Let's take another look back at the stars who passed this year, and the legacies they've
left behind, the loved ones who survive them, and the memories they've given to us.
Here are some more celebrities we've lost in 2020.
Rocky Johnson, wrestling legend and father to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, died on January
15th, 2020.
He was 75 years old.
Johnson first became a professional wrestler in the 1960s, when he took to the ring in
the National Wrestling Alliance, but he didn't become a household name until the 1980s, when
he joined the WWF. Johnson and partner Tony Atlas became the first African American wrestling
tag team in the franchise's history as the Soul Patrol.
He retired from wrestling in 1991 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
Johnson was close with son Dwayne, who previously bought Rocky a house and purchased him a car
for Christmas in 2016.
Linda Tripp, famous for secretly recording her conversations with Monica Lewinsky that
ultimately led to then-President Bill Clinton's impeachment, died on April 8th, 2020 at 70
years old from pancreatic and lymph node cancer.
Tripp was a friend of Lewinsky's while the brunette anti-bullying activist was a White
House intern.
Lewinsky first told Tripp of her affair with Clinton in 1996, which ultimately led to Tripp
wearing a wire when meeting with Lewinsky in 1998.
In 2003, Tripp told Larry King Live that despite the fallout from the recordings, she would
do it again.
She would later say that her intentions were to aid other women, including Paula Jones,
who'd accused Clinton of harassment previously, and stop Clinton from allegedly harassing
other women in the future.
Despite their history, Lewinsky remained compassionate in Tripp's final hours, tweeting shortly before
Tripp's passing,
"No matter the past, upon hearing that Linda Tripp is very seriously ill, I hope for her
recovery.
I can't imagine how difficult this is for her family."
Actor Irrfan Khan died on April 29th, 2020 at 53 years old.
Khan was a prolific actor and Bollywood star with over 150 credits, including Slumdog Millionaire,
Jurassic World, Life of Pi, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Darjeeling Limited.
He also appeared in the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! in 1988, but his breakout role was
in 2001's The Warrior.
Khan won numerous awards throughout his three-decade career, including an Independent Spirit Award
for The Namesake.
His family said in a statement in part,
"Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone
who came close to him.
[...] He took life soon after as it came and he fought the many battles that came with
it."
He was surrounded by his family when he died, and they said his final words were,
"As if I was tasting life for the first time, the magical side of it."
Legendary Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula died on May 4th, 2020 at 90 years old.
The team said in a statement,
"Don Shula was the patriarch of the Miami Dolphins for 50 years.
He brought the winning edge to our franchise and put the Dolphins and the city of Miami
in the national sports scene.
Our deepest thoughts and prayers go out to [his family]."
Shula began his NFL career as a defensive back in the 1950s for the Cleveland Browns,
Baltimore Colts, and Washington Redskins before becoming a coach for the Colts, then for the
Miami Dolphins.
He has the record for most wins ever by an NFL coach : 347 victories in 33 years, including
two Super Bowl wins for the Dolphins.
He remains the only coach to ever guide an undefeated NFL team, being inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy died from coronavirus complications on May 8th, 2020.
He was 75 years old.
Horn and his stage partner, Sigfried Fischbacher, met on a cruise ship, and were Las Vegas performing
staples for decades, becoming famous for stunts with big cats.
They were the highest earning Sin City acts ever, clocking in at $57 million per year.
They even inspired a song by Michael Jackson.
In 2003, Horn was injured by a white tiger onstage, though the duo claimed Horn actually
suffered a small stroke onstage, and that the tiger was helping drag him offstage.
Doctors disagreed at the sequence of events, and the incident left Horn partially paralyzed.
Horn later made a remarkable recovery and was eventually able to walk and perform again.
Fischbacher said, in part, in a statement,
"Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend.
From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world.
There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."
"We have been a very good team.
Siegfried and Roy.
And the way how it always worked was we challenged each other."
On May 17th, 2020, Professional wrestler Shad Gaspard went missing after he and his 10-year-old
son got caught in a rip current while swimming in Marina Del Rey, California.
