Film Tv Deaths Date 2008 | History by KabAstro

Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

Jan 22 Australian-American Actor (Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight), dies of a drug overdose at 28

Jan 22 Roberto Gari, American actor (b. 1920)
Jan 24 Randy Salerno, co-anchor of Chicago's CBS 2 News (b. 1963)
Jan 25 Christopher Allport, American actor (To Live and Die in L.A.), dies at 60
Jan 26 Christian Brando, American actor and son of Marlon Brando, dies of pneumonia at 49
Jan 29 Philippe Khorsand, French actor (b. 1948)
Jan 30 Jeremy Beadle, British television host (Beadle's About), dies of pneumonia at 59
Jan 30 Roland Selmeczi, Hungarian stage and screen actor, and film dubber, dies in a car crash at 38
Feb 1 Shell Kepler [Michelle Alaine Kepler], American actress (General Hospital), dies from renal failure at 49
Feb 2 Herbert "Barry" Morse, British-Canadian actor (The Fugitive, Space: 1999, Winds of War), dies at 89
Feb 2 Katoucha, Guinean model and activist (b. 1960)
Feb 7 Tamara Desni [Brodsky], German-born British actress (The Green Finger, Hell's Cargo), dies from natural causes at 97
Feb 8 Eva Dahlbeck, Swedish actress (Brink of Life, Dreams, A Lesson in Love), dies of infection and Alzheimer's disease at 87
Feb 10 Roy Scheider, American actor (Jaws, The French Connection, Marathon Man, Paper Lion), dies at 75
Feb 12 David Groh, American actor (Rhoda - "Joe"; Another Day - "Don"), dies of kidney cancer at 68
Feb 12 Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (The Glenn Miller Story), dies at 100
Feb 14 Perry Lopez, American actor (Chinatown, Death Wish 4), dies at 78
Feb 15 Ashley Callie, South African actress (b. 1976)
Feb 18 Alain Robbe-Grillet, French novelist (Voyeur) and film maker, dies of heart failure at 85
Feb 18 Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress, dies at 52
Feb 19 Lydia Shum, Hong Kong comedian and actress, known as Fei-fei, dies at 62
Feb 20 Emily Perry, English Actress (b. 1907)
Feb 21 Ben Chapman, American actor (b. 1928)
Feb 27 Boyd Coddington, American auto designer (owner Boyd Coddington Hot Rod Shop) and television host (American Hot Rod on TLC), dies of sepsis at 63
Mar 4 Elena Nathanael, Greek film actress (b. 1941)
Mar 4 Leonard Rosenman, American Academy and Emmy Award-winning film and television composer (Rebel Without A Cause; Star Trek IV; Bound for Glory; Sybill), dies of a heart attack at 83
Mar 4 Semka Sokolovic-Bertok, Yugoslavian-born Croatian actress (b. 1935)
Mar 8 Carol Barnes, British television news journalist (ITN; ITV), dies a few days after suffering a stroke at 63
Mar 12 Jorge Guinzburg, Argentine journalist, producer, humorist, and TV, theater and radio host (b. 1949)
Mar 14 Melville "Mel" Brandt, American actor and NBC staff announcer (Faraway Hill), dies at 88
Mar 15 Mikey Dread [Michael Campbell], Jamaican reggae singer, producer ("Rocker's Delight"), and broadcaster (BBC), dies of a brain tumor at 53
Mar 16 Gary Hart, American professional wrestling manager and wrestler (b. 1942)
Mar 16 Ivan Dixon, American actor, director and civil rights activist (Car Wash, Hogan's Heroes, The Final War of Olly Winter), dies of renal failure at 76
Mar 16 John Hewer, English actor famous for portraying Captain Birdseye in British commercials, dies at 86
Mar 18 Anthony Minghella, English Oscar winning film director (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley), dies at 54

Paul Scofield (1922-2008)

Mar 19 English actor (A Man for All Seasons and Quiz Show), dies from leukemia at 86

