Sadly, 2020 is another busy year for the Tinsel
Town obituaries. From founding fathers of comedy and veteran character actors, to up-and-coming
stars that never got a chance to truly shine, here are the actors we lost in
2020 not yet covered on Looper. Former child actor Jason Davis died in
February 2020 of a fentanyl overdose, according to the LA County
Medical Examiner. He was 35. Jason made his debut in the CBS sitcom Dave's
World at age 10 and would go on to appear in the Chris Farley flop Beverly Hills Ninja as
well as the Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker smash hit Rush Hour while he was still a child. But
his biggest role by far was Mikey Blumberg in Recess — Jason voiced the animated gentle
giant hundreds of times between 1997 and 2003. “The Young Voices Training Program doesn’t like
the word ‘camp’. They provide opportunities for aspiring singers to train their voices
in a rigorous, yet supportive, setting.” Shortly after being arrested for possession
in 2011, Jason appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab and opened up about his, quote, "scary"
battle with heroin addiction. He's survived by his brothers, Brandon and Alexander, and two
half-sisters, Isabella and Mariella Rickel. Newark native Mark Blum, who starred
opposite Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan and played Paul Hogan's love rival
in Crocodile Dundee, passed away in March 2020. The stage and screen actor died
after complications from Covid-19. He was 69. Younger viewers are more likely to recognize Blum as either Union Bob – the piccolo player in
Amazon's classical music comedy-drama Mozart in the Jungle – or Mr. Mooney – the bookstore
owner in Netflix's popular stalker show, YOU. Blum's final role was Dr. Mark Rutenberg, a
one-off character in Showtime's hit legal series, Billions. He is survived by
his wife, actress Janet Zarish. John Callahan, the soap opera star who played
Edmund Grey on All My Children from 1992 to 2005, died in March 2020. According to People sources, Callahan suffered a massive stroke
and did not recover. He was 66. Callahan married Eva LaRue in 1996, and the All My Children colleagues had a daughter
named Kaya together before divorcing in 2004. Callahan is also survived by two step-children
from his previous marriage to Linda Freeman. Callahan also appeared in over 100
episodes of Days of Our Lives. Other notable credits include Falcon Crest, Santa
Barbara, Desperate Housewives, and The Bay. British actress Honor Blackman,
who appeared opposite Sean Connery as iconic Bond girl Pussy Galore in 1964's
Goldfinger, passed away of natural causes, surrounded by family, in April 2020. She was 94. “Isn’t it customary to grant a
condemned man his last request?” “You asked for this.” Blackman rose to prominence in the early 1960s
playing leather-clad super spy Cathy Gale in The Avengers, the 60’s secret agent TV comedy
series. Blackman carried on acting well into her golden years, but she became better known for her
activism and her political career later in life. She was a card-carrying member of the Liberal
Democrats, and would often speak at party events. Connecticut-born actor Brian Dennehy, best known
for playing dogged small-town sheriff Will Teasle in Sylvester Stallone classic First Blood, died
of natural causes in April 2020. He was 81. Dennehy won a football scholarship to
Columbia after leaving the Marines in 1963, and from there he got into Yale,
where he studied dramatic arts. After dozens of roles in TV and movies, he
landed a recurring role on Dynasty in 1981, and his career got another boost the following
year when he played John Rambo's nemesis. Other notable appearances include Ron Howard's
sci-fi Cocoon and the Lawrence Kasdan western Silverado, both released in 1985. Dennehy made
his overdue Broadway debut in the mid-'90s, and he would later voice the character
Django in Pixar hit Ratatouille. His final appearance was on a 2019
episode of NBC's The Blacklist. Film and TV actor Dimitri Diatchenko, best
known for his turn as reckless tour guide Uri in the nuclear horror Chernobyl Diaries, passed
away in April 2020. Diatchenko, who was a first-generation American of Ukrainian, Swedish,
and Greek heritage, died suddenly at his home in Florida while recovering from being electrocuted
on the job, his agent confirmed. He was 52. Diatchenko appeared as a Russian enforcer in
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Get Smart, and he played
a similar role in Sons of Anarchy. He has numerous other TV and movie credits,
both onscreen and as a voice actor. Bollywood star Irrfan Khan, best known to western
audiences for his turns in Jurassic World, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Amazing
Spider-Man, died in April 2020. The Indian actor suffered from a rare neuroendocrine tumor in 2018,
and later succumbed to an infection. He was 53. Khan was born in the northern state of Rajasthan.
