2026 has already delivered some heartbreaking losses, as Hollywood says goodbye to a number of beloved actors whose unforgettable performances helped shape film and television history. Here are twenty of them.
Chuck Norris
Martial artist and action star Chuck Norris (born Carlos Ray Norris) died March 19, 2026, at 86 years old. Through the ’80s and ’90s, his films (like Missing in Action and Delta Force) turned him into a Hollywood superstar. Then he turned to TV with Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001), which aired for nine seasons before it ended. Of course, when he stopped starring in films, the internet turned to Chuck Norris jokes, which painted him as a force of nature.
Valerie Perrine
Valerie Perrine died on March 23, 2026, in Beverly Hills at 82, after living with Parkinson’s disease since 2015. While most superhero fans will remember her as Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor’s assistant in Superman (1978), Perrine also starred in plenty of other popular films, including Lenny (1974), where she starred opposite Dustin Hoffman and earned that Oscar nomination for her role as Honey Bruce.
Carrie Anne Fleming
Supernatural or iZombie fans will remember Carrie Anne Fleming. She passed away on February 26, 2026, at 51 after battling cancer. Her IMDb page shows she had roles in Stargate SG-1, Smallville, The L Word, Good Luck Chuck, 14 Hours, and Heart of Clay.
Matt Clark
Matt Clark was most famous for his Western roles, including parts in In the Heat of the Night and The Outlaw Josey Wales. He died on March 15, 2026, in Austin, Texas, aged 89, after surgery complications. Clark also showed up in TV roles for Bonanza, Magnum, P.I., and Walker, Texas Ranger.
James Van Der Beek
From 1998 to 2002, James Van Der Beek played Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek. It was a role that would define him for the rest of his life. In 2023, he learned he had stage 3 colon cancer. He died on February 11.
Nicholas Brendon
Nicholas Brendon died on March 20, 2026, at 54. Buffy the Vampire Slayer mourned him. He was Xander Harris, the guy who cracked jokes while everyone else saved the world.
James Tolkan
James Tolkan shouted orders at Tom Cruise in Top Gun and terrorised teens as Strickland in Back to the Future. He died at 94 in Saranac Lake, New York. “I loved this man,” said actress Lea Thompson in a tribute.
Sidney Kibrick – 2 January
To anyone who grew up on Our Gang shorts, Sidney Henry Kibrick will always be Woim. As a young boy, he got spotted by an agent while out watching a movie. Over the years, he attended reunions and stayed close to his co-stars.
He died in Los Angeles at 97.
T.K. Carter – 9 January
Thomas Kent “T.K.” Carter started in comedy at a young age. He did stand-up at 12. Horror fans will probably remember him as Nauls in The Thing. Others might remember him from Punky Brewster. He died at 69.
Charles C. Stevenson Jr. – 19 January
Charles C. Stevenson Jr.’s first TV credit came in a 1982 episode of Voyagers! Over the years he managed to get 115 screen credits across Dynasty, L.A. Law, Cheers, The West Wing, Will & Grace, Six Feet Under, and Scandal. “In his own words, his job was ‘marrying or burying people,’” his son Scott said refering to the fact that his dad often played characters in a suit.
Stevenson died of natural causes on January 19 in Camarillo, California. He was 95.
Floyd Vivino – 22 January
If you grew up in the Northeast with a TV that pulled in weird UHF channels, you probably watched Floyd “Uncle Floyd” Vivino. In 1974, he launched The Uncle Floyd Show, mixing piano, puppets, sketches, and that checkered jacket with the clashing porkpie hat.
He died on January 22, 2026, at 74, after years of health problems.
Yvonne Lime – 23 January
Yvonne Glee Lime Fedderson appeared in The Rainmaker, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Father Knows Best and The Andy Griffith Show. She died January 23, 2026, at 90.
John Stamos wrote on Instagram, “Her smile, her warmth, and her fierce unwavering dedication to protecting children left an imprint on my heart and on the world. Through Childhelp, she helped save and protect millions of children who never would have had a voice without her. That is not just a legacy, it is a living miracle.”
Alexis Ortega – 24 January
Alexis Ortega, the Mexican voice actor who brought Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to life for Latin American audiences, has died at 38. Ortega also voiced Tadashi Hamada in Big Hero 6, worked on the Spanish dubs of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, and Cars 3, and even stepped in for MrBeast content adapted for Spanish-speaking viewers.
