Celebrities who have sadly died in 2015

1. Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dora (Spinner) and Max Nimoy, who owned a barbershop. His parents were Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. Raised in a tenement and acting in community theaters since age eight, Nimoy did not make his Hollywood debut until he was 20, with a bit ...

2. Jackie Collins

Actress | Danger Man

Jackie Collins was born on October 4, 1937 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Danger Man (1960), The Saint (1962) and The Stud (1978). She was married to Oscar Lerman and Wallace Austin. She died on September 19, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

3. Edward Herrmann

Actor | Overboard

Edward Herrmann was born on July 21, 1943 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor, known for Overboard (1987), The Lost Boys (1987) and Nixon (1995). He was married to Star Herrmann and Leigh Curran. He died on December 31, 2014 in New York City, New York, USA.

A great tv and film actor.

4. Wes Craven

Writer | A Nightmare on Elm Street

Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.

Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He had a midwestern suburban upbringing. His first feature film was The Last House on ...

5. Maureen O'Hara

Actress | The Quiet Man

In America, the early performing arts accomplishments of young Maureen FitzSimons (who we know as Maureen O'Hara) would definitely have put her in the child prodigy category. However, for a child of Irish heritage surrounded by gifted parents and family, these were very natural traits. Maureen made...

6. Omar Sharif

Actor | Lawrence of Arabia

Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the title role in Doctor Zhivago (1965), was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a lumber merchant, and his wife, Claire (Saada). Of Lebanese and ...

7. James Horner

Music_department | Titanic

James Horner began studying piano at the age of five, and trained at the Royal College of Music in London, England, before moving to California in the 1970s. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he would go on to earn his master's degree at UCLA and teach music theory there. He ...

8. Christopher Lee

Actor | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was perhaps the only actor of his generation to have starred in so many films and cult saga. Although most notable for personifying bloodsucking vampire, Dracula, on screen, he portrayed other varied characters on screen, most of which were villains, whether it ...

9. B.B. King

Actor | Blues Brothers 2000

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 - May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many ...

10. Alex Rocco

Actor | The Godfather

Tough, gruff, thick-browed, volatile-looking character actor Alex Rocco was born Alessandro Federico Petricone, Jr. on February 29, 1936, to Italian immigrants in Cambridge, Mass. He grew up a member of Boston's Winter Hill gang (his nickname was "Bobo") and was briefly detained regarding a murder ...

11. Yvonne Craig

Actress | Batgirl

Yvonne Joyce Craig was born on May 16, 1937 in Taylorville, Illinois. As a young teenager, Yvonne showed such promise as a dancer that she was accepted to Denham's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Her training progressed until she left the company in 1957 over a disagreement on casting changes. She ...

12. Robert Loggia

Actor | Big

Born and raised in New York City, Robert Loggia studied journalism at the University of Missouri before moving back to New York to pursue acting. He trained at the Actors Studio while doing stage work. From the late 1950s he was a familiar face on TV, usually as authoritative figures. Loggia also ...

13. Jack Larson

Actor | Superman Returns

Jack Edward Larson was born in Los Angeles, California, to Anita (Calicoff) and George E. Larson. He was raised in Pasadena, and attended Pasadena Junior College (by coincidence, exactly as did his Adventures of Superman (1952) co-star George Reeves). He was a contract player at Warner Bros. ...

14. Roger Rees

Actor | Frida

Like a number of British actors of the same generation (John Hurt and Alan Rickman, to name two), Roger Rees originally trained for the visual arts. He was born on May 5 1944 in Aberystwyth, Wales, and acted in church and Boy Scouts stage productions while growing up in South London, but studied ...

15. Patrick Macnee

Actor | The Avengers

British actor Patrick Macnee was born on February 6, 1922 in London, England into a wealthy and eccentric family. His father, Daniel Macnee, was a race horse trainer, who drank and gambled away the family fortune, leaving young Patrick to be raised by his lesbian mother, Dorothea Mary, and her ...

16. Dick Van Patten

Actor | Spaceballs

Dick Van Patten began acting as a child. He made his first of 27 Broadway appearances at age seven in "Tapestry in Grey." After, he appeared in numerous films, including Freaky Friday (1976), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and Spaceballs (1987). His television credits include his best-known role...

17. Louis Jourdan

Actor | Gigi

Louis Jourdan was born Louis Robert Gendre in Marseille, France to Yvonne (née Jourdan) and hotel owner Henry Gendre. He was educated in France, Britain, and Turkey. He trained as an actor with René Simon at the École Dramatique. He debuted on screen in 1939, going on to play cultivated, polished, ...

18. Taylor Negron

Actor | Alienated

Taylor Negron was born Brad Stephen Negron in Glendale, California, to Lucy (Rosario) and Conrad Negron, who was mayor of Indian Wells, CA. His parents were both of Puerto Rican descent. Negron attended UCLA, studied acting with Lee Strasberg, and studied comedy at a private seminar taught by ...