He got his start on Indian TV and quickly made the transition to feature length films. He is survived
by his wife, Sutapa, and his sons, Babil and Ayan. Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller passed away
from natural causes in May 2020. His son, Hollywood star Ben Stiller, confirmed
his death on Twitter. Stiller was 92. Stiller made his Broadway debut in 1954,
appearing in the musical comedy The Golden Apple, and his comedy act with wife Anne Meara
was popular throughout the 60’s and beyond. Stiller had roles on TV
sitcoms in the 70’s and 80’s, and in the 90’s began his lengthy stint
on Seinfeld, and later The King of Queens. “When my blood pressure gets too high, the man
on the tape tells me to say ‘Serenity Now!’” “Are you supposed to yell it?” “The man on the tape wasn’t specific.” Stiller also popped up in many of his son's
movies over the years, most notably 2001's Zoolander. He also appeared in the sequel, 2016's
Zoolander 2, which was his last feature film. California native Naya Rivera, best known for
playing cheerleader Santana Lopez on the smash hit musical comedy-drama series Glee, died in
July 2020. The singer and actor went boating on Lake Piru with her four-year-old son, Josey,
and never returned. A search was initiated when Josey was spotted alone on the boat,
and Rivera's body was discovered a few days later. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department
called it a "tragic accident". Rivera was 33. Rivera started out as a child actor,
making her debut on the CBS sitcom The Royal Family at the age of four. She
appeared on numerous TV shows before Glee creator Ryan Murphy cast her in what
would become her career-defining role. Ohio-born actor Fred Willard, best known
for his numerous collaborations with actor and filmmaker Christopher Guest, died of
natural causes in May 2020. He was 86. Willard got started in sketch comedy in 1965
and played Jerry Hubbard on the parody talk show Fernwood Tonight. His memorable short
appearance in 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap began his fruitful relationship with Guest, which
would lead to roles in Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind,
and For Your Consideration. Willard was a four-time Emmy nominee.
He passed away just weeks before the premiere of the Netflix series
Space Force, his final role. Singer and actor Chris Trousdale passed away in June 2020 from complications
from COVID-19. He was 34. Trousdale achieved Broadway prominence
in Les Misérables, and in the boy band Dream Street. Many TV appearances followed
on shows like Lucifer and Days of Our Lives. His final performance has him
starring as a wedding singer in the recently released indie romance
flick New York Christmas Wedding. British character actor Ian Holm,
who played android Ash in Alien and brought Bilbo Baggins to life in Peter
Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, passed away from a Parkinson's-related
illness in June 2020. He was 88. “I need a holiday...a very long holiday.
And I don’t expect I shall return.” Holm was among the first group
of actors recruited to the Royal Shakespeare Company upon its founding
in 1961. In the decades that followed, he became a celebrated fixture in British
and American theater at the highest levels. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor
in 1981 for his role in Chariots of Fire. He played Napoleon Bonaparte in Terry
Gilliam's Time Bandits that same year. Prominent parts followed in Brazil, Another
Woman, and The Fifth Element before Holm debuted as the adventurous Hobbit
Bilbo Baggins, his most iconic role. Two-time Oscar nominee Shirley Knight,
who recurred on Desperate Housewives and appeared in the Paul Blart: Mall Cop
movies, died in April 2020, aged 83. Knight made her TV debut in 1955, and by the
early 60s was a household name in Hollywood. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress
Oscar for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, and again in Sweet Bird of Youth. After a successful theater stint, Knight
returned to the screen in The Poseidon Adventure, and followed this with many TV appearances,
winning 3 of 8 Emmy nominations in the process. Her final Emmy nod was in 2006, when she
was recognized for her work as Phyllis Van de Kamp in Desperate Housewives. Knight
was also the proud owner of a Tony Award. New York-born comedy legend Carl Reiner,
creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, died in his Beverly Hills home surrounded
by family in June 2020. His son, Hollywood director Rob Reiner, announced his passing
to the world on Twitter. Carl Reiner was 98. Reiner started working in television in 1948 and spent the majority of the '50s
bouncing between television and the movies. He wouldn't become a household name until the
'60s, the decade of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Other notable credits include Frasier,
House, Seinfeld, Ally McBeal, Mad About You, and the Ocean's Eleven films. Reiner was also
a talented voice actor who played characters on Bob's Burgers, Justice League Action,
Family Guy, American Dad, and Toy Story 4. Canadian TV and Broadway actor Nick
Cordero died of COVID-19 in July 2020. He fought the virus for 95 days before passing
away at hospital in Los Angeles. Cordero was 41. Cordero had many theater roles because achieving
his first full Broadway production in 2012. He played Cheech in Bullets Over Broadway in 2014, picking up a Tony nomination for
