They were trendsetters and legends. Young and old. Men and women who touched our lives either as actors, directors, musicians, writers or advertising creatives. Some were famous upon sight, others brought us joy from behind the scenes. In 2019, some died in peace. Some tragically. Through their commitment to their field, they made us laugh.
Whoever they were, the people we lost in 2019 impacted our lives somehow, some way. At Reel 360, we don’t mourn their passing. We celebrate who they were and still are, as their contributions will live on in our hearts and memories. This is Reel 360’s celebration of who we lost.
Don Imus, a former radio shock jock, media personality, and thorn in Howard Stern’s side, died on December 27. He was 79. Deborah Feingold/Corbis Historical/Getty Images 
Lee Mendelson, who produced the first Peanuts animated special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” died on December 27. He was 86. Jason Mendelson 
Jerry Herman, the Broadway composer and lyricist who wrote classics “Hello, Dolly!” “Mame” and “La Cage aux Folles,” died on December 26. He was 88. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 
Songwriter Allee Willis wrote “The Neutron Dance” for The Pointer Sisters, “September” for Earth, Wind and Fire and the “Friends” theme. She died Christmas Eve at 72. Magdalena Wosinska for The New York Times 
ESPN college football reporter, Edward Aschoff, a college football reporter for ESPN, died Tuesday, Christmas Eve, after battling pneumonia. He was 34. Instagram/Edward Aschoff 
QVC founder, Joseph Segel, died on Saturday, December 21, according to a news release from the company that owns the shopping channel. He was 88. QVC 
Original “Lolita,” actress, Sue Lyon, died Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 73. Joe Pearce, Los Angeles Times 
Danny Aiello, who made his mark in numerous hit movies such as “Moonstruck” and “Do the Right Thing,” died December 12. He was 86. 
Philip McKeon, the former child actor, (and brother of “Facts of Life” star Nancy McKeon) best known for his role on the CBS sitcom “Alice,” died December 10. He was 55. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images 
Carroll Spinney, who breathed life into “Sesame Street’s” Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for five decades, passed away on December 8 at his home in Conn. He was age 85. 
Dorothy Catherine (D.C.) Fontana boldly went where no female writer had ever gone before – into the writers room of the the original “Star Trek” series. She died December 2. She was 80. 
Spikey-haired lauded chef to the celebrities, Gary Rhodes has sadly died with his wife Jennie by his side on November 26. He was 59. 
K-pop megastar Goo Hara was found dead on November 24 at her home in Seoul, South Korea. She was 28. 
Harry Morton, the Los Angeles businessman best known for founding the iconic Hollywood hotspot, Pink Taco, died November 23 of a massive heart attack. He was 38. 
The man known as the original Marlboro Man died in Colorado Springs on November 3. Robert Norris, 90, was a longtime rancher and well-known philanthropist. 
Iconic, actor-comedian John Witherspoon passed away October 29 at his home. He was 77. 
Chicago rapper Juice Wrld, whose real name was Jarad Anthony Higgins, died on December 8 at the age of 21. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for MTV 
Acclaimed film, television and Tony-winning actor, Rob Liebman has died December 6. He was 82. David McGough/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images 
Hollywood legend, Robert Evans, the colorful, larger-than-life producer known as “The kid,” produced the 1977 John Frankenheimer thriller, “Black Sunday,” “The Godfather,” and “Love Story” died October 26. He was 89. 
Oscar-nominated actor Robert Forster died October 11 after a battle with brain cancer. Forster’s acting career spanned more than five decades, He got the nomination for his role as a bail bondsman in Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown.” He was 78. 
Legendary ABC News journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts died September 17 due to complications from breast cancer. She was 75. Among Roberts’ numerous awards over her decades-spanning career were three Emmys. 
He was known for his mop of black hair and black sunglasses. And now the music world is mourning the loss of The Cars lead singer and co-founder, Ric Ocasek. He died on September 15 and was 75.(Ocasek of The Cars perfoming at Lollapalooza 2011 at Grant Park in Chicago) 
Valerie Harper, the actress best known for playing outspoken neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern from 1970 to 1978 on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and its spinoff “Rhoda,” died August 30. She was 80. 
