Famous People Who Died In November 2025 – Including A Few That Didn’t Make The News

November 2025 marked the end of famous people’s lives, both widely noted and quietly mourned. Among the names you’ll recognise and a few you won’t, this list honours those who left us—some headline-makers, others whose passing slipped under the radar. Take a moment. Their stories matter. Here is a list of famous people who died in November 2025.

Quentin Willson

Jeremy Clarkson called Quentin Willson a “properly funny man”, and James May remembered him as a “great bloke,” which feels right for a guy who once said Jaguars used to be “the domain of spivs, crooks and bookmakers.” Willson, 68, co-hosted Top Gear through the 90s, then jumped to Fifth Gear and even tackled Strictly Come Dancing in 2004. He died on the 8th of November after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He’ll be missed by many.

Gary “Mani” Mounfield

Gary “Mani” Mounfield, The Stone Roses’ bassist, died at 63. His brother Greg broke the news “with the heaviest of hearts.” Liam Gallagher said: “In total shock and absolutely devastated… My hero, RIP R Kid.” Mani’s basslines powered I Wanna Be Adored and She Bangs The Drums back in 1989, then he jumped to Primal Scream in 1996 for Kowalski. He returned for that 2012 Stone Roses comeback, only for tensions to flare again in 2017. “RIP our wonderful brother Mani,” the Roses wrote.

Elizabeth Franz

Born June 18, 1941, in Akron, Elizabeth Franz hit Broadway in 1967 with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Five decades later, she’d earned that 1999 Tony for playing Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman. You probably caught her in Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, or Christmas with the Kranks. She worked right up until November 4, 2025, in Woodbury at 84, leaving behind her husband, Christopher Pelham.

The Kessler Twins

Frank Sinatra hung out with them. Harry Belafonte, too. Even Elvis tried to recruit the Kessler Twins for Viva Las Vegas, but Alice and Ellen weren’t into “predictable roles.” Born August 20, 1936, they were already dancing. They trained with Leipzig Opera’s ballet until, at 16, they slipped out of East Germany and never looked back. Paris’ Lido grabbed the 5’10’’ sisters in 1955, and the world followed. Ed Sullivan loved them. At 89 in Grünwald near Munich, they bowed out together.

Cleto Escobedo III

Cleto Escobedo III, who played sax on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, was born August 23, 1966, in Las Vegas, and literally lived across the street from his friend, Jimmy. That’s a lifetime of friendship. “To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement,” Kimmel wrote. Before late-night fame kicked off in 2003, Cleto toured with Paula Abdul and Marc Anthony. His band, Cleto and the Cletones, even included his dad. He leaves behind Lori, two kids, and his music.

Sally Kirkland

Born October 31, 1941, in New York City, Sally Kirkland swapped fashion royalty for acting school and then crashed into Andy Warhol’s Factory crowd. Her big moment didn’t hit until Anna in 1987. She grabbed a Golden Globe and joked that the Oscar nomination meant “I could finally afford dinner.” You’ve spotted her in The Sting, JFK, Bruce Almighty, and even Days of Our Lives back in 1999. She died on November 11, 2025, in Palm Springs at 84 after a brutal run of fractures, infections, and dementia.

Tatsuya Nakadai

Tatsuya Nakadai squeezed 92 years into a career most actors would beg for. Born Motohisa Nakadai on December 13, 1932, he once sold shop goods before Masaki Kobayashi noticed something intense in his stare and cast him in The Human Condition. Kurosawa fans brag about Ran, where Nakadai’s Hidetora basically explodes with rage, or Harakiri, which deserves a weekend slot on your watchlist. He helped shape future performers through Tokyo’s Mumeijuku acting school. More than 160 films later, he died on November 8, 2025, from pneumonia.

Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney, 84, the 46th vice president under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, died on November 4, 2025, from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. He pushed the USA Patriot Act and shaped the War on Terror after 9/11. Bush remembered him saying, “Dick was a calm and steady presence in the White House… he never failed to give his best.” Cheney never hid how he saw foreign policy. In 1998, he joked, “The good Lord didn’t see fit to put oil and gas only where there are democratically elected regimes friendly to the United States.”

