They go in threes. They always go in threes. 2024 was no different.
Academy favorites: Louis Gossett Jr. (one Oscar), Gena Rowlands (two nominations), Maggie Smith (two Oscars, four other nominations)
Action! Michael Cole (“The Mod Squad”), Ron Ely (“Tarzan”), David Soul (“Starsky and Hutch”)
Another side of Bob Dylan: “Spider” John Koerner (folk guitarist, mentor), Daniel Kramer (early photographer), Happy Traum (early folk duet partner, backup guitarist)
Bad guys on film: Dabney Coleman (“9 to 5,” “Tootsie”), Herbert Coward (toothless man in “Deliverance”), Donald Sutherland (“The Hunger Games”)
Baseball brawlers: Rico Carty (duked it out with Henry Aaron on a team flight), Bud Harrelson (duked it out with Pete Rose during the 1973 NL Championship Series), Lenny Randle (belted Milt Wilcox after getting brushed back, then duked it out at first base)
Baseball Hall of Famers: Orlando Cepeda, Rickey Henderson, Willie Mays
Based on a true story: Alice Brock (ran the place that inspired “Alice’s Restaurant”), David Burnham (reporter exposed New York police corruption with his source, detective Frank … “Serpico”), Edward B. Johnson (CIA officer helped pull off “Argo” rescue from Iran)
Basketball Hall of Famers: Dikembe Mutombo, Bill Walton, Jerry West
Batmen of note: Al Ferrara (Dodgers and Padres, 1963-71; three-time henchman on “Batman,” here as Atlas in 1968; also appeared on “Gilligan’s Island,” “Baretta”); Joey Jay (first Little Leaguer to make the majors, 1953, with Braves); John Oldham (pinch runner for Reds in his only MLB game, 1956; never pitched or batted)
Beaned: Billy Bean (MLB’s second openly gay player), Joe “Jellybean” Bryant (NBA player, Kobe’s dad), “Butterbean” Bob Love (NBA player, one of the original Milwaukee Bucks)
Beatlemania: Tony Bramwell (childhood friend of John, Paul and George), John “Duff” Lowe (Quarrymen pianist, Paul’s friend), Leon Wildes (immigration lawyer fought John’s deportation from America)
Behind the sound board: Steve Albini (the Pixies, P.J. Harvey, Nirvana), Richard Perry (Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand), Shel Talmy (the Who, the Kinks)
Black power: Ramona Hoage Edelin (activist introduced “African American” to late ’80s vernacular), Nikki Giovanni (poet), Charles V. Hamilton (political scientist’s book defined “Black power, 1967)
Black stars: John Amos (“Good Times,” “Roots,” “Coming to America”), Terry Carter (“McCloud,” “Battlestar Galactica”), Tony Todd (“Candyman,” “Final Destination”)
Blues men: W.C. Clark (Texas blues), John Mayall (Bluesbreakers), Phil Wiggins (Cephas and Wiggins, harmonica)
California souls: Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead bassist), Marlena Shaw (distinctive singer whose cover was widely sampled on hip-hop and dance songs), JD Souther (singer-songwriter, Southern California sound)
Call IT support: Bruce Bastian (WordPerfect co-founder), C. Gordon Bell (minicomputers), Thomas Kurtz (BASIC programming language co-inventor)
Civil rights trailblazers: William Lucy (labor organizer created “I AM a man” Memphis sanitation strike rallying cry, 1968), Thelma Mothershed Wair (one of the Little Rock Nine students, desegregated Little Rock Central High School at age 16, 1957), Tessie Prevost Williams (one of the New Orleans Four students, desegregated McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School at age 6, 1960)
Comic books: Jose Delbo (Wonder Woman, The Transformers), Ramona Fradon (Aquaman, Brenda Starr, Metamorpho), Trina Robbins (underground comix, Wonder Woman)
Cops on screen: John Ashton (“Beverly Hills Cop”), Tony Lo Bianco (“Police Story”), James B. Sikking (“Hill Street Blues”)
Curious and misterio(us): Pal Anger (stole “The Scream,” then said the Edvard Munch painting had become world famous because he stole it), Rey Misterio Sr. (Mexican wrestler, uncle of WWE wrestler Rey Misterio), Jocelyn Wildenstein (eccentric Swiss socialite who had extensive and expensive plastic surgery to get a cat-like face)
