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Celebrities We’ve Sadly Lost So Far In 2018

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Sixteen names, five months, one brutal stretch for the entertainment world — 2018’s first half took some of the most recognizable faces in comedy, music, film, science, and food.

Nicki Swift’s video tribute “Celebrities We’ve Sadly Lost So Far In 2018” runs through the losses in order, from a beloved sitcom dad in January to a celebrity chef whose death was reported just a day before this piece went up. The sixteen profiles span comedy veterans, character actors, a physicist who redefined how the public understood the universe, and a fashion icon — a run of headlines that hit the culture in waves rather than all at once.

• The year opened with the January 5 death of “Coach” and “The Middle” actor Jerry Van Dyke, followed 10 days later by Cranberries frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan on January 15.
• February and March brought a cluster of losses across TV and film: “Frasier” star John Mahoney (February 4), Emmy winner Reg E. Cathey (February 9), comedian Marty Allen (February 12), “M*A*S*H” actor David Ogden Stiers (March 3), and physicist Stephen Hawking (March 14).
• Late April into early June turned especially grim, claiming Avicii (April 20), Verne Troyer (April 21), Margot Kidder (May 13), Kate Spade (June 5), and Anthony Bourdain, whose death was reported June 8 — the day before this tribute published.

A Rough Start to the Year

Jerry Van Dyke’s death on January 5 kicked off a year that television and comedy fans wouldn’t soon forget. Ten days later, Dolores O’Riordan’s passing on January 15 hit the music world hard — the Cranberries singer’s voice had defined 1990s alternative rock, and her death sent fans and fellow musicians into mourning almost immediately.

Reality personality Jason Wayne Miller was also remembered in the tribute’s early minutes, a reminder that 2018’s losses weren’t confined to any single lane of celebrity — music, reality TV, and film all took hits within weeks of each other.

February and March Losses Across Film and TV

The tribute’s middle stretch reads like a syllabus of beloved character work. John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane on “Frasier” for eleven seasons, died February 4. Five days later, Emmy-winning actor Reg E. Cathey — known for “The Wire” and “House of Cards” — passed on February 9. Veteran comedian Marty Allen followed on February 12.

March brought David Ogden Stiers, whose Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on “M*A*S*H” made him one of the show’s most enduring supporting players; he died March 3. “Chicago P.D.” actress DuShon Monique Brown passed on March 23, and television producer Steven Bochco — the force behind “Hill Street Blues” and “NYPD Blue” — died April 1, closing out a brutal quarter for scripted television.

The Loss of Stephen Hawking

Amid the entertainment-world losses, the video also marks the March 14 death of Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist whose work on black holes and cosmology, along with his bestselling book “A Brief History of Time,” made him one of the most recognized scientific minds in the world. His inclusion alongside actors and musicians in the tribute reflects just how widely his loss was felt outside of academic and scientific circles.

April’s Devastating Run

April alone accounted for four of the sixteen names in the tribute. R. Lee Ermey, the “Full Metal Jacket” actor and drill-instructor-turned-character-actor, died April 15. Harry Anderson, star of “Night Court,” followed on April 16. Then came two shocks within 24 hours of each other: Swedish DJ and producer Avicii — born Tim Bergling — died April 20, and “Austin Powers” actor Verne Troyer died April 21.

Two music and film losses, one day apart — April 20 and April 21 — left fans of Avicii and Verne Troyer processing back-to-back shocks in the same week.

Avicii’s death reverberated through the electronic dance music scene worldwide; tracks like “Levels” and “Wake Me Up” had made him one of EDM’s most commercially successful producers. Readers who want more on how his family addressed the loss can find further detail in Avicii’s father’s account of his son’s final months.

Late Spring’s High-Profile Farewells

The tribute closes with a run of names that dominated headlines right up to its publication. “Superman” actress Margot Kidder died May 13. Fashion designer Kate Spade, whose handbags and accessories built a billion-dollar brand starting in the 1990s, died June 5. And Anthony Bourdain — chef, author, and host of “Parts Unknown” — had his death reported June 8, just a day before this compilation went live, closing the video’s chronological run at sixteen names in five months.

For anyone tracking how often the entertainment world has had to say these goodbyes in recent memory, the pattern isn’t new — it’s worth pairing this tribute with a look back at other celebrities whose deaths came far too soon, a reminder that 2018’s losses, while unusually clustered, weren’t an isolated run for Hollywood and the music industry.