Celebrity deaths, illness, divorce and remembrance
Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress who became known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom Gilligan’s Island.
Wells married Larry Rosen, a talent agent, in 1962. The couple had no children and were divorced in 1967.
In 2018, a GoFundMe page was set up to help Wells cope with financial trouble.
Wells passed away on December 30, 2020 in Los Angeles over COVID-19 complications.
Top 10 Mary Ann Looks!
Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical. He founded his fashion house in 1950 and introduced the “bubble dress” in 1954.
He was designated a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1991, and a United Nations FAO Goodwill Ambassador in 2009.
Cardin died on 29 December 2020, at the American Hospital of Paris, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, at the age of 98. No cause of death was given.
The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. The group was composed of three sisters:
Among their most popular songs are “Sincerely” and “Sugartime”, both number-one hits.
On September 7, 2012, Dorothy McGuire died at her son’s home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, after suffering from Parkinson’s disease and age-related dementia; she was 84. Dorothy’s husband of 54 years, Lowell Williamson, died six months later on February 25, 2013, after sustaining a fractured back from a fall; he was 89.
Christine McGuire died in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 28, 2018, at the age of 92. No cause of death was given.
Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving member of the trio, died peacefully at her estate in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 29, 2020, of natural causes; she was 89.
The McGuire Sisters – Sugartime
The McGuire Sisters – Sincerely
Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was best known for his time in WWE under the ring names Luke Harper and Harper. He was also known for his short time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as Mr. Brodie Lee or simply Brodie Lee.
Huber died at the age of 41 on December 26, 2020. His wife said he had been treated for a non-COVID lung issue at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit since late October 2020.
Brodie Lee (with beard) TNT Championship Match – 8/22/20 (4 months before death)
Leslie West (born Leslie Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020)[2] was an American rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Mountain.
West went into cardiac arrest on Monday, December 21, 2020, and was rushed to a hospital in nearby Palm Coast where he never regained consciousness. Leslie West died on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. He was 75.
Leslie West – Mississippi Queen – Dennis Miller Show
Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. During the peak years of his recording career (1966–87), he had 52 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 30 of which made it to number one. He won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971.
Pride was one of three African-American members of the Grand Ole Opry (the others are DeFord Bailey and Darius Rucker). He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
Pride died in Dallas on December 12, 2020, of complications related to COVID-19. He was 86 years old.
Charley Pride, ‘Kiss An Angel Good Morning’
Charley Pride – Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone 1970
Conchata Galen Ferrell (March 28, 1943 – October 12, 2020) was an American actress. Although she was a regular castmember of five TV sitcom series, she was best known for playing Berta the housekeeper for all twelve seasons of the sitcom Two and a Half Men. For her performance as Berta, she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (in 2005 and 2007). These came in addition to an earlier nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in L.A. Law (1992).
Ferrell was best known for portraying Berta the Housekeeper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, appearing in a total of 212 episodes from 2003 to 2015. She had received two nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2007.
Ferrell died on October 12, 2020, as a result of complications following cardiac arrest. She was 77 years old.
The Best of Berta (Compilation) | Two and a Half Men | TV Land
In 1992, she received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her recurring role as Attorney Susan Bloom on the sixth season of L.A. Law.
Ferrell’s supporting roles in films include performances in Deadly Hero, Network, Edward Scissorhands, Erin Brockovich, Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, Mr. Deeds and K-PAX as well as a small part in True Romance. Her other television credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hot L Baltimore, Teen Angel, Matlock, B. J. and the Bear, Good Times, Hearts Afire, Townies, Night Court, The Love Boat and Push, Nevada. She played Mrs. Werner in the episode of Quincy, M.E. titled “Into the Murdering Mind” (1982). She has also made memorable appearances portraying blunt, authoritative judges (The “Jagged Sledge” episode of Sledge Hammer! in 1987, and on “The One With Joey’s Porsche” episode of Friends in 1999).
John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940 – October 6, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit “I Can See Clearly Now”. Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists to record reggae music in Kingston.
Nash’s 1972 reggae influenced single “I Can See Clearly Now” sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in November 1972. “I Can See Clearly Now” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 4, 1972, and remained atop the chart for four weeks, and also spent the same four weeks atop the adult contemporary chart.
Nash has four acting credits in film and television. In 1959, he had the lead role as Spencer Scott in Take a Giant Step, directed by Philip Leacock, one of the first black family films written by a black writer. In 1960 he appeared as “Apple” alongside Dennis Hopper in the crime drama Key Witness. In 1971, he played Robert in the Swedish romance Vill så gärna tro.
Johnny Nash died of natural causes at his home in Houston on October 6, 2020. Johnny Nash was 80 years old at the time of his death. He is survived by his son Johnny Jr., daughter, Monica, and wife, Carli Nash.
Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now (1972) Clip – VHS
Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now
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