Commemorate: Remembering Those Lost In 2020
Ashley “Minnie” Ross - Lifetime (Top left), Kellye Nakahara - Paramount Pictures (Top Right), Chadwick Boseman - Gareth Cattermole (Center), Floyd Cardoz - Kris Connor (Bottom Right), and Irrfan Khan - Robby Klein (Bottom left).
While the end of each year is marked for many by festivities brought on by the back-to-back-to-back holiday slate, it is also a solemn time of reflection to look back on those lost. 2020 has been a painful year for many across the globe, with millions losing loved ones due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to these personal losses, the death of a celebrity sometimes cuts like the knife of losing a friend, as we often come to feel that we know them personally through their work. Media personalities and actors of film, television and the stage can make a profound impact on individuals, as their work often touches on the personal sentiments of their audiences, relating to emotions we often do not share with others. As 2020 comes to a close, we look back on those performers of drama and comedy, of the stage and onscreen, of those whose entire lives were spent in entertainment and those who found a career in entertainment later in life, who have passed away this year.
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Asif Basra: A dual star of both Bollywood and the international stage, the death of Asif Basra on November 12, ruled by police as a suicide, shocked the world. Earning a Bachelor’s in Physics, Basra’s love of the theatre drew him towards an acting career later in life. He began his career in entertainment in 1991, splitting time between his day job and acting in English-, Hindi- and Urdu-language stage productions before moving on to acting full-time in 1996 after being presented with opportunities in Indian television. Basra became internationally known through his work in film, starring in the American/Indian co-production Quicksand (2002), John Jeffcoat’s 2006 romcom Outsourced and One Night with the King (2006), one of the final films starred by Peter O’Toole. In Bollywood, some of Basra’s most notable performances come from Jab We Met (2007), Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010) and Kai Po Che (2016), while he had only just begun working on streaming productions this year with performances on Amazon Prime Video’s Pataal Lok and Disney Hotstar’s Hostages. Basra passed away at the age of 53 after battling depression.
Rich Polk
Bert Belasco: Making his mark in television with appearances on hit series such as House, Key & Peele, Superstore and Pitch, Bert Belasco is best known for starring in BET’s Let’s Stay Together. Before beginning his career in 2007, Belasco had graduated with a degree in theater from Southern Illinois University, at the time performing improv at the Second City theater in Chicago. As contractor Charles Whitmore, Belasco spent three years on Let’s Stay Together, which revolved around Charles’ relationship with his fiancé Stacy, played by Nadine Ellis. In a 2011 interview, Belasco named his great-grandfather, Lionel Belasco, as the inspiration for his professional drive: “It was so inspiring to me. He was so focused on his work…I only know him by his music and his music speaks to me…It’s something I wanted to apply to my art.” Belasco passed away on November 8 at the age of 38. The actor was found in his hotel room in Virginia where he was quarantining in preparation to work on a movie.
Chadwick Boseman: Considered one of the finest actors of his generation, Chadwick Boseman was an alumnus of Howard University and the British American Drama Academy who found early success as an actor on the stage. He ventured into television during the mid-2000s with appearances on such major series as CSI: New York and All My Children before finding major success on ABC Family’s Lincoln Heights in 2008. Boseman’s most prolific career achievements were undoubtedly in film, where he garnered critical acclaim for his work in biopics, portraying the lives and careers of Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get on Up (2014) and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017). Audiences across the globe came to know the actor when he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as King T’Challa/Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). With Black Panther, Boseman helmed an Oscar-nominated megahit that put the topic of “what it means to be black in both America and Africa,” at the forefront while still delivering a superhero smash that all audiences could enjoy. One of Boseman’s most iconic roles, Black Panther proved to the film industry and to the world at large that “African-American narratives have the power to generate profits from all audiences,” and proved an even bigger point that “making movies about black lives is part of showing that they matter.”
Boseman passed away on August 28 at the young age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. News of his death reverberated around the world as a complete shock, as Boseman and his family never publicized his diagnosis prior to his passing. The announcement made to the actor’s official Twitter account became the most-liked tweet in the social media platform’s history, amassing over 7.6 million likes as of November 2020. Boseman’s final film appearance as Levee in Netflix’s upcoming Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will release posthumously on December 18.
