BCAlum2000

And....i totally jinxed it! First major young celebrity to die this year is none other than Screech himself, Dustin Diamond. https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/dustin-diamond-dead-saved-by-the-bell-screech-1234897484/

I'm an old timer, so I know very little about these Generation Z hip hop artists... You might as well be speaking hieroglyphics to me when talking about hip hop and rap music nowadays. I grew up in the era of B.I.G., Public Enemy, and 2Pac, so I'm considered "old" to these young'ins... Put it this way, Kurt Cobain is as relevant to them as Buddy Holly was to me...

I don't think Sophie's all that well known? At least not in America...hardly social media is talking about her death... Young artists who are well known get their names flooded on the likes of Twitter, but hardly any young people (at least in America) are mentioning her. Juice WRLD for example, Twitter and social media feeds blew up when he died. Even Smoke Pop (another rapper) got a lot of love on social media when he died. Then again, in America, young people tend to gravitate towards hip hop and EDM, with young white people in the rural midwest and south gravitating towards country...

January: Larry King and Hank Aaron. Aaron is considered one of the most well known baseball players ever. We also lost Cicely Tyson, Cloris Leachman, and Phil Spector. but unlike in years past, so far, all the major celebrities we've lost were old timers. We haven't lost any major young celebrities in January, so maybe it's a sign that 2021 is better already...granted the bar is low... Or not...now that there's some crazy shit going on in Myanmar...

I think 1949 is the more accurate year. Tanya has been in show business since the early 70s, so it would have been more realistic if she were in her late teens and early 20s when she started out. She had a starring role in the 1975 horror movie Forced Entry, so it makes sense she was 25-26 years old, at the time and not 19-20. It's not uncommon for celebrities to shave a few years off their birthdate to give the appearance of youth. For example, I've heard persistent rumors that Beyonce Knowles was actually born in the mid to late 1970s (between 1975 to 1978), and not 1981. And quite frankly, it wouldn't shock me if she were born in 1978 or even 1975, and not 1981. I mean Beyonce was making music since the mid-1990s, and I remember how I always thought she looked "mature" for her age (despite her and I being born just a couple months apart). Put it this way, when I watched her in music videos during her Destiny's Child days, she did NOT look like she was 15 or 16 years old! https://www.huffpost.com/entry/beyonce-age-mathew-knowles_n_56253265e4b0bce347018e14 Jessica Chastain and Rebel Wilson also fudged their ages. Jessica always claimed to be born in late 1981, when it turns out she was born in 1977. She graduated from acting school in her mid to late 20s, so that's why she got away with it for some time. And Rebel Wilson was born in 1980, not 1986 or 1988!

It's only mid-January so far, though I agree Phil Spector has been the biggest name to date... I would add Barbara Shelley as well. She's considered the original Scream Queen and Hammer's most famous leading lady! And though she's not really mainstream, Julie Strain's death hit me hard. For those of a certain age, we grew up watching Julie Strain's movies on cable, and she was a Goddess!

One to look out for. And far too young, sadly.

I am hearing mixed messages, with some claiming that it's just another cruel hoax, and supposedly two close family friends have confirmed her passing. No formal announcement though, and I'm not sure why. You'd think her boyfriend would clear the air by now, but hasn't. It happened exactly the same time last year, but her boyfriend didn't clear up the rumors until hours later. I hope her boyfriend sets the record straight, even if she has indeed passed on.

Yup, and that will likely sum up 2021 as well. Things turn bleak, then things appear to be on the upswing, and then everything goes downhill again....

As bizarre as this may seem, I think Tanya Roberts death, and subsequent revival, actually portends 2021... 2021 will start off very dark and bleak, but things will get a lot better.

Not a bad list, though I admit I couldn't come up with too many names this year. Here is my personal DL for 2021... Larry King Rush Limbaugh David Crosby Shannen Doherty Bob Dole Jimmy Carter Bob Barker Loretta Lynn Julie Strain Billy Connolly Harry Reid Teri Garr (Has had a number of health issues lately) Dick Cheney Ozzy Osbourne Robert Wagner (kinda random choice) Betty White (pains me to put her name on this list, but she's 99 years old) Bill Cosby (joker) (from what I heard, he is VERY motivated to stay alive due to his case being appealed, and wants to fight to clear his name, so he has every reason to why to live b/c he wants to save his legacy and possibly not die in prison, but hell, he's 83 years old and in frail health, AND in prison while the pandemic is going on)

Yeah, I'm surprised he didn't make the main DL this year, considering all the health issues he's battled, on top of his advanced age. But I admit, I didn't really think about him either.

Legendary news broadcaster Larry King is hospitalized with COVID. On top of that, he had a heart attack, and is battling cancer. He just shot up on the top of my list, along with Rush Limbaugh. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9106947/Larry-King-87-Los-Angeles-hospital-COVID-19.html

Ah yeah, I think that's a fair analysis. A lot of my favorite actors I grew up watching in the 80s and 90s have already passed away or are getting up there in age.

