15 Celebs You Didn't Know Recently Passed Away
For music and movie lovers, 2016 has been rough. As we round the end of the year we reflect on the global influencing personalities that have become like family because of their impact on entertainment and culture.
No one can truly prepare to lose a close loved one, and when celebrities die fans feel as if they've suffered a personal loss. People like Gene Wilder who captured our hearts as Willy Wonka, pro golfer Arnold Palmer, "Brady Bunch" mom Florence Henderson, musician Leonard Cohen, boxer Muhammad Ali, singer-songwriter Prince, "To Kill a Mocking Bird" author Harper Lee, singer David Bowie, political influencer Nancy Reagan, "Harry Potter" actor Alan Rickman, Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, legendary songbird Natalie Cole, "Barney Miller" star Ron Glass, award-winning journalist Gwen Ifill, comedian and writer Garry Shandling, and Earth, Wind, and Fire vocalist Maurice White were not only staples in their respective industries, but apart of our lives because of their fame and notoriety.
That list already seems long when reviewing the famous figures that we lost in 2016, but there are 15 more that you may not know passed away this year as well. These names will both shock and surprise you, so be prepared to say farewell to the artists that you may not have known are no longer with us.
15 Pete Burns
Sci-fi fans around the world were in deep mourning earlier this year when they learned of the loss of Kenny Baker, the English actor who was best known for his role as R2-D2 in the Star Wars franchise.
The 3'8" actor told people that his famed Star Wars role was his favorite, but that he enjoyed actually being seen in his other movies such as The Elephant Man and Flash Gordon. He never wanted people to treat him differently because of his height and would jokingly tell them, "I'm short, I'm not deaf!" when they would try to bend or kneel down to talk to him.
Later on in his life he suffered from chest problems and in recent years was confined to a wheelchair. He continued to meet fans and sign autographs until the very end, which came on August 13, just 11 days shy of his 82nd birthday.
13 Darrell Ward
Country singer Craig Strickland was living the dream. He's married the love of his life, former Miss Arkansas USA Helen Elizabeth Wisner, in 2014 and was enjoying touring the U.S. with his band Backroad Anthem.
Two days after Christmas 2015 was the last time that both Strickland his friend, Chase Morland, were seen. The friends planned to travel to Bear Creek Cover to hunt for ducks, but a week went by and neither man's family or friends had heard from them.
An investigation revealed that Morland drowned after the boat they were in capsized, but Strickland was able to swim to shore. However, he later died due to hypothermia because of the winter storm in the area that caused sleet, wind gusts, and temperatures to drop to freezing.
The 29-year-old's wife Helen shared the news when Strickland's body was found, writing that he was in heaven and later shared his custom headstone that was carved in the shape of "AR" for the Arkansas native.
11 Kimberly Tripp
Las Vegas performer Kimnerly Tripp was a one of the founders and original members of Beacher's Madhouse. Fans knew her better as Mini Kim Kardashian, a part that she played in the show along with her boyfriend, Ricky Sell Jr., who played Mini Kanye West.
On March 20 Tripp was found dead outside of her apartment in Vegas just after midnight. Her death was a mystery to police and they immediately launched an investigation to figure out whether or not she met with foul play.
The Clark County coroner finally determined that Tripp died from chronic alcohol abuse. She was 32-years-old.
Jeff Beacher of Beacher's Madhouse commented on the loss of his friend by saying, "Today is a sad day. The Beacher's Madhouse family lost one of our founders and original members. She was our shining star. My prayers and love go out to our team and her family. She will be loved and missed by all."
10 Sharon Jones
Luke Cage fans got a taste of Sharon Jones' talents when her band, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, performed in season one of the hit series, but no one was prepared to hear the news that the soul singer had succumbed to her battle with bile duct cancer.
Her team announced her death on her website by writing, "We are deeply saddened to announce that Sharon Jones has passed away after a heroic battle against pancreatic cancer." She was sometimes called "the female James Brown" because of her powerful voice and captivating stage performances.
