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Published Nov 7, 2016

Creating That Vulcan Picture Box for Beyond

The Vulcan picture box in Star Trek Beyond certainly struck a chord with moviegoers, but, wow, even though it doesn't seem so long ago, it has been over two years since we were working hard on Beyond . And the story of the two years building to that touching moment is worth sharing, especially with Beyond out now on Blu-ray.

The art department started in the Spring of 2014 and the prop department started up in early September. Andy Siegel was to be the prop master again, beginning on his second Trek film. Scott Chambliss was the production designer in charge of the art department. And a great deal of the crew from the previous J.J. films were back on board, too. Somewhere in late October, however, we all got laid off with the change of directors, and we all went into a holding pattern until a new director was brought on.

This took a while, but when Justin Lin was brought on we were all ready to start up again. While waiting for the production launch date, everyone received an extremely sad email stating that Justin wanted to bring on his own design team and that everybody, including Scott Chambliss, was going to be replaced. We were heartbroken, to say the least, but life in Hollywood goes on -- and we went our separate ways. But then, Tom Sanders took on the role of the new production designer and, miracle of miracles, he kept Andy Siegel on board as prop master. Keeping Andy meant that (assistant property master) Melissa Harrison and the rest of the original prop team would stay together for yet another fun time on Trek .

Beyond was a pretty heavy prop show with a lot of new weapons and devices to be created. In addition to the usual list of props there were several new Vulcan items that had to be designed. Jewelry was one of the first things on the list. In a nod to Mr. Chambliss, the design team used the layered triangular frames that he set into motion on the first J.J. film, which dates back to 2007. The shapes were always very elegant and worked perfectly in all the Beyond jewelry concepts. Andy had to create a special necklace for Uhura to wear; it’s the one given to her by Spock. I drew five different variations and Tom and Justin both chose version #5. The final necklace generated quite a bit of dialogue in the film, but resulted in very little screen time.

The very last piece drawn for the film was a little Vulcan box that was basically a man's version of a picture locket. This piece was written into the script shortly after Leonard Nimoy passed away. We drew a couple of choices for it and included a picture of the cast from The Original Series . Andy presented the concepts to Tom and Justin, and we were about 98% there. The box was a bit more rectangular than they wanted, so it was squared off a bit and the picture was changed to a cast shot from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . Ironically, this picture is the final image depicting the entire original crew. The subsequent films featured various TOS cast members, but never the whole team again.

After the requested few changes to the design were made, the prop was then built and filmed. It wasn't until seeing the film at the premiere did I realize what a magical piece that little box was meant to be. Such a wonderfully sentimental scene this was, with Zachary Quinto's Spock emotionally – yes, emotionally -- saying goodbye to Nimoy’s Spock. It was a beautifully filmed moment complemented by a small snippet of Alexander Courage's Trek score playing softly in the background.

Everyone in every art department draws countless images for a production, but once in a rare while one of the ideas really stands out in a special way -- and this little Vulcan picture box is definitely one of them. It also, for me, represents great times on a great movie with some great friends. Thanks, Andy.

And if you were thinking that this is the end of the article, that’d be a most-illogical thought. As always, it is now time for the latest addition to my TOS Red Dress photo series. Mrs. Maygen Brockway has been a model for a little over six years and is very diverse in her themes and styles. I saw her portfolio when I first moved to Southern Utah and could not wait to set up a shoot with her. Early in the year, our schedules matched and we met up in beautiful Snow Canyon to shoot the Red Dress theme. In addition to the usual props, I brought along a 1:350th scale model of the TOS Enterprise. I have to say that the shots of Maygen and the model are my very favorites. She held that monster in a variety of fantastic poses on steep rocky grades and did so with great elegance. The end results are fodder for every Trek -loving fan.

When Maygen is not modeling, she is an assistant manager at one of the high-end jewelry stores in town. If you’re ever in Utah and have questions about diamonds, she knows all. Thanks, Maygen, for the great shoot -- and you are always my favorite to work with. Be sure to follow her on her Model Mayhem page, www.modelmayhem.com .

John Eaves is veteran artist and illustrator who has lent his talents to too many films and television shows to count. Actually, he's at 60-plus and counting. Over the years, he's made a tremendous mark on Star Trek , as he's worked on The Final Frontier , all four TNG films, DS9 and Enterprise , Star Trek: The Exhibition, Star Trek Online, Star Trek (2009) , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond .

Check out John Eaves' website, Atomic Johnny's Pin-Ups .

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Star Trek Beyond Concept Art Shows Off Starships And Stunning Alien Vistas

Martinez, whose art can be found on his Facebook page , did some of these early on with production designer Scott Chambliss and others for later reshoots with Production Designer Andrew Murdock.

The early ones are pretty easy to pick out, since they include “Federation Fighters” which were cut from the final film due to script changes and rewrites. The NCC-1507 on them is just a placeholder, by the way — it’s from an existing Star Trek ship and is used because the actual name and numbers for things haven’t been finalised when concept artists do their work.

The rest of the designs are for the mine shaft that serves as the villain’s base in the movie, and they’re pretty close to what we actually ended up seeing.

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20 crazy star trek concept art designs better than what we got.

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To Me, Seven Of Nine Is Star Trek’s Most Impressive Character

After 57 years, star trek settles the truth about trelane's godlike species, zoe saldana: uhura in j.j. abrams’ star trek movies explained.

For more than fifty years, Star Trek 's talented concept artists have been introducing us to strange new worlds, new life, and new civilizations.

Star Trek 's production teams had the massive task of creating the universe of the future. Not only did Star Trek show us what Earth and humanity would be like centuries from now, but it also took us to far-away planets home to diverse alien species.

Although audiences are now very familiar with Star Trek 's remarkable characters and locations, they did not always look like what we know.

With a practically unlimited drawing board, concept artists toyed with many ideas for well-known parts of the series and movies, such as the Borg, the Klingons, the Enterprise, and even beloved characters like Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

These designs were often more complex and intricate than the final product, likely changed over time by production budgets and technical requirements.

Other designs reflect parts of Star Trek we never even got to see in cut scenes or cancelled series and movies. They show a side of the franchise we never knew, the Star Trek that could have been.

With that said, here are the 20 Crazy Star Trek Concept Art Designs Better Than What We Got .

Borg Queen, Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact 's Borg Queen had to be many things at once. She had be a menacing threat, but still a beautiful seductress within the story.

Concept artist Ricardo Delgado drew up this early design for the powerful leader of the Borg Collective.

In Delgado's design, the Borg Queen would have looked like a cross between cyborg and ancient royalty.

The head carapace would have resembled an Egyptian queen. He intended for her to have ancient Borg text written on her mechanical body, indicating she was part of a long history of the Collective.

He also noted that the suit would look more like crystal and bone. This version of the Borg Queen would have looked equally at home leading the Borg or unearthed from a centuries-old tomb.

Early Alien Designs, Star Trek: TOS and TNG

The original Star Trek and  The Next Generation introduced a host of aliens, brought to life by '60s prostheses and '80s special effects.

When these aliens were brought to the screen, they often looked quite different from their concept art.

The first piece (left) is an early concept for the M-113 creature, also known by fans as the Salt Monster. The final product resembled something like a sad fish, but this version looks straight out of Stranger Things with a more abstract face and a realistic-looking sucking mouth.

The second piece (top right) is Andrew Probart's design for Armus, the gelatinous entity that destroyed Tasha Yar. This early art takes more advantage of his changeable shape to create a monster, a far cry from the "man dipped in tar" final version.

The last design (bottom right) is Probart's design for the Bynars, showing them as more culturally and visually distinct.

Jaylah, Star Trek Beyond

Jaylah, the escaped survivor of Krall's attacks, was the highlight of Star Trek Beyond . She survived along on Altamid by living in the crashed USS Franklin .

Her final design for the movie was similar to this concept art, but with a few marked differences.

Jaylah's skin and hair were brightly white, whereas her concept version used more earthy tones. Her clothes are lighter, unaffected by the dark cinematography of Beyond , and the individual pieces of her outfit look more distinct from one another.

The concept design looks like character that would truly blend into the background on the grey-brown world of Altamid.

Her distinct pieces of clothing also better reflect her scrapper lifestyle, as if each piece could have been taken from a different source. This version of Jaylah seems better prepared to camouflage and survive.

Hall of Ancient Thought, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

In Star Trek III , Spock is taken back to Vulcan to perform a ceremony that will restore Spock's consciousness to his body. To do this, he is taken to the Hall of Ancient Thought, a magnificent mountain temple on Vulcan.

The interior of the hall was created and filmed, but the scene was cut for time. However, even in the filmed scene, the filmmakers did not feel that the real set did the concept art justice.

Industrial Light & Magic created this concept for the hall's interior, making it an epic display of Vulcan culture and history.

The entire pathway on which the Vulcan procession takes place is lined with giant stone Vulcan heads. Part of the hall looks straight out of Indiana Jones , flanked by fire and incredible stonework.

If the filmmakers had been able to bring this art to life, it would have been an impressive sight.

Founder's Planet, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine brought the Changelings into the story, showing the homeworld of the shapeshifting species to which Odo belonged.

In the series, the Founder's homeworld was a dark, orange landscape mainly focusing on the sea of the Great Link.

Before this set was created for the Changeling planet, concept artist Jim Martin drew up an intricate design that would have made a diverse alien landscape.

However, the special effects team on the series ran into difficulties making this bright, complicated landscape into a real set.

The planet also had to be shown in relative darkness so the Great Link could be seen amongst the other elements. The producers were ultimately disappointed by the final set.

Without the constraints of the special effects of the time, the Founder's Planet might have been a more fleshed-out landscape.

Unused Alien, Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond kicked the franchise up a notch with interesting alien designs that the special effects team actually had the technology to pull off.

For the Yorktown Space Station, concept artists drew up some amazing and off-the-wall ideas for new aliens aboard the station.

This particular design by Phillip Boutte Jr. went unused, which seems like a terrible decision on the part of the filmmakers because it looks fantastic.

This alien design has so many intriguing elements to it that it would have raised questions about who this is and what this species is like.

Everything from the patterned skin to the sweeping cloak to the mask begs for more information about this character.

The mask may be a breathing apparatus, which would have been a good inversion of the common Star Trek logic that all the main species can breathe the same atmosphere.

Early DS9 Station Designs, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine was designed as a simple, elegant gyroscope, but there were several other designs in the running. These early concepts for the station were eclectic, containing complex elements that didn't necessarily fit together, but it looked that way for a reason.

An early idea for the station saw it as a deep-space Tower of Babel, built upon by several distinct cultures.

The different sections of the station would use the technology and style of the culture that built it.

This would create a wide variety of layouts throughout the station. Both of these designs reflect that element well, appearing as a hodge-podge made from the designs of several different architects.

This concept for Deep Space Nine might have added more depth to the station itself and increased the complications of keeping the station up and running.

Borg Drones, Star Trek: The Next Generation

When the production team of The Next Generation came up with the Borg, they had to settle on a design for the menacing cyborg collective.

The Borg always looked great, but they went through a variety of visual designs. In these early designs, the combination of human and machine is still there, but it is used in different ways.

The first design (left) by David Fisher includes metal pieces that extend up over the mouth. The second design (middle) smooths out the style of the mechanics so they blend in with the organic elements.

The last design (right) settled into the Borg's usual facial structure, but had a more organic look to all of the mechanical elements.

The mask elements and the organic-like robotics of the early designs would have been excellent additions to the Borg aesthetic.

Enterprise Engineering, Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek 's 2009 reboot created some gorgeous new concepts for the design of the Enterprise. The engineering section, though, was not one of those.

In the engineering sequences of Star Trek , the section does not seem to match the streamlined look of the rest of the ship.

It's cluttered with pipes and seemingly outdated technology, but there's a reason for that. The engine room scenes were actually filmed in a Budweiser brewery.

However, the brewery wasn't the only idea for the Enterprise's engine room. This concept art shows another idea for the engineering section, one that matches the sleek style of the rest of the Enterprise.

It features more high-tech engineering, such as automated parts to assist in handling engineering equipment. The warp core is the star of this art, and it would have been a magnificent sight on the big screen.

Klingons, Star Trek: Into Darkness

Star Trek: Into Darkness revamped the Klingons for the new Kelvin timeline, changing the way that the species was presented on screen.

The new Kelvin version was somewhere between The Next Generation and Discovery . They had different forehead ridges from their former iterations, and they tended to have shaved heads.

It was a significant change from the harsher look and the thick, flowing hair of TNG 's Klingons.

Artist Neville Page had the task of designing and modeling the new Klingons. He went through several versions, all with different ridge designs, facial hair, and ornamentation.

This version stands out because of the use of ornamentation in the design.

It retains the Klingon's usual hair, but braids in back in a gold plated ornamental style, supplemented by a gold nose-piece. It's a more sensible cultural style for the Klingons that would have looked stunning in the movie.

Altamid, Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond focused on the Enterprise crew stranded on Altimid, a planet with diverse landscapes that was home to an advanced ancient species.

The movie featured several locations on the planet, ranging from Krall's quarries to lush forest. When developing the planet, concept artist Victor Martinez drew up multiple designs for Altamid, most of them bright and beautiful like this one.

This design is particular intriguing, as it combines a bright, sunny planet surface with dark gateways into its subterranean structure.

Star Trek Beyond tended to lean dark in its cinematography, missing the chance to create this visually stunning landscape within the movie.

This design also looks far more alien than the final design, and it would have been interesting to explore a planet that looked vastly different from Earth.

Borg Obelisk, Star Trek: First Contact

For the Borg's cinematic debut as the villains of Star Trek: First Contact , the filmmakers considered ways to make the Borg different from what we have seen before.

One idea they explored was changing the Borg's ship designs from the classic cube. Ricardo Delgado came up with this design for the Borg Obelisk with a Borg sphere set into the top.

Delgado stated about the design, "I felt the obelisk was a natural geometric progression away from the cube, while the obvious reference to Egyptology would also make the audience wonder if this was the Borg's first visit to Earth."

It was scrapped when it proved difficult to present in a visually exciting way, but Delgado's design and its implications about the Borg's ancient history remain intriguing.

Crepusculan, Star Trek Discovery

Star Trek Discovery has been the first Star Trek series to hit television since advanced special effects became common. This gave them an opportunity to diversify their alien repertoire.

One of the first species they featured was the Crepusculans, a non-humanoid species native to a desert planet.

The aliens featured in the show were small creatures that went unnoticed a desert canyon. The original concept art for the species, though, appears to be a bit less subtle.

The non-humanoid species that Starfleet concerns itself with usually seem to be strikingly human-like. The final design of the Crepusculans similarly retained a human-like form.

This concept art would have been interesting within the series, as it presents the race as a beastly species.

The franchise would have had a chance to explore Starfleet's relationship with species that would traditionally be considered animals or monsters.

Federation Battle Shuttle, Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond almost got creative with the Federation's ship designs. Concept artist Victor Martinez created this design for a Federation Battle Shuttle.

According to Martinez , "It was created for an earlier version of the script, and unfortunately was cut from the final script, but perhaps influenced the enemy 'Swarm Ships' we do see in the final film. Both are small, dart-like fighters, ultra-maneuverable, and can carry a pilot and 2-3 passengers in a toboggan tandem style seating."

The Battle Shuttle would have been amazing to see in action, as Star Trek has seldom delved into this kind of ship design for the Federation.

Throughout the different series, shuttle design was getting more high-tech and maneuverable.

This shuttle would have been the culmination of that build-up within the franchise. Hopefully, we'll eventually get to see the Battle Shuttle work.

Chang, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

General Chang continued the grand tradition of Klingon antagonists in early Star Trek with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

Chang was an intelligent villain out to sabotage the peace talks between the Klingons and the Federation. He was brought to life by Christopher Plummer, who wasn't happy with the usual Klingon design.

He requested less drastic, more human makeup for Chang, and the filmmakers granted his request.

Originally, Chang was going to look like the traditional Klingon. This early design shows all the usual Klingon hallmarks, including pronounced forehead ridges and a full mane of hair.

He also appears in more grand attire, adding a regal touch to his military uniform.

This version of Chang would have been a commanding antagonist, and it would not have deviated so drastically from the Klingon's usual design.

Swarm Soldier, Star Trek Beyond

Krall's Swarm Soldiers made things difficult for Kirk and his crew throughout Star Trek Beyond . By the time they got to the screen, the swarm soldiers were high-tech metallic drones.

This drone workforce had been left behind by the previous inhabitants of the planet, the same inhabitants that left the energy transference technology that created Krall from Captain Edison.

Concept artists Alan Villanueva and Neville Page came up with this early design for swarm soldiers.

Instead of the obvious robots of the movie, these soldiers have an organic feel.

Their characteristics could easily be roboting or living tissue. This swarm soldier is a horrifying mashup of monster traits out of classic science fiction movies.

As they are not so clearly robots, they leave an unnerving question about how the original inhabitants created this workforce.

Recreation Room, Star Trek: Phase II

In the scrap heap of cancelled Star Trek project lies Star Trek: Phase II , the first intended sequel series for the original Star Trek . T

he series got pretty far in development before cancellation. Concept art was drawn up for the series, showcasing all the major areas of the ship.

The concept art showed off the new bridge, sickbay, the captain's quarters, and the recreation room. While the other sets were fairly standard for Star Trek , the recreation room was a step away from the norm.

The new recreation room combines a futuristic feel with '70s fun. It features alien plants, brightly colored spaces, and of course a nook in which to play 3D chess.

The first concept piece (top) gives a glimpse at some form of futuristic entertainment, possibly holographic, within the recreation room.

It's a display of high-tech entertainment and fun space that makes Ten Forward boring in comparison.

Klingon Uniforms, Star Trek: Into Darkness

Among other changes to the Klingons for Star Trek: Into Darkness , the uniforms also needed to be redone.

The movie left behind the bright metal chest and shoulder plates of TNG 's Klingon warriors for a simpler style. The warrior attire got a modern update, focusing on long military coats and helmets, which had never been associated with Klingons in the past.

The helmet was even made to reflect the Klingons with engraved forehead ridges.

