We've already bid farewell to screen legends, music icons, and more in 2018.
Join us as we take a look at these artists' early works, reflect on their history-making
performances, and discuss the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Here are the stars we sadly said goodbye to this year.
Joel Taylor
Storm Chasers star Joel Taylor died January 23rd while aboard a cruise ship, according
to a report by TMZ.
He was 38 years old.
Sources told TMZ that Taylor may have passed away from a drug overdose.
A fellow passenger on the ship claimed Taylor passed out on the dance floor during the cruise
after using the drug GHB, and that he was taken to his room by two other guests.
He was found dead the following day.
Fredo Santana
Rapper Fredo Santana died on January 19th at just 27 years old.
The Chicago-based MC, a cousin of rapper Chief Keef, passed away as the result of a fatal
seizure.
Santana, born Derrick Coleman, had been hospitalized several times in the months leading up to
his death, including a hospitalization for liver and kidney failure in October 2017.
Once released from the hospital, Santana reportedly went right back into the studio to keep making
more music, though Rolling Stone reported that he considered going to rehab as well.
The rapper was open about his recreational use of substances such as codeine and promethazine,
which may have caused his fatal seizure.
Before his death, he had recently become a father; at the time of his death, his son
was only eight months old.
Mickey Jones
Actor and musician Mickey Jones died on February 7th, 2018, following a long period of unspecified
illness.
He was 76 years old.
Jones' career as a character actor began in 1971 in the television comedy Rollin' on the
River, which led to a slew of small roles in films and TV.
His extensive résumé includes the movie Total Recall and multiple TV series that included
Hot Rod, Justified, and Home Improvement.
In addition to his acting career, Jones was also a prolific drummer, working with musicians
such as Trini Lopez, Johnny Rivers, Bob Dylan, and Kenny Rogers.
Richard 'Old Man' Harrison
Pawn Stars cast member Richard "Old Man" Harrison passed away on June 25th at age 77, reportedly
after a battle with Parkinson's disease.
Rick Harrison, his son, said Richard was surrounded by loved ones when he passed away.
Richard became a fan favorite as the family patriarch on the popular History Channel series,
which debuted in 2009.
He originally opened the Las Vegas pawn shop at the center of the show with his son in
the 1980s.
Prior to opening the business, he served in the Navy, and often spoke fondly about his
years of service on the show.
After his father's passing, Rick said in a statement, "He was my hero and I was fortunate
to get a very cool 'Old Man' as my dad."
Mac Miller
Rapper Mac Miller died on September 7th at the age of 26, passing away as a result of
a fatal drug overdose.
Miller, also known as Malcolm McCormick, had been open about his struggles with substance
abuse, which also caused him legal trouble.
In May 2018, he crashed his car while allegedly driving intoxicated.
He was later charged with two counts of DUI.
In an August 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, Miller denied being addicted to drugs, saying,
"Have I done drugs?
Yeah.
But am I a drug addict?
No."
After his death, Miller's family released a statement that said, in part, "He was a
bright light in this world for his family, friends, and fans."
Burt Reynolds
Actor Burt Reynolds died on September 6th at 82 years old, reportedly from a heart attack.
After starting out his career in Western TV series, Reynolds had a breakout role in 1972's
Deliverance.
The same year, he was a centerfold in Playgirl magazine.
He scored another cinematic hit with 1974's The Longest Yard, but it was 1977's Smokey
and the Bandit that catapulted him to fame and sealed the charismatic actor's fate as
a household name.
Reynolds' career was marked by big hits and equally big misses, with his stormy personal
life occasionally having a negative effect on his box office numbers.
But despite a mid-career professional slump, he was nominated for an Oscar in 1998 for
his role in Boogie Nights.
Though the actor is now gone, his mustache and bravado will endure on-screen forever.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin died on August 16th at the age of 76, passing away after a fight with
pancreatic cancer.
Franklin was a musical legend, often referred to as the Queen of Soul, who was honored by
Rolling Stone as the greatest singer of all time.
She had 18 Grammys to her name, and was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
Her life and work also had an impact on the civil rights movement, with her recordings
of the songs "Think" and "Respect" becoming unofficial anthems for equality.
Franklin even performed at Martin Luther King Jr.'s memorial service following his assassination.
Donnelly Rhodes
Canadian character actor Donnelly Rhodes passed away at 80 years old on January 8th.
The cause of death was cancer.
Rhodes became an actor after serving as an airman and mechanic in the Royal Canadian
Air Force.
His most famous roles were dopey escaped convict Dutch in Soap and Dr. Cottle in the original
Battlestar Galactica.
A prolific performer, Rhodes appeared on dozens of TV shows over the course of his career,
from Mister Ed to DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
In the end, his prolific career in show business spanned more than 50 years.
Denise LaSalle
Singer Denise LaSalle, whose hits include “Trapped by a Thing Called Love”, "Down
Home Blues", and “Now Run and Tell That”, passed away on January 8th at 78 years old.
Born Ora Denise Allen in Sidon, Mississippi, she moved to Chicago as a teenager to pursue
a career in R&B.
She later transitioned to the blues genre, and founded the National Association for the
Preservation of the Blues in 1986.
She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, Tennessee in 2011.
