TV Commercial Actors You May Not Know Passed Away

We all know their faces, the actors who become television staples by appearing only in short segments in between your favorite programs. Since the advent of magazines and radio, and especially with the arrival of TV, advertisements have flooded the commercial space, with many company mascots or commercial actors becoming part of our collective pop culture consciousness. People like Stephanie Courtney, who plays Flo from Progressive, or Milana Vayntrub, best known as Lily — aka the current AT&T spokesperson — are instantly recognizable nowadays, and there's a clear reason why.

In some instances, these ad icons outlast even some of the most beloved programs on television, with many of these characters (or actors) becoming household names. But despite their longevity, not even these legends can live on forever.  Have you ever wondered what became of the actors you remember from the commercials on TV? The ones who were never a part of a major program, but happened to make you laugh or smile in 30 seconds or less? Well, we've put together a list of some of the most notable TV commercial stars who have sadly passed away, in hopes that we might better remember them in the future.

The forever face of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Harland David Sanders (who was not an actual military Colonel, though granted the honorary title) was born in 1890, but it wasn't until 1930 that he'd get his start in the fried chicken business. His first attempt at a restaurant was the Harland Sanders Cafe in Corben, Kentucky, where he came up with his trademark "secret recipe," and the rest is finger-lickin' good history. But in the early 1960s, Colonel Sanders sold Kentucky Fried Chicken to two Kentucky-based businessmen.

Nevertheless, he still believed in his product, and stayed on with the company as its official brand ambassador into the 1970s. Tragically, the Colonel died of leukemia on December 16, 1980, at age 90, though his legacy lives on throughout KFC, even if the company's current standards don't live up to his own. Nowadays, there are countless actors who have played a fictionalized version of Colonel Sanders in KFC's subsequent ad campaigns (Reba McEntire being the strangest), complete with the trademark white trim. No doubt, Sanders' likeness lives on far beyond his death.

Hoping to generate more male buyers, the cigarette company Marlboro began an advertisement campaign in 1955 that has long supported the brand. Capitalizing on the popularity and masculinity of the Western cowboy, Marlboro developed its own hero, the Marlboro Man, who was brought to life by a number of actors, though perhaps most notably by Robert "Bob" Norris. Cast because of his friendship with Western icon John Wayne, Norris played the smoking cowboy for over a decade before calling it quits, ending his tenure for an honorable reason. 

Turns out, Norris never smoked, and he didn't want his kids to either. So when his son asked why he starred in Marlboro commercials if he didn't want his children to smoke, Norris quit the very next day. "There's no gray area between right and wrong," Norris' son Bobby told an NBC News affiliate, having learned from his father's example. "You do the right thing even if it costs you." Having never smoked a day in his life, Norris continued cowboying until his death on November 3, 2019, at age 90. The former Marlboro Man lived a very full life beyond the cigarette campaign, supporting the arts, philanthropic endeavors, and animal causes. Turns out, this cowboy was something of a hero after all.

It's rare that an actor can take a fictional character and spread them beyond a single brand, but for a comic like Jim Varney, it was a piece of cake. In 1980, Varney teamed up with Nashville-based advertising agency Carden and Cherry to create a character called Ernest P. Worrell, whose popularity quickly exploded. Soon, Varney's Ernest became the face of Sprite, Chex cereals, and even Taco John's. As Ernest's popularity grew overnight, Varney became the star of a plethora of TV specials, feature films, and a short-lived TV series titled "Hey Vern, It's Ernest!" 

Sure, Varney was known for other movie and TV roles too, like voicing Slinky Dog in the first two "Toy Story" movies, but Ernest P. Worrell stood in a category all on his own. Unfortunately, as an active chain smoker, Varney developed an aggressive lung cancer in the late '90s that soon ended his budding career. "He really didn't want anybody to really know how sick he was," noted Varney's nephew Justin Lloyd in 2022 (via ABC 6 Wate). It wasn't long before Varney died on February 10, 2000, at age 50. Nevertheless, Ernest remains one of the most popular characters to be born of an ad campaign and one with an extensive legacy. "KnowhutImean?"

Born William Darrell Mays, Jr., this "Infomercial King," as he was often called, was best known as Billy Mays of OxiClean fame. Known for his boisterous personality and convincing sales tactics, Mays started at the Home Shopping Network before landing the OxiClean campaign at the turn of the century. Called "a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown" by Frank Ahrens of The Washington Post, there's no doubt that Mays made a significant impact on his field, and was often imitated, parodied, and praised.

But wait, there's more! Mays also starred alongside Anthony Sullivan on the Discovery Channel docuseries "PushMen," which followed the TV salesmen as they pushed different products in each episode. Unfortunately, the show didn't last long, as Mays died on June 28, 2009, at age 50. Though initial reports claimed that drug abuse was involved, a later autopsy denied those allegations, citing heart disease as the leading factor. In honor of Mays, many of his unaired commercials were shown following the news of his death, and "PitchMen" even aired a special Billy Mays tribute in July 2009.