Gregory Tyree Boyce: Known by his family as “a very respectable and responsible man,” who “always put others first,” Gregory Tyree Boyce’s life and career were cut much too short with the actor passing away at just 30-years-old. He is best known for playing a pivotal role in the Twilight franchise with his brief appearance in the series’ first installment as Tyler Crowley, when his character’s near-fatal car accident with protagonist Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, brings her closer to the realization that the Cullen family are vampires. Most recently, Boyce appeared in the 2018 short film Apocalypse and was an aspiring chef and restauranteur, having planned to open “West Wing,” a wing restaurant with original flavors named after west coast rappers. Boyce and his girlfriend Natalie Adepoju were found dead in their Las Vegas apartment on May 13, later attributed to an accidental overdose. The couple is survived by Boyce’s 10-year-old daughter, Alaya, and Adepoju’s infant son, Egypt.
Hunter Martin/Philadelphia Eagles
Timothy Brown: Before becoming a beloved television star, Timothy Brown was a talented athlete, playing in the NFL from 1959 through 1968 as a member of the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Colts. Despite his success in the NFL, Brown began seeking opportunities in acting before his football career had even ended, starting with a guest appearance on The Wild Wild West in 1967. Most notably, Brown was one of only four actors to appear in both the film and television versions of M*A*S*H, playing Dr. Oliver Harmon “Spearchucker” Jones on television and Corporal Judson in the 1970 movie. Brown continued to act throughout the years, especially within the “blaxploitation” niche of the 1970s with roles in Black Gunn (1972), Dynamite Brothers (1974) and Black Heat (1976), and made his final film appearance in 2000’s Frequency. Brown passed away at the age of 82 on April 4 due to complications from dementia.
Kevin Winter
Kobe Bryant: An all-time NBA great and Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant had planned to dedicate much of the second act of his career to entertainment. His introduction to the entertainment industry dates back to 1996, appearing in special guest roles on Moesha, Arli$$ and Sister, Sister. Before casting Ray Allen in the leading role of 1998’s He Got Game, director Spike Lee had offered the role to Bryant, who declined, though the two would eventually together when Bryant became the subject of Lee’s 2009 documentary Kobe Doin’ Work. In 2018, Bryant won an Oscar for Best Animated Short for Dear Basketball (2017), an animated film featuring hand-drawn illustration from director Glen Keane and an original score by composer John Williams based a poem he wrote for The Player’s Tribune in 2015 announcing his retirement from the NBA. With Dear Basketball, Bryant not only became an Academy Award-winner but also made history as the first African American to win an Oscar in this category. Bryant tragically passed away at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on January 26 that also claimed the lives of eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, as the group was en route to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. Prior to his passing, Bryant had plans to expand his work in the entertainment industry, including his goal of opening an animation studio and developing an animated series adaptation of his podcast series The Punies.
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Earl Cameron: One of the first Black British actors to become a household name, Earl Cameron is often referred to as “Britain’s first Black film star.” Despite the significance of his very presence in the British entertainment industry, Cameron confessed that “it was only later, looking back,” that he had realized that he was “a pioneer,” having never considered himself to be one throughout most of his career. Born in Bermuda, Cameron began acting in 1941 while serving in the British Merchant Navy during World War II, making his stage debut in Chu Chin Chow. The actor began working in films in 1944, appearing primarily as an extra, before hitting his onscreen break with the film noir Pool of London (1951). As Johnny, Cameron portrayed a Jamaican merchant seaman in an interracial relationship with a white woman, marking two firsts in British film: the first interracial relationship, and the first non-American Black actor in a starring role. Following Pool of London, Cameron would go on to star in several iconic films, including The Heart Within (1957), Sapphire (1959) and A Warm December (1972), with the latter film connecting him to one of the most iconic actors of all time in star and director Sidney Poitier. On television, Cameron made his mark during the 1960s with roles in Doctor Who (The Tenth Planet)- becoming the first Black actor to portray an astronaut- The Prisoner, Armchair Theatre and Theatre 625.
