Actors Who Have Died In 2025

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Actors are some of the most beloved celebrities in popular culture, which is why it somehow hits harder when one of them dies. While any death is a tragedy, losing a public figure whose work onscreen has been enjoyed for years is often devastating to millions of fans around the world. Despite most fans never having the opportunity to meet them, it's not uncommon for people to mourn an actor's passing. 

Sadly, actors do succumb to the same illnesses, accidents, and age-related causes of death that can impact anyone. Still, it's difficult to come to terms with a famous actor's demise because, while the people closest to them certainly feel their passing the hardest, the people who love their work may feel like they know the person as well. There's also a sadness in knowing that whether it's Michelle Trachtenberg or Gene Hackman, they'll never appear in anything new again. Even in the case of someone who's already retired from acting, knowing they're gone makes their body of work all the more important to the people who adored them. 

Many actors, some famous, some not so well-known, and one or two who were nothing less than giants in the field, have died in 2025. Many of their deaths were unexpected. Here's every actor who's died in 2025 so far.

After catching the acting bug early, Leslie Charleson landed a role on the soap opera "A Flame in the Wind," but it wouldn't be her last. Charleson found her way to "As the World Turns," and followed this performance in a plethora of popular programs throughout the 1960s and '70s. Still, despite all of her work in various television series, she's probably best remembered for playing Monica Quartermaine in "General Hospital."

When she joined the cast, the show was on the decline, but she helped turn it around. Charleson had the opportunity to be one of those actors who played the same character for decades, and throughout her time in "General Hospital," she received numerous high-profile award nominations for her work. Of course, that wasn't the only program to feature Charleson, whose career spanned nearly 60 years and included guest starring roles on "Happy Days," "The Rockford Files," "Dharma and Greg," and "Friends."

Charleson died on January 12, 2025, at the age of 79. Prior to her passing, she experienced several falls, limiting her mobility and requiring hospitalization. In one of these incidents, she sustained blunt head trauma, with her cause of death listed as such. The "General Hospital" Instagram announced her passing the day she died, paying tribute to her nearly 50-year run on the show.

Tony Slattery's impressive acting career kicked off in the early 1980s, when he joined his friend and fellow actor, Stephen Fry, in the University of Cambridge's Cambridge Footlights, the university's popular sketch comedy troupe. Other notable members included Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, and many more. From there, Slattery launched his career in television, where he landed many popular roles.

He's probably best known for his brilliant improvisational skills displayed on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Slattery worked as a series regular for many years, which helped him find employment in other areas of the entertainment industry. Outside of comedy, Slattery landed roles in several notable dramas, including "The Crying Game," "To Die For," and many others.

Slattery had several mental and physical health issues, including bipolar disorder and a dangerous cocaine addiction that derailed his life and career at times. He got his life back together with the help of his friends, and Fry documented his journey in "Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive." Slattery died on January 14, 2025, at the age of 65, two days after having a heart attack. His longtime friend, Fry, gave him a lovely tribute on the BBC's obituary series, "Last Word."

Before becoming more of a TV personality, Paul Danan first appeared the British television series "Hollyoaks." While he continued to act in a variety of television programs, he also delved into reality TV, becoming a contestant during the first season of "Celebrity Love Island." He returned for the second season and found his way to "Celebrity Big Brother" years later.

Throughout most of his career, Danan didn't play anyone other than himself, appearing in programs like "Celebrity Coach Trip" and "Farage," which was his last appearance before his untimely death. Danan dealt with various addictions to a variety of legal and illegal substances, revealing he'd been to rehab over 10 times by 2022.

As a result, Danan's health declined, and he nearly died from respiratory failure in mid-2024. He survived, but on January 15, 2025, Danan died at the age of 46. Soon after his passing, The Daily Mail reported initially that Danan died following a slip and fall in his apartment, but it turns out that Danan did in fact succumb to what the BBC described as a "cocktail of drugs" that included heroin, cocaine, methadone, sleeping pills, and pain medication.

Dame Joan Plowright began her acting career on the stage in South London in the 1940s. While she continued to work in theater throughout her life, she didn't remain there. Her feature film debut came in 1956's "Moby Dick," and she worked alongside the venerated Laurence Olivier, whom she eventually married. Plowright was one of the most distinguished actors of her generation, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for her work.

Plowright acted in feature films of all genres, including animated movies like "Curious George" and "Dinosaur" and live-action efforts such as "Dance with Me" and "Enchanted April," for which she earned an Academy Award nomination. Plowright was a working actor for more than 60 years, with a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and many others among her numerous accolades.

Plowright retired from acting in 2014 due to macular degeneration but returned once more in 2018's "Nothing Like a Dame" documentary. She died on January 16, 2025, at the age of 95. Plowright's family confirmed her death in a statement, writing (via Entertainment Weekly), "She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theater, film, and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire."

Bob Uecker wasn't a typical actor: he started out as a professional baseball player with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956. He played for numerous teams before retiring from the game to serve as the play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers — a job he held for 54 seasons. "Mr. Baseball," as he was called, began acting in the 1980s, having joined the cast of "Mr. Belvedere."

Uecker also played versions of himself in several television series and films, notably calling the games in the two "Major League" movies, though his character went by the name Harry Doyle. He continued acting into the 21st century but primarily switched to voiceover work, finding gigs on shows like "Futurama," "Teen Titans Go!," and "Monsters at Work," which was his last credited acting role.

Uecker began receiving treatment for small cell lung cancer in 2023, but his family kept this information private until his passing on January 16, 2025, at the age of 90. The Milwaukee Brewers mourned his passing on social media and shared his family's announcement of Uecker's death on X (formerly Twitter), in which they wrote that his "humor and voice transcended the game, but to us, he was so much more."

Raised in Montana, Spanish actor Francisco San Martin launched his professional acting career on the set of "Days of Our Lives" in 2010. He appeared in 59 episodes, playing both Dario Hernandez and Javier Rodriguez. San Martin kept his soap skills honed, finding work on "The Bold and the Beautiful" and the American telenovela satire "Jane the Virgin," where he played a character named Fabian in seven episodes.

In 2016, San Martin appeared on "Afterbuzz TV" to speak about his time on "Days of Our Lives," explaining his love for the show: "I grew up watching 'Days,' which was crazy. When I was living in Montana when I was a kid from the age of 5 to 13, I would watch 'Days' all the time. ... I got such a kick out of it. I was pretty young. I would watch it every time I got back from school."

This left the young actor starstruck for most of his time working on the show alongside many of his childhood idols. San Martin continued working as an actor, with his most recent credit being the short film "Dot" in 2022. He died by suicide on January 16, 2025, at the age of 39.

Jan Shepard was a prolific character actor who launched her career in the early 1950s. Much of her work was in various series on the small screen, primarily in single-episode walk-on roles. While most of her appearances on shows like "Perry Mason," "Rawhide," and "Bonanza" consisted of fewer than three episodes, she was a regular on the daytime soap opera "The Clear Horizon," appearing in over 250 episodes between 1960 and 1962.

Westerns — some two dozen of them — took up much of Shepard's career. But she also worked with many notable performers, including two films with Elvis Presley, and she also turned up in B-movies like "Attack of the Giant Leeches" and others. Shepard retired from acting in the early 1970s, having appeared in nearly 90 projects throughout her career. Her last credited role was as Claire Amazeen in a single episode of "The Rookies."

Shepard married fellow actor Ray Boyle in 1954, having worked together on "Death Valley Days," and they remained together until his death in 2022. On January 17, 2025, Shepard died from pneumonia brought on by respiratory failure; she was 96. Her son, prop master Brandon Boyle, told The Hollywood Reporter, "She was a good one and will be dearly missed."

Long before she began acting, Marianne Faithfull was one of the U.K.'s most celebrated singers. Her song "As Tears Go By" made her a leading female artist in the United States during the so-called "British Invasion" of the 1960s. Throughout her singing career, Faithfull released numerous hit songs and albums, earning a Grammy nomination for her 1979 album "Broken English."

Faithfull made the jump to acting in the 1960s, appearing in various TV movies, television series, and feature films. She played Ophelia in "Hamlet" in 1969 and also worked in the theater well into the 2000s. Faithfull popped up in all manner of movies over the years, including "Marie Antoinette," "The Girl from Nagasaki," and "Dune: Part One," where she lent her voice to the Bene Gesserit ancestors.

Faithfull continued voice acting, with her final credit as the narrator in 2023's "Wild Summon." She died on January 30, 2025, at the age of 78, following many years of ill health brought on by substance abuse, heavy smoking, and other issues. She survived breast cancer and emphysema and nearly died from COVID-19 in 2020, but lived another five years after that. Her cause of death was not made public.

Lee Joo-Sil was a South Korean actress best known in her native country, but the world met her through "Squid Game," where she played the mother of police officer Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon). Still, that was only one credit in a long career that began in the theater in 1965, when Lee appeared in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," among others.

