Actors In Will Ferrell Movies You May Not Know Passed Away

Will Ferrell was part of an especially stacked cast of future stars during his time on "Saturday Night Live," making the fact that he managed to become a standout performer during his tenure on the show all the more impressive. Though it would take a couple of years before he began headlining films in the early 2000s, a foothold in Hollywood came pretty quickly into his "SNL" run via breakout supporting roles, especially in the first two "Austin Powers" movies as the fez-wearing Dr. Evil henchman Mustafa.

Now a well-established Hollywood star, Ferrell has racked up a long list of co-stars over the years. Unfortunately, that also means that a growing number of them have taken their final bows. From industry veterans who were in their golden years by the time they crossed paths with Ferrell to those who were just getting started in Hollywood, these actors from Will Ferrell movies are no longer with us.

Will Ferrell has always been generous as a performer, someone who is more than willing to share the spotlight and feed jokes to others. That generosity has also extended to Ferrell the screenwriter, particularly when it comes to the ensemble comedies he's co-written with Adam McKay. Even with so many talented and seasoned performers on screen at any given time, everyone in a scene is always given plenty to do and never feels like an afterthought. A perfect example of this are Ricky Bobby's wayward sons in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," hilariously played by Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell.

While Grayson Russell went on to star in other film and television projects, "Talladega Nights" would be Houston Tumlin's only acting credit — he died by suicide in 2021, aged 28. According to his mother, he had depression and PTSD related to his time in the military. Michelle Tumlin told TMZ that her son served in the U.S. Army for almost six years and earned several medals during that time, including a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. "My beautiful boy brought joy to everyone he encountered and made them feel special," she said. "Houston fought his battle for years, and we will continue to fight for him."

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When Ray Stevenson died in May 2023 aged just 58, much of the attention was on his role in the Disney+ "Star Wars" series "Ahsoka," in which he played the villainous Baylan Skoll. The show's star, Rosario Dawson, called him a "giant of a man" with an "every ready and present smile" in a tribute Instagram post, and a dedication to the late actor, reading "For our friend, Ray," was placed before the credits of the first episode. Fans of the actor were also quick to point out that he played the titular role in 2008's underrated "Punisher: War Zone." What didn't get quite as much attention in career retrospectives is that Stevenson also did comedy — and he was pretty great at it, to boot.

A perfect example is his appearance in the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg buddy cop comedy "The Other Guys," in which Stevenson plays questionable security agent Roger Wesley. Arguably the best line in the movie that doesn't come from Ferrell is this gem delivered by Stevenson: "There are three things I love in this world: Kylie Minogue, small dimples just above a woman's buttocks, and the fear in a man's eye who knows I'm about to hurt him." Stevenson, who was born in Northern Ireland, was also known for his work in TV shows such as "Rome," "Vikings," and "Dexter."

James Caan's Walter Hobbs initially comes across as the de facto Scrooge character in "Elf," but when Walter finally finds his Christmas spirit near the end of the film, another, even bigger miser rises to the occasion — his boss, Fulton Greenway, who owns the children's book publishing company that Walter eventually quits. Mr. Greenway was played by Michael Lerner, who had carved out something of a niche for playing intimidating men in positions of power via movies like "Barton Fink," "Eight Men Out," "No Escape," and "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

That said, Lerner could also do friendly — though still often with a tinge of grumpiness. He exhibited that side when he took on the role of Mel Horowitz in the first season of the 1995 sitcom adaptation of "Clueless," with Dan Hedaya not reprising the role from the movie. Lerner's final film role saw him portray pioneering Hollywood producer Louis B. Mayer in a 2022 Russian flick called "First Oscar." He died in April 2023 at the age of 81, as confirmed by his nephew, actor Sam Lerner. "It's hard to put into words how brilliant my uncle Michael was, and how influential he was to me," he said in an Instagram post. "His stories always inspired me and made me fall in love with acting."

It isn't just "Saturday Night Live" characters and properties that Will Ferrell has brought to the big screen: He has also starred in film adaptations of television shows he hasn't been part of, including the 2005 big screen version of "Bewitched." Taking a meta approach, the film sees Ferrell play an actor named Jack Wyatt who has been cast in a remake of the fantasy sitcom of the same name. Hijinks ensue when the woman who is chosen to play Samantha is revealed to have actual magical powers. The line between the movie and the original series is further blurred with the introduction of characters from the show (which ran between 1964 and 1972), now playing "real" people within the movie's universe.

One example of this is the character of Aunt Clara. She's the aunt of Samantha in the original series, but in the film, she's the aunt of Samantha's actor, Isabel (Nicole Kidman). In the movie, Aunt Clara is played by veteran actor Carole Shelley, who wasn't on the TV show but was an active performer during that time. Known for her work both on the screen and the stage, she made her Broadway debut as one of the Pigeon sisters in Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" (a role she reprised both on TV and in film), and she won a Tony for her performance in "The Elephant Man" in 1979. She died in August 2018 at the age of 79.

This one probably won't come as much of a shock given the apparent age of the character Joseph "Blue" Pulaski in 2003's "Old School." Blue, one of the members of the ragtag fraternity set up by Will Ferrell's character and his two buddies in this comedy hit, was played by character actor Patrick Cranshaw, who was in over 100 movies and television shows going back to 1950. The Todd Phillips-directed movie (which stars Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn alongside Ferrell) sees three middle-aged men start a fraternity so one of them can keep their house, which is located on campus grounds.

It's not a particularly cool fraternity, which is why guys who aren't typical frat material join up. The founders apparently don't put an age restriction on eligible candidates, either, given the very elderly Blue's admittance to the group. Ferrell's Frank "The Tank" Ricard takes a particular shine to Blue, and the old timer's death hits him harder than anyone else — Blue's heart gives out during an especially raunchy party. As for Cranshaw, he would live for another two years, passing away at 86 in 2005. He worked on six more movies in that time, and he appeared in episodes of "Monk" and "7th Heaven."

For a time, it seemed like "Saturday Night Live" cast members could count on starring in "SNL" movies to help them transition from the small to the big screen. But, by the mid-1990s, bombs like "It's Pat" and "Stuart Saves His Family" had taken the high standard set by "The Blues Brothers" and "Wayne's World" and sent it plummeting into the dirt. Things didn't get much better with "A Night at the Roxbury" and "Superstar" later in the decade, which marked Will Ferrell's first two "SNL" movie outings. Some consider 2000's "The Ladies Man" a step up from those two, though not by much.

However, as is the case for even the worst "SNL" movies, much of the cast give it their all in "The Ladies Man," including Ferrell as the hapless, wealthy husband Lance DeLune, who is constantly challenging men to wrestle with him. That also extends to non-"SNL" alum, with veteran actor and comedian John Witherspoon at his scene-stealing, one-liner-delivering best as Scrap Iron. With over 80 screen credits to his name, it's impossible to narrow Witherspoon's career down to just a few things, but the "Friday" film series plus his roles in "The Wayans Bros." and "The Boondocks" are definite contenders. Witherspoon died of a heart attack in 2019 at the age of 77.