These talented entertainers and household names left an indelible mark on the world,
be it through acting, athletics, cuisine, comedy, music, or just high-quality smack-talk.
Let's take a moment to honor the stars we've lost in 2019 and revisit their incredible
cultural contributions.
Luke Perry
Luke Perry passed away on March 4th, 2019.
TMZ reported that the Beverly Hills 90210 and Riverdale star suffered a massive stroke
days earlier.
Doctors had sedated the actor in hopes of his brain recovering, but Perry tragically
suffered too much damage.
He was reportedly surrounded by loved ones at the time of his death.
He was 52 years old.
Born Coy Luther Perry the Third, the Mansfield, Ohio native's breakout role was his memorable
portrayal of moody Dylan McKay on 90210, beginning in 1990.
He also had starring roles in the original 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer film and The
Fifth Element in 1997.
After his 90210 heyday, Perry worked steadily in Hollywood, most recently as Archie Andrews'
father, Fred, in Riverdale.
He also reportedly filmed scenes for Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood.
Perry's stroke wasn't the only health issue he'd suffered over the years: In 2017, he
revealed to Fox News that he'd had precancerous growths removed following a colonoscopy.
After his experience, he became an advocate for colorectal cancer awareness.
Perry wasn't always eager to discuss his iconic role as brooding rich kid Dylan McKay on 90210.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, he once admitted:
"I'm going to be linked with him until I die, but that's actually just fine.
I created Dylan McKay.
He's mine."
​Katherine Helmond
According to The New York Times, Katherine Helmond died at 89 on February 23rd, 2019
from Alzheimer's complications.
The Texas native began working in the New York theater scene in 1955, eventually landing
roles on Broadway and nabbing a Tony nomination for her performance in The Great God Brown
in 1973.
She moved to Los Angeles and scored television work on programs like The Bob Newhart Show
before landing her breakout role as Jessica Tate on Soap in 1977, for which she won a
Golden Globe and was nominated for four Emmys.
After Soap, Helmond starred as the sassy Mona on Who's The Boss? from 1984 to 1992, followed
by a recurring role on Coach from 1995 through 1997, then an Emmy-nominated turn as Lois
Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2004.
She was also a regular collaborator with director Terry Gilliam, appearing in three films by
the Monty Python legend.
She played a certain Mrs. Ogre in cult classic Time Bandits.
She stole the show as the overbearing mother in Brazil.
And she appeared in a brief but highly memorable role in the druggy Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas, playing the hotel clerk to brilliant effect.
Some of Helmond's most recent work included a role on True Blood in 2011 and voicing Lizzie
in Disney's Cars franchise.
Helmond is survived by her husband David Christian, who told The Hollywood Reporter:
"I've been with Katherine since I was 19 years old.
The night she died, I saw that the moon was exactly half-full, just as I am now…half
of what I've been my entire adult life."
Nipsey Hussle
Ermias Asghedom, otherwise known as the rapper Nipsey Hussle, died March 31, 2019.
He was just 33 years old.
The Grammy-nominated "Hussle & Motivate" artist was standing outside his clothing store in
downtown Los Angeles when 29-year-old Eric Holder allegedly gunned him down.
According to the Los Angeles Times, law enforcement claimed Holder had a personal vendetta with
Hussle for some time; the men reportedly had an argument a few hours before the shooting.
A memorial was held for the rapper at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with celebrities
such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z in attendance.
Snoop Dogg, Hussle's longtime girlfriend Lauren London, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan,
and many others delivered moving speeches in his memory.
Even former president Barack Obama penned a letter remembering Hussle's dedication to
improving his Crenshaw neighborhood, writing in part:
"His choice to invest in [his] community rather than ignore it...is a legacy worthy of celebration.
I hope his memory inspires more good work in Crenshaw and communities like it.”
Legendary entertainer Stevie Wonder performed at the memorial, at one point telling the
crowd:
"It is a heartbreak to again lose a member of our family."
