Hollywood’s Most Notable Deaths of 2022

In 2022, Hollywood said goodbye to many actors, singers, performers, creatives, executives and all-around industry icons who had a great impact on the entertainment world during their lifetimes.

The Hollywood Reporter is highlighting some of the most well-known names who died in 2022.  

Below are this year’s most notable deaths in Hollywood. 

Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Alley, the Emmy-winning comic actress known for her turns on Cheers, Veronica’s Closet and the three Look Who’s Talking films, died in December. She was 71. Full obituary.

Louie Anderson

Louie Anderson, the big-hearted everyman who rose to fame as a stand-up comic, then channeled the spirit of his late mother for his Emmy-winning turn as Christine Baskets on the FX series Baskets, died on Jan. 21. He was 68. Read his obituary.

Peter Bogdanovich

Peter Bogdanovich, the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Last Picture Show whose career, which also included hits like What’s Up, Doc? and Paper Moon, put him on a path toward living up to the example of those like Orson Welles and John Ford he so lionized, died on Jan. 6. He was 82. Full obituary.

David Brenner

David Brenner, the film editor who won an Oscar for Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, one of nine movies he cut for the director, died on Feb. 17. He was 59. Find his full obituary here.

James Caan

James Caan, the brawny star who played Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and a rough-and-tumble athlete in Rollerball but had the self-assurance to showcase a sensitive side during his long career, died on July 6. He was 82. Read his obituary.

Coolio

Coolio, the Grammy-winning Compton rapper who was behind the global hit “Gangsta’s Paradise,” died on Sept. 28. He was 59. Full obituary.

Irene Cara

Irene Cara, the actress and pop star who won an Oscar and a Grammy for the hit “Flashdance… What a Feeling” from Flashdance and created her own memorable screen moments with films such as Sparkle and Fame, died in November, according to her rep. She was 63. Read her full obituary.

Charlbi Dean

Charlbi Dean, the South African actress who turned heads this year with her turn as a fashion model influencer in the Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness, died on Aug, 29. She was 32. Find her obituary here.

Emilio Delgado

Emilio Delgado, an actor who appeared on Sesame Street for more than 40 years, died on March 10. He was 81. Full obituary.

Tony Dow

Tony Dow, the wholesome actor who portrayed “the perfect big brother” Wally Cleaver on the everlasting TV comedy Leave It to Beaver and its 1980s sequel, died on July 27, his reps announced after a tumultuous day for his family. He was 77. Read his obituary.

Bert Fields

Bert Fields, the renowned entertainment litigator whose clients included Edward G. Robinson, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tom Cruise, Warren Beatty, The Beatles and a host of other luminaries, studios and talent agencies, died on Aug. 7. He was 93. Find his full obituary here.

Nikki Finke

Nikki Finke, the polarizing entertainment journalist who founded the website Deadline and wielded immense power by focusing an acerbic and unrelenting lens on Hollywood, died on Oct. 9. She was 68. Full obituary.

Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard, the brilliant and polemical Franco-Swiss filmmaker whose work revolutionized cinema, died on Sept. 13. He was 91. Read his obituary here.

Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried, the high-strung comedian with the shrill voice known for his performances equal parts chaotic, clever and crude, died on April 12, his family revealed. He was 67. Full obituary.

Marsha Hunt

Marsha Hunt, the bright-eyed starlet who stood out in such films as These Glamour Girls, Pride and Prejudice and Raw Deal before her career came unraveled by the communist witch hunt that hit Hollywood, died on Sept. 7. She was 104. Find her obituary here.

Chris Huvane

Chris Huvane, the Management 360 partner who repped Margot Robbie, Margaret Qualley and the late Chadwick Boseman, died at 47, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. Full obituary.

Sally Kellerman

Sally Kellerman, the husky-voiced actress known for her Oscar-nominated portrayal of U.S. Army Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H, died on Feb. 24. She was 84. Find her obituary here.

Taylor Hawkins

Taylor Hawkins, longtime drummer for the Foo Fighters, died in March. He was 50. Full obituary.

Anne Heche

Anne Heche, who starred in such films as Donnie Brasco, Volcano and Wag the Dog and on TV shows including Men in Trees and Hung during a troubled life and career, was taken off life support on Aug. 14, her rep announced. She was 53. Full obituary.

Howard Hesseman

Howard Hesseman, who made a career out of portraying off-the-wall characters, none more popular than the disc jockey Johnny Fever on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, died on Jan. 29. He was 81. Find his obituary here.

