For the 30th year running, we present our fondest farewells to the recently departed.

If they were on any lists — or if they mattered at all in the world — you'll find them here.

If you're looking for everybody, then you need to head on over to the Directory.

Choose any date combination:      
Penny Marshall

51

Penny Marshall · 75

October 15th, 1943 - December 18th, 2018


Schlemiel! Schlimazel! You're dead!

George H.W. Bush

50

George H.W. Bush · 94

June 12th, 1924 - November 30th, 2018


Read my lips: No new breaths.

Nicolas Roeg

49

Nicolas Roeg · 90

August 15th, 1928 - November 23rd, 2018


He was a scandal-free British film director and it took us years to notice he had shuffled off this mortal coil.

Roy Clark

48

Roy Clark · 85

April 15th, 1933 - November 15th, 2018


The options are apparently "Take me as I am", or "Let me go". Looks like option B.

Katherine MacGregor

47

Katherine MacGregor · 93

January 12th, 1925 - November 13th, 2018


She skipped the series finale of Little House on the Prairie to go on a pilgrimage to India. That's probably why you don't remember her.

Stan Lee

46

Stan Lee · 95

December 28th, 1922 - November 12th, 2018


Decomposing-Man.

Willie McCovey

45

Willie McCovey · 80

January 10th, 1938 - October 31st, 2018


Some people called him "The scariest hitter of all time". We're sticking with "Big Willie".

Whitey Bulger

44

Whitey Bulger · 89

September 3rd, 1929 - October 30th, 2018


He died doing what he loved: Participating in a murder.

Paul Allen

43

Paul Allen · 65

January 21st, 1953 - October 15th, 2018


Did anyone try turning him off and back on again?

Charles Aznavour

42

Charles Aznavour · 94

May 22nd, 1924 - October 1st, 2018


They called him "The Frank Sinatra of France" - which we assume means he drank a lot and cheated on his wife.

Burt Reynolds

41

Burt Reynolds · 82

February 11th, 1936 - September 6th, 2018


No longer east bound, but definitely down.

Will Jordan

40

Will Jordan · 91

July 27th, 1927 - September 6th, 2018


Now doing his best impression of a plant.

Neil Simon

39

Neil Simon · 91

July 4th, 1927 - August 26th, 2018


Simon says....well, nothing really.

John McCain

38

John McCain · 81

August 29th, 1936 - August 25th, 2018


He ran for President twice. Apparently he was way, WAY too smart for that job.

Robin Leach

37

Robin Leach · 76

August 29th, 1941 - August 24th, 2018


Lifestyles of the Limp and Lifeless.

Kofi Annan

36

Kofi Annan · 80

April 8th, 1938 - August 18th, 2018


Even winning the Nobel wasn't enough to rank him higher than Boutros Boutros-Ghali in the list of all-time great United Nations Secretary-General names.

Aretha Franklin

35

Aretha Franklin · 76

March 25th, 1942 - August 16th, 2018


C-R-O-A-K-E-D!

Stan Mikita

34

Stan Mikita · 78

May 20th, 1940 - August 7th, 2018


Blackhawk Down

Charlotte Rae

33

Charlotte Rae · 92

April 22nd, 1926 - August 5th, 2018


Email 957 from today:

"Oh! I know! The Facts Of Death! That's the obit!"

Genius. Yeah. Thanks.

Tab Hunter

32

Tab Hunter · 86

July 11th, 1931 - July 8th, 2018


If you're a closeted gay Hollywood heartthrob, you just can't stick with Arthur Kelm.

Harlan Ellison

31

Harlan Ellison · 84

May 27th, 1934 - June 28th, 2018


He was an award-winning science fiction writer who frequently sued studios for stealing his work. James Cameron hated him, so he couldn't have been that bad.

Joe Jackson (Michaels Dad)

30

Joe Jackson (Michaels Dad) · 89

July 26th, 1928 - June 27th, 2018


Whereas Michael just looked KINDA weird, Joe was actually SCARY weird looking. That's saying something.

Hubert Green

29

Hubert Green · 71

December 28th, 1946 - June 19th, 2018


A golfer named Green? That's CRAZY man. He's dead though.

Anthony Bourdain

28

Anthony Bourdain · 61

June 25th, 1956 - June 8th, 2018


Reservations for one, actually.

Red Schoendienst

27

Red Schoendienst · 95

February 2nd, 1923 - June 6th, 2018


"Mr. Cardinal" ended up working for the Cards for 74 years - right up until the day he died. That's quite a retirement plan there, Red.

Joseph Campanella

26

Joseph Campanella · 93

November 21st, 1924 - May 16th, 2018


He had 7 kids - all boys - and lived to be 93. If you figure out how he pulled that off, let us know.