Lee was also a frequent player in various K-dramas, including "Someday," "Loving You a Thousand Times," and many others. Of course, she wasn't limited to television and worked in a number of popular films, including "Train to Busan," "Commitment," and "Black House." "Squid Game" was the final credited role of Lee's 60-year career.

Breast cancer nearly cost Joo-Sil her life in the 1990s, but she survived and continued acting until she was diagnosed in 2024 with stomach cancer, which is what ultimately took her life. Joo-Sil died at her family home on February 2, 2025, at the age of 81. She'd been diagnosed only three months prior to her passing.

If you've ever seen some of director Woody Allen's greatest movies from the 1960s and '70s, it's likely that you're familiar with Tony Roberts. He was a frequent collaborator with Allen, appearing in six of his films, including "Annie Hall" and "Stardust Memories." Roberts began his professional acting career in the early 1960s, appearing in various television series before transitioning to film in 1971's "The Million Dollar Duck."

Not long after, he found his way to Allen's attention, appearing in both the Broadway production and film version of the writer-director's "Play It Again, Sam." In addition to his work with Allen, Roberts also scored roles in "Serpico" and "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three." A frequent guest star on TV and performer on the New York stage, earning two Tony nominations, Roberts was also in demand for voiceover work, lending his voice to the 1994 audiobook productions of the original "Star Wars" trilogy.

Roberts worked sporadically in the 2000s and 2010s, appearing in a handful of movies and television series, with the 2017 TV movie remake of "Dirty Dancing" listed as his last credited appearance. Roberts died from lung cancer on February 7, 2025, at the age of 85.

Peter "Navy" Tuiasosopo began his career as a professional football player. He played center for Utah State before making the move in 1987 to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams. His football career was brief, lasting only two years, but he then managed to find work in the entertainment industry. Tuiasosopo first appeared in the 1991 football comedy "Necessary Roughness."

From there, Tuiasosopo popped up in everything from "Street Fighter" and "Charlie's Angels" to "New Girl" and "Ray Donovan." He also found his way onto a number of high-profile movie sets, including "The Scorpion King," "Austin Powers in Goldmember," "The Fast and the Furious," and many more. Throughout the 21st century, most of Tuiasosopo's work was on television, and his last credit came in a 2021 episode of "Magnum P.I."

On February 10, 2025, Tuiasosopo died from heart complications at the age of 61. His son, Manoah, shared the news of his father's passing on Facebook, writing, "With a heavy heart, my family and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Our father, Peter N. Tuiasosopo, passed away this morning. ... My dad lived an amazing life, and in no way does his impact stop there."

Sometimes, actors appear in dozens of films and series without anyone knowing their names, and this applies to Biff Wiff. He began his acting career in 1986 and didn't conduct a single interview until 2021. Despite this, Wiff had appeared in over 60 television series and feature films, most often playing minor roles, though he played Santa Claus numerous times during his career.

Wiff's first interview came as a result of his work on "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson," where he played Santa and other characters. Wiff also appeared in a handful of episodes of the new "Night Court," having played a different character in one episode of the original series. His credits include single appearances on a multitude of shows like "Roseanne," "Roswell," and "Desperate Housewives."

More recently, Wiff landed work in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and continued acting well into 2024. Wiff had been diagnosed with cancer and began treatment the previous year, and his friends set up a GoFundMe on his behalf. On February 12, 2025, Wiff died from the disease at age 76. His friends, management agency, and co-stars shared tributes about Wiff after his passing.

Kim Sae-ron began her career as a child model before transitioning into acting via 2009's "A Brand New Life" at the age of nine. She continued acting, primarily appearing in popular K-dramas and feature films. Some of her best-known work in the movies included "The Man from Nowhere" and "A Girl at My Door," but television was where she spent most of her career.

Some of the more notable K-dramas Kim performed in were "Leverage," "Glamorous Temptation," and "Bloodhounds," which was her final credit. In 2022, Kim's career was effectively destroyed when she crashed her car while under the influence of alcohol, resulting in a conviction and a fine of 20 million won (around $14,000). As a result, Kim was dropped from "Bloodhounds" and unable to find additional work in South Korea. 

Kim was ostracized online and became the subject of harassment, a known issue in South Korea which took an emotional toll on the actor. Without acting work available to her, she worked at a cafe and largely faded from the public eye. She reportedly changed her name to Kim Ah-im and was planning on opening a business while attempting to return to working as an actor, but instead died by suicide at the age of 24 on February 16, 2025.

A good character actor is someone who can disappear into just about any role and leave the audience none the wiser. This was certainly true of Peter Jason, who played a myriad of different characters throughout his six-decade career. Jason often played authority figures, whether they were in members of the military or in law enforcement, and throughout his time as an actor, he appeared in more than 160 feature films.

While movies made up most of Jason's work, he wasn't shy about the small screen and popped up in nearly 100 different series. Some of his more noteworthy performances came in films like "48 Hrs.," "Mortal Kombat," and "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." In television, he showed up in a variety of programs, including "Deadwood," "NCIS," "Longmire," and many others.

Jason died of cancer on February 20, 2025, at the age of 80. His passing was followed by tributes from his many friends and collaborators, including director John Carpenter, whom he had worked with many times over the years. Billy Zane wrote on Instagram that his "dear friend, the brightest light, most generous soul, and gregarious of men, the supremely talented and kind Peter Jason has left the set."

Alice Hirson began working in the theater before moving to film and television, where she spent most of her career. While she had many roles throughout her 70-year career, Hirson is probably best known for playing Mavis Anderson on "Dallas" for several years in the 1980s. Another notable TV role was that of Ellen DeGeneres' mom, Lois, on "Ellen."

Hirson also found work in feature films, including roles in "Blind Date," "Private Benjamin," "Revenge of the Nerds," and a number of TV movies. She also did a lot of work in video games, providing the voice for several characters in "Murdered: Soul Suspect" and "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim." But Hirson's career still included numerous theater productions, including three performances on Broadway.

Hirson retired from acting in 2021, ending her career with nearly 90 film and television credits to her name. On February 14, 2025, she died of natural causes at the age of 95. Her son, Broadway playwright David Hirson, said that his mother primarily defined herself as a stage actor, adding that he was impressed by her ability to raise a family while pursuing a full-time profession that often involved long hours on set.

Few actors enjoy the variety of roles Lynne Marie Stewart played throughout her six-decade career. She's probably best known for playing Miss Yvonne, "The Most Beautiful Woman in Puppetland," on the hit TV series "Pee-wee's Playhouse," though she first played the character on "The Pee-wee Herman Show." 

Of course, she didn't limit herself to children's television during her robust film and TV career, which began in the 1970s and included parts in movies and shows like "The Running Man," "American Graffiti," and the "M*A*S*H" television series. Other popular shows she guested on included "Laverne and Shirley," "The Golden Girls," and "Night Court." These days, she's probably best known for playing Bonnie Kelly, Charlie's (Charlie Day) mom on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Stewart was also heavily involved in the Make-a-Wish Foundation, alongside her longtime friend and collaborator Paul Reubens. She died of cancer on February 21, 2025 at the age of 78, a month after her diagnosis found it had spread near her liver and gall bladder . After her passing, Day posted a tribute on Instagram: "The brilliant and talented Lynne Marie Stewart. Rest in peace. Thank you for all the years of laughter."

Michelle Trachtenberg began working in Hollywood as a child actor, first appearing in the Nickelodeon series "The Adventures of Pete and Pete." She remained on the show for two years before landing the lead in her breakout film, "Harriet the Spy." Trachtenberg continued working with Nickelodeon for several years, establishing herself as a prominent child actor before transitioning to more mature content.

She gained new fame on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer, " playing Dawn Summers, the younger sister of Sarah Michelle Gellar's titular lead. Trachtenberg then appeared in the comedy "EuroTrip" and the hit CW series "Gossip Girl" as Georgina Sparks, a recurring role which she held for several years. She also landed various film roles throughout her early 20s, including parts in "Ice Princess," "17 Again," and many others.

After making fewer appearances into the 2010s and beyond, while still maintaining a presence on social media, Trachtenberg died on February 26, 2025, at the age of 39. While her cause of death hasn't been reported and likely won't, as her family objected to an autopsy, she reportedly underwent a liver transplant not long before her passing, complications from which may have contributed to her death.

Not many actors have the level of success and widespread respect that Gene Hackman enjoyed throughout most of his life and career. Hackman began acting professionally in the 1960s after a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps and a few years at the University of Illinois. He started out on the small screen in various television series before landing his first movie role in 1964's "Lilith," spending almost all of his career after that in films.