his work in the jukebox musical. The Ontario native also worked on TV’s
Queer as Folk, Lilyhammer, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and in feature
films A Stand Up Guy and Going in Style. Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland, the last
surviving star of 1939's Gone with the Wind, passed away from natural
causes in July 2020 at age 104. During the classic film era, de Havilland starred
opposite Errol Flynn in no fewer than eight films, though her role as Melanie in Gone with the Wind
was her most famous. The Best Picture winner is still considered the most financially successful
film of all time after inflation adjustments. De Havilland went on to win
Best Actress statuettes for 1946's To Each His Own and 1949's The Heiress. Japanese film and TV star Haruma
Miura, who starred in the live action adaptation Attack on Titan, died in July
2020 in a possible suicide. The actor was 30. Miura was a former child actor, who worked in
TV through his teens. Miura flitted between movies and television in the decade that
followed, receiving praise for his work in the aviation epic The Eternal Zero, and
soon after the two Attack on Titan movies. If you or anyone you know
is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Mustachioed character actor Wilford
Brimley passed away in August 2020 after a struggle with diabetes
and kidney disease. He was 85. Brimley made his big screen breakthrough as
a foreman in 1979's The China Syndrome. He impressed in Sydney Pollack's Absence of Malice In
1981, worked under John Carpenter in the seminal sci-fi horror The Thing in 1982, and starred as
rejuvenated geriatric Ben Luckett in Ron Howard's Cocoon in 1985. Brimley became a fixture on
American television in the '80s and '90s as the no-nonsense Quaker Oats guy, and became a
meme for his TV ads for diabetes test strips. Dame Diana Rigg, Bond girl Tracy di Vicenzo
in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones, passed away in
September 2020. The acting legend was 82. “It’s a rare enough thing: a man
who lives up to his reputation.” Rigg began her career as a stage actor in
1959. She made her screen debut that same year in a made-for-TV version of A Midsummer
Night's Dream, then became a household name as secret agent Emma Peel in the classic spy show
The Avengers. Now a fashion icon and sex symbol, Rigg portrayed the only Bond
Girl to marry 007 in 1969. Rigg returned to international
prominence in Game of Thrones, and her final feature film, Edgar Wright's
Last Night in Soho, is set to arrive in 2021. Anglo-French actor Michael Lonsdale,
who starred in The Day of the Jackal and played Bond villain Hugo Drax in
Moonraker, died in September 2020. He was 89. Lonsdale studied painting before becoming an
actor, making his stage debut at the age of 24 and his first screen appearances in the 1950’s.
Following blockbuster roles in the 70’s, he would go on to appear alongside Robert De Niro
and Jean Reno in the 1998 action flick Ronin, and later played the character Papa in Steven
Spielberg's historical thriller Munich in 2005. Lonsdale's final film was 2016 sci-fi Sculpt. Singer and actress Helen Reddy,
who became synonymous with the feminist movement and appeared in the
films Airport 1975 and Pete's Dragon, died in September 2020. The
Australian Grammy winner was 78. In her career, Reddy would record
over a dozen top 40 singles, though she will always be remembered
for "I Am Woman," her feminist anthem. Reddy played Sister Ruth in airborne
thriller Airport 1975 the year after winning her first Grammy, and in 1977 she
took on the role of Nora in Pete's Dragon. Notable TV credits include Fantasy Island, The
Jeffersons, and Diagnosis Murder. I Am Woman, a biopic about Reddy's rise to stardom,
premiered just a month before her death. Actor Clark Middleton passed away in October
2020 after suffering from West Nile virus. The veteran actor and
disabilities advocate was 63. Middleton lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis for
most of his life, but he never let it stop him from pursuing his passion. He made his stage debut
in 1983 and developed into a dependable big screen actor. Middleton worked with Quentin Tarantino
on Kill Bill Vol. 2, Ang Lee in Taking Woodstock, Bong Joon Ho in Snowpiercer, David Lynch in
Twin Peaks: The Return, and Alejandro Iñárritu in Best Picture winner Birdman. Middleton was
also regularly seen on many different TV shows. Veteran actress and dancer Marge
Champion, who starred in a series of musicals opposite her husband in the 1950s,
passed away in October 2020 at the age 101. In the 1930's, Champion served as the model
for Walt Disney’s titular character in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. She also
modeled the Blue Fairy in 1940’s Pinocchio, Hyacinth Hippo in Fantasia,
and Mr. Stork in Dumbo. Champion made her Broadway debut in 1945, and
would become a movie star the following decade with a string of MGM musicals. Champion
would later scoop an Emmy Award for her choreography work on the critically acclaimed
1975 telefilm Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. Sean Connery, the Scottish movie icon
best known for originating the role of James Bond on the big screen,
died in October 2020 at age 90. Connery rose to prominence in 1961, in the BBC's
Anna Karenina. The former model made his debut as 007 in Dr. No in 1963. Connery became a
globally recognized star, and his influence grew with every subsequent installment.