Gaspard encouraged first responders to save his son first.
Gaspard's body was discovered on Venice Beach a few days later.
He was 39 years old.
Gaspard made his WWE debut in 2006 as half of Cryme Tyme with JTG.
By 2010, he'd left to pursue acting, appearing in films like Birds of Prey, Get Hard, and
Black Panther.
Gaspard's wife said in a statement,
"Shad was our whole world and we were his.
There are not enough words to describe what he means to all of us.
He was our heart, our soul, our protector, our warrior.
He was a bright force of nature, who brought joy to many through his joyous and gracious
nature.
[...] Shad was and always will be our real-life superhero."
Broadway veteran Nick Cordero died on July 5th, 2020, following a months-long battle
with COVID-19.
He was 41 years old.
Cordero was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario and attended Ryerson University before pursuing
music with the band Lovemethod.
He eventually turned his attention to theater, appearing in Rock of Ages in 2009.
In 2014, he starred as Cheech in Bullets Over Broadway, earning a Best Featured Actor in
a Musical Tony nomination.
His screen work included a recurring role on Blue Bloods and guest roles on Law & Order:
SVU.
Cordero's wife, Amanda Kloots, chronicled his difficult battle with COVID-19.
He's survived by his wife and their one-year-old son, Elvis.
Kloots wrote that Cordero was surrounded by loved ones when he passed and that they sang
his song, "Live Your Life."
Diana Rigg died on September 10th, 2020, at 82 years old after being diagnosed with cancer
in March.
Rigg was most famous for starring as Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers, as well
as Tracy in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones.
James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said in a statement,
"We are very sad to hear of the passing of Dame Diana Rigg, the legendary stage and screen
actress who was much beloved by Bond fans for her memorable performance [...] in On
Her Majesty's Secret Service, the only woman to have married James Bond."
Rigg was acclaimed for her stage and screen work, winning countless awards and nominations
throughout her life.
For all of her roles as heroines, it was villainous Tyrell she liked best, telling the BBC in
2019,
"I love playing bad [characters].
They are so much more interesting than good.
There are some actors who don't like to play bad; they like to be liked.
I love to be disliked.
Olenna had the best lines."
"That's always so much better than playing a goody-goody.
The returns are so much better."
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18th, 2020, at 87 years
old following a battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Chief Justice John Roberts said of her passing,
"Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature.
We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague.
Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg
as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice."
Born in Brooklyn, Ginsburg married her fellow Cornell University alum Martin J. Ginsburg
in 1954, and they shared daughter Jane and son James.
She credits Marty with her success, including her 1993 appointment to the Supreme Court.
She once called her husband "the only young man I dated who cared that I had a brain."
Marty passed in 2010.
Ginsburg was a fervent fighter for gender equality, not only as an attorney and judge,
but also for causes like the ACLU, where she founded the Women's Rights Project.
"I call 1972 "The Year of the Woman".
In the late 2010s, Ginsburg, the second female Justice ever on the Supreme Court, became
a pop culture icon as "The Notorious R.B.G."
Guitar legend Eddie Van Halen died on October 6th, 2020, from lung cancer that had spread
to his other organs.
He was 65 years old.
Eddie and brother Alex formed Van Halen in 1978, releasing classics like "Runnin' With
the Devil," "Hot for Teacher," and "Jump," all famous for Eddie's solos.
He also played guitar for Michael Jackson's "Beat It," even reworking almost the entire
song in secret behind the King of Pop's back before its release — but Jackson loved it.
Famous for the technicality in his guitar work, Eddie was modest about it.
He told NPR the basic reason he made all of his own effects, explaining,
"I couldn't afford the pedals, you know?
I couldn't afford a wah-wah pedal.
I couldn't afford a fuzz box and all the toys that everybody else had.
So I did everything I could to get sounds out of the guitar with my fingers."
Eddie married Valerie Bertinelli in 1981, and they raised their son, Wolfgang, who would
become Van Halen's bassist in 2006.
