It seems like more and more of our favorite Hollywood stars are passing away these days,
though perhaps it’s just that with social media and 24/7 news outlets, word reaches
us that much faster.
Either way, it’s never an easy time to hear about an actor or actress you love who passes
away.
Fans often feel like their favorite Hollywood stars are almost a part of their family, and
are affected by their deaths in an intense way.
And even if you don’t find deep sorrow, you still can feel a sense of remembrance
and gratitude that you were able to enjoy their work.
In this video, we’re taking a look at some of the folks who died last month.
Stay tuned, as Facts Verse presents: These Famous Actors & Actresses Suddenly Died Last
Month.
Melinda Dillon Melinda Dillon will perhaps best be remembered
as an integral part of the classic Christmas movie, “A Christmas Story.”
She played the mother in that famous film, which tells the story of a young boy who wants
a toy rifle as his Christmas gift.
(And, of course, there’s the epic scene where he gets his tongue stuck on an iced-over
pole.)
Because of the role, Dillon not only became etched in the mind of so many people as a
classic mom, but she also became a part of their annual Christmastime-watching traditions.
But Melinda was not only known for holiday fare.
She was an intensely skilled actress who was nominated for two Academy Awards.
One was for the movie “Absence of Malice,” in which she acted opposite Paul Newman.
The other was for her stellar performance in the early Steven Spielberg offering, “Close
Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Dillon’s career consisted of a wide variety of films, plays, and TV shows.
Some of her films included roles in Harry and The Hendersos and the classic hockey movie,
Slap Shot.
She also appeared in TV shows like Law and Order and Judging Amy.
And before she even found any success on either type of screen, she was a well-known Broadway
actress.
She was even up for a Tony Award in the 1960s, as part of the original run of the classic
play, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
She died on January 9th, 2023 at the age of 83.
The cause of her death wasn’t reported, but she was cremated in Long Beach, California.
Many Hollywood stars publicly expressed their condolences and memories of Melinda, such
as Barbra Streisand, who tweeted: “Melinda Dillon was such a great actress, with a wonderful
delicacy about her.
She was a delight to direct in Prince of Tides.
May she rest in peace.”
Charles Kimbrough Charles Kimbrough had a long and illustrious
years, and is best known for having been in all 247 episodes of the classic sitcom, Murphy
Brown.
He played Jim Dial, a no-nonsense anchorman, whose straight-laced demeanor paired beautifully
with the comic stylings of Candace Bergman and others.
He was honored with an Emmy nod for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 1990 for the role.
This type of role was innately suited for Kimbrough, who thoroughly admitted that he
had certain qualities that seemed ideal for playing more buttoned-up and proper characters.
Or as, he once labeled them, jackasses.
He credited it to being self conscious as an actor, which can sometimes appear to others
as being pompous.
He once joked that he somehow managed to give off a vibe that made audiences perpetually
picture him in a three-piece suit, playing a stuck-up character.
He even noted that whenever he was cast to play a ‘stiff-guy’ part, directors would
light up when he walked in because they too were aware of this general image.
But according to Kimbrough, that did tend to irritate him, because he wished he was
seen as an actor who could play a variety of roles.
In addition to his impressive stint on Murphy Brown, as well as other film and TV roles,
Kimbrough had an impressive career on stage.
He was nominated for a Tony in 1971 for best-featured actor in a musical for the Broadway show,
Company.
He played “Harry” in the Sondheim production.
He continued his work with Sondheim, acting in Sunday With George in 1984.
Kimbrough died at age 86 on January 11th, 2023 in Culver City, CA.
He died from natural causes.
Cindy Williams You can’t talk about the biggest sitcom
stars of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s without mentioning Cindy Williams.
She was one half of the classic duo, along with Penny Marshall, who brought the characters
of Laverne and Shirley to life on their self-titled sitcom.
She played the hilarious character for eight seasons, from 1976 to 1983.
She ultimately decided not to continue on for the 9th season, as she was pregnant.