Hackman's filmography spanned five decades and included several cinema classics, with some of his more prominent roles coming in "Bonnie and Clyde," "The French Connection," "The Conversation," "The Poseidon Adventure," "Superman," "Hoosiers," "Unforgiven," and "The Royal Tenenbaums." Hackman was a prolific screen presence, often appearing in multiple films per year, until he retired in 2004 due to health reasons.

Hackman received numerous awards and nominations, winning two Academy Awards for his work in "Unforgiven" and "The French Connection." He died on or around February 18, 2025, at the age of 95, with the bodies of both him and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, discovered at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on February 26. The circumstances were initially deemed suspicious by local authorities, but investigators determined that Arakawa died from hantavirus — a rare respiratory infection spread from rodent droppings — on or around February 11, while Hackman, who suffered from heart problems, succumbed to cardiac failure a week later. Hackman — who was also in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease — may not have been aware that his wife had died before he passed away.

David Johansen began his career not as an actor but as a singer and songwriter in the legendary but short-lived New York glam rock band the New York Dolls. A performer since the 1960s, Johansen later reinvented himself as Buster Poindexter, creating music in multiple genres and landing a spot in the house band on "Saturday Night Live." He made his way into acting in 1985 via a walk-on role in an episode of "Miami Vice."

Johansen wasn't a prolific actor compared to some transplants from the music industry, but he managed to secure roles in a number of television series and movies. He's probably best known for playing the Ghost of Christmas Past in 1988's "Scrooged," but he continued acting long after that, appearing in a variety of films, TV shows, and shorts for decades.

Johansen had to end his musical career in 2020, following a diagnosis of stage four cancer coupled with a brain tumor. Despite his prognosis, he survived for several years, though his health declined during that time. In November 2024, he broke his back, with his daughter launching a fundraiser to help pay for his treatment. Johansen died from cancer on February 28, 2025, at the age of 75.

While some fans may not recognize his face, plenty adored the work of George Lowe, a prolific voice actor and comedian who began his career in the 1980s. His first credited role is also the one for which he's best known: playing Space Ghost in "Cartoon Planet." That's a role he returned to numerous times throughout his career, in "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" and several more animated series and video games.

Of course, Lowe didn't limit his performances to a single character, acting in a variety of television series and portraying multiple characters in shows like "Robot Chicken" and "American Dad!" Lowe was also a frequent guest at conventions and would meet with his fans, signing autographs and taking photos at events all over the U.S..

Lowe died on March 2, 2025, at the age of 67. He'd been away from social media for about a year before his death. His longtime friend, Marvin Boone, posted a tribute on Facebook: "I'm beyond devastated. My Zobanian brother and best friend for over 40 years, George Lowe, has passed away after a long illness. He was a supremely talented artist and voice actor."

On April 1, 2025, actor Val Kilmer's family revealed that the blockbuster actor passed away from pneumonia, according to his daughter Mercedes (via Variety). Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but did ultimately make a recovery, was 65 at the time of his death.

Throughout his career, Kilmer played everyone from the Caped Crusader (in "Batman Forever" in 1995, succeeding Michael Keaton and preceding George Clooney) to Jim Morrison (in Oliver Stone's 1991 biopic "The Doors") to Iceman in "Top Gun" alongside Tom Cruise. Kilmer reprised his role in 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick," which employed voice synthesis and artificial intelligence to recreate Kilmer's voice (after his bout with throat cancer, the star had trouble speaking naturally). Kilmer also appeared in huge films like "True Romance," "Tombstone," "Heat," "Pollock," "Alexander," and many more, leaving an indelible mark on Hollywood with his daring performances spanning a wide variety of movies.

"Top Gun: Maverick" now marks the star's final on-screen appearance before his death, and considering that the movie sees his character, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, reuniting with his rival turned friend Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, it's a touching and fitting conclusion to his amazing career.

On March 21, it was announced that Jan Schwieterman, who was likely best known for his supporting role in the 1997 Nickelodeon flick "Good Burger," passed away at the age of 52; according to The Hollywood Reporter, his family broke the news and also revealed that Schwieterman had previously been diagnosed with cancer. Who did Schwieterman play in "Good Burger," the movie based on a sketch from Nickelodeon's all-kids variety show "All That?" He portrayed Kurt Bozwell, the irritating owner and manager of Mondo Burgers, the main rival to the titular Good Burger and a major antagonist for cashiers Dexter (Kenan Thompson) and Ed (Kel Mitchell).

Aside from "Good Burger," Schwieterman appeared in a multi-episode arc on "Felicity" and on shows like "McKenna" and "ER." At the time of his death, his last screen credit was a 2007 film titled "Along the Way."

The Associated Press, among other outlets, reported on March 6 that Pamela Bach, the former wife of "Baywatch" star David Hasselhoff, passed away at 62 years old. Bach and Hasselhoff were married from 1989 to 2006 — in fact, they worked on "Baywatch" together back in the day — and during that time, Bach also worked on the Canadian series "Sirens" and appeared on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless." In 2011, Bach also competed on "Celebrity Big Brother" in the United Kingdom and was the second person evicted from the house.

Authorities in Los Angeles ruled that Bach died by suicide at her home, but the precise cause of death was not revealed. On X (formerly known as Twitter), her ex-husband Hasselhoff wrote, "Our family is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Pamela Hasselhoff. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support during this difficult period but kindly request privacy as we grieve and navigate through this challenging time."

You might only know the late actor Clive Revill from his voice role in "The Empire Strikes Back" — he voices Emperor Palpatine, even though the villain is played by Elaine Baker onscreen — but that's seriously shortchanging Revill, because he had an incredible and storied career. Revill, who died at the age of 94 on March 11 — according to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor was diagnosed with dementia and passed away while living at a care facility in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles — was actually once handpicked to be an actor by Sir Laurence Olivier himself. Revill appeared in a project alongside Olivier, the 1965 drama "Bunny Lake Is Missing," directed by Otto Preminger, as well as a film with Warren Beatty (the 1966 film "Kaleidoscope," directed by Jack Smight).

Revill also appeared in films like "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" and TV shows like "Murphy Brown" throughout his long and storied career. His final appearance came in 2016 in the film "The Queen of Spain," which stars Penélope Cruz, Cary Elwes, and Mandy Patinkin.

Bruce Glover may have passed away on March 12, but his legacy is secure — because his son Crispin Glover is also a massively successful actor. In fact, the younger Glover was the one to break the news about his father's passing, which he did with an Instagram post. A cause of death wasn't revealed, but the elder Glover was 92 at the time of his passing.

Glover famously played the villain and assassin Mr. Wint in the "James Bond" installment "Diamonds Are Forever" in 1971, and he also appeared in classic films like "Chinatown," "Hard Times," and "Walking Tall." He also showed up in "Ghost World" in 2001 — as a random guy named Feldman — and he worked on TV shows like "The Mod Squad," "Gunsmoke," and "The Dukes of Hazzard."

On March 15, news broke via outlets like Variety that Wings Hauser, an actor most known for his character work who appeared in well over 100 productions throughout his career, passed away at the age of 78. (His cause of death was deemed natural, according to his widow Cali Lili Hauser.) He was so prolific, in fact, that Entertainment Weekly once referred to him as "the biggest star you've never heard of." So where did you see Hauser on the big and small screen?

Hauser appeared in the 1987 film "Tough Guys Don't Dance," which netted him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his performance, and also popped up in projects like "Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time" in 1991 and "The Stone Angel" in 2007. His television credits include episodes of "Magnum, P.I.," "Murder, She Wrote," "Roseanne," "Beverly Hills 90210," "House," "Bones," and "Criminal Minds." His son, Cole Hauser, is also an actor you may have seen as Rip Wheeler on "Yellowstone."

After Denis Arndt passed away at the age of 86 on March 25 — peacefully and at his home in Oregon — his family published a touching obituary one day later (via People). "He carried his brilliance, passion and dedication into his second career as an actor, both on stage and on screen," his family said. "[Arndt] lived his life as a full and generous performance, known for his incredible wit, charm, rebel spirit, irreverence, sense of humor, grittiness and passion for his art," his family added. "His legacy, both on and off stage, will live on in the hearts of family, friends and community members."

A military pilot turned actor, Arndt led the 2015 play "Heisenberg" on and off Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for best actor in a play. He also played Lieutenant Phillip Walker in "Basic Instinct" — interrogating Sharon Stone's Catherine Tramell in the movie's most memorable scene — and appeared on TV shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "Supernatural," and "The Good Fight."

In 2024, the reimagined series "Shōgun" made serious waves — and earned trophies at the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards — and though Cosmo Jarvis plays the outsider in this Hulu original, Richard Chamberlain first played the character of John Blackthorne in the 1980 miniseries, also titled "Shōgun" (as both are based on James Clavell's 1975 novel). Chamberlain also appeared in shows like "Gunsmoke," played Jason Bourne in a television adaptation of "The Bourne Identity," showed up on series like "Nip/Tuck," "Will & Grace," and "Desperate Housewives," and played a recurring role on "Brothers & Sisters" during its 5th season. Alongside ""Shōgun," Chamberlain also played a lead role on the miniseries "The Thorn Birds" in 1996.