I think it's going to be the opposite. i think 2021 is going to be a much slower year in terms of high profile celebrity deaths. But we shall see. Celebrity deaths tend to come and go in cycles, and usually after a big year of celebrity deaths, the subsequent year tends to be much slower. 2009 was one of the biggest years in terms of celebrity deaths, but 2010 hardly had any big names. I mean, the biggest celebrity death in 2010 was probably friggin' Dennis Hopper (at least in terms of Hollywood deaths)! Though Corey Haim and Gary Coleman's deaths did dominate the media headlines in 2010 due to their shocking deaths. 2016 was a hell of a year for celebrity deaths, and 2017 was kinda slow, though we did lose several names. I predict 2021 will be the slowest year in terms of celebrity deaths since 2010 (the last year when we didn't get a lot of high profile celebrity deaths). Right now, everybody's number one pick appears to be Rush Limbaugh. All eyes are on him.

Every five to ten years, we seem to have a surge of celebrity deaths. 2003 had a ton of celebrity deaths. 2009 as well. 2016 was a notable year for celebrity deaths, and even 2018 had a ton of marquee names. 2020 probably tops it all though including 2016 (which was infamous for the number of high profile deaths) and 2009 (Michael Jackson's death dominated headlines, but media noted it was a noteworthy year for celebrity deaths). Celebrity deaths tend to come in cycles. Some years, we get a ton of big names pass away, and some years, not many. I actually predict 2021 to not have as many high profile deaths, particularly b/c all the big names who were predicted to die have already passed away, e.g. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alex Trebek, John Lewis, etc. Rush Limbaugh right now is the slated headliner for 2021, b/c really he's the only celebrity left I can think of who's publicly battling a terminal illness (only other names I can think of are Shannen Doherty and David Crosby) but I think we could be losing Jimmy Carter as well (just a hunch).

My top choices for 2021 DL: Rush Limbaugh (#1 draft pick) Larry King (not doing well last I heard) Bob Dole (on borrowed time) Jimmy Carter (I think he'll be the "Big one" in 2021) Bob Barker (on borrowed time) Loretta Lynn Robert Wagner Julie Strain (she could live another year or two, but I think she's at her brave last years) Billy Connolly Harry Reid Teri Garr Dick Cheney (dunno why, but he's a major one for 2021) David Crosby (any day now) Shannen Doherty (she's struggling, could survive another year, but I think she's at her last legs, sadly) Yoko Ono (she looks terrible) Sidney Poitier

It may not be credible, but here's something. I already pegged him on my 2021 DL. https://nypost.com/2020/11/19/michael-j-fox-retires-due-to-declining-health/

R&B singer Jeremih is currently hospitalized for COVID-19 and on a ventilator. The prognosis is grim. If Jeremih dies, he is arguably the biggest name in America who would have died of this disease...

If Jeremih dies of COVID-19, he would be the biggest name (at least in America) to have died of this disease so far.

George Floyd didn't really accomplish anything before he died. But I would probably compare him to Anne Frank in terms of his legacy. Already, there are scholars who say George Floyd is this century's Anne Frank. Also, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor did something rare: their deaths brought the country together. Everybody from liberals to hardcore Trump supporters came together in mourning and in protest. I've had BLM friends protesting side by side with Trump supporters marching. Until the riots tore our country apart again.

Also, George Floyd technically isn't a celebrity. Other than him dying, what was he famous for? If you became famous b/c you died, you ain't a celebrity. What did he accomplish prior to his death that was so significant? Honestly, i'm looking at things from an American yankee point of view so i might see things differently from you guys. That's why I think RBG is the most significant death of this year, and that's just from an American perspective. Though i agree you can make the case that Sean Connery is up there as well (along with Kobe Bryant, John Lewis, and Chadwick Boseman -- particularly b/c Black Panther is such an iconic character; Boseman's death honestly rivals that of Bruce Lee -- I think he was this generation's Bruce Lee).

There were rumors that George Floyd might actually make Time magazine's Person of the Year. I know there were petitions circulating for it. Though ultimately, it's probably going to go to Dr. Anthony Fauci, or yes, Donald Trump himself. I would actually agree that George Floyd's death probably received more media coverage than almost anybody else in the world, including world famous celebrities. The last person to have received such extensive media coverage would probably, honestly have to be Michael Jackson. Not even former United States Presidents like George Herbert Walker Bush got such attention for their deaths. Even famous celebrities who died tragically young didn't get the media coverage George Floyd have. I mean, at least in the United States, George Floyd had TWO high profile funerals (one in Minneapolis, one in Houston) where hundreds, maybe thousands were in attendance, and both funerals were aired live on television. When was the last world famous celebrity to get to have two funerals which were aired live on television to millions watching? I think only Michael Jackson and Pope John Paul II rivaled George Floyd in terms of media coverage of their deaths. Though RBG certainly got a lot of coverage as well due to the implications on the United States Supreme Court.

I would say he's definitely up there... 2020 is a tough choice for most significant celebrity death, but I still have to say... Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the most significant death. Honestly, it's a five way tie if one thinks about it between RBG, Kobe Bryant, Sean Connery, John Lewis, and Chadwick Boseman.

Jeff Bridges and Arnold Schwarzengger in 2021? If that happens, than my childhood has officially died once and for all. They are like the last two vestiges of my innocent childhood. lol