TV Stars We Lost In 2020

As 2020 comes to a close, TVLine is remembering the many television stars and producers we lost this year, including Alex Trebek, Naya Rivera, Regis Philbin, Nikki McKibbin, Chi Chi DeVayne and many more. Scroll through the gallery below to see the Hollywood names that left us in the last 12 months.

Terry Jones

Monty Python co-founder Jones died in January at the age of 77, following a battle with dementia. During his time with the comedy group, Jones co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and he also helmed Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. His notable on-screen characters included The Meaning of Life's Mr. Creosote, Holy Grail's Sir Bedevere and Flying Circus' Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson.

Silvio Horta

The Ugly Betty co-creator died of an apparent suicide in January; he was just 45 years old. Horta served as executive producer and showrunner on Ugly Betty during its four-season run, while his other small-screen work included the UPN sci-fi series Jake 2.0 (which he created) and Sci-Fi's The Chronicle (which he wrote and exec-produced).

Buck Henry

Henry, who co-created Get Smart with Mel Brooks, died of a heart attack in January at the age of 89. His early TV writing credits included The Garry Moore Show and That Was the Week That Was, while on the big screen, he helped pen The Graduate (for which he earned an Oscar nod), What's Up, Doc? and The Owl and the Pussycat. As an actor, Henry's résumé included Falcon Crest, Murphy Brown, 30 Rock and numerous hosting gigs during Saturday Night Live's early years.

Stan Kirsch

Kirsch, best known for playing Richie Ryan in the Canadian-French fantasy series Highlander, died of an apparent suicide in January. He was 51. The actor's other credits included General Hospital, JAG, Family Law and Friends, where he memorably played Young Ethan, the high school senior that Monica dates in a Season 1 episode.

Jim Lehrer

Lehrer, who co-founded PBS NewsHour and served as its anchor for nearly four decades, died in January at the age of 85. After Lehrer and Robert MacNeil started NewsHour in 1975, Lehrer went on to anchor the nightly news report for the following 36 years. In addition to interviewing key world figures over the years, Lehrer moderated several American presidential debates.

Marj Dusay

Soap opera veteran Dusay passed away in January at the age of 83. Throughout her decades-long career in daytime television, Dusay established herself as one of the industry's most reliable recasts, taking over characters on shows such as Capitol, Santa Barbara, Days of Our Lives and Guiding Light. In 1999, Dusay originated her first soap role on All My Children, where she played the evil Vanessa Bennett until she exited the soap in 2002.

Tyler Gwozdz

Onetime Bachelorette contestant Gwozdz died in January at the age of 29, as the result of a suspected drug overdose. He appeared on Season 15 of the ABC dating series, competing for Hannah Brown's heart. But despite becoming an early favorite and landing the first one-on-one date of the season, Gwozdz abruptly left the show during the third episode, with no explanation given to viewers.

Kirk Douglas

Douglas, one of the last living survivors of the film industry's golden age, died in February at the age of 103. Though he was mainly known for his work on the big screen, Douglas had many TV credits to his name, including a dozen made-for-TV movies, multiple miniseries and guest appearances on shows such as Tales From the Crypt, Touched by an Angel and The Simpsons.

Orson Bean

The veteran actor and comedian died in February after being struck by a car. He was 91. As a comedian, Bean was a regular panelist on To Tell the Truth, and he racked up more than 200 appearances on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. Meanwhile, his many acting credits included The Facts of Life, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Desperate Housewives and, more recently, episodes of Superstore and Grace and Frankie.

Robert Conrad

Conrad died of heart failure in February at the age of 84. A veteran of the small screen, Conrad began his career on series such as Bat Masterson, Maverick and Lawman, before co-starring in ABC's Hawaiian Eye for four seasons. He later headlined The Wild Wild West and Baa Baa Black Sheep, and he was a fixture on the competition series Battle of the Network Stars.

Lynn Cohen

Cohen, best known for her role as Sex and the City's Magda, died in February at the age of 86. In addition to her 13 episodes as Miranda's nanny/maternal figure on the HBO series, Cohen's many TV credits included Law & Order (and its spinoffs), The Affair, Blue Bloods, Nurse Jackie and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, to name a few. Her final TV appearance came in a January episode of God Friended Me.