Mar 19 Raghuvaran, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam actor (b. 1948)
Mar 20 Brian Wilde, English actor (b. 1921)
Mar 20 Shoban Babu, Indian actor (b. 1937)
Mar 24 Richard Widmark, American actor (Madigan, Murder on the Orient Express, Judgement at Nuremberg), dies complications following a fall at 93
Mar 25 Rafael Azcona, Spanish screenwriter (b. 1926)
Mar 30 Dith Pran, Cambodian photojournalist, survivor of the Cambodian genocide, and subject of the movie "The Killing Fields", dies of pancreatic cancer at 65
Mar 31 Jules Dassin, American film director (The Naked City; Night And The City; Rififi), blacklisted during McCarthy era, dies at 96

Charlton Heston (1923-2008)

Apr 5 American actor (The Ten Commandments; Ben-Hur; Planet of Apes)Ben-Hur), dies at 84

Apr 8 Stanley Kamel, American actor (b. 1943)
Apr 14 Miguel Galvan, Mexican actor/comedian. (b. 1957)
Apr 14 Ollie Johnston, American animator and the last living member of Disney's Nine Old Men, dies at 95
Apr 15 Benoît Lamy, Belgian film director, dies at 62
Apr 25 Humphrey Lyttelton, British jazz trumpeter and bandleader ("Bad Penny Blues"), and broadcaster (BBC2 - Best Of Jazz, 1967-2007; BBC4 - I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, 1972-2008), dies at 86
May 2 Beverlee McKinsey (née Magruder), American actress (Another World, 1972-80 - "Iris Carrington"; Guiding Light, 1984-92 - "Alexandra Spaulding"), dies from kidney transplant complications at 72
May 10 Jessie Jacobs, Australian Actress (b. 1990)
May 13 John Phillip Law, American actor (Death Rides a Horse), dies at 70
May 15 Alexander Courage, American composer of original Star Trek theme, dies at 88
May 24 Dick Martin [Thomas Richard], American actor and comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Carbon Copy), dies of respiratory complications at 86

Sydney Pollack (1934-2008)

May 26 American Academy and Emmy Award-winning director, producer (Tootsie; Out of Africa), and occasional actor, dies of cancer at 73

May 28 Robert Justman, American television producer (b. 1926)
May 29 Harvey Korman, American actor (The Carol Burnett Show; Blazing Saddles; High Anxiety), dies at 81
Jun 2 Mel Ferrer, American actor (Longest Day, Eaten Alive, 5th Floor), dies at 90
Jun 4 Nikos Sergianopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1952)
Jun 7 Jim McKay, American sportscaster (ABC's Wide World of Sports; American Sportscasters Association HOF), dies at 86
Jun 7 Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor (b. 1953)
Jun 12 Pam Henning [Cornelia Catharina Pamela Ingenegeren], Indonesian-Dutch cabaret dancer and actress, dies at 90

Tim Russert (1950-2008)

Jun 13 American television journalist and host of NBC's Meet the Press, dies at 58

Jun 15 Stan Winston, American special effects and makeup artist, and film director (b. 1946)
Jun 17 Cyd Charisse [Tula Finklea], American dancer and actress (Singin' in the Rain), dies at 86
Jun 18 Jean Delannoy, French actor and director (b. 1908)
Jun 18 Miyuki Kanbe, Japanese actor (b. 1984)
Jun 22 George Carlin, American comedian, actor ("7 dirty words" routine), dies of cardiac failure at 71
Jun 25 Alla Kazanskaya, Russian stage and film actress (Burnt by the Sun), dies at 88
Jun 28 Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model, dies aged 20 after falling from the ninth-floor balcony of her Manhattan apartment under unexplained circumstances
Jun 29 Don S. Davis, American actor and artist (b. 1942)
Jul 2 Elizabeth Spriggs, English-Born Actress (b. 1929)
Jul 3 Clive Hornby, English soap actor (Emmerdale), dies of cancer at 63
Jul 3 Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (Bozo the Clown), dies at 83
Jul 4 Evelyn Keyes, American actress (Gone With The Wind), dies at 91
Jul 7 Dorian Leigh, American supermodel and icon of the fashion industry, dies of Alzheimer's disease at 91
Jul 14 Bryan Cowgill, British broadcasting executive (BBC, 1963-77; Thames Television, 1977-85), dies at 81
Jul 14 Henki Kolstad, Norwegian actor (b. 1915)
Jul 14 Hugh Lloyd, British actor (Hugh and I, Punch & Judy Man), dies at 85
Jul 17 Larry Haines [Hecht], American actor (The Odd Couple, Search for Tomorrow), dies at 89
Jul 18 Khosrow Shakibai, Iranian actor (Hamoun), dies at 64
Jul 19 Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedienne, singer and actress, worlds longest acting career (1922-2008), dies at 101
Jul 20 Artie Traum, American folk guitarist, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker, dies of ocular cancer at 65