This concept art for the Klingon warriors by Constantine Sekeris is similar to the final version, but with an interesting deviation. This uniform looks more leathery and worn, almost like something out of World War II.

The helmet seems to be made out of the same leathery material, allowing for better camouflage. The uniform is also a wartime callback, a good fit for warrior species.

Young Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, Star Trek: The First Adventure

Before J.J. Abrams brought us the early days of the Enterprise crew, there was the cancelled movie Star Trek: The First Adventure .

Intended to follow Star Trek V , this movie would have cast young Kirk, Spock, and McCoy in a prequel about how the three met at the Academy.

While the project was ultimately thrown out, it developed far enough to have a script and concept art.

This concept art for the movie shows the character designs for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Kirk is coming out of rural Iowa. reflected in his simple Americana style. Spock, a brilliant outcast who left Vulcan, is still in full Vulcan cultural attire. McCoy, a 30-year-old doctor who joined Starfleet to search for meaning, has a cowboy-type style indicating his origins in the American South.

It's an interesting display of their early lives that would have made The First Adventure a movie to see.

Kruge as a Romulan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Before Christopher Lloyd stepped into the part of the Klingon commander Kruge in Search for Spock , the original story would have had a Romulan antagonist.

Kruge would have been a Romulan commander that showed up in a Bird of Prey to investigate and mine the Genesis Planet only to have his crew picked off by a feral Spock.

This version of Kruge likely would have been more measured, as his main goal was not the Genesis weapon.

Romulans have largely gone underutilized in Star Trek , especially given their long backstory with the Earth-Romulan war.

A Romulan antagonist would have been an excellent utilization of those undercurrents of conflict, and he probably would have been a more believable threat than the over-the-top Klingon Kruge.

This concept art is a look at a Search for Spock, which would have taken the movie and the franchise in a vastly different direction.

What do you think? Would you have prefered to see these pieces of  Star Trek  concept art on screen? Sound off in the comments!

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• Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe

New Star Trek Beyond concept art

• Thread starter F. King Daniel
• Start date May 6, 2020

F. King Daniel

Fleet admiral.

• May 6, 2020

Some really cool stuff here, including early versions of Yorktown from before they went totally bonkers with the spiralling arms. Also plans for the Kelvin pod, the Federation shuttle and different versions of Krall's drone army. There's also some planet stuff from Orci's unmade version of Beyond. Click here!  

Don't see full construction blueprints much. Very cool.  

Vice Admiral

• May 7, 2020

The shuttle looks similar to the type 11 from INS  

The shuttle looks basically identical to the so-called Takayama type from the preceding movie - the only real differences are in the cockpit forward windows (the windshield now wraps around the corners), and the aerial on top of the cockpit (now missing) and the side "impulse engine" bulges astern (now added). So I don't quite see what would be meant by executing this one in prop form. It had been a prop or at least an interactive interior set in the previous movie: surely that one would have been used as is, even if (and probably when) it had been struck down, with someone at carpentry dusting off the old blueprints? Timo Saloniemi  

FederationHistorian

These are amazing and cool. Also, until I clicked on the first photo, it looked like the Galaxy class nacelles were redesigned to be like TOS, with the light reflecting off it looking like plasma.  

• May 11, 2020

Great work certainly. If an intruder were to materialize on board, I could see this exploded view come to life, unfurl to a particular deck to a close up of a moving dot  

https://www.thetrekcollective.com/2020/05/the-amazing-aliens-of-star-trek-beyond.html  

NCC-73515 said: https://www.thetrekcollective.com/2020/05/the-amazing-aliens-of-star-trek-beyond.html Click to expand...

I just wish they'd shown them more  

NCC-73515 said: I just wish they'd shown them more Click to expand...

• May 14, 2020

Looking at other stuff on the site I never knew about: -Spock Primes Trek V photo was originally going to be a photo of them in the TOS era? (which wouldn't really make sense as they'd be too close in age to the Kelvin counterparts) https://www.thetrekcollective.com/2016/08/john-eaves-prop-designs-for-star-trek.html -Cancelled ST09 Spocks Playmates (including TOS era figures tie ins to the 2009 film) https://www.thetrekcollective.com/2018/09/cancelled-kelvin-timeline-playmates.html Looking for Orci ST3 design stuff on there but can't seem to find any  

Khan 2.0 said: Spock Primes Trek V photo was originally going to be a photo of them in the TOS era? (which wouldn't really make sense as they'd be too close in age to the Kelvin counterparts) Click to expand...

• May 21, 2020

RAMA said: Everyone I've talked with who worked on ST Beyond tells me Orci's version was better. Click to expand...

I have spoken............

KennyB said: Beyond was just behind ST09 and way ahead of STiD for me..........if that many people had access to it I'm shocked it hasn't leaked online somewhere. Click to expand...

• May 22, 2020
• May 23, 2020

RAMA said: It's my favorite by a smidge over ST09, but the BTS scenes guys are so adamant it makes me really curious! Release the Orci cut!! Click to expand...

Khan 2.0 said: paramount is so confused of what to do regarding a new Trek film hopefully they'll re-greenlight Orcis ST3 for immediate post corona lockdown shoot so off the cuff Shatner has to cancel a bunch of convention appearances for emergency filming! Click to expand...

• May 24, 2020

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Price: $70 Where to buy: Insight Editions , Amazon

Dune Part One: The Photography

Why we like it: While sci-fi fans wait ( and wait ) for Denis Villeneuve’s next Frank Herbert adaptation, Dune: Part Two, there’s no better eye-candy feast than this collection of images from the Oscar-winning first film, shot on location by unit photographer Chiabella James. The book also features commentary from stars like Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson (who also wrote the preface), Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, and Jason Momoa, plus a foreword by executive producer Tanya Lapointe and an afterword by Brian Herbert. Get a look inside the book here .

Price: $60 Where to buy:   Insight Editions , Amazon

A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune - An Oral History

Why we like it: And then there’s David Lynch’s Dune—not a multi-Oscar winner by any means, but a cult classic that’s inspired plenty of curiosity over the years. Author Max Evry gathers new interviews with stars like Kyle MacLachlan, Sean Young, and Virginia Madsen, as well as “creatives, film executives, and insiders” and even director Lynch himself to excavate the true story behind this legendary and oft-misunderstood 1984 Hollywood oddity. Read an excerpt here .

Price: $22.99 Where to buy:   1984 Publishing , Amazon

Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road

Why we like it: This Hugo-nominated book by New York Times pop-culture journalist Kyle Buchanan offers “a full-speed-ahead” oral history of George Miller’s stunning 2015 action epic , which won six Oscars and racked up audience acclaim despite a brutal production plagued by harsh weather and notoriously dangerous conditions. Miller and stars Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy are among the interviewees in the book, which traces “Fury Road’s unexpected origins, through its outlandish casting process to the big-studio battles that nearly mutilated a masterpiece ... and astonishing facts behind a shoot so unconventional that the film’s fantasy world began to bleed into the real lives of its cast and crew.”

Price: $23.19 Where to buy:   HarperCollins , Amazon

Labyrinth: Bestiary - A Definitive Guide to the Creatures of the Goblin King’s Realm

Why we like it: Any fan of Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy would break out into a spontaneous performance of “Magic Dance” upon receiving this collector’s volume by S.T. Bende, which explores the “wondrous beings and chaotic critters” that populate the movie as well as the tie-in comics and novelization. What’s more, the book includes “a stunning sketchbook featuring exclusive artwork from award-winning illustrator Iris Compiet, a selection of three beautiful art prints, and a signature card signed by the artist.”

Price: $200 Where to buy:   Insight Editions ; if you don’t need the extra flair, Insight Editions and Amazon also have a version for $35

The Wicker Man: The Official Story of the Film

Why we like it: Released in 1973, The Wicker Man is still the definitive folk-horror movie—and is just as chilling now as it was over 50 years ago. This book explores the movie’s origins, deploying “fascinating behind-the-scenes photography, new interviews, exclusive artwork, and never-before-seen material from the StudioCanal archives” to weave its tale.

Price: $50 Where to buy:   Titan Books , Amazon

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - The Making of the Classic Film

Why we like it: Every Star Trek fan’s coffee table needs two things: a bowl of revenge (served cold), and this handsome volume chronicling the making-of 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It contains “rare and previously unpublished archival material, behind-the-scenes photography, production art, cut scenes, script extracts, and much more, alongside new and exclusive interviews with the creatives, including director Nicholas Meyer.” Get a peek inside the book here .

The X-Files: The Official Archives: Cryptids, Biological Anomalies, and Parapsychic Phenomena

Why we like it: This release from author and X-Files superfan Paul Terry is styled as a collection of “case files” pulled from the desks of FBI agents Scully and Mulder (check out a look inside and an author interview here )—making it a fun reference volume for fans wanting to know more details about the show’s most fascinating and monstrous cases. Terry has a second volume, The X-Files: The Official Archives: Volume II: Extraterrestrial Activity and the Syndicate, due out next year; you can learn more about that here .

Price: $50 Where to buy: Abrams Books , Amazon

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Celebrity deaths 2024: Remembering the stars we've lost this year

Paying tribute to the entertainers who died this year.

After saying sad and shocking goodbyes to the many stars who died in 2023 , with  Matthew Perry , Tina Turner ,  Andre Braugher ,  Suzanne Somers , and  Lisa Marie Presley among them, we are once again paying our respects after the deaths of entertainers and other notable figures in the new year.

Everett Collection (2); Mario Ruiz/Getty Images

Read on to remember the life and work of the celebrities who have died in 2024, including country music superstar Toby Keith , Broadway legend Chita Rivera , Rocky and Mandalorian actor Carl Weathers , Mary Poppins actress Glynis Johns , Honeymooners star Joyce Randolph , and Designated Survivor and X-Men: Days of Future Past actor Adam Canto .

Martin Mull

Roy Rochlin/Getty 

Comedian and actor Martin Mull , known for roles in  Clue, Roseanne, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Arrested Development, among   many others, died June 27 at age 80 after an undisclosed illness. Mull originally rose to fame on  Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman  and its spinoffs,  Fernwood 2 Night  and  America 2 Night.  In 1985, he co-wrote and starred in the mockumentary  The History of White People in America alongside frequent collaborator Fred Willard. Mull had memorable roles as Colonel Mustard in the 1985 cult comedy Clue, as Gene Parmesan on  Arrested Development, as Russell on  Two and a Half Men  as Russell, and voiced the main villain Vlad Plasmius on animated series  Danny Phantom . He earned his only Emmy nomination in 2016 for his work on  Veep  playing Bob "The Eagle" Bradley. Other onscreen appearances include  The Ellen Show ,  Dads ,  Life in   Pieces,   Serial, FM ,  Mr.   Mom, Mrs. Doubtfire , and  Jingle All the Way.

Kinky Friedman

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Texas-based country musician, author, and humorist Kinky Friedman died June 27 at his ranch near Austin, Tex., after a struggle with Parkinson's disease. He was 79. Friedman's music catalog, which he sometimes performed with the band he formed in the '70s, Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, included irreverent songs such as "A--hole from El Paso," "We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You," and "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed." The artist toured with Bob Dylan and performed on Saturday Night Live, and at the Grand Ole Opry. But that was just part of his expansive career, which also included writing mystery novels and a column for Texas Monthly . In 2006, he had a memorable run for governor of "The Lone Star State," which he lost to Rick Perry. His death announcement said that he "endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit. Kinky will live on as his books are read and his songs are sung."

Renauld White

Neilson Barnard/Getty

Renauld White, an occasional actor who became only the second Black model to appear on the cover of GQ magazine in 1979, died on June 26 . He was 80 years old. Starting modeling in the 1960s, White was known for championing more diversity in fashion. He walked the runway for Bill Blass in 1969 and went on to appear in shows by Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Donna Karan. He also worked for the likes of  Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Versace, Armani, and Cerutti. White came out of retirement in 2023 to model for a Dolce & Gabana campaign, shot by Steven Meisel. Though known primarily for his modeling, White also dabbled in acting, transitioning his good looks to daytime TV with a brief stint in 1986-87 on The Guiding Light as William Reynolds. White also appeared in the 2014 TV movie Gun Hill and the 2017 movie Central Park .

Sika Anoa'i

Sika Anoa'i, the WWE Hall of Famer and father of fellow pro wrestling star Roman Reigns, died June 25 , at 79. Known as Sika in the ring, he was half of the Wild Samoans tag team, which also included his older brother, Afa Anoa'i. "The duo's fearsome presence and unhinged style made them massive stars for WWE in the late '70s and early '80s as they dominated the tag team division, winning the championship on three separate occasions," the WWE said in a statement. Sika retired from the ring in 1988, but his legacy continued, as he and his brother opened a training center for future wrestling stars. He was also the father of late pro wrestler Matthew Anoa'i, a.k.a. Rosey, who died in 2017.

Bobby Bank/GC Images

Prolific character actor Bill Cobbs, who appeared in movies such as The Bodyguard , Night at the Museum , and Demolition Man , as well as on shows such as The Sopranos , I'll Fly Away , and One Life to Live , died June 25 , at 90. His publicist, Chuck I. Jones, remembered him as "a phenomenal human being." The Cleveland native spent eight years in the Air Force and also worked at a car dealership and at IBM before he began his half-century run in Hollywood. Along the way, he earned a Daytime Emmy for his work as Mr. Hendrickson on Dino Dana , a Canadian educational show for children.

Shifty Shellshock

Jerod Harris/Getty 

Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of rap-rock band Crazy Town who performed hits like “Butterfly,” died at his home on June 24 at age 49, according to a  Los Angeles County Medical Examiner  report. Shellshock, born Seth Binzer, collaborated with Bret "Epic" Mazur under the name The Brimstone Sluggers before going on to co-found Crazy Town together. The band released their debut album, The Gift of the Game , in 1999, but it wasn’t until the release of their third single “Butterfly” the following year that they achieved mainstream success. The band broke up after their second album, but reunited over the following years and released their third album The Brimstone Sluggers in 2015. Binzer, who struggled with addiction throughout his life, also performed as a solo artist and as the frontman for Shifty and the Big Shots.

Julio Foolio

Julio Foolio/Instagram

Julio Foolio, the Florida rapper born Charles Jones and known for songs including "Crooks" and "Reach The Top," was shot and killed June 23 in a hotel parking lot in Tampa. He was 26. Representative Lewis Fusco said Jones had been in Tampa to celebrate his birthday and was reportedly ambushed. As a rap artist, Jones had amassed 1.1. million followers on Instagram and nearly 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He first made waves with the release of his 2018 single "Coming Up" and continued to cultivate a following via social media platforms and a YouTube channel. His 10 albums included 2024's Resurrection .

Sarah Becker

Sarah Becker/Facebook

Sarah Becker, a comic book store worker who appeared on The Real World: Miami , has died at the age of 52 . Becker, who hailed from La Jolla, Calif., appeared on the Miami-set season 5 of MTV's The Real World in 1996 alongside Dan Renzi, Melissa Padrón, Joe Patane, Cynthia Roberts, Flora Alekseyeva, and Mike Lambert.

Tamayo Perry

Walt Disney Pictures/Everett

Tamayo Perry, a surfer, lifeguard and actor who appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides , died on June 23 following a shark attack off the coast of Hawaii’s Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu. He was 49. Perry had been working as a lifeguard since July 2016 and prior to landing the gig, had been a professional surfer for over a decade. Perry was also an actor, appearing in small roles like 2002’s surfing romance Blue Crush and one episode of the Hawaii-set procedural, Hawaii Five-O .  He is also credited as a stunt performer on the Owen Wilson surfing movie The Big Bounce , adapted from Elmore Leonard’s novel of the same name. Perry appeared in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film in 2011, ahead of his final role in the 2015 short film, The Bridge .

Ryan Hadley

Ryan Hadley/ Instagram

Ryan Hadley, the tattoo artist known for competing on season 6 of the reality series  Ink Master , died June 20 at 46, after battling cancer. A statement posted to his Instagram account said, "While his life was cut short, in that time he left a legacy behind in both the art and tattoo world. He loved his many fans, his friends and clients, and most of all his children. He'll be missed and always remembered." Hadley appeared on Ink Master in 2015 and was eliminated in the second week. After the series, he continued to work as a tattoo artist, sharing photos of his latest work alongside updates on his health on social media.

Taylor Wily

Darryl Oumi/Getty

Taylor Wily, known for playing Kamekona Tupuola on 171 episodes on Hawaii Five-0 , plus additional appearances as the character on Magnum P.I. and MacGyver , died June 20 at the age of 56. Wily got his start as a sumo wrestler and competed in UFC matches under the name Teila Tuli. His breakthrough role was considered to be Kemo from the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall , though he would debut as Kamekona on Hawaii Five-0 just a couple years later in 2010. Peter Lenkov, an executive producer on that series and a longtime friend of Wily's, recalled in a tribute how he was won over by the actor from the first audition. "You came in with a towel on your head mopping up sweat, and I was smitten," he wrote on Instagram . "You charmed me into making you a regular… on the show… and in my life. You were family."

Donald Sutherland

Andreas Rentz/Getty

Donald Sutherland , the venerated Canadian actor whose career spans seven decades, has died at 88 . Born July 17, 1935, in Saint John, Canada, Sutherland began his acting career with small, unnamed roles in British television before landing small parts in low-budget horror films, including 1964’s Castle of the Living Dead and 1965’s Dr. Terror's House of Horrors . His breakout role was in Robert Aldritch’s The Dirty Dozen , and he achieved further success as Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman’s 1970 war comedy, M*A*S*H . He went on to star in hits such as Don't Look Now , Animal House , Invasion of the Body Snatchers , JFK , Six Degrees of Separation , The Italian Job, and Pride and Prejudice. He also played the Hunger Games series antagonist President Coriolanus Snow across the franchise's original four films. While Sutherland was never nominated for a competitive Oscar, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored him with an honorary statuette at the 2017 Governors Awards. Sutherland earned both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role in the detective drama, Citizen X , and an additional Golden Globe for the HBO series, Path to War . Sutherland is survived by his wife Francine Racette, and his four children, including fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland .

Anouk Aimée

Anouk Aimée, the French leading lady who worked with such auteurs as Federico Fellini, Sidney Lumet , Jacques Demy , and Bernardo Bertolucci died June 18 at age 92. The Oscar-nominated actress is perhaps best known for her role in Claude Lelouch’s beloved 1966 romance, A Man and a Woman, where she starred opposite Jean-Louis Trintignant. Following its release, Aimée achieved international acclaim, winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress. The film itself won the Palme d'Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, a Golden Globe, and two Academy Awards. It also spawned two sequels: A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later and The Best Years of a Life . Aimée’s other notable credits include Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, Bertolucci’s Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man , Lumet’s The Appointment , Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter , and Agnes Varda’s A Hundred and One Nights .

Hiram Kasten

Brad Barket/Getty

Hiram Kasten, the New York stand-up comic who also appeared on TV shows like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm , died June 16, at 71 . A Bronx native, he began performing comedy in the 1970s at the Upper East Side jazz club Pearl's Place before making his way to the Comic Strip, where he befriended emcee Jerry Seinfeld. Kasten later took over as the emcee at the Comic Strip, and also became a regular at clubs like Catch a Rising Star and Dangerfield's in the 1980s. The comedian played Michael, a co-worker of Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), on three episodes of Seinfeld . Kasten also acted in a 2001 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and made one-episode appearances on shows like Everybody Loves Raymond , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , Mad About You , and Saved by the Bell .

Nick Mavar, a deckhand who appeared on 17 seasons of  Deadliest Catch , died on June 15 at age 59 after suffering a medical emergency at an Alaskan boatyard. Mavar made his  Deadliest Catch  debut in 2005, when he could be seen working as a deckhand on the Northwestern in the very first episode of Discovery’s crab fishing reality series. He appeared on 98 episodes across 16 years, serving as the right hand man for Captain Sig Hansen on that same vessel. His final episode aired during season 17 in 2021 following a ruptured appendix that led to the discovery of a cancerous tumor the year prior

Angela Bofill

Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty

Singer-songwriter Angela Bofill, best known for her hits “I Try,” “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” and “I’m On Your Side,” died June 13 at her daughter’s home in Vallejo, Calif. She was 70 years old. The Cuban-Puerto Rican musician was born May 2, 1954, and received a bachelor of music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Bofill began recording in her teens and released her first studio album, Angie , in 1978, which included her hit “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter.” Her second album, 1979’s Angel of the Night , spawned additional hit singles “What I What Wouldn’t Do (For the Love of You)” and “I Try,” making Bofill one of the first Latina singers to achieve success in the R&B and jazz genres. Bofill continued to steadily release albums through the ‘80s and into the ‘90s, Her 10th and final studio album, Love in Slow Motion , was released in 1996. 

Johnny Canales

Rodrigo Varela/WireImage

Tejano music legend Johnny Canales died June 12 at age 77. The Latino singer and musician was best known for hosting his program The Johnny Canales Show , where he would welcome well-known and up-and-coming groups from United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. The show debuted on KRIS in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1983 and aired on Univision Network from 1988 to 1996 and Telemundo beginning in 1997. He is widely regarded as the person who introduced mainstream audiences to Selena Quintanilla after she made one of her first live TV appearances on his show in 1985 and became a frequent returning guest with her band Selena y Los Dinos.

Tony Mordente

Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Tony Mordente, who played the short-tempered Jet named Action in West Side Story , died on June 11 at 88. Mordente first played a character named A-Rab in the original stage show on Broadway where he met and married his costar  Chita Rivera , who originated the role of Anita. The couple had a daughter — Tony-nominated actress Lisa Mordente — before divorcing in 1966. Mordente went on to direct dozens of TV shows, including Rhoda ;  M*A*S*H ;  Family Ties ;  The A-Team ;  Matlock ;  Walker, Texas Ranger ; and 7th Heaven .

Françoise Hardy

Mondadori via Getty

Françoise Hardy, the French singer, actor, and model who rose to fame in the '60s, died June 11 after battling lymphatic and laryngeal cancer for over 20 years. She was 80. The pop icon had her first hit when she was just 18 years old, with "Tous les Garcons et les Filles" in 1962, and went on to release dozens of albums over the course of her career spanning six decades. She also modeled for many designers including Yves Saint Laurent and acted onscreen in John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, and Claude Lelouch’s  If It Had to Be Done Again , and more. And in 2018, she published her autobiography, The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles.

Tony Lo Bianco

Kristina Bumphrey/Variety/Getty

Tony Lo Bianco, who starred as Sal Boca in William Friedkin ’s Academy Award-winning film The French Connection , died June 11 at 87. Born in Brooklyn, New York on October 19, 1936, Lo Bianco was inspired to pursue acting by his high school drama teacher. He landed his breakout gig in the Friedkin-helmed film, which would go on to win Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Lo Bianco quickly earned acclaim for both The French Connection and The Honeymoon Killers, where he played the notorious "lonely hearts killer" Raymond Fernandez. He starred opposite Shirley Stoler in the 1970 film, which has since been reclaimed as a cult classic. Lo Bianco went on to appear in over 100 films, including Bloodbrothers with Richard Gere , City Heat with Clint Eastwood , and Kill the Irishman with Ray Stevenson . His final film was the 2022 Ray Romano -directed comedy, Somewhere in Queens . He also starred in several TV shows and in 1983, earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance as Eddie Carbone in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge .

Michael Mosley

Brook Mitchell/Getty

Dr. Michael Mosley, a British TV host and author of diet books, was found dead at age 67 on the Greek island of Symi on June 9 after a dayslong search. He was a popular fixture in British media, and had a column in the Daily Mail in addition to several diet books, with most of his work focusing in the fields of health and science. Of particular note, his 2013 book The Fast Diet helped popularize intermittent fasting. He contributed to a number of British TV programs — usually for BBC Two — about science and wellness, including 2013's Genius of Invention , which covered the history of British inventions, and the long-running Trust Me, I'm a Doctor! , which combined useful health advice with some satirical humor.

Gary Gershoff/Getty

Mark James, the Grammy-winning songwriter who crafted hits for Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson , died June 8 at the age of 83. He was behind such hits like Presley’s “Suspicious Minds,” B.J. Thomas’ “Hooked on a Feeling,” and Nelson’s “Always on My Mind,” the latter of which won James two Grammys, one for best country song and other for song of the year. James was hailed as one of BMI’s Songwriters of the Century in 2000 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Mike Coppola/Getty

Ben Potter, a popular YouTube star, died on June 8 at age 40 "in an unfortunate accident," his wife Nathalie announced on social media. Known as Comicstorian, Potter was known for creating audio dramas of characters from the DC and Marvel universe, releasing nearly 4,000 videos and amassing over 3 million followers on YouTube. In her lengthy statement, Nathalie said she planned to "preserve everything" her husband had built. "To many of you, he was Comicstorian, voicing stories from across multiple different mediums. To his loved ones, he was one of the best and most supportive individuals anyone could ask for," Nathalie wrote of her husband, whom she called "our rock" and "my world." "As a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, or even just a stranger, Ben was loving and genuine."

Betty Anne Rees

Betty Anne Rees, best known for her roles in The Unholy Rollers and Sugar Hill , died June 3 at 81 . Rees kicked off her screen credits with a 1966 episode of the David Carradine-starring ABC series Shane , before appearing in two films the next year, The Cool Ones and Banning . From there, Rees went on to appear on a slew of shows including Adam-12 , Medical Center , Mannix , To Rome With Love , Mod Squad , Bearcats! , three episodes of My Three Sons , The F.B.I. , Police Woman , S.W.A.T. , The Streets of San Francisco , Lou Grant , Barnaby Jones and more. Other film roles included Deathmaster and The Photographer . Rees' final credit was playing Molly Margo in the television show The Incredible Hulk in 1978.

Brother Marquis

Rick Kern/WireImage

Brother Marquis, the rapper known for being a core member of the controversial Miami hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, died June 3 at 57 . Born Mark Ross in Rochester, N.Y., he moved to California as a teenager and formed the duo Caution Crew with Rodney-O in 1983. After releasing multiple singles with the Caution Crew, Ross gained notoriety for his rap battle talents, catching the attention of DJ Mr. Mixx, who invited him to join 2 Live Crew in Miami alongside Fresh Kid Ice and Luke, then known as Luke Skyywalker. 2 Live Crew gained both acclaim and infamy for their sexually explicit lyrics on such albums as 1986's The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are , 1988's Move Somethin' , and 1989's As Nasty as They Wanna Be . Ross also pursued a number of projects beyond 2 Live Crew. In 1993, he formed 2 Nasty with DJ Toomp, which released the album Indecent Exposure . He also featured on the song "99 Problems," on Ice-T's Home Invasion . Ice-T credits Ross with penning the lyric "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one," which was further popularized by Jay-Z's 2003 hit of the same title.

William Russell

BBC / courtesy: Everett

William Russell, the English actor known for playing one of the first companions to the titular hero on the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who , died June 3 at 99. Born William Russell Enoch, he studied at Oxford and did his national service in the Royal Air Force before pursuing acting. Russell became known to U.K. audiences in the mid-1950s starring in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot , and he appeared on Doctor Who from its launch in 1963 until 1965. Current Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies memorialized him as "An absolute legend, for Doctor Who and the whole of television." Russell's other screen credits included The Man Who Never Was , The Great Escape , Superman , and Coronation Street .

Janis Paige

Janis Paige, the actress known for starring in big-screen and Broadway musicals and comedies like Silk Stockings and The Pajama Game , died June 2 at 101. A multitalented and enduring performer, she was a star of Hollywood's Golden Age who continued her craft into her 90s. Born and raised in Tacoma, Wash., Paige sang in local amateur shows as a child and performed in theater productions in high school, after which she moved to Los Angeles to try to make it in show business. Discovered while performing at the iconic Hollywood Canteen, she would go on to appear in such films as Romance on the High Seas and Remains to Be Seen ; to lead her own sitcom, It's Always Jan ; and to star in stage productions including Here's Love , Mame , Sweet Charity , and Guys and Dolls .

Erich Anderson

Bobby Bank/WireImage

Erich Anderson, the prolific television actor best known for playing Keri Russell 's father on Felicity , died June 1 in Los Angeles . His wife, Saxon Trainor, announced on Instagram that his passing came after “a brutal struggle with cancer.” Anderson began his career in the ‘80s, landing his breakout role as Rob Dier in 1984’s Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter . He would appear in several more films — including Welcome to 18, Patty Hearst, and Bat21 — but would notably establish recurring roles in several TV shows. He appeared as Bobby Stang in Bay City Blues , Billy Sidel in Thirtysomething , Don Kirkendall in NYPD Blue, and Dr. Edward Porter in Felicity . His additional TV credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation , NCIS , 7th Heaven , ER and The X-Files . He also penned three novels: 2012's Hallowed Be Thy Name , followed by Thy Kingdom Come in 2014 and Rabbit: A Golf Fable in 2022.

Charley Gallay/Getty

Tom Bower, a prolific character actor known for his work on such TV series as The Waltons and in such films as Die Hard 2 , died May 30 at 86. A Denver native, he rose to prominence playing Dr. Curtis Willard on The Waltons , becoming a series regular on the show's fifth season in 1975 and staying with the show until he was written out in 1978. His other most memorable role was as the janitor, Marvin, in Die Hard 2 , who helps Bruce Willis' John McClane defeat a group of terrorists. Bower's additional credits on the big and small screens included Out of the Furnace , Crazy Heart , Nixon , Pollock , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , Criminal Minds , Bosch , and Lucky Hank . Bower was also a staunch supporter of SAG-AFTRA and a co-creator of SAGindie.

Terrence Beasor

Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Terrence Beasor, a veteran character actor and voice-over performer whose credits included the films Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The Gods Must Be Crazy , as well as the TV series The Middle and Raising Hope , died May 28 at 89. An Omaha native, Beasor moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child and served in the Navy before embarking on an acting career that would span some 40 years. His lengthy résumé included Jaws: The Revenge , Pet Sematary , Memento ,  The Incredible Hulk , The A-Team , Hill Street Blues , Cheers , L.A. Law , The Office , Parks and Recreation , Scandal , Gilmore Girls , Scrubs , and Days of Our Lives .

Elizabeth MacRae

Gene Trindl / TV Guide / Courtesy Everett 

Elizabeth MacRae, who memorably played the title character's girlfriend, Lou-Ann Poovie, in Gomer Pyle: USMC in the late 1960s, died on May 27. She was 88. Between 1958 and 1989, the actress racked up dozens of credits in some of the most popular TV shows of the day like I Dream of Jeannie ; Bonanza ; The Fugitive ; Gunsmoke ; and Rhoda , as well as in soap operas, including Days of Our Lives , General Hospital , and Guiding Light . In film, she notably portrayed Meredith in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation . Her final acting project was Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! in 1989, in which she played Reporter #3, according to IMDb. According to her obituary , MacRae, who went by "Betsy," later spent time working as a drug and alcohol counselor in New York and returned to her native North Carolina with her late husband, Charles.

Bill Walton

Ethan Miller/Getty

Bill Walton, NBA MVP and beloved basketball broadcaster, died May 27 at the age of 71, following a battle with cancer. Walton first came to national prominence playing college basketball at UCLA from 1971 to 1974. There, he led the Bruins to two consecutive national titles and helped secure their record-breaking 88 game winning streak. Walton played ten seasons in the NBA, and he was named the MVP of the 1977-78 season. He won two championships, one with the Portland Trail Blazers and the other with the Boston Celtics. Following his career on the court, he transitioned to broadcasting, working as an analyst for both NBA and NCAA basketball games. He won an Emmy in 2001, and he was named one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time in 2009.

Albert S. Ruddy

Jesse Grant/Getty

Albert S. Ruddy, best known for producing best picture winners The Godfather (1973) and Million Dollar Baby (2005), died May 25 at 94. The two-time Oscar winner and Montreal native studied architecture and worked at RAND Corporation before beginning steady work in entertainment in the ‘70s. Before his successful foray into film, the producer co-created 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes . His credits also include The Cannonball Run , The Longest Yard , and Ladybugs . Ruddy was portrayed by Miles Teller in the Paramount+ series The Offer , which was about his perspective on the troubled making of The Godfather. Ruddy’s family said in a statement that he would be remembered for “his easy-going nature, his undeniable comedic sense, and his undying interest in people and the stories we tell. He also received tributes from stars such as Al Pacino. "Al Ruddy was absolutely beautiful to me the whole time on The Godfather ," Pacino said, "even when they didn't want me, he wanted me. He gave me the gift of encouragement when I needed it most and I'll never forget it."

Johnny Wactor

 Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

Johnny Wactor, an actor best known for playing Brando Corbin on General Hospital , was shot and killed in Los Angeles on May 25 when three men attempted to steal the catalytic converter from his car. He was 37. The Charleston native began his acting career in 2007, appearing in minor roles in Army Wives , and over the years appeared in shows such as NCIS , The OA , and Westworld . In 2020, he landed the recurring role of Brandon Corbin on General Hospital , filming 164 episodes through 2022. He most recently appeared in the films Supercell and Dead Talk Tales Vol. 1 and the series Barbee Rehab and Station 19 . Wactor also had a couple upcoming projects, including the film American Sognare , which is currently in post-production.

Richard M. Sherman

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Richard M. Sherman, who worked with his late Robert to pen such tunes as “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “It’s a Small World (After All),” died on May 25 due to an age-related illness . He was 95. The Walt Disney Company announced Sherman’s death the same day, noting that the Sherman Brothers were a key member of founder Walt Disney’s “inner circle of creative talent.” The songwriting duo first crossed paths with the mogul after writing “Tall Paul” for former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello, followed by penning “Let’s Get Together” for 1961’s The Parent Trap . From there, they wrote music for dozens of projects at the studio, including The Sword in the Stone, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, The Jungle Book , The Aristocats , and most notably, Mary Poppins. They earned two Academy Awards for the film, for which they handled the score, music, and lyrics. The making of the 1964 hit was later dramatized in the 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks , which starred Jason Schwartzman as Richard and B.J. Novak as Robert. The Sherman’s also penned music for titles including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Charlotte’s Web, Bedknob and Broomsticks, and the Broadway musical Over Here. Richard was preceded in death by Robert, who died in 2012. Throughout their career, the duo earned two Academy Awards (nine total nominations), three Grammys, and 24 gold and platinum albums. Sherman is survived by his wife Elizabeth Sherman, his children and grandchildren.

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Doug Ingle, a founding member of heavy rock band Iron Butterfly who co-wrote their 17-minute signature hit “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” died May 24 at age 78. The Ingle family announced the news on social media , though a cause of death was not disclosed. Ingle was the last surviving member of the band’s original lineup, which was formed in San Diego in 1966, and included drummer Ron Bushy , bassist Lee Dornan, and guitarist Erik Brann. Ingle was with Iron Butterfly throughout the release of its first four albums, including 1968's Heavy , 1969's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida , and Ball , and 1970's Metamorphosis . The band originally broke up in 1971, and Ingle did not return when Iron Butterfly was reformed later that decade by Bushy and Brann. Much of the band’s success was due to “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” which became a radio hit. The album went on to become certified quadruple-platinum.

Morgan Spurlock

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Morgan Spurlock, the charismatic filmmaker who started a national conversation about America's reliance on junk food with his 2004 documentary Super Size Me , died on May 23 from complications of cancer. He was 53. After creating and hosting the show  I Bet You Will  for  MTV  in 2002, Spurlock began production on his first immersive documentary project the following year. He ate McDonald's three meals a day for 30 days, and had his film crew document what all that fast food did to his body. The resulting documentary earned him an Oscar nomination and prompted McDonald's to stop offering supersized portions , though the company did dispute many of the claims made in the film. Spurlock went on to create the documentary series 30 Days for FX, and his subsequent movies explored issues like the war on terrorism ( Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? ) and the role of product placement in entertainment ( The Greatest Movie Ever Sold ).