Catherine O’Hara – 30 January
Comedy lost one of its sharpest minds on January 30, 2026. Catherine O’Hara, 71, died at her Los Angeles home after a pulmonary embolism following a battle with rectal cancer. From Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice to Kate McCallister in Home Alone, from Christopher Guest mockumentaries with Eugene Levy to Moira Rose’s wigs on Schitt’s Creek, she was a legend.
Demond Wilson – 30 January
Demond Wilson, the man who kept his cool while everyone else lost theirs on Sanford and Son, has died at 79. He passed away on January 30, 2026, at his home in Palm Springs, California, from complications related to prostate cancer.
Blake Garrett – 8 February
Blake Garrett, the former child actor you probably remember from How to Eat Fried Worms, has died at 33. His mom, Carol, confirmed to TMZ that he passed away just days after undergoing emergency surgery in Oklahoma.
Tom Noonan – 14 February
Tom Noonan died on February 14, 2026, aged 74. The 6’6” actor terrified audiences as Francis Dollarhyde in Michael Mann’s Manhunter and broke hearts as Frankenstein in The Monster Squad.
Robert Duvall – 15 February
Robert Duvall died at 95. From Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) to Tom Hagen in The Godfather and Lt. Col. Kilgore’s “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” in Apocalypse Now, he was a legend.
Eric Dane – 19 February
On February 19, 2026, Eric Dane died at 53 from ALS complications. Best known for his role as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy, he was remembered by fans and his co-stars. “He was the funniest man,” said Patrick Dempsey.
Robert Carradine – 23 February
Robert Carradine has died at 71. Most knew him as Lewis Skolnick in 1984’s Revenge of the Nerds. He also played the father on Lizzie McGuire. Hilary Duff wrote, “My heart aches for him.”
Annabel Schofield
Annabel Schofield began her career as a model and then switched to acting in 1988. She appeared on Dallas, then began producing films like The Brothers Grimm. She died February 28, 2026, aged 62.
Alex Duong
Although most people remember him as a comedian, Alex Duong appeared on Blue Bloods as Sonny Le, a gang leader. In early 2025, doctors found a tumor pressing his optic nerve. Septic shock claimed his life on March 28, 2026, aged 42.
Dee Freeman
Dee Freeman packed more into 66 years than most actors squeeze into two careers. Sistas viewers met her as Valerie Barnes just months before her April 2, 2026 death after lung cancer, but she’d been quietly working screens since the ‘90s.
Born June 6, 1959, in Louisiana, she first wore a Marine uniform, then swapped it for scripts after a stint as a DJ in Japan. From Seinfeld to The X-Files, she showed up, did the job, and left an impression.
Michael Patrick
Irish actor Michel Patrick, known for his stage work and screen roles in Game of Thrones and This City, died on April 7 at 35. A University of Cambridge graduate, he built his reputation with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew. Diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2023, Patrick kept performing, earning praise for Richard III at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre in 2024.
Mel Schilling
Mel Schilling turned awkward first dates into must-watch TV, and if you’ve ever yelled at Married at First Sight, you know exactly why. Across 12 Australian seasons from 2016 to 2026, she cut through the nonsense with sharp reads and the kind of advice couples didn’t always want, but needed. She also popped up on the U.K. version and shows like The Weakest Link. Schilling died March 24 at 54 after colon cancer, leaving behind a legacy of brutally honest TV moments.
Jennifer Runyon Corman
Before Hollywood felt like a revolving door, Jennifer Runyon Corman quietly stepped out of it. You remember her as Gwendolyn Pierce on Charles in Charge, holding her own opposite Scott Baio. She even popped up in Ghostbusters during that oddball psychokinetic test scene. Daughter of Chicago DJ Jim Runyon, she walked away in the early ’90s to raise Wyatt and Bayley. Runyon Corman died March 6 at 65.
Cass Lacelle
Cass Lacelle didn’t waste time chasing the spotlight, she built her own lane and then let the cameras catch up. Before Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise hit Freeform in 2024, she had already moved from Vancouver to the Cayman Islands in 2016 and launched Electric Media Group. That hustle showed on screen. Lacelle died Feb. 11 at 34, leaving behind one season of TV and a business that started with a bold relocation.
Shelly Desai
Shelly Desai popped up everywhere, and if you blinked, you probably missed him. He played Hwang on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but his résumé stretches way further, from Thelma & Louise to Star Trek: The Next Generation. He even voiced characters on Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?. Desai died Feb. 10 at 90, closing a long, low-key career packed with cameos you’ll keep spotting.
RELATED: Female Celebrities Who Died In 2025