Connery appeared in 8 Bond films in total. “I admire your luck, Mister…?” “Bond. James Bond.” Post-Bond, Connery appeared
in films like Highlander, The Untouchables, Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade, The Hunt for Red October and The Rock. He was
knighted in 2000, and would appear in his final live action film, the widely-panned The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen, three years later. Actor Eddie Hassell, who played Clay in the
Best Picture nominee The Kids Are All Right and Apple employee Chris Espinosa in Jobs, died in November 2020. Hassell was fatally wounded
in a robbery gone tragically wrong. He was 30. Hassell landed his first significant role in
2005, securing the part of Phil Nance in the Lake Bell-led sci-fi series Surface, which
led to more prominent roles in film. Hassell was also known for Devious Maids, on which he
recurred as the wrongfully convicted Eddie Suarez. Bert Belasco, best known for playing Charles
Whitmore in the BET sitcom Let's Stay Together, passed away in November 2020. Belasco was
pronounced dead at a hotel in Virginia of a likely aneurysm, according to his
father’s report to TMZ. He was 38. After early work in improv and
video game vocal performance, Belasco appeared in an episode of House. He
went on to become a regular on American TV, recurring on the baseball dramedy Pitch and the
Jim Carrey-produced I'm Dying Up Here. Other notable appearances include Justified, Key and
Peele, NCIS: New Orleans, and American Princess, though Belasco will undoubtedly be remembered
for his 52-episode stint on Let's Stay Together. Star of the stage and screen Lawrence Clayton,
who made his Broadway debut as part of the replacement cast of Dreamgirls, died in November
2020 after a battle with cancer. He was 64. Clayton was a regular in New York’s theater
scene. He made his bow as C.C. White in Dreamgirls in 1981 and went on to appear
in a number of other Broadway musicals. He appeared in the 2015
revival of The Color Purple, and the Oprah Winfrey-produced show won the Tony
Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Clayton also toured with productions of Jesus Christ Superstar
and Les Miserables during his days on the stage. As for TV, Clayton made his screen debut
in a 1989 episode of The Equalizer, later appearing on Deadline, Law & Order: Criminal
Intent, As the World Turns, The Big C, Homeland, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the CBS
Sherlock Holmes show Elementary. Clayton made his final appearance in a 2019 episode of
Netflix's groundbreaking LGBTQ drama Pose. Compton native Tommy "Tiny" Lister, best known
for playing neighborhood bully Deebo in the Friday films, passed away in December 2020. The actor
and former wrestler was found unresponsive at his California apartment, Variety confirmed, after
reporting COVID-19-like symptoms. Lister was 62. Lister was a prolific character actor who had well
over 200 credits to his name when he died. He made his debut as a football player in a 1984 episode
of ABC sitcom Webster and would have a stint in professional wrestling before establishing himself
as a go-to tough guy in Hollywood. He played a bail agent in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown
and a tattooed prisoner in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, but it was the role of Deebo
that earned him a place in pop culture history. Harry Hains
Terry Jones Stan Kirsch
Norma Michaels Hugh Keays-Byrne
David Prowse Max Von Sydow
Ja'Net DuBois Kellye Nakahara
Esther Scott Nikita Waligwa
Lynn Cohen Kevin Conway
Kirk Douglas Jack Kehoe
Kirby Morrow John Karlen
Trini Lopez Marsha Kramer
William Bogert Raphael Coleman
Conchata Ferrell Elsa Raven Margaret Nolan
Armelia McQueen Yuko Takeuchi
Sei Ashina Chadwick Boseman
Allan Rich Ash Christian
Ben Cross Reni Santoni
Royana Black Annie Ross
Jacqueline Scott John Saxon
Galyn Görg Kelly Preston
Earl Cameron Jill Gascoine
Tony Scannell Mel Winkler
Peggy Pope Geno Silva
Mary Pat Gleason Anthony James
Richard Herd Hagen Mills
Gregory Tyree Boyce John Mahon
Sam Lloyd Bruce Allpress
Gene Dynarski Jack Wallace
Julie Bennett Shirley Douglas
Hilary Heath Tom Lester
Lee Fierro Allen Garfield
Logan Williams Jay Benedict
Andrew Jack John Shrapnel
