2020 Deaths
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- David Stern is an American businessman and lawyer who served as the fourth commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) He started with the league in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984, succeeding Larry O'Brien. He is credited with increasing the popularity of the NBA in the 1990s and 2000s.
Stern has served on the Rutgers University Board of Overseers and is a Chair Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University. He was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
On October 25, 2012, Stern announced that he would step down as NBA commissioner on February 1, 2014, 30 years to the day after beginning his tenure as commissioner. His deputy, Adam Silver, was his successor. At the time of his departure, he was the NBA's longest-serving commissioner. Stern received the Olympic Order in 2012. On February 14, 2014, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Stern would be a member of its 2014 induction class. In 2016, he became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame.Died of brain hemorrhage in Manhattan, New York.
1942-2020 (77 years old)
1 January - Nick Gordon was born on 5 May 1990 in Roswell, Georgia, USA. He died on 1 January 2020 in Altamonte Springs, Florida, USA.Died of a drug overdose in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
1989-2020 (31 years old)
1 January - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Barry ZeVan was born on 5 August 1937 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Television: The First Fifty Years (1999), Hiding Victoria (2006) and In an Instant (2015). He was married to Ellen Hanson-Zevan. He died on 1 January 2020 in Golden Valley, Minnesota, USA.Died of leukemia in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
1937-2020 (82 years old)
1 January- Actress
- Script and Continuity Department
Lyudmila Kasyanova was born on 10 December 1936 in Yessentuki, Stavropol Krai, Russia, USSR. She was an actress, known for Don Kikhot (1957), Solange Leben in mir ist (1965) and Trotz alledem! (1972). She died on 2 January 2020 in Prague, Czech Republic.Died in Prague, Czech Republic.
1936-2020 (83 years old)
2 January- Derek Acorah was born on 27 January 1950 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Big Fat Gypsy Gangster (2011), Doctor Who (2005) and Crispy's Curse (2017). He was married to Gwen Acorah, Barbara Keeton and Joan Hughes. He died on 3 January 2020 in Bootle, Lancashire, England, UK.Died of pneumonia and sepsis in Bootle, England.
1950-2020 (69 years old)
3 January - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
The youngest of five children, Robert Clinton Blanche was born to Mary Edith Blanche (Heavner) and Richard Keith Blanche on March 30, 1962 in Pomona, California, but spent most of his life in Oregon. He joined SAG (Screen Actors Guild) in 1995 and served as Portland SAG Branch President for many years pre-merger and Portland SAG-AFTRA Local President from 2017-19. In addition to his work locally, he served as Vice Chair of the National SAG Indie Committee from 2007-08. Since 1996, he served as member or alternate of the TV/Theatrical, Low Budget and Agency committees.Died after lung transplant surgery in Portland, Oregon.
1962-2020 (57 years old)
3 January- Jan Tesarz was born on 4 August 1935 in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Slaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Hart's War (2002), Bokser (1967) and A Short Film About Killing (1988). He died on 3 January 2020 in Torun, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland.Died in Torun, Poland.
1935-2020 (84 years old)
3 January - Actor
- Soundtrack
Mordecai Arnon was born on 23 April 1941 in Nahalat Yehuda, Palestine. He was an actor, known for Warhead (1977), Florentine (1997) and Two Kuni Lemel (1966). He died on 3 January 2020 in Israel.Died of cancer in Israel.
?-2020 (age unknown)
3 January- Actor
- Soundtrack
British light leading man, on stage from 1951 and in films from 1953. Having initially aspired to be a dancer, Beeny joined the Ballet Rambert company in London at the age of eight but later switched to acting and eventually graduated from RADA in 1959. By then he had already achieved a measure of popularity on TV as a 12-year old juvenile in the original British soap opera The Grove Family (1954). He ultimately became best known as the smart-alecky footman and chauffeur Edward in Upstairs, Downstairs (1971). During a seven year hiatus from acting between 1963 and 1970, Beeny worked in the building industry. He resumed his career on the small screen in Softly Softly: Task Force (1969) and The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971). He then replaced Reg Varney as the foreman Tony in the relaunch of The Rag Trade (1975), played a birdbrained undertaker in the funeral sitcom In Loving Memory (1969) and was latterly seen as an inept debt collector in Last of the Summer Wine (1973). His appearances on the big screen have been infrequent. His second wife was the singer Diana Kirkwood.Died of natural causes in Kent, England.
1941-2020 (78 years old)
3 January- He was born in the USA while his Australian parents were in Boston at the time. He has two sisters and a brother and his father is a doctor for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. He was raised on a farm near (Benalla, North East Victoria) He left school early and moved to Queensland, shearing sheep and breaking horses, before heading overseas. He applied to National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) graduating in 1996. His theatre work includes the plays The Caucasian Chalk Circle and the Bell Shakespeare Company production of The Tempest.