News broke on March 30 that Chamberlain passed away one day prior at the age of 90, according to Today.com, and was survived by his longtime partner Martin Rabbitt. The two were living in Hawai'i when Chamberlain suffered complications from a stroke. 

On March 31, actress Sian Barbara Allen passed away at her home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina — according to People — due to complications from Alzheimer's. As the outlet reported, her obituary revealed that Allen "lived her final year of life in North Carolina, surrounded by all of her favorite things, new friends, and more time with [her daughter] Emily than she'd had in 35 years." Allen was 78 years old at the time of her death.

Allen was best known for her TV roles, including her turn as Jenny Pendleton on "The Waltons," "Gunsmoke," "Ironside," "Columbo," and "Marcus Welby, M.D." Even though she worked extensively on the small screen, Allen only appeared in two feature films during her career: "You'll Like My Mother" in 1972 (which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for new star of the year) and "Billy Two Hats" in 1974.

After getting his start in showbusiness as part of Chicago's famed Second City comedy troupe, George Wendt had a few small film and television roles in the 1970s and early '80s. But it was when Wendt was cast as barfly Norm Peterson on iconic sitcom "Cheers" that he truly became a household name and cemented his comedy legacy. Norm is one of only three "Cheers" characters to appear in every episode of the show, and Wendt would play Norm in various "Cheers" spin-offs over the years.

Wendt was also a frequent "Saturday Night Live" host and guest star, most famously as part of the recurring Bill Swerski's Superfans sketches. In addition to continuing to do movie and TV work, Wendt also starred in several Broadway productions throughout his long career, including "Elf," "Hairspray," and "Breakfast at Tiffany's." The actor passed away in his sleep at age 76 on May 20, 2025.

Wendt's nephew, "SNL" alum and "Ted Lasso" star Jason Sudeikis, appeared at a fundraiser a little over a week after his uncle's passing. He gushed about Wendt to the crowd, saying, "He's as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films, and he was an incredible influence to me."

While the "M*A*S*H" movie enjoys a cult classic status today, it didn't make a huge splash when it hit cinemas in 1970. However, the "M*A*S*H" series, which ran from 1972 to 1983, was an instant hit and would remain on TV via reruns for decades after it ended. To that end, the majority of people connect the characters from the "M*A*S*H" universe with the actors who played them on the small screen versus the big one, with only one — Radar O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff) — carrying over between the two. And so when you ask someone to picture Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, there's a pretty good chance they'll picture actor Loretta Swit in the role.

Though Swit continued acting regularly well into the 1990s, Hot Lips remains her most famous role. It is also her most acclaimed, with the actor winning two Primetime Emmy awards for her work as Houlihan from an impressive ten nominations. Outside of acting, Swit was passionate about animal rights and activism, which was the focal point of her personal website. In May 2025, she joined the ever-growing list of "M*A*S*H" actors who have passed away when she died at her home of natural causes. She was 87 years old. 

Jonathan Joss began his acting career in 1994, quickly racking up several credits in both film and television. His first significant role was a six-episode stint on "Walker, Texas Ranger" where he played the character Young Raymond Firewalker. Soon after that, the Texas-born actor landed a voice role that would come to define his career — he played John Redcorn between Season 2 and Season 13 of "King of the Hill." Joss would use that newfound voice actor cred to also play roles in the cartoons "The Wild Thornberrys" and "Justice League Unlimited," and later in video games like "Red Dead Redemption," "Wasteland 3," and "Cyberpunk 2077."

In 2011, Joss landed his most well-known on-screen role, appearing as the character Ken Hotate across multiple episodes of the sitcom "Parks and Recreation." Sadly, the work that Joss did to reprise the role of John Redcorn for the 2025 "King of the Hill" revival would be released posthumously. In June 2025, Joss was shot and killed by a neighbor. He was 59 years old. His husband claims the shooting was a hate crime, while the alleged murderer claims that he acted in self defense. Here's how the "King of the Hill" revival paid tribute to Joss.

The line, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV," feels like one of those jokes that has been around forever. But, in fact, it has very distinct origins, and can be attributed to a specific person. It was first spoken by actor Chris Robinson during a 1984 commercial for cough syrup, referencing the fact that Robinson played Dr. Rick Webber on the long-running soap opera "General Hospital." After leaving "General Hospital" in 1986, Robinson continued in the world of soap operas for the next 20 years, not only appearing in "Another World" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" but also briefly returning to "General Hospital" in 2002 just to see his character killed off.

Robinson spent a large chunk of the money he made during his acting career on Beanie Babies. It became the subject of a 2013 documentary by Robinson's son, who said his father spent over $100,000 on the collectibles but didn't cash out before the Beanie Babies craze died. The value of the plushies plummeted and the family suffered financial hardships as a result. Robinson added a handful of acting credits to his filmography in the 2010s and 2020s, including a 50th anniversary appearance on "General Hospital" as the ghost of Dr. Webber. He died of heart failure on June 9, 2025 at the age of 86. 

You might not know his name, but you've likely seen multiple acting performances by Harris Yulin, unless you simply didn't turn on a television or watch a movie between 1970 and 2025. He made his debut in the dark comedy "End of the Road" and went on to appear in dozens of films over the decades that followed. The Los Angeles native plied his trade in the likes of "Scarface," "Ghostbusters II," "Training Day," "Rush Hour 2," and "Night Moves," to name but a few. 

As far as television goes, Yulin had recurring stints on "Ozark," "24," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," "Billions," and more — to say nothing of the many, many shows he just did a single episode of. In fact, one such one-off was a 1996 episode of "Frasier" for which Yulin was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series. Yulin's final film was the 2024 sci-fi movie "Omni Loop," while he closed out his extensive television career in a 2025 episode of the HBO Max series "And Just Like That." Yulin died of a cardiac arrest in New York in June 2025. He was 87.

The sitcom "Sanford and Son" was groundbreaking during its run in the 1970s, going head-to-head with "The Brady Bunch" in a ratings battle that it ultimately won. Led by comedian Redd Foxx, the show not only had a predominately Black cast at a time when that was still fairly rare, but it was also pioneering in that it didn't focus on a family in the traditional sense. Instead, the two lead characters were a middle-aged widower and his adult son, a dynamic not often explored on television. "Sanford and Son" also starred Lynn Hamilton, who was initially just a girlfriend for Fred Sanford (Foxx) but who would go on to be a fiancée as well as a caretaker across all six seasons of the show.

There's no disputing that it's the role for which Hamilton is most famous, but she was also a recurring character in "The Waltons," in which she played Verdie Foster. She was also a well-known soap opera actor: She played Cissie Johnson in "Dangerous Women," a show about a group of women who spent time behind bars together, and Vivian Potter in NBC's "Generations," appearing in over a hundred episodes of the latter. Hamilton would later hold recurring roles on "Sunset Beach" and "The Practice," and she appeared in several films, including the Jeff Bridges/Kiefer Sutherland thriller "The Vanishing." The actor died of natural causes in June 2025 at the age of 95. 

When looking at the most iconic scene from every Quentin Tarantino movie, there's little competition for which one gets that honor in "Reservoir Dogs." If you know, you know, but suffice it to say that it involves Michael Madsen playing a man known as Mr. Blonde who has a little too much fun with a razor and some gasoline. Madsen had already been kicking around Hollywood for a number of years at that point, but that film still felt like it was announcing his arrival in many ways.

In addition to several more collaborations with Tarantino, Madsen would go on to tick several boxes that are on every actor's wish list. He was in a Bond movie ("Die Another Day"), he worked with Al Pacino ("Donnie Brasco"), and he got his own cameo-heavy vanity project ("Being Michael Madsen"), to name but a few of his many professional accomplishments. Madsen also helped to kick off the modern era of Hollywood actors doing voicework for video games when he played Toni Cipriani in the milestone 2001 release "Grand Theft Auto III."

In July 2025, Madsen was found dead at his home in Malibu after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 67 years old. Tarantino hosted a private memorial celebration for his pal Madsen at a movie theater the following month, with the likes of Sean Penn and Daryl Hannah attending.

Marvel fans will no doubt recognize Julian McMahon as the actor who played Doctor Doom in the 2005 "Fantastic Four" movie and its 2007 sequel. While those movies have their issues, McMahon's performance as the classic comic book villain isn't one of them, with the actor very much understanding the assignment every time he's on the screen. The Sydney-born actor was most well known for being a main cast member on "Nip/Tuck," "Profiler," and the Aussie soap opera "Home and Away."

