Canadian actor Scott Hylands, 83, died of leukemia on July 29. Hylands was best known in the US for playing Detective Kevin “O.B.” O’Brien in the 1980s Canadian TV show Night Heat; he also costarred in the sci-fi series V. Born in Vancouver, Hylands started his career Off-Broadway and with San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater (he also acted at the Mark Taper Forum and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival, and continued to act onstage for the rest of his life). He ent

Tough-guy actor Vincent Pastore (“Big Pussy” in The Sopranos) was found dead at his Bronx home on August 1. He was 80. The native New Yorker was a US Navy vet, who was already in his 40s when he got into acting. His best-known vehicles—often as a mobster—included Gotti, Goodfellas, Carlito’s Way, Mickey Blue Eyes, Riding in Cars with Boys, Shark Tale, and Revolver; he was ubiquitous in both films and TV (most recently last year’s Yellowjackets), appearing in more than 180 (an

Singer and lyricist Arlene Smith, of the Chantels, died on July 29. She was 84. Smith was the group’s lead singer, backed by Sonia Goring Wilson, Renée Minus White, Jackie Landry Jackson, and Lois Harris. Smith was a classically-trained singer and performer by the time the girls got together in high school to form the group; they were signed in 1957 and had their first hits (“Maybe” and “He’s Gone”) that same year. Smith left the group to perform solo by 1959; eventually she

Irish singer and songwriter Glen Hansard died on July 29 in a motorcycle crash (doctors don’t call those things “organ donor delivery systems” for nothing). He was 56. Hansard was the frontman of the hit Irish rock group The Frames; he was also one-half of the folk-duo The Swell Season, with pianist Markéta Irglová, and performed a solo act as well. Hansard was a singer, also playing the guitar, piano and mandolin; starting his career busking, he formed The Frames in 1990, ev

British TV actor Tom Chadbon, 80, has died, it was announced on July 28. Chadbon was ubiquitous on British TV, starring in Crown Prosecutor, and having recurring roles in The Flight of the Heron, The Liver Birds, Jackanory, The Brack Report, Dr. Who, Paradise Postponed, Chancer, Devices and Desires, Wire in the Blood, Where the Heart Is, The Bill, and Casualty, also popping up in one-shots on other series. On the big screen, Chadbon was seen in The Beast Must Die, Tess, Dance

Character actor Kent Broadhurst, 86, died on May 20. Broadhurst appeared on Broadway in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and A Doll’s House, also appearing Off-Broadway; he wrote the plays They’re Coming to Make It Brighter, Lemons, The Eye of the Beholder and The Habitual Acceptance of the Near Enough, and displayed his artwork at his own Broadhurst Gallery in Pine Plains, New York. He had small or supporting roles in such films as Brubaker, The Verdict, Lovesick, Silkwood, Si

Perky blonde musical-comedy actress E.J. Peaker, 82, died on May 16. I remember her best as Robert Morse’s costar on the experimental 1960s musical-comedy show That’s Life; she also played Minnie Faye in the movie version of Hello, Dolly! Peaker (her birth name was Edra Jean, but “E.J.” fit the required 1960s kookiness) appeared on Broadway in Barefoot in the Park, and did a lot of Off-Broadway and regional shows as well. From the 1960s-90s she was ubiquitous on TV, whenever

Actress, dancer and choreographer Hope Clark, 85, died on July 23. Clark danced with the Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey companies, and appeared on Broadway in West Side Story, Hallelujah Baby, Purlie, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Tempest, Caroline or Change, and A Free Man of Color, among other shows. She also choreographed Jelly’s Last Jam, and a production of Porgy and Bess at the Houston Grand Opera, as well as choreographing shows for The Colored

Director Charles “Chuck” Russell, 74, died on July 22. Russell directed The Mask, featuring one of Jim Carrey’s most annoying performances (and that’s up against some pretty stiff competition). His other vehicles included A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob, Eraser, The Scorpion King, and, most recently, 2024’s Witchboard. Russell started his career as a production assistant and assistant director (Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Hell Night, Back to School), wo

Set designer Mary Kate Golding (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Gotham, Goosebumps) was found stabbed to death in her Astoria, Queens, home on July 21. She was 34. Her husband, Joseph Azzaretto, was found dead in nearby Astoria Park, and the crime is being treated as a murder/suicide. Golding most famously designed the mid-century modern and old-world Brooklyn sets of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. An NYU grad, she also designed for The Big Sick, Hawkeye, Extrapolations, Marry Me, Ful

