
2020 snatched so many from us. Mothers. Fathers. Boyfriends. Girlfriends. Brothers. Sisters. Icons. Unknowns.
Some deaths were natural, while many like Gilligan’s Island’s Dawn Wells, Star Wars’ Darth Vader David Prowse and Nick Cordero succumbed to a new evil known as “complications from COVID.” That mother-effer cancer also reared its head. Among its victims, legendary guitarist and founding member of Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, actress Kelly Preston and director Lynn Shelton.
Then there was the tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
Sigh.
Here’s the good news, though. Even if Helen Reddy, Kenny Rogers and Bill Withers have departed to another plane, they are not really gone as we will continue to sing their songs. We will roar like Reddy. Be a Gambler like Rogers and have a lovely day with Withers.
We’ll continue to watch Kirk Douglas and Olivia De Havilland in their iconic films and we will read John Le Carre. We will march and carry the torch that Civil Rights icon John Lewis started on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The point is, the ones who have left, haven’t really. It’s like leaving your bed in the morning. The outline of your form is still on the pillow. They have touched all of our senses in some indescribable way. And we are better human beings for it. Through their perseverance and passion, they made us laugh. Made us cry. Made us think.
Made us love.
At Reel 360, we don’t mourn their passings. Instead, we celebrate who they were and still are, as their contributions will live on in our hearts and memories. Each one below is truly Resting in Power and resting in a little place in our hearts:
Actress Dawn Wells Founding Member of Whodini John “Ecstasy” Fletcher Boba Fett Jeremy Bulloch Dancer and Actress Anne Reinking Country Music Icon Charley Pride The Original James Bond Sean Connery Darth Vader David Prowse Iconic Guitarist Eddie Van Halen Game Show Host and Personality Alex Trebek The beloved Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lost in Space Producer Kevin Burns Actor Chadwick Boseman Activist Daisy Coleman TV Icon Regis Philbin Roots Founding Member Malik B. Civil Rights Legend John Lewis Actress Naya Rivera Actress Kelly Preston Actor Nick Cordero TV News Icon Hugh Downs Founding Fleetwood Mac Member Peter Green Comedy Legend Carl Reiner Comic Book Artist Dennis J. O’Neil Publicist Nancy Ryder Comedian and Actor Fred Willard Director Lynn Shelton Music Executive Andre Harrell Musician and Entertainer Little Richard Filmmaker John J. Lafia Playboy Playmate Ashley (Mattingly in swimwear ad) Actor Orson Bean Former NBA Commissioner David Stern NBA Legend Kobe Bryant Ugly Betty Creator Silvio Horta Comedy Writer Buck Henry Tough Guy Actor Robert Conrad Country Music Legend and Actor Kenny Rogers NFL Today’s Phyllis George Singer Helen Reddy Pussy Galore Honor Blackman Author John Le Carre Inside The Actor’s Studio’s James Lipton Comedian and Actor Jerry Stiller Actor Brian Dennehy Good Times’ Actress Janet Du’Bois Actor and Producer Kirk Douglas Singer Bonnie Pointer Legendary Composer Ennio Morricone Actor Wilfred Brimley The First Avenger Diana Rigg Iconic Soul Singer Bill Withers Good Times’ Actress Janet Du’Bois Monty Python Founding Member Terry Jones Pitching Legend Tom Seaver Baseball Legend Phil Niekro Director Joel Schumacher
If you’d like to read many of their full obituaries, CLICK HERE.
ALSO READ: 2020 in Review: Reel Chicago’s Biggest Stories
We also realize 2020 has had a devastating effect on some of our extended family – you our readers. If you have lost someone this year due to COVID or anything else, you have our sincere thoughts and empathy.
They are gone, but never forgotten. Happy New Year from the Reel 360 team.

Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1