McMahon was a dual citizen of both the United States and his native Australia, and continued to balance projects in both countries throughout his career. As he once told Australian outlet Female, "I feel like I'm Australian on the inside and American on the outside or something. I would never want to leave it behind either. I love Australians, Australianisms, I love my part of being Australian. I love where I grew up and how I grew up and, you know, I wouldn't change it for the world." The actor died on July 2, 2025 at age 56 from cancer.

Bill Byrge was a character actor who spent nearly the entirety of his career working alongside Ernest P. Worrell, playing the character Bobby in numerous projects. His first role came in 1985's "Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam" as an unnamed gas station attendant. After that, Byrge appeared in "Ernest Saves Christmas," the television series "Hey Vern, It's Ernest!," and three subsequent films in the 1990s.

After the "Ernest" franchise ended with Worrell's passing in 2000, Byrge did little acting, returning to his prior work as a librarian. He appeared in one direct-to-video film, reprising his role as Bobby in "Billy and Bobby the Wacky Duo on Vacation." In the film, Bobby goes on a road trip with Billy, but must learn to drive before that can happen, and various wacky antics ensue.

After this, he popped up in several music videos and theater productions but remained largely absent from popular culture for the past few decades. A respected member of his town of Nashville, Tennessee, Byrge died on January 9, 2025, at the age of 86. His cousin, Sharon Chapman, announced his passing on Facebook.

While Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea was far better known as a wrestler and media personality than as an actor, he certainly tried his hand at acting multiple times throughout his career. What started with a scene-stealing cameo in "Rocky III" led to some smaller roles and attempted star vehicles. After his infamously bad 1989 wrestling movie "No Holds Barred," a fun cameo appearance in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" led Hogan to comedy for a few years with movies like "Suburban Commando," "Mr. Nanny," and "Santa with Muscles." He attempted to break into the action hero space with films like "The Ultimate Weapon," but that never quite panned out for him.

As the years went on, Hogan would wander in and out of acting just as he would come and go from wrestling. He all but abandoned movies going into the 21st century, and on television he eventually settled on just playing himself — or a version of himself — on various TV shows. He also did the reality show rounds with "Hogan Knows Best" and the spin-off "Brooke Knows Best," which followed his daughter. Among all that, he did manage to land a few voice roles: He played antagonist The Terrafirminator in the film "Gnomeo & Juliet," and he held down a main cast role on the Adult Swim series "China, IL," voicing The Dean.

In recent years, various controversies supplanted much of the goodwill Hogan had earned through his decades as an iconic wrestler and public figure, so much so that he was booed when he appeared on WWE's "Raw" for its first episode on Netflix. Hogan died of a heart attack in July 2025 at the age of 71. The WWE honored him with a tribute at SummerSlam the following month, and Florida — where Hogan was living at the time of his death — declared August 1 "Hulk Hogan Day."

It remains one of the best-known sitcoms in TV history, but the legacy of "The Cosby Show" has been significantly tainted by the many controversies involving the show's star and co-creator, Bill Cosby, who has been accused of sexual assault by several women. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Theo Huxtable on the show, said that the accusations were "painful" for everyone involved when they first emerged in 2015, adding, "I can't really speak on any of the allegations because obviously, I was not there." In the years that followed, he remained a steadfast defender of the sitcom itself. "I'm still proud of the legacy and having been a part of such an iconic show that had such a profound impact on — first and foremost, Black culture — but also American culture," he told People in 2023.

Warner had plenty of other noteworthy acting projects after "The Cosby Show" ended. He was one of the leads in "Malcom & Eddie," he starred in the underrated Showtime sci-fi series "Jeremiah," he featured prominently in the medical drama "The Resident," and he had recurring roles on "Community," "Suits," "American Horror Story," "Sons of Anarchy," and "9-1-1," to name a few. Warner also worked behind the camera, directing episodes of "The Cosby Show," "Malcolm & Eddie," "Kenan & Kel," and "All That," among others. In July 2025, Warner died in tragic circumstances: He was on vacation with his family in Costa Rica when he drowned after being caught in a strong current while swimming. He was 54.

Loni Anderson was a thinking person's sex symbol. A statuesque blonde, she gained fame as the smart-but-beautiful Jennifer Marlowe in the sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati," collecting two Emmy nods along the way. She continued playing pretty women who were quick as a whip throughout her career. She even strapped on the shoes of another famous blonde who never got credit for her brainpower, playing Jayne Mansfield in the television movie "The Jayne Mansfield Story." Her Mickey Hargitay was played by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Anderson worked with her former husband Burt Reynolds in a number of projects, including the motorsport action comedy "Stroker Ace" and the beloved animated film "All Dogs Go to Heaven," in which she voiced the long-haired collie Flo. Other notable parts include that of Barbara Butabi, mom of the head-bobbing Butabi brothers in the film version of "A Night at the Roxbury," and no-nonsense hospital administrator Casey McAfee in the "Empty Nest" spin-off "Nurses." Anderson stayed active in Hollywood right through 2023. She passed away at the age of 79 on August 3, 2025 from metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma.

A charming Australian actor who helped light up "General Hospital" during its golden age, Tristan Rogers played Robert Scorpio on the soap opera for a total of 45 years. He got his start in the late 1960s and went on to appear in several exploitation films in the decade that followed, such as the sex comedy "Four Dimensions of Greta" and the horror flick "The Flesh and Blood Show." He joined "General Hospital" in 1980, though it was initially just a one-off guest role. He was going "to beat up the hero — Luke — and then disappear," he said during an interview on State Of Mind with Maurice Benard in 2022. "I then was called into [executive producer] Gloria Monty's office and told, 'We really like what you're doing, would you like to stay?'"

While playing Robert Scorpio, Rogers built up a resume which included plenty of guest-starring roles on shows like "The Love Boat," "Tales from the Crypt," and "Babylon 5." He also took up a voice acting career, playing fearless adventurer Jake in "The Rescuers Down Under" and Gibson family patriarch Sam in an episode of "The Wild Thornberrys." His other soap opera roles include that of roguish Colin Atkinson in "The Young and the Restless," private investigator Hunter Jones in "The Bold and the Beautiful," and Commissioner Lex Martin in "The Bay." Rogers passed away on August 15, 2025. He was 79 years old, and had been battling lung cancer.

Terence Stamp made his mark on Hollywood through a series of character parts which turned him into a familiar face. His first major role was in the seafaring drama "Billy Budd," in which he played the titular character and pulled in an Oscar nomination. He also played Frank Troy in the 1967 adaptation of "Far from the Madding Crowd" and appeared in pictures such as "Modesty Blaise" before — after a sojourn in India where he mastered the art of yoga — snagging the role of General Zod in Richard Donner's "Superman." He would take that part to new heights in "Superman II," making Zod a supervillain worth remembering. 

Stamp would spend the rest of his career shifting between arthouse favorites like "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "The Limey," and big box office affairs like "Young Guns," "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (in which he acted opposite a sheet of paper as Chancellor Valorum), and "Valkyrie." He returned to the world of DC for "Smallville," voicing the part of Superman's biological father Jor-El, and he also voiced The Prophet of Truth for the video game "Halo 3." His final role was in the 2021 Edgar Wright film "Last Night in Soho." Stamp passed away on August 17, 2025 at the age of 87.

Jon Miyahara was known for only one role, but the NBC workplace comedy "Superstore" wouldn't have been the same without him. As Brett Kobashigawa, who floats through life at Cloud 9 without much to say, Miyahara made a lasting impression. His only other credited role was in the series "Holding Tight," where he played Bob in a single episode. Miyahara passed away in 2025 though no specific date or cause were given. He was 83 years old.

Colton Dunn, who played Garrett on "Superstore," confirmed the actor's death via an Instagram post made on August 6, 2025. "Jon was a really awesome guy and as a performer could speak volumes with just a look. He was such a memorable part of the Cloud 9 team. It was an honor to know him and work with him. I was lucky enough to meet some of his family and my thoughts are with them," Dunn wrote.

Danielle Spencer drew plenty of laughs playing Dee Thomas on the '70s sitcom "What's Happening!!," but she eventually found her future caring for the vulnerable. As Dee, she was sharp-witted and somewhat bratty, and never hesitated to tattle on her older brother Raj (Roger Everett) and his friends. She became known for the catchphrase "Ooh, I'm gonna tell mama," and she often followed through on that threat. In real life, she became a devoted veterinarian.

She actually played a vet on the big screen in the 1997 Jack Nicholson film "As Good as It Gets," her only movie appearance. In terms of TV credits, she reprised the role of Dee in the "What's Happening!!!" sequel series "What's Happening Now!" during the 1980s and she also played a shopkeeper in an episode of "Days of Our Lives" in 2001, her final acting role.

Spencer's real life was nowhere near as easy as Dee's — she survived a car accident that claimed the life of her stepfather in 1977 that would put her in a coma and result in lifelong physical challenges. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and underwent a double mastectomy. Cancer would ultimately claim her life on August 11, 2025. She was only 60 years old.