In 2009, after a divorce, Eddie went on to marry Janie Liszewski with Bertinelli in attendance.
Both women, as well as Wolfgang, were at his bedside when he died.
He remained humble about his rock god status, telling MTV,
"It's nice, but sometimes it's like, come on, you know?
I'm just a punk kid who plays guitar."
Screen legend Sean Connery died on October 31st, 2020 at age 90, surrounded by loved
ones at his home in the Bahamas.
Connery starred as the first James Bond in Dr. No, followed by multiple other Bond films,
but he had range beyond the super spy.
In 1988, he won a BAFTA for The Name Of The Rose, as well as a Golden Globe and an Oscar
the same year for his portrayal of a cop going after the Mob in The Untouchables.
On top of a vast array of other awards, the proud Scotsman was knighted in 2000.
Fellow Bond Daniel Craig said in a statement of his iconic predecessor,
"Sir Sean Connery will be remembered as Bond and so much more.
He defined an era and a style.
The wit and charm he portrayed on screen could be measured in megawatts; he helped create
the modern blockbuster.
He will continue to influence actors and filmmakers alike for years to come.
[...] Wherever he is, I hope there is a golf course."
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek succumbed to pancreatic cancer at his home on November 8th, 2020,
while surrounded by loved ones.
He was 80 years old.
Trebek previously announced in March 2019 that he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic
cancer, but promised to fight the disease and keep working — all while maintaining
his sense of humor, telling People,
"Truth told, I have to because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for
three more years!"
Noting that he had no plans to retire, he explained,
"I'm enjoying myself and I'm having a good time with what I'm doing now, but if I were
to retire, what would I do?
I'd be lost."
A native of Ontario, Canada, Trebek hosted the quiz show for more than 35 years, breaking
a Guinness World Record for most game shows hosted, winning seven Daytime Emmys and a
Peabody Award, and becoming a pop culture legend.
Trebek is survived by his wife and their two adult children.
Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings spoke for the world in a series of tweets honoring Trebek,
writing,
"Alex wasn't just the best ever at what he did.
He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I'm grateful for every minute I got to
spend with him.
Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family — which, in a way, included millions
of us."
David Prowse, who appeared under the mask as Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy,
died on November 28th, 2020 at 85 years old.
Prowse's daughter, Rachel, told The U.S. Sun that while Prowse had been suffering from
Alzheimer's disease, it was COVID-19 that ended his life.
The 6-foot-6 star was an imposing figure, but his height was matched by his congenial
nature.
Prowse began his career as a personal trainer and bodybuilder, with clients including the
original big screen Superman, Christopher Reeve.
Prowse's onscreen credits include television work on Doctor Who, as well as playing Frankenstein's
monster in 1967 comedy Casino Royale.
However, The U.S. Sun notes that Prowse was most proud of being the "Green Cross Code
Man," a road safety icon who toured schools and starred in public service announcements
for kids.
Actor and comedian David L. Lander, who starred as Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in Laverne & Shirley,
died on December 4th, 2020.
He was 73 years old.
Lander was born David Leonard Landau in Brooklyn, New York and studied at Carnegie Mellon University,
where he met Michael McKean.
He and McKean created characters Lenny and Squiggy and joined Los Angeles troupes, where
they further honed their comedic personas.
In 1975, Garry Marshall cast McKean and Lander as Lenny and Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley,
the girls' upstairs neighbors.
They remained on the series until it ended in 1983.
Throughout his career, Lander logged over 100 film and television credits.
Lander was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1984, but kept it a secret for 15 years,
fearing it would cost him work.
In his 1999 memoir, Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't
Tell Nobody, he revealed his condition, and became an activist for MS awareness and research
funding.
In a 2007 interview with Brain & Life, Lander said,
"Whatever happens, MS can't take it all.
I will always have my heart and soul, my wit and wisdom.
Wherever the chips may fall, if I fall with them I will make it a point to do so gracefully—and
laughing."