Peter Fonda, the two-time, Oscar-nominated star, who was best known for the iconic ’60s film “Easy Rider,” has died of lung cancer on August 16. He was 79. 
“Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” David Hedison’s Lee Crane was the good-looking, tough counterpart to Richard Basehart’s Admiral Harriman Nelson. He died July 18 and was 92. 
After publishing for 67 years, DC Comics announced that MAD Magazine will cease publication. While previously released content will be available at comic book stores and online subscribers, it will never be the same. 
Denise Nickerson, best known for her role as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 version of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” died July 10 after suffering a severe stroke in 2018. She was 62. 
Legendary New Orleans-based musician Dr. John, also known as “The Night Tripper,” died at the age of 77, his family announced in a tweet. He died of a heart attack early on June 6. 
Grumpy Cat, whose sad face launched over a thousand memes, whose real name was actually Tardar Sauce, passed away on May 14. 
Quite possibly one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the TV screen, Golden Globe-winning Peggy Lipton died of colon cancer on May 11. She was 72. Lipton had starred in “The Mod Squad” and “Twin Peaks.” 
Oscar-nominated director John Singleton, who helmed the ground-breaking “Boyz N the Hood” died on April 28 after suffering a massive stroke. He was 51. 
Tim Conway, co-star of the famed “Carol Burnett Show” and early TV comedy classic, “McHale’s Navy” died on May 14 due to an excess of fluid on his brain. He was 85. 
Legendary actress and singer Doris Day died on May 13. She was 97. The actress died early Monday surrounded by a few close friends at her Carmel Valley home, according to the Doris Day Animal Foundation. 
Somoan-born actor Pua Magasiva was found dead in New Zealand on May 11. He was 38. Magasiva was best known for playing the Red Wind Ranger Shane Clarke on “Power Rangers Ninja Storm” that aired in 2003 and nurse Vinnie on the drama “Shortland Street” in his home country from 2003–2006 and again from 2011–2018. 
On March 31, Grammy-nominated hip hop star, Nipsey Hussle, whose real name is Ermias Asghedom, died Sunday after a shooting in Los Angeles. 
Larry Cohen, the writer-director of films including “It’s Alive,” “The Stuff” and “A Return to Salem’s Lot” died March 23. He was 77. 
Broadway actress, Carol Channing, known for “Hello Dolly” died on January 15th, 2019, at home in Rancho Mirage, CA of natural causes. She was 97. 
Advertising trailblazer Barbara Gardner Proctor passed away at 85, succumbing to dementia and a hip injury. Proctor would open the very first African American ad agency in Chicago. 
Lester Wunderman, chairman emeritus and founder of Wunderman, passed away on January 9, 2019 in New York of natural causes. He was 98. 
Brilliantly funny Bob Einstein, passed away on January 2 after a brief battle with cancer. He was 76.(courtesy: Getty Images) 
He was the voice of the WWF and then the WWE. Interviewer “Mean” Gene Okerlund died on January 2. He was 76. 
French actress Claudine Auger — who’s best known to American audiences for her performance as Dominique “Domino” Derval in 1965’s “Thunderball,” the fourth James Bond film — died in Paris on Dec. 19. She was 78. 
Mama Cax, a model and activist who worked to make the fashion industry more inclusive, died on Dec. 16 after spending a week in a London hospital. She was 30. 
Rutger Hauer, best known for his villainous turn as Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” died on July 19. He was 75. 
Comedian Chris Cotton, a stand-up performer from Philadelphia who’s also known for his work on Comedy Central and his “Every Damn Day” online talk show, died on Dec. 12 of unknown causes. He was 32.
ALSO READ: 2019 in Review: The Biggest Stories of the Year
They are gone, but never forgotten. Happy holidays from the Reel 360 team.