Cameron thrived in his profession despite the racism he had faced throughout his life. Speaking of his arrival in England in 1939, the actor stated that “the degree of racism in England didn’t surprise [him],” because of his upbringing in Bermuda, “which was a very racist island,” at the time. In 1997, he told Stephen Bourne that although he had “wanted to play big parts in films…black film actors in [Britain] were not given any promotion,” and that their “names did not appear on film posters.” Cameron went on to note that Black roles in British productions often went to Black American actors, as “casting directors didn’t believe…black British actors…could act,” though as Cameron himself noted, this did not stop him from “[working] consistently throughout the 1950s and 1960s.” In 2009, Cameron was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his work in British film and television. Cameron passed away in his sleep on July 3 at the age of 102.
Floyd Cardoz: One of New York City’s premier chefs in Indian cuisine, Chef Floyd Cardoz made his mark in television as the Season 3 winner of Bravo’s reality cooking competition Top Chef Masters in 2011. A native of Mumbai, India, Chef Cardoz honed his culinary skills in India and Switzerland before moving on to establish his career in New York, becoming the executive chef at North End Grill and opening his own restaurants with Tabla and Paowalla- later renamed Bombay Bread Bar- until eventually ascending the ranks to become Estiatorio Milos Group’s Vice President of Culinary in 2019. In addition to his successful stint in reality television, Chef Cardoz also served as the culinary consultant for Lasse Hallström’s 2014 film The Hundred-Foot Journey, which follows the journey of an Indian family as they settle in France and open an Indian restaurant across the street from a Michelin-starred eatery. Chef Cardoz played a major role in elevating the reputation of Indian cuisine in the United States, with food writer Priya Krishna proclaiming that “Indian dining in America would not look like what it does today without him…high-end and personal and regional and cross-cultural…” Chef Cardoz passed away on March 25 at the age of 59 due to complications stemming from a coronavirus infection.
Ranjit Chowdhry: American audiences know Ranjit Chowdhry best for his memorable appearances as Vikram on The Office, but before his iconic sitcom role the actor enjoyed a career that dates back to his 1978 Bollywood debut in Khatta Meetha. Raised in a family of actors, including his mother, theatre actress Pearl Padamsee, and step-father, theatre artist and advertising professional Alyque Padamsee, Chowdhry seemed destined for a career in showbusiness. After establishing his career in India, the actor came to the United States in the 1980s, becoming one of the first major South Asian actors to transition to work in North America, connecting him to other major South Asian filmmakers Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta. Chowdhry passed away on April 15 after suffering from a ruptured intestinal ulcer; he was 64-years-old.
Nick Cordero: A Tony-nominated star of the stage, Nick Cordero was known for his leading roles in musicals, starting in 2009 with The Toxic Avenger and including critically acclaimed performances in 2014’s Bullets Over Broadway and the 2016 Broadway productions of Waitress and A Bronx Tale. For his performance in Bullets Over Broadway, Cordero was honored with five award nominations, including a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, winning the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance and the Outer Critics Circle’s Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. While he worked primarily on the stage, Cordero made occasional onscreen appearances, including on television in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Blue Bloods, as well as in the 2017 Morgan Freeman-starred film Going in Style. Cordero’s wife Amanda Kloots announced the actor’s passing after a lengthy battle with and hospitalization due to the coronavirus on July 5 in an Instagram post. Cordero is survived by his wife and one-year-old son, Elvis.
Natalie Desselle-Reid: With acting roots stemming from college theatre, Natalie Desselle-Reid had been a film and television mainstay since 1996. Making her debut on an episode of Family Matters, the actress would go on to appear in such major films as the “Black cult classic” B.A.P.S. (1997), on which she starred opposite Halle Berry, and Madea’s Big Happy Family (2011). Her most notable work was undoubtedly in television, where she was involved in a variety of projects that included playing Minerva on the beloved made-for-television movie Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella and a starring role on Built to Last in 1997; appearing in the recurring role of Eunetta in For Your Love between 1998 and 2000 and as one of the main stars of Eve, which ran from 2003 through 2006. Desselle-Reid’s December 7 passing from colon cancer at the age of 53 was announced in a statement posted to the actress’ Instagram account. In it, she was described as “a bright light in this world…queen,” and “extraordinary mother and wife,” with a “diverse career [that] touched so many…”
Earl Gibson III
Ja’net DuBois: A singer, songwriter and two-time Emmy Award-winning actress, Ja’net DuBois was an icon of the 1970s, starring in Good Times and lending both her songwriting and vocal talents to The Jeffersons for its opening theme music “Movin’ on Up.” As Willona Woods, DuBois made the most of her starring role in the iconic sitcom as every appearance was also a bold statement. In a 2006 interview, DuBois reflected on the fact that her character “changed the scene for the type of black woman being shown. The wigs, the hats, my everything was a dream come true.” For her work on Eddie Murphy’s stop motion animated series The PJs, DuBois would win two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, in 1999 and 2001. The actress passed away in her sleep at the age of 74 on February 17. In her statement on DuBois’ passing, Janet Jackson, who starred alongside DuBois on Good Times as Willona’s adopted daughter Penny, emphasized DuBois’ cultural impact on the overall television landscape, praising her for “[breaking] stereotypes and [changing] the landscape for Black women in entertainment.”