In her deeply touching eulogy, London said:
"His soul was majestic, he was the strongest man that I ever knew."
Carol Channing
Broadway legend Carol Channing died on January 15th, 2019, just shy of her 98th birthday.
Channing was best known for her Broadway portrayal of Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello Dolly!
According to Playbill, she played that role three separate times within 30 years and won
a Tony for the part in 1964.
Channing became a stage star with her Tony-winning role of Lorelai Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
in 1949, but she was replaced with Marilyn Monroe for the 1953 film adaptation.
She made her mark on the silver screen playing nightclub singer Muzzy Van Hossmere in 1967's
Thoroughly Modern Millie.
"Raspberries!"
She was subsequently nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the role.
In a statement, the current Hello Dolly! touring company said:
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of the one and only Carol Channing.
She was a 'Dolly' for the ages and a true icon of the American Theater."
Later in her career, Channing became a television staple, appearing in everything from game
shows to Touched by an Angel to Family Guy.
There was also her memorable turn in the CBS television adaptation of Alice in Wonderland
in 1985.
Channing was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achievement
Awards from the Tonys and the Drama Critics Circle.
Keith Flint
Keith Flint, frontman of the electronic band The Prodigy, was found dead at age 49 on March
4, 2019.
The Guardian reported that police were conducting a welfare check on the singer when they found
his body.
The Prodigy co-founder Liam Howlett stated on the band's Instagram that Flint had taken
his own life.
Flint was always very candid about his battle with addiction, and how a falling out with
the band helped him clean up his act ahead of their 2009 reunion.
Of that dark period in his life, Flint told The Times:
"I got bang into coke, weed, drinking a lot.
This made me reclusive, boring, and shallow.
I'd line up rows of pills and just take them and take them."
Flint said in the same interview that he'd felt suicidal in the past.
In the years prior to his death, Flint slowed down on his hard-partying ways.
After marrying his wife, Japanese DJ Mayumi Kai, he reportedly retreated to the country,
where he operated a pub and spent much of his free time exercising.
According to The Mirror, Flint said of his change of pace:
"It's very boring and very un-rock'n'roll to talk about it."
The Prodigy released their album No Tourists in November 2018, and the band was set to
kick off their first U.S. tour in over 10 years in May 2019.
Bob Einstein
According to Fox News, Curb Your Enthusiasm actor Bob Einstein died on Jan. 2, 2019 after
a battle with cancer.
He was 76 years old.
Einstein initially planned on pursuing advertising as a career, but he was discovered by actor
and comedian Tom Smothers while performing in a public access show as a favor to a friend.
It led to a lucrative comedy writing and acting career, and Einstein won his first Emmy in
1969 for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
"Playing without a license, huh?
Alright, get out."
"I really didn't think I was playing that fast."
"What year is this?"
"This is a '63."
In 1979, Einstein created the goofy character Super Dave Osborne, who appeared in various
shorts and series for three decades.
"I'm not a terribly gifted person so I feel the money I make risking my life is far more
than I can make doing anything else."
The New York Times described Osborne as,
"...something of a cartoon character, a witless, deadpan parody of bravado-fueled stuntmen
like Evel Knievel."
In 2004, Einstein debuted on Curb Your Enthusiasm as Marty Funkhouser, the perpetually hotheaded
friend of Larry David, who The New York Times quoted as saying:
"Never have I seen an actor enjoy a role the way Bob did playing Marty Funkhouser on Curb.
There was no one like him, as he told us again and again."
Janice Freeman
The Voice singer Janice Freeman died on March 2, 2019.
She was just 33 years old.
"You are just everything that I could've ever imagined having on my team.
I just love you so, so, so much."
"Thank you so much."
Freeman's family said in a statement that she suffered from a blood clot that traveled
to her heart as well as from pneumonia at the time of her passing.
She reportedly was at home in West Covina, California when she said she couldn't breathe.
Her husband performed CPR on her until paramedics arrived.
