From pop icon Tina Turner to “Friends” star Matthew Perry, here is a selection of the year’s most notable deaths, primarily from the international pop-culture scene, as of press time.
Jan 1: Fred White, 67, longtime drummer of US musical group Earth, Wind & Fire.
Jan 7: Russell Banks, 82, acclaimed US writer of novels such as “Continental Drift” and “Cloudsplitter”, whose works charted the lives of marginalised people.
Jan 10: Jeff Beck, 78, British guitar virtuoso and innovator who rose to rock-‘n’-roll fame with 1960s group the Yardbirds; died after contracting bacterial meningitis.
Jan 11: Charles Kimborough, 86, US actor best known for his role as Jim on all 10 seasons of the sitcom “Murphy Brown” and its recent revival.
Jan 12: Lisa Marie Presley, 54, singer-songwriter and only child of Elvis Presley who died of a bowel condition caused by weight-loss surgery.
Jan 16: Gina Lollobrigida, 95, Italian film diva, one of the last icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Jan 18: David Crosby, 81, American folk-rock pioneer who was part of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Jan 25: Cindy Williams, 75, US comedy actress who starred alongside Penny Marshall on the hit ABC sitcom “Laverne & Shirley”.
Jan 29: Annie Wersching, 45, US star of various TV shows including “Bosch”, “Timeless”, “Star Trek: Picard” and “The Rookie”, died following a cancer diagnosis in 2020.
Feb 3: Paco Rabanne, 88, Spanish fashion designer famed for his eccentric designs and fragrances.
Feb 8: Burt Bacharach, 94, legendary pop composer of hits including “Walk on By” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”.
Feb 15: Raquel Welch, 82, US actress and global sex symbol who famously donned a fur bikini in 1960s caveman epic “One Million Years BC”.
Feb 19: Richard Belzer, 78, actor best known for his roles on US crime series “Homicide: Life on the Street” and for playing John Munch on “Law & Order: SVU”.
March 3: Kenzaburo Oe, 88, Nobel-winning Japanese novelist.
March 3: Tom Sizemore, 61, actor best known for portraying Sergeant Horvath in “Saving Private Ryan” as well as TV series including the 2017 revival of “Twin Peaks”.
March 5: Gary Rossington, 71, guitarist and last remaining original member of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
March 9: Chaim Topol, 87, Israeli actor best known for his role as milkman Tevye in the 1971 classic “Fiddler on the Roof”. (“Fiddler” lyricist Sheldon Harnick would pass away on June 23 at age 99.)
March 14: Bobby Caldwell, 71, soulful and versatile vocalist behind hits “What You Won’t Do For Love” and “Open Your Eyes”.
March 17: Lance Reddick, 60, US actor in series such as “The Wire” and “Fringe” as well as the “John Wick” films; was in the middle of his press tour for “John Wick: Chapter 4” when he passed.
March 28: Ryuichi Sakamoto, 71, Japanese composer who pioneered electronic music.
April 6: Paul Cattermole, 46, founding member of British pop group S Club 7.
April 13: Mary Quant, 93, rule-breaking British fashion designer and pioneer of the miniskirt.
April 14: Mark Sheehan, 46, lead guitarist and co-founder of the Irish rock band The Script, died following a brief illness.
April 16: Ahmad Jamal, 92, US pianist, composer and bandleader who released 80 albums and helped transform jazz, pop and hip-hop.
April 19: Moonbin, 25, K-pop megastar and member of boy band Astro, found dead at his home in an apparent suicide.
April 22: Barry Humphries aka Dame Edna Everage, 89, Aussie comedian who invented the iconic lilac-haired parody of a suburban housewife.
April 25: Harry Belafonte, 96, activist and superstar American music performer best known for his hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-O)”.
April 27: Jerry Springer, 79, popular US talk show host, whose rowdy programme symbolised low-brow TV.
May 1: Gordon Lightfoot, 84, Canadian folk singer-songwriter best known for his songs “Sundown” and “If You Could Read My Mind”.
May 4: Ridzuan Hashim, 61, Malaysian actor best known for his role as King in the film series “KL Gangster”.
May 19: Martin Amis, 73, leading voice in modern British fiction whose credits include “Money: A Suicide Note”, “London Fields”, and “The Information”; died from esophageal cancer.
May 19: Andy Rourke, 59, commanding bassist of The Smiths, died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
May 21: Ray Stevenson, 58, “Black Sails” and “Thor” actor.
May 24: Tina Turner, 83, US rock icon famed for her electrifying stage presence. She was simply the best – another hero.
May 31: Sergio Calderon, 77, Mexican veteran character actor best known for his appearances in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Men In Black” franchises.
June 5: Astrud Gilberto, 83, Brazilian “Girl from Ipanema” singer.
June 5: Anna Shay, 62, heiress who rose to fame on the Netflix reality series “Bling Empire”, daughter of late billionaire Edward Shay.
June 6: Francoise Gilot, 101, French artist and longtime lover of Pablo Picasso, with whom she had two children.
June 12: John Romita Sr, 93, influential comic artist who shaped Marvel’s art style for generations, died of natural causes.
June 13: Cormac McCarthy, 89, titan of American fiction with novels including “The Road” and “No Country for Old Men”.
June 15: Glenda Jackson, 87, British Oscar-winning actress and politician.
June 21: Rohana Jalil, 68, Malaysian veteran singer known for songs like “Naluri Cinta” and “Taat”.