Ethan Miller
Shad Gaspard: He was a WWE star, but Shad Gaspard may be better remembered as a valiant, loving father who prioritized his son’s life and wellbeing above his own. The 39-year-old wrestling icon passed away on May 17 while swimming with his son, Aryeh, in Venice Beach. When father and son were caught in a rip tide, Gaspard pointed lifeguards toward Aryeh, saving the 10-year-old’s life. His final act was not the only time the wrestler had been a hero, as Gaspard had also prevented the armed robbery of a Florida gas station in 2016.
Gaspard rose to wrestling fame as Da Beast, part of the Cryme Tyme tag team wrestling duo alongside his partner JTG. He retired from the WWE in 2010 to pursue a career in acting, with appearances in Think Like a Man Too (2014), Get Hard (2015) and most recently in Birds of Prey (2020). Fellow WWE star-turned actor Dave Bautista mourned the loss of Gaspard, a “bigger than life,” rising star who “was just starting to make headway with films…” Bautista went on to celebrate Gaspard’s heroism, stating that others “should be inspired by his journey and inspired by his final sacrifice.”
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Galyn Görg: Dancer and actress Galyn Görg embodied a passion and love for performing in its purest sense. “Since I was a child putting on a show has thrilled me and brought me much happiness. I consider myself very fortunate to be an artist…Having the opportunity to create and share my vision as an artist is a precious gift.” As an actress, Görg was involved in some of the most iconic series of the 1990s, including Twin Peaks and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and was a part of television history with her recurring role on M.A.N.T.I.S., the first primetime superhero series helmed by an African American hero. Görg continued to be involved in popular, critically acclaimed series throughout her career, most recently with appearances in Parks and Recreation and How to Get Away with Murder. The artist is better known as a prolific dancer, discovering her passion during childhood with West African dance and ballet before going on to earn scholarships from the Dupree Dance Academy and the Professional Dancer’s Society. Görg passed away on July 14 after a battle with cancer, just one day shy of her 56th birthday. She will make her final film appearance posthumously in 2021 with Teller’s Camp.
Grant Imahara: Exploring technology and natural phenomena- and making it fun- to the delight of inquisitive television viewers, Grant Imahara was involved in some of the best nonfiction science series that the small screen had to offer. A graduate of the University of Southern California in electrical engineering, Imahara began his career in the entertainment industry as an animatronics engineer and modelmaker, powering the special effects of major films such as Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Galaxy Quest, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Episodes I, II and III of Star Wars. From 2005 through 2014, Imahara co-hosted Discovery’s MythBusters alongside Kari Byron and Tory Belleci, who he would later go on to work with again when the trio hosted White Rabbit Project for Netflix in 2016. Imahara passed away on July 13 due to a brain aneurysm at the age of 49. Always looking to spark joy through the combination of science and entertainment, one of the engineer’s final works, announced in March, was a robotic Baby Yoda that he had designed to tour children’s hospitals.
Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson: Breaking barriers in professional wrestling as one half of the tag team duo “The Soul Patrol,” Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson was one of wrestling’s biggest legends. Beginning his career during the mid-1960s, Johnson ascended the ranks to reach wrestling’s biggest stage by joining the WWE in 1983, making history alongside partner Tony Atlas that same year after the two defeated The Wild Samoans to become the first-ever all-Black World Tag Team Champion duo. Atlas called Johnson “one of the best African-American wrestlers to ever have been in this business,” who, “[having] to fight racism his whole life,” wanted nothing more than “equality for black wrestlers.” Johnson would later be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008 by his son, fellow wrestler and A-list actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Johnson passed away of a heart attack on January 15; he was 75-years-old.