Caroline Flack

Flack, the former host of Love Island UK, died by suicide in February at the age of 40. After starting out as an actress on the British sketch-comedy series Bo' Selecta!, Flack made a career for herself as a TV and radio personality. In addition to Love Island, which she presided over through Season 5, Flack presented on series such as Escape From Scorpion Island, Gladiators and The X Factor (as well as its companion series The Xtra Factor).

Ja'Net DuBois

DuBois, best known for her role as Good Times' Willona Woods, died of natural causes in February at the age of 74. She played Florida and James Evans' neighbor on the aforementioned Norman Lear sitcom from 1974 to 1979, then later recurred on the '90s sitcom The Wayans Bros. and voiced Mrs. Avery on the animated series The PJs. Additional TV credits included ER, Home Improvement, Cold Case and Touched by an Angel, among others.

Lee Phillip Bell

Emmy-winning soap writer Bell, who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, died in February at age 91. For her work on Y&R, she won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series in 1975, and she received a Daytime Emmy for Lifetime Achievement in 2007. Bell also had a long career as a TV personality, hosting the Chicago talk show The Lee Phillip Show for more than 30 years.

James Lipton

Lipton, best known for his many years as Inside the Actors Studio host, died in March after a battle with bladder cancer. He was 93. Lipton created Inside the Actors Studio in 1994 and hosted the 22 seasons that aired on Bravo, stepping down in 2019 when the show moved to Ovation. Lipton also guest-starred on shows such as Arrested Development and Suburgatory, and behind the camera, he served as a writer on Another World, The Best of Everything and Return to Peyton Place, among other shows.

Roscoe Born

Soap veteran Born, whose decades-long daytime career included memorable roles on Santa Barbara and One Life to Live, died of suicide in March at age 69. Following a stint on ABC's primetime sudser Paper Dolls, Born pivoted to daytime television with a long string of credits that also included Ryan's Hope, All My Children, Passions and The Young and the Restless.

Danny Tidwell

Tidwell, a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance, died in a March car accident at the age of 35. He had competed on Season 3 of Fox's long-running series and finished in second place, losing out to contemporary dancer Sabra Johnson.

Max von Sydow

von Sydow, known to TV audiences as Game of Thrones' Three-Eyed Raven, died in March at age 90. Though he did have several television credits to his name (including The Tudors and The Simpsons), von Sydow spent most of his career working in film. He notably held roles in 11 of Ingmar Bergman's movies (such as The Seventh Seal), but his long résumé also included The Exorcist, Flash Gordon, Conan the Barbarian and Dune, among other films.

Lorenzo Brino

Brino, who was one of four quadruplets to play young children Sam and David Camden on 7th Heaven, was just 21 when he died in a fatal car accident in March. He appeared in a total of 138 7th Heaven episodes but did not hold any other TV credits after that show concluded.

Beatrice the Bulldog

Beatrice, the French bulldog who played Jay Pritchett's canine companion Stella on Modern Family, passed away in March, just days after the sitcom wrapped production on its final season. Beatrice joined Modern Family in Season 2, though she initially served as the understudy for another dog named Brigitte. When Brigitte left the show, Beatrice took over the role in Season 4 and held it through the show's swan song.

Lyle Waggoner

Waggoner, a TV veteran known for The Carol Burnett Show and Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman, died of cancer in March at the age of 84. Waggoner was also a frequent guest star on '70s and '80s shows, including The Love Boat, Happy Days, The Golden Girls and more. His final TV credit was a guest spot on the Fox sitcom The War at Home in 2005.

Maggie Griffin

Kathy Griffin's mother, who co-starred on her Bravo reality series My Life on the D-List, died in March at the age of 99. In addition to her D-List appearances, Maggie also popped up on her daughter's short-lived MTV series Kathy's So-Called Reality, as well as her eponymous Bravo talk show. Maggie's last on-screen credit was the 2019 documentary Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story.

Floyd Cardoz

Cardoz, who won Season 3 of Bravo's Top Chef Masters, died in March due to complications from the coronavirus. He was 59. In addition to Top Chef Masters, Cardoz had appeared on several other culinary series, including episodes of Iron Chef America (as a challenger against Bobby Flay in 2008), Worst Cooks in America (as a judge) and the Netflix docuseries Ugly Delicious.

