Celebrity deaths, illness, divorce and remembrance
Dustin Neil Diamond (January 7, 1977 – February 1, 2021) was an American actor, director, stand-up comedian, and musician best known for his role as Samuel “Screech” Powers throughout the Saved by the Bell franchise.
Dustin Diamond Illness and death
On January 14, 2021, Diamond’s manager announced that Dustin had been diagnosed with small-cell lung carcinoma, and was undergoing chemotherapy in Florida. Diamond died from the disease on February 1, 2021, at age 44.
Screechios
Randel Huston Parton (December 15, 1953 – January 21, 2021), known professionally as Randy Parton, was an American singer-songwriter, actor and businessman.
He was the younger brother of Dolly Parton.
Parton was the first person to record the song “Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)” in 1982. Two years later, in 1984, the band Alabama recorded it, and became the group’s 12th straight No. 1 single. Also in 1984, Parton sang a song for the Rhinestone soundtrack; his sister Dolly starred in the film. He also played bass for his sister.
Randy Parton Cause of Death
Randy Parton died of cancer on January 21, 2021, at age 67.
Randy Parton – Roll On (from Pop Goes the Country)
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was a Dutch-born American musician, songwriter, producer, and inventor. He was the main songwriter and founder—with brother and drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone, and singer David Lee Roth—of the American rock band Van Halen. In 2012, he was voted number one in a Guitar World magazine reader’s poll for “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.
Van Halen struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse. He stated that he began smoking and drinking at age 12, and that he eventually needed alcohol to function. Van Halen entered rehabilitation in 2007. In a 2015 interview, he stated that he had been sober since 2008.
Van Halen began receiving treatment for tongue cancer in 2000. The subsequent surgery removed roughly a third of his tongue. He was declared cancer-free in 2002.
In 2019, it was revealed that Van Halen had been secretly battling throat cancer over the previous five years. Van Halen died from the illness on October 6, 2020. He was 65 years old.
Van Halen – Jump (Official Music Video)
Van Halen Eruption Guitar Solo
Chadwick Aaron Boseman (November 29, 1976 – August 28, 2020) was an American actor and producer. He was best known for his portrayals of real-life historical figures, such as Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get on Up (2014) and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017), and for his portrayal of the superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, most notably in Black Panther (2018), for which he won a NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). He also starred in films such as 21 Bridges (2019) and Da 5 Bloods (2020).
Chadwick Boseman cause of death
Boseman died of complications related to his four-year battle with colon cancer at his home on August 28, 2020.
Boseman was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, which eventually progressed to a stage IV before 2020. Boseman had not spoken publicly about his battle with cancer. News of his death was released on August 28, 2020. During treatment (multiple surgeries and chemotherapy) he continued to work and completed filming for several films, including Marshall, Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and others.
Black Panther Trailer
Frankie Banali (November 14, 1951 – August 20, 2020) was an American rock drummer, known for his work with multi-platinum heavy metal band Quiet Riot and was the only member remaining from the band’s classic lineup. He had been the band’s manager since 1994. He played drums in the heavy metal band W.A.S.P., as well as with Billy Idol. Banali was briefly a touring drummer for Faster Pussycat and Steppenwolf.
Frankie Banali cause of death
In October 2019, Banali revealed that he was diagnosed with stage-IV pancreatic cancer on April 17. He died from the disease on August 20, 2020, at age 68. This left Banali as the second member of the classic Metal Health-era Quiet Riot lineup to have died, following Kevin DuBrow in November 2007.
Quiet Riot – “Cum On Feel The Noize” Live at the US Festival, 1983
Wayne Fontana (born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, 28 October 1945 – 6 August 2020) was an English rock and pop singer, best known for the 1965 hit “The Game of Love” with the Mindbenders.
Wayne Fontana cause of death
Fontana died from cancer on 6 August 2020 at the age of 74. His long-term partner was by his side. He also had a daughter and two sons.
Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders – Game Of Love
Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders – Game Of Love
Bent Fabricius-Bjerre (7 December 1924 – 28 July 2020), better known internationally as Bent Fabric, was a Danish pianist and composer.
He is best known for his 1961 instrumental “Omkring et flygel” (literally, “Around a Grand Piano”) which became a hit in Denmark. The song was re-released worldwide under the name “Alley Cat” on Atco Records the following year, and went to #1 in Australia and #49 in Germany. The tune also became a hit in the United States; the song hit #2 on the AC chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the LP of the same name hit #13 on the Billboard 200. “Alley Cat” also won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The follow-up single, “Chicken Feed”, hit #63 in the U.S.
Bent Fabric cause of death.
Bent Fabric died on 28 July 2020, after fighting cancer.
Alley Cat – Bent Fabric
Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), better known by her stage name Kelly Preston, was an American actress and model. She appeared in more than sixty television and film productions, including Mischief (1985), Twins (1988), Jerry Maguire (1996) and For Love of the Game (1999). She was married to John Travolta, with whom she collaborated on comedy film The Experts (1989), science fiction film Battlefield Earth (2000), and the biographical film Gotti (2018). She also starred in the films SpaceCamp (1986), The Cat in the Hat (2003), What a Girl Wants (2003), Broken Bridges (2006) and Old Dogs (2009).
Death of her son Jett Travolta
Preston’s son Jett Travolta was described as suffering from Kawasaki disease as an infant and had a history of seizures. On January 2, 2009, Jett Travolta died while the family was on a vacation in the Bahamas. His death was attributed to a seizure. In September 2009, Travolta and Preston confirmed longstanding speculations when they testified that their son had autism and suffered regular seizures.
Kelly Preston cause of death
On July 12, 2020, Preston died at the age of 57, two years after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her diagnosis had been kept quiet and was not widely publicized. At the time of her death, Preston was being treated at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas; she had also been treated at other medical centers.
John Travolta & Kelly Preston Honor Late Son Jett On His 28th Birthday
Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late–1960s as a teenager, Wright rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as “Clean Up Woman” and “Tonight Is the Night”. Wright was also prominent in her use of whistle register.
Wright won the Best R&B Song Grammy Award for composing “Where Is the Love”.
Wright died from cancer, on May 10, 2020 at her home in Miami. She was 66.
Betty Wright Clean up Woman (live)
Neil Ellwood Peart, OC (/pɪərt/; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian musician and writer best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart received numerous awards for his musical performances, including an induction into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1983,[3] making him the youngest person ever so honoured.[4][failed verification] His drumming was renowned for its technical proficiency, and his live performances for their exacting nature and stamina.
In the mid-2010s, Peart acquired U.S. citizenship.[
On December 7, 2015, Peart announced his retirement. In January 2018, bandmate Alex Lifeson confirmed that Rush was retiring due to Peart’s health issues. During his last years, Peart lived in Santa Monica, California, with his wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall, and daughter Olivia.
After a three-year illness, Peart died of glioblastoma on January 7, 2020, at age 67.
YYZ – Rush (Neil Peart Drum Solo)