Actors and Actresses Who Died in 2016

Debbie Reynolds, a singer, actress, dancer, and businesswoman, died December 28, one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher also died. Reynolds had a stroke in Los Angeles that day; she later died in an area hospital.

Reynolds built a career spanning decades. She hit the movie scene in 1950.Three Little WordsShe starred in How The West Was Won.How The West Was WonThe Unsinkable Molly Brown.The Unsinkable Molly BrownShe also had a prolific TV career, guest starring on shows like "Will & Grace" and "Halloweentown."Will & GraceThis earned her an Emmy. She also played Aggie Cromwell in the Disney Halloweentown series.Halloweentownseries.

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TMZVariety.Variety

Actress Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, died December 27 at age 60. Fisher had a heart attack on December 23 during a flight from London to Los Angeles. Medical staff moved her to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put her in intensive care before she passed.

She is the daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher. Fisher made her film debut in 1975 in the movie Shampoo. Two years later, Fisher starred as Princess Leia Organa, making her a pop culture icon. Fisher also worked as a screenwriter and producer.

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Rolling Stone, PeopleLos Angeles Times.Los Angeles Times

Zsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa Gabor died December 18 at her Los Angeles home from heart failure. She was 99. The starlet and socialite was known for her fabulous lifestyle, her love of diamonds, and her many marriages to millionaires.

She started her career in Hungary, where she won Miss Hungary in 1936. After moving to America in 1944, she became a star known for her exotic European style. She married nine times. Her husbands included diplomats, hoteliers, and businessmen.

Before she died, she said she wanted to move back to Hungary.

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New York Times, Page Six, Washington Post

Alan Thicke, a Canadian actor, gained fame playing Jason Seaver on the show Growing Pains.Growing PainsThicke died December 13, 2016, after a heart attack.According to TMZThicke and his son Carter played hockey at a Burbank ice rink when he suffered a heart attack. Staff moved him to a local hospital where he later died.

Alan Thicke was born in Ontario, Canada. He hosted a game show in Montreal called First Impressions in the late 1970s. He also worked on talk shows and composed TV theme songs. In 1985, he got the role of Jason Seaver, which brought him international fame.

Since the show ended in 1992, he has been a guest star on many popular scripted shows and hosted several live shows in the United States. He married three times and had three children, including singer Robin Thicke.Robin Thicke.

He died at age 69.

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Los Angeles Times, Romper.com

English actor Peter Vaughan played Maester Aemon Targaryen in English, perhaps most known outside Britain for this role.Game of ThronesPeter Vaughan passed away December 6.Vaughan died peacefully, surrounded by family. He was 93 years old in 2016.

Vaughan was a veteran character actor. He appeared in many films, including Straw Dogs, Remains of the Day, and Brazil.Straw Dogs, Remains of the Day, BrazilThe 39 Steps and The 39 StepsThe 39 StepsVaughan worked seven decades. The thespian also appeared in many TV shows. He is best remembered outside GoT.GoTVaughan played a scheming prison guard in GoT.scheming prison guardHarry Gout in Porridge.Porridge.

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BBCHuffington PostUSA Today

Florence Henderson played the Brady Bunch matriarch. She died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday, November 24, from heart failure. Her publicist, David Brokaw, confirmed the news.Brokaw. Brokaw said this.Brokaw"She was active until she felt unwell days ago. People felt she would bounce back."

Henderson started her career in the 1950s.1950sHenderson began as a soprano in stage musicals. She then played Carol Brady for many years. She became the first female guest host of The Tonight Show in 1962, between Jack Paar and Johnny Carson's shows.

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The New York TimesRolling StoneNPR

Actress AlexisArquette, sister to Patricia, David, and RosannaRosanna ArquetteAlexis Arquette passed away September 11, 2016.She died at age 47. No cause of death was announced immediately. Her brother Richmond said family sang David Bowie's "Star Man" to her.Alexis appeared in Pulp Fiction and The Wedding Singer.Pulp Fiction and The Wedding SingerThe Wedding Singer, among other films. Alexis refused roles she thought demeaning to trans people. Richmond's statement said this.Richmond's statement:

Alexis lived her reality fiercely in a world where being trans was dangerous. This world largely rejected differences and held violence against those we do not understand. Where she went, there was only one gender.

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VarietyBBCHollywood Reporter

August 29, 2016:Gene Wilder died at 83. Wilder was one of the goofiest, most enigmatic comedians of the 20th century. His frizzy hair and gentle voice mixed oddly with a sphinx-like stare that showed nothing of his mind or true self. Wilder worked best with director Mel Brooks on Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and The Producers, or comedian Richard Pryor on Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, and See Evil, Hear No Evil.Young FrankensteinBlazing SaddlesBlazing SaddlesThe ProducersThe Producers) or fellow comedian Richard Pryor (Silver StreakSilver StreakStir CrazyStir CrazySee Evil, Hear No EvilGene Wilder is most known for Willy Wonka. The actor showed talent by carrying a movie while seeming detached, acting as a guide for the audience, commenting on the action while participating. This self-aware style, which played with the fourth wall, influenced comedians like Mike Meyers and Will Ferrell. Ferrell also copied Wilder's move between childlike naivety and hysteria (Ferrell uses rage instead).

Read Gene Wilder obituaries.

Variety, Hollywood Reporter, BBC

August 1, 2016:MGM actress and old Hollywood star Gloria DeHaven died at 91 after a stroke. DeHaven became famous in the 1940s and 50s for appearing in big MGM musicals likeTwo Girls and a Sailor, Step Lively (with Frank Sinatra), and Best Foot Forward with Lucille Ball.