Geoffrey Holder might be most notable for his role as the villainous Baron Samedi in the James Bond thriller "Live and Let Die," but he was also the pushman for 7 Up for a time. Reminding audiences everywhere that 7 Up (or is it Seven Up?) has no artificial coloring or flavors — "and never will" — Holder's face became synonymous with the brand during the 1970s and '80s. Throughout the "Uncola" campaign, Holder's sensual charm and distinctive chuckle were trademarks for the brand, which only served as a publicity boost for the rising star.

But Holder's career was much larger than his contributions to the soft drink industry. The actor won two Tony awards as a director and costume designer for the original 1975 Broadway production of "The Wiz," an all-Black soul interpretation of "The Wizard of Oz." No matter what role he was undertaking, he always put in the work to make it right. "I'm no snob," he told People magazine back in 1975. "The commercial is an art form unto itself. After all, you are seducing people." No doubt, he certainly knew how to sell a product. However, even a talent such as Holder can't live forever. Due to a complication involving pneumonia, the multi-talented artist died on October 5, 2014, at age 84.

Speaking of actors known for much more than their work on television commercials, Paul Winchell was one of the most accomplished ventriloquists, comedians, and actors of the 20th century. The voice of "Winnie the Pooh" character Tigger, Hanna-Barbera's Dick Dastardly, and Gargamel from "The Smurfs," Winchell's vocal talents were exceptional (and that's not even acknowledging his live-action work). But for our purposes, Winchell is known for having also voiced the trademark, cap-wearing Mr. Owl in the original "How Many Licks?" Tootsie Roll Pop commercial.

That's right, that owl you've remembered since childhood was voiced by the same guy behind some of the biggest children's cartoons out there. Though there's still some real debate on how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, we'll always remember the animated bird that first gave it a shot. Winchell died of natural causes on June 24, 2005, at the age of 82, survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren. "My father was a very troubled and unhappy man," wrote his estranged daughter April Winchell the following day. "If there is another place after this one, it is my hope that he now has the peace that eluded him on Earth."

Today, advertisements for jeans are usually pretty silly, but back in the mid-1980s, Levi's commercials were meant to be stylish, sleek, and, above all, sexy. That's where model, singer, and soon-to-be TV commercial star Nick Kamen came in. Kamen was cast by Levi Strauss and Co. as their frontman for a series of commercials centered on branding their Levi's 501 Originals as the most attractive set of denim jeans imaginable. No wonder this guy became a sex symbol. Originally born Ivor Neville Kamen, the Levi's brand ambassador was later noticed by Madonna, who had him record "Each Time You Break My Heart," leading to his own musical career. 

After four studio albums, Kamen dropped off the face of the musical earth. It wasn't until the 2020s that we heard from the pop star again, only to tragically catch wind of his death. Kamen died on May 4, 2021, after a long battle with bone marrow cancer. He was 59 years old. "I guess because of the advert, people recognize me, and then it's hard then to be accepted as something else," Kamen once expressed, as recorded by The Herald Scotland. Still, Kamen was thankful for the career he did have, even if his status as a pop star was relatively short-lived.

Having been everything from an actor and stuntman and a ranch hand and a U.S. Marine, Wilford Brimley is probably best known for his commercial work for Liberty Medical and his consistent advocacy for diabetes-related education. That's right, Brimley is the "diabeetus" guy who always warmed our hearts whenever on screen, the same one John Goodman parodied on Saturday Night Live. He was also the usual face of the Quaker Oats Company, which felt on brand considering his stance against "diabeetus," and appeared in films such as "The Thing," "Cocoon," and "The Firm."

Brimley may have begun his on-screen career in Hollywood, but it was his advocacy later in life after his own diabetes diagnosis that made him a household name. Or at least the guy you remember who says the word "diabetes" funny. In 2008, the American Diabetes Association honored him with a lifetime achievement to thank him for his commitment to destigmatizing diabetes. On August 1, 2020, Brimley died at the ripe age of 85 due to complications from a kidney condition. "Wilford Brimley was a man you could trust," Brimley's agent Lynda Bensky told Entertainment Tonight following his death. "He said what he meant and he meant what he said. He had a gruff exterior and a tender heart." No doubt, Brimley is a man we certainly have missed.

"Where's the beef?" Long before Dave Thomas was the founder of Wendy's, it may surprise folks to learn that he first ran a number of KFC franchises, working very closely with its founder Colonel Sanders. That's right, much of what Thomas learned about the fast-food business, he learned from the Colonel. But Thomas' dream was always to own his own hamburger joint, and so in 1969, he opened Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers. From there, Wendy's (named after his daughter Melinda Lou, who often mispronounced her name when she was young) became one of the largest fast-food chains in the world. 

