Here’s our farewell to celebrities who’ve died in 2021. These folks made a difference in the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and more. We pay tribute to their lives, and mourn their deaths.
Actress Cicely Tyson, an iconic actress who made her mark in movies, television and theater, died on Jan. 28, 2021, at age 96.(Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
CICELY TYSON
Cicely Tyson, a distinguished Hollywood actress who made her mark in movies, television and theater, died on Jan. 28, 2021, at age 96. She was an iconic presence in the entertainment world and the winner of three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, an honorary Academy Award, a Peabody Award for career achievement and more. During a career that spanned more than six decades, she appeared in movies such as “Fried Green Tomatoes” (based on a novel by Alabama native Flannie Flagg), “Sounder,” “The Help,” “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and more.
Cloris Leachman a character actor whose depth of talent brought her an Oscar for the “The Last Picture Show” and Emmys for her comedic work in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and other TV series, has died. She was 94. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
CLORIS LEACHMAN
Cloris Leachman, the Oscar-winning actress best known for “The Last Picture Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” passed away on Jan. 26, 2021. She was 94. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, she earned 22 Emmy nominations and won eight, making her the most decorated winner in the award show’s history, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. As eccentric landlady Phyllis Lindstrom on the CBS sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Leachman won rave reviews along with the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress
Larry King died on Jan. 23, 2021. King conducted thousands of interviews on his nightly TV talk show, “Larry King Live.” It aired from 1985 to 2010 on CNN.(Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
LARRY KING
Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century, died on Jan. 23, 2021. He was 87. A longtime nationally syndicated radio host, from 1985 through 2010 he was a nightly fixture on CNN, where he won many honors, including two Peabody awards.
Former Atlanta Braves’ slugger Hank Aaron, seen here during a pregame ceremony in 2017, died on Jan. 22, 2021, at age 86.AP
Baseball great Hank Aaron came into life on Feb. 5, 1934, in Mobile on the wrong side of segregation. He left it on Jan. 22, 2021, as a national icon. WGCL-TV in Atlanta reported Aaron’s death at age 86, and Major League Baseball confirmed the news. Aaron reached the height of his fame on April, 8, 1974 — a misty night in Georgia when the Atlanta Braves outfielder hit an offering from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing over the left-field fence in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for his 715th home run in the big leagues.
Jimmie Rodgers signs an autograph for a fan in this 1963 file photo. Rodgers died on Jan. 18, 2021 of kidney disease and had also tested positive for COVID-19. (The Oregonian/ File)Oregonian
JIMMIE RODGERS
Jimmie Rodgers, singer of the 1957 hits “Honeycomb” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” whose career in music and movies was disrupted by a severe head injury a decade later, has died at age 87. Rodgers died from kidney disease on Jan. 18, 2021, in Palm Desert, California. With a style of singing and playing guitar that included elements of country, folk and pop, the Washington native recorded “Honeycomb” and many other Top 10 hits during the late 1950s, including “Secretly,” “Oh-Oh, I’m Falling in Love Again,” and “Are You Really Mine?”
Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who was later convicted of murder, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, at age 81. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool, File)AP
PHIL SPECTOR
Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who later was convicted of murder, has died. He was 81. California state prison officials said he died on Jan. 16, 2021, of natural causes at a hospital. Spector had been hailed as a visionary for channeling Wagnerian ambition into the three-minute song, creating the “Wall of Sound” that merged spirited vocal harmonies with lavish orchestral arrangements to produce such pop monuments as “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Be My Baby” and “He’s a Rebel.” Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 at his castle-like mansion on the edge of Los Angeles. After a trial in 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years to life.
In this 2014 file photo, Siegfried Fischbacher, left, holds up a white lion cub as Roy Horn holds up a microphone during an event at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat in Las Vegas. Fischbacher, the surviving member of duo Siegfried & Roy has died in Las Vegas at age 81.
SIEGFRIED FISCHBACHER
Illusionist Siegfried Fischbacher, the surviving member of the duo Siegfried & Roy, died on Jan. 13, 2021, in Las Vegas at age 81. Fischbacher’s sister, a nun who lives in Munich, confirmed his death of cancer to German news agency dpa. Fischbacher’s long-time show business partner, Roy Horn, died in 2020 at age 75. For years, Siegfried & Roy was an institution in Las Vegas, where Fischbacher and Horn’s magic and artistry consistently attracted sellout crowds.
Tanya Roberts stars as Kiri in the adventure movie “The Beastmaster,” on Dec. 16, 1981. Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and appeared in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” died Jan. 4, 2021, several hours after she was mistakenly declared dead by her publicist and her partner. (AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)AP
TANYA ROBERTS
Former Bond girl and “That ’70s Show” star Tanya Roberts died on Jan. 4, 2021, at age 65, her partner Lance O’Brien confirmed. The New York Times reports Roberts died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. A cause of death has not been announced, but she was hospitalized after a collapse at her home on Christmas Eve. She was placed on a ventilator but did not have COVID-19. Roberts was originally thought to have died on Jan. 3 after a premature announcement by her publicist, Mike Pingel.
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