Darryl Hickman

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Darryl Hickman, a child star of Hollywood's Golden Age, died May 22 at 92 . Hickman was best known for his string of success as a child and teen actor, particularly his role as Winfield, the youngest member of the Joad family, in John Ford's 1940 adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath and his heartbreaking turn as the disabled Danny in technicolor noir Leave Her to Heaven. Hickman played the younger version or son of many of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Ronald Colman, Van Heflin, and Clark Gable. His films included The Human Comedy, The Star Maker, Tea and Sympathy, The Prisoner of Zenda, Men of Boys Town, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, and Network. In his later years, he primarily worked behind the camera, serving as the head of CBS daytime programming for almost five years . He later decried the cost of being a child star and spoke out about the years he spent in therapy to overcome the impact of his lost childhood.

Richard Foronjy

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Richard Foronjy, the character actor known for playing tough-guy roles in movies including Serpico , Midnight Run , and Carlito's Way , died May 19 at 86 . A Brooklyn native, Foronjy had a checkered past before getting into show business. He spent eight and a half years behind bars after being convicted of armed robbery, according to a 1987 interview , in which he also stated his trouble with the law was particularly helpful to all of his later roles. Indeed, following his role as a murderer in Serpico in 1973, Foronjy played cops in Lumet's The Morning After (1986) and Prince of the City (1981), and a corrupt policeman in Once Upon a Time in America in 1984. He also portrayed mobsters in Martin Brest’s Midnight Run (1988), which also starred Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, and Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way (1993), alongside Al Pacino and Sean Penn . Other film roles included Ghostbusters II , The Gambler , Fun With Dick and Jane , The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh , True Confessions , Man of the House , and others. On the television side, Foronjy also had roles in Who’s the Boss , Murphy’s Law , Silver Spoons , The Jeffersons , Cagney & Lacy , Hill St. Blues , M*A*S*H , The Streets of San Francisco , Taxi , and Hunter .

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Fred Roos, a casting director and producer who collaborated frequently with Francis Ford Coppola , died on May 18. He was 89. Roos worked as a casting director on a litany of famous films, like George Lucas ' American Graffiti . He also worked as a producer, frequently with Coppola, getting producer or co-producer credits on The Godfather Part II and III , Apocalypse Now , and 10 other Coppola films, including the long-awaited Megalopolis. Those weren't his only connections with the Coppola family, however. He not only babysat Sofia Coppola ; he produced her films The Virgin Suicides , Lost in Translation , The Bling Ring , and Marie Antoinette , and served as an executive producer on Priscilla . He also produced Eleanor Coppola 's iconic documentary, Hearts of Darkness . Roos also served as an uncredited casting consultant on Star Wars . Having already cast Harrison Ford in American Graffiti , he pushed Lucas to give Ford the Han Solo role. "[Ford] was doing carpentry work for me, when he needed to make extra money. He had a family, he had kids," Roos told Entertainment Weekly in 2016. "I was, from the get-go, pushing him for Han Solo. 'George, you saw him right under your nose in American Graffiti ,' and finally it clicked with George. Other people were considered, but finally I won the day with George on that one." Roos has been credited with casting early appearances from notable actors like Tom Cruise , Jack Nicholson , Carrie Fisher , and Richard Dreyfuss . He also served as a casting director on other beloved films like Two-Lane Blacktop, Fat City , and Five Easy Pieces . He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Casting Society of America in 1988.

Jon Wysocki

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Jon Wysocki, founding drummer of rock band Staind, died on May 18 . He was 56. The drummer co-founded Staind in 1995 with singer Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok, and bassist Johnny April. Staind released their debut album, Tormented , in 1997. They found widespread success two years later with their major label debut, Dysfunction , which was co-produced by Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst . The album's singles "Mudshovel" and "Home" catapulted the band to the forefront of the nü-metal scene, landing them a co-headlining slot the 1999 Family Values Tour in 1999 with Limp Bizkit and Filter, as well as bands like Korn, Primus, and the Crystal Method. Their third album, Break the Cycle , debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the single "It's Been Awhile." It would eventually go five times platinum. Wysocki continued playing with Staind until 2011, recording on seven of the band's eight albums. After Staind, Wysocki briefly played with the Chicago nü-metal group Soil before joining Lydia's Castle in 2021. 

Alice Stewart

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CNN political commentator and veteran GOP adviser Alice Stewart was found dead on May 18. She was 58. No foul play was suspected and police believed Stewart had suffered a medical emergency. Born March 11, 1966 in Atlanta, Stewart went on to work on the presidential campaigns of Mike Huckabee, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Ted Cruz. She joined CNN in 2016, last appearing the day before she was found dead on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer . Stewart described her role on CNN as "a conservative voice yet an independent thinker." She was also the co-host of the podcast Hot Mics From Left to Right , alongside fellow CNN commentator Maria Cardona.

Dabney Coleman

Dabney Coleman, the veteran character actor who played the villainous boss in 9 to 5 and won an Emmy for his supporting role in the TV film  Sworn to Silence , died May 16 at 92 . His career spanned nearly seven decades, starting with appearances on TV shows like  The Outer Limits ,  The Fugitive,  and  The Alfred Hitchcock Hour  in the '60s. By the time Coleman took on the role of sexist boss Franklin Hart Jr. in  9 to 5 —  standing out despite starring opposite iconic actresses Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Jane Fonda — he had amassed a resume that included dozens of shows and films. His screen credits included Buffalo Bill ,  On Golden Pond , Tootsie , WarGames , The Muppets Take Manhattan , You've Got Mail , The Beverly Hillbillies , and Yellowstone .

Tony McFarr

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Tony McFarr, a stunt actor who worked as a stunt double for actors like Chris Pratt and Jon Hamm , died May 13 at the age of 47. A stunt actor for more than a decade, McFarr began his career on a 2011 episode of Bones as Geoff Stults ' stunt double before steadily snagging more work on titles like Teen Wolf, Homeland, Sleepy Hollow, The Walking Dead, and Manhunt. On the big screen, McFarr worked as Pratt's stunt double on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Jurassic World , and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; other notable film credits include Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Furious 7, and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Alice Munro

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Alice Munro, the acclaimed Canadian author known as a master of the short story, died May 13, at 92 . Recognized for her deep and emotionally perceptive stories focused on womanhood, love, loss, and the vagaries of time, she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013 and received the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work. Her short-story collections included Dance of the Happy Shades , The Beggar Maid , The Progress of Love , Away From Her , and her final publication, 2012's Dear Life . Munro is survived by two daughters, Sheila and Jenny. Munro Books, the bookshop she founded in the 1960s in Victoria, Canada, with her first husband, James, is still in operation.

David Sanborn

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Grammy-winning saxophonist David Sanborn died May 12 after an extended battle with prostate cancer with complications. He was 78. The renowned smooth jazz musician had been dealing with prostate cancer since 2018 but was still playing live, and had concerts scheduled into 2025. Born July 30, 1945, in Tampa, Fla., Sanborn survived a polio diagnosis at age 3. He learned how to play the saxophone to help his recovery, and when he was a teenager, he was already performing with blues legends Little Milton and Albert King. When he was 30, he released his debut solo album,  Taking Off , in 1975. Throughout his career, he went on to play with David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, B.B. King, and Carly Simon, among many others, and won six Grammy Awards.

Kevin Brophy

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Kevin Brophy, an actor best known for his roles in the short-lived sci-fi series Lucan and the cult horror film Hell Night died May 11 at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Cali. He was 70 years old. Brophy was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer 10 years ago. Born in Salt Lake City on Nov. 1, 1953, Brophy starred in a play about Jesse James during his senior year in college. As a result, his headshot appeared in the Los Angeles Times, leading an agent at William Morris to sign him. A year later, on his way driving to his audition for Lucan , he cut off what turned out to be an MGM executive, who thought Brophy was perfect for the part. Lucan , about a young man raised by wolves, lasted only one season. He later popped up in episodes of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries , M*A*S*H , The Love Boat , Growing Pains , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and JAG . In addition to Hell Night , Brophy also appeared in films such as The Long Riders and GoodFellas .

Susan Backlinie

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Susan Backlinie, an actress and stunt performer who is best known for playing the great white shark's first victim, Chrissie, in Jaws , died May 11 at age 77 . Backlinie, who was born on Sept. 1, 1946, appeared in a number of films and television roles until the early 1980s. She had parts in films such as the Jim Henson-directed The Great Muppet Caper (1981), and Steven Spielberg’s 1941 (1979), in which she famously spoofed herself in a Jaws parody scene. Other movie credits included The Grizzly & the Treasure (1975), A Stranger in My Forest (1976) and Day of the Animals (1977). On the television side, roles included The Quest , Quark and The Fall Guy . Backlinie also worked as an animal trainer, and after she retired from Hollywood, she worked as a computer accountant.

Rudy Moreno

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Rudy Moreno, nicknamed the 'Godfather of Latino Comedy," died on May 11 at age 66 after being hospitalized with pneumonia. Born on July 24, 1957, in Los Angeles, Moreno was an influential stand-up comic who gave many other comedians their big breaks, including Ken Jeong , who paid tribute to him on social media. Moreno made appearances on numerous shows over the years, including Everybody Loves Raymond , The Shield , George Lopez , Monk , Arrested Development , American Vandal , Mom , and Dave .

Roger Corman

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Roger Corman , the director, producer, and distributor of numerous low-budget horror, science fiction, and crime movies, whose career in Hollywood spanned eight decades, died at the age of 98. Nicknamed “King of the Bs” and “The Pope of Pop Culture,” Corman was the visionary behind cult classics like 1964's The Masque of the Red Death and the original The Little Shop of Horrors , from 1960. Born in 1926 in Detroit and raised in Los Angeles, Corman worked his way up in the film industry after starting in a mail room at 20th Century Fox in 1950. He made his first feature in 1954, then produced and directed several B movies across a number of then-popular genres: Westerns, sci-fi creature features, and the rock & roll teen pictures Corman would later translate into ‘60s counterculture fare, like 1966's The Wild Angels and 1967's The Trip. As a producer, Corman famously opened Hollywood doors for a number of young and then-untested talents, including Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante, Stephanie Rothman, and James Cameron. At the time of his death, Corman had a producer credit on an astonishing 495 films.

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Sam Rubin , an Emmy-winning entertainment journalist who worked for Los Angeles news network KTLA for over three decades, died on May 10. He was 64. A news story posted by the station said that Rubin had "died suddenly," but did not share any details on the cause, while Variety reported that the journalist died from a heart attack in his L.A. home. Rubin joined KTLA Morning News in 1991, where he remained for 33 years. Rubin became one of the most prominent entertainment journalists in Hollywood, bringing exuberance and enthusiasm to his countless interviews with celebrities and coverage of entertainment news. Rubin won multiple Emmy awards and a Golden Mike Award, and was named best entertainment journalist by the Los Angeles Press Club. Rubin frequently appeared as a version of himself in films and TV shows, including Fantastic Four , Wes Craven ’s New Nightmare , Beverly Hills, 90210 , and Melrose Place .  He also wrote biographies on Jackie Kennedy Onassus and Mia Farrow , and was one of the founding members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the organization that launched the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.

Dennis Thompson

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Dennis Thompson, longtime drummer of the Detroit-based proto-punk band MC5 , died on May 9 at 75. Nicknamed "Machine Gun" for his hard-hitting, rapid-fire drumming style, Thompson had been recovering from a heart attack in April, the Detroit Free Press reports. He joined MC5 in 1965, two years after the band was founded by guitarist Wayne Kramer and bassist Fred "Sonic" Smith, the same year the band restyled their name from Motor City Five to MC5. After a series of successful singles and their first tour, which included opening for bands like Cream and the Stooges, they released their debut album, Kick Out the Jams , in 1969. By that time, the band had developed revolutionary, left-wing politics that were inextricable from their music. Their debut album, recorded live, opened with Brother J.C. Crawford introducing the band by saying, "Brothers and sisters, the time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are gonna be the problem or whether you are gonna be the solution." The title track became a hugely influential — and controversial — song, inspiring countless bands to come. MC5 broke up in the early 70s, and Thompson went on to play in bands like New Order, the Motor City Bad Boys, and the New Race. He later participated in MC5 reunions, playing percussion on two tracks of a reunion album in 2022, which has not been released. It would have been the band's first album in more than 50 years. Kramer died in early 2024, making Thompson the last living original member. The band will posthumously receive the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Music Excellence Award in 2024 .

Steve Albini

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Steve Albini, the punk rock icon known for both his own bands (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac) and the beloved albums he engineered for other musicians (including Nirvana and The Pixies), died May 7 , the staff at his Electrical Audio recording studio in Chicago confirmed to EW. He was 61. Albini was a longtime critic of the corporate music industry and the ways record labels exploited musicians. His personal philosophy around "engineering" (a term he preferred over "producing") was to bring out the band's sound rather than impose his own aesthetic on them.

Ian Gelder, a British actor best known for his portrayal of Kevan Lannister on Game of Thrones , died May 6 at 74. Gelder appeared on the HBO drama many times as the brother of Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), and the uncle of Lena Headey 's Cersei, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Jaime, and Peter Dinklage 's Tyrion. Kevan was one of the characters killed in the 2020 series finale, when the Sept exploded. The violence had been planned by his niece, Cersei, whose authority he had refused to recognize. In addition to GOT , Gelder appeared in TV series such as Torchwood ; Doctor Who ; Poirot ; Absolutely Fabulous ; and His Dark Materials . Gelder's work on the stage was prolific. When he died, the famed Royal Shakespeare Company said he had been "a regular on the RSC stage" since the '70s, playing characters including Antonio in The Merchant of Venice and Clarence in Richard III . Gelder's husband, actor Ben Daniels, shared on social media that Gelder had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer in December. "He was my absolute rock, "Daniels wrote, "and we'd been partners for more than 30 years."

Barnard Hill

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Bernard Hill, who played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 record-breaking film Titanic , died on May 5 , his manager confirmed to EW. He was 79. Born in Manchester in 1944, Hill studied theater in college and got his start with a small role in the BBC anthology series Play For Toda y. His breakout role came in 1983 when he memorably starred as Yosser Hughes in the BAFTA-winning BBC drama, Boys from the Blackstuff . Later, Hill earned acclaim for his portrayal of Captain Smith in Titanic . He also starred in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings franchise as King Théoden, appearing in both The Two Towers and The Return of the King. As both  Titanic and The Return of the King earned 11 Oscars each, Hill has a role in two of the three films with the most Academy Awards of all time ( Ben-Hur is the third). Hill’s additional credits include I, Claudius , Clint Eastwood’s True Crime , 1999’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream , The Scorpion King , Valkyrie , and Wolf Hall .

Susan Buckner

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Susan Buckner, best known as bubbly cheerleader Patty Simcox in Grease , died on May 2. She was 72. Before joining the cheer squad at Rydell High, Buckner was Miss Washington in 1971 and represented her home state at the Miss America competition the following year. She would go on to perform on variety show programs like The Dean Martin Show , The Mac Davis Show , Sonny and Cher , and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour . But it was her role as Simcox that put her in front of millions. After the success of Grease , Buckner took on roles in shows like The Love Boat , The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries , and a costarring role on When the Whistle Blows . She also appeared in Wes Craven 's Deadly Blessing alongside Sharon Stone and 1989's Police Academy 6: City Under Siege , which was her final acting role. She stepped away from acting to focus on her family but continued to share her passion for the arts, teaching theater at a Florida elementary school and working as a dance instructor.

Richard Tandy

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Richard Tandy, the longtime keyboardist for Electric Light Orchestra who made significant contributions to their biggest hits, died May 1 at age 76. No cause of death was given. "It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of my long-time collaborator and dear friend Richard Tandy," ELO co-founder and frontman Jeff Lynne wrote on social media . "He was a remarkable musician & friend and I’ll cherish the lifetime of memories we had together." Tandy didn't join the band until 1973, after the release of their first album, but his soaring synthesizers are a key element of iconic ELO songs like "Evil Woman." Plus, that's also his vocoder-altered voice saying the titular character's name on "Mr. Blue Sky." Tandy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with the rest of ELO, in 2017.

Diane Ford, a stand-up comedian who appeared on multiple HBO specials as well as A&E's hit series An Evening at the Improv , died April 30 following a battle with cancer, per The Hollywood Reporter . She was 68. Born Sept. 4, 1955, in Waseca, Minn., Ford starred in the HBO comedy special On Location: Women of the Night II in 1988 alongside Joy Behar, Susie Essman, and more. She also appeared on the network's stand-up comedy series One Night Stand , performing her hilarious routines on two episodes, released in 1990 and 1992. Ford was also featured on 13 episodes of An Evening at the Improv and is credited with writing a 1994 episode of the Tim Allen–headlined sitcom Home Improvement . She is survived by her husband John; stepsons Rhett and Travis; grandsons Charles, Aubrey, Addison, Selkie, and Uhtred; and siblings Jerry, Lyle, Connie, and Carol.

Paul Auster

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Paul Auster , the prolific Brooklyn-based writer and filmmaker, died April 30 at 77. Born Feb. 3, 1947, in Newark, N.J., Auster moved to Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood in 1980 and found his first literary success with 1982's The Invention of Solitude (a memoir about his distant relationship with his father) and the New York Trilogy of novels later that decade. Auster's writing drew on the archetypes of hardboiled detective fiction, as well as observations of the people around him in Brooklyn. He moved into filmmaking by writing the script for director Wayne Wang's 1995 comedy Smoke , which revolved around a Park Slope tobacco shop and starred Harvey Keitel and William Hurt. Auster made his own directorial debut with 1997's Lulu on the Bridge , starring Keitel as a jazz saxophonist whose life changes after he catches a stray bullet. Auster's final novel, Baumgartner , was released in 2023.

Alan Scarfe

Alan Scarfe, the British Canadian actor who played heavies in the '90s action films Double Impact and Lethal Weapon 3 , died April 28 at 77. Born in Harpenden, England, Scarfe emigrated to Canada with his family as his father pursued an academic career. He studied a the Lord Byng Secondary School in Vancouver and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and began a lifelong career as a performer and director. Scarfe was known for playing internal affairs chief Herman Walters, who dogged Mel Gibson's Riggs and Danny Glover's Murtaugh in 1992's Lethal Weapon 3 . The year before, he appeared opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme as murderous businessman Nigel Griffith in Double Impact . His other screen credits included Star Trek: The Next Generation , Kingdom Hospital , NYPD Blue , and Stargate: Atlantis , and he worked as a stage actor and director across Europe, Canada, and the U.S.