While watching the 2016 presidential election results, Jones suffered a stroke and had another the next day. She jokingly blamed Donald Trump after the first stroke, but following the second she was having trouble communicating. Her bandmate Gabriel Roth was by her side and said although she couldn't really speak, she hummed tunes until her last breath. Jones died on November 18. She was 60.
9 Nick Menza
For nine years (1989-1998) Nick Menza was the drummer for the metal Megadeath, and as he spent his life playing music, so was the way he left this earth.
The 51-year-old was performing at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California with his band OHM. During the third song, Menza suddenly collapsed onstage and what fellow bandmates and fans thought was something minor turned out to be a massive heart attack. By the time he arrived at the hospital, Menza was dead.
Former Megadeath guitarist Marty Friedman paid tribute to his friend by writing on Facebook, "We all know the great and unique drummer that Nick Menza was, but he was also a trustworthy friend, a hilarious bandmate, as well as a very loving dad. I'm beyond sad, did not see this coming at all. RIP Brother."
When Megadeath frontman Dave Mustaine heard the news he tweeted "I am gutted."
8 Christina Grimmie
YouTube star and The Voice season 6 contestant Christina Grimmie was a 22-year-old rising star with a promising career ahead of her, but her life was cut short in a way that shocked the world.
Grimmie had just performed at the Plaza Live theater in Orlando, Florida, in June and following her show she signed autographs for fans during a meet and greet. Out of nowhere a man named Kevin Loibl approached Grimmie and opened fire, shooting the young singer four times. Her brother wrestled the gunman to the ground but he was able to break free and shoot himself in the head. He died at the scene.
Grimmie and Loibl didn't know each other personally, but he was infatuated with her. Police say their investigation did reveal that Loibl planned to travel to Orlando to commit the crime and return home.
The talented singers voice coach, Adam Levine, offered to pay for her funeral.
7 Tommy Ford
"You ain't got no job!" On the '90s hit television show Martin, Tommy Strawn was the friend whose job was a mystery, leaving everyone to believe that he was out of work. The real life actor who portrayed the character, Tommy Ford, was an accomplished and successful entertainer who surprised fans when he passed away back in October.
Ford is said to have suffered a ruptured aneurysm in his abdomen and was rushed to a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. His friends and family met him there and Ford was surrounded by loved ones when he died. He was 52-years-old.
In the last interview he would ever give, Ford said, "More than half of my life is over. How many Black men you know, live to 102 years? Half of my life is over, and I'm OK with that," said Ford. "It's not about how much I got left, it's about what I've accomplished while I was here."
6 Angela "Big Ang" Raiola
Reality television personality Big Ang gained popularity when she was featured on VH1's Mob Wives. Her uncle, Salvatore "Sally Dogs" Lombardi, was a key figure in the Genovese crime family, and while other cast members were usually at the center of shouting matches and physical fights, Big Ang was typically the person who tried to keep the peace.
In 2015, Big Ang complained about pain and was diagnosed with strep throat. She was given antibiotics by her physician, but the pain continued. A specialist told her that she had a tumor and the television personality underwent an eight-hour surgery to removed the lump and her lymph nodes. She was cancer-free for a brief time but her illness returned, spreading to her lungs and brain. She went through chemotherapy but her doctors alerted her that the cancer was no longer responding to the treatment.
Big Ang documented her ordeal on Mob Wives as fans watched the last few months of the brave star's life. She admitted that her cancer was a result of a 40-year smoking habit and advised people to quit while they could. Big Ang was 55 when she died in February surrounded by her family.
5 Anton Yelchin
Joining the infamous "27 Club" of Hollywood stars who passed away at 27-years-old, Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin's tragic death is one that baffled fans. According to police, Yelchin was crushed to death when his car, a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, rolled down his steep driveway and pinned him in between his brick mailbox and security gate.
