While 2016 had to be one of the worst years ever for the great number of celebrity deaths, 2017 is surely trying to sadly compete with it. In the past two weeks alone, the number of celebrities who have died in 2017 has grown far too quickly with the losses of John Heard, Martin Landau, Chester Bennington , and George A. Romero. As the year is just a little more than half over, it’s time to look at those we’ve already lost.
Many may have thought it was simply Christmas in July as a reason for all of the Home Alone marathons running this weekend, but it was more of a tribute. As reported by TMZ , actor John Heard passed away on Friday at the age of 71, and it only fit to watch him over and over again in his iconic role as Peter McAllister.
Foul play is not suspected in his death as he was found dead in his hotel room by maid service. The 71-year-old had just recently had “minor back surgery” and was staying at the hotel during his recovery.
It has been a hard few days overall as Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington was also found dead late last week. E Online has confirmed that his cause of death was a suicide due to hanging. Bennington was just 41-years-old and leaves behind six children from two marriages.
. @LinkinPark write a heartfelt tribute to “boisterous, funny, ambitious, creative, kind” Chester Bennington https://t.co/wYVQD1VQsp pic.twitter.com/Hmg6iwNomW
— Variety (@Variety) July 24, 2017
Here is a list of the notable names of celebrities who have been taken from the world in 2017.
Musicians
- Chester Bennington
- Chris Cornell
- Cuba Gooding Sr.
- Al Jarreau
- Gregg Allman
- Allan Holdsworth
- Eddie Kamae
- John Warren Geils Jr.
- Chuck Berry
- Buddy Greco
- Peter Sarstedt
Entertainment
- John Heard
- Martin Landau
- George A. Romero
- Powers Booth
- Adam West
- Deborah Watling
- Sir Roger Moore
- Harvey Atkin
- Erin Moran
- Michael Parks
- Bill Paxton
- Michael Mantenuto
- Peter Sallis
- Richard Machowicz
- Mary Tyler Moore
- Francine York
- Geoffrey Bayldon
- Tim Pigott-Smith
- Jonathan Demme
- Christopher “Big Black” Boykin
- John Cygan
- Miguel Ferrer
- Don Rickles
- Gordon Kaye
- Dick Gauthier
- Richard Hatch
- Frank Pellegrino
- Sir John Hurt
- Charlie Murphy – comedian
- Chuck Barris – TV host
- Dick Gautier
George A. Romero, who created the modern zombie genre with his 1968 cult film, “Night of the Living Dead,” has died https://t.co/Zd21EjWR0s
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 17, 2017
Sports
- Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka – wrestler
- “The Outlaw” Ron Bass – wrestler
- Ivan Koloff – wrestler
- George “The Animal” Steele – wrestler
- Chavo Guerrero Sr. – wrestler
- Yordano Venture – baseball
- Nicole Bass – wrestler/radio personality
- Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i – wrestler
A number of other celebrities from other walks of life who have also passed in 2017.
- Roger Ailes – Fox News
- William Peter Blatty – author
- Paul Goble – author
- Eugene Cernan – astronaut
- Norma McCorvey – “Jane Roe”
- David Rockefeller – billionaire
- Barry Norman – film critic
- Micahel Bond – author/creator of Paddington Bear
There are many others who have passed away this year in the worlds of entertainment, politics, sports, music, and many more well-known areas. Unfortunately, the list is continuing to grow at a rapid rate and the celebrities who have died are really hitting home for the fans, especially lately.
The list of celebrities who have died in 2017 is growing at a much quicker rate than it was at the beginning of the year, and many are fearing the second half could be worse. John Heard, Chester Bennington , Martin Landau, and George A. Romero have all passed away in the last two weeks and there seems to be no break. Fans may be taking it hard, but the close friends and families of the celebrities are having to deal with these tragedies first-hand.
[Featured Image by Mark Mainz/Getty Images]