He has a son, Ariel, (1989), from a relationship with actress Rachael Maza.Died of encephalitis in Australia.
1968-2020 (52 years old)
4 January - Galia Ishai was born on 17 May 1950 in Tel Aviv, Israel. She was an actress, known for Ha-Chevre Ha-Tovim (1999), Antenna (2016) and Am Yisrael Hai (1981). She died on 4 January 2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel.Died of cancer in Tel Aviv, Israel.
?-2020 (age unknown)
4 January - Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerome Guardino was born on 27 August 1923 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Columbo (1971), Dream No Evil (1970) and Car 54, Where Are You? (1961). He was married to Marguerite R. and Fran Malis. He died on 4 January 2020.1923-2020 (96 years old)
4 January- Actress
- Soundtrack
Erika Broyer was born on 17 November 1942 in Athens, Greece. She was an actress, known for Dis diefthyntis (1964), Exodos kindynou (1980) and Three Girls from America (1964). She was married to Kostas Voutsas. She died on 5 January 2020 in Athens, Greece.Died of cancer in Athens, Greece.
1942-2020 (78 years old)
5 January- Actor
- Producer
Andrew Burkle was born on 27 October 1993 in the USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Airplane Mode (2019) and Breakfast with Einstein (1998). He died on 6 January 2020 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.Died in Beverly Hills, California.
1993-2020 (26 years old)
6 January- Elizabeth Wurtzel was born on 31 July 1967 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for Prozac Nation (2001), When the Brass Band Plays (2020) and Intimate Portrait (1990). She was married to James Freed Jr.. She died on 7 January 2020 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.Died of a leptomeningeal disease in Manhattan, New York.
1967-2020 (52 years old)
7 January - Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Silvio Horta was born on 14 August 1974 in Miami, Florida, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Ugly Betty (2006), Urban Legend (1998) and The Chronicle (2001). He died on 7 January 2020 in Miami, Florida, USA.Died of suicide by gunshot in Miami, Florida.
1974-2020 (45 years old)
7 January- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Harry Hains was born on 4 December 1992 in Melbourne, Australia. He was an actor and producer, known for Lulu (2018), Groupies (2018) and American Horror Story (2011). He died on 7 January 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Died of suicide in Los Angeles, California.
1992-2020 (27 years old)
7 January- Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Neil Peart was one of the most universally respected rock drummers, and was best known for his nearly superhuman, pyrotechnic drum playing, and for providing intellectual lyrics for his band's songs. Neil served as both drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush since 1974, joining bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson. (Rush's lineup remained unchanged since Neil's arrival in 1974.) Rush is the most successful Canadian music group in history, and is the third most prolific seller of consecutive (American) Gold and Platinum Records and videos, behind only The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Beginning on August 10, 1997, immediately following Rush's "Test For Echo" tour, Neil endured concurrent, seemingly unendurable tragedies when his daughter (and only child) died in a car accident, and then his wife died from cancer 10 months later. This put Rush on indefinite hiatus for the first time, and prompted Neil to write "Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road", his second book. In September 2000, Neil married Los Angeles photographer Carrie Nuttall. They had a daughter, Oliva, in 2009.
Neil rejoined Rush in the studio for 2002's "Vapor Trails," their 17th studio album, which was met with high praise and considered a stellar "comeback" both for Peart and the band. A highly successful 2002 tour brought about the band's long-awaited return to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tour ended with Rush's first-ever shows in Brazil, where they played to 125,000 fans in three nights. The final performance of the 2002 tour was captured on DVD as Rush in Rio (2003), which was certified double-platinum within weeks of its release.
After the Vapor Trails album and tour, Neil's writing became more personal. His subsequent live performances, including his trademark percussion solos which showcased his superlative adroitness as a drummer, were regarded as his best to date. His final tour with Rush was 2015's R40 tour, which marked forty years since Neil joined the band. At the end of the tour, Neil announced he was retiring due to arthritis and tendinitis.
Not long after his retirement, Neil was diagnosed with brain cancer. He fought it privately for three and a half years, keeping it secret until he passed from it on January 7, 2020.Died of brain cancer in Santa Monica, California.
1952-2020 (67 years old)
7 January- Actress
- Writer
Elena Cruz was born on 27 November 1926 in Argentina. She was an actress and writer, known for La canción de Buenos Aires (1980), Un tranvía llamado Deseo (1956) and Contigo y aquí (1974). She was married to Fernando Siro. She died on 7 January 2020 in Argentina.Died of natural causes in Argentina.