Dean Martin’s movie co-stars: Alain Delon (“Texas Across the River”), Earl Holliman (“The Sons of Katie Elder”), Barbara Rush (“The Young Lions”)
Dig that Latin sound: Sergio Mendes (Brasil ’66 bandleader), Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez (Tito Puente’s bongosero), Pete Rodriguez (bandleader, the King of Boogaloo)
Director’s chair: Jim Abrahams (“Airplane!” “Hot Shots!”), Norman Jewison (“In the Heat of the Night,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Moonstruck”), Paul Morrissey (“Flesh,” “Trash,” “Heat,” Andy Warhol collaborator)
Eat a peach: Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers guitar); Jimmy Carter (Georgia governor, president and Allman Brothers fan), Johnny Neel (Allman Brothers guitar)
“Ed Sullivan Show” guests: Mimi Hines (12 times), Jack Jones (5 times), Steve Lawrence (12 times)
Elvis world: Allan Blye (co-wrote “Singer Presents … Elvis, the ’68 Comeback Special;” also “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”), Mark James (wrote “Suspicious Minds;” also “Hooked on a Feeling” for B.J. Thomas), Billy Edd Wheeler (wrote “It’s Midnight;” also “Jackson” for Johnny Cash and June Carter)
Fashionistas: Iris Apfel (New York style maven), Juli Lynn Charlot (created ’50s poodle skirt), Peggy Moffitt (topless swimsuit model)
Femmes fatale, on or off screen: Anouk Aimee, Shannen Doherty, Olivia Hussey
Film producers: Roger Corman (dozens of B movies), Jon Landau (“Titanic,” “Avatar”), Albert Ruddy (“The Godfather,” “The Longest Yard,” “Million Dollar Baby”)
Final pitches: Carl Erskine (last survivor of “The Boys of Summer”), Luis Tiant, Fernando Valenzuela
Folkies: Alex Hassilev (last surviving Limeliters member), Ella Jenkins (children’s music), Randy Sparks (founded New Christy Minstrels)
Freedom fighters: Dorie Ladner (Freedom Riders, civil rights organizer), James Lawson (mentored Freedom Riders, civil rights activists), Bernice Johnson Reagon (co-founded Freedom Singers, later founded Sweet Honey in the Rock)
Funny guys: Richard Lewis, Martin Mull, Bob Newhart
Funny ladies: Linda Lavin (“Alice”), Elizabeth MacRae (girlfriend to Gomer Pyle on that show and to Festus Haggen on “Gunsmoke”), Joyce Randolph (last surviving cast member of “The Honeymooners”)
Game show greats: Peter Marshall (“Hollywood Squares”), Mitzi McCall (“Match Game,” “Tattletales”), Chuck Woolery (“Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection”)
Good rockin’ mamas: Carol Bongiovi (Jon’s mom), Debbie Mathers (Eminem’s mom), Adele Springsteen (Bruce’s mom)
Gone country, the men: Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys), Toby Keith, Jo-El Sonnier
Gone country, the women: Sandy Posey (country pop), Toni Price (country blues), Roni Stoneman (bluegrass banjo)
Gone down under: Burt (“Crocodile Dundee” croc), Cassius (Australian salt-water crocodile, largest in captivity), Sphen (Australian gentoo penguin, gay icon)
Gospel greats: Sandra Crouch, Mandisa, Rodessa Barrett Porter (last surviving member of Barrett Sisters gospel trio)
Gotta dance: Gavin Creel (musical theater), Cat Glover (Prince choreographer, performer), Judith Jamison (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer, director)
Hasta la bye bye: Ivan Boesky (Wall Street insider trading), William Calley (My Lai massacre), Norma Padgett (Groveland Four accuser)
Hostages: Terry Anderson (reporter held by Hezbollah Shiite Muslims in Lebanon for six years, 1985-91), Nicholas Daniloff (reporter detained by the KGB in Moscow for three weeks, 1974), Moorhead Kennedy Jr. (diplomat held by Iranian revolutionaries in Tehran for 444 days, 1979-81)
Inventive: Bob Heil (Heil Talk Box sound effect unit, 1973; sound systems for rock tours), Murray McCory (lightweight school backpacks), John Nady (wireless guitars and microphones)