She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Freeman suffered several other major medical issues throughout her life, including the
autoimmune disease lupus and cervical cancer.
Freeman was on Team Miley during her time on The Voice in 2017 and remained in contact
with Miley Cyrus after being eliminated from the top 11.
They were so close that Freeman revealed Cyrus happily paid her rent for six months while
actively helping her find a place to live.
Cyrus was absolutely devastated by the news of Freeman's death and even spoke at her memorial,
as Entertainment Tonight Canada reported.
"I learned more from her than anyone that I've ever gotten the honor to be in the room
with."
While on The Voice, the show focused quite a bit on Freeman's desire to build stability
for her family, as well as the fact that she triumphantly overcame cervical cancer in 2012.
Cyrus also honored Freeman on Instagram, writing:
"I am no longer your coach, I never was...YOU constantly taught me.
You've been my coach on how to love, on how to persevere, on how to fight."
Jan-Michael Vincent
Airwolf star Jan-Michael Vincent died February 10th, 2019 at seventy-three years old.
Oddly, his passing wasn't reported until nearly a month later, according to TMZ.
He was reportedly hospitalized in North Carolina, where he died of cardiac arrest.
Vincent was once the highest-paid actor on TV, banking two-hundred thousand dollars per
episode as a helicopter pilot on the CBS hit Airwolf in the 1980s.
Unfortunately, his star burned out rapidly due to his alleged substance abuse.
According to The New York Times:
"He was known to abuse alcohol and cocaine and was accused of getting into bar fights;
he narrowly avoided jail in 1986 by entering a monthlong drug rehabilitation program."
In 1996, he reportedly broke his neck and damaged his vocal cords after rear-ending
his girlfriend's car, and in 2012, he had to have part of his leg amputated due to an
infection.
According to The New York Times, in 2000 he told 20/20,
"[I was] hanging on by white knuckles [to sobriety]"
Despite his struggles, Vincent worked fairly steadily for nearly 30 years, with roles in
several iconic television shows like Dragnet and Bonanza and movies such as 1978's Hooper
and 1981's Hard Country.
His most recent role was in 2002's White Boy.
Lisa Sheridan
Actress Lisa Sheridan died on February 25th, 2019 at her home in New Orleans, Louisiana.
She was only forty-four years old.
In her breakout role, she played Vivian Winters in Legacy in 1998.
She also portrayed Chloe Tanner in FreakyLinks in 2000.
Sheridan had roles on CSI, The Mentalist and NCIS, among many others.
Perhaps her biggest starring roles were in Invasion in 2005 and Journeyman in 2007, but
she worked quite steadily throughout her career.
In 2014, she had a small role in the first two episodes of Halt And Catch Fire.
Most recently, she was featured in the 2018 indie thriller Strange Nature.
According to People, she was previously engaged to actor Ron Livingston, but they never married.
Sheridan's manager told Fox News that her cause of death was unknown, but said her family
vehemently denied any possibility of a suicide.
Rumors that the star may have taken her own life possibly started with an Instagram tribute
from her friend, the director Michael Dunaway, who wrote in part:
"I'm trying to take comfort in knowing your struggles and pain and grief are 'at last,
and last behind you.'"
In memoriam
Sadly, these are just a few of the celebrities who have tragically passed away in 2019 so
far.
Here's a look at some other talented stars who enhanced our lives before leaving all
of us far, far too soon.
Julie Adams
Fatima Ali
Jed Allan
Bibi Andersson
Carmen Argenziano
Kaye Ballard
Seymour Cassel
Daryl Dragon
Georgia Engel
Richard Erdman
Albert Finney
​Freeda Foreman
Yoji Harada
Denise DuBarry Hay
Mitzi Hoag
Paul Koslo
Steven Levy, aka Steve Bean
Kristoff St. John
Dick Miller
Louisa Moritz
'Mean' Gene Okerlund
Joseph Pilato
Nadja Regin
Lotte Van Der Zee
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).