Celebrities Who Have Died In 2017: Jerry Lewis, Dick Gregory, ‘Murphy Brown’ Star Add To Ever-Growing List
The year is finally more than half over, but unfortunately, the number of celebrity deaths are only starting to pick up, and it’s not making things any easier. While last year was bad, 2017 is certainly coming close to it in the sadness department, and the past couple of weeks have been really bad. The losses of Jay Thomas, Jerry Lewis, and Dick Gregory are only a few of those we’ve lost, and there are others who have been added to the list of celebrities who have died in 2017.
On Thursday, the New York Daily News reported that comedic actor Jay Thomas lost his battle with cancer and died at the age of 69. He most recently starred on Ray Donovan, but fans may remember him best from Cheers and Murphy Brown, among numerous other shows and movies.
Less than a week ago, the world lost another great, as Jerry Lewis died at the age of 91 this past Sunday. The New York Daily News reported that his cause of death was officially listed as ischemic cardiomyopathy, which means the heart wasn’t able to pump sufficient blood to the rest of the body.
As if that isn’t enough, there have been many other great names taken from the world in the past couple of weeks.
The NYT obituary for Dick Gregory https://t.co/FAxllElcGt
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 21, 2017
Despite the world being very hard to live through right now, and for decades, Dick Gregory always knew how to find humor in everything. The New York Times reported that he had been admitted to a hospital back on August 12 before passing away a week later.
Here is a list of the notable names of celebrities who have been taken from the world in 2017.
Entertainment
- Jerry Lewis
- John Heard
- Martin Landau
- Sam Shepard
- George A. Romero
- Powers Booth
- Adam West
- Nelsan Ellis
- Deborah Watling
- Jay Thomas
- Robert Hardy
- Sir Roger Moore
- Harvey Atkin
- Erin Moran
- Bruce Forsyth
- Sonny Landham
- Michael Parks
- Bill Paxton
- Michael Mantenuto
- Peter Sallis
- Richard Machowicz
- Mary Tyler Moore
- Francine York
- Geoffrey Bayldon
- Tim Pigott-Smith
- Jonathan Demme
- Christopher “Big Black” Boykin
- John Cygan
- Miguel Ferrer
- Don Rickles
- Gordon Kaye
- Dick Gauthier
- Richard Hatch
- Frank Pellegrino
- Sir John Hurt
- Charlie Murphy
- Chuck Barris
- Dick Gautier
Musicians
- Chester Bennington
- Glen Campbell
- Chris Cornell
- Cuba Gooding Sr.
- Al Jarreau
- John Abercrombie
- Gregg Allman
- Allan Holdsworth
- Eddie Kamae
- John Warren Geils Jr.
- Chuck Berry
- Buddy Greco
- Peter Sarstedt
Glen Campbell playing with The Beach Boys during a late 1964 concert pic.twitter.com/yjOpTzq27K
— Beach Boys Legacy (@beachboyslegacy) August 18, 2017
Sports
- Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka – wrestler
- “The Outlaw” Ron Bass – wrestler
- Ivan Koloff – wrestler
- George “The Animal” Steele – wrestler
- Chavo Guerrero Sr. – wrestler
- Yordano Venture – baseball
- Nicole Bass – wrestler/radio personality
- Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i – wrestler
- Joe Klein – baseball
- Gary West – Olympian
A number of other celebrities from other walks of life who have also passed in 2017.
- Roger Ailes – Fox News
- Dick Gregory – Satirist
- William Peter Blatty – author
- Paul Goble – author
- Eugene Cernan – astronaut
- Norma McCorvey – “Jane Roe”
- David Rockefeller – billionaire
- Barry Norman – film critic
- Michael Bond – author/creator of Paddington Bear
The world has lost so many great people this year and 2017 is quickly turning into one of the worst for celebrity deaths ever, but 2016 is still edging it out. The losses of Jerry Lewis, Dick Gregory, and Jay Thomas have made the last week very difficult. Before that, fans had to mourn the passing of Glen Campbell, Sam Shepard, and Robert Hardy.
[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