Brian McCardie

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Brian McCardie, known for roles in BBC's Line of Duty and the 1995 drama Rob Roy , died suddenly on April 28 at age 59. The Scottish actor began his career with a brief appearance in a 1989 episode of EastEnders , and went on to become a prolific TV performer. When the show premiered  in 2012, McCardie earned praise for his role as John Thomas “Tommy” Hunter in the police procedural, Line of Duty . He memorably appeared in the three-part 2021 drama Time , starring opposite Stephen Graham and Sean Bean . McCardie also had small roles in such TV hits as Shameless and Outlander . On the big screen, McCardie starred alongside Liam Neeson as Alasdair in Rob Roy, with his additional film credits including Doors Open , Kiss of Death , 200 Cigarettes , and Low Winter Sun .

Zack Norman

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Zack Norman, the actor-producer known for roles in Romancing the Stone and Cadillac Man, died on April 28 at 83. His daughter Lori Zuker Briller confirmed to The New York Times that he died in a Burbank, Calif hospital due to bilateral pneumonia related to coronavirus. Born May 27, 1940, Norman initially pursued theater and stand-up comedy, making his television debut as a comic on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson in 1969. Later an actor and producer, Norman was a scene-stealing performer whose credits include nearly 40 films and TV shows. He memorably played Cousin Ira in Robert Zemeckis’ Romancing the Stone , uttering the oft-quoted line “Look at those snappers!” He went on to star in films including Robert Downey Sr.’s America and 1990’s Cadillac Man opposite Robin Williams, Tim Robbins and Fran Drescher. He reunited with Drescher for a three episode arc in The Nanny , with his additional TV credits including Baywatch, The A Team, Lush Life, and The Flash .

Sonja Christopher

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Sonja Christopher, the first person voted out of Survivor , died at age 87. Her death was first announced on April 26 . The former music therapist made history on the show's first season, Survivor: Borneo , in 2000 when at she became the first contestant voted out at Tribal Council and the first to have her torch snuffed by host Jeff Probst . Christopher competed on  Survivor  at 63, just three years after battling cancer. "I was newly recovering from breast cancer treatment. And I had been in a 11-year relationship and my partner got consolation elsewhere during that time of the cancer,"  Christopher previously told EW . "So I had moved to a senior retirement community, and I was by myself, no ties, my son was grown and taking care of himself. I was reading the morning paper, and it said something in an article about CBS looking for 16 Americans to cast away on a deserted island and see who could survive for 39 days."

Marla Adams

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Marla Adams, the Daytime Emmy-winning actress known for playing Dina Abbott Mergeron on the long-running CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless , died April 25 at 85. Adams played her Y&R character off and on across 37 years and more than 200 episodes. Much of her career was spent on daytime TV, with credits including The Secret Storm , The Bold and the Beautiful , Days of our Lives , Generations , and Capitol . On the prime-time side, Adams appeared on The New Dick Van Dyke Show , Harry O , Starsky and Hutch , Marcus Welby M.D. , Barnaby Jones , The Love Boat , Archie Bunker's Place , and more shows.

Mike Pinder

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Mike Pinder, a founding member and keyboardist of progressive rock band the Moody Blues, died April 24 at age 82. He was the last surviving member of the band's original lineup. In 1961, Pinder formed the band alongside singer and guitarist Denny Laine, bassist Clint Warwick, and drummer Graeme Edge. After a few lineup changes, the Moody Blues would go on to release one of the greatest concept albums of all time, 1967's Days of Future Passed, which featured Pinder singing and playing the mellotron. He would go on to pen and perform songs on the band's next seven albums before eventually parting ways with the group. Pinder also released two solo albums, 1976's The Promise and 1994's Among the Stars , as well as a 1995 spoken word album, A Planet With One Mind. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his bandmates in 2018.

Terry Carter

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Terry Carter, the groundbreaking actor, documentary filmmaker, and newscaster with screen credits including Battlestar Galactica , McCloud , and Foxy Brown , died April 23 at 95 . Born John Everett DeCoste, Carter studied acting with Howard Da Silva in the early 1950s and played a number of roles in Broadway and Off Broadway stage productions during his early career, including Mrs. Patterson , in which he appeared opposite Eartha Kitt. His breakthrough screen project was The Phil Silvers Show , on which he played Pvt. Sugie Sugarman from 1955 to 1959 and was the only regular Black cast member. Carter served as an anchorman for Boston's NBC affiliate network WBZ-TV from 1965 to 1968, making him New England's first Black news anchor. He portrayed Pam Grier 's boyfriend in  Foxy Brown in 1974 and a cop in the dog-centric family film Benji , and played Colonel Tigh on the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica in the late '70s and Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on McCloud for seven seasons. Carter launched his own production company, Meta/4 Productions, in Los Angeles in 1975. He and his company produced more than 100 educational documentaries , some of which were for the Library of Congress, PBS, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Eva Evans, TikTok star and creator of Prime Video's Club Rat webseries, died at age 29. "Yesterday my family received news that our sweet, fabulous, creative, caring, hilarious Eva, my beautiful sister, has died," Evans' sister Lila Joy Baumgardner wrote on Instagram. Evans was best known to fans on TikTok, where she amassed 300,000 followers, who flocked to her primarily for stories about her life in New York City. In 2023, she directed and starred in a five-episode webseries for Amazon called Club Rat , which followed an influencer who was attempting to date again after an embarrassing, viral breakup.

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Mandisa, American Idol season 5 star and Grammy -winning Christian singer who also courted controversy for making anti-gay comments in 2006 — died April 18 at age 47. The religious performer rose to national stardom after her Idol audition with Alicia Keys' "Fallin" wowed judges Randy Jackson , Paula Abdul , and Simon Cowell . Though she was ultimately eliminated from the singing competition, she forged a successful career in music, earning five Grammy nominations — including one victory for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2014 for her Overcomer album.

Dickey Betts

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Dickey Betts, a founding member and guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band, died on April 18 . He was 80. Per his manager, David Spero, Betts died of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Despite not being an Allman, Betts was one of the Allman Brothers' key original members whose work was crucial to the group’s pioneering sound. Following the death of fellow guitarist Duane Allman’s, two years after the group's debut album, Betts assumed lead guitar duties and led the band with Gregg Allman . He also composed music and penned songs for the group, including their biggest hit, "Ramblin' Man.” While Betts and Allman often clashed — the band broke up multiple times and had more than a dozen lineup configurations — the duo frequently reunited and toured together. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. They reconciled before Allman's death in 2017 , just months after the death of bandmate Butch Trucks . Betts also performed as Dickey Betts and the Great Southern and briefly played as Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks in the '80s with Jimmy Hall and Allman Brothers' members Chuck Leavell and Trucks. Betts is survived by his wife, Donna.

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Rico Wade, who co-wrote and produced TLC’s 1995 smash “Waterfalls” as a member of Atlanta production team Organized Noize, died at 52 . As a member of Organized Noize, Wade helped shape the sound of Southern hip-hop in the 1990s. In addition to co-writing and producing hits like TLC’s “Waterfalls,” En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go (Love),” and Ludacris’ “Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)," Organized Noize was best known for collaborating with the Dungeon Family, an Atlanta music collective that included OutKast, Goodie Mob, and more. They produced OutKast’s influential debut record,  Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, as well as Goodie Mob’s 1995 debut album,  Soul Food. In 2016, the team became the subject of The Art of Organized Noize, a Netflix documentary directed by Quincy Jones III.

Eleanor Coppola

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Eleanor Coppola, the award-winning documentarian, noted visual artist, and longtime wife of Francis Ford Coppola , died April 12 at 87 . Born Eleanor Jessie Neil, Coppola was known for chronicling the making of films by her husband and two of their children, Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola. (The couple's eldest child, actor and producer Gian-Carlo Coppola, died in a boating accident in 1986.) Eleanor Coppola shot and directed one of the most famous documentaries on filmmaking ever with Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse , a behind-the-scenes look at her husband's famously fraught shoot for Apocalypse Now . The Emmy-winning doc candidly captured heavy rains that delayed production, a typhoon that destroyed sets, Martin Sheen 's heart attack, and on-set struggles with Marlon Brando . She would go on to make more documentaries, including ones about her daughter's films Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides , and helmed two narrative features, 2016's Paris Can Wait and 2020's Love Is Love Is Love . In addition to making movies and raising a family of filmmakers, Coppola wrote two books,  Notes: On the Making of 'Apocalypse Now' and the memoir Notes on a Life . At 87, she completed a second memoir, in which she wrote, "I appreciate how my unexpected life has stretched and pulled me in so many extraordinary ways and taken me in a multitude of directions beyond my wildest imaginings."

Robert MacNeil

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Robert MacNeil, the longtime PBS anchorman, died on April 12 at 93. MacNeil, who worked for decades with Jim Lehrer, was the voice through which many Americans learned about some of the most important events in American history. MacNeil and Lehrer earned an Emmy for their coverage of the Watergate hearings in 1973, shortly before launching the award-winning news program, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report . It became The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour in 1983, the first hour-long news program in the U.S. Before being decorated with Emmy and Peabody Awards, MacNeil, as a White House correspondent, was in President John F. Kennedy's motorcade on the day of his assassination. During his career, he covered the war in Algeria, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights Movement, and dozens of other pivotal stories in American history.

Meg Bennett

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Meg Bennett, a longtime actress and writer of soap operas, died April 11 at 75. Her official obituary listed the cause of death as cancer. Born Oct. 4, 1948, Bennett first acted on stage in New York, starring in the off-Broadway musical Godspell as well as the Broadway version of Grease . She then moved to Los Angeles and began a long career in soap operas. She played Julia Newman on The Young and the Restless for a six-year run starting in 1980, and then transitioned into script-writing for that show and other soaps. She won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1995 for her work writing on General Hospital , where she also met her husband Robert Guza, Jr.

Park Bo Ram

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Park Bo Ram, the Korean pop singer behind hits like “Beautiful” and “Like a Dream,” died April 11 at age 30. Park’s agency Xanadu Entertainment told Soompi that her death is being investigated by police. Other outlets, including the Korean Herald , reported that Park was found in cardiac arrest at a friend’s house and was taken to a hospital. Born in 1994, Park’s breakthrough came with her 2010 appearance on the singing competition series SuperStar K2 , where she placed in the Top 8. Her 2014 debut single “Beautiful” hit No. 2 on the Korean charts. Though she never released a full-length album, Park released two EPs (2015’s Celepretty and 2017’s Orange Moon ) and over a dozen singles. She also contributed numerous tracks to soundtracks for series like W , Reply 1988 ,  Prison Playbook , and Hyde Jekyll, Me . She recently released “I Hope,” a collaboration with Huh Gak, in February.

O.J. Simpson

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Controversial football star, actor, and former murder suspect O.J. Simpson — who was acquitted in the high-profile 1994-95 trial over the deaths of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman — died on April 10 at age 76 . Simpson's family announced the news on social media, confirming that he died after a battle with cancer. Simpson's death drew a wide range of reactions , including from Brown Simpson's family attorney, Gloria Allred, who spoke out against him after the news broke. "I don’t mourn for O.J. Simpson. I do mourn for Nicole Brown Simpson and her family," Allred told New York City's ABC7 news. "They should be remembered. The system failed."

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Mister Cee, the New York radio personality and DJ who helped launch the careers of hip-hop artists including Jay Z, Alicia Keys, and 50 Cent, was confirmed dead on April 10 at 57. Born Calvin LeBrun, Mister Cee spent more than 20 years at Hot 97 as the host of shows such as Throwback at Noon and Friday Night Live . He played a major role in the discovery of the Notorious B.I.G. and served as associate executive producer on the rapper's 1994 debut,  Ready To Die . After leaving Hot 97 in 2014, Mister Cee continued his work in radio, hosting a show on 94.7 the Block and working as a DJ on Rock the Bells Radio on SiriusXM.

Cole Brings Plenty

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Cole Brings Plenty, an actor known for playing sheep herder Pete Plenty Clouds on two episodes of the  Yellowstone  prequel series  1923 , was found dead at 27 on April 5 , after going missing and being sought by Kansas police in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident. Brings Plenty's family members, including his uncle Moses Brings Plenty — a fellow actor who plays Mo on  Yellowstone  — had reported Cole as a missing person and sought help finding him on social media. In addition to  1923 , Brings Plenty's TV credits included  The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger  and  Into the Wild Frontier .

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Carl Jeffrey “CJ” Snare, a founding member of the hair metal band FireHouse, died on April 5, his bandmates confirmed on social media . He was 64. News of Snare's death comes six months after the group announced plans to postpone gigs ahead of his impending abdominal surgery. Snare was an original member of the glam metal band, which was founded in the mid-’80s but truly made a splash with the release of their self-titled album in 1990. The record boasted such chart-topping hits as “Don’t Treat Me Bad” and “Love of a Lifetime,” both of which were co-written by Snare. The group released eight studio albums in total, with Snare co-writing most of the tracks. Outside of FireHouse, he also recorded with his band Rubicon Cross and occasionally played with Scrap Metal.

Keith LeBlanc

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Keith LeBlanc, the drummer and record producer who worked with some of the most prominent musicians of the 1980s and '90s, died April 4 from an undisclosed illness. He was 69. Born in 1954, LeBlanc worked with seminal early hip-hop acts like the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five as a session drummer on Sugar Hill Records in the early 1980s. His 1983 solo single "No Sell Out" famously sampled the voice of Malcolm X, and is considered one of the first mainstream recordings to utilize sampling. LeBlanc was also a member of the groups Tackhead and Little Axe, and recorded with Tina Turner, R.E.M., Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Annie Lennox, and Seal in the late '80s and '90s.

Adrian Schiller

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Adrian Schiller, the actor known for his role in Netflix's historical drama The Last Kingdom , died on April 3, CNN has confirmed. He was 60 years old. No cause of death was disclosed. The English actor boasted an acting career that spanned over 30 years, including roles in such notable films as Meryl Streep’s Suffragette , 2015’s Oscar-winning drama, The Danish Girl , and 2017’s live-action reimagining of Beauty and the Beast . On the small screen, he appeared in the Masterpiece series Victoria and the Ridley Scott-helmed streaming drama, Raised by Wolves . He most notably spent three seasons playing Ealdorman Aethelhelm in The Last Kingdom , which was adapted from Bernard Cornwell's series of novels, The Saxon Stories . Schiller’s additional credits include Bright Star, A Little Chaos, Son of God, The Mercy, Doctor Who , and Censor .

Christopher Durang

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Christopher Durang, a beloved playwright of absurdist comedies, died April 2 of complications from logopenic progressive aphasia. He was 75. Durang rose to fame in the 1980s, breaking out with Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All, which won the Obie Award for Best Playwright in 1980. His other hits include Baby With the Bathwater, The Actor's Nightmare, and The Marriage of Bette and Boo. He is perhaps best known for his series of comedic one acts, including Wanda's Visit and For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, which are performed under the heading Durang/Durang. In 2013, he won the Tony Award for Best Play for his Chekhov parody Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

Joe Flaherty

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Joe Flaherty , the actor and comedian who played Weir family patriarch on Freaks and Geeks after several years as a writer/performer of SCTV , died on April 1 after a brief illness. He was 82. Flaherty began his career at the legendary Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. After a year appearing on the National Lampoon Radio Hour, he relocated to Toronto where he starred on the hit Canadian sketch comedy show, SCTV , as one of its original writer/performers. He was joined by fellow comic performers, Eugene Levy , John Candy , Dave Thomas, Catherine O’Hara , Rick Moranis , and more. Flaherty went on to appear in several TV shows, including his memorable role as the embarrassing yet well-intentioned Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks. He also made brief but memorable appearances in several hit films, including Happy Gilmore and Back to the Future Part II . Flaherty's additional credits include Police Academy: The Series, The King of Queens, Clone High , and the Canadian series Call Me Fitz .

Joshua-Michael Waring

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Joshua-Michael Waring, the son of Real Housewives of Orange County alum Lauri Peterson, died March 31 . A cause of death was not immediately disclosed. Peterson shared a moving post on Instagram confirming Waring’s death. “It is with a shattered heart that I write this post to let you know that my sweet Josh left this earth Easter Sunday,” Peterson wrote. “No one can ever prepare you for this feeling of such deep loss. Every fiber in my body hurts. Josh fought every single day for most of his adult life, for his life, but this past Sunday, the challenge was too great. Waring had dealt with substance abuse issues throughout his life, and was arrested in 2022 for one felony and multiple misdemeanor drug charges, ultimately pleading guilty . He previously spent four years in prison for attempted murder from 2016 to 2020. He is survived by his daughter, Kennady.

Barbara Rush

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Barbara Rush, who starred in the 1950s sci-fi classic It Came from Outer Space , died on March 31 at 97 years old. An actress of stage and screen, Rush began her career in California playhouses after studying theater at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her screen acting debut came in 1950s The Goldbergs , followed by her breakthrough role in the Oscar-winning sci-fi film When Worlds Collide . Two years later, she won Most Promising Newcomer at the 1954 Golden Globes for her role in It Came from Outer Space . Rush continued to star in films and TV shows, with credits including The Young Philadelphians , Robin and the 7 Hoods , Hombre , Batman, The Bionic Woman, All My Children, 7th Heaven , and Flamingo Road .

Chance Perdomo

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Chance Perdomo , star of  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina   and  Gen V , died March 30 after a single-vehicle motorcycle accident. He was 27. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Southampton, England, Perdomo was one of the young stars of the college-set  Gen V , Amazon Prime’s 2023 spinoff of  The Boys . Perdomo played Andre Anderson, the son of superhero Polarity, who fights to break free of his father’s legacy while losing his battle to stay away from his best friend’s girl. Even with his flaws and failings, Perdomo’s Andre was possibly the closest thing to a moral center in the  Boys  universe. Perdomo's breakout role came in 2018, when he took on the part of Ambrose Spellman, teenage witch Sabrina’s familiar, in Netflix’s  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  He also appeared in the  After We Fell  Netflix movie trilogy , based on Anna Todd's YA romances.