Graham Greene helped to break down barriers in Hollywood, becoming only the second Indigenous actor to be nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for playing Kicking Bird in Kevin Costner's critically acclaimed, Western-reviving classic "Dances with Wolves." However, his legacy goes far beyond that accolade. Greene got his start in a variety of Canadian projects before his American breakthrough. After appearing in the aforementioned award-winning film, he landed roles in the movies "Thunderheart" and "Cooperstown," and he played Leonard Quinhagak in five episodes of the quirky comedy series "Northern Exposure." 

Greene would go on to play Joe Lambert in "Die Hard with a Vengeance," Arlen Bitterbuck in "The Green Mile," Calvin Many Goats in "Transamerica," and Quileute tribe elder Harry Clearwater in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." Among his meatier roles was that of Rafe McCawley (the rich and powerful owner of the McCawley gulanite mines) in Syfy's science fiction Western drama series "Defiance," a character he played in 28 episodes. Gamers will recognize his voice as that of Rains Fall from the beloved release "Red Dead Redemption II." Greene passed away on September 1, 2025 after a long illness at the age of 73.

If the term "Kiss my grits" means anything to you, then Polly Holliday definitely did her job. Holliday played the role of the sassy waitress Flo Castleberry in the sitcom "Alice," creating a breakout character who would eventually get her own spin-off. While the sitcom "Flo" only lasted for two seasons, the actor would go on to build an impressive resume of character parts. 

Holliday appeared in "Gremlins" as the cold-hearted Kingston Falls resident Ruby Deagle, whose death via chair lift remains a horrifying highlight of the film. She also memorably guest-starred on "The Golden Girls" as Lily, the blind sister of Rose Nylund (Betty White), and she recurred as Jill's mother Lillian Patterson on "Home Improvement." Her other parts include brief roles in "Stick It," "The Parent Trap" and "Mrs. Doubtfire." Her final acting appearance was in the underrated political thriller "Fair Game," which came out in 2010. Holliday died on September 9, 2025. She was 88 years old.

John Christopher Jones was a character actor who refused to allow a serious illness to stop his work: He was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2003 but he continued acting for decades and was still performing shortly before his death. He died of complications from Parkinson's on September 15, 2025, and his last role was earlier that same year, a short film titled "Rebound Redux."

On the small screen, Jones was a regular on the one-season wonder sitcom "On Our Own." He popped up in "Law & Order" three times as different characters and he had guest spots on "Soul Man," "Evil," and "The Sopranos" — in the iconic HBO mafia series, he played Kevin Cullen in the Season 2 episode "From Where to Eternity." His film credits include supporting parts in "Moonstruck," "Darrow," "In & Out," and "The Hurricane."

Jones was also known on the Broadway scene, notably appearing in "Beauty and the Beast" and "Hurlyburly." He also participated in a documentary called "Me To Play" about his attempt at staging "Endgame" off-Broadway with a fellow actor dealing with Parkinson's, Dan Moran. His wife, MaryBeth Coudal, said that Jones "never allowed his diminishing abilities to dampen his extraordinary creative output and unwavering enthusiasm for the theater" in a tribute Facebook post. He was 77.

Robert Redford went from beguiling supporting player to assured male lead to confident director during the long span of his Hollywood career. He made his debut in a 1960 episode of the Western series "Maverick" and went on to make several TV appearances that year, getting his foot in the door. He impressed as the bisexual character Wade Lewis in the 1965 drama "Inside Daisy Clover," starring alongside Natalie Wood. He would collaborate with Wood again in the 1966 Sydney Pollack film "This Property is Condemned" before appearing in the hit 1967 romantic comedy "Barefoot in the Park" with Jane Fonda.

His star-making turn came in 1969 when he played the Sundance Kid opposite Paul Newman's Butch Cassidy in the must-see Western buddy film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which catapulted him to the A-list. In the years that followed, Redford mixed playful action pictures like "The Hot Rock" with sweeping romantic epics like "The Way We Were" and historical pieces like "The Sting" and "The Natural," trying all sorts of genres on for size.

In 1980, Redford made his directorial debut with the psychological drama film "Ordinary People," for which he won best director at the Oscars. He was nominated in the same category for 1994's "Quiz Show" and he many of his films received critical acclaim, such as "A River Runs Through It" and "The Horse Whisperer." His other achievements include founding The Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival. Redford passed away in his sleep on September 16, 2025. He was 89.

Glamorous yet gutsy: that describes many of the women Claudia Cardinale portrayed during her lifetime. She was an idealized poster girl for Italian cinema goers in the 1960s. There, she worked with directors as varied and legendary as Luchino Visconti, Sergio Leone, and Federico Fellini. In America, she shot to fame via an appearance in "Big Deal on Madonna Street," playing a Sicilian girl living under the thumb of an overbearing brother. Cardinale also played The Princess in "The Pink Panther" and Jill McBain in "Once Upon a Time in the West." She survived the notoriously arduous shoot of Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo," portraying the bordello-owning Molly in the film.

To many moviegoers, she'll forever be known for Fellini's 1963 avant-garde comedy-drama "8 1/2." She plays a woman called Claudia in the metafictional film, the embodiment of an ideal woman in the mind of struggling movie director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni). The critically acclaimed film scooped an Oscar and Cardinale performance here is among her most iconic. However, the actress always fought back against the simplification of her image and took on complex roles that allowed her to show her depth as time went on. She kept on acting all the way through 2022, with her final role coming in the drama "The Island of Forgiveness." She died on September 23, 2025 aged 87.

Ed Williams built a career from making people giggle. He began as an actor but put that to one side after getting a foot in the door in the radio world. By the 1980s he was teaching people the art of speech at L.A. City College when he heard about a role that intrigued him and decided to get back in the game. "I made up for lost time and got a fairly decent part to start coming back into acting," he said during a 2017 interview with Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters. Of course, the role in question was that of Ted Olsen, the slightly-perverse, invention-slinging Q to Frank Drebin's (Leslie Nielsen) straitlaced James Bond-ish cop in the series "Police Squad!" and all three "Naked Gun" films which followed.

Ted's bizarre creations often caused more harm than good, but they also managed to get Frank out of all sorts of jams during his many adventures. Besides playing the lab technician in the iconic slapstick crime series (which only actually lasted for one season), Williams guest starred in many series, such as "MacGyver," "Matlock," and "House." He was frequently called upon to play chaplains, priests, reverends, something he did in the 1991 remake of "Father of the Bride" starring Steve Martin — he was the one who married Annie Banks (Kimberly Williams) and Bryan MacKenzie (George Newbern). Williams passed away on October 2, 2025 at the age of 98.

Dame Patricia Routledge secured a place for herself in U.K. TV history playing the social-climbing and class conscious Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "Bouquet," according to her) in "Keeping Up Appearances," one of the most iconic British sitcoms ever. "It's not difficult to see why the nation was so enamored with 'Keeping Up Appearances,'" Vice said of the show, which ran from 1990 to 1995. "It had all the great British comedy tropes: snobbery, curtain-twitching, eccentric English customs. A naughty vicar and a nervous postman. A silly woman spilling her tea."

Routledge was also well-known for playing detective Hetty Wainthropp in the cozy mystery series "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates," which ran from 1996 to 1998. She debuted as the character in the 1990 TV movie "Missing Persons," so stepping back into the role after "Keeping Up Appearances" seemed like a natural move, and the public took to "Investigates" keenly. Her career started to wind down after that, though she had done more than enough to be remembered fondly, and she often popped up on TV screens in re-runs of classic miniseries, such as the 1970s adaptations of "David Copperfield" and "Nicholas Nickleby." Routledge passed away in her sleep on October 3, 2025. She was 96.

Kimberly Hébert Gregory was just starting to spread her wings as an actress when she died on October 3, 2025. Stylish and funny, she had a string of minor and guest-starring roles — such as that of psychic Ms. Davora in an episode of "The Big Bang Theory" — before breaking out as the fiery Dr. Belinda Brown on the dark HBO comedy series "Vice Principals." She also played celestial being Yvette in "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World," Lieutenant Veronica Hopkins in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," deputy district attorney Kyra Hay in "Better Call Saul," talented sculptor Lucinda Miller in "Devious Maids," and Nurse Barb in the film "Five Feet Apart."

Animation fans will recognize her voice from the Cartoon Network show "Craig of the Creek." She voiced Nicole in the animated sitcom between 2018 and 2025, working on over 40 episodes of the acclaimed cartoon. Other voice roles include Fuller in the fourth season of the Paramount crime comedy series "No Activity" and Donna in Netflix's "Carol & The End of the World." Hébert Gregory's death was announced by her ex-husband, actor Chester Gregory, via Facebook and Instagram posts. No cause was given. She was only 52 years old.

