As the year closes, we at Village Media would like to take pause and remember those the world lost in 2019.
Here are just some of the entertainers, innovators, news makers and people of note that left us this year (in no particular order):
Lil BUB - celebrity cat known for her unique appearance who starred in her own documentary, Lil BUB and Friendz, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013.
Tim Conway - actor, comedian, writer who was a regular on the Carol Burnett Show, and appeared along with Don Knotts in a number of films. He also provided the voice of Barnacle Boy in SpongeBob SquarePants. Other credits include The Apple Dumpling Gang, the Dorf film series, Laugh-In, Coach, Newhart, Ellen, Mad About You, and The Simpsons.
Dick Miller - actor who appeared in more than 180 movies, working with the likes of Roger Corman, Joe Dante and Martin Scorsese. Credits include The Little Shop of Horrors, Gremlins, and The Terminator.
James Ingram - Grammy Award-winning musician who's hits include Somewhere Out There with Linda Ronstadt for the animated film An American Tale.
Michel Legrand - composer with more than 200 film and television credits to his name, including The Thomas Crown Affair and Yentl.
Carol Channing - Tony Award-winning Broadway star who came to national prominence in 1964 when she starred in Hello, Dolly! Other theatre credits include Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Pygmalion, and Lorelei.
Bob Einstein - actor, comedy writer and producer best remembered as his character, Super Dave Osborne. Other credits include Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Ocean's Thirteen.
Mark Hollis - musician, co-founder and songwriter of Talk Talk whose hits include It's My Life and Life's What You Make It.
Peter Tork - musician, founding member of The Monkees.
Tardar Sauce (AKA Grumpy Cat) - celebrity cat whose face has been memed around the world.
Vinny Vella - actor best remembered for portraying Artie Piscano in Martin Scorsese's Casino.
Karl Lagerfeld - fashion designer best known as the creative director for the Chanel fashion house.
Jan-Michael Vincent - actor known for his portrayal of Stringfellow Hawke in Airwolf. Other credits include The Winds of War and Nash Bridges.
Clive Swift - British actor best remembered as Richard Bucket in the series Keeping Up Appearances.
Roger Charlery (AKA Ranking Roger) - musician and vocalist for the English Beat and General Public.
Luke Perry - actor who became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills 90210. His career was enjoying a resurgence at the time of his death thanks to his portrayal of Fred Andrews in the cult hit series Riverdale.
Keith Flint - musician, motorcycle racer best known as the frontman of The Prodigy whose hits include Firestarter and Breathe.
Peter Mayhew - actor, famous for playing Chewbacca in the Star Wars film series from 1977 through 2015.
Rowland 'Boon' Gould - musician and founding member of Level 42 whose biggest hit was 1986's Lessons in Love.
John Singleton - director, actor, screenwriter and producer. He directed Boyz N The Hood, becoming the first African American and the youngest person to ever be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.
Ken Kercheval - actor best remembered as Cliff Barnes on Dallas.
Sandy Ratcliff - actor and founding cast member of the BBC soap opera The EastEnders.
Judith Kerr - author and illustrator known for the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came To Tea.
Jake Black (AKA The Very Reverend D Wayne Love) - musician and founding member of Alabama 3 whose composition Woke Up This Morning was used in the opening credits of the TV series The Sopranos.
Niki Lauda - Austrian Formula 1 driver and three-time World Drivers' Champion. He's the only driver in history to be champion for both Ferrari and McLaren. His rivalry with fellow driver James Hunt was dramatized in the 2013 film Rush directed by Ron Howard, with Daniel Bruhl portraying Lauda and Chris Hemsworth playing Hunt.
Doris Day - singer, actor, and animal welfare activist. Her hit recordings include Sentimental Journey, Bewitched, Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera, Sera), and My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time. Her numerous film credits include Romance on the High Seas, Tea For Two, Lullaby of Broadway, Calamity Jane, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Pillow Talk.
Peggy Lipton - actor, model and singer who is best remembered as Julie Barnes on the TV drama series The Mod Squad. She was also Norma Jennings on Twin Peaks.
Gloria Vanderbilt - fashion designer, author, and socialite. She's known as a pioneer of designer blue jeans. She was the mother of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
Harold 'Hal' Prince - Multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway director, producer known for his work on West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera and Show Boat.
