2019 saw a number of hugely talented entertainers
and household names pass away. In their own way, each of these people have
left a truly remarkable impression on the world. Here are some of the brightest stars we lost
in 2019. John Singleton Director John Singleton passed away on April
29th, 2019, at just 51 years old, after suffering a massive stroke about two weeks earlier. Singleton became both the youngest, and the
first-ever African-American best director Oscar nominee, when he got the nod at just
24 years old for his acclaimed film Boyz N the Hood. He's also known for helming Poetic Justice,
the remake of Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Michael Jackson's iconic music video for "Remember
The Time." He most recently served as an executive producer
of the FX series Snowfall, and directed an episode of American Crime Story: The People
v. O.J. Simpson in 2016. Tributes poured out for the late director
from everyone from Spike Lee to Jordan Peele to former President Barack Obama - as well
as Singleton's frequent collaborator Regina King. Singleton's daughter Justice honored her father
on Instagram, and promised to continue his legacy, writing: "I want [to] provide what he can no longer. [...] I'll share as much of his hopes and
dreams. I'll treat those the way he did, with fist
bumps and laughter. I sincerely wish he had more time but what
he did here is everlasting and within me." Robert Forster Robert Forster died on October 11th, 2019,
at 78 years old. The actor's rep told The Hollywood Reporter
that Forster passed away at his home following a battle with brain cancer. Forster actually had more misses than hits
early in his career, which began back in the 1960s. Of his career struggles, he told The Chicago
Tribune in 2018: "Every time it reached a lower level I thought
I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more. Near the end I had no agent, no manager, no
lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks." Director Quentin Tarantino was a longtime
fan of Forster, who he brought in to audition for Reservoir Dogs. The part eventually went to Laurence Tierney,
but Tarantino brought Forster back for Jackie Brown, writing the part of Max Cherry specifically
for him. Forster later recalled: "That's when I said to him, 'I'm sure they're
not going to let you hire me. [Tarantino] said, 'I hire anybody I want.' And that's when I realized I was going to
get another shot at a career." After Jackie Brown, Forster's career indeed
enjoyed a renaissance. His most recent work, reprising his role as
Ed Galbraith in El Camino, premiered the day he died. Peter Mayhew Best known and beloved for starring as Chewbacca
in the Star Wars franchise, English-American actor Peter Mayhew passed away on April 30th,
2019, surrounded by his family and loved ones at his Texas home. He was 74 years old. No cause of death has yet been revealed, but
The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Mayhew underwent spinal surgery to improve his mobility
in 2015. Mayhew was still working as a full-time hospital
orderly when he became the furry co-pilot Star Wars fans all know and love. Mayhew, who stood at seven-foot-two, was chosen
for the role of Chewbacca after would-be Darth Vader actor David Prowse turned the role down. He appeared as Chewbacca in every one of the
beloved Wookiee's on-screen appearances, right up to Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- after which he passed the baton to actor Joonas Suotamo. Beyond that, Mayhew also worked as "Chewbacca
consultant" on The Last Jedi. "Laugh it up, fuzzball." George Lucas summed up Mayhew as the true
personification of his on-screen character, saying: "Peter was a wonderful man. He was the closest any human being could be
to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature [...] and I learned to always let him win. He was a good friend, and I'm saddened by
his passing." Peggy Lipton Model and actress Peggy Lipton passed away
on May 11th, 2019, at the age of 72. Lipton was mother to daughters Kidada and
Rashida with her ex-husband, music pioneer Quincy Jones. Rashida and Kidada said in a statement to
The Los Angeles Times: "She made her journey peacefully with her
daughters and nieces by her side. [...] We can't put all of our feelings into
words right now, but we will say: Peggy was and will always be our beacon of light, both
in this world and beyond. She will always be a part of us." Lipton kicked off her modeling career when
she was just 15 years old. She was acclaimed for her acting work as Julie
Barnes in The Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973, earning four Emmy nominations and winning
a Golden Globe for the role in 1971. She was also a singer, releasing a self-titled