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Rishi Kapoor: One of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Rishi Kapoor began his acting career as a child with a brief appearance in 1955’s Shree 420, going on to star in nearly 100 films over the course of his life. Kapoor rose to fame with his role in 1973’s Bobby, starring opposite Dimple Kapadia in a love story between two teenagers from vastly different backgrounds and eventually winning the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance. He spent much of the 1970s and ‘80s playing romantic leads, but would later reinvent himself as a character actor during the 2000s with roles in Hum Tum (2004), Dili 6 (2009), Agneepath (2012) and 102 Not Out (2018). In 2008, Kapoor was honored with a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and would go on to win two more Filmfare awards for his acting, for Best Actor in 2010’s Do Dooni Chaar and Best Supporting Actor in 2016’s Kapoor & Sons. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2018, Kapoor sought care in New York and underwent a successful year-long treatment that allowed him to return to India in September 2019. He made his final film appearance that same year in The Body, though his condition continued to deteriorate until he passed away due to complications from the disease on April 30 at the age of 67.
Larry Busacca
Irrfan Khan: Commanding the world’s attention with brilliant performances in critically acclaimed hits such as Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Life of Pi (2012) and The Lunchbox (2013), prolific Bollywood star Irrfan Khan was held in such a high regard that director Wes Anderson wrote a role specifically for Khan just to create an opportunity to work with the actor. A statement released by his family announcing Khan’s passing described him not just as “a man of few words and an actor of silent expressions with his deep eyes and his memorable actions on screen,” but also “a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him.” The loss of Khan on April 29 from a rare form of cancer at the age of 53 has been referred to by many as one of the biggest losses in Indian cinema. According to writer and newspaper editor Bishwanath Ghosh, Khan’s embodiment of the “Indian everyman,” both as an actor and in his personal life, “allowed him to work into Indian hearts,” leading into the public outpouring of sorrow in which “people took the loss personally.”
Khan entered into the world of acting after enrolling in the National School of Drama in New Delhi and made his professional debut in Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay (1988), who he would work with again in 2006’s The Namesake and in Nair’s segment of the 2008 short film anthology series New York, I Love You. Though he was not particularly fond of his time working in television, he would experience a career rejuvenation in 2001 with The Warrior, the breakthrough film that turned Khan into a star. In Hindi cinema, Khan won the admiration of audiences with a diversity of roles in films such as Maqbool (2004), Paan Singh Tomar (2011), Talvar (2015) and Qarib Qarib Singlle (2018). Ahead of the release of his final film, 2020’s Angrezi Medium, Khan shared a message for fans that makes for a fitting sendoff for such a beloved star: “One doesn’t have any other choice but to remain positive. Whether you are able to make lemonade in such situations is entirely up to you. We’ve made this film with the same sort of positivity. I hope this film is able to make you laugh and cry in equal measure.”
Tommy “Tiny” Lister: Standing at 6 feet, 5 inches tall, Tommy “Tiny” Lister used his massive frame to carve out a niche in entertainment playing intimidating characters. Originally making a name for himself as a star track and field athlete, Lister rose to fame in 1989 with his performance in the Hulk Hogan-starred wrestling movie No Holds Barred, which led to a short stint for him with the World Wrestling Federation before he made a full-time move to film and television. His most iconic role by far was that of neighborhood bully Deebo in the first two installments of the Friday franchise, debuting in 1995’s Friday and reprising his role five years later in Next Friday (2000). In addition to starring in the Friday films, Lister amassed over 250 acting credits, including other notable appearances in The Fifth Element (1997), The Dark Knight (2008)- in which his character plays a pivotal role at the climax of the Joker’s terror- and Zootopia (2016).
News of Lister’s passing at the age of 62 was confirmed on December 10 after his body was discovered in his Marina del Rey home. Having not heard from the actor for several days, concerned friends and business associates requested that authorities conduct a welfare check on him, prompting the tragic discovery by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. While the official cause of Lister’s passing is currently under investigation, the actor’s health had reportedly declined in recent months after testing positive for the coronavirus. Lister was eulogized by his Friday co-star Ice Cube as “America’s favorite bully…a born entertainer who would pop into character at the drop of a hat terrifying people on and off camera. Followed by a big smile and laugh.”