Rutger Hauer - Dutch actor best remembered as Roy Batty in Blade Runner. His other film credits include Ladyhawke, Batman Begins, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Hobo With a Shotgun, and Sin City.
Rip Torn - actor and voice actor whose career spanned 60 years. His film and television credits include The Larry Sanders Show, Pork Chop Hill, Tropic of Cancer, The Beastmaster, Men in Black, Columbo, Will & Grace, and 30 Rock.
Cameron Boyce - actor and Disney Channel star best known as Luke Ross in Jessie.
Valerie Harper - Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the series spin-off Rhoda.
Jessi Combs - professional racer and television personality. She set a women's land speed record in 2013 and then broke her own record in 2016.
Peter Fonda - actor, screenwriter and director. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda and father of Bridget Fonda. He wrote the screenplay (for which he received an Oscar nomination) and starred in Easy Rider. Other film credits include Love and a .45, Escape from L.A., Ghost Rider, The Runner, and 3:10 to Yuma.
Toni Morrison - Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winning author, essayist and editor. Her works include The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Beloved, Jazz, and God Help the Child.
Robert Mugabe - revolutionary and the former prime minister and president of Zimbabwe.
Jacque Chirac - former president of France.
Ric Ocasek - musician, producer, and frontman of The Cars whose hits include Just What I Needed, Let's Go, Shake It Up, You Might Think, Magic, and Drive. As a producer, he worked with the likes of Bad Brains, Weezer, Suicide and No Doubt.
Eddie Money - musician who had 11 top 40 hits in the 70s and 80s, including Two Tickets to Paradise, Take Me Home Tonight, Walk on Water, Baby Hold On, and Shakin'.
Peter Lindbergh - German fashion photographer known for ushering in the era of the supermodel, working with Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patiitz, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington. He also shot many album covers, including those for Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, and Beyonce.
Kim Shattuck - musician, singer and songwriter best known as the singer for the punk band The Muffs.
Ginger Baker - drummer and co-founder of Cream. Known as rock's first superstar drummer and for blending jazz and African rhythms.
John Witherspoon - actor, comedian best remembered as Willie Jones in the Friday series. Other credits include The Wayans Bros., The Tracy Morgan Show, and Hollywood Shuffle.
Robert Freeman - photographer best known for his iconic work with The Beatles (Rubber Soul, Help, Beatles for Sale, etc.)
Gary Rhodes - celebrity chef known for fronting the shows MasterChef, MasterChef USA, and Hell's Kitchen.
Irving Burgie (AKA Lord Burgess) - songwriter who penned more than 30 songs for Harry Belafonte, including Day-O.
Shelley Morrison - actor best remembered as Rosario Salazar on Will & Grace. Other credits include The Flying Nun and General Hospital.
Ron Leibman - award-winning actor most recently remember for voicing Ron Cadillac in the animated Archer series, and for his portrayal of Dr. Leonard Green, Rachel's father, on Friends.
Caroll Spinney - puppeteer famous for playing Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird on Sesame Street from its inception in 1969 through 2018.
Marie Fredriksson - Swedish musician and lead singer of Roxette whose hits included Joyride, The Look, Listen to Your Heart, and It Must Have Been Love.
Kelly Fraser - Juno Award-nominated Canadian Inuk singer.
Claudine Auger - French actor best known as the Bond Girl Dominique 'Domino' Derval in Thunderball.
Anna Karina - Danish-French avant garde film star and long-time muse to director Jean-Luc Godard.
Danny Aiello - Oscar-nominated actor whose numerous film credits include Do The Right Thing, The Godfather Part II, Moonstruck, Harlem Nights, Ruby, Lucky Number Slevin, Leon: The Professional, and Jacob's Ladder.
Philip McKeon - child actor best remembered as Tommy Hyatt, son of the title character, on the TV series Alice.
Jarad Anthony Higgins (AKA Juice WRLD) - rapper best known for his singles All Girls Are the Same and Lucid Dreams.
Rene Auberjonois - actor, narrator, director and voice actor remembered as Chef Louis in the animated film The Little Mermaid, Clayton Endicott III on the TV series Benson, and Odo on Deep Space Nine.
Robert Walker Jr. - actor popular through the 60s and 70s whose most famous appearance may be as Charlie Evans in the 1966 episode of Star Trek, Charlie X.
Micheal J. Pollard - Oscar-nominated actor best known for playing C.W. Moss in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Other film credits include Scrooged, Tangoa nd Cash, Dick Tracy, and House of 1000 Corpses.
