Class of 2021

In 2021,

Supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol to protest the result of the 2020 US Presidential election;

SpaceX launched and landed a Starship prototype;

Benjamin Netanyahu lost his bid to continue as Prime Minister of Israel;

Blue Origin launched its first commercial space flight,

The Games of the XXXII Olympiad were held in Tokyo (delayed a year because of the pandemic);

Hurricane Ida landed in New Orleans;

El Salvador began accepting bitcoin as legal currency;

Nomadland won the Oscar for Best Picture;

The following is my ranked list of the entertainers who passed away in 2021.

This is not a statement of their worth, but a valuation of their careers.

Everyone’s life is equally valuable, but their careers are not.

 

 

43. Peter Aykroyd

Dan Aykroyd’s little brother followed in his footsteps and featured in SNL for a bit in the 1980s, but that’s about it.

 

 

42. Joan Didion

Most famous as a writer / essayist, but she wrote a few screenplays: The Panic in Needle Park, Up Close and Personal, and the 1970s remake of A Star is Born.

 

 

41. Anne Rice

The film version of her novel Interview with the Vampire was a huge deal in the 1990s and revitalized the vampire genre (think Twilight), but subsequent film adaptations didn’t materialize and her career never again reached those heights.

 

 

40. Charlie Watts

Longtime drummer for The Rolling Stones.

 

39. Betty Lynn

Thelma Lou in The Andy Griffith Show.

 

 

 

38. Jessica Walter

In the 1970s, she memorably played a deranged stalker in Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me. After the role of a lifetime (Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development) ended in the 2000s, she extended her career as the voice of Mallory Archer (a character clearly inspired by Lucille).

 

 

37. Peter Scolari

In Bosom Buddies, he was the Andrew Ridgely to Tom Hanks’ George Michael. Aside from his position as Hanks’ bestie, he starred in the TV version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and had a memorable late career turn in Girls.

 

 

36. James Michael Tyler

As Gunther, he was background noise on one of the biggest TV shows of the early twenty first century: a show still relevant enough to warrant a highly rated reunion special twenty years later.

 

 

35. Tommy Kirk

Star of Disney classics Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, The Absent Minded-Professor, and (one of my personal favorites) The Monkey’s Uncle. His homosexuality derailed his career, and he did a lot of horrible, under the radar stuff afterwards, but for a brief moment in the middle of the twentieth century, he was the male counterpart to Annette Funicello.

 

34. Sonny Chiba

I haven’t seen a lot of his early work, although Tarantino is a huge fan. Jules’ speech in Pulp Fiction was inspired by one of Chiba’s films, and Tarantino would later cast him in Kill Bill.

 

 

33. Jean-Paul Belmondo

The French version of Steve McQueen; he was in several of the definitive films of the French New Wave, and if he had been willing to accept Hollywood’s repeated offers, I think he would have been at least as big a name as Marcello Mastroianni.

 

 

32. Gavin MacLeod

The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The Love Boat. A couple of film credits including Pork Chop Hill, Kelly’s Heroes, and The Sand Pebbles.

 

 

31. Yaphet Kotto

Bond villain in Live and Let Die; casualty in Alien; and Lt. Al Giardello in Homicide: Life on the Street (an underappreciated gem from the late twentieth century).

 

 

30. Robert Downey Sr.

An underground filmmaker who peaked in the 1960s (Putney Swope). Paul Thomas Anderson liked him enough to give him small roles in Boogie Nights and Magnolia, but his biggest contribution to popular culture is his son.

 

 

29. Richard Rush

It took him nine years to make, but he was Oscar nominated for writing and directing Stunt Man (1980). Unfortunately, his career never really took off after that.

 

 

28. Jane Powell

Star of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including Royal Wedding and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. In her late career, she played Jason Seaver’s mom in Growing Pains.

 

 

27. Jackie Mason

His standup career seemed destined for greatness until he allegedly gave Ed Sullivan the finger during a televised set and the powerful Sullivan blackballed him. In spite of this setback, he counts The Jerk, History of the World Part I, the notoriously bad Caddyshack II, and Rabbi Krustofski amongst his credits.

 

 

26. Norman Lloyd

He worked with Orson Welles and Hitchcock then found late career success with St. Elsewhere and Dead Poets Society. He lived over a century and continued working until to the end (Trainwreck) in a remarkable career.

 

 

25. Art LaFleur

Character actor extraordinaire. Wargames, Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, Maverick, and The Tooth Fairy in The Santa Clause movies.

 

 

24. Willie Garson

Stanford on Sex and the City. Much like James Michael Tyler, he was a sidekick on an iconic TV show, but his character was more than background.

 

 

23. Jean-Marc Vallée

Exploded on the scene with Dallas Buyers Club. Then a fruitful collaboration with Reese Witherspoon which produced Wild and the miniseries sensation Big Little Lies. He followed up with the Amy Adams vehicle Sharp Objects.

 

 

22. Charles Grodin

Early success with a small role in Rosemary’s Baby. The Heartbreak Kid with Elaine May and Real Life with Albert Brooks. Personal favorites: The Great Muppet Caper and The Incredible Shrinking Woman. Midnight Run with De Niro. Known to countless Gen-Xers for Beethoven. He unexpectedly walked away from a thriving Hollywood career to become a political talk show host. After his show ended, he took a long hiatus, before a brief, late career reemergence as a character actor (with an especially memorable turn in Louie).

 

 

21. Norm Macdonald

One of the driest and cerebral comedians. His run as Weekend Update anchor and his appearance as Burt Reynolds (Turd Ferguson) in Celebrity Jeopardy! sketches are legendary. His body of work is not as large as some of his contemporaries, but his influence is enormous.