Mark Blum

Blum, a veteran character actor, died at the age of 69 in March due to coronavirus complications. Throughout his career, Blum made guest appearances on dozens of shows including Roseanne, Frasier, NYPD Blue, The Blacklist, Elementary, Succession and many more. He carved out a career in film, as well, most notably as Gary Glass in Desperately Seeking Susan and Richard Mason in Crocodile Dundee.

John Callahan

Callahan, best known for his 13-year run as All My Children's Edmund Grey, died in March at age 66 after suffering a massive stroke. In addition to AMC, Callahan's daytime-TV career included stints on Santa Barbara (as Craig Hunt), Days of Our Lives and General Hospital. His primetime credits, meanwhile, included Falcon Crest, Watch Over Me and the 2016 miniseries Ladies of the Lake.

David Schramm

Veteran actor Schramm, who was most familiar to TV audiences as Wings' airline owner Roy Biggins, died in March at the age of 73. Schramm's career spanned four decades, including his eight-season stint on Wings from 1990 to 1997; other TV credits included Working Girl, Miami Vice and Space Cases. He also had a substantial career on the stage: A founding member of the touring theater company The Acting Company, Schramm appeared on Broadway in Three Sisters and had most recently graced the stage in an off-Broadway production of Enter Laughing in 2019.

Adam Schlesinger

Schlesinger, who won an Emmy for his songwriting work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, died in April of coronavirus complications. He was 52. A founding member of the power pop group Fountains of Wayne, Schlesinger also composed music for movies such as That Thing You Do! (for which he earned an Oscar nomination) and Music and Lyrics. His Crazy Ex-Girlfriend work scored five Emmy nominations, including a win in 2019 for the song "Anti-Depressants Are So Not a Big Deal." Additionally, Schlesinger took home Emmys in 2012 and 2013 for his songwriting contributions to CBS' Tony Awards broadcasts.

Thomas L. Miller

Miller, the prolific producer behind TGIF comedies Family Matters, Full House, Perfect Strangers and Step by Step, died of complications from heart disease in April. He was 79. Throughout his seven-decade career, Miller — who was one-half of the powerhouse Miller-Boyett producing team — also developed (along with Garry Marshall) the classic sitcoms Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy. His most recent TV credit was Netflix's Full House follow-up, Fuller House.

Brian Dennehy

Dennehy, whose long career in film and TV included six Emmy nominations, died of natural causes in April at the age of 81. Best known for his big-screen roles in films like First Blood, Presumed Innocent and Tommy Boy, Dennehy also had a regular presence on television; notable credits included Dynasty, Miami Vice, The Good Wife and, most recently, The Blacklist, where he played Elizabeth Keen's grandfather.

Ashley Ross

Ross, better known as "Ms. Minnie," died in April from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run car accident. She was 34. Ross, who worked as a hair stylist, had co-starred on Lifetime's unscripted series Little Women: Atlanta since its debut in 2016, appearing on all five seasons that have aired thus far.

Irrfan Khan

Bollywood icon Khan died in April at the age of 53, following a long battle with a neuroendocrine tumor. On stateside TV, he was best known for his Season 3 role on HBO's In Treatment, where he played math professor Sunil. Meanwhile, on the big screen, Khan's many credits included Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and Jurassic World, while at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (aka the Bollywood Oscars), he was a nine-time nominee and three-time winner.

Sam Lloyd

Lloyd, who memorably played sad-sack lawyer Ted Buckland on Scrubs, died at age 56 in April; he had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in 2019. Aside from his Scrubs role (which he later reprised on Cougar Town), Lloyd was a frequent TV guest star from the 1990s on, including a turn as the Elaine-obsessed Ricky on Seinfeld and a two-season run as Dr. Albert Goldfine on Desperate Housewives. His most recent TV credit was a 2019 episode of American Housewife.

Jerry Stiller

Actor-comedian Stiller, arguably best known as Seinfeld's irritable Frank Costanza, died of natural causes in May at the age of 92. Stiller famously served as one-half of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara opposite his wife, Anne Meara, who died in 2015. On TV, his other major credit — aside from his 26-episode stint on Seinfeld — was the series-regular role of King of Queens' Arthur Spooner, the widowed father of Leah Remini's Carrie.

Logan Williams

Williams, who played a young Barry Allen in multiple episodes of The Flash, was just 16 years old when he died in April; the cause was later revealed to be a fentanyl overdose. In addition to his eight Flash installments, Williams also appeared in episodes of When Calls the Heart, Supernatural and The Whispers.