Ron Dean was a looks-so-familiar character actor who had supporting parts in tons of big '80s and '90s films. He played Andy Clark's (Emilio Estevez) father in "The Breakfast Club," he was Uncle Pat in Tom Cruise's "Cocktail," and he featured in "The Fugitive" as Detective Kelly, who has a memorable interrogation scene with Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford). Fans of Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy will no doubt recognize him as corrupt Gotham City cop Detective Michael Wuertz, who sold Harvey Dent out to mob boss Sal Maroni.

When it comes to television work, Dean is perhaps best-known for his supporting part in "Early Edition" — he played Detective Marion Zeke Crumb in 17 episodes of the CBS fantasy dramedy series between 1996 and 2000. He also showed up five times on "NYPD Blue" as two different characters, and he played Marty's poker buddy Frank in a few episodes of "Frasier." Dean's final appearance came in 2016 when he guest-starred in an episode of "Chicago P.D." His death at the age of 87 was confirmed on October 5, 2025 by friend and regular collaborator director Andrew Davis, who did not specify a cause.

Diane Keaton helped to define 1970s Hollywood. With her fashion sense and wit, she made stand-up comic Annie Hall one of the most iconic characters of the decade, and that was after she burst onto the scene as the innocent outsider Kay (the second wife of Michael Corleone) in "The Godfather" and "The Godfather, Part II." She spent the majority of the '70s as Woody Allen's muse, shining in "Play It Again, Sam," "Sleeper," "Love and Death," "Interiors," "Manhattan," and, of course, "Annie Hall," for which she scooped an Oscar. 

Keaton continued to work with Allen in the '80s and '90s but their collaborations became less frequent and she began to strike out on her own, appearing in acclaimed movies like "Reds" and "Marvin's Room" as well as crowd-pleasers like "Baby Boom," "The First Wives Club," and "Father of the Bride" as Nina Banks, the wife of Steve Martin's titular dad. She had a couple of hits in the early 2000s in "Something's Gotta Give" and "Elephant" though acclaim didn't come easy after that, with most of her movies failing to wow the critics.

Despite her downturn in fortunes, she remained a household name in Tinseltown: Keaton had already cemented her status as a Hollywood legend by that stage and she never stopped acting, even when the material wasn't great. "Part of the reason her death seems like such a shock is that Keaton was still making those movies as recently as last year, a constant multiplex presence," said The Guardian following her passing on October 11, 2025. Pneumonia was eventually named as the cause of death by her family. She was 79.

To put it simply, June Lockhart was America's mom. She got her start as a child actor, appearing in classic films such as "All This, and Heaven Too," the 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol," and "Miss Annie Rooney" before playing teenagers and young women in "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Keep Your Powder Dry," and "Easy to Wed." In adulthood, she became a regular player on a variety of shows in the early days of television before landing the part of mom Ruth Martin in "Lassie." When that show ended, she went into orbit as scientist, adventurer — and, yes, mother — Maureen Robinson in "Lost In Space." 1968 brought the show's cancellation, but Lockhart went on to play a different kind of role model that very year: Doctor Janet Craig during the final two seasons of "Petticoat Junction."

The 1980s and 1990s brought about a series of wildly disparate roles for the actress. She appeared in everything from B-movies like "Troll," "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the CHUD," and "Dead Women in Lingerie," to family-friendly sitcoms: Lockhart played Michelle Tanner's (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) kindergarten teacher Miss Wiltrout in "Full House," for example. But even then, she regularly played a TV mom – "Roseanne" fans will remember her as Leon's mother. She seemed to have fun parodying her parental characters, but also fearlessly played against type. Fittingly, her final role was in an episode of Netflix's "Lost In Space" reboot — voicing Alpha Control. She died of natural causes at the age of 100 on October 23, 2025.

Prunella Scales famously made audiences crack up as Sybil Fawlty, the long-suffering wife of hotelier Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) in "Fawlty Towers," but her career in the business spanned decades and included British serials, period dramas, and procedurals. She balanced her early acting experiences between stage work and TV, landing her big break was the long-lived comedy series "The Marriage Lines," where she played Kate Starling. 

While filming "Fawlty Towers," which ran between 1975 and 1979, she appeared on the big screen in the films "The Hound of Baskervilles" with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and "The Boys From Brazil" with Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier. She was in the Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer supernatural vehicle "Wolf," and she also appeared in a string of commercials for the British supermarket chain Tesco, among many other credits. 

Diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013, she continued to act until her illness made the activity impossible in 2015. She and her husband, fellow actor Timothy West (one of many actors who died in 2024), appeared in the docuseries "Great Canal Journeys," in which they enjoyed their mutual hobby of narrow boating and chronicled her decline from the illness until 2019. Scales passed away on October 27, 2025 at the age of 93.

Maria Riva, the daughter of German-born Golden Age Hollywood actress Marlene Dietrich, died on October 29, 2025 at the age of 100. She followed in her mother's footsteps, becoming an actress herself, but she had no love for her. "I don't use the word 'mother' for Dietrich. That is a special word that implies love shown to one person, and that is not what I remember," she told People in 1993, not long after releasing an explosive memoir that documented the abuses she suffered during her childhood.

Riva was introduced to the business at a young age, often playing child versions of her mother's characters. Her resume included lots of one-off early television roles and she became a contract player for CBS, appearing in many of the network's early kinescope dramas — over 500 of them — which led to two Emmy nominations. She mainly retired from acting in the 1960s to concentrate on taking care of her family and her mother's affairs, but film audiences will always remember the one role she did accept years later: She was Mrs. Rhinelander in the '80s holiday classic "Scrooged."

Diane Ladd's career combined genteel character parts with rebel-rousers looking for a fight. The actress cut her teeth on television in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in shows like "Perry Mason," "Gunsmoke," and "Ironside." She transitioned into mainstream pictures with Roman Polanski's 1974 neo-noir mystery classic "Chinatown," in which she played Ida Sessions, the woman who poses as Faye Dunaway's Evelyn. Her true breakthrough role came that same year: She shone as tough-talking waitress Flo in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," for which she scored an Oscar nod for best supporting actress. 

Ladd went on to appear in the likes of "Something Wicked This Way Comes," "Black Widow," "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," and "Wild at Heart" opposite her daughter, Laura Dern. She would get to act with Dern multiple times, including in "Rambling Rose" (a Great Depression-era drama for which they were both nominated for Academy Awards), "Citizen Ruth," "Inland Empire," "Daddy & Them," and the TV series "Enlightened."

More recently, Ladd played Neil O'Brien, matriarch of the O'Brien family, in the Hallmark series "Chesapeake Shores." She died at the age of 89 on November 3, 2025 as a result of chronic hypoxic respiratory failure according to a death certificate obtained by People. "She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created," Dern said in a statement following Ladd's passing.

Tatsuya Nakadai was a legend of Japanese cinema who collaborated with some of his country's finest filmmakers and left behind a legacy that few can match. He worked with renowned director Akira Kurosawa on several occasions, most notably in 1985's "Ran," in which he plays a troubled warlord based on William Shakespeare's King Lear. He was also in the samurai epic "Seven Samurai" and the tense crime film "High and Low," two of Kurosawa's best movies.

Nakadai was also known for his collaborations with Masaki Kobayashi, who came across him when he was a young shop clerk in Tokyo and offered him a part in his 1953 film "The Thick-Walled Room." His career exploded from there and Nakadai would work with Kobayashi over a dozen times across the decades, with their last collaboration being 2017's "Lear on the Shore." Studio Ghibli fans will recognize his voice from "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya," in which he played Sumiyaki no rôjin. Nakadai died of pneumonia on November 8, 2025. He was 92.

Sally Kirkland's career featured a fascinating mix of vulnerable art and fearless cool. She was a member of Andy Warhol's The Factory, appearing nude in his 1964 drama "The 13 Most Beautiful Women." From there her career slowly advanced and she began to take on supporting roles in mainstream films like "The Way We Were," "The Sting," and "Bite the Bullet." Her big break came a little later in her career: She won widespread acclaim for 1987's "Anna," which is about an unknown actress (Paulina Porizkova) who develops an intimate relationship with a former star (Kirkland) whose career has suffered thanks to a combination of her political activism and industry ageism. Kirkland scored an Academy Award nomination for her performance as the titular character.

She went on to appear in a string of B-movies interspersed with mainstream supporting work in films like "JFK" and "The Player." On TV, she appeared as the unstable and abusive mother of David (Johnny Galecki) and Mark (Glenn Quinn) in "Roseanne." She also had a run in "Days of Our Lives," where she played Tracey Simpson. Her later career included a wide variety of projects, but the most interesting one is the independent film "Sallywood," which features her playing a fictionalized version of herself who climbs back to the A-list with the help of an obsessed assistant. She was dealing with dementia and injuries from a fall when she died in hospice care on November 11, 2025. She was 84. 

