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Celebrity Deaths In 2016: A List Of Who We’ve Lost In The Year That Savaged The Entertainment Industry [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 10:37 PST, Dec 26, 2016

If you’ve noticed that 2016 has been a ruthless year for celebrity deaths, you are far from the only one. Every time we think there’s not another star that we’ll have to say an early goodbye to, the news breaks that the world has lost another famous face and unique talent. Christmas week 2016 underscored the disturbing trend, with Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher suffering (but luckily surviving) a catastrophic heart attack on December 23, followed by the tragic loss of George Michael on Christmas Day.

The latest in the rash of 2016 celebrity deaths, George Michael was just 53-years-old and is believed to have died from heart failure.

The thing about the 2016 trend of celebrity deaths is that it’s a real thing, reports CNN. It doesn’t just feel like we’ve lost more famous folks than usual, we actually have. By the end of September 2016, the world had already endured five to 20 more celebrity deaths than the average year, at least according to Legacy.com’s Linnea Crowther.

“As of September 30, the total number of celebrity deaths so far in 2016 is 71. That’s more than the total number of celebrity deaths for the full year in any of the other years I looked at for this study. We’re already outpacing previous years by 5 to 20 deaths, and we still have three months to go.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb2e5NZ5BSk

Of course, the world has suffered through several more notable celebrity deaths since the end of September. Between then and now, we’ve unexpected lost singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, actor Alan Thicke, beloved actress Florence Henderson, American icon John Glenn and most recently George Michael. As the clock ticks ever closer to the end of 2016, the world waits with bated breath to see if the curse of year’s celebrity deaths has finally come to an end.

So who have we lost this year? The list of 2016 celebrity deaths is long, devastating, and strangely varied (not all publications have the same qualifications when it comes to what it means to be a “celebrity”). Check out the Birmingham Mail list of 2016 celebrity deaths by month

January 2016

  • Rock Musician David Bowie, 69
  • Harry Potter Actor Alan Rickman, 60
  • Eagles Singer Glenn Frey, 67
  • Rainbow Rock Star Jimmy Bain, 68
  • Acting Legend Frank Finlay, 89
  • TV/Radio Personality Terry Wogan, 77

February 2016

  • Earth, Wind And Fire Musician Maurice White, 74
  • Legendary To Kill A Mockingbird Author Harper Lee, 89
  • Star of Father Ted Frank Kelly, 77
  • Big Screen Icon George Kennedy, 91

March 2016

  • Coronation Street Creator Tony Warren, 79
  • Beatles Producer George Martin, 90
  • Rock Legend Keith Emerson, 71
  • Famed Actress Sylvia Anderson, 88
  • Hollywood Golden Age Legacy Frank Sinatra Junior, 72
  • Child Star And American Icon Patty Duke, 69
  • Comedian Ronnie Corbett, 85
  • Iconic TV Actress Denise Robertson, 83

April 2016

  • Legendary Country Music Star Merle Haggard, 79
  • TV Star David Gest, 62
  • Famed Comedienne Victoria Wood, 62
  • WWE Wrestling Superstar Joanie “Chyna” Laurer, 46
  • Blues Guitarist Lonnie Mack, 74
  • Legendary Musician And Performer Prince, 57
  • James Bond director Guy Hamilton, 93
  • Iconic Singer Billy Paul, 80

May 2016

  • Country Crooner Guy Clark, 74
  • Beastie Boys Rocker John Berry, 52
  • Star of Mr. Ed Alan Young, 96
  • Megadeth Drummer Nick Menza, 51
  • Star of The Pink Panther Burt Kwouk, 85
  • Liver Birds Author Carla Lane, 87

June 2016

  • Legendary Boxer And Activist Muhammad Ali, 74
  • Wings Guitar Player Henry McCullough, 72
  • Star Trek Star Anton Yelchin, 27
  • P-Funk Keyboardist Bernie Worrall, 72
  • Elvis’ Bandmate Scotty Moore, 84

July 2016

  • TV Comedienne Caroline Aherne, 52
  • Suicide Punk Musician Alan Vega, 78

August 2016

  • Star Wars’ R2-D2 Kenny Baker, 81
  • English Footballer Dalian Atkinson, 48
  • Willy Wonka And All Around Genius Gene Wilder, 83

September 2016

  • Transgender Actress And Activist Alexis Arquette, 47
  • The Sound Of Music starlet Charmian Carr, 73
  • Golf Great Arnold Palmer, 87

October 2016

  • Coronation Street actor Jean Alexander, 90
  • Music Star Pete Burns, 57
  • 1960s Boy Toy Bobby Vee, 73

November 2016

  • Hallelujah Singer/Songwriter Leonard Cohen, 82
  • Acting Legend Robert Vaughn, 83
  • Legendary Rocker Leon Russell, 74
  • 80s Hitmaker Colonel Abrams, 67
  • Brady Bunch Mom Florence Henderson, 82
  • Television Star Ron Glass, 71

December 2016

  • Fawlty Towers Legend Andrew Sachs, 86
  • Legendary Actor And Game Of Thrones Star Peter Vaughan, 93
  • Ex-Wolves Footballer Ian Cartwright, 52
  • First Man In Orbit Astronaut John Glenn, 95
  • Progressive Rocker Greg Lake, 69
  • Food Critic And Writer AA Gill, 62
  • TV Weather Personality Ian McCaskill, 78
  • Champion Jockey Walter Swinburn, 55
  • Golden Era Socialite And “Original Kardashian” Zsa Zsa Gabor, 99
  • Howard Stern Personality Joey Boots, 49
  • Guitarist Rick Parfitt, 68
  • Musical Legend And Singer/Songwriter George Michael, 53
  • The Royale Family Actress Liz Smith, 95
  • Dark Matter Astronomer Vera Rubin, 88

While some of this year’s celebrity deaths were unexpected (Anton Yelchin was just 27-years-old and accidentally run over by his own vehicle), others were a long time coming. For example, the iconic and beautify Zsa Zsa Gabor was just a couple of months shy of her 100th birthday and her health had been failing for years.

Regardless of the cause, though, celebrity deaths often feel personal and hit close to home. For the last 12 months, people all over the world have been taking to social media to share their condolences and heartbreak over the increasing number of celebrity deaths.

Many are hoping that, with 2016 finally ready to die its own (long-awaited for many) death, the trend of celebrity deaths will finally subside and the world will be able to keep some of its most beloved personalities around for another year. However, the trend of 2016 celebrity deaths has picked up in December, so it’s anybody’s guess whether or not the world will continue to see a spike in the loss of famous faces in 2016.

[Featured Image by Matt Dunham/AP Images]

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