Diane Ladd

The Meridian-born actress Diane Ladd went from guest spots in the 1960s to stealing scenes from Jack Nicholson and Nicolas Cage. She died on November 3 in Ojai at 89 with her daughter, Laura Dern, beside her. Her first Oscar nod came after playing Flo in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore in 1974. Then she popped up in Chinatown. By 1990, David Lynch unleashed her as Marietta Fortune in Wild at Heart, teaming her with Laura in a twisted family affair that somehow worked. Laura Dern said her mom was “the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created.”

Archie Fisher

Archie Fisher spent decades shaping Scottish folk, first with a guitar and later behind a BBC Radio Scotland mic. At 86, the Glasgow-born musician leaves behind a crowd of admirers who swear he changed the game. Barbara Dickson called him “the great Archie Fisher” and her “musical mentor.”

Martha Layne Collins

Martha Layne Collins changed Kentucky forever when she helped bring Toyota Motor Manufacturing to Georgetown back in the day, and now the state is grieving. She died peacefully in her sleep at 3 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 1, in Lexington. She was 88. Her husband, Dr. Bill Collins, said, “She died peacefully. She lived a remarkable life.” People agreed. Gov. Andy Beshear called her “a powerhouse” and thanked her for shaping Kentucky’s future.

Ralph Senensky

Ralph Senensky lived to 102 and still had the energy of someone in their 30s. His niece Lisa Lupo-Silvas even said, “He was 100 percent sharp until the end.” The man directed everything: Dr. Kildare, Naked City, and The Partridge Family. He even tackled a gay storyline on Breaking Point in 1963 when TV barely acknowledged such topics. Star Trek fans know him for classics like This Side of Paradise and his own favorite, Metamorphosis.

Charles W. “Stormy” Bidwill, Jr.

William V. Bidwill kept the Arizona Cardinals running long before memes and fantasy leagues took over your Sundays. He owned the team from 1972 and made the big move from chilly St. Louis to sunny Arizona in 1988. He died at 88, surrounded by the people who mattered most.

Cardinal Dominik Duka

Born April 26, 1943, Cardinal Dominik Duka trained as a locksmith before the church called his name. He joined the Dominicans in 1968, got ordained in 1970, then lost state approval after five years and ended up working at Škoda Plzeň. The communist regime even threw him in prison from 1981 to 1982 because he kept helping people grow their faith. “Three hours after midnight, the Lord of Life called Cardinal Dominik Duka… to eternity,” announced Prague’s archdiocese. At 82, he leaves a legacy of courage. He died following a period of serious health issues.

Dan McGrath

The Harvard Lampoon alum flunked Japanese but still studied Asian history while designing computer games over at MIT. Then Dan McGrath jumped into public clinics and emergency rooms before heading to Hollywood to write for Saturday Night Live with Chris Farley and Adam Sandler. He scored an Emmy on The Simpsons, even if the show fired him twice. His sister wrote, “‘We lost my incredible brother Danny yesterday. He was a special man, one of a kind.’” You probably loved his work on Gravity Falls, Mission Hill, and The PJs without even knowing his name. He died of a stroke on the 14th November 2025.

John Beam

Since 1979, John Beam has been building Oakland football legends and probably collecting enough whistles to open a museum. He turned Skyline High into a scoreboard bully with a 160–33–3 run from 1982. Then, in 2012, he grabbed the keys to Laney College and kept winning while actually getting guys their degrees. Almost 90 percent of his players moved on, and more than 20 made the NFL. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee nailed it when she said he’s “a giant in Oakland – a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people” who “has shaped leaders on and off the field.” The legendary football coach, known for Netflix’s Last Chance U, was shot and killed on Laney College campus in Oakland, CA.

Betty Harford

Betty Harford once voiced Gumby’s mother and snagged a role as Natalie Wood’s calculating sister in the 1965 drama Inside Daisy Clover. On TV, she became a familiar face — Mrs. Nottingham, John Houseman’s no-nonsense secretary on The Paper Chase, and later Mrs. Gunnerson cooking up trouble on Dynasty. She appeared in 41 episodes of The Paper Chase as that sharp, efficient presence everyone secretly feared. Before all that, she cared for Sandra Dee’s Rosalie in the 1959 film The Wild and the Innocent. Harford died Nov. 2 of a prolonged age-related illness in Santa Barbara.