Jane Galloway Heitz - actor and casting agent who helped launch the careers of Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and Richard Kind. Best known for playing Lillian Adler on Glee.
William Wintersole - actor best remembered as Mitchell Sherman on The Young and the Restless and Ted Ballantine on General Hospital.
Brian Tarantina - actor known for his roles on One Life to Live, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Gilmore Girls.
Rudy Boesch - US Navy SEAL veteran and one of the very first Survivor contestants.
Bernard Slade - Canadian playwright and screenwriter. He created the sitcoms The Flying Nun and The Partridge Family. He wrote Same Time Next Year for which he received a Tony Award nomination and an Oscar nomination for the screen adaptation.
Johanna Lindsey - historical romance author who wrote hundreds of books, all of which made the New York Times bestseller list.
Robert Evans - film producer, studio executive best known for his work on The Godfather, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Barefoot in the Park, Harold and Maude, Urban Cowboy and Love Story. He had a rocky personal life, having been married seven times, being implicated in a 1983 murder, and a cocaine trafficking conviction in 1980.
Bill Macy - actor best remembered as Walter Findlay, husband of the title character, in Maude.
John Clarke - actor who played Mickey Horton on Days of Our Lives for 39 years.
Scotty Bowers - Hollywood pimp who claims to have set up same-sex liaisons for the likes of Rock Hudson, Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis.
Robert Forster - Oscar-nominated actor best known as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown and as Ed Galbraith the 'vacuum salesman' on Breaking Bad and in El Camino. Other film and television credits include The Delta Force, London Has Fallen, Heroes, and Twin Peaks.
Sam Bobrick - writer, producer and creator of Saved By The Bell. Other credits include Captain Kangaroo, The Andy Griffith Show, and Get Smart.
Larry Junstrom - musician, founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd and bass player for .38 Special.
Karen Pendleton - original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer and one of only nine who were on the show for its entire run.
Diahann Carroll - actor, singer and model who was one of any major studio's first featured African American actress. She was the first African American to win the Tony Award for best actress for her Broadway role in No Strings.
Sid Haig - actor known for his appearances in Jack Hill's blaxploitation films during the 70s, and more recently as Captain Spaulding in three Rob Zombie films.
Suzanne Whang - TV personality best remembered as the host of HGTV's House Hunters.
Cokie Roberts - journalist, political commentator, and author working for decades as a reporter and analyst with National Public Radio and ABC News.
Mardik Martin - screenwriter who collaborated with Martin Scorsese on Mean Streets, Raging Bull, and New York, New York.
Richard Williams - Canadian-British animator best known for serving as animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Other credits include What's New Pussycat and two Pink Panther films.
Russi Taylor - voice actor who was the long-time voice of Minnie Mouse. Other credits include The Simpsons, DuckTales, and Muppet Babies.
Beth Chapman - reality TV star and wife of Duane 'Dog' Chapman on the series Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Syd Mead - designer and neofuturistic concept artist known for his designs in science fiction films, including Blade Runner, Alien, 2010 and Tron.
Max Wright - actor best remembered as Willie Tanner in the sitcom ALF. He also appeared in WKRP in Cincinnati, Cheers, Friends, Mad About You and The Drew Carey Show.
Franco Zeffirelli - Italian director best known for directing Romeo and Juliet (1968) and The Taming of the Shrew (1967).
Bushwick Bill - rapper, dancer and founding member of the Geto Boys.
Mack Rebennack (AKA Dr. John) - musician and songwriter with 30 studio records to his credit. He achieved his first No. 1 hit in 1973 with Right Place, Wrong Time. He was iducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Carmine Caridi - actor best remembered for his appearances in The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III. He was the first person to ever be expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (he was accused of copyright infringement).
Alvin Sargent - Oscar-winning screenwriter of Julia and Ordinary People. Also known for writing Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.
Jim Fowler - naturalist, zoologist and host of the documentary TV series Wild Kingdom. He's also remember for his forty appearances with animal companions on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Stewart - celebrity dog who played Captain Raymond Holt’s corgi Cheddar on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Georgia Engel - actor best remembered as Georgette on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Kristoff St. John - actor who played Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless from 1991 to 2019.
Allee Willis - songwriter who wrote September and Boogie Wonderland for Earth, Wind and Fire. She also penned I'll Be There For You, the theme for the sitcom Friends.