Tim McGovern

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Tim McGovern, a visual effects veteran and an Oscar winner for his work on 1990's Total Recall, died in his sleep on March 30, his wife announced on social media. He was 68. A digital effects pioneer, McGovern started his career in the early '80s, working on the groundbreaking 1982 movie Tron . He went on to become a founding member of Sony Pictures Imageworks, serving as senior VFX supervisor. His numerous film credits include Last Action Hero , Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation , Dunkirk , Ant-Man and the Wasp , and Shazam! Fury of the Gods . Born in Chicago, McGovern was honored with a Special Achievement Award at the 1991 Oscars for his work on the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Total Recall . Last year, he received the Visual Effects Society's Founders Award.

Louis Gossett Jr.

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Louis Gossett Jr. , a prolific character actor best known for his performances in An Officer and a Gentleman and the original Roots miniseries, died March 29 at 87. Gossett first began acting for the stage, and appeared in the original Broadway run of A Raisin in the Sun alongside Sidney Poitier ; he then made his film debut in the 1961 movie adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play. His screen breakthrough came with his portrayal of the character Fiddler in Roots , which earned him an Emmy Award. A few years later, Gossett won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman , becoming the first Black actor to win a supporting Oscar and only the second to win an acting Oscar at all, following his old castmate Poitier. He continued acting for the rest of his life, recently appearing in HBO's Watchmen series and 2023's musical remake of The Color Purple .

Fritz Wepper

Fritz Wepper, a prolific German actor best known in the U.S. for his performance as Fritz Wendel in Cabaret , died March 25 at at 82. Wepper was a familiar face on German TV, playing Det. Sergeant Harry Klein on the series Derrick from 1977 to 1998, a run that spanned nearly 300 episodes. He also appeared in more than 250 episodes of the series For Heaven's Sake . However, his biggest turn for American audiences was as a friend to Liza Minelli's Sally Bowles and Michael York's Brian Roberts in Cabaret . His character longed for Natalia Landauer (Marisa Berenson) but would have to reveal himself as Jewish in a Berlin beset by Nazis. Cabaret marked one of Wepper's only Hollywood credits, along with from the 2001 TV movie version of Murder on the Orient Express with Alfred Molina. In his native Germany, his film and TV credits were extensive, including Der Kommissar , High Society Murder , and the Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning film Die Brücke .

Paula Weinstein

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Paula Weinstein, producer of Analyze This and Blood Diamond , died on March 25 at age 78. Weinstein, who was the chief content officer at Tribeca Enterprises until 2023, produced dozens of films, including T he Perfect Storm and The Fabulous Baker Boys . She was also the executive producer of the series Grace and Frankie and won a pair of primetime Emmys for the TV movies Truman and Recount . "The world is a lesser place without my mother," her daughter Hannah Rosenberg said in a statement. "She was a masterful producer and a force of nature for the things she believed in, including the many projects that spanned her illustrious career, the stories she fought to tell and the social justice causes she championed." Before her time at Tribeca Enterprises, she served as president of United Artists, executive vice president at Fox, and vice president at Warner Bros. In 2023, Weinstein left Tribeca Enterprises to focus on political causes. Her political work included being a founding member of the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, which raised millions for Democratic political candidates, and a former board member of the ACLU of Southern California.

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Ron Harper, the actor best known for his roles on the sci-fi series Planet of the Apes and Land of the Lost , died March 21 at 91 . His first onscreen credit was in an episode of the series Kraft Theatre in 1955. Harper then scored small roles on Tales of Wells Fargo , Thriller , Wagon Train , The Deputy , The Tall Man , and Shotgun Slade before nabbing a breakout part as Det. Bert Kling in 30 episodes of 87th Precinct , which also starred Norman Fell, Robert Lansing, Gregory Walcott, and Gena Rowlands. Harper's successful stints on 1960s television continued with roles on Laramie , Wendy and Me, The Jean Arthur Show , and Garrison's Gorillas . The '70s saw Harper land memorable parts on the series Planet of the Apes (based on the movie series of the same name) and Land of the Lost . Though he was mostly known for his small-screen work, Harper's résumé on the film side included The Wild Season , The Soldier , Below Utopia , The Odd Couple II , Pearl Harbor , and The Poughkeepsie Tapes . Guest stints later in his TV career included Beverly Hills, 90210 ; Melrose Place ; Walker, Texas Ranger ; Boy Meets World ; The West Wing ; and Cold Case .

M. Emmet Walsh

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M. Emmet Walsh, the actor best known for his work as private detective Loren Visser in Blood Simple, died March 19 of cardiac arrest, EW has confirmed . He was 88 years old. The beloved character actor is recognizable for his wry delivery and gruff persona. With over five decades in the industry under his belt, Walsh has appeared in 119 feature films and accrued over 250 television production credits. Born on March 22, 1935, the actor made both his Broadway and onscreen debut in 1969. His breakthrough came several years later in 1977's Slap Shot. He was recently seen as a security guard in Knives Out and as Granddaddy Roy Gemstone on HBO's The Righteous Gemstones. He also has memorable roles in Critters, Ridley Scott 's Blade Runner, the Julia Roberts-starring romcom My Best Friend's Wedding , and the 1979 comedy, The Jerk. He was best known for his role in the Coen Brothers' debut Blood Simple, in which he plays a crooked private detective who kills his client and frames the client's cheating wife for murder. Walsh never married and is survived by his niece, nephew, and two grandnephews.

Jennifer Leak

Jennifer Leak, the actress known for her role in the 1968 film Yours, Mine and Ours and her work on several daytime soap operas, died March 18 at 76. Born in Cardiff, Wales, Leak scored her first screen credit with the TV series Wojeck in 1966, before nabbing the role of Lucille Ball's daughter in Yours, Mine and Ours . She would meet her first husband, Tim Matheson , on the film as well. Leak's other film credits included Eye of the Cat , The Photographer , The Incubus , and Agent on Ice , but it was television where she would spend the majority of her acting career. She played Olive Springer Gordon Randolph on Another World , Blanche Bouvier on Guiding Light , and Gwen Sherman on The Young and the Restless , with additional credits on The Good Guys , Hawaii Five-O , Lost Flight , McMillan & Wife , and The Mary Tyler Moore Show . Leak was married to Matheson from 1968 to 1971, and to James D'Auria from 1977 until her death.

Steve Harley

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Steve Harley, frontman of Cockney Rebel, died on March 17 at age 73. Harley and his band began performing together in the early '70s. By 1975, they'd released their most influential song, "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)." The song topped the U.K. charts, was covered by the likes of Duran Duran and Erasure, and was featured in many films and shows such as The Full Monty and Velvet Goldmine . However, "Make Me Smile" was far from Cockney Rebel's only success. They popped onto the charts again with "Judy Teen" in 1974, as well as their cover of the Beatles ' "Here Comes the Sun" in 1976. Harley later said George Harrison was a fan of Cockney Rebel's version of the song. Harley hit pause on touring for a stretch in the '80s and, when he finally returned to the stage, was thereafter a relentless performer for decades, playing shows up through 2023.

David Seidler

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David Seidler, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, died March 16 while on a fly-fishing expedition in New Zealand, per his manager. He was 86. Born Aug. 3, 1937, Seidler spent his early childhood in London before his family relocated to New York amidst World War II. He developed a stutter on the voyage, and his subsequent years in speech therapy served as inspiration when he eventually penned The King’s Speech . The 2010 film about King George VI’s struggle to overcome his severe stutter received 12 Oscar nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture. Colin Firth also took home a trophy for his performance as King George, and Tom Hooper won for Best Director. The film earned many more accolades, including seven BAFTAs. Seidler later penned a stage adaptation of the film, which opened in London's West End in 2012. The script has since been translated into more than half a dozen languages and performed across four continents. Seidler’s additional credits include Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story, The King and I, Quest for Camelot, Madeline: Lost in Paris, and Francis Ford Coppola ’s 1988 comedy drama Tucker: The Man and His Dream.

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Joe Camp, the writer and director best known as the creative force behind the Benji franchise, died March 15 at 84 . Camp's career started with the original Benji movie in 1974, which was partly inspired by his own dog of the same name. After raising funds to make the movie, he had trouble selling it. "It was turned down by every studio in Hollywood," he later said. Camp ultimately distributed the film independently, and it turned into a massive success. He would go on to make more Benji films, TV shows, and Benji -related stories in other media. He also directed comedies like Hawmps ; The Double McGuffin , with Ernest Borgnine; and Oh! Heavenly Dog , starring Chevy Chase as a detective who has to solve a mystery after being reincarnated as a dog. Outside of film and TV, Camp was a horseman and best-selling author whose works included the 2008 book The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd . He was also a donor and board member for many charities, rescue organizations, and schools, including the Piney Woods School in Mississippi.

Robyn Bernard

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Robyn Bernard, the actress best known for her role as aspiring singer Terry Brock on General Hospital during the 1980s, died March 12 at 64 . The older sister of Wings actress Crystal Bernard, she was born May 26, 1959, in Gladewater, Tex. Bernard made her professional acting debut with a small role in the 1981 French thriller Diva and went on to bit parts on TV series like Simon & Simon , Whiz Kids , and The Facts of Life . In 1984, she landed the recurring role of Terry Brock on General Hospital , appearing in 145 episodes from '84 to 1990. Bernard acted sporadically through the '90s, and her last credited role was in the 2002 straight-to-video movie Voices from the High School .

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Bo$$, a rapper best known for her 1993 album Born Gangstaz and for being the first female rapper to sign with Def Jam, died at age 54 . Born Lichelle Marie Laws, she used the stage name Bo$$ when she released her only studio album in May 1993, which sold nearly 400,000 copies, peaking at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It produced the singles "Deeper" and "Recipe of a Hoe." Additionally, Laws released two mix-tapes, and also featured on albums from AMG, South Central Cartel, Ice-T, Powerlord Jel, Spice 1, Ant Banks, Treach, Dori, Krayzie Bone, LaReece and more.

Malachy McCourt

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Malachy McCourt, the Irish American author, actor, barkeep, and raconteur, died March 11 at 92 . McCourt was beloved for portraying the bartender Kevin on the ABC soap opera Ryan's Hope across the show's 14-year run, and also appeared annually as Father Clarence on All My Children during the holiday season. His other TV and film credits included Oz , Body & Soul , Remember WENN , Gods and Generals , The Devil's Own , and The Other Guys . McCourt founded an eponymous pub, Malachy's, in Manhattan, and ran for governor of New York in 2006 as the Green Party candidate. He was the younger brother of celebrated Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt and wrote two memoirs himself: A Monk Swimming and Singing My Him Song .

Karl Wallinger

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Karl Wallinger, the Welsh musician known as the frontman of World Party and a former member of the Waterboys, died March 10 at 66. Wallinger formed World Party in 1986, following his departure from the Waterboys, recording the project's debut album, Private Revolution , largely alone in his home. When the album was released in 1987, it was a minor hit for the label, partly on the strength of the lead single, "Ship of Fools." The band's breakthrough came with the 1990 album Goodbye Jumbo , which was released after Wallinger contributed to Sinéad O'Connor 's 1988 debut, The Lion and the Cobra . Wallinger and the group would tour and release four albums through 2000, with popular songs like "Put the Message in the Box" and "Is It Like Today?" While recording their fourth album, Egyptology , Wallinger decided to include "She's the One," a song that was originally written for the film of the same name. Not long after the release, Robbie Williams recorded a version of the track that became a hit. The situation upset Wallinger at the time, but he later came to terms with it. "I was so lucky that Robbie recorded 'She's the One,' because it allowed me to keep going," Wallinger later wrote on the band's website, referencing how the royalties helped him following a 2001 aneurysm. "He nicked my pig and killed it, but gave me enough bacon to live on for four years. He kept my kids in school and me in Seaview [Wallinger's recording studio], and for that I thank him." After Wallinger's recovery, World Party began to perform live again in 2006 and toured through 2015. Wallinger was also the musical director of the Rocky Horror Show on the West End in the '70s. He was later the musical director for the film Reality Bites and contributed to the popular soundtrack for 1996's Clueless .

Eric Carmen

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Eric Carmen, who became a '70s icon as the frontman of the Raspberries, died in March at 74. Born Aug. 11, 1949 in Cleveland, the singer-songwriter forged his love for music at a young age, taking violin lessons at 6 and teaching himself to play the guitar as a teen. He joined the Raspberries in 1967 and they rose to fame as a pop-rock band in the style of the Beatles and the Who. Their hits would include “Go All the Way,” “I Wanna Be With You,” “Let’s Pretend,” “Tonight” and “Overnight Sensation." When they split in the mid-’70s, Carmen found success as a solo artist with hits including “All by Myself, “Make Me Lose Control,” and the Dirty Dancing song “Hungry Eyes.” Over the years, the band reunited to share the stage. Their final performance together was at Cleveland’s KeyBank State Theatre in December 2007.

Steve Lawrence

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Steve Lawrence, the Grammy- and Emmy-winning entertainer who dazzled audiences as a nightclub and concert singer with his late wife, Eydie Gormé, died March 7 from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 88. Lawrence got his start in show business as a teenager, after winning a talent competition on Arthur Godfrey's CBS show, but his career truly blossomed after he crossed paths with Gormé. They became friends in 1953 while performing duets on Steve Allen's talk show and soon became known as Steve & Eydie, garnering acclaim as a musical duo who would record multiple albums, appear on variety shows, and headline famous Las Vegas venues. They married in 1957. With and without Gormé, Lawrence released dozens of albums in his lifetime, earning acclaim for hits like "Go Away Little Girl." As an actor, Lawrence's credits included a Broadway stint as Sammy Glick in What Makes Sammy Run? , a memorable turn as Maury Sline in The Blues Brothers and its sequel, and several guest-starring roles on TV. Gormé and Lawrence made several records and television specials, for which they won an Emmy and a Grammy. While also pursuing solo projects and gigs, the duo continued performing together until Gormé's death in 2013.

Garrison Brown

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Garrison Brown, known for appearing on the TLC reality series Sister Wives , was found dead at his home in Flagstaff, Ariz., on March 5 . He was 25. Brown had been a part of Sister Wives , which follows the lives of a polygamist family, since its premiere in 2010. The family includes Kody Brown (Garrison's father) and wife Robyn; ex-wives Janelle (Garrison's mother), Christine, and Meri; and 18 children. In a statement posted to Kody and Janelle's respective Instagram accounts, she wrote that their son "was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him. His loss will leave such a big hole in our lives that it takes our breath away. We ask that you please respect our privacy and join us in honoring his memory."

Anthony 'Baby Gap' Walker

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Anthony Walker, known as "Baby Gap," a former member of the legendary funk group The Gap Band —as well as a dancer and choreographer in his own right — died March 4 at age 60 due to complications from a neck surgery. Hailing from Chicago, Walker joined The Gap Band in 1979 as a dancer and choreographer, and eventually contributing as a songwriter. He performed and toured with the group for 23 years. Walker co-wrote two tracks on the group's 1985 album The Gap Band V , "Automatic Brain" and "L'il Red Funkin' Hood." Also in 1985, Gap Band lead singer Charlie Wilson produced an album with Walker and fellow band member Billy Young, Billy & Baby Gap , which produced the hit "Rock the Nation." As a dancer, Walker formed the award-winning breakdancing group Tidal Wave in the 1970s, and taught breakdancing and moonwalking in the early '80s at John Travolta ’s dance studio. Walker also worked as a choreographer for Disney.

Charlie Griffin

Capt. Charlie Griffin, a fisherman featured on National Geographic 's reality series Wicked Tuna , died March 4 in a boating accident on the Outer Banks. Griffin, who captained the Reels of Fortune vessel, appeared in seasons 2 through 5 of Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks, which follows fishermen who fish for lucrative bluefin tuna off the coast of North Carolina.

Brit Turner

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Brit Turner, best known as the drummer for southern rock band Blackberry Smoke, died at 57 after a nearly two-year battle with glioblastoma. The group — which consists of Brit's brother, Richard Turner, Charlie Starr, Paul Jackson, and Brandon Still, as well as touring members Benji Shanks and Preston Holcomb — made the announcement of his death in a social media post on March 3 . "If you had the privilege of knowing Brit on any level, you know he was the most caring, empathetic, driven and endearing person one could ever hope to meet," their statement read. "Brit was Blackberry Smoke’s True North, the compass that instituted the ideology that will continue to guide this band." The group was formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000. Since then, Blackberry Smoke has released a total of eight studio albums, and several live albums and extended plays, all of which Turner had a part in.

Jim Beard, the jazz pianist best known for his work with Steely Dan , died March 2 at a New York hospital following complications from a sudden illness. He was 63. Born in Philadelphia in 1960, Beard studied under jazz musicians including Don Sebesky, Roland Hanna, and George Shearing during his youth. After moving to New York in 1985, Beard worked with Wayne Shorter, John Scofield, Michael Brecker, Bill Evans, Mike Stern, and John McLaughlin. He later worked with John Mayer , Esperanza Spalding , Dizzy Gillespie, Al Jarreau, and numerous other artists. Beard joined Steely Dan in 2008 and frequently toured with the band; his last performance with the group was on Jan. 20 of this year in Phoenix, where they opened for the Eagles’ Long Goodbye Tour. A teacher at Berklee College of Music, Beard’s music was nominated for seven Grammys, and he won one in 2007 for his work on Randy and Michael Brecker’s Some Skunk Funk . He also recorded six solo albums. He is survived by his mother, two children, and two siblings.

Mark Dodson

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Mark Dodson, the voiceover artist known for his work in the Star Wars and Gremlins franchises, died on March 2 at age 64. Dodson spent over four decades as a radio personality, producer, and voice actor. He got his start as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi ’s Salacious Crumb, a memorably shrill monkey-lizard who served Jabba the Hut. The gig immediately earned him a part as a voiceover artist for the Mowgai in Joe Dante's 1984 classic, Gremlins . Dodson’s later credits include Day of the Dead , Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens , Gremlins 2: The New Batch , and video games such as Ghostrunner, Bendy and the Dark Revival, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Star Trek Online . Dodson is survived by his daughter Ciara and his grandchildren.