Carl Ciarfalio, who died on November 19, 2025, mainly made a living doing stunts in Hollywood, working on many big movies such as "The Hunt for Red October," "Fight Club," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Bruce Almighty," "Bad Santa," and "The Amazing Spider-Man," to name but a few. He was so respected on the stunt scene that he was named president of the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures at one stage, serving in that role from 1992 to 1996. He also acted, though his best-known role saw him covered in orange, rocky prosthetics.

Ciarfalio played Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, in 1994's "The Fantastic Four," the infamous low-budget Marvel movie that never got released. Directed by B-movie maestro Roger Corman, the film was hastily put together so the production company could retain the rights. It's laughable even by '90s standards, but it's become a cult favorite thanks to the circulation of bootleg copies.

Outside of playing The Thing, Ciarfalio's resume is a litany of mobsters, hitmen, and heavies. He appeared in five episodes of "Days of Our Lives" and six episodes of "Walker, Texas Ranger" as a variety of characters, and he played Paulie in the Steven Seagal flick "Out for Justice." The highlight of his career was Martin Scorsese's "Casino," in which he played Tony Dogs, the Irish-American mobster who shot up one of Joey Aiuppa's bars. He released a crowdfunded autobiography called "Stars, Stunts and Stories: A Hollywood Stuntman's Fall to Fame" in 2015.

Udo Kier made a name for himself in the horror world, but his resume also included beloved arthouse dramas and action films. The German actor first gained notoriety in the horror films "Mark of the Devil," "Flesh for Frankenstein," and "Blood for Dracula." He was fearless in his choice of materials, bouncing between projects like an adaptation of "Story of O" and Dario Argento's "Suspiria" with aplomb, never looking out of place. His impact on American cinema was equally powerful: He appeared in films like "My Own Private Idaho," "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Armageddon," "Blade," "Johnny Mnemonic," and Pamela Anderson's "Barb Wire," which is way better than its Rotten Tomatoes score suggests.

Kier was perhaps best known for his collaborations with Lars Von Trier. They first worked together on the director's second film, 1897's "Epidemic," and Kier would go on to appear in almost every one of the Dane's movies. You may also recognize Kier's voice from "Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc.," in which he played Professor Pericles, and he also leant his vocal talents to a multitude of DC animated projects. Music fans will no doubt remember him from the videos for Madonna's "Deeper and Deeper" and Eve and Gwen Stefani's "Let Me Blow Ya Mind." More recently, he played Adolf Hitler in the Amazon series "Hunters." He died on November 23, 2025 at the age of 81.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa made a home for himself in the world of B-movies and action films, but he also worked for the likes of Bernardo Bertolucci and Tim Burton, leaving behind a truly well-rounded legacy. The Tokyo-born actor gained attention by playing Chang, a eunuch living at the royal palace, in Bertolucci's 1987 film "The Last Emperor." He was Kwang in the James Bond film "License to Kill," his first major villain part, and he appeared in "The Perfect Weapon" and "Showdown in Little Tokyo" before taking on the role he was most famous for: Shang Tsung in the 1995 version of "Mortal Kombat."

Tagawa eventually became so linked to Shang that he played him in the web series "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" and voiced the powerful, soul-stealing sorcerer in multiple video games, but he didn't let that define the rest of his career. He recurred on "Nash Bridges" as Lt. A.J. Shimamura, the commander of the SIU, and he played the gorilla Krull in the 2001 version of "The Planet of the Apes." Tagawa also played The Emperor in "Memoirs of a Geisha."

More recently, Tagawa played Nobusuke Tagomi (the Trade Minister of the Japanese Empire) in Prime Video's "The Man in the High Castle" and skilled entomologist Hiroki Watanabe in Netflix's "Lost in Space" reboot. His final role was also a Netflix one: Tagawa voiced The Swordmaker in the critically acclaimed animated series "Blue Eye Samurai," based on the true story that also inspired "Shogun." He died on December 4, 2025 from complications following a stroke. He was 75.

Peter Greene, primarily known for his roles in "Pulp Fiction" and "The Mask," was found dead at his Manhattan home on December 12, 2025. The New Jersey native, who made a career out of playing bad guys, was 60 years old. "Nobody played a bad guy better than Peter," his manager, Gregg Edwards, said (via NBC). "But he also had, you know, a gentle side that most people never saw, and a heart as big as gold."

Greene's rise to fame was pretty rapid. He made his debut in NBC's crime drama series "Hardball" in 1990 and starred in his first film two years later, working opposite Edie Falco in "Laws of Gravity." In 1994, he appeared in two films that are still beloved to this day. In Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction," Greene played Zed, the rapist security guard who gets his genitals blown off with a shotgun in the film's memorable finale. And in the Jim Carrey film "The Mask," he played antagonist Dorian Tyrell, a rogue mobster. 

In the TV world, Greene played Dokey Farrell in "The Black Donnellys" and he was Wild Bill Miller in "For Life." Recurring credits include two episodes of "Chicago P.D." as Rory Jensen, two episodes of "Still The King" as Hank the Skank, and two episodes of ABC's version of "Life on Mars," where he portrayed Jimmy McManus. More recently, he appeared in "The Continental: From the World of John Wick" as a younger version of Uncle Charlie (who was played by David Patrick Kelly in the first two "John Wick" films).

Rachael Carpani's death on December 7, 2025 was sudden but peaceful according to a statement released  by her family. The Australian actress "passed away after a long battle with chronic illness," the statement confirmed. She was only 45 years old. In the States, the Sydney-born actress was known for her Lifetime shows. She starred as Chicago Police Department detective Abby Kowalski in "Against the Wall," which ran for a single season in 2011, and she later appeared as the young version of Cathy Dollanganger in Lifetime's adaptation of "Flowers in the Attic," the 1979 Gothic novel by V. C. Andrews. She also had guest roles in "NCIS: Los Angeles" and the A&E Network crime drama "The Glades." 

In her native Australia, Carpani will always be remembered as spoiled city girl Jodi Fountain from "McLeod's Daughters." She played Jodie between 2001 and 2009, appearing in 179 episodes of the drama series. She also worked on the iconic Aussie soap opera "Home and Away." She made her first appearance on the show in a minor role back in 2001, but she returned in 2024 to play Claudia Salini, a businesswoman who is forced to stick around in Summer Bay after a car accident. She was attracted to the role because it was created by the show's script executive Louise Bowes, who was a scriptwriter on "McLeod's Daughters." Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Carpani said: "I know we're talking about a fun soap here where people get kidnapped and people blow things up and crazy things happen, but there was a realness to this character."

The deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, on December 14, 2025 shocked Hollywood and the rest of the world. Their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder after the bodies of his parents were discovered in their Los Angeles home. At the time of this writing, the 32-year-old is being held without bail. Local authorities have confirmed that both victims suffered fatal stab wounds.

The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner came up through the ranks the same way many a young actor does — he did bit parts in films and made one-off appearances in sitcoms before landing his big break. Reiner broke out playing Mike "Meathead" Stivic (the liberal peacenick son-in-law of sharp-tongued conservative bigot Archie Bunker) in "All in the Family." While Reiner would act less frequently as his directing career took off, he'd never entirely stop.

Reiner played incompetent director Marty DiBergi in his timeless directorial debut "This is Spinal Tap," a role he would reprise in 2025's "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues." He also appeared in "Throw Momma from the Train," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Bullets Over Broadway," "The First Wives Club," and "The Wolf of Wall Street," to name a few. TV viewers will remember him for his role as Bob Day, the father of Jess (Zooey Deschanel), in "New Girl," and for playing Albert Schnurr during Season 4 of "The Bear."

Among the many people to pay tribute to the 78-year-old actor and director was Barack Obama. "Rob's achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen," the former president said in a statement (via The Guardian). "But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action."

Anthony Geary helped make the soap opera "General Hospital" appointment television in the pre-streaming days, turning Luke Spencer from a lout to a hero. 30 million people watched him marry innocent heroine Laura Webber (Genie Francis) on the show, for which Geary was rewarded with eight Daytime Emmy awards. While he would leave and return to the soap several times — including a brief period where he played Luke's doppelganger, Bill Eckert — he would always be synonymous with the role. He also played Luke on two "General Hospital" spin-offs: "Night Shift" and "Port Charles."

In terms of films, Geary was probably best known for playing station engineer and secret alien Philo in the "Weird Al" Yankovic comedy "UHF," a great showcasing for his range. He also played Octavius Caesar in the TV movie "Antony and Cleopatra." Other feature credits included "You Can't Hurry Love," "It Takes Two," and "Disorderlies." Geary retired to Amsterdam with his long-time boyfriend, Claudio Gama, in 2015. They married in 2019. It was Gama who announced Geary's death to TV Insider, revealing that he died on December 14, 2025 from complications related to a recent surgery. He was 78.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, is struggling or in crisis, needs help with mental health, or is dealing with addiction issues, contact the relevant resources below:

• Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

• Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

• Contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.