Tom Wolfe

25

Tom Wolfe · 87

March 2nd, 1931 - May 14th, 2018


He wrote The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and The Right Stuff, which are really all just stories about a bunch of crazy people.

Margot Kidder

24

Margot Kidder · 69

October 17th, 1948 - May 13th, 2018


Not kidding.

George Deukmejian

23

George Deukmejian · 89

June 6th, 1928 - May 8th, 2018


The Duke. Another politician with no scandals section, so we can't write anything funny or insulting about him. Good news: in a few years, THAT will not be a problem.

Verne Troyer

22

Verne Troyer · 49

January 1st, 1969 - April 21st, 2018


Needed help with depression and alcohol abuse. Came up a little short.

Barbara Bush

21

Barbara Bush · 92

June 8th, 1925 - April 17th, 2018


She gave birth to George W. AND Jeb. Thanks a pantload, Barb.

Art Bell

20

Art Bell · 72

June 17th, 1945 - April 13th, 2018


If you are a fan of complete WHACKJOBS, this is a huge loss.

Miloš Forman

19

Miloš Forman · 86

February 18th, 1932 - April 13th, 2018


Dobře placená procházka was WAY better than One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Disagree with us. WE WILL FIGHT YOU.

Mitzi Shore

18

Mitzi Shore · 87

July 25th, 1930 - April 11th, 2018


You’d think someone who ran a comedy store could come up with a better name for her daughter than Sandy.

Susan Anspach

17

Susan Anspach · 75

November 23rd, 1942 - April 2nd, 2018


Everyone remembers Five Easy Pieces, but what about The Last Giraffe? What was wrong with that?

Winnie Mandela

16

Winnie Mandela · 81

September 26th, 1936 - April 2nd, 2018


Nelson Mandela managed to make it through 27 years in prison, but could only handle 2 years married to Winnie once he was out. Not sure what all that means, but it can't be good.

Stephen Hawking

15

Stephen Hawking · 76

January 8th, 1942 - March 13th, 2018


Say what you want about that crazy wheelchair and weird robot voice - this guy got ALL the chicks.

Roger Bannister

14

Roger Bannister · 88

March 23rd, 1929 - March 3rd, 2018


It took considerably longer than four minutes to think of this obituary.

Nanette Fabray

13

Nanette Fabray · 97

October 27th, 1920 - February 22nd, 2018


There are few things less inspiring than scandal-free elderly celebrities.

Billy Graham

12

Billy Graham · 99

November 7th, 1918 - February 21st, 2018


He's number 7 on Gallup's List of the Most Admired People of the 20th Century - one spot ahead of the Pope. That's gotta piss SOMEBODY off.

Marty Allen

11

Marty Allen · 95

March 23rd, 1922 - February 12th, 2018


Most people know him as "The Darling of Daytime TV", but fewer people know him by his other nickname - "The Freak with the Weird Hairdo".

Vic Damone

10

Vic Damone · 89

June 12th, 1928 - February 11th, 2018


Tzena, Tzena, Tzena.

John Gavin

9

John Gavin · 86

April 8th, 1931 - February 9th, 2018


His first big break was Imitation of Life. So, um, yeah.

Wally Moon

8

Wally Moon · 87

April 3rd, 1930 - February 9th, 2018


He batted left-handed and threw right-handed - which explains why he didn't have a free hand to take care of that uni-brow.

John Mahoney

7

John Mahoney · 77

June 20th, 1940 - February 5th, 2018


Good. Now we can finally throw out that stupid chair.

Ursula LeGuin

6

Ursula LeGuin · 88

October 21st, 1929 - January 22nd, 2018


She was made famous in 2000, back when we thought that just letting anyone submit anything that anyone anywhere had ever heard of, ever. Yeah. We stopped doing that.

Connie Sawyer

5

Connie Sawyer · 105

November 27th, 1912 - January 20th, 2018


They called her "The Clown Princess of Comedy". Yeah. She was hysterical.

Stansfield Turner

4

Stansfield Turner · 94

December 1st, 1923 - January 18th, 2018


he ran the Naval War College. We had no idea there was a college for a war on navals. Good to know.

Keith Jackson

3

Keith Jackson · 89

October 18th, 1928 - January 13th, 2018


Something about Nellie goes here. Hey Nellie? Go Nellie? Run, nellie, run? Something like that.

Doug Harvey

2

Doug Harvey · 87

March 13th, 1930 - January 13th, 2018


He was a silver-haired MLB umpire -- nicknamed "God" -- from the days when the Fame Committee was comprised nearly entirely of total dorks.

Jerry Van Dyke

1

Jerry Van Dyke · 86

July 27th, 1931 - January 5th, 2018


Tough life when you always have to play second fiddle to a Dick.

 

 

Guess the Stiff!

Whoops, here comes the skipper, and it looks like he's bringing the hook.

(d) September 30th, 1998