Over the weekend, the world lost yet another beautiful face from the past as Erin Moran died at the young age of 56. No one is denying that 2016 was quite possibly one of the worst 12-month periods in history for the incredible amount of losses due to celebrity deaths, but 2017 is picking up the pace. While the year started off rather slow, fans of sports, movies, TV shows, and music are fearing that this year is starting to try and catch up to the last.
CNN reported that Moran’s body was found by Indiana police on Saturday afternoon and first responders determined she was already deceased. Known to the world as Joanie Cunningham on Happy Days , she dealt with a lot of demons throughout the latter half of her life.
Fond farewell to Erin Moran (56) known to most as Joanie Cunningham in ‘Happy Days’. A big part of my childhood and gone far too soon. RIP pic.twitter.com/dG1iRZXbSk
— Mothra P.I. (@Hardywolf359) April 23, 2017
According to USA Today , the death of the woman so affectionately known as “Joanie” is just as mysterious as the life she lived. She lived in a trailer park in Indiana with her second husband Steve Fleischmann after they lost their California home to foreclosure back in 2010.
It was reported that the couple moved into the trailer to help care for Fleischmann’s mother, but a 2012 report from the Huffington Post said they were kicked out of the trailer for partying too much. From there, she lived in multiple hotels and even dealt with homelessness over the years.
OH Erin… now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth…Rest In It serenely now.. too soon
— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) April 23, 2017
As the results of an autopsy are still pending for the Happy Days star, the Daily Mail reports that a source from an Indiana trailer park says she died of a suspected heroin overdose . Her exact cause of death has yet to be officially revealed.
The loss of “Joanie” adds to the list of celebrity deaths in 2017, which was just made longer a couple of weeks ago when comedian Don Rickles passed away at the age of 90. April has actually been one of the worst months of 2017 for celebrity deaths, and fans just want it to be over.
Earlier this month, the world also had to deal with the losses of musician John Warren Geils Jr. (71), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (70), and comedian Charlie Murphy (57). There was also the mysterious death of Cuba Gooding Sr. who was found dead in his car on Thursday, as reported by the New York Times .
Here is a list of the notable names who have been taken from the world in 2017:
- Erin Moran – actress
- William Peter Blatty – author
- Bill Paxton – actor
- Richard Machowicz – actor/Navy seal
- Paul Goble – author
- Mary Tyler Moore – actress
- Francine York – actress
- Cuba Gooding Sr. – musician
- Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka – wrestler
- Al Jarreau – singer
- Miguel Ferrer – actor
- Allan Holdsworth – guitarist
- Don Rickles – actor
- Eugene Cernan – astronaut
- “The Outlaw” Ron Bass – wrestler
- Gordon Kaye – actor
- Dick Gautier – actor
- Ivan Koloff – wrestler
- Eddie Kamae – singer
- Richard Hatch – actor
- George “The Animal” Steele – wrestler
- Frank Pellegrino – actor
- Sir John Hurt – actor
- Charlie Murphy – comedian
- Norma McCorvey – “Jane Roe”
- Chuck Berry – musician
- John Warren Geils Jr. – musician
- Dick Gautier – actor
- Yordano Ventura – baseball
- David Rockefeller – billionaire
- Nicole Bass – wrestler/radio personality
- Buddy Greco – singer
- Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i – wrestler
- Chuck Barris – TV host
- Peter Sarstedt – singer
- Chavo Guerrero Sr. – wrestler
The wrestling fans of the world have been hit in a big way in 2017 as a number of deaths piled up quickly in the first four months of the year. The losses of “Chavo Classic,” Ivan Koloff, Nicole Bass, George “The Animal” Steele, and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka are hard to take and having them happen in such a short period of time made it all even more difficult.
Just a few days ago, WWE fans learned of the tragic passing of Roman Reigns’ brother Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i who was just 47-years-old. The world not only lost a celebrity, but the wrestling world lost one of the nicest people to ever step into a ring.
It is never easy to take the death of anyone in life that you love or are close to or even feel as if you have grown up with over the years. Some may find it strange that celebrity deaths can be taken so hard by regular people that never knew them personally, but many grew up with Don Rickles or Chuck Berry or Erin Moran. The 2017 list of celebrity deaths is beginning to lengthen quickly and that has led many to fear it may soon be another 2016 all over again.
[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]