19. Donna Douglas

Actress | The Beverly Hillbillies

An honest-to-goodness Southern Belle, similar to her most famous character role, "Elly May Clampett" on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Donna Douglas grew up in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area, loving "critters". She got married soon after high school, had a son, divorced and won a couple of beauty...

20. Fred Thompson

Actor | The Hunt for Red October

Fred Thompson was born on August 19, 1942 in Sheffield, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hunt for Red October (1990), No Way Out (1987) and Baby's Day Out (1994). He was married to Jeri Kehn Thompson and Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey. He died on November 1, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

A good film actor, I love him best in Die Hard 2.

21. Dean Jones

Actor | The Love Bug

Born in Decatur, Alabama and christened Dean Carroll Jones, the actor's father worked for a railroad company and the family moved often, living in Washington, DC, Nashville, and New Orleans. "It was in New Orleans I really learned how to sing", Jones told the Pittsburgh Press in 1969. Dropping out ...

22. George Cole

Actor | Quentin Durward

George Cole OBE was a veteran British film, television and stage actor whose impressive career spanned over 60 years. For many, he will perhaps be best remembered for playing one of the most endearing characters of recent times on British television, "Arthur Daley", the shifty but very likable "...

23. Ron Moody

Actor | Oliver!

Equipped with a crooked, leering smirk and devilish gleam in his eye, actor Ron Moody will be most assuredly remembered for one signature role, despite the fact that the talented comedian had much, much more to offer. Carol Channing may have had her Dolly Levi and Yul Brynner his King of Siam, but ...

24. Mary Ellen Trainor

Actress | The Goonies

Mary Ellen Trainor was born in Chicago, Illinois. She appeared in many feature-films of the 1980s, notable characters include, Elaine, the kidnapped sister of Kathleen Turner and the catalyst for the entire plot in Romancing the Stone (1984), Dr. Stephanie Woods (LA Police Psychiatrist) in in all ...

25. Ellen Albertini Dow

Actress | The Wedding Singer

The multifaceted Ellen Albertini was a student of dance and piano at the age of five, and obtained a B.A. and M.A. in theater from Cornell University. She moved to New York, and studied and worked with the legendary likes of Hanya Holm, Martha Graham, Michael Shurtleff, Uta Hagen, Marcel Marceau, ...

26. Geoffrey Lewis

Actor | The Way of the Gun

Talented and highly capable character actor Geoffrey Lewis, with rustic (sometimes sour-faced) looks, grew up in Rhode Island but was moved out to California at the age of ten. Lewis was very keen on the dramatic arts at high school, but often preferred to put on his own one-man shows rather than ...

27. Alberta Watson

Actress | Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Alberta Watson, well known to television audiences for her Gemini award-nominated role as Madeline on La Femme Nikita (1997), enjoys a long and diverse career in television and film.

A native of Toronto, Watson began performing with a local theater group as a teenager. She received a Genie ...

28. Windell Middlebrooks

Actor | Scrubs

Windell Middlebrooks was born on January 8, 1979 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Scrubs (2001), Body of Proof (2011) and The Suite Life on Deck (2008). He died on March 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

A great actor, I liked him best in tv show Body Of Proof as Curtis.

29. Daniel von Bargen

Actor | The Postman

A character actor who seems to pop up everywhere as the stereotypical cop, military officer and/or tough guy, von Bargen could turn in performances of stunning complexity when given the chance.

Daniel von Bargen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 5, 1950 to Juanita (Bustle) and Donald L. von ...

30. Rod Taylor

Actor | Inglourious Basterds

Suave and handsome Australian actor arrived in Hollywood in the 1950s, and built himself up from a supporting actor into taking the lead in several well-remembered movies. Arguably his most fondly remembered role was that as George (Herbert George Wells), the inventor, in George Pal's spectacular ...

31. Cilla Black

Soundtrack | Last Night in Soho

Cilla Black was born on May 27, 1943 in Liverpool, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Last Night in Soho (2021), Hellboy (2019) and Cilla (1968). She was married to Bobby Willis. She died on August 1, 2015 in Estepona, Spain.

One of the best british singers of my generation, she will always be missed.

32. Shirley Stelfox

Actress | Nineteen Eighty-Four

Shirley Stelfox was born on April 11, 1941 in Dukinfield, Cheshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for 1984 (1984), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Making Out (1989). She was married to Don Henderson and Keith Edmundson. She died on December 7, 2015 in Nottinghamshire, England, UK.

33. Nicholas Smith

Actor | The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Nicholas Smith was born on March 5, 1934 in Banstead, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Are You Being Served? (1972) and Are You Being Served? (1977). He was married to Mary Wall. He died on December 6, 2015 in Sutton, Surrey,...

Best known for playing Mr Rumbold in tv series Are You Being Served.