Frank Bielec

Bielec, a frequent interior designer on TLC's Trading Spaces, died in May at age 72 following complications from a heart attack. Bielec appeared on every Trading Spaces season until its end in 2008, then took part in the show's 2018 reboot. His other credits included the franchise spinoffs Trading Spaces: Family and Trading Spaces: Home Free.

Fred Willard

Comedy legend Willard, a four-time Emmy nominee, died of natural causes in May at age 86. Though Willard amassed dozens of TV credits throughout his career, his most notable roles included Hank MacDougall, Robert's conservative father-in-law, on Everybody Loves Raymond, and Frank Dunphy, Phil's dad, on Modern Family (both of which earned him Emmy nods). On the big screen, Willard was known for films such as This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.

Ken Osmond

Osmond, best known to TV viewers as Leave It to Beaver suck-up Eddie Haskell, died in May at age 76. After originating the role of Eddie on the aforementioned CBS sitcom (and playing him for the show's entire, six-season run), Osmond later reprised the character in the TV movie Still the Beaver, the sequel series The New Leave It to Beaver and the 1997 Leave It to Beaver theatrical film. He also appeared as Eddie on the short-lived TV shows Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Hi Honey, I'm Home!. Other TV credits included Lassie, The Munsters and Happy Days.

Mary Pat Gleason

Gleason, a prolific character actress with more than 100 TV credits, died at age 70 in June, following a battle with cancer. Her long, long television resume included stints on Saved By the Bell (as French teacher Madame Oeuf), Sex and the City (as dressing room attendant Lucille), Desperate Housewives (as elementary school teacher Mrs. Butters) and Will & Grace (as homeless woman Sally), among dozens of others. Most recently, she recurred on CBS' Mom as Alcoholics Anonymous member Mary, who was killed off in Season 7 when the character died of a brain aneurysm.

Sir Ian Holm

Oscar nominee Holm, known for his work as Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings film franchise, died in June at age 88 after a battle with Parkinson's disease. A six-time BAFTA nominee and two-time Emmy nominee, Holm's small-screen credits included King Lear, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Napoleon and Love, Holocaust and the children's fantasy series The Borrowers (along with its follow-up The Return of the Borrowers).

Carl Reiner

Comedy icon Reiner, who created and co-starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show, died of natural causes in June at age 98. A prolific actor, producer and writer, Reiner won nine Primetime Emmy Awards during his multi-decade career, as well as a Grammy Award and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In addition to his TV work — which included roles on Hot in Cleveland, Two and a Half Men, The Carol Burnett Show, House, Mad About You and many others — Reiner also appeared in Broadway musicals and films, the latter of which included a notable turn as Saul Bloom in the Ocean's Eleven franchise.

Hugh Downs

Downs, a veteran broadcaster best known for his years co-anchoring 20/20, died of a heart ailment in July at age 99. After getting his start in radio, Downs moved to TV with announcing gigs on shows such as Hawkins Falls, Population 6200 and Kukla, Fran and Ollie, as well as a stint on Jack Parr's The Tonight Show. Later, Downs hosted the game show Concentration, followed by Today and 20/20, the latter of which he co-anchored until his retirement in 1999. Downs was a seven-time Emmy nominee during his career, grabbing Daytime Emmy gold in both 1981 and 1991.

Naya Rivera

The actress and singer, who rose to stardom as cheerleader Santana Lopez on the Fox musical Glee, drowned in California's Lake Piru in July at the age of 33. After Glee went off the air in 2015, Rivera played housemaid Blanca Alvarez on Lifetime's Devious Maids, along with a guest voice role on American Dad! and a guest judge appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race. She also recurred on the YouTube dance series Step Up: High Water.

Grant Imahara

The MythBusters host died of a brain aneurysm in July at the age of 49. An electrical engineer who worked for LucasFilm's visual effects division, Imahara joined MythBusters in 2005 as a member of the "Build Team," lending his electrical and robotics expertise to the show's formula of testing myths using scientific methods. Imahara also hosted the 2016 Netflix series White Rabbit Project. 