Taking some cues from the KFC playbook, Thomas appeared in more than 800 Wendy's commercials, earning the Guinness World Record for "Longest Running Television Advertising Campaign Starring a Company Founder." Thomas might not be as recognizable as Col. Sanders, but he certainly put in the hours to make it big. Sadly, Dave Thomas died on January 8, 2002, at age 69, of liver cancer,but not before founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992, hoping to make adoption more accessible for all. To this day, Thomas' daughter Melinda continues to support Wendy's, going by "Wendy Thomas" when playing the burger joint's official spokesperson.

There seems to be a theme concerning well-known television commercial stars who started off in Hollywood. Among them is Herschel Bernardi, whose career included roles in "Peter Gunn," "Arnie," and Broadway performances of "Zorba" and "Fiddler on the Roof," which each earned him a Tony nomination. But Bernardi may be best known to general audiences as the original voice of the Jolly Green Giant. Promoting a brand of frozen veggies is no easy task, but Bernardi did it with ease, voicing the Green Giant before Elmer Dresslar Jr. took over with his trademark "ho-ho-ho." 

But that isn't the only television commercial you've heard Bernardi in. Though Paul Winchell voiced Mr. Owl in the infamous "How Many Licks?" Tootsie Roll Pop commercial, it was Bernardi who narrated the ad, reminding us that the world may never know how many licks it really takes. Besides pushing frozen veggies and Tootsie Roll Pops, he also lent his vocal talents to TV and radio ads as Charlie Tuna, promoting Starkist tuna for decades. Sadly, on May 9, 1986, Bernardi died of a heart attack in his own home. The actor was 62 years old and was survived by his wife and four children.

Do you remember that late 1960s/early 1970s Prince Pasta commercial about the boy named Anthony who runs all the way home for some spaghetti? Well, if you don't, that's okay, but a lot of folks do. That young boy was named Anthony Martignetti, and he appeared consistently on screen for over a decade because of this ad. Surprisingly, even as an adult, Martignetti was still recognized for his role. "I always understood that it was larger than me, that I had a responsibility to preserve what that commercial meant to people," he told the Boston Globe in 2019.

New World Pasta (the current owners of the Prince brand) tried to remake the commercial in 2013, albeit without the original Anthony in tow. It wasn't a surprise then that the company quickly pulled it from the air after fans of the original were outraged. "Wednesday Is Prince Spaghetti Day," the original ad always reminded us, and for many, that was something to be honored and remembered. Only a year after the commercial's 50th anniversary, Martignetti died on August 23, 2020, in his sleep, at 63 years old.

We bet you didn't know that Mr. Clean has appeared in live-action, and we're not just talking about those recent ones where he's been animated in "Roger Rabbit"-style. Back in 1958, House Peters, Jr., an actor who appeared in a number of film and television Westerns throughout the 1950s, was cast as the live-action Mr. Clean and showed up in a number of television ads as the character. Nowadays, Mr. Clean only appears as animated inserts, though the character remains the mascot for Procter and Gamble's most notable cleaning product. 

The son of House Peters, a Hollywood leading man who gained notoriety during the silent era of film, Peters always lived in his father's shadow, doomed to never surpass it. In his book "Another Side of Hollywood," Peters described his father as a "big name in Hollywood: a handsome leading man." Sadly, Mr. Clean was as close as Peters himself ever got to being the star of his own show. After a decades-long career, Peters died of pneumonia on October 1, 2008, at the age of 92.

Robert Norris isn't the only Marlboro Man of note, and though he eventually exited the campaign, Darrell Winfield stuck with the cigarette company well into the late 1980s. A member of the Screen Actors Guild and a cowboy at heart, Winfield didn't believe his life was much different from the print and TV ads he appeared in. If anything, he'd have made most of the same life choices regardless. "I had seen cowboys," Leo Burnett Worldwide creative director Draper Daniels told The Telegraph in 2015, "but I had never seen one that just really, like, he sort of scared the hell out of me." 

No wonder Winfield was the man they built most of the brand around. After being associated with Marlboro cigarettes for most of his life, Winfield died at the age of 85 on January 12, 2015, in Riverton, Wyoming, a fitting resting place for a longtime cowboy. Though other Marlboro Men would later die due to smoking-related illnesses, Winfield's cause of death was unknown. One thing's for sure, he remained a Marlboro Man until he died.

Generally known as a child star in the 1930s and '40s, Jane Withers eventually graduated to playing Josephine the Plumber, a cousin of sorts to Mr. Clean who pushed the Comet cleanser on television. For about a decade in the 1960s and '70s, Withers was instantly recognizable as Josephine, a role she landed the same year she earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. When she wasn't selling Comet to unsuspecting viewers, Withers had quite the career. 

Having gone from a child star opposite Shirley Temple to landing a role in "Giant," she continued working into the 21st century, with animated roles at Disney. Surrounded by loved ones, Withers died on August 7, 2021 at her home in Burbank at the age of 95. "She lit up a room with her laughter, but she especially radiated joy and thankfulness when talking about the career she so loved and how lucky she was," Withers' daughter Kendall Errair expressed afterward (via Deadline). Talk about a really special lady.