More Gloria DeHaven obituaries:
People, New York Times

June 19, 2016: Twenty-seven-year-old Anton Yelchin died at his Los Angeles home after his car rolled backward down his driveway, pinning him to his mailbox and security gate. Yelchin played Pavel Chekov in theStar Trek reboot by JJ Abrams. He also appeared in Alpha Dog, Fright Night, and Charlie Bartlett.

June 15, 2015:Ann Morgan Guilbert, a beloved actress from hits likeThe Nanny and The Dick Van Dyke Show,Guilbert succumbed to cancer at 87. Guilbert found success with guest roles in shows like I Dream of Jeannie, The Partridge Family, and Cheers. Her daughters Nora Eckstein and Hallie Todd survived her.

Nancy Dow, actress and Jennifer Aniston's mother, died surrounded by friends and family at 79. Dow's biggest roles came in the 1960s when she appeared inThe Beverly Hillbillies and The Wild Wild West. Nancy Dow suffered from strokes in recent years. Her family said her death followed a long illness.

Actor Alan Young died at 96. Young was famous for playing Wilbur inMr. Ed and voicing Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales, but he first gained fame withThe Alan Young Show - a comedy and variety program - on CBS in the 1950s. The series earned him two Emmy Awards. Young also voiced Farmer Smurf in The Smurfs and Haggis McHaggis in Nickelodeon’s The Ren & Stimpy Show.

April 17, 2016: Actress Doris Roberts died in her sleep of natural causes at her Los Angeles home. Roberts was 90. During her career, she won five Emmy awards; four were for playing Ray Romano's meddling mother onEverybody Loves Raymond.She began on Broadway, appearing inThe Desk Set, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Bad Habits, before moving to film. She worked besideRaymondDoris Roberts had memorable roles in shows like Remington Steele and Angie, along with movie appearances in films like Grandma's Boy and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.Remington SteeleandAngiealong with movie appearances in films likeGrandma's BoyandNational Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

March 29, 2016:Oscar-winning actress and former child star Patty Duke died fromsepsis from a ruptured intestine. She was 69. Duke became famous at 16, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Helen Keller inThe Miracle Worker. She later starred in her own TV show calledThe Patty Duke Show), where she played "identical cousins." In 1982, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and spent many later years supporting programs for people with mental health issues. She married four times and had three sons, including actor Sean Astin.

March 24, 2016:Comedian, actor, and writer Garry Shandling died suddenly at 66,reportedlyafter a massive heart attack. Shandling gained wide popularity as a stand-up comedian through his appearances and guest hosting onThe Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He created and starred in two major cable series: Showtime'sIt's Garry Shandling's Showand HBO'sThe Larry Sanders Show, which earned 18 Emmy nominations. As a film actor, he gained new fans through his role inIron Man 2andCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. Comedians of several generations remember him as a mentor.

February 25, 2016:Tony Burton is best known for his role asTony "Duke" Evers, the character who trained Rocky and Apollo Creed in theRockymovies. Burton began his career as a professional fighter in Flint, Michigan in the 1950s. He also got parts inThe ShiningandStir Crazy. Burton was in and out of the hospital for a year before his death; doctors had not yet diagnosed his condition. He was 78.

February 16, 2016: Gaynes was a veteran actor who played the foster father onPunky Brewster, the confused commandant in thePolice Academy films, and appeared in the Dustin Hoffman filmTootsie. He appeared as a guest on many TV shows in the 1960s and 70s and also sang as a trained baritone.

January 26, 2016:Ninety-four-year-old Abe Vigoda died of old age at his New Jersey home. The beloved character actor became known for his role as hitman Sal Tessio in the first and secondGodfatherfilms. As Fish in theBarney Millerseries, Vigoda also found a place on television. The show aired from 1975 to 1982, and Vigoda earned multiple Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor, plus his own spinoff. That show,Fish, ran for two seasons.

Besides his film work in shows likeJoe Versus the Volcano, Prancer, andLook Who's Talking, and television roles in shows likeThe Rockford Files, The Love Boat,andFamily Guy, Vigoda also acted on Broadway. He kept working into his old age, even appearing in a Snickers Super Bowl commercial with Betty White in 2010.

January 15, 2016:Lumbersexual and star.The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.Dan Haggerty died of cancer. The 74-year-old got a spinal tumor diagnosis months before, after seeing a doctor for back pain. Specialists then told him the end was near. Besides his iconic role as Grizzly Adams in the '70s, Haggerty also appeared in guest roles onCHiPsandCharlie's AngelsDan Haggerty was an animal trainer first, then an actor.

January 13, 2016:Legendary British actor Alan Rickman died of cancer at 69. Rickman earned fame for his bad guy roles in films likeRobin Hood: Prince of ThievesandDie HardRickman won fans with his role as Professor Snape in theHarry Potterseries. Rickman also directed two films:The Winter Gueststarring himLove Actuallyco-star Emma Thompson, and 2015'sA Little Chaoswith Kate Winslet. Rickman also acted on stage. He received a Tony nomination for his work inLes Liaisons DangereusesRickman spent many years with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Rickman married his partner, Rima Horton, in 2012.

January 12, 2016:Broadway star David Margulies died at 78. Margulies is best known for playing the mayor of New York inGhostbusters, Margulies was a very skilled stage actor. After starting in acting in the 1950s, Margulies reached Broadway in 1973'sThe Iceman Cometh. He appeared in 13 Broadway shows and many off-Broadway shows. His film and TV work includes roles in modern classics likeAce Ventura: Pet DetectiveandThe Sopranos.

January 10, 2016:Former Disney Channel actor Michael Galeota died of "natural causes" after reporting stomach pains. He left the hospital a few days before death, against his doctor's advice. Galeota had high cholesterol and hypertension. The 31-year-old starred inThe Jerseyran from 1999 to 2004.