Yugoslavian actress and singer Olivera Katarina, 86, died on July 21. She was best-known in the US for starring in the 1970 horror film Mark of the Devil, and also appeared in the award-winning I Even Met Happy Gypsies (1967). A successful singer (of pop songs and traditional folk music, in several languages; she released ten albums), Katarina acted in many films from the 1960s-80s, notably Monday or Tuesday, Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill, The Dream, Fräulein Doktor, Ann and Eve, Goya

I heard from one of my Death Elves that actress Anne Russell, 103, had just died—but I find other sources that say she died in 2025. In any event, she’s dead, so, “to the Deathmobile!” Russell started her career as a big-band singer, and then appeared on Broadway in the 1960s, in Pal Joey and Flora, the Red Menace; she also was in regional and touring productions of Mame, The Boy Friend, and Hello, Dolly! She worked as a nightclub and Vegas singer, and did TV commercials. Her

One of my Death Elves (hi, Mike!) tipped me off to the death on June 8 of British actor and TV host Mike Preston, 92. Preston was working as a singer in England and Australia when he began hosting the show In Melbourne Tonight (1969). He also hosted the 1970s quiz show The Celebrity Game, and appeared on many talk and variety shows. He appeared as Sergeant Delany on Homicide (1972-73), and went on to costar in such shows Punishment, MPSIB, and Hot Pursuit, and did one-offs in

Diver, actress, and stuntwoman Zale Parry, 93, died on July 20. Parry studied both acting and swimming at UCLA, and in 1954, she set a women's depth record to 209 feet. She dove for Sports Illustrated, was on the board of directors (and was eventually president) of the Underwater Photographic Society, and was co-director of the International Underwater Film Festival. She doubled for Sophia Loren in Boy on a Dolphin, and did stunts for Sea Hunt and Voyage to the Bottom of the

Rising young actress Kaylee Hottle, 18, died in a traffic accident on July 21. Hottle, who was born deaf, began her career in commercials. She appeared in the new Magnum P.I. reboot, and made her film debut in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, also appearing in 2024’s follow-up Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. She told writer Peter Warren in 2024, “I think I'm gonna see where acting is taking me. I'd like to see more deaf young actresses get motivated when they see me on screen and h

Actor and acting coach John Kirby, 75, died of ALS on July 15. The son of actor Bruce Kirby and brother of actor Bruno Kirby, John had small roles on TV in Maude, Sanford and Son, The Fall Guy, The Girl Most Likely, Eight Is Enough, Airwolf, and M*A*S*H, and appeared in the films Almost Summer, The Cottonwood, Punchline, and Dracula's Dog. He paid the rent as an acting coach, for such stars as Jim Caviezel, Jeff Bridges, Cameron Diaz, Chrissy Metz, Morris Chestnut, Judith Lig

British/Australian actor Terence Donovan, 90, died on July 18. Born in London, Donovan spent his career bouncing back and forth between his native country and Australia. He appeared onstage in such plays as Chicago, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Oh, What a Lovely War!, Breaker Morant (also in the film version), Miss Julie, Company, Educating Rita, and Follies. On TV, Donovan costarred the series Division 4, Power Without Glory, Hotel Story, Cop Shop, Sons and Daughters

Pop singer Freddy Cannon, 89, died on July 17. Cannon had 1960s hits with "Tallahassee Lassie,” "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” and "Palisades Park.” His first hit was as singer and guitarist on 1958’s "Cha-Cha-Do," and after he was discovered and promoted by Dick Clark, Cannon went on to score 22 hits on the Billboard charts. His white-hot fame faded with the British Invasion, but Cannon kept touring, releasing an album as recently as 2023. Cannon told music writer Gary Ja

Irish stage, screen and TV actress Brenda Fricker, 81, died on July 16. An Oscar-winner as Daniel Day-Lewis’s mother in My Left Foot (1989), the Dublin native acted with the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Court Theatre Company, and had continuing roles in the TV series Coronation Street, Crown Court, and Casualty. On the big screen, Fricker was seen in The Field, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Angels in the Outfield, A

Movie and TV actor Hal Williams (Sanford and Son, Private Benjamin) died on July 15. He was 91. Williams had worked as a postal worker and corrections officer before taking up acting full-time in the late 1960s; he eventually appeared in more than 70 movies and and TV shows, most recently the current reboot of Matlock. His best known roles were as friendly neighborhood cop Smitty on Sanford and Son, shouty drill sergeant (is there any other kind?) Ross in the movie and TV ver