Akira Toriyama

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Akira Toriyama, the multidisciplinary artist who created iconic manga and anime series like Dragon Ball and also had a hand in video games including Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger , died March 1 at 68, from an acute subdural hematoma. Toriyama was, sadly, still in the midst of working on future projects, but his lifetime of art has already had a lasting impact on global popular culture. Dragon Ball 's combination of thrilling martial arts action with colorful characters, irreverent humor, and cosmic world-building has directly influenced many subsequent anime like Naruto and One Piece (whose creators wrote touching tributes to Toriyama in the wake of his death), as well as recent American movies like Black Panther and Creed III . But even the sheer familiarity that many Americans now have with manga and anime is a credit to Dragon Ball' s legacy.

Michael 'Virgil' Jones

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Michael Jones, the former pro wrestler who was best known by the ring name Virgil and also appeared under the names Vincent and Lucius Brown, died Feb. 28 at 61. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed, though Jones had previously been diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer. Born in Wilkinsburg, Penn., in 1962, Jones began wrestling under the name Soul Train Jones in the Championship Wrestling Association in 1985. He changed his moniker to Lucius Brown when he moved to the WWF in 1986, then took on the Virgil persona in 1987. Virgil was in Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant's corner when they faced Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage at Summerslam 1988, and eventually turned on DiBiase after years of allyship. He also trained Roddy Piper, and later wrestled in the National Wrestling Conference and World Championship Wrestling, before retiring in 2000.

Sean Garinger

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Sean Garinger, who appeared on 16 and Pregnant alongside his then-girlfriend Selena Gutierrez, died on Feb. 28 at age 20. The reality star was driving an ATV near his home in Boone, North Carolina, when it flipped and crushed his skull. Garinger shared two daughters, Dareli and Esmi with his ex, Gutierrez. The pair starred in season 6 of the MTV series, split up, and were on-and-off in the aftermath of the show. Garinger is survived by his daughters, mother and sisters.

Michael Culver

Michael Culver, the English actor and peace activist who played a brief but memorable role as an Imperial officer ruthlessly terminated by Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back , died Feb. 27, at 85 . The Star Wars sequel featured Culver as Captain Needa, who learns the consequences of failing Darth Vader: In a fan-favorite scene, Needa apologizes to the Sith Lord for losing a group of rebel soldiers and is swiftly Force-choked to death. Culver's other screen credits included A Passage to India , The Return of Sherlock Holmes , Secret Army , Thunderball ,  The Avengers ,  Goodbye Mr. Chips ,  From Russia With Love ,  Squadron ,  Cadfel , and  Wallander .

Richard Lewis

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Richard Lewis, the actor and comedian known for his neurotic humor, his distinctive delivery, and his long-running role as a fictionalized version of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm , died Feb. 27 after suffering a heart attack. He was 76. Lewis announced his retirement from stand-up comedy in April 2023 and disclosed that he'd been living with Parkinson's disease. He first rose to prominence with his stand-up in the '70s and '80s, becoming a fixture on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson , Late Night With David Letterman , and other late-night programs. He worked on Curb with his longtime friend Larry David from the show's first episode in 2000, and his other screen credits included Robin Hood: Men in Tights , Leaving Las Vegas , 7th Heaven ,  Two and a Half Men ,  The Simpsons ,  Alias ,  Everybody Hates Chris ,  Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ,  Bojack Horseman ,  She's Funny That Way,  and  Sandy Wexler .

Charles Dierkop

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Charles Dierkop, the character actor who appeared in memorable projects like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , died Feb. 25 at age 87 at Sherman Oaks Hospital following a heart attack and a case of pneumonia. Dierkop played the outlaw George “Flat Nose” Curry in Butch Cassidy , and reunited with the film’s director George Roy Hill for The Sting . Dierkop had small supporting roles in The Hustler starring Paul Newman , Sidney Lumet’s The Pawnbroker and Roger Corman ’s The St. Valentine's Day Massacre . Other film credits include the Christmas slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night , Messiah of Evil , and Maverick . On the small screen, Dierkop played undercover investigator Pete Royster in 90 episodes of Police Woman . He also appeared in supporting roles in some of the most prominent series of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, including Star Trek , The Andy Griffith Show , Mission: Impossible , Bonanza , Batman , Kung Fu , Gunsmoke , CHiPs , Fantasy Island , MacGyver , and ER .

Kenneth Mitchell

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Kenneth Mitchell, best known for playing multiple roles in Star Trek: Discovery as well as Carol Danvers' dad in Captain Marvel, died Feb. 24 after a five year battle with ALS. He was 49. Mitchell portrayed the Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha, and Tenavik, as well as Aurellio, on Star Trek: Discovery. In addition, he voiced several characters in an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks . Mitchell also had recurring roles on Jericho , Ghost Whisperer , Switched at Birth , The Astronaut Wives Club , and Nancy Drew among others, and in 2019 he was featured as Joseph Danvers in Captain Marvel.

Chris Gauthier

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Chris Gauthier, an actor known for series like  Once Upon a Time and Smallville died on Feb. 23 after a brief illness. He was 48. The English-born Canadian actor had notable roles as Café Diem owner Vincent on  Eureka , the villainous Winslow Schott (aka Toyman) on  Smallville , and first mate Smee on  Once Upon a Time . He also enjoyed memorable turns in  Freddy vs. Jason ,  Watchmen ,  Supernatural , and  A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Pamela Salem

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Pamela Salem, a British actress known for her work in the James Bond and  Doctor Who  franchises, died Feb. 21 at 80 . Born in India, she attended Heidelberg University in Germany and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London before starting in repertory theater in Chesterfield and York. She played the character of Toos in a 1977  Doctor Who  adventure, "The Robots of Death," and 11 years later portrayed a different character, Professor Rachel Jensen, in "Remembrance of the Daleks." Salem reprised both roles in audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. Her other screen credits included the 1983 James Bond adventure  Never Say Never Again , in which she played Miss Moneypenny, as well as the TV series Blake's 7 , Eastenders , and The West Wing .

Tony Ganios

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Tony Ganios, best known for playing fan-favorite character Meat in the Porky's films, died Feb. 18 . He was 64. Ganios made his onscreen debut as Perry in the 1979 coming of age film The Wanderers . That film also starred Ken Wahl, and the two would reunite years later in crime series Wiseguy . Ganios followed The Wanderers up with three films in 1981 — Back Roads , Continental Divide , and Porky's. Ganios starred in both sequels to the teen sex comedy, 1983's Porky’s II: The Next Day and 1985's Porky’s Revenge . He also had roles in Body Rock , Die Hard 2 , The Taking of Beverly Hills , and Rising Sun . His other television credits include the TV movie Ring of the Musketeers and stints on The Equalizer and Scarecrow and Mrs. King .

Anne Whitfield

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Anne Whitfield, the actress best known for playing Susan Waverly in White Christmas , has died at age 85. The actor died on Feb. 15 at Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Wash., following an accident, according to a death notice on the blog of Burien, Wash. Born in Oxford, Miss., in 1938, Whitfield moved to Hollywood with her mother as a child while her father was deployed in World War II. She quickly began working as an actor on nationally broadcast radio programs like The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show and One Man’s Family . At age 15, Whitfield played Susan Waverly, the granddaughter of Major General Thomas Waverly (Dean Jagger), in the holiday classic White Christmas . Susan encourages her grandfather to host a performance by the film’s main characters (played by Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen) at his hotel, which ultimately yields a moving tribute to the general himself. Whitfield’s obituary states that she watched White Christmas with her family in December 2023 in celebration of the film’s 70th anniversary.

E. Duke Vincent

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E. Duke Vincent, the prolific TV producer who worked on hit dramas like Dynasty and Beverly Hills, 90210 , died Feb. 10 at age 91 in Montecito, Calif. Born Edward Ventimiglia in 1932, Vincent entered the entertainment industry by way of aviation. He served as a Naval aviator and joined the Blue Angels flying team in 1961, where he helped capture aerial photo sequences for the TV series The Blue Angels . From there, he produced documentaries and shows like Gomer Pyle , Arnie , and The Little People . With his producing partner Aaron Spelling, Vincent worked on Dynasty , Beverly Hills, 90210 , Melrose Place , 7th Heaven , and Charmed . After retiring from television, he wrote four novels.

Henry Fambrough

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Henry Fambrough, the singer known for his work in the R&B quintet the Spinners, died Feb. 7 at age 85. The singer, who retired from the group last year after over 70 years as its baritone, died of natural causes at his home in Virginia. The group formed in 1954 just outside of Detroit as the Domingoes before changing their name to the Spinners in 1961. For the next decade, the Spinners recorded numerous singles and two studio albums under Motown Records. They found more success after switching to Atlantic Records in the 1970s with songs like "I'll Be Around" and "How Could I Let You Get Away,” the latter of which featured co-lead vocals from Fambrough. Fambrough also sang lead or co-lead vocals on songs like "Ghetto Child,” "I Don't Want to Lose You,” "Ain't No Price on Happiness,” and "Living a Little, Laughing a Little." He is survived by his wife and daughter.

Cecilia Gentili

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Pose  actress Cecilia Gentili died on Feb. 6 from an undisclosed cause. She was 52. Gentili was a dedicated advocate of advancing LGBTQIA+ causes, including HIV/AIDS awareness and equity for sex workers and transgender people. She also appeared on Ryan Murphy's FX drama Pose as Miss Orlando, who first popped up on season 1 as a New York City woman who provides deeply discounted cosmetic surgery. She was also a published author of the book  Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist. She had planned to star in a one-woman show,  Red Ink , following her early life in Argentina and her lifelong dedication to "searching for faith while trans," in NYC later this year.

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Country music superstar Toby Keith died Feb. 5 at age 62 following a two-year battle with stomach cancer . After launching his career with his debut hit "Should've Been a Cowboy," the musician released a string of successful genre songs over the next two decades, including his biggest hit to date, 2011's "Red Solo Cup" and the divisive Sept. 11-inspired song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)."

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Don Murray, who received an Oscar nomination for his role in Bus Stop , died on Feb. 2. He was 94. Murray was known for his performance in the Joshua Logan-directed western, where he played opposite Marilyn Monroe as a lovestruck cowboy who falls for a beautiful saloon singer. Following his breakout performance in the drama, Murray went on to appear in films including A Hatful of Rain, Shake Hands with the Devil, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and  Peggy Sue Got Married . In the late ‘60s, he led ABC’s one-season western, The Outcasts , and a decade later, starred in the Dallas spinoff, Knots Landing . The actor also appeared in the 2017 reboot of Twin Peaks . Murray is survived by his five children.

Wayne Kramer

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Wayne Kramer, the guitarist who co-founded the proto-punk rock band MC5, died Feb. 2 at the age of 75 from pancreatic cancer. Born Wayne Kambes in Detroit in 1948, Kramer founded MC5 alongside Fred “Sonic” Smith. MC5 gained a following for its energetic performances and left-wing political platform, at one point performing for eight hours straight at the infamous protest against the Vietnam War at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. MC5’s live album Kick Out the Jams and studio album Back in the USA were both heavily influential on the blossoming punk subgenre, and the group helped mentor other prominent bands like the Stooges. Kramer launched a successful solo career in the 1990s, and he later collaborated with artists like Rage Against the Machine , Bad Religion, and fellow Detroit rocker Alice Cooper . Kramer also helped compose the scores for Eastbound and Down , Talladega Nights , and Step Brothers .

Carl Weathers

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Carl Weathers , the actor and former pro football player best known for his work in the Rocky movies, died Feb. 1 at 76 . Weathers' family said in a statement that he died peacefully in his sleep. After playing for the Oakland Raiders, Weathers rose to prominence portraying rival boxer Apollo Creed in Rocky , serving as the antagonist in the original 1976 film and the 1979 sequel Rocky II before becoming a friend and ally to Sylvester Stallone's Italian Stallion in Rocky III (1982) and Rocky IV (1985). He also starred in projects like Predator , Happy Gilmore , Arrested Development , and the Star Wars spinoff show The Mandalorian .

Mark Gustafson

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Mark Gustafson, the Oscar-winning co-director of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio , died on Feb. 1. The animator and director was 64. Gustafson's career in animation began in the '80s, taking a variety of forms in addition to the claymation work he would become known for. His early work included the TV special Claymation Christmas Celebration and the Emmy-nominated Meet the Raisins special, which starred the California Raisins. Later, he would direct episodes of the Eddie Murphy -led series, The PJs . Gustafson would go on to work as the animation director for Wes Anderson 's Fantastic Mr. Fox and lead the claymation sequences in A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas . "I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him. A pillar of stop motion animation — a true artist," Guillermo del Toro wrote in tribute to the animator on X. Their work together on Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio would win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2023, as well as a Golden Globe, three Visual Effects Society Awards, and five Annie Awards, including an award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing. "He leaves behind a titanic legacy of animation that goes back to the very origins of claymation and that shaped the career and craft of countless animators," del Toro continued. "He leaves friends and colleagues and a historic filmography."

Chita Rivera

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Chita Rivera, the legendary Tony award-winning actress and singer who originated the role of Anita in  West Side Story  on Broadway, died on Jan. 30 after a brief illness. She was 91. Rivera made her first appearance at 19 as a principal dancer in the 1952 touring company of the musical  Call Me Madam  before making her Broadway debut in  Guys and Dolls  the following year. In 1957, she landed her history-making role as Anita in  Stephen Sondheim 's  West Side Story  that would turn her into an overnight sensation. Her other stage credits include originating the role of Velma Kelly in  Chicago,  Anna in  The Rink , and Aurora in  Kiss of the Spider Woman , the latter two of which saw her win Tony Awards for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Rivera was one of the most-nominated stars in Tony Awards history, with 10 nods to her name for her performances in  Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, Merlin, Nine,  and her musical career retrospective,  Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life.  She made her final Broadway stage performance in the 2015 musical  The Visit.

Hinton Battle

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Hinton Battle, the three-time Tony-winning actor who originated the role of Scarecrow in The Wiz on Broadway, died Jan. 29 at 67. Battle won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his work in 1981's Sophisticated Ladies , 1984's The Tap Dance Kid , and 1991's Miss Saigon . He also starred in the Broadway productions of Dreamgirls (and its 2006 film adaptation), Dancin' , and Chicago . In addition to his work on the Great White Way, Battle appeared on several television shows, including Quantum Leap , Sweet Justice , High Incident , Touched by an Angel , and Buffy the Vampire Slayer , the latter of which saw him memorably portray a singing villain in a 2001 musical episode .

Sandra Milo

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Sandra Milo, the Italian actress best known for appearing in Federico Fellini's autobiographical classic 8 ½ , died Jan. 29 at 90. She passed away in her sleep at home in Rome surrounded by family. Born Elena Salvatrice Greco, Milo collaborated with numerous renowned filmmakers, including Roberto Rossellini, Jean Renoir, and Gabriele Salvatore. In addition to playing the protagonist's mistress Carla in 8 ½ , she appeared in Fellini's Juliet of the Spirit and later became a well-known talk show host.

Melanie Safka

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Melanie, the folk-pop singer and songwriter known for such hits as "Brand New Key" and "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," died Jan. 23 at 76 . Born Melanie Safka in New York City, she got her start performing in coffeehouses and made a splash at Woodstock as a relative unknown in 1969. The latter experience provided the basis for her breakthrough hit, "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," which was followed by her inescapably popular single "Brand New Key," her sole top 10 hit in the U.S. Over the course of her career, Melanie released 28 studio albums, with notable songs including  "What Have They Done to My Song Ma," "Ring the Living Bell," "Together Alone," and a cover of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." In 1968, Melanie married record producer Peter Schekeryk, who died in 2010. The couple shared three children.

Charles Osgood

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Charles Osgood, the venerable CBS news anchor and radio personality, died Jan. 23 at 91-years-old . His family told CBS News that the cause of death was dementia. Osgood was best known as the Sunday Morning news host who helmed the show from 1994 to 2016, after original host Charles Kuralt. He was also the voice of The Osgood File , a daily news commentary series for the network’s radio station. During his tenure, Sunday Morning reached new highs, including a ratings spike and three Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Morning Program. Outside of the newsroom, Osgood served as the narrator of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who and was an acclaimed author and poet.

Gary Graham

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Gary Graham, the actor known for starring on the television series Alien Nation and appearing in various Star Trek screen projects, died Jan. 22 at 73 . Graham led Alien Nation for its single season from 1989 to 1990 as Det. Matthew Sikes, an L.A. cop who works with extraterrestrial "Newcomers" like Sam "George" Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) to solve crimes. He would reprise the role for five TV movie follow-ups. Graham also portrayed as the Vulcan ambassador Soval on Star Trek: Enterprise and played different characters in other Star Trek works. His other TV credits included The Incredible Hulk , Scruples , CHiPs , The Dukes of Hazzard , Ally McBeal , and JAG .

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Mary Weiss, lead singer of '60s girl group the Shangri-Las, died Jan. 19 . She was 75. Formed while still in high school with her sister Elizabeth and twins Mary Ann and Marguerite Ganser, the Shangri-Las scored their first top 10 hit with the single "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." Other hits include "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" and "Maybe," and their chart-topping anthem "Leader of the Pack," which was later featured in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas . The Shangri-Las released just two albums —  Leader of the Pack  and  The Shangri-Las '65!  — before disbanding in 1968 amid legal troubles. The group reunited for several performances in the 1970s and one final gig in 1989, but Weiss largely stayed out of the spotlight until 2005, when she decided to pursue a solo career. Her debut album,  Dangerous Games , was released in 2007.

Norman Jewison

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Norman Jewison, the versatile Canadian filmmaker who directed some of the 20th century's most beloved movies, such as In the Heat of the Night and Moonstruck , died Jan. 20 at 97 . After working with stars like Judy Garland, Danny Kaye, Harry Belafonte, and Jackie Gleason on TV specials, Jewison helmed a wide variety of popular films in wildly different genres, including Fiddler on the Roof , The Thomas Crown Affair , Rollerball , The Cincinnati Kid , and Jesus Christ Superstar . Jewison received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1999, and his films won a total of 12 Oscars from 41 nominations, including a Best Picture win for In the Heat of the Night .