'Fast' Eddie Clarke
Motörhead guitarist and founding band member "Fast" Eddie Clarke died on January 10th at
age 67.
According to a statement from the band, he passed away peacefully while he was being
treated for pneumonia.
Former Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee, who is currently a member of the Scorpions, shared
his shock and condolences at the news, calling Clarke "the last of the three amigos."
Prior to Clarke's death, his fellow founding members Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister and Phil "Philthy
Animal" Taylor both passed away in 2015.
In his statement, Dee added,
"Now Lem and Philthy can jam with Eddie again, and if you listen carefully I'm sure you'll
hear them, so watch out!"
Bob Smith
Comedian Bob Smith died on January 20th after a battle with ALS.
He was 59 years old.
Smith was the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show, and was also the
first openly gay comic to perform an HBO half-hour special.
In addition to performing stand-up comedy, Smith was also an acclaimed writer, penning
several novels.
He wrote three acclaimed essay collections, including LAMBDA Book Award winner Openly
Bob in 1997 and a follow-up, Way to Go, in 1999.
His final book of essays, Treehab: Tales from My Natural Wild Life, was published in 2016
during his battle with ALS.
Due to complications from the disease, he had to pen the entire collection with just
one hand, using an iPad.
Connie Sawyer
Connie Sawyer died at 105 years old on January 22nd.
At the time of her death, she was Hollywood's oldest working actress.
Her entertainment career began in vaudeville when she was only 8 years old, and continued
on for decades after that.
She acted in both movies and television, with her more notable recent roles including the
movies When Harry Met Sally, Dumb and Dumber, and Pineapple Express.
Jim Rodford
Jim Rodford died on January 20th at the age of 76.
A lifelong musician, Rodford was a founding member of the band Argent and a bass guitarist
for The Kinks and The Zombies.
Rodford's cousin and longtime bandmate, Rod Argent, announced the musician's death on
The Zombies' Facebook page.
Memorializing his cousin, Argent wrote,
"To the end, Jim's life was dedicated to music...
He will be unbelievably missed."
Dennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards passed away on February 1st at the age of 74 due to complications from
meningitis.
He was a lead singer of The Temptations, having replaced the original lead singer, David Ruffin,
in 1968.
Edwards brought his signature gospel style to some of the group's most memorable late-career
hits, including "Just My Imagination," "Cloud Nine," and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone."
He split from the group in 1977, but rejoined a decade later.
In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band.
Seo Minwoo
K-Pop star Seo Minwoo of boy band 100 Percent died on March 25th at just 33 years old.
The singer was reportedly found unresponsive in his home and pronounced dead by first responders.
The suspected cause of death is cardiac arrest.
Minwoo was the lead singer of the group, which originated in 2012.
He took a sabbatical from performing in 2014 to perform his government-required military
service, but then returned to the group upon completing his obligations.
Minwoo also dabbled in acting, pursuing roles on stage, in movies, and on TV.
John Gavin
Actor John Gavin died on February 9th at 86 years old.
Born in 1931, he served in the Navy in the Korean War, afterward giving in to a family
friend who urged him to pursue acting.
His most famous roles were Sam Loomis in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and Julius Caesar in Spartacus.
At one point, he was almost cast as James Bond, and even signed a contract for Diamonds
are Forever until producers re-hired Sean Connery instead.
As his film career plateaued, he transitioned to television roles, and he didn't necessarily
think highly of some of the work.
As he later recalled,
"Some of those early roles were unactable.
Even Laurence Olivier couldn't have done anything with them."
XXXTentacion
Musician XXXTentacion was shot and killed on June 18th, reportedly as the victim of
a robbery.
Born Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, the rapper was just 20 years old when he was attacked outside
of a Florida motorcycle dealership.
Despite the rapper's success in the music industry, he was notorious for harrowing domestic
violence accusations made against him by an ex-girlfriend, who alleged that he kidnapped
and attacked her numerous times.
He denied all of the claims.
Craig Mack
Rapper Craig Mack died on March 12th at 46 years old, reportedly of heart failure.
The New York native was born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, where he began
rapping as a teenager, initially performing under the name MC EZ.
After touring with fellow hip-hop group EPMD, he became one of the first artists signed
to Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records.
He was nominated for a Grammy for his signature track, 1994's "Flava in Ya Ear."
Sammy Williams
Stage actor Sammy Williams passed away on March 17th at 69 years old.
According to a family spokesperson, Williams had been battling cancer prior to his death.
Williams won a Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical in 1976 in the original
Broadway production of A Chorus Line.
Remarkably, he gave the acclaimed performance as his first speaking role on stage.
He also had parts in TV and movies, including the horror film God Told Me To.
He later became a choreographer, actor, and director in Los Angeles.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Stan Lee
Marvel Comics legendary writer, editor and creator Stan Lee died November 12th, 2018
at age 95.
Born Stanley Martin Lieber, Lee's comics career began when he was just 16 years old and serving
as an assistant at the New York offices of Timely Comics, which would later become Marvel.
Lee went on to help create iconic characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Incredible
Hulk, Thor, Black Panther, and many others.
Lee took over as publisher and editorial director in 1972.
In the 1980s, his role transitioned to brand ambassador, as Marvel Comics expanded into
motion pictures, and he'd go on to make cameo appearances in countless Marvel movies, TV
shows and video games.