1926-2020 (93 years old)
7 January- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Prolific, multi-talented comedy writer, story editor, actor and director. His father was an Air Force general (Paul Steinberg Zuckerman) turned stockbroker and his mother was silent screen star Ruth Taylor, formerly a member of Mack Sennett's bathing beauties. Buck Henry's first fling with comedy was as a contributor to the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern magazine (known as 'Jacko') while he was still at college. His fellow writers there included such luminaries as Dr. Seuss, novelist Budd Schulberg and the playwright Frank D. Gilroy. Henry attended Harvard Military Academy for a short time before developing an interest in acting which led to a few small roles on Broadway. His budding career was interrupted by military service during the Korean War. In 1961, Henry joined a small improvisational off-Broadway theatre troupe called The Premise for a year before moving to Hollywood. He was to find his greatest popularity in the 60s as one of the principal hosts of Saturday Night Live (1975), writer for The Garry Moore Show (1958) and co-creator/writer (with Mel Brooks) of Get Smart (1965), for which he won an Emmy in 1967. Prior to that, he had already achieved a certain amount of notoriety as co-perpetrator (with Alan Abel) of a hoax which had Henry masquerading as G. Clifford Prout, Jr., president of the bogus Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, making public appearances on network television and other media, demanding that all zoos and wildlife parks be closed until all animals were "properly dressed". At one time he tried to put huge boxer shorts on a baby elephant at San Francisco Zoo. The hoax was eventually exposed after Henry was spotted as an actor by a fellow CBS employee during a Walter Cronkite interview.
One of a new wave of satirists (others including Woody Allen and Alan Arkin) Henry brought an edgier, smarter, more anarchic and at times abrasive style to his writing. Some of his quotable one-liners (in particular for Get Smart) are - and will continue to be - idiomatic. While he was original, clever and invariably funny, not all of Henry's endeavours panned out. Two of his TV parodies proved to be conspicuous failures: Captain Nice (1967) (a send-up of Batman) and Quark (1977) (a Star Trek parody about interstellar garbage collectors). On the plus side, Henry was Oscar-nominated twice: the first time for his screenplay of The Graduate (1967), the second for co-directing (with star Warren Beatty ) the re-make of Heaven Can Wait (1978). Following The Graduate, a New York Times reviewer described him as a cross between Jack Lemmon and Wally Cox , "a terrifying practical joker and a compulsive reader of 200 periodicals a month". He was much in demand as a guest on talk shows (including Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Dick Cavett) and appeared as a self-deprecating actor in most of the films he wrote: as a hotel desk clerk in The Graduate, the cynical Colonel Korn in Catch-22 (1970), a lunatic in Candy (1968), a priest and a TV anchorman in First Family (1980), and so on. In Milos Forman's Taking Off (1971) he also had a rare co-starring role as a father looking for his runaway daughter. Buck Henry passed away at the age of 89 in Los Angeles on January 8 2020.Died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California.
1930-2020 (89 years old)
8 January- Harry Fletcher was born on 27 January 1947 in Burnage, Manchester, England, UK. He died on 8 January 2020 in the UK.Died of a heart attack in the UK.
1947-2020 (72 years old)
8 January - Giorgio Listuzzi was born on 20 January 1934 in Trieste, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Roof (1956) and Doctor Without Scruples (1959). He died on 8 January 2020 in Palmanova, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.Died in Palmanova, Italy.
1934-2020 (85 years old)
8 January - Actor
- Soundtrack
Edd Byrnes was born Edward Byrne Breitenberger on July 30, 1932 in New York City, the son of Mary (Byrne) and Augustus "Gus" Breitenberger. Edd shared an impoverished and unhappy childhood with brother Vincent and sister Jo-Ann. Their mother worked hard at various jobs to keep the family together because her alcoholic husband was often absent from the scene.
When Edd was fifteen, his father was found dead in a basement. Edd then dropped his surname (Breitenberger) in favor of "Byrnes", based on the name of his maternal grandfather, Edward Byrne, a New York City fireman. He found escape from family problems at the movies and at the gym, where he developed an athletic body. At age 17 he was approached by a man who offered to take free "physique" photos of him. According to his 1996 autobiography, "Kookie No More", this led to a few years of "hustling" older, well-to-do men, despite the fact that Edd was heterosexual. One of these men acted as Edd's mentor, introducing him to fashion and culture and encouraging his hopes for an acting career.