album in 1968. Lipton married Quincy Jones in 1974, then
took on smaller roles and bit parts periodically. After divorcing Jones in 1989, Lipton hit
the small screen again as Norma Jennings in Twin Peaks, a role she reprised in 2017. In addition to Twin Peaks, Lipton also appeared
in her daughter Rashida's series Angie Tribeca - appropriately enough, playing the mother
of Rashida's titular character. Rene Auberjonois A prolific character actor with a career spanning
more than four decades, Rene Auberjonois died on December 8th, 2019 from lung cancer. He was 79 years old. Auberjonois starred in a number of iconic
roles during his lifetime, most notably as the curmudgeonly shapeshifter Odo in Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine. He made appearances in a number of movies,
including MASH and Batman Forever, and was also an accomplished voice actor - with credits
on projects ranging from Disney's The Little Mermaid to Archer to Justice League. "I am shattered to pieces!" Auberjonois began his career on the stage,
winning a Tony Award in 1970 for his work in Coco, a play about the legendary fashion
designer Coco Chanel. He was nominated for three more Tony Awards
throughout his career. He was also nominated for an outstanding supporting
actor Emmy in 1984 for Benson, as well as for outstanding guest actor in a drama series
for The Practice in 2001. Auberjonois' son described the actor as a
"proud progressive" and highlighted his work with Doctors Without Borders. Fellow Star Trek star George Takei went on
to say: "[Auberjonois was] a wonderful, caring and
intelligent man." Doris Day Legendary singer and actress Doris Day passed
away on May 13th, 2019. She was 97 years old. Day was born Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff
in Cincinnati, Ohio. She got her start singing as a teen, changing
her last name when she started getting some serious radio airplay. Day began acting in musicals in the 1940s,
making her debut as Georgia Garrett in 1948's Romance On The High Seas. By the 1950s, she had become a household name
as America's girl next door, with Calamity Jane reportedly being her own favorite project
to have starred in. She also starred in Alfred Hitchcock's The
Man Who Knew Too Much, for which she recorded what became her signature Oscar-winning song,
"Que Sera Sera." Three years later, she co-starred with longtime
friend Rock Hudson in Pillow Talk, for which she was nominated that year's Oscar for best
actress. Unfortunately, Day's personal life wasn't
quite as picture-perfect as her career. Day was married four times, with three marriages
ending in divorce. Her third husband, Martin Melcher, was also
her manager, and when he died, she was left in massive debt and would go on to sue his
business partner for fraud. Day's son Terry also died of melanoma in 2004. Day was also an ardent animal activist and
owned a dog-friendly hotel in Carmel, California - and she also started her own foundation
dedicated to spaying, neutering, and rescuing animals. Tim Conway Comedy legend Tim Conway died on May 14th,
2019, at 85 years old. Conway's big break had been in the role of
Ensign Charles Parker on McHale's Navy, soon to be followed by his acclaimed role on The
Carol Burnett Show. He won a Golden Globe and four Emmy Awards
for his work on the latter, as well as two more Emmys later in his career, including
one for a guest role on 30 Rock. And Conway was happiest in supporting roles,
telling the Archive of American Television in 2004: "I would much rather stand in the background
and make small funny things than be up at the head of the class." In August 2018, The Blast reported that Conway
was confined to a wheelchair and battling dementia. His wife, Charlene, and his daughter Kelly,
from an earlier marriage, engaged in a lengthy court battle over who should be his conservator. After his passing, Carol Burnett told Fox
News: "I'm heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant
comedian but as a loving human being. I cherish the times we had together both on
the screen and off. He'll be in my heart forever." Rip Torn Legendary character actor Rip Torn died on
July 9th, 2019, at 88 years old. The actor had a whopping 200 credits to his
name, beginning on Broadway in the 1950s and leading to a Tony Award nomination for his
role in Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth in 1959. One of Torn's most iconic performances was
in the Norman Mailer 1970 docudrama Maidstone, when Torn reportedly attacked Mailer with
a hammer during a scene. A scripted fight supposedly became a real
one - and the raw footage was included in the final film. Torn also earned an Oscar nod for best supporting
actor in 1983's Cross Creek. One of his most popular roles, however, was