 

 

20. Larry McMurtry

His novels were adapted into Hud, The Last Picture Show (which won him an Oscar), Terms of Endearment, and Lonesome Dove, and he adapted Annie Proulx’s short story Brokeback Mountain, winning another Oscar.

Reminiscent of Faulkner’s work regarding the South, his work chronicled the intersection of the old and new West.

 

 

19. Michael Apted

Director of a Bond film (The World is Not Enough), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Gorillas in the Mist, and Coal Miner’s Daughter. His greatest achievement is the Up series, which he took over with the second installment in 1970 and continued to shepherd through 63 Up in 2019.

 

 

18. Helen McCrory

Debuted in Interview with the Vampire. Cherie Blair in The Queen and The Special Relationship. Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. George Méliès wife in Hugo. Skyfall. Fantastic Mr. Fox.

 

 

17. Lina Wertmüller

First female nominee for the Academy Award for Best Director. Her films include: Seven Beauties, Love & Anarchy, and Swept Away (the good one, not the crappy Madonna remake). Received an Honorary Oscar in 2019.

 

 

16. George Segal

After his electrifying, Oscar nominated turn in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, he was an unlikely leading man in the 1970s: A Touch of Class, Born to Win, The Hot Rock, Blume in Love, California Split, Fun with Dick and Jane. Afterwards, he transitioned to supporting roles in in Look Who’s Talking and The Mirror Has Two Faces.

Consistently working, he was in two long running TV shows: Just Shoot Me! and The Goldbergs, recurring in the latter up until his death.

 

 

 

15. Bertrand Tavernier

A Sunday in the Country. Coup de Torchon. Round Midnight. Life and Nothing But. His films are slow, ponderous affairs. He loved asking big questions, and I loved him for it.

 

 

14. Michael K. Williams

He was great in The Night of, When They See Us, and Lovecraft Country, but The Wire is his legacy. Omar Little is in contention for the best TV character of all time.

 

 

 

13. Larry King

For thirty years, he was the face of CNN where his nightly interview show was influential and ubiquitous. A shameless self-promoter, he parlayed this into numerous cameos as himself in various film and TV projects.

 

 

12. Olympia Dukakis

Career highlights include Death Wish, Steel Magnolias, Look Who’s Talking, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Mighty Aphrodite, and, of course, her fantastic turn in Moonstruck, which won her an Oscar.

 

 

 

11. Richard Donner

Directed Superman, all four Lethal Weapon movies, The Goonies, The Omen, Scrooged, The Toy (a personal favorite from my childhood), Maverick, and Conspiracy Theory. Additionally, he shepherded the X-Men franchise to the screen.

 

 

10. Dean Stockwell

A child actor in the 1940s (The Boy with the Green Hair and Gentleman’s Agreement). Cannes awards winning actor in the 1960s (Long Day’s Journey into Night). He starred in Sons and Lovers; Paris, Texas; The Player; Beverly Hills Cop II; and Air Force One. He collaborated with David Lynch in Dune and Blue Velvet. Nominated for an Oscar for Married to the Mob. Late career success in sci-fi (Quantum Leap and Battlestar Galactica).

Friends with Dennis Hopper and lived as a hippie for awhile in the 1960s.

 

9. John Madden

Won a Superbowl as a coach of the Raiders and has the highest winning percentage of any coach with 100 games or more.

Legendary career was a broadcaster, and lent his name to one of the most famous videogames of all time.

 

 

8. Hal Holbrook

He won a Tony Award for performing as Mark Twain in a one man show in 1966 and continued playing the role for over fifty years. Deep Throat in All the President’s Men. Five Emmys and awarded the National Humanities Medal by George W. Bush.

 

 

7. Cicely Tyson

In her sixty year career, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an honorary Oscar, a Tony award (when she was ninety-one), an Oscar nomination for Sounder, and three Emmys.

Famously married to Miles Davis, she was still performing in the final years of her life (Tyler Perry’s A Fall from Grace and How to Get Away with Murder).

 

 

6. Ned Beatty

Otis in Superman. Oscar nominated for Network. Made everyone scared of squealing like a pig in Deliverance. All the President’s Men. The Toy. The Incredible Shrinking Woman. Rudy. Back to School. Lotso in Toy Story 3. Detective Bolander in Homicide: Life on the Street.  

 

 

5. Ed Asner

Carl Fredricksen in Up; Santa in Elf. He earned a place in the pantheon as Lou Grant in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. One of the few actors to win an Emmy for Comedy and Drama for the same role. He starred in Roots, was one of the most outspoken liberal actors of the age, and continued to work until shortly before his death in Cobra Kai.

 

 

4. Betty White

Mary Tyler Moore Show. The Golden Girls. Lake Placid. The Proposal. A legendary guest hosting stint on Saturday Night Live. 5 Emmy wins.  She was beloved by everyone.

 

 

3. Christopher Plummer

Two Emmys. One Oscar. Three Oscar nominations. The Sound of Music. Up. National Treasure, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, 12 Monkeys, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, All the Money in the World, Knives Out. The Man Who Would be King.

 

 

2. Stephen Sondheim

One of the greatest popular composers of the twentieth century. West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Gypsy. “Send in the Clowns.”

Won an Oscar for Dick Tracy. Presidential Medical of Freedom and Kennedy Center Honors.

Eight Grammys. Eight Tonys. In 2010, Broadway’s Henry Miller Theatre was renamed for him.

 

 

1. Cloris Leachman

One hundred and forty films in a sixty plus year career.

Mary Tyler Moore Show, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Young Frankenstein, Bad Santa, Spanglish. Replaced Charlotte Rae in the final seasons of The Fact of Life. A record eight Emmy wins. A record twenty two Emmy nominations. Oscar win for The Last Picture Show.

A memorable small role in American Gods. Competed on Dancing with the Stars in her eighties.