Iron men: Paul Alexander (lived for seven decades in an iron lung), Jim Knaub (five-time Boston Marathon wheelchair winner), Jim Otto (Pro Football Hall of Fame center with Oakland Raiders, played 210 games over 15 years, had more than 70 surgeries in his life)
Irreverent: Kinky Friedman, Mojo Nixon, Peter Schickele (PDQ Bach parodies)
It’s a dog’s life: Ben Herbstreit (football analyst Kirk’s dog), Hank the Brewers dog, Kabosu the Doge meme dog
It’s complicated: Bela Karolyi, Pete Rose, O.J. Simpson
Jazz men: George Bohanon (trombonist, Motown sessions), Roy Haynes (drums), Kevin Toney (piano, composer, Blackbyrds)
Jazz sax appeal: Lou Donaldson, Benny Golson, David Sanborn
Kid stuff: Laurent de Brunhoff (“Babar the Elephant”), Shelley Duvall (“Popeye,” “Faerie Tale Theatre”), Francine Pascal (“Sweet Valley High” books)
Last man standing, many theaters: Abdul “Duke” Fakir (last original Four Tops member), Henry Fambrough (last original Spinners member), Harry Williams (last original Bloodstone member)
Last man standing, Pacific Theater, World War II: Lou Conter (last USS Arizona survivor), Warren Upton (oldest Pearl Harbor survivor at 105, last USS Utah survivor), Masamitsu Yoshioka (Japanese bombardier, last survivor of Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack force)
Last one standing, European Theater, World War II: Bud Anderson (last triple ace pilot), Romay Johnson Davis (oldest Six Triple Eight women’s mail unit survivor at 104), Robert Dixon (last Buffalo Soldier)
Late ’50s rockers: Duane Eddy (“Rebel-‘Rouser”), Clarence “Frogman” Henry (“Ain’t Got No Home”), Chan Romero (“Hippy Hippy Shake”)
A league of their own: Marie Mansfield Kelley (Rockford Peaches pitcher), Toni Ann Palermo (Chicago Colleens, Springfield Lassies shortstop), Barbara Payne (infielder with Rockford, four other AAGPBL teams)
Let’s eat (and drink): Wally Amos (Famous Amos cookies), Gloria Jean Kvetko (Gloria Jean’s Coffees), Bill Post (Pop-Tarts)
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away: James Earl Jones (Darth Vader, “Star Wars” films), Angus MacInnes (Gold Leader, “Star Wars”), Carl Weathers (Greef Karga, “The Mandalorian”)
MC5, 4, 3, 2, 1, none: Wayne Kramer (guitar), John Sinclair (manager whose marijuana case inspired the John Lennon song named for him), Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson (drums)
Movie music: Vic Flick (James Bond guitarist), Will Jennings (songwriter, “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Titanic”), Richard M. Sherman (Disney songwriter, “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”)
Multitalented: Andy Paley (Paley Brothers, Modern Lovers, songwriter, producer, composer, film and cartoon scores), Mike Pinera (Blues Image, Iron Butterfly, Ramatam), Karl Wallinger (Waterboys, World Party)
Musical brothers: Tommy Cash (Johnny’s brother), Joe Chambers (one of four Chambers Brothers), Tito Jackson (Michael’s brother)
Musical sisters: Leah Kunkel (Mama Cass Elliot’s sister), Tyka Nelson (Prince’s sister), Cynthia Strother (one of the Bell Sisters, early ’50s singing duo)
“National Lampoon Radio Hour” time: Joe Flaherty (performer), Brian McConnachie (producer), Bob Tischler (producer)
Need for speed: Bobby Allison, Wally Dallenbach, Parnelli Jones
Never forget: Lily Ebert (Holocaust survivor wrote “Lily’s Promise” memoir), Helma Goldmark (Austrian Holocaust refugee joined the Italian Resistance), Ben Stern (Holocaust survivor fought neo-Nazi march in Skokie, Illinois)
News desk: Aaron Brown (ABC, CNN), Bob Edwards (NPR), Charles Osgood (CBS)
Notorious: Peggy Caserta (Janis Joplin’s companion), Megan Marshack (Nelson Rockefeller’s paramour, perhaps), Scott Thorson (Liberace’s companion)