Rebecca Heineman

Rebecca Ann Heineman loved Space Invaders. In fact, she stomped it, snagging the first U.S. national video game champion title in 1980 at 16. Imagine being grounded for saving Earth too well. By 1983, she co-founded Interplay with Brian Fargo, shipped hits like The Bard’s Tale III and Dragon Wars. She built more studios, raised five kids, and married fellow trailblazer Jennell Jaquays. Cancer ended her life on November 17, 2025, at 62.

Homayoun Ershadi

Homayoun Ershadi never planned on acting. He was born March 26, 1947 in Isfahan and trained as an architect in Venice, then moved to Canada, then back to Iran. One random day in Tehran traffic changed everything. Abbas Kiarostami knocked on his car window and asked if he wanted to star in Taste of Cherry. The film grabbed the Palme d’Or in 1997, and suddenly this quiet guy with plans for blueprints was in Hollywood playing Baba in The Kite Runner. Khalid Abdalla once said he was “a magnificent soul who touched millions of people around the world.” Ershadi died of cancer on November 11, 2025, at 78, leaving family and movies that stayed with you.

Alice Wong

Born March 27, 1974 near Indianapolis, Alice Wong had spinal muscular atrophy and still pushed her way through IUPUI and UCSF. Then she went bigger. In 2013, President Obama put her on the National Council on Disability. She didn’t treat that like a fancy title, she treated it like a job to get done. In 2014, she created the Disability Visibility Project because, as she wrote, “We need more stories about us and our culture.” Alice Wong was 51 when she died. The cause was an infection, said Abby Yim, a close friend.

Kenny Easley

Kenneth “Kenny” Easley Jr. didn’t wait around to impress anyone. Seattle picked him fourth in 1981, and suddenly every offence looked nervous. UCLA fans already knew—three-time consensus All-American wasn’t a fluke. He once grabbed ten interceptions in 1984 and joked through his play style, calling himself “The Enforcer.” Thirty-two picks in seven seasons, Defensive Player of the Year, like he was just clocking in for work. Then, kidney disease messed up the plan, and the career stopped too soon. Seattle still lifted No. 45 to the rafters in 2002. The Hall of Fame came in 2017. He died on November 14, 2025, at 66, survived by Gail and their kids, leaving everyone talking about that legacy.

Todd Snider

Born October 11, 1966, in Portland, Todd Snider packed 59 years with enough charm to fill way more than twenty albums, starting with 1994’s “Songs for the Daily Planet.” “Alright Guy” and the wonderfully snarky “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” proved he wasn’t scared to poke the big dogs. Steven Hyden once called him “an unheralded songwriters’ songwriter.” He died after being diagnosed with walking pneumonia.

Jim Avila

Born July 26, 1955, in LA as James Joseph Simon, Jim Avila switched to his mom’s maiden name so everyone knew he was proudly Mexican. He bounced through news gigs in Chicago, San Francisco and back home before his big break covering the O. J. Simpson trial for KNBC in the 90s. ABC News hired him in 2004, and he didn’t waste the airtime, breaking the U.S.–Cuba story and earning the Merriman Smith Award, plus Emmys and Murrows. Even after a kidney transplant in 2021, he jumped into reporting at San Diego’s KGTV. Avila died after a long illness at his home in San Diego on November 12, 2025, at the age of 70.

Cleo Hearn

Born May 3, 1939, in Seminole, Oklahoma, Cleo Hearn picked up a rope at 16 and powered his way into the RCA by 1959. “First African American to win calf roping in Denver,” they said in 1970. He just kept riding. A rodeo scholarship got him into college until the U.S. Army drafted him in 1961. Presidential Honor Guard. Then he built something bigger: the Texas Black Rodeo, renamed Cowboys of Color Rodeo in 1995 to welcome everyone. He retired in 2017 with Hall of Fame nods, a Lancaster trail bearing his name, and a 33-year streak at Ford. He died at 86.

Micheal Ray Richardson

Micheal Ray Richardson turned 70 this year, and saying he lived a full life feels like an understatement. Born April 11, 1955 in Lubbock, raised in Denver, he owned Manual High’s court, then Montana’s. The Knicks took him 4th in 1978. Four All-Star games. Then 1986 hit and his cocaine addiction got him banned for life from the NBA. Micheal Ray Richardson died of prostate cancer, which was diagnosed shortly before his death.

