As has been commented on repeatedly throughout the year, 2016 was a slaughterhouse. Some say that it has to do with the way we have built up celebrities, and that the amount of notable deaths in 2016 only reflects that we have more heroes now than he did in the past. But seeing as the people on the below list all came to fame at different times and in different disciplines, it’s tempting to say that that the forces that be are simply cleaning house.
The below list only reflects those we lost in the film industry, although people in music, sports, and television are also stinging. The death of Florence Henderson hurt many people, as did the loss of musical giant Leonard Cohen. And, of course, the death of Muhammad Ali cannot be forgotten. Even staying within the world of film, however, there is an extensive litany of amazingly talented people who left this good Earth in 2016.
But rather than wallow in misery, this is a great opportunity to look back over the lives and careers of these people, and reflect on the glorious art they have all provided for us. Some lived long lives and spent decades giving us great film and music. Others were taken too early, providing us with just a taste of their talent to come. Others were fun personalities and cinematic gadflys that were always a pleasure to see. Others still had long since retired, but whose death will allow us to look back at their careers and smile.
Here is a list of the notable people we lost in 2016.
Slideshow: In Memoriam 2016
Top Image: LucasFilm
Witney Seibold is a longtime contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and the co-host of The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon. He also contributes to Legion of Leia and to Blumhouse. You can follow him on “The Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
In Memoriam | The Filmmakers We Lost in 2016
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Vilmos Zsigmond (1/1/16)
Vilmos Zsigmond, one of the greatest cinematographers, photographed some of the best-looking films ever made, including McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Heaven's Gate.
Image: George Rose / Getty Images
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David Bowie (1/10)
The rock god and sex deity appeared in many notable movies, including Labyrinth, The Prestige, Zoolander, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Christiane F.
Image: TriStar Pictures
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Alan Rickman (1/14)
The bass-voiced British actor is best known for his roles as the bad guy in Die Hard and the suspected bad guy in the Harry Potter movies.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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Abe Vigoda (1/26)
TV's Fish also appeared in The Godfather and, oddly, the '90s kid flick Good Burger.
Image: Paramount
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Jacques Rivette (1/29)
The master French director is known for contemplative, narratively loose dramas like Paris Belongs to Us, a film that may have been the start of the French New Wave.
Image: PHILIPPE WOJAZER / AFP / Getty Images
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Joe Alaskey (2/3)
Joe Alaskey was well-known as the best voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck following the death of Mel Blanc.
Image: Mark Sullivan / WireImage for The Lippin Group
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George Gaynes (2/15)
In addition to playing the dad on Punky Brewster, Gaynes was also famous for playing the clueless police commissioner in the seven Police Academy movies.
Image: Warner Bros.
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George Kennedy (2/28)
A versatile character actor, Kennedy is best known for his roles in Cool Hand Luke, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, and The Naked Gun.
Image: WB/Seven Arts
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Sylvia Anderson (3/15)
Co-creator (with her husband Gerry) and star of numerous British kid films and TV shows, including several filmed in Supermarionation. She also played Lady Penelope in the Thunderbirds films and TV shows.
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Larry Drake (3/17)
The menacing Larry Drake appeared most impressivel in L.A. Law, played the villain in Darkman, and the killer doctor in Dr. Giggles.
Image: Universal Studios
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Garry Shandling (3/24)
The comedian won acclaim for The Larry Sanders Show, and appeared in notable feature films like Mike Nichols' What Planet are You From? and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Image: Disney
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Patty Duke (3/29)
The star of The Patty Duke Show (natch) is also famous for a gloriously melodramatic role in Valley of the Dolls.
Image: Universal
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Chyna (4/21)
The ultra-buff athlete was well known in the pro-wrestling circuit, and also had a career in adult entertainment, famously playing She-Hulk in a Vivid production.
Image: Vivid Entertainment
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Prince (4/21)
Prince is best known for being Prince, the sensual musician and star of Purple Rain.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Burt Kwouk (5/24)
Burt Kwouk played the quick-on-his-toes martial arts expert butler to Inspector Clouseau in several of Blake Edwards' Pink Panther movies.
Image: United Artists
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Peter Shaffer (6/6)
The Tony-winning playwright was behind classics like Equus, and the Oscar-winning drama Amadeus.
Image: Lemmon / Express / Getty Images
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Anton Yelchin (6/19)
The young actor had just starred in The Green Room, and is perhaps best known for playing Chekhov in the new Star Trek movies.
Image: Paramount
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Michael Cimino (7/2)
The classy director made the Oscar-winning film The Deer Hunter, the notorious Heaven's Gate, and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
Image: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images
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Robin Hardy (7/2)
Robin Hardy didn't direct too many films, but he did helm the beloved and scary The Wicker Man in 1973.
Image: Rob Scott / SFX magazine via Getty Images
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Abbas Kiarostami (7/4)
The restrained Iranian director made such indelible classics as The Taste of Cherry, Close-Up, and Certified Copy.
Image: SARMIENTO/AFP/Getty Images
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Garry Marshall (7/19)
The outspoken director made one of the more popular Hollywood rom-coms, including Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, and the Princess Diaries movies.
Image: Nancy R. Schiff / Getty Images
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David Huddleston (8/4)
Huddleston's career spans decades, and he is best known for his appearances in a few Coen Bros. movies, most notably as the title character in The Big Lebowski.
Image: Gramercy Pictures
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Kenny Baker (8/13)
Kenny Baker appeared in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits, but it perhas best known for operating - and rising inside of - the R2-D2 robot in Star Wars and its sequels.
Image: Express Newspapers / Getty Images
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Gene Wilder (8/28)
The manic and and warm (yes, both) comedian is best known for his roles in Mel Brooks' The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Blazing Saddles. He also played an angered Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Image: Paramount
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Jon Polito (9/1)
Any film with a sniveling tough guy had Jon Polito in it. He appeared in The Big Lebowski, The Man Who Wasn't There, Miller's Crossing, and Barton Fink.
Image: Gramercy Pictures
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Alexis Arquette (9/11)
The actor/actress was well known for weird cult roles in Bride of Chucky and The Wedding Singer, and was also a known force in the trans community.
Image: Universal
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Herschell Gordon Lewis (9/26)
The infamous "Godfather of Gore" pretty much invented the splatter film, bringing exploitation movies to new heights. His credits include Two Thousand Maniacs! and The Wizard of Gore.
Image: Arrow Video
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Ted V. Mikels (10/16)
An outspoken deity in the B-movies community, Mikels was behind weirdo schlock classics like Blood Orgy of the She-Devils, Girl in Gold Boots, and The Astro-Zombies.
Image: Ted V. Mikels
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Raoul Coutard (11/8)
Coutard is best known for working as the cinematographer on many of Jean-Luc Godard's more important films. He invented a new look for cinema in the 1960s.
Image: Dominique Charriau / WireImage
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Robert Vaughn (11/11)
The star of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had an extensive film career that included classier westerns like The Magnificent Seven as well as Hollywood blockbusters like Superman III.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Carrie Fisher (12/27)
Not just known for playing Princess Leia in seven (yes, seven, including the upcoming film) of the the Star Wars movies, but a sassy, outspoken speaker, a talented writer, a frank essayist, and a powerful feminist.
Image: Disney
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Debbie Reynolds (12/28)
The talented singer and star of Singin' in the Rain, Tammy and the Bachelor and The Unsinkable Molly Brown passed away just one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher.
Photo: C Flanigan/Getty Images