Regis Philbin 

Philbin, best known for hosting Live With Regis and Kathie Lee and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, died of natural causes in July at the age of 88. Having entered showbiz in 1955 as a page for The Tonight Show, he later became Joey Bishop's sidekick on ABC's The Joey Bishop Show in 1967. After leaving Live in 2011, he served as a recurring guest host on the daytime cooking show Rachael Ray, and reunited with Gifford on Today With Kathie Lee and Hoda, occasionally co-hosting alongside Gifford when Hoda Kotb was absent.

Wilford Brimley

The iconic character actor died in August at the age of 85. His breakthrough role came in 1974, when he was cast in the recurring part of Horace Brimley on the long-running TV drama The Waltons. He later starred as family patriarch Gus Witherspoon on the short-lived NBC drama Our House, and served as a spokesman for Quaker Oats and Liberty Medical. On the film side, he appeared in such titles as The China Syndrome, The Thing, The Natural and Cocoon.

Reni Santoni

The veteran actor who played Poppie the restaurant owner on Seinfeld died in August at the age of 81. Santoni had notable film roles in Dirty Harry, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and Cobra, but he was perhaps best known for his four appearances as Poppie on Seinfeld, beginning with 1994's "The Pie." He reprised the role in two more episodes the following season and then returned for the Seinfeld series finale as well.  

Phyllis Somerville

Somerville died of natural causes in July at age 76. Though she was known best for her stints on Showtime's The Big C and WGN America's Outsiders, her list of TV credits was long, from soaps (One Life to Live) to comedies (Sex and the City) to thrillers (Castle Rock). Additional small-screen appearances included The Blacklist, The Good Wife, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, House of Cards, Fringe and Madam Secretary, among many others.

Chi Chi DeVayne

Zavion Davenport, who appeared on multiple seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race under the stage name Chi Chi DeVayne, died at the age of 34 in August following a hospitalization for suspected kidney failure. Chi Chi first joined the Drag Race family in Season 8 (2016), ultimately finishing in fourth place. She returned two years later for Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, finishing in eighth.

Kevin Dobson

Dobson, best known to TV audiences as Mack MacKenzie on the long-running Dallas spinoff Knots Landing, died in September at the age of 77. He also co-starred as Det. Bobby Crocker on the police drama Kojak, opposite Telly Savalas.

Diana Rigg

The Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actress, best known to TV audiences as Game of Thrones' Lady Olenna Tyrell and The Avengers' Agent Emma Peel, died in September at the age of 82. She made her debut as Thrones' feisty, cunning Queen of Thorns in Season 3, and went on to appear in 18 episodes throughout four seasons, with her final appearance in Season 7. The part earned her three consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, from 2013 through 2015.  

Aaron Grissom

The chef, who competed in Season 12 of Bravo's Top Chef, died in September at the age of 34 following a fatal motorcycle crash in his native Tacoma. Grissom was known for his confident, confrontational style during his time on Top Chef's Boston-set Season 12; he finished 11th out of 16 contestants.

Clark Middleton

The actor, who recurred as DMV employee Glen Carter on NBC's The Blacklist, died in October after reportedly contracting West Nile Virus; he was 63 years old. In addition to his role on The Blacklist, Middleton also played Audrey Horne's husband Charlie in Showtime's recent Twin Peaks revival and book store owner Edward Markham on the Fox sci-fi drama Fringe.

Cliff Robinson

Robinson, a former all-star forward for the Portland Trail Blazers who later competed on Survivor, died in August at the age of 53. After retiring from the NBA in 2007 — following stints on the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets — Robinson appeared on Survivor: Cagayan, the series' 28th season. The Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty theme landed him on the Brawn tribe, but he was ultimately the fifth castaway voted off the season.

Chadwick Boseman

Boseman died at the age of 43 in August, following a largely private, four-year battle with colon cancer. Though he was best known for his film work — notably the title role in Marvel's Black Panther — the actor also had several TV credits, including the ABC Family drama Lincoln Heights, NBC's summer mystery Persons Unknown and episodes of Fringe, Justified, Castle, ER, Law & Order and Third Watch.

Tom Kennedy

Kennedy, known for hosting game shows like Name That Tune and Split Second, died in October at the age of 93. Aside from game shows — which also included You Don't Say!, Wordplay and Password Plus — Kennedy also hosted the talk show The Real Tom Kennedy Show in 1970 and served as a panelist on To Tell the Truth, Hollywood Squares and Liar's Club. On the scripted front, he made acting appearances on That Girl, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Cannon and Hardcastle and McCormick, among others.