Lee Tamahori

Born 22 April 1950, Lee Tamahori charged through the film world with Once Were Warriors, pushing Māori talent into the spotlight and proving bold stories belong on the biggest screens. He even wrangled James Bond in 2002 with Die Another Day. His daughter once called him a “genius eye and honest heart.” Lee died on 7 November 2025 at 75 from Parkinson’s disease.

Paul Tagliabue

Paul Tagliabue spent 17 years steering the NFL, then November 9, 2025 arrived far sooner than anyone wanted. He was 84, living in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and dealing with heart failure tied to Parkinson’s disease. Jersey City kid. Georgetown basketball standout. Almost a Rhodes Scholar. He grabbed a law degree from NYU and still wasn’t done. In 1989, NFL owners handed him the commissioner job and he expanded the league to 32 teams, including the Panthers and Texans. He paused football after 9/11 and backed the Saints return to New Orleans. He even pushed diversity early.

Frederick Hauck

Born April 11, 1941, Captain Frederick “Rick” Hauck ditched the nuclear engineering desk life after MIT and chased the sky instead, tearing through Navy Flight School and flying A-6 Intruders in Vietnam. The man then test-drove an F-14 Tomcat. NASA grabbed him in 1978. By 1983 he was piloting STS-7 with Sally Ride, then commanding STS-51A in 1984 and the 1988 “Return to Flight.” He eventually ran AXA Space.

Lenny Wilkens

Born in Brooklyn in 1937, Lenny Wilkens balled out at Boys High and later Providence College before the St. Louis Hawks grabbed him sixth in the 1960 draft. Fifteen seasons, 16.5 points each game, an All-Star MVP in 1971. Then he coached. Seattle grabbed its only championship in 1979 with him running things. Three Hall of Fame inductions. Who does that? Adam Silver said, “Lenny Wilkens represented the very best of the NBA…” Seattle even put up a statue in 2025. You don’t get that without earning respect.

James Watson

James D. Watson was 25 when he and Francis Crick dropped the DNA double helix bomb in 1953, powered by Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray data and Maurice Wilkins’ lab work. A decade later, boom: 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. At Harvard, his crew showed mRNA wasn’t just a rumour, which changed how researchers chase cures. He hustled politicians to bankroll early genome projects and kicked off the Banbury Center “think tank” in 1977 to keep ideas colliding. While juggling fatherhood with Rufus and Duncan at Cold Spring Harbor, he wrote The Double Helix in 1968.

Gilson Lavis

Gilson Lavis never missed a beat. The former Squeeze drummer, born June 27, 1951, kept time so tight you could’ve set your phone to it. “He absolutely propelled us like rocket fuel,” Glenn Tilbrook said. You know the songs. “Cool for Cats,” “Tempted,” “Hourglass” — his snare drove every hook. After leaving Squeeze in 1991, he jumped straight into Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and stayed there until a final Royal Albert Hall show on November 30, 2024. Lavis died November 5, 2025, at home in Lincolnshire, aged 74.

Marshawn Kneeland

The Dallas Cowboys defensive end from Grand Rapids arrived in the NFL with a necklace holding his mom Wendy’s ashes, reminding everyone why he fought so hard. Drafted 56th in 2024 out of Western Michigan, Marshawn Kneeland worked his way into 18 games, grabbing 26 tackles, one sack and, yep, a blocked-punt touchdown on Monday Night Football against Arizona. He celebrated like a kid who’d finally cracked the code. The Cowboys called him a “beloved teammate,” and you could see why. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 24.

Mary Ann Wilson

Mary Ann Wilson kept America moving. The Pittsburgh-born registered nurse turned fitness guide launched “Sit and Be Fit” in Spokane back in 1987, proving a kitchen chair can beat a pricey gym membership any day. She once said the real plan was better posture, breathing and balance so you feel brave enough to keep going. Viewers wrote thanking her for helping them walk to the mailbox without wobbling. She called Pittsburgh her “hometown” but spent decades filming in Washington with her daughter, Gretchen Wilson, running the show. Mary Ann died on November 5, 2025, at 87.

John Wesley Ryles

John Wesley Ryles spent 57 years in country music, and you’ve definitely heard him even if you didn’t realize it. He first broke through at 17 when “Kay” hit the Top 10 in 1968, a pretty wild start for a kid from Bastrop, Louisiana. He kept the momentum rolling with charting singles through the 70s and 80s like “Once in a Lifetime Thing,” which climbed to No. 5 in 1977. Then he became Nashville’s secret weapon. The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum said he “performed for decades as a background singer on countless Nashville recordings.” Ryles died November 2, 2025 at 74, leaving behind his wife, singer Joni Lee.