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Actor David Emge, well known to horror fans for playing the role of helicopter pilot Stephen in the 1978 zombie classic Dawn of the Dead , died Jan. 20 at 77 . After serving in the Vietnam War, Emge starting his acting career at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and then moved to New York. He was working as a chef when Dawn of the Dead director George Romero cast him as Stephen, who in the film is bitten and becomes a zombie. An image of the undead pilot featured in a book about horror movies later attracted the interest of a young Simon Pegg, helping to inspire the future Shaun of the Dead star and cowriter’s interest in zombies. “I would stare at the image of David Emge’s zombified flyboy character,” Pegg recalled in his 2011 memoir Nerd Do Well . “The film became something of an obsession for me.” Emge’s other film credits included 1976’s The Booby Hatch and 1990’s Basket Case 2 .

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David Gail, best known for a recurring role as Brenda Walsh's fiancé on Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Dr. Joe Scanlon on the daytime soap Port Charles , died Jan. 20 . He was 58. Gail made his television debut in a 1990 episode of Growing Pains , and went on to guest star on Doogie Hoswer, M.D. , Murder, She Wrote , and Matlock . before landing a recurring role as Stuart Carson on Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1993. After 90210 , Gail went on to star in the short-lived primetime soap Savannah from 1996 to '97, and landed in the daytime soap Port Charles (a spin-off of General Hospital ) in 1999, replacing Michael Dietz as Dr. Scanlon. Gail stayed in the role for 216 episodes and then worked sporadically through the early '00s.

Marlena Shaw

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Marlena Shaw, who famously sang “California Soul,” died on Jan. 19 at age 81 . Her cause of death was not disclosed by her daughter, who shared the news with a video posted to Shaw’s official Facebook page. The legendary jazz and soul singer began her career with a performance at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in 1952, after being invited onstage by her uncle, a jazz trumpet player. She went on to perform in jazz clubs across the county, eventually signing to Chess Records in her early 20s. Across her career, Shaw released 17 albums total with eight different record labels. Her most famous tune is “California Soul,” penned by Ashford & Simpson and first recorded by The Messengers. It is oft-sampled by other artists and used in various commercials.

Nerene Virgin

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Canadian broadcast journalist, host, and actress Nerene Virgin died on Jan. 15 at age 77. She was best known to '80s kids as Jodie on the TV show Today's Special , about a department store mannequin who comes to life after closing time. The Canadian series ran from 1981 to 1987 and aired on Nickelodeon in the U.S. Virgin also worked as a broadcaster, hosting CTV’s current affairs show Eye on Toronto in the late '80s and early '90s. She spent the later part of her career as a writer and educator, who championed teaching Black history in schools, and worked as an anti-racism advocate.

Joyce Randolph

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Joyce Randolph, the last surviving member of  The Honeymooners cast, died Jan. 13 of natural causes. She was at 99. The actress is best remembered for playing housewife Trixie Norton across 39 episodes of the classic TV sitcom. She starred alongside Audrey Meadows,  Art Carney , and series creator  Jackie Gleason . The show was canceled after its original run, but gained acclaim in syndication. Though Elaine Stritch originated Trixie when "The Honeymooners" was first a series of sketches on the variety show  Cavalcade of Stars, Randolph later became synonymous with the character after Gleason spotted Randolph doing a commercial for Clorets in 1951 and flagged her for the part.

Alec Musser

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Alec Musser , the actor best known for his role as Del Henry on All My Children and his brief but memorable appearance in the movie Grown Ups , died Jan. 12 by suicide . He was 50. Musser was a model prior to his acting career, appearing in Men's Health and ads for Abercrombie and Fitch. After winning the SOAPnet reality TV contest  I Wanna Be a Soap Star , Musser made his debut on All My Children in 2005.  For two seasons, Musser played the illegitimate son of Seabone Hunkle (Steve Kanaly), before exiting the show in 2007. His last role was in 2011, as Friedrich in the final season of  Desperate Housewives . 

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Bill Hayes, the beloved daytime television actor who starred as Doug Williams on Days of Our Lives for more than five decades, died Jan. 12 at 98. A talented singer and actor, Hayes originated the role of Doug on the NBC sudser in 1970 and would become one of its longest-running stars, appearing in more than 2,000 episodes over the next 53 years. He married his costar Susan Seaforth Hayes in 1974 and, two years later, their super-couple characters on the show similarly followed them down the aisle. In 2018, both of them received a Lifetime Achievement Award for their work on the show at the Daytime Emmy Awards.

Lynne Marta

Lynne Marta, an actress known for her guest starring roles in TV and bit parts in films like Footloose and Three Men and a Little Lady , died Jan. 11 after a battle with cancer. She was 78. Marta made her professional acting debut in 1966 on an episode of Gidget before becoming a featured player on the ABC anthology series Love, American Style in 1969. Marta appeared in the 1972 western Joe Kidd starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall, which was probably her most high profile film role until 1984's Footloose . The actress was also a regular on television, guest starring on the likes of Kojak , Charlie's Angels , and Designing Women . Marta also appeared in 24 episode of Days of Our Lives from 1983 to 2003.

Roy Battersby

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British film and television director Roy Battersby died Jan. 10 following a brief illness, his stepdaughter Kate Beckinsale announced on social media. He was 87. Born in London, Battersby made his directorial debut in the 1969 made-for-television film Some Women and is best known for his work on several popular British crime dramas including Between the Lines , Inspector Morse , Cracker , and A Touch of Frost . His film credits include the 1984 drama Winter Flight and 2005's Red Mercury.

Peter Crombie

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Peter Crombie, the actor known for playing “Crazy” Joe Davola on  Seinfeld , died Jan. 10 following a short illness. He was 71. Crombie starred as Davola, a psychopath dead set on terrorizing Jerry, throughout a stint of episodes in season 4 of the classic comedy series. The actor's other credits include spotlight roles in television shows like Loving , Law & Order , NYPD Blue , Picket Fences , L.A. Firefighters , Diagnosis Murder , and Get Smart . He also appeared in films such as Se7en , The Doors , Rising Sun, My Dog Skip, Natural Born Killers, and The Blob.

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Adan Canto, the actor known for his work on TV series including The Cleaning Lady and Designated Survivor , and in such films as X-Men: Days of Future Past , died Jan. 8 from appendiceal cancer . He was 42. Born in Mexico and raised in Texas, Canto first pursued a career in music and later branched out into acting. He made his American acting debut on the thriller The Following and went on to play White House Chief of Staff Aaron Shore on Designated Survivor , real-life politician Rodrigo Lara Bonilla on Narcos , and mobster Arman Morales on The Cleaning Lady . He portrayed the powerful mutant Sunspot in Days of Future Past , and his other screen credits included Blood & Oil , Second Chance , The Catch , Bruised , and Agent Game .

Christian Oliver

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Christian Oliver, the actor best known for his roles as Snake Oiler in Speed Racer and Emil Brandt in The Good German , died Jan. 4 at 51 in a plane crash that also killed his two young daughters . Born Christian Klepser, the star was born in Germany and relocated to the States to pursue a Hollywood career. His other credits include TV shows Alarm für Cobra 11, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Sense8, and Hunters. In addition, Oliver — who was also a writer and producer — appeared in the films Valkyrie, The Baby-Sitters Club, Hercules Reborn, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Glynis Johns

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Glynis Johns, who played dedicated suffragette mother Winifred Banks in the original  Mary Poppins , died on Jan. 4 at age 100. The British actress was recruited by Walt Disney himself for the beloved 1964 musical starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in which Johns' character begins the film with a rousing performance of "Sister Suffragette." Johns earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Sundowners and won a Tony Award for the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s  A Little Night Music , in which she sang "Send in the Clowns."

Starsky & Hutch  actor David Soul, who helped popularize one of the most iconic TV series of the 1970s, died Jan. 4 at age 80. His first major TV roles were small parts in  I Dream of Jeannie  and  Flipper , followed by a two-season run on the western comedy  Here Come the Brides  from 1968 to 1970. From 1975 to 1979, Soul starred as Kenneth Richard "Hutch" Hutchinson opposite Paul Michael Glaser's David Michael Starsky in Starsky & Hutch . Outside of his acting career, Soul released five albums and a handful of successful singles, including the 1976 rock hit "Don't Give Up on Us," which reached No. 1 in the United States.

Harry Johnson

Harry Johnson, a veteran actor who appeared on hit television shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and Law & Order , died Jan. 2 following a long illness. He was 81. Johnson began his career as one of Universal Studios’ final contract players and made his television debut as a warrior in a 1978 episode of the sci-fi epic Battlestar Galactica . He would go on to land guest roles on several more beloved television series throughout his 40-year career in entertainment, including: M*A*S*H, The Incredible Hulk, The A-Team, L.A. Law, Dynasty, Who’s the Boss?,   and  Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was also a prolific ADR voice actor and starred as Harry in the "Harry & Louise" political advertisements that aired throughout the early 1990s.

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Friday 5 August 2016

The art of starbase yorktown, from sean hargreaves and milena zdravkovic.

Yorktown was what Roddenberry's entire source material was about. Living together in harmony, with other planets and cultures we have all discovered.

This oxygen fan and 4 gravity plane area was a collaboration between myself and Art Director Dan Hermansen. Milena Zdravkovic also did a beautiful rendering with more green and trees. I always thought of this as an industrial hub. Dan Designed the Cool circular room at the end of the film where the fight takes place, known as the 'Zero Point Chamber'. Note the 2 Dubai Burg buildings on the right which were an agreement between the production and Dubai as we were shooting there.

Heres an early image of Kirk on the opening planet, before script changes. The planet was sulfurous and bubbly at this early point in the script. The creatures were even smaller and lived in these termite like growths. Kirk puts his hand in and........

7 comments:

I like it better with the green spaces--it was definately lacking those.

It looks like the spacedock openings will have to be widened when JJ-Enterprise-D is in the fleet!

The question I'm still really curious about, is the entire interior of the station open air? Or are the cities on the arms protected somehow? I didn't see anything in the movie that would have protected anyone from a single breach in the huge outer shell. Other than running into the buildings I suppose. Really just curious, not trying to criticize, I love the design.

Keep in mind that the outer shell is transparent to visible light, but it's also likely made of substances several orders of magnitude more durable than even modern-day NASA/RusCosmos-specs safety glass. In the galaxy where "transparent" aluminum is a materials science reality...well, the implications are left to the audience.

Do we have any information regarding how the rings interact with each other? Maybe some schematics?

Ok, so we have the design and a 3 dimensional interpretation of how this would look including some of its fictional operations. When can we get started making this beautiful design a reality!? I think it would be many years in the making but I think it looks like a realistic achieveable goal. Ok we don't have all the technology yet but it's only been roughly 30 years since the conception of the datapad and now many of us have something similar in our hands. Comm badges are also a reality via Bluetooth so why can't this be the next goal for humanity!? This could potentially be an answer to humanities overpopulation problems. The potential possiblities from where we could go from there are endless!

Where does the bright light come from? Does the transparent outer shell of Yorktown emitt light like a solar panel?

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Music and Concerts | Review: Has Mick Jagger slowed down? Are the…

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Music and concerts | review: has mick jagger slowed down are the rolling stones past it not yet.

Mick Jagger, of The Rolling Stones, performs during a concert on June 27, 2024, at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

Mick Jagger, of The Rolling Stones, performs during a concert on June 27, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

Keith Richards, of The Rolling Stones, performs during a concert on June 27, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

From left, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards, of The Rolling Stones, perform during a concert on June 27, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards, of The Rolling Stones, perform during their first of two concerts at Soldier Field on June 27, 2024. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

Ronnie Wood, of The Rolling Stones, performs during a concert on June 27, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

For most of the next two hours, Jagger nearly single-handedly carried the concert. He defied the limitations often associated with his 80-year age and refused to mail in a single verse. Questions about the Stones’ predictability, purpose and joyfulness aside, the physically fit singer continues to take performance as seriously as anyone in the business. He nailed his deliveries, projected enthusiasm, embodied determination and gave a master class in the art of animated dance moves. AARP, the tour sponsor, couldn’t have dreamt up a better advertisement.

Playing the 40th Chicago concert of their career and the first local gig without their late drummer Charlie Watts (who died in 2021), the Stones frequently needed the boost. The impossible task of succeeding Watts fell to the talented Steve Jordan, whose collaborative relationship with guitarist Keith Richards stretches back to the Reagan era. In a possible nod to Watts’ famously keen fashion style, Jordan sported a smart suit and black sunglasses. He knew the parts inside-out, though his approach — slightly busier and heavier, with less swing, glide and refinement than the jazz-leaning Watts — altered the rhythmic structures in ways obvious to anyone with a history of seeing the band.

Still, as they say, the show must go on. Nearly 35 years after they mounted a comeback trek that prompted some critics to crack wise about their ages in the context of rock ‘n’ roll, the Rolling Stones keep on keepin’ on, in spite of internal issues, health setbacks and mortality. In the face of endless, cliched stories that lazily incorporate their song titles (“The Last Time,” “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”). Their persistence — along with their ubiquitous classics and iconic tongue-and-lips logo — have made the Stones the most widely identifiable rock group in history.

In many ways, the Stones are as much a brand as a band, and one that apparently never goes out of style. Modeled by chic young adults, the vast array of apparel hawked on their website gives fashion houses a run for their money. While Taylor Swift inspires headlines about boosting local economies and altering countries’ inflation rates, the Stones remain a box-office juggernaut that regularly grosses upwards of $10 million per gig. This after creating the blueprint for stadium tours in the late ’80s.

Lineup alterations aside, little regarding the Stones has changed since they released their last great album (“Tattoo You”) in 1981. The primary differences today concern the environment in which the group operates. The concept of selling out no longer exists. Rock ‘n’ roll ceded its dominance to hip hop and pop decades ago. Standalone artists overtook groups in terms of star power. Consider: You don’t even need all the fingers on one hand to count how many bands formed since the dawn of the 21st century can fill a hockey arena for two shows.

Indeed, the sense that the imitable combination of sound, interplay and chemistry that transpired on the grand if somewhat minimalist Soldier Field stage might soon be difficult to come by seemed lost on no one — including the last three core Stones themselves and their supporting cast, particularly longtime keyboardist Chuck Leavell and Chicago native Darryl Jones, whose full-bodied bass lines provided a steadying element when other aspects wavered.

Sticking to the center of the stage, tufts of white-and-gray hair struggling to emerge beyond his trademark headband, Richards occasionally appeared reticent and noncommittal. The 80-year-old looked as if he’d slowed. He struck noticeably sour notes on “Start Me Up,” adopted a perfunctory stance during his vocal lead on a flat “Tell Me Straight” and required several songs to find his footing. Yet Richards’ personalized technique — he navigated by feeling, read what the material demanded and reacted accordingly, ignoring timing and placement conventions — corresponded to a manner of disciplined improvisation that can only be shaped over decades of experience.

When it sparked, his rapport with fellow guitarist Ron Wood gave diehards visions of a more youthful past and newer fans a reason to savor the moments when the duo locked into a groove and held tight. Jabbing and scraping their instruments’ strings, Richards and Wood juggled decay and distortion and communicated with scuffed tones, squawking riffs and sharp, twangy fills. The grittiest of their output doubled as rude interjections (“Little T&A”), R&B rejoinders (“Tumbling Dice”), clarion calls (“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”) and booze-soaked lures (“Honky Tonk Women”).

As expected, the Stones leveraged familiarity to their advantage. Along with one fan-selected song (a watered-down “She’s a Rainbow”) and one dusted-off gem (a reggae-tinted “Get Off of My Cloud”), four songs from their recent “Hackney Diamonds” LP cracked a setlist anchored by the same hits the group has featured for eons. Nothing released between 1981 and 2023 made the cut. Yes, people pay big bucks to hear favorites. But why not tackle one of the other seldom-played numbers (“Bite My Head Off,” “Fool to Cry,” “She’s So Cold”) that lost the popular vote? Or toss a couple of known albeit deeper tracks into the mix?

Instead, the energetic and attitudinal antidote to the pervasive politeness stemmed from Jagger. Adorned in black jeans, and modeling an assortment of jackets and shirts, the livewire singer justified the presence of both the stage’s short runway and extended wings. He strutted, waggled, pointed, shimmied, shuffled, summoned, pouted, preened and vogued. His petite hips turned on an imaginary swivel; his loose shoulders flirted with joint dislocation; his restless hands flapped as if trying to shake off a tingling numbness.

Save for the 15 minutes he went backstage and let Richards handle the microphone, Jagger alternated between the roles as singer, cheerleader, MC, jokester — he deemed the evening’s presidential debate “Viagarapalooza” — and storyteller. He touched on the band’s first trip to Chicago in 1964 and fortune at meeting its idols (Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry) at Chess Records. He failed to mention that the studio sat about a mile from where he currently stood, or that the Stones recorded a batch of songs while there. Too bad the group didn’t play one of them as a full-circle tribute.

The closest the Rolling Stones got to musically acknowledging the city’s blues impact on their fare arrived during a tease of “Sweet Home Chicago” amid a harmonica-laden run-through of “Midnight Rambler.” The circa-1969 tune emerged as one of the few that hinted at its original menace. Another, a long-fuse reading of “Gimme Shelter,” also of ‘69 vintage, benefitted from the fiery participation and soulful blare of backup vocalist Chanel Haynes.

“War, children,” Jagger and Haynes sang, conscious of the ominous warnings that followed. “It’s just a shot away.” For the briefest instant, all the years and wrinkles melted away, and the Stones were again ragtag British dissidents spreading and sounding an urgent alarm amid an ever-tumultuous global climate. Godspeed.

Bob Gendron is a freelance critic.

Setlist from Soldier Field June 27: “Start Me Up” “Get Off of My Cloud” “It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll (But I Like It)” “Angry” “She’s a Rainbow” “Wild Horses” “Mess It Up” “Tumbling Dice” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” “Tell Me Straight” “Little T&A” “Happy” “Sympathy for the Devil” “Honky Tonk Women” “Midnight Rambler” “Gimme Shelter” “Paint It Black” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”

Encore “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

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