The Los Angeles Coroner's Office ruled the reason for his death as being blunt traumatic asphyxia due to a freak accident and a representative issued a statement saying he died within a minute or so.
He was reportedly on his way to meet up with friends for a rehearsal, but when he didn't show up, they began to worry. They went to look for him and upon arriving at his house, found his body.
His particular brand of car was recalled because the gearshift made the 2014 and 2015 models difficult to put in park.
4 Phife Dawg
The hip hop world was dealt a devastating blow when it was announced that Malik Izaak Taylor, better known as Phife Dawg from the group A Tribe Called Quest, died at the age of 45.
Phife was diagnosed with diabetes in 1990 and after being on the waiting list for two years, finally received a kidney transplant from his wife in 2008. Following complications his physicians deemed the transplant unsuccessful and in 2012 the musician was in need of another surgery and transplant.
He continued to make music and tour with the internationally recognized, award-winning group, but in March he passed away from complications resulting from his condition.
"Malik was our loving husband, father, brother and friend," his family said in a statement. "We love him dearly. How he impacted all our lives will never be forgotten. His love for music and sports was only surpassed by his love of God and family."
3 Vanity
Denise Matthews was a force to be reckoned with in the '80s and '90s when she was better known as Vanity, the singer behind the classic track "Nasty Girl." She was dancer, actress, and model who released two solo albums with Motown records and was known to be close with the late great pop icon Prince, whom she dated. She was also linked to other rockers such as Billy Idol, Adam Ant, and was even once engaged to Nikki Sixx.
The 1980s Matthews struggled with a crack cocaine addiction, and in 1994 suffered from a near-fatal renal failure where doctors gave her only a few days to live. It was then that she said she had a vision of Jesus Christ who told her that if she would shed her Vanity persona, her life would be saved. She then dedicated herself to her faith and became an evangelical Christian.
Late last year she was diagnosed with the kidney condition sclerosis encapsulating peritonitis and attempted to pay for her treatments by raising money through crowdfunding, but was only able to come up with $6,599 of the $50,000. She passed away from kidney failure in a hospital in California at 57-years-old.
2 Chyna
The end of Joan Marie Laurer's life was nothing like the one she once had when she was praised as a leading wrestler for the WWE as Chyna. The buff beauty wasn't only a champion but a wrestling legend, however her struggles with addiction became the downfall of her career.
She would pose for Playboy, release a sex tape, and then was a featured cast member on the reality series Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. In 2010 she was taken to the hospital due to an overdose on sleeping medications, and according to her manager and neighbor Anthony Anzaldo, in recent years her addiction had overtaken her life.
Anzaldo claims that Chyna was a lifelong insomniac who was prescribed Ambien and a drug similar to Valium. Just days before Anzaldo found Chyna dead in her bed on April 20, the former wrestler posted a 13-minute video online of her wearing headphones and a feather in her hair as she wandered around her home rambling. While she did also suffer from an alcohol addiction, there was no alcohol found in her home following her death.
Her manager also said that Chyna had recently began seeing a psychiatrist for the first time and after facing her issues of abandonment and violence from her past, she's started self-medicating once again.
Her cause of death was ruled to be an accidental overdose.
1 Alexis Arquette
Robert Arquette comes from a family whose name is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry, and after transitioning to a woman, lived her life as Alexis. Her siblings include Pulp Fiction's Rosanna Arquette, actor Richmond Arquette, Medium's Patricia Arquette, and Scream's David Arquette.
The Arquette family released a statement on Facebook regarding Alexis's death writing, "Alexis was a brilliant artist and painter, a singer, an entertainer and an actor. Despite the fact that there are few parts for trans actors, she refused to play roles that were demeaning or stereotypical. She was a vanguard in the fight for understanding and acceptance for all trans people."
Unbeknownst to fans, Alexis had been living with AIDS for 29 years and died at the age of 47 from complications related to the disease. She suffered from a bacterial infection not long before her passing, and her cause of death was ruled to be cardiac arrest.