Conchata Ferrell

The TV veteran and three-time Emmy nominee, best known for playing housekeeper Berta on Two and a Half Men, died in October at the age of 77 following a cardiac arrest. Ferrell was a frequent TV guest star throughout the '80s and '90s and earned an Emmy nod in 1992 for L.A. Law. She joined the cast of Two and a Half Men as Berta in 2003, remaining with the series for its entire 12-season run and earning two more Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.   

Nikki McKibbin

The American Idol singer passed away in November after suffering an aneurysm; she was 42 years old. McKibbin competed in Season 1 of the Fox reality hit and ultimately finished third, behind winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini. She later appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab and its spinoff series Sober House.

Alex Trebek

The longtime Jeopardy! host died in November at age 80, following a nearly two-year battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. After emceeing several programs in his native Canada, Trebek made his American hosting debut in 1973 on the short-lived NBC game show The Wizard of Odds, then hosted several other variety programs and game shows such as Double Dare and High Rollers.

But Trebek was best known for his role behind the podium on the long-running quiz show Jeopardy!, which he began hosting in 1984 when its daily syndicated version launched; at the time of his death, Trebek had presided over more than 8,000 episodes of the beloved program.

Anthony Chisholm

Chisholm, who played Burr Redding on HBO's prison drama Oz, died in October at the age of 77. He recurred on a total of 23 Oz episodes from 2001 to 2003, while other TV credits included Law & Order: SVU, High Maintenance, Random Acts of Flyness, Hack and Wu-Tang: An American Saga. The actor was also a stage veteran who frequently collaborated with playwright August Wilson; in 2007, Chisholm earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Wilson's Radio Golf.

Bert Belasco

Belasco was only 38 years old when he died in November of an as-yet-unknown cause. The actor was best known for starring in BET's comedy series Let's Stay Together, where he played contractor Charles Whitmore for all four seasons. Belasco followed that up with a recurring role on Fox's Pitch and several episodes of Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here; other TV credits included episodes of House, Key & Peele, Justified, Superstore, NCIS: New Orleans and The Mick.

Abby Dalton

The Falcon Crest actress and Emmy nominee died in November at the age of 88 following a long illness. She co-starred on CBS' Hennesey (which earned her an Emmy nod in 1961) and played Joey Bishop's wife on his self-titled NBC sitcom before taking the role of winemaker Julia Cumson on CBS' Falcon Crest in 1981. She also made frequent appearances on game shows like Hollywood Squares, Super Password and The $25,000 Pyramid.

David Lander

Lander, best known to TV audiences for playing the latter half of Laverne & Shirley's Lenny and Squiggy, died in December at the age of 73 after living for 37 years with multiple sclerosis. The actor also guested on series such as Barney Miller, Rhoda and Love, American Style, in addition to runs on The Love Boat and Twin Peaks.

Ben Watkins

Watkins, once a contestant on MasterChef Junior, died in November after battling a rare cancer; he was just 14 years old. Watkins competed on Season 6 of Fox's cooking competition, and in 2019 was diagnosed with angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma, an extremely rare soft tissue tumor.

Natalie Desselle-Reid

Desselle-Reid, best known for playing Janie Egins on the UPN sitcom Eve, died in December at age 53, following a battle with colon cancer. Additional TV credits for Desselle-Reid included a co-starring role in ABC's 1997 reboot of Cinderella, as well as guest stints on Family Matters, ER and Yes, Dear.

Nick McGlashan

McGlashan, star of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, died in December at age 33; the cause of death has not been made public. In addition to 80 episodes of Deadliest Catch, McGlashan also appeared on offshoots The Bait, Greenhorn, Captain vs. Captain and The Legend of Wild Bill, as well as Bering Sea Gold.

Dawn Wells

Wells, best known for playing Kansas-born farm girl Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan's Island, died in December due to complications from COVID-19. She was 82. Prior to her three seasons as Mary Ann, Wells guest-starred on series including Maverick, Wagon Train, 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eve; she later appeared in the Gilligan's Island follow-up TV-movies Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978) and The Castaways on Gilligan's Island (1979), and she voiced both Mary Ann and Ginger Grant on the animated spinoff Gilligan's Planet.