June 27: Julian Sands, 65, English actor whose remains were identified on this date more than five months after he was reported missing following a hike in the Southern California mountains.
June 29: Alan Arkin, 89, Oscar-winning US actor, director, producer and author; film credits include “Catch-22”, “Glengarry Glen Ross”, “Argo”, and “Little Miss Sunshine”.
July 5: Coco Lee, 48, Hong Kong singer-songwriter who voiced Mulan in the Mandarin version of the Disney classic and was featured on the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” soundtrack; died by suicide.
July 11: Milan Kundera, 94, Czech-French novelist best known for “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”.
July 16: Jane Birkin, 76, British-born singer and actress famous for her creative and romantic relationship with French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
July 21: Tony Bennett, 96, last of the classic American crooners.
July 26: Sinead O’Connor, 56, iconoclastic Irish pop singer best known for her 1990 global hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” and for tearing up that Pope photo.
July 30: Paul Reubens, 70, US comic famed for his beloved man-child “Pee-wee Herman” character.
July 31: Angus Cloud, 25, breakout star on the HBO teen drama “Euphoria”, died of an accidental overdose following a battle with poor mental health.
Aug 7: William Friedkin, 87, US director of “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection”.
Aug 9: Sixto Rodriguez, 81, cult American singer-songwriter who was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man”.
Aug 19: Ron Cephas Jones, 66, prolific stage and screen actor best known for his role as William Hill on the US drama “This Is Us”.
Aug 24: Bernie Marsden, 72, rock and blues guitarist who rose to fame with the metal band Whitesnake in the ’70s and 80s.
Aug 26: Bob Barker, 99, affable host of US game show “The Price Is Right” for 35 years.
Aug 30: Jack Sonni, 68, musician and writer endearingly and best known as “the other guitarist” in Dire Straits (besides the Knopfler brothers).
Sept 1: Jimmy Buffett, 76, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter behind the escapist classic “Margaritaville”.
Sept 11: Habsah Bakar aka Mek Habsah, 67, Malaysian veteran actress died after being hospitalised for a lung ailment since July.
Sept 23: Terry Kirkman, 83, founding member and co-lead vocalist of the ’60s folk-rock band The Association.
Sept 25: David McCallum, 90, Scottish actor best known for his role on “NCIS”, died of natural causes.
Sept 27: Michael Gambon, 82, British actor who played Albus Dumbledore in many “Harry Potter” films.
Oct 13: Louise Gluck, 80, American poet; winner of Nobel and Pulitzer prizes.
Oct 15: Suzanne Somers, 76, actress, author and businesswoman best known for her TV role in “Three’s Company”, died one day shy of her 77th birthday.
Oct 21: Bobby Charlton, 86, English football hero, World Cup winner, and Manchester United legend.
Oct 24: Richard Roundtree, 81, actor best known for playing John Shaft across five “Shaft” movies and seven made-for-TV films, died from pancreatic cancer.
Oct 26: Badrul Izhan Yeop Abdullah aka Bad, 48, of Malaysian band Indigo.
Oct 28: Matthew Perry, 54, US star who played Chandler Bing in hit sitcom “Friends” reportedly died from a ketamine overdose and drowning after a long battle with addiction.
Oct 28: Badrul Muhayat, 55, Malaysian actor died in his sleep while staying at homestay in Taman Pauh Jaya, Penang.
Oct 30: Aaron Spears, 47, Grammy-nominated drummer known for his work with Usher, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and more stars.
Nov 8: Shamsul Bakhtiar Zakaria aka Tia, 53, former vocalist of Malaysian rock band Jinbara, died of liver cancer.
Nov 15: Mohd Suhaimi Saad, 43, former member of Malaysian nasyid group In-Team, died of a lung infection.
Nov 28: Queenzy Cheng, 37, Malaysian artiste and former member of girl group M-Girls, passed away while filming for the social media channel “Squad Sekawan”.
Nov 30: Shane MacGowan, 65, Irish singer-songwriter and booze-fuelled bard who fronted Celtic folk-punk band The Pogues.
Dec 5: Norman Lear, 101, legendary TV producer behind “All in the Family”, “One Day at a Time” and other landmark sitcoms; official cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Dec 5: Denny Laine, 79, British co-founder of rock bands The Moody Blues and Wings.
Dec 8: Ryan O’Neal, 82, US actor and heartthrob of “Love Story” fame.
Dec 11: Andre Braugher, 61, US actor of hit shows such as “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Brooklyn: Nine-Nine”, passed away after a brief illness.
Dec 16: Colin Burgess, 77, original drummer of heavy metal group AC/DC.
Dec 17: Ibnor Riza, 62, Malaysian veteran singer known for songs such as “Meneka Dalam Kesamaran” and “Mimpi Yang Tak Sudah”, died of cancer.
Dec 22: Laura Lynch, 65, founding member of The Dixie Chicks, died in a car accident.
Dec 23: Bobbie Jean Carter, 41, sister of pop stars Nick and Aaron Carter, died in Florida; cause of death as yet unknown. Her passing comes a little over a year after the death of 34-year-old Aaron.
Dec 24: Sukhjit Singh Gill, 34, one of Malaysia’s top Punjabi music performers, passed away after a heart attack.
Dec 27: Lee Sun-kyun, 48, star of the Oscar-winning South Korean film “Parasite”, was found dead by apparent suicide following a police investigation into alleged drug use.
Dec 27: Tom Smothers, 86, US standup and half of the musical-comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, died at home in California after being diagnosed with cancer.