Linda Porter - actor best remembered for her appearances in Superstore, Twin Peaks, and Dude Where's My Car.
Carl Ruiz - chef and Food Network star know as a judge on numerous cooking competition programs.
Pernell Whitaker - boxer, four-weight world champion and Olympic gold-medalist.
Denise Nickerson - actor best remembered as Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Jeff Austin - musician and founding member of Yonder Mountain String Band.
Sylvia Miles - Oscar-nominated actor remembered for her roles in Midnight Cowboy and Farewell, My Lovely.
Leon Redbone - singer, songwriter, guitarist know for his jazz and blues style and Panama hat.
I.M. Pei - architect known for creating the controversial Louvre Pyramid. He also designed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Gallery East Building in Washington DC, and Dallas City Hall.
Ashley Massaro - WWE wrestler, television personality, and model.
Babi Andersson - Swedish actor and long-time muse to director Ingmar Bergman.
Earl Thomas Conley - country musician who had 18 No. 1 singles through the 80s and 90s, including Fire and Smoke, Holding Her and Loving You, and Love Out Loud.
Nipsey Hussle - Grammy Award-nominated rapper who, after years of releasing mix tapes, released his debut album in 2018 to critical and commercial acclaim.
Jerry Herman - composer who wrote the scores for numerous Broadway musicals, including Hello Dolly!, Mame, and Les Cage aux Folles.
Lee Mendelson - TV producer of A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show.
Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker - American serial killer who, with his partner Roy Lewis Norris, were known as the Tool Box Killers. The pair kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed five teen girls in southern California over five months in 1979.
Roy Loney - musician, singer and guitar player for the Flamin' Groovies.
Jake Burton Carpenter - professional snowboarder and founder of Burton Snowboards.
John Mann - Canadian musician, singer, and guitar player for Spirit of the West whose most popular single was Home For a Rest from the 1990 release Save This House.
Paul LeBlanc - Oscar-winning Canadian makeup artist known for his work on Amadeus, No Country for Old Men, and Big Fish.
Alan Zaslove - animation director and producer who worked on Roger Ramjet, Popeye the Sailor, A Charlie Brown Christmas, George of the Jungle and many others.
Alexei Leonov - Russian cosmonaut who became first person to walk in space in 1965.
Steve Cash - musician and founding member of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.
Paul Ingrassia - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former managing editor of Reuters.
Larry Taylor - musician and bass player for Canned Heat.
Bart Starr - NFL quarterback, only quarterback in NFL history to win three consecutive league championships.
Ross Perot - American billionaire and former US presidential candidate.
Lee Iacocca - auto executive and author who helped develop the Ford Mustang and Pinto. He's credited with turning the Chrysler Corporation around during a time of economic hardship.
Mary Oliver - Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning poet.
Stanley Donen - filmmaker and choreographer responsible for Singin' in the Rain with Gene Kelly.
Albert Finney - British actor known for his roles in Murder on the Orient Express, Erin Brockovich, Big Fish, The Bourne Ultimatum and Legacy, and Skyfall.
Rip Taylor - actor and comedian known for his flamboyant style, large moustache and showering himself and other in confetti.
Daryl Dragon - musician best known as the Captain half of Captain and Tennille.
Katherine Helmond - actor best remembered as Jessica Tate on Soap and Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss. Other credits include Brazil, Everybody Love Raymond, and for voicing Lixxie in Pixar's Cars.
King Kong Bundy - WWF wrestler and comedian who faced Hulk Hogan in a cage match during Wrestlemania 2 in 1986.
Jimmy Johnson - musician and founder of the famous Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.
Henri Belolo - musician and founding member of The Village People who cowrote Y.M.C.A., Macho Man and In The Navy.
Art Neville - musician and founding member of The Neville Brothers and The Meters.
Dave Bartholomew - musician, producer, songwriter who wrote a number of Fats Domino hits, including Ain't That a Shame, and I'm Walkin'. Was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Sammy Shore - comedian and co-founder of The Comedy Store.
Nathaniel Taylor - actor best remembered as Rollo Lawson, best friend of Lamont Sanford, on Sanford and Son.
'Mean' Gene Okerlund - long-time WWE announcer.
Sue Lyon - actor best remembered for her role in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Lolita.
Arte Johnson - comedian, actor best know for his work on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Other numerous film and television credits include The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Lost In Space, Alice in Wonderland, and Night Court.