Kellye Nakahara: Starting off as an uncredited extra on M*A*S*H, her first paid acting job, Kellye Nakahara exuded such a charismatic personality that the crew had to find a way to keep her around. They did this by expanding on her role as Nurse #1 and transforming it into Lt. Nurse Kellye Yamato, a recurring character based on Nakahara’s offscreen antics, such as tap dancing before shooting. Staying on for all 11 seasons, Nakahara would become one of the longest-tenured actors to ever grace the iconic series, appearing in at least 167 episodes. While Nakahara is best known for her iconic M*A*S*H character, the actress was also featured in other big-name series and films such as Clue (1985), Dr. Dolittle (1998), Growing Pains, NYPD Blue and Little House on the Prairie. Nakahara passed away on February 16 at the age of 72 after battling cancer.
Hindustan Times
Sushant Singh Rajput: Coming to Mumbai from Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, to pursue his dreams of becoming an actor, Sushant Singh Rajput’s rise to fame as one of Bollywood’s brightest up-and-coming stars won him the hearts of millions. Unsurprisingly, this also meant that his sudden passing at the age of 34 to suicide devastated Bollywood fans across the globe. After getting his foot in the door through small television roles and work in the theatre, Rajput got a breakthrough in 2008 for his role on Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil. His short-lived yet popular role on the series would catch the eye of Ekta Kapoor, who would go on to cast him as the lead of Pavitra Rishta, for which he won multiple awards and saw a meteoric rise to fame. The actor would make his film debut in Kai Po Che (2013), the first role he actively auditioned for, and would star in other major films, including his award-winning performance in M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016). Rajput passed away on June 14 after a battle with depression.
Marguerite Ray: Making daytime history as the first Black actor to appear as a regular on the long-running CBS soap The Young and the Restless, Marguerite Ray knew that she was a trailblazer. In a 2015 essay reflecting on her career, the actress emphasized the transition that the soap underwent, from featuring Ray as “the first Black [person] to have a contract on that show,” in 1980 to the present, in which “half the cast is Black.” Ray was a 1953 graduate of UC Berkeley in Recreation and Theatre Arts who subsequently took her talents to Germany, where she acted as the U.S. Special Services’ recreation and entertainment director from 1954 through 1959. Upon her return from Europe, she began her career in the entertainment industry in the 1960s, working consistently for five decades with roles on such series as Sanford, Dynasty and The Rockford Files until capping off her career with a 2001 appearance in Men, Women & Dogs. Ray’s November 18 passing at the age of 89 was officially announced on December 10.
Naya Rivera: Acting since the age of four, Naya Rivera was best known for her portrayal of Santana Lopez on the smash hit musical series Glee. In a 2009 interview, Rivera, who was still a relatively unknown talent commodity at the time, stated that she had wanted badly to book the role because it was an opportunity for the performer to “sing, dance and act all in the same show,” as “those are things that [she loved] to do and…never gotten to combine them all and do it in one project.” Aside from providing entertainment value for fans of Glee, Rivera’s role on the series provided representation for the LGBTQ+ community after her character came out as lesbian during the show’s third season. Even though Santana was not the first lesbian character on television, McKenna Uzelac noted that Rivera’s character was still a landmark for representation because she was a main character on a major broadcast network series aimed primarily at an adolescent audience. Santana cleared struggled with her identity before coming out, manifesting that internal conflict through sarcasm and anger, not as the perfect model gay character that is usually portrayed on television that many in the LGBTQ+ community struggle to identify with. Santana’s sexuality was not her entire character, just a part of who she was, and for Uzelac and countless others, this fresh and normalized portrayal “meant the world.” Recognizing the importance of her Glee character, Rivera remained an active ally of the LGBTQ+ community for the rest of her life.
Rivera’s life was cut short at the age of 33 when her July 8 drowning was officially confirmed after her body was found on July 13. The actress had gone for a swim in Lake Piru with her four-year-old son, Josey, and in her final moments, saved his life by using what strength she had left to lift him into their boat.