The producers, and even Penny Marshall, begged her to continue, saying they’d commit to
completely rewriting the scripts to accommodate her pregnancy.
But Williams had already moved on and decided 8 seasons was more than enough.
It actually caused some tension between her and Marshall, though the two patched things
up later on.
So when Marshall died in 2018, they had long since been on good terms.
Cindy had a lengthy career, marked by roles in a variety of TV shows and films.
She had already been in a number of productions when she was cast as Shirley Feeney, but it
was still the role that made her a household name.
She originated the part, along with Marshall, in an episode of Happy Days.
Reportedly, Happy Days creator Garry Marshall had been getting flack from his mom for not
yet casting his sister Penny in the show.
So he decided he would finally listen to his mother and write a character for her.
He ended up recycling a script from a completely different sitcom that had failed years earlier,
and the episode called for a duo of women.
He knew that one would be played by Penny, and wasn’t sure about the other.
He asked his sister if she had anyone she’d recommend, and Penny told him about Cindy.
They had been writing together on a Francis Ford Coppola parody project.
The rest, of course, is history.
Laverne and Shirley shined in that episode of Happy Days and went on to be the title
characters in one of the top shows of the era.
Williams was nominated for a best actress Golden Globe for the role.
She also starred in several classic films like American Graffiti, for which she was
nominated for a BAFTA award for best supporting actress.
And she was praised for her work in The Conversation and Travels With My Aunt.
She died on January 25th, 2023, after a brief illness.
She was 75 years old.
Lisa Loring Lisa Loring’s claim to fame will always
be in her classic portrayal of Wednesday Addams, in the original screen adaptation of The Addams
Family.
She played the precocious, goth, and merciless youngster from 1964 to 1966, helping cement
the character and the show permanently in American culture.
She’s been on the minds of long-time fans (and new ones alike) recently because of the
success of the new Netflix show, Wednesday.
It chronicles the life of Wednesday Addams at a boarding school and has become a cultural
phenomenon of its own.
In particular, a dance by Jenna Ortega, who is playing the titular role, has gone viral
on TikTok and Instagram.
The concept was based on a dance that Lisa Loring did in the original show, which was
a popular dance back in the 1960s.
Ortega even thanked and acknowledged Loring’s contribution after her own dance started to
trend online.
She was born in 1958 in the Marshall Islands, but eventually lived in Hawaii and then Los
Angeles.
She started off in the entertainment industry quite early, landing modeling gigs at age
3.
Her first TV role was in Dr. Kildare, a medical drama.
But her big break was playing Wednesday Addams, and she was able to parlay that success into
more roles, including in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E and The Pruitts of Southampton.
She then took on a recurring part in the classic soap, “As the World Turns.”
Later on, she shifted to playing roles in 1980’s slasher films, like Savage Harbor
and Blood Frenzy.
She died of a stroke on January 28th, 2023, at age 64.
Annie Wersching Finally, there’s the tragic death of actress
Annie Wersching who died at only 45 years old in January.
She battled cancer since her 2020 diagnosis but ultimately passed away on January 29th.
Wersching was best known for playing parts in the hit shows Bosch, 24, and Timeless.
Originally from St. Louis, Wersching managed to make a name for herself, despite dying
so young.
Her first big role was in General Hospital, playing the role of Amelia Joffee.
Then she began her tenure on 24, joining the show for the 7th and 8th seasons.
She parlayed that success into roles in shows like Extant, Timeless, The Rookie, The Vampire
Diaries, and Bosch.
She also voiced and did the motion capture for the character Tess, in the video game,
The Last Of Us.
This was back in 2012, but with the recent TV drama release, based on the game, fans
have begun to reminisce about Wersching’s powerful performance in the game.
Wersching was married to a fellow actor named Stephen Full.
They have three sons, all of whom survive their mother.
She chose to keep her diagnosis and failing health private, so it certainly came as a
shock to fans and those outside her innermost circle when she passed.
Now it’s time to hear from you?
What are your favorite memories of these stars who all passed away in January of 2023?
Let us know in the comments section below.