as producer Artie on The Larry Sanders Show in the 1990s, which earned him six Emmy nominations
and one win for best supporting actor. He was also celebrated for his role as Zed,
chief of a top secret alien-hunting group in 1997's Men In Black and for his comedic
performance as Patches O'Houlihan in Dodgeball in 2004. "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge
a ball." Rutger Hauer Veteran actor Rutger Hauer died at his Netherlands
home on July 19th, 2019, after a short illness. He was 75 years old. Hauer was best known for his role of Roy Batty,
the homicidal replicant in Blade Runner, though he made a name for himself nearly a decade
earlier with a role in the Best Foreign Film Oscar nominee Turkish Delight. After several Dutch films, Hauer broke out
stateside as a baddie in Sylvester Stallone's Nighthawks. Following Nighthawks, Hauer took on a string
of action roles for the next decade. Though initially known for his action roles,
Hauer was a figure in the world of horror, too, most notably starring as Lothos in the
1992 movie Buffy The Vampire Slayer and fairy prince Niall Brigant on HBO's vampire drama
True Blood. Although Hauer was a workhorse actor, he chose
his projects carefully, and explained to The Hollywood Reporter in February 2018 that he
wasn't too interested in modern blockbusters. He said: "The eye of the director and the point of
view of the filmmaker has suffered [in big films] in the past decades. I look for hard balls. And I don't see much balls in most films today." "All those moments will be lost in time." Peter Fonda Peter Fonda died on August 16th, 2018, at
79 years old, after a battle with lung cancer. Fonda was an iconic on-screen biker, beginning
with the Hell's Angels opus Wild Angels, in which he starred alongside Bruce Dern and
Nancy Sinatra. Then came his star turn in Easy Rider, which
he co-wrote with Dennis Hopper and author Terry Southern. Fonda earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar
nomination for Easy Rider, though he and Hopper reportedly feuded for years over who came
up with the film's premise. His most notable roles in the 1970s included
parts in Futureworld and Wanda Nevada, in which he co-starred with a young Brooke Shields
and his father, Henry Fonda. He later appeared with his daughter, Bridget
Fonda, in Bodies, Rest & Motion. After a series of cameos and bit parts, Peter
Fonda returned to the big time in John Carpenter's blockbuster Escape From L.A. with Kurt Russell,
followed by Ulee's Gold, for which he was nominated for a 1998 Best Actor Oscar. He continued acting throughout his life, both
in film and TV. Peter's superstar sister, Jane Fonda, said
in a statement: "I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family. I have had beautiful alone time with him these
last days. He went out laughing." Kylie Rae Harris Country singer Kylie Rae Harris died on September
4th, 2019, at just 30 years old, in three-vehicle crash near Taos, New Mexico. The 16-year-old driver of another car was
also killed in the accident. It has since been revealed that Harris' blood
alcohol content at the time was three times the legal limit. Hours before Harris' passing, she revealed
on her Instagram Story that she used to frequent the northern New Mexico town with her father
and sisters, because her grandparents had lived there. She added, however, that only one surviving
uncle remained out of all of them. Harris wrote: "Driving these roads today - I've been driving
for 12 hours - you would think that's so exhausting and boring. And remembering my place in the back seat,
and I started getting really sad." Eddie Money Singer Eddie Money, famous for "Two Tickets
to Paradise" and "Take Me Home Tonight," died on September 13th, 2019, at 70 years old. The crooner had recently been diagnosed with
stage 4 esophageal cancer. "I thought that I was just going in to get
a check up, and he told me that I got cancer." On the morning of his death, his family told
Variety: "It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye
to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever
through his music." Money, born Edward Joseph Mahoney, was an
NYPD officer before moving to California, where he linked up with legendary producer
Bill Graham. His first hit was 1978's "Baby Hold On," while
"Take Me Home Tonight" peaked at Number 4. In April 2018, Money and his family appeared
on the AXS TV reality series Real Money. During the 1980s, Money struggled with addiction
and alcohol abuse, but eventually sobered up. Still, he maintained a sense of humor about
his life and career, telling the Los Angeles Times: "I don't go for this Hollywood crap. [...] I don't go to Rod Stewart parties. I don't come down to L.A. for the Grammys. I'm not into fancy cars. I drive a 1974 Mercedes that I bought from