Paras Griffin
Ashley “Minnie” Ross: Adding to the representation of women with dwarfism on television, Ashley Ross, better known as “Ms. Minnie,” passed away in a car crash on April 27 at the age of 34. One of the stars of Lifetime’s reality series Little Women: Atlanta, viewers had been following Ross’ work to break into the Atlanta hip-hop scene since 2016. Ross joined the show after leaving her profession as a hairstylist, not hesitating to seize her chance at television and music stardom. In a 2016 interview with The Breakfast Club, Ross told the popular talk show’s hosts that “the opportunity came and fell into my lap and I ran with it.” Calling herself the “peacemaker” of the group, Ross was the go-to person for advice among her castmates. Her publicist Liz Dixson called Ross “a sweet and kind person with a big heart…an advocate for St. Jude and young women,” going on to say that the star would “be remembered for her contagious smile.”
Esther Scott: Proving to the world that it’s never too late for one to pursue their dreams, Esther Scott, who was born in 1953, developed a love for acting in high school that she continued to pursue until finally receiving her first acting credit in 1986 for her voiceover work on Ewoks. Scott would go on to appear in over 70 films and television shows, typically in the role of the strict, yet nurturing, mother, and later grandmother. On television, Scott appeared in several iconic series including Hart of Dixie, Melrose Place and Sister, Sister, though she is most known for her roles in major films, including Boyz n the Hood (1991), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Dreamgirls (2006) and The Birth of a Nation (2016). Scott passed away of a heart attack on February 14 at the age of 66.
Sports Nippon
Ken Shimura: Referred to as the Robin Williams of Japan, Ken Shimura’s comical and exaggerated facial expressions have made Japanese television viewers laugh since 1969. Inspired by the comedy style of Jerry Lewis, Shimura’s brand of slapstick comedy is marked by its versatility, ranging from his “Mustache Dance” reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin, to his comedy rock band that performed throughout the 1970s and ‘80s. He is well-known for playing his Baka Tonosama, or “stupid lord,” and Henna Ojisan, or “strange uncle,” characters across various television comedies, and had been involved in comic theater work since 2006. From 1986 through 1992, Shimura and former bandmate Cha Kato developed Kato-Chan Ken-Chan Gokigen TV, or “Fun TV with Kato-Chan and Ken-Chan.” The series included a segment airing funny home video clips sent in by viewers, which would later be responsible for developing the format made popular in the United States on America’s Funniest Home Videos when it premiered in 1989. Shimura had been admitted to a Tokyo hospital on March 20 after experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms before testing positive for the coronavirus on March 23. He passed away on March 29 at 70-years-old. A statement from Shimura’s talent agency, Izawa Office, comforted grieving fans by reminding them that “Until the end, he was committed to presenting laughter to the people.”
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Geno Silva: Leaving an impression on viewers without even uttering a word, Geno Silva is best known for his silent role in Scarface (1983) as The Skull, the hitman who ends the life and reign of terror of Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino. A character actor, Silva had roles in films directed by some of the industry’s biggest directors, including Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), as well as David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001), and on television with several iconic series such as Days of Our Lives, Walker, Texas Ranger, Miami Vice and Star Trek: Enterprise. In addition to his onscreen credits, Silva also had a prolific career on the stage, starring alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz in The Merchant of Venice and in the off-Broadway production of Jose Rivera’s Sueño. Silva passed away at the age of 72 on May 9 due to complications from dementia. For fans who wish to honor the actor, his family has requested that donations be made to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, the form of dementia Silva had been battling.
Anthony Barboza
B. Smith: A star of several talents, Barbara Elaine Smith, better known as B. Smith, started off as a model and expanded herself into work as a television host, actress, lifestyle ambassador and cookbook author. As a model, Smith broke ground as one of the first African American women to grace the cover of Mademoiselle in 1976 and appeared in the commercials of several big-name brands including Verizon, Colgate and Mercedes-Benz. It was these appearances that made her an authority on luxury and aspirational lifestyle, leading to her hosting NBC’s B. Smith with Style during the 1990s and co-producing four specials for the African American-focused lifestyle channel TV One alongside her husband Dan Gasby. As an actress, she made her debut in Nora and Delia Ephron’s off-Broadway production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore while still continuing her work as a lifestyle host with appearances on Good Morning America and The Today Show. While some have described her as “the black Martha Stewart,” Smith rejected this comparison, noting in a 1997 interview that “Martha Stewart has presented herself doing the things domestics and African Americans have done for years.”