One toke over the line: Mike Brewer (co-wrote and sang it with Tom Shipley), Nick Gravenites (produced the 1970 single; also guitarist for The Electric Flag, Big Brother and the Holding Company), Melanie (Brewer & Shipley were opening for her at Carnegie Hall when they debuted it)
Quarterbacks: Roman Gabriel, Frank Ryan, Norm Snead
Resist: Lilly Ledbetter (Goodyear supervisor fought for fair pay for women), Alexei Navalny (Russian opposition leader), Madeleine Riffaud (WWII French Resistance fighter)
The right stuff: William Anders (Apollo 8 astronaut took NASA’s “Earthrise” photo on first mission to orbit the moon, 1968), Joe Engle (X-15 test pilot, second space shuttle commander), Thomas Stafford (Apollo 10 astronaut, second mission to orbit the moon)
Scoops: Dusko Doder (broke Yuri Andropov’s death for Washington Post, 1984), Ron Edmonds (AP photographer at Reagan shooting, 1981), Frieder Reimold (wrote AP’s “East Germany opens borders” bulletin, 1989)
Screenwriters: Marshall Brickman (“Annie Hall,” “Manhattan”), Jeri Taylor (“Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Star Trek: Voyager”), Robert Towne (“The Last Detail,” “Chinatown,” “Shampoo”)
Sexy time! Fritz Peterson (swapped wives with baseball teammate Mike Kekich), Ruth Westheimer (sex therapist), Howard Ziehm (adult film pioneer)
Singular singers: Francoise Hardy, Cissy Houston (Sweet Inspirations), Mary Weiss (Shangri-Las)
Ska and reggae royalty: Aston “Family Man” Barrett (Wailers bandleader), Gaps Hendrickson (The Selecter singer), Donald Kinsey (Wailers, Peter Tosh guitarist)
“Slap Shot”: Paul D’Amato (Tim “Dr. Hook” McCracken, coldcocks the referee in this trailer), Connie Madigan (Ross “Mad Dog” Madison, the first “Murderers’ Row” skater in this trailer), M. Emmet Walsh (Dickie Dunn)
Song and dance: Mitzi Gaynor, Janis Paige, Chita Rivera
Songwriters: Jerry Fuller (“Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower” for Gary Puckett and the Union Gap), Dave Loggins (“Please Come to Boston,” “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do”), Peter Sinfield (King Crimson; Emerson, Lake and Palmer)
Soul brothers: Frankie Beverly (the Butlers, Raw Soul, Maze), Arthur “Pooch” Tavares (Tavares), Maurice Williams (Zodiacs)
Soul sisters: Angela Bofill, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Pat Lewis (Andantes, Motown),
Sports desk: Greg Gumbel (ESPN, NBC, CBS), Rudy Martzke (USA Today media writer, Chris Mortensen (ESPN)
Stuntmen: Mickey Gilbert (Robert Redford’s double, jumped off the cliff in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”), Kim Kahana (at 5-foot-7, doubled for Charles Bronson, Stefanie Powers, Sally Field), Bob Yerkes (’70s disaster movies)
Stuntwomen: Susan Backlinie (attacked by shark as “Jaws” begins; she spoofs it as “1941” begins), Jeannie Epper (Lynda Carter’s “Wonder Woman” double; also doubled for Lindsay Wagner, Kate Jackson), Toni Vaz (first Black stuntwoman, created NAACP Image Awards)
Taking flight: David Harris (first Black pilot for a major airline), Bette Nash (longest-serving flight attendant, 65 years), Dick Rutan (co-piloted Voyager aircraft on first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight)
Talk show royalty: Phil Donahue, The Amazing Kreskin, Richard Simmons
Thrill seekers, the men: Chad McQueen (actor and race driver like his dad Steve), Tamayo Perry (pipeline surfer), Sylvain Saudan (extreme mountain skier)
Thrill seekers, the women: Sophie Hediger (Swiss Olympic snowboarder killed in avalanche), Motorcycle Mary McGee (first female motorcycle road and motocross racer), Patti McGee (first female skateboard champion)
Time travelers: James Darren (“The Time Tunnel”); Arthur Frommer (travel guide books), David Mills (internet’s “Father Time,” designed Network Time Protocol)
Trailblazers: William Gaines (first Black Navy SEAL), Nathan Hare (first person to run a Black studies program in America), Joanne Pierce Misko (nun who became one of the first female FBI special agents)