Estelle Getty (1923-2008)

Jul 22 American actress (The Golden Girls, The Golden Palace), dies of Lewy body disease at 84

Jul 27 Youssef Chahine, Egyptian film director (b. 1926)
Jul 28 Susan Tamim, Lebanese singer and actress (Studio El Fan), murdered in her apartment in Dubai at 30
Aug 6 Jud Taylor, American actor (Dr. Kildare (TV series) - "Dr. Gerson"), and director (Tail Gunner Joe), dies at 76
Aug 9 Bernie Mac, American comedian and actor (The Bernie Mac Show, Ocean's Eleven), dies of cardiac arrest at 50
Aug 11 George Furth, American actor and director (Tammy, Good Guys, Dumplings), dies at 75
Aug 11 Sir William "Bill" Cotton, British television producer and executive (Noel Gay TV), dies at 80
Aug 15 Leroy Sievers, American journalist (CBS News, Nightline), dies of cancer at 53
Aug 17 František Zvarík, Slovakian stage actor (Slovak National Theatre), dies at 87
Aug 19 Marguerite Empey [Diane Webber], American model and Playboy playmate (May 1955, Feb 1956), dies at 76
Aug 20 Margaret Douglas, chief political adviser (BBC), dies at 73
Aug 27 Mark Priestley, Australian actor (b. 1976)
Aug 29 Geoffrey Perkins, British comedy producer (b. 1953)
Aug 30 Walter "Killer" Kowalski, Canadian professional wrestler, dies at 81
Aug 31 Ike Pappas, American news correspondent (CBS), dies at 75
Aug 31 Jerry Reed, American country music singer ("When You're Hot, You're Hot") and actor (Bat 21; Smokey and the Bandit), dies of complications from emphysema at 71
Sep 1 Don LaFontaine, American voice actor (b. 1940)
Sep 2 Bill Meléndez, American character animator (b. 1916)
Sep 6 Anita Page, American silent screen actress (Our Dancing Daughters), dies at 98
Sep 7 Ilarion Ciobanu, Romanian actor (Ultimul cartus), dies at 76
Sep 7 Nagi Noda, Japanese pop artist and director, dies after surgery at 34
Sep 14 Ştefan Iordache, Romanian actor (b. 1941)
Sep 18 Humberto Solás, Cuban film director and writer (Lucia), dies at 66
Sep 24 Irene Dailey, American actress (Another World, Grissom Gang), dies of colon cancer at 88

Paul Newman (1925-2008)

Sep 26 American actor (Hud, Hombre, Hustler), auto racer and team owner (Newman/Haas Racing) and charity food company founder (Newman's Own), dies of lung cancer at 83