In 2013, Smith was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease, an affliction she had realized was a serious issue during an appearance on The Today Show. The host used her platform to build awareness on the disease and its complications, discussing it on television with Al Roker and co-authoring a book with Gasby titled Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer’s. Smith passed away on February 22 at the age of 70 due to complications from the disease.
Carol Sutton: More than an actress, the talents of Carol Sutton were so much larger than life that she became embedded into the local culture of the storied city of New Orleans. Beginning her career in 1968 at The Dashiki Project Theatre, Sutton would make her professional debut appearing in the 1974 made-for-television movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Despite her refusal to relocate to one of the entertainment industry’s epicenters in Los Angeles or New York, Sutton consistently booked roles in major productions, including the films Steel Magnolias (1989), Monster’s Ball (2001), Ray (2004) and The Help (2011) and more recently on television with True Detective in 2014 and this year’s Lovecraft Country. In a 2019 interview, Sutton discussed her choice to stay true to her Louisiana roots, stating that she “never had a desire to leave New Orleans,” as the actress had always felt that “if [she] wanted to get on stage or get in a movie,” she could do so without going to New York or Los Angeles. Over the course of her career, Sutton would go on to make over 100 appearances between film, television and the stage, proving that she truly could have it both ways with her profession and her hometown.
Sutton passed away on December 10 at the age of 76 due to complications from a coronavirus infection. In a statement discussing Sutton’s life and career, David Cuthbert succinctly put into words exactly what the actress had meant to her hometown and to the local performing scene: “Among actors in New Orleans, there was Carol Sutton - and there was everybody else…Wherever she was on stage, that was center stage.”
QUEEN OF KATWE'S FACEBOOK
Nikita Pearl Waligwa: Her work as an actress was brief yet profound, as Nikita Pearl Waligwa played a pivotal role in 2016’s Queen of Katwe. In the biopic about Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, Waligwa took on the role of Gloria, who first explains the rules of chess to Madina Nalwanga’s Mutesi. The young actress was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016, to which director Mira Nair responded by arranging for Waligwa to receive the proper care in India. Though she would go on to make a full recovery in 2017, the tumor returned last year, and Waligwa passed away from the disease on February 15 at just 15-years-old. Mourned by her Queen of Katwe co-stars, David Oyelowo called Waligwa “a ball of light,” while Lupita Nyong’o said that the actress had “played Gloria with such vibrancy.”
Ben Watkins: A future star chef in the making, Ben Watkins won the hearts of millions when he competed on MasterChef Junior in 2018. The 14-year-old was a contestant on the popular cooking competition when he was 11, placing in the top 18 of the show’s sixth season, having honed his culinary skills in the kitchen of his family’s Indiana restaurant, Big Ben’s Bodacious BBQ and Delicatessen. The aspiring chef had spent the past 18 months undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer that is known to primarily afflict children and young adults. In a statement, his family praised his “strength, courage and love for life,” calling him “the strongest person we know.” Watkins passed away at the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago on November 16.
Mark Mainz
Mel Winkler: With an acting career that spanned from his 1968 Broadway debut until his 2020 passing, Mel Winkler worked in film, television and the theatre but would make his biggest impact as a character voice actor. Winkler was originally a U.S. Army Captain before transitioning to entertainment with his role in Broadway’s 1968 production of The Great White Hope. Winkler went on to become a Broadway regular throughout the years, with notable performances in August Wilson’s 1988 production of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and in the Neil Simon-penned, Joe Mantello-directed production of Proposals in 1997. On the screen, the actor appeared in 68 episodes of The Doctors and is known for his appearances in the films All the Right Moves (1983), Doc Hollywood (1991) and Devil in a Blue Dress (1995). Undoubtedly, Winkler was best known for his work as a voice actor, voicing characters from the DC Comics cartoons, as Commissioner Henderson in Superman: The Animated Series and as Lucius Fox in The New Batman Adventures, and in video games as the voice of Aku Aku in several entries of the Crash Bandicoot series. Winkler passed away in his sleep on June 11 at 78-years-old.