Unforgettable voices: Elwood Edwards (“You’ve got mail” from AOL), Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray (calmed Los Angeles during, after 1992 riots), Annie Nightingale (first female host on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Television’s “The Old Grey Whistle Test”)
White House guests: Quincy Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Seiji Ozawa (all guests of President Obama)
Widowed: Kathryn Crosby (Bing, since 1977); Ethel Kennedy (RFK Sr., since 1968), Judith Belushi Pisano (John Belushi, since 1982)
Gone in Threes, the band
Front men: Eric Carmen (Raspberries), Joe Egan (Stealers Wheel), Greg Kihn (Greg Kihn Band)
Guitar: Slim Dunlap (Replacements), Jerry Miller (Moby Grape), Tawl Ross (Funkadelic)
Bass: Herbie Flowers (T. Rex, solo Beatles sessions, Lou Reed sessions), Tom Fowler (It’s A Beautiful Day, Frank Zappa, Mothers of Invention), Del Palmer (Kate Bush)
Percussion: John Barbata (Turtles, CSN&Y, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship), Zakir Hussain (Indian classical tabla), Jimmy Van Eaton (Sun Records sessions)
Keyboards: Doug Ingle (Iron Butterfly), Mike Pinder (Moody Blues), Richard Tandy (Electric Light Orchestra)
The chorus: Alfa Anderson (Chic), Diva Gray (Chic, dance music), Evelyn Thomas (dance music)
The crush
“Every guy was madly in love with her,” Robert Morton said in the best love letter to Teri Garr that I read in the wake of her death on Oct. 29. (Morton was David Letterman’s longtime producer.)
So was I. Sigh.
The video above is from her last appearance with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” of Thursday, May 14, 1992. It’s spirited and delightful, as she so often was. She’s great with Carson and her fellow guests Martin Short and Michael Keaton.
(Teri Garr made 42 appearances on “The Tonight Show” from 1977 to 1992 and 35 appearances on Letterman’s shows from 1982 to 2008.)
The last word
Some memorable farewells
— Robert Adolph Boehm of Clarendon and Amarillo, Texas: “We have all done our best to enjoy/weather Robert’s antics up to this point, but he is God’s problem now.”
— Bernard Dick of Mosinee, Wisconsin: “Yes, you read his easy-to-pronounce last name correctly and as Bernie would boom, ‘I’m the only walking, talking one you’ll ever see!'”
— Florence Harrelson of Chelsea, Maine: “So, this isn’t so much an obituary but more of a public service announcement.”
— Christopher Olson of Weston, Wisconsin: “Chris is survived by … countless friends who are still convinced this is some kind of prank.”
— Donald Sarenpa of Schofield, Wisconsin: “Celebrate Donny’s life with a Blatz and LET’S GET PLASTERED!”
Noteworthy
This is not intended to be an inclusive list of all who died in 2024. This is my highly subjective list. Yours will be different.
The credits
Each year, I use these sources for this list.
We start with Wikipedia’s month-by-month lists of prominent deaths. Then we check with our friend Gunther at Any Major Dude, who compiles monthly lists of notable music deaths. Combined, those are more thorough than this roundup. Highly recommended.
Then we go through a year of Mojo magazines, checking the “Real Gone” and “They Also Served” features. Other solid sources include the Washington Post, this year-end roundup from NPR Music, News from ME (the blog by comics and animation writer Mark Evanier) and the year-end In Memoriam series by Sam Gazdziak at his RIP Baseball blog.
Previous “Gone in threes” entries
2023 * 2022 * 2021 * 2020 * 2019 * 2018 * 2017
2016 * 2015 * 2014 * 2013 * 2012 * 2011 * 2010
Plus similar year-end posts in 2008 and 2009.
(If you wonder why this always lags the new year by a few days, it’s because some deaths aren’t announced immediately. This new year is but six days old and already we’re going forward without Wayne Osmond and Brenton Wood.)