Wei Wei
Chinese actress
Raquel Welch
American actor, businesswoman, and pop-culture supernova
Annie Wersching
American actress
Fred White
American drummer and member of Earth, Wind & Fire
Paxton Whitehead
English actor, theatre director, and playwright
Jack Wilkins
American jazz guitarist
Tom Wilkinson
English character-actor superstar
Cindy Williams
American film and TV actor
Treat Williams
American actor
Gary Wright
American musician and composer
Bray Wyatt (born Windham Rotunda)
American professional wrestler
Kiyoshi Yamazaki
Japanese sword master
Oliver Wood
British cinematographer
Burt Young
American actor, author, and painter
Rob Young
Canadian sound mixer
Jacklyn Zeman
American actress
Benjamin Zephaniah
British poet, writer, and actor
How about one more tune for the road…?
jonnyabomb@gmail.com
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Tags: 2023, Raquel Welch, Tributes
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