Since the end of December, celebrity deaths have seem to become the norm with the passing of legendary actors and musicians. All of them came as a surprise to many and ultimately rocked the entertainment industry. Here is a look at those who have left us way too soon. While they are gone they will not be forgotten.
Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister (December 24, 1945-December 28, 2015) – Founder and front man of the heavy metal band Motörhead, Lemmy and his band were one of the foundations for the heavy metal genre. Lemmy passed away on December 28 at the age of 70 from an “extremely aggressive cancer”. The musician also had diabetes and implantation of a heart defibrillator. Kilmister learned of his cancer diagnosis just two days before his death.
The bassist was the sole remaining original member of the band which formed in 1975. Motorhead’s hit albums included “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill” among others. Many of Lemmy’s friends, including as Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons, offered their condolences via social media to express their sadness.
Natalie Cole (February 6, 1950-December 31, 2015) – Daughter of the “Unforgettable” Nat King Cole, Natalie made a name for herself in the music industry with hits like “This Will Be” and “Inseparable”. Among the many awards that Cole has won, nine of them included Grammy awards from categories including “Best New Artist” and “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance”.
The Grammy-award winning singer also had her fair share of complications including deaths of family members at a young age and her struggle with drug abuse. In a 2010 memoir, Cole discussed her multiple near-death experiences including one at the age of 32 when the Las Vegas hotel that she was staying at caught fire and she happened to be high at the time.
She also suffered from hepatitis C and her kidneys began to fail. Cole was lucky enough to receive a kidney transplant in 2009. The cause of Cole’s death was congestive heart failure brought on by a rare lung disease her family revealed. She was 65 years old.
David Bowie (January 8, 1947-January 10, 2016) – Just two days after his birthday, the iconic David Bowie passed away at the age of 69. Probably one of the most innovative and influential singer-songwriters in the world, Bowie paved the way for other artists to express themselves and make whatever music they wanted. Not only was Bowie a musician, his other talents included being an actor, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and painter.
He had many memorable songs including “Space Oddity”, “Starman”, and “Ziggy Stardust”. Bowie also recently released an album that came out on his 69th birthday called Blackstar. This album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart both in the U.S. and the U.K. Blackstar is also his first album to reach number one in the U.S.
Bowie was a winner of many awards including: Brit Awards, Grammy Awards, MTV Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, a Saturn Award, a Porin Award, and NME awards. “Starman” had been secretly battling cancer for 18 months and that is what led to his death. Bowie is survived by his model wife Iman and two children Duncan and Alexandria.
Alan Rickman (February 21, 1946-January 14, 2016) – As an English actor and director, Rickman was known for many notable roles including Hans Gruber in “Die Hard” and of course, Professor Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise. A SAG award, BAFTA award, Primetime Emmy award, and a Golden Globe award are just a few awards that Rickman has won throughout his career.
Many of Rickman’s roles had him portraying an antagonist and he is one of the most notorious villains seen on screen. Across the world, Harry Potter fans payed tribute to Rickman by raising wands and taking pictures of the moment. His co-stars have also spoken including Daniel Radcliffe who penned a tribute to Rickman saying that he was “undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with”. Rickman died of pancreatic cancer at 69 years old.
Rene Angelil (January 16, 1942-January 14, 2016) – Angelil was a talent manager, Canadian musical producer, singer, and most notably, Celine Dion’s husband. Before he was married to Dion, he served as her manager. Angelil was in a music group called Les Baronets from the early 60’s to the early 70’s. Dion always said that Angelil was her best friend and the love of her life.
They both had 3 children together Rene-Charles, 15, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 5. Angelil died of throat cancer at the age of 73 and he even planned his own funeral so Dion would not have to go through the trouble and pain. His visitation and funeral was live-streamed for the world to see and it took place at the same church where they both got married back in 1994. Angelil’s brother-in-law Daniel, Dion’s brother, died just two days after he did and he also lost his battle with cancer.
Dan Haggerty (November 19, 1941-January 15, 2016) – Dan Haggerty was an actor who was most known for his role as a mountain man, with a grizzly bear as his best friend, in “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams”. Haggerty lost his five month battle with cancer and was 74 years old. Haggerty won a People’s Choice Award for “Favorite Actor in a New TV Series” back in 1980. The 70’s television star was still working up until his death reports say. Haggerty has five children and his wife, Samantha, died back in 2008 after a motorcycle accident.
Dale Griffin (October 24, 1948-January 17, 2016) – Co-founder and drummer of the British glam-rock group Mott the Hoople Dale Griffin has passed away after suffering from Alzheimer’s for quite some time at the age of 67. This news came exactly a week after Bowie passed away. This is kind of interesting because Bowie was friends with Griffin and he penned and produced Mott the Hopple’s biggest hit called “All the Young Dudes”. The band released eight albums before they disassembled in the mid-70’s. It does not say if Griffin had a wife or children.
Glenn Frey (November 6, 1948- January 18, 2016) – The most recent and shocking death is the co-founding member of the Eagles Glenn Frey. The guitarist was known for penning their famous hits such as “Hotel California” and “Take it Easy”. On the bands website, it stated that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s cause of death was by pneumonia, acute ulcerative colitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. His manager says that the medications that he was taking for the arthritis also played a part in his illness. Frey suffered from arthritis for 15 years. The Eagles over the course of their career have won numerous awards including six Grammy awards and three American Music Awards. Being one of the most popular rock bands of our time, their music continues to be heard by generations and remain relevant. Frey was 67 years old.
It is apparent that these few weeks we have heard about more deaths in such a short amount of time than we have in years. All of these people have shown the world their talent and their legacies will live on forever. They may be gone, but they will certainly not be forgotten.
Elizabeth Granato
Features Editor