my lawyer. It's a piece of junk. I'm trying to sell it to my Iranian dentist." Ric Ocasek The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek died on September
15th, 2019. He was 75 years old. Ocasek's estranged wife, former supermodel
Paulina Porizkova, reportedly found him unresponsive in bed in their New York City home, where
he was pronounced dead at the scene. In May 2018, Porizkova announced that she
and Ocasek had separated a year earlier, after 28 years of marriage. The couple first met on the set of The Cars'
video for "Drive" in 1984 and share two children. Ocasek was responsible for The Cars' biggest
hits, including smash singles from their self-titled 1978 debut album like "Just What I Needed,"
"My Best Friend's Girl" and "Good Times Roll," as well as several solo albums. The Cars' smash hit "You Might Think" even
beat out Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for the inaugural Video of the Year award at the
MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. Ocasek and The Cars were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. He told Rolling Stone that the honor was a
"good cap on the bottle" of his music career, explaining: "This could be the bookend. One guy on a guitar playing bad songs and
then I’m in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 45 years later. [...] It’s been a pretty eventful life,
I can say." Rip Taylor Actor and comedian Rip Taylor died on October
6th 2019, at the age of 84, having suffered a seizure the week before. Known for his over-the-top personality, costumes,
and signature handlebar mustache, Taylor had been a veteran of the Korean War before entering
show business. During the '70s, he was a staple celebrity
guest on a number of popular game shows. Taylor earned his nickname, the "King of Confetti,"
entirely by accident, having torn up his 5-by-8 cards after becoming frustrated over the jokes
he was given on the Merv Griffin Show. This off-the-cuff act launched Taylor's famous
gag - one that he would perform for the rest of his career. Following Taylor's passing, his publicist
released a statement to CNN, saying: "The greatest joy he had in life was the result
of making others laugh. He didn't have an easy childhood. Abused and bullied, he said he discovered
early that they weren't hitting you if they were laughing." Gloria Vanderbilt Gloria Vanderbilt died at 95 on June 17th,
2019. Born Gloria Laura Madeleine Sophie Vanderbilt
in 1924, Vanderbilt was at the center of a custody battle dubbed "The Trial of the Century",
which began after her father's death, when she was 18 months old. Vanderbilt's aunt eventually won custody of
her after Vanderbilt's mother squandered much of her trust fund. Gloria modeled in her teens and romanced older
men, including Errol Flynn and Howard Hughes, before marrying a number of times and having
a handful of children. With her final husband, writer Wyatt Cooper,
she shared sons Anderson and Carter. Wyatt died in 1978, and Carter died by suicide
a decade later. In addition to being a tabloid staple, Gloria
was an artist and fashion designer, and her signature denim made her a household name
for a new generation. Her son Anderson recalled: "If you were around in the early 1980s it
was pretty hard to miss the jeans she helped create, but that was her public face - the
one she learned to hide behind as a child. Her private self, her real self - that was
more fascinating and more lovely than anything she showed the public." In memoriam Sadly, these aren't the only celebrities who
left us in 2019. Here are some of the other stars who passed
away last year. Ashley Massaro Daniel Wright Etika Billy Drago Emily Hartridge Aron Eisenberg Robert Hunter Beth Chapman Valerie Harper Suzanne Whang Jessi Combs Sulli Ross Perot Stephen Moore Bill Macy Robert Evans John Witherspoon Laurel Griggs Jane Galloway Heitz Goo Hara Godfrey Gao Shelley Morrison Sid Haig Cha In-Ha Robert Walker Jr. Ron Leibman Juice WRLD Marie Fredriksson Philip McKeon Jack Burns Danny Aiello Chuy Bravo Don Imus Sue Lyon Bill and Joe Smith Luke Perry Katherine Helmond Nipsey Hussle Carol Channing Keith Flint Bob Einstein Janice Freeman Jan-Michael Vincent Lisa Sheridan Julie Adams Fatima Ali Jed Allan Bibi Andersson Carmen Argenziano Kaye Ballard Seymour Cassel Daryl Dragon Georgia Engel Richard Erdman Albert Finney Freeda Foreman Yoji Harada Denise DuBarry Hay Mitzi Hoag Paul Koslo Steve Bean Kristoff St. John Dick Miller Louisa Moritz 'Mean' Gene Okerlund Joseph Pilato Nadja Regin Lotte Van Der Zee If you or someone you know is having suicidal
thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
