Scott Wilson (March 29, 1942 – October 6, 2018)
Known most widely in recent years due to his work as Hershel on The Walking Dead, Wilson career stretches back to the 1960s and covers TV and Movies. He will be remembered for works including In The Heat Of The Night, The Ninth Configuration, Junebug, The Last Samurai, and CSI.
Will Vinton (November 17, 1947 – October 4, 2018)
Although he should be a much more famous name in the US due to his work on commercials and TV specials, his work is also universal. He won one Oscar and was nominated two others, and he worked on Moonwalker, Return To Oz, Speed Demon, and The Adventures Of Mark Twain.
Raymond Chow (8 October 1927 – 2 November 2018)
It’s not a stretch to say that Chow was one of the most important figures in the history of cinema, creating Golden Harvest and essentially enabling Martial Arts movies and Hong Kong Cinema to exist. Without Raymond Chow, there would be no Jackie Chan, no Bruce Lee, and likely a very different approach to action cinema.
Douglas Rain (March 13, 1928 – November 11, 2018)
Rain was a respected theatre actor and appeared in various TV series and TV movies, but his most well known role was as the voice of HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey and its sequel.
Stan Lee (December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018)
It was bound to happen sooner rather than later. The ever youthful Stan Lee worked right up until his last days and was a huge supporter of visiting comic cons and speaking with fans – only right as he essentially invented the whole thing. Much of modern pop culture in the last 10 years has been shaped by him thanks to the MCU domination, but his career goes all the way back to the 1930s and his creations have appeared on TV and movies for almost as long. If you somehow still don’t know him, he’s the man behind Spiderman, The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, The Avengers, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and basically most of their surrounding cast, and as well as appearing in most of the MCU movie and TV creations he can be seen in X-Men, Deadpool, Mallrats, Teen Titans Go To The Movies, Muppet Babies, The Simpsons, and many many more.
William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018)
One of the best combination screenwriter/authors of the 20th Century, Goldman was a two time Academy Award winner and created seminal works in at least four decades including Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, All The President’s Men, The Princess Bride, Misery, and Marathon Man.
Nicolas Roeg CBE (15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018)
One of the most influential and respected British directors ever, Roeg’s films included adult and children’s horror, sci-fi, comedy, drama. Starting out as a cinematographer working on Lawrence Of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Casino Royale, Roeg found his own voice and delivered classics including Don’t Look Now, The Witches, Walkabout, and The Man Who Fell To Earth.
Ricky Jay (June 26, 1946 – November 24, 2018)
Primarily a magician, Jay’s stage presence enabled him to find a way into numerous TV shows and movies in often memorable cameos including The X Files, Boogie Nights, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The Prestige.
Stephen Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018)
It’s another name which many people won’t be familiar with, but you will certainly be familiar with his work. Hillenburg was the creator of Spongebob Squarepants which won him a couple of Emmys. Prior to that he worked on, and eventually became lead director on Rocko’s Modern Life.
Bernardo Bertolucci (16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018)
It’s not easy being controversial, polarizing, influential, award winning, successful, and have a career lasting sixty years, but Bertolucci ticked each of those boxes thanks to films such as The Conformist, Last Tango In Paris, The Dreamers, The Last Emperor, and Little Buddha. It’s difficult to understate the loss to the film world that Bertolucci’s passing is.
Don Lusk (October 28, 1913 – December 30, 2018)
One of the last surviving animators from the Golden Age of Disney, Lusk began working for the company in 1933 and his touch can be seen on films such as Cinderella, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, and Fantasia. Outside of Disney he also worked as an animator and director for various shows and movies including Tom And Jerry, The Smurfs, Peanuts, and The Flintstones.
Ringo Lam (1955 – December 29, 2018)
A huge loss to the Asian movie industry and action movies everywhere, Ringo Lam was a director, writer, and occasional actor whose films had a major influence on Hollywood. He will be remembered for films such as City On Fire, Full Contact, Twin Dragons, and Maximum Risk.
Dame June Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 28 December 2018)
A stage and radio performer in the 1940s, Whitfield gained her most popular roles in a run of sitcoms in the 80s and 90s even though she had performed on TV and in films consistently in the decades between. She will be remembered for The Carry On Series, The Benny Hill Show, Terry And June, Doctor Who, Friends, and Absolutely Fabulous.
Robert Kerman (December 16, 1947 – December 27, 2018)
A mainstay of all those porn movies from the 70s that your dad watched, Kerman was a trained actor who also appeared in a number of notable films including Spiderman, Cannibal Holocaust, Night Of The Creeps, and No Way Out.
Donald Moffat (26 December 1930 – 20 December 2018)
Starting out with a stage career which led to a Tony nominations, Moffat remains most well known for his TV and film work including The Thing (Gary), Clear And Present Danger (The President), License To Kill (Webster), and Dr Quinn Medicine Woman.
Peter Masterson (June 1, 1934 – December 18, 2018)
Actor, director, writer, Masterson appears in films such as The Exorcist and In The Heat Of The Night, directed The Trip To Bountiful and Lost Junction, and wrote The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas.
Penny Marshall (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018)
One of the first truly successful female directors in Hollywood, Marshall made her name as an actress first, earning multiple Golden Globe nominations for Laverne And Shirley while also appearing in Happy Days, The Odd Couple, The Simpsons and other seminal shows. She directed films including Big, Awakenings, and A League Of Their Own.
Rob Deshotel
A TV producer and writer, Rob worked on That 70s Show, Fantasy Island, and Man With A Plan while also contributing to over thirty episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, including writing personal favourite episodes Killed By Death and The Puppet Show.
Roger (2006 -2018)
Roger was that kangeroo everyone knew, shared in memes for his beast mode physique.
The Dynamite Kid (5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018)
Thomas Billington, better known as The Dynamite Kid was one half of The British Bulldogs and one of the most successful British wrestlers of all time winning multiple titles across the globe including the WWE Tag Championship.
Geoff Murphy (12 October 1938 – 3 December 2018)
One of the first majorly successful directors from New Zealand, Geoff Murphy acted as a 2nd Unit Director on the LOTR Trilogy but also directed his own films including Young Guns 2, Under Siege 2, and The Quiet Earth.
Feel free to share any memories of those who died in 2018 in the comments.
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