Celebrity Deaths

Famous Indian singer SP Balasubrahmanyam died on Friday after being in intensive care following a Coronavirus infection. He was 74.

Balasubrahmanyam recorded over 40,000 songs in his 50-year-long career, for which he held a Guinness world record. He later become the singing voice for Bollywood superstars.

Author Winston Groom has died at the age of 77. He is best known for his novel Forrest Gump, which was eventually turned into a global box office hit and award-winning movie.

"Saddened to learn that Alabama has lost one of our most gifted writers," Alabama governor Kay Ivey said when confirming Groom's death. "While he will be remembered for creating Forrest Gump, Winston Groom was a talented journalist & noted author of American history. Our hearts & prayers are extended to his family."

Jamaican singer and songwriter and pioneering reggae star Toots Hibbert died at the age of 77. He was the frontman of Toots and the Maytals, a band that helped make reggae globally famous. He died surrounded by his family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

The British Actress Dame Diana Rigg, famous for TV roles as Emma Peel in The Avengers and as Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones, has died at the age of 82 of cancer, after being diagnosed in March.

Rigg also appeared as Tracy Bond, James Bond’s only wife, in the 1969 Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

On Saturday, Twitter confirmed that the tweet announcing Chadwick Boseman's passing has become the most-liked tweet on the platform.

The Tweet from Chadwick Boseman's account has reached 6.3m likes and 3m retweets so far.

"Most liked Tweet ever. A tribute fit for a King. #WakandaForever," so Twitter on Saturday.

Actor Chadwick Boseman, the star of "Black Panther", died in his home after a 4-year fight with colon cancer. Boseman learned in 2016 that he had Stage 3 colon cancer, which had progressed to Stage 4.

A statement posted on Boseman's social networks said: "It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman ... A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much."

The statement also said it was "the honour of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in 'Black Panther.'"

Jack Sherman has died on August 20 at the age of 64. His cause of death has not been disclosed as of yet.

"We of the RHCP family would like to wish Jack Sherman smooth sailing into the worlds beyond, for he has passed. Jack played on our debut album as well as our first tour of the USA. He was a unique dude and we thank him for all times good, bad and in between. Peace on the boogie platform," the band said in a post to Instagram.

Sherman was the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1983 to 1984 and co-wrote much of the band's second album "Freaky Styley".

According to a statement from the United States president Donald Trump his younger brother Robert Trump has died in a New York hospital.

Robert Trump was 71 and had been sick for several months. It is not known to the public from what illness.

Donald Trump has stated that "it is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight. He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace".

Italian actress Franca Valeri has died at the age of 100 in her sleep at her Roman home on August 9. Valeri, the pioneer of female comic roles in Italy's post-war, was described by Italy's President Sergio Mattarella as a "versatile and popular actress who will remain in the hearts of Italians for her great talent and her extraordinary likability."

Valeri started working in film in the early 1950s and worked alongside Italian actor Totò and directors Federico Fellini and