34. Warren Mitchell

Actor | Jabberwocky

Warren Mitchell was born on January 14, 1926 in Stamford Hill, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Jabberwocky (1977), The Crawling Eye (1958) and In Sickness and in Health (1985). He was married to Constance Wake. He died on November 14, 2015 in Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London, ...

Where shall I start? What am actor!

35. Al Molinaro

Actor | The Odd Couple

Albert was born on June 24, 1919 to Raffaele Molinaro and Teresa Marrone. His father was born in Calabria, Italy and immigrated to the US when he was 15 years old and worked as a water boy with a railroad crew going west from New York. He ended up in Kenosha Wisconsin where he met and married ...

Best known for playing Al in tv series Happy Days.

36. Peter Baldwin

Actor | Coronation Street

Peter Baldwin was born on July 29, 1933 in Chidham, Chichester, West Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Coronation Street (1960), Freelance (1970) and Poldark (1975). He was married to Sarah Long. He died on October 21, 2015 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.

He played Derek Wilton in the british soap Coronation Street for many years.

37. Joy Beverley

Self | Chan Canasta

Joy Beverley was born on May 5, 1924 in Bethnal Green, London, England, UK. She was married to Billy Wright and Roger Carocari. She died on August 31, 2015 in London, England, UK.

One of the famous Beverley sisters.

38. Stephen Lewis

Actor | Last of the Summer Wine

Stephen Lewis, will be chiefly remembered for the comedy catchphrase: "I 'ate you Butler!" He delivered it week after week in the hit sitcom On The Buses, a saucy slice of life that ran on ITV from 1969 to 1973. Lewis was Cyril "Blakey" Blake, a bus inspector with a Hitler moustache and delusions ...

39. Val Doonican

Soundtrack | Ring of Bright Water

Val Doonican was born on February 3, 1927 in Waterford, Co. Waterford, Republic of Ireland. He was a writer and actor, known for Ring of Bright Water (1969), The Val Doonican Music Show (1975) and Christmas Eve with Val Doonican (1986). He was married to Lynette Rae. He died on July 1, 2015 in ...

40. James Last

Soundtrack | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

James Last was born on April 17, 1929 in Bremen, Germany. He was a composer and actor, known for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Ocean's Eight (2018) and Shallow Grave (1994). He was married to Christine Grundner and Waltraut. He died on June 9, 2015 in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.

He was a composer and famous band leader.

41. Errol Brown

Soundtrack | Zodiac

Errol Brown was born on November 12, 1943 in Kingston, Jamaica. He was an actor and composer, known for Zodiac (2007), The Guest (2014) and Rat Race (2001). He was married to Ginette. He died on May 6, 2015 in the Bahamas.

Lead singer in pop group Hot Chocolate.

42. Ruth Rendell

Writer | Carne trémula

Ruth Rendell was born on February 17, 1930 in South Woodford, Essex, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Live Flesh (1997), La Cérémonie (1995) and Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987). She was married to Donald John Rendell. She died on May 2, 2015 in London, England, UK.

A famous british crime witer.

43. Keith Harris

Actor | Shameless

Keith started in show business at the early age of 9 in a comedy act with his father. Two years later when his father retired Keith couldn't find a partner to be a straight man so decided to be a ventriloquist. His father bought him his first 'doll' but after the string broke in the middle of his ...

A famous ventriloquist in comedy duo Keith and Orville.

44. Percy Sledge

Soundtrack | The Crying Game

Alabama-born Percy Sledge had a somewhat unusual introduction to the music business. Working as an orderly in a local hospital, he was touring with a local band called the Esquires Combo on weekends and working at the hospital during the week. A former patient at the hospital who knew both Sledge ...

A great singer x

45. Terry Pratchett

Writer | Good Omens

Terry Pratchett was born on April 28, 1948 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Good Omens (2019), Untitled Discworld Project and The Wee Free Men. He was married to Lyn Marian Purves. He died on March 12, 2015 in Broadchalke, Salisbury, Wiltshire, ...

A wonderful author.

46. Geraldine McEwan

Actress | The Magdalene Sisters

Geraldine McEwan was born in Old Windsor, England and made her theatre debut at the age of 14 at the Theatre Royal in Windsor. By the age of 18 she was starring in London's West End in several long-running popular productions. During the 1950s she acted with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in ...

Best known for starring in Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves and playing Miss Marple in the Agatha Christie series.

47. Anne Kirkbride

Actress | Coronation Street

Anne Kirkbride was born on June 21, 1954 in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Coronation Street (1960), ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969) and Coronation Street: Tram Crash (2010). She was married to David Beckett. She died on January 19, 2015 in Manchester, ...

She played Deirdre in the British soap Coronation Street.

48. Khan Bonfils

Actor | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Khan Bonfils was born in 1972 in the UK. He was an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) and Skyfall (2012). He died on January 7, 2015 in London, England, UK.