William Hurt

William Hurt, the exacting Oscar winner who dominated a decade as few other actors have done with his turns in the 1980s classics Body Heat, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News, died on March 13. He was 71. Read his obituary here.

Leslie Jordan

Leslie Jordan, the goofy comic actor perhaps best known for his Emmy-winning turn as Beverley Leslie, the cynical foil to Megan Mullally’s Karen Walker on Will & Grace, died on Oct. 24. He was 67. Full obituary.

Marvin Josephson

Marvin Josephson, who took a small personal management company with Captain Kangaroo as its client and through several acquisitions built the business into the powerhouse Hollywood talent agency ICM, died on May 17 in New York, it was announced. He was 95. Find his obituary here.

Naomi Judd

Naomi Judd, the Kentucky-born singer of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, died on April 30. She was 76. Full obituary.

Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury, the irrepressible three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner who solved 12 seasons’ worth of crimes as the novelist/amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ Murder, She Wrote, died on Oct. 11. She was 96. Read her full obituary here.

Ray Liotta

Ray Liotta, the intense actor from New Jersey best known for his turn as the hustler-turned-mob-rat Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas, died in May. He was 67. Find his obituary here.

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf, the rock star behind the monster-selling Bat Out of Hell trilogy of albums famed for his booming voice, theatrical stage presence and memorable appearances in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club, died on Jan. 20. He was 74. Full obituary.

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn, the acclaimed singer and songwriter whose ascent from a small Kentucky coal-mining community to national country music stardom became the stuff of Hollywood legend, died on Oct. 4. She was 90. Read her obituary here.

Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John, the angelic Australian singer who forged a hopelessly devoted following with her chart-topping hits “Physical,” “Have You Never Been Mellow” and “You’re the One That I Want,” her Grease duet with John Travolta, died on Aug. 8. She was 73. Read her full obituary here.

Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols, who made history and earned the admiration of Martin Luther King Jr. for her portrayal of communications officer Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek, died on July 30. She was 89. Full obituary.

Bob McGrath

Bob McGrath, the Sing Along With Mitch tenor who portrayed the friendly music teacher Bob Johnson for more than four decades as an original castmember on Sesame Street, died on Dec. 4 at home with his family in New Jersey. He was 90. Find his obituary here.

Pelé

Pelé, the Brazilian national treasure who in the 1960s and ’70s made soccer popular in places on the planet that hadn’t yet embraced the “beautiful game” — in particular the U.S. — died on Dec. 29. He was 82. Find his obituary here.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier, the noble leading man whose work in such films as No Way Out, Lilies of the Field and In the Heat of the Night paved the way for minority actors and actresses everywhere, died on Jan. 6. He was 94. Full obituary.

Ivan Reitman

Ivan Reitman, the influential filmmaker and producer behind beloved comedies from Animal House to Ghostbusters, died on Feb. 12. He was 75. Read his obituary here.

André Leon Talley

André Leon Talley, the hugely influential fashion journalist and flamboyant former editor-at-large of U.S. Vogue, died at the age of 73. Full obituary.

Vin Scully

Vin Scully, the gentlemanly, yarn-spinning play-by-play man whose mellifluous voice provided the soundtrack to Dodger baseball from Brooklyn to Los Angeles for a jaw-dropping 67 seasons, died on Aug. 2. He was 94. Find his full obituary here.

Bob Saget

Bob Saget, whose comedic and affable portrayal of widowed dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom Full House made him one of TV’s most popular fathers, was found dead on Jan. 9 in a hotel room in Orlando, Florida, the Sheriff’s Department confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 65. Read his obituary here.

Paul Sorvino

Paul Sorvino, the burly character actor who made a career out of playing forceful types, most notably the coldhearted mobster Paulie Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas, died on July 25. He was 83. Full obituary.

Julia Reichert

Julia Reichert, whose 50-year career as a documentarian included a 2020 Oscar win for American Factory, died on Dec. 1 after a battle with urothelial cancer. She was 76. Find her obituary here.

tWitch

Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the beloved DJ-turned-executive producer who helped get the audience to their feet for nine years on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and who got his big break on So You Think You Can Dance, died on Dec. 13. He was 40. Full obituary.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood, the rule-breaking, irreverent fashion designer who came to prominence along with the Sex Pistols in the 1970s, died on Dec. 29. She was 81. Read her full obituary here.

Find more 2022 notable deaths on THR‘s obituaries page.