Duane Roberts

Duane R. Roberts never planned to become the burrito guy, yet that’s exactly what happened. Back in the 1950s, he was hustling at his family’s company, Butcher Boy Food Products, which mostly sold frozen hamburger patties to early fast-food joints like McDonald’s. Then someone suggested a burrito. “What’s a burrito?” Roberts reportedly asked. Two days of messing around in his kitchen later, he had a beef-and-bean version that restaurants could freeze and deep fry. It blew up fast. We’re talking more than a million burritos a day and $80 million a year before the family sold the business in 1980.

Roberts died peacefully at 88 on November 1, 2025, surrounded by family.

Donna Jean Godchaux

You hear her on Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds,” then suddenly she’s onstage with the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979, trading lines with Jerry Garcia and belting “Sunrise” and “From the Heart of Me.” If you want a practical takeaway, go listen to “Terrapin Station” with fresh ears and try singing those harmonies in the shower. Born August 22, 1947, in Florence, Alabama, Donna Jean Godchaux died of cancer on November 2, 2025, in Nashville.

Lô Borges

Lô Borges, a giant of Brazilian music, died on November 2 at 73 after fighting an infection linked to medication for more than two weeks. You might know him from Clube da Esquina, the landmark 1972 album he co-created that made musicians across the world rethink what a melody could do. “O Trem Azul” and “Um Girassol Da Cor Do Seu Cabelo” still hit like fresh discoveries, mixing rock, jazz, MPB and pop into something bold. Artists like Herbie Hancock, Alex Turner and Paul Simon picked up on his groove. You don’t forget a voice like that.

Richard Gott

Richard Willoughby Gott, the British journalist who spent 30 years at The Guardian, had a life that sounds like a pitch for a political thriller. When Che Guevara was killed in 1967, Gott was the only reporter who could point at the body and say, “That’s him.” A bold leftist with a sharp tongue, he annoyed enough powerful people that in 1994 he faced accusations of being a KGB spy. He called the claims nonsense, quit the paper, and later wrote Cuba: A New History in 2004. He died on November 2 at 87. The cause of his death is not specified.

Bob Trumpy

Robert Theodore Trumpy Jr. spent a decade smashing through defenses as the Cincinnati Bengals tight end from 1968 to 1977, racking up 4,600 receiving yards, 35 touchdowns and a wild 15.4 yards per catch average. Those numbers still top every Bengals tight end who followed. He retired, and then on November 2, he signed off one last time. He died peacefully at the age of 80.

Walt Aldridge

Walt Aldridge made Muscle Shoals music history at Fame Studios with Rick Hall, wrote hits for stars, and earned spots in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. He loved his garden almost as much as his grandkids, joking that growing tomatoes kept him close to his dad. Walt taught at the University of North Alabama for about a decade and loved cheering on his family more than any career milestone. He died on November 19, 2025, following a long battle with an unspecified illness.

Randy Jones

Randy Jones died at the age of 75 (we don’t know the cause of death just yet, but he did have a battle with throat cancer in 2016). The Fullerton-born lefty, who debuted with San Diego on June 16, 1973, turned a scrappy expansion squad into something opponents actually circled on the calendar. At 26, he went 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA in 1976, logged 315.1 innings, finished 25 complete games and grabbed the Padres’ first Cy Young Award. Not bad for a fifth-round pick out of Chapman. Fans still talk about his sinker and his stadium-famous Randy Jones BBQ. The Padres called him “a cornerstone of our franchise for over five decades.”

Paige Greco

Born February 19, 1997, in Melbourne, Paige Greco, who died after experiencing a ‘sudden medical episode’, dealt with right-sided hemiplegic cerebral palsy from the start and still chased sport. She tried para-athletics first, then switched gears to cycling in 2017 and headed for Adelaide to train. Three years later, she took Australia’s first gold at the Tokyo Paralympics, smashed a world record in the 3000 m Individual Pursuit, and casually grabbed a couple of bronzes on the road. She kept stacking World Championship podiums and, in 2022, received an OAM. AusCycling CEO Marne Fechner said, “Paige was an extraordinary athlete… positive spirit and courageous outlook.”

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