Those Who Have Passed in 2016

Kevin

Code Monkey
Staff member
Actor Jason Wingreen has died at the age of 95. Though he is likely known to genre fans for his voice work for bounty hunter Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back. While his voice is known to many fans his voice is known to other fans as the Harry the bartender from Archie Bunker's Place (a spin-off of All in the Family).

Wingreen got his start in theatre in the early 1950's before getting his first movie appearance with Gregory Peck in 1958's The Bravados. Some other places you may have spotted him was in the spoof movie Airplane, the original Twilight Zone series where he appeared in multiple episodes ("The Bard", "The Midnight Sun", and "A Stop at Willoughby"), or the original Star Trek series ("The Empath").

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David Bowie has died at the age of 69 due to cancer. :( For those who knew his music it is a bit of a shock as he was part of pop culture for decades with 25 albums released under his name.

This morning I can think of no better tribute than this clip of real life astronaut Chris Hadfield covering Bowie's "Space Oddity" while aboard the International Space Station.

 
Actor Alan Rickman died this week at the age of 69 from cancer. [Note: Same week that David Bowie also died at 69 from cancer! :wideeyed:] Rickman in recent years is perhaps best known, and will be remembered for, his portrayal of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter fantasy film franchise though his career goes back several decades and has appeared in dozens of memorable films.

Rickman's first highly visible film project was as terrorist Hans Gruber in the 1988 Bruce Willis action film Die Hard. Rickman would recall later how the budget for the film was relatively low and he did his own stunt in the finale scene of falling from the top of a skyscraper. Sci-fi fans are likely to instantly recognize Rickman for his portrayal of disgruntled actor Alexander Dane in 1999's Galaxy Quest or as the voice of Marvin the paranoid android in 2005's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Personally I also liked his work in the movie CBGB from 2013 that was a tale of one of the most famous bars in New York responsible for launching the careers of many 70's & 80's punk and rock acts.

When it came to his love for acting Rickman described it best as “It’s the act of giving yourself over to once upon a time.

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Gene Wilder, known to generations of fans for his portrayal of Willy Wonka, has died at the age of 83. Wilder was also known for his roles in comedies such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and Stir Crazy.

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