After doing some summer-stock work and a few bit parts on TV, Edd drove to California in 1955, arriving in Los Angeles on the day James Dean died in a car crash. He managed to get a few minor parts in films and then won a role in a new TV series, 77 Sunset Strip (1958), which premiered in September 1958. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Roger Smith starred as private eyes but Edd, playing a hip-talking parking-lot attendant named "Kookie", won the most attention. Viewers quoted his dialog, ("Baby, you're the ginchiest!"), and young males imitated the way he wielded his ever-present comb. His fan mail soon reached an astonishing 15,000 letters a week and his single with Connie Stevens, "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb", became a top-5 hit. Edd chafed, however, at the restrictions in his Warner Brothers contract, which forced him to turn down roles in Ocean's Eleven (1960), North to Alaska (1960) and Rio Bravo (1959).
He walked off the "77 Sunset Strip" set and in the ensuing months began to drink heavily and visit a psychiatrist, who administered drugs to him. His contract dispute was eventually settled, though not much to his advantage, and when he returned to "77 Sunset Strip" his role was upgraded from "sidekick" to "partner" and he wore a suit and tie. Audience reaction was not good, ratings dropped, and the show was canceled. The hip-talking, hair-combing image clung to him, however, and Edd felt he lost the lead in PT 109 (1963) because President John F. Kennedy didn't want to be played by "Kookie". A few more movies and TV appearances followed, but his career had passed its peak before he turned 30.
In 1962, he married long-time girlfriend Asa Maynor. Their son, Logan, was born on September 13, 1965. Edd and Asa's marriage ended in divorce in 1971, partially due to his substance abuse. In 1982, he succeeded in going "clean and sober" but never remarried. Byrnes died on January 8, 2020, aged 87, in Santa Monica, California.Died of natural causes in Santa Monica, California.
1932-2020 (87 years old)
9 January- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ivan Passer was one of the key authors of the "new wave" of Czech cinema, a group of young people who forged an energetic and transgressive film movement in the 1960s, breaking away from the precepts of hard socialist realism. Passer was not only the author of the scenarios of his own films, but he also worked on the scripts of the first four motion pictures made by his countryman, friend and colleague Milos Forman: "Konkurs" (1963), "Black Petr" ( 1964), "Loves of a Blonde" (1965) and "The Firemen's Ball" (1967).
Passer was born in Prague, the son of Marianna (Mandelíková) and Alois Passer. He was the grandson of a silent movie screenwriter. Ivan's parents were persecuted by the Nazis for their Jewish heritage. Ivan was a rebel boy, sent to a boarding school where he became friends with Milos. Together they went to study cinema at the FAMU film school in Prague, but young Ivan was eventually expelled from the academy. By then he had acquired skills in movie-making, some experience and had key friends, such as cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek. With Forman and other friends, they made their first movies.
In 1965 Passer made a remarkable first feature, the beautiful "Intimate Lighting", a film of impressionist inspiration that immediately established his name as a promising new director. But the social pressures and political unrest in Czechoslovakia, which culminated in 1968 with the Soviet invasion, led him into exile the following year. However, in the United States he did not achieve the notoriety of Forman, who received the best proposals, while he rejected offers that did not convince him: for example, he refused to make "Yentl" for a number of reasons, including his conviction that Barbra Streisand was too old and famous for the role, in opposition to other key performers as Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving. Likewise, he refused to make films with elements of violence, which he always opposed. During World War II he had been directly exposed to violence, and he believed that it was dangerous to represent it in films: violence, he said, affects "some people who are not able to realize the difference between reality and fantasy."
However, he made some worthy movies, such as his American debut "Born to Win" (1971), a complex portrait of a heroin-addict hairdresser; his satire on civil surveillance, "Law and Disorder" (1974); the comedy about money-laundering bankers "Silver Bears" (1977), and the cult film "Cutter's Way" (1981), in which a war veteran investigates a crime, despite he only has one eye, one arm and one leg. For television he directed the biopic "Stalin" in 1992.
Passer taught film at the University of Southern California, and lectured students in foreign film academies. He died in Reno, Nevada, on January 9, 2020.Died of a pulmonary disease in Reno, Nevada.
1933-2020 (86 years old)
9 January- Producer
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Born in Columbus, Ohio as Carolyn Louise Kramer to Warren A. and Ann (nee Caldwell) Kramer, when she was 18 months old her mother died unexpectedly. She was raised by her grandparents, Frank and Louise (nee Orton) Caldwell of Columbus.
She attended the Ohio State University Laboratory School in Columbus and was graduated from MacDuffie School in Springfield, Massachusetts. As a freshman at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, she met Rod Serling, a returning World War II veteran attending the college. They wed two years later, on July 31, 1948, and graduated in 1950 before moving to Cincinnati, where Rod worked for a local radio station.Died in California.
1929-2020 (91 years old)
9 January