Oct 1 House Peters Jr., American actor (King of the Rocket Man), dies at 92
Oct 2 Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress (b. 1968)
Oct 5 Ken Ogata [Akinobu Ogata], Japanese actor (Okinawan Boys, Taikōki), dies of liver cancer at 71
Oct 6 Kim Ji-hoo, South Korean actor and model (b. 1985)
Oct 7 Peter Copley, British actor (Victim, Kingdom of Heaven, King & Country), dies at 93
Oct 8 Bob Friend, British newscaster (BBC, 1969-89; Sky News, 1989-2003), dies from a brain tumor at 70
Oct 8 Eileen Herlie [Herlihy], Scottish-American actress (All My Children; The Angel with the Trumpet), dies of complications from pneumonia at 90
Oct 11 Neal Hefti, American jazz trumpeter, arranger (Woody Herman; Count Basie); bandleader (Kate Smith Show) and composer ("Li'l Darlin"; The Odd Couple; Batman theme), dies at 85
Oct 15 Edie Adams [Edith Enke], American businesswoman, singer, actress and comedian (Murial Cigar), dies at 81
Oct 15 Jack Narz, American TV game show host (Dotto, Video Village), dies at 85
Oct 15 Nathan Davis, American actor (Dunston Checks In, Holes, Code of Silence), dies from emphysema and pneumonia at 91
Oct 19 Rudy Ray Moore, American comedian and actor (Dolemite) (b. 1937)
Oct 26 Delmar Watson, American child actor (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Heidi, Annie Oakley), dies at 82

Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

Nov 4 American novelist (The Andromeda Strain: Congo), screenwriter (Jurassic Park; ER), television and film producer (ER; Twister; Looker), dies of cancer at 66

Nov 5 Michael Higgins, American actor (Angel Heart, 1918, Wanda, Black Stallion), dies of heart failure at 88
Nov 10 Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer, dies at 87
Nov 16 Reg Varney, English actor (On the Buses), dies at 92
Nov 17 Guy Peellaert, Belgian graphic artist, photographer (Rock Dreams), movie poster and album cover designer (David Bowie -"Diamond Dogs'; Rolling Stones - "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll"), dies of cancer at 74
Nov 26 De'Angelo Wilson, American actor (b. 1979)
Dec 1 Paul Benedict, American actor (Harry-Jeffersons), dies at 70
Dec 4 Forrest J. Ackerman, American literary agent and writer who invented the term "sci-fi (Famous Monsters of Filmland), dies at 92
Dec 4 Fritz Behrendt, German-Dutch political cartoonist (Het Parool; De Telegraaf; New York Herald Tribune), dies at 83
Dec 5 Beverly Garland [Fessenden], American actress (My Three Sons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King), dies at 82
Dec 5 Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (The Ten Commandments, Spartacus, An American in Paris), dies from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome at 84
Dec 7 Marky Cielo, Filipino and Igorot dancer and actor (b. 1988)
Dec 8 Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer and writer, dies at 83
Dec 8 Robert Prosky, Polish-American actor and comedian (Christine, Thief), dies at 77

Bettie Page (1923-2008)

Dec 11 American pinup model considered the 'Queen of Pinups' and the 'Dark Angel', dies at 85

Dec 11 Maddie Blaustein, American voice actress (b. 1960)
Dec 12 (Charles) Van Johnson, American actor (in A Guy Named Joe; Brigadoon) always wore red socks, dies at 92
Dec 13 Horst Tappert, German director, actor and former SS member (Derrick), dies of diabetes at 85
Dec 13 Kathy Staff [Minnie Higginbottom], British actress (Mary Reilly, Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours), dies from a brain tumour at 80
Dec 18 Jack Douglas, English actor (Carry On films), dies at 81
Dec 18 Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (Star Trek), and the widow of Gene Roddenberry, dies at 76
Dec 20 Dorothy Sarnoff, American operatic soprano, Broadway actress (Rosalinda), author and pioneer of the self-help movement (Speech Can Change Your Life, Speech Dynamics), dies at 94

Harold Pinter (1930-2008)

Dec 24 British playwright and screenwriter (The Birthday Party, The Homecoming), dies at 78

Dec 25 Eartha Kitt, American singer (Santa Baby), dancer, comedian, actress and activist (Catwoman-Batman), dies at 81
Dec 26 Gösta Krantz, Swedish actor (b. 1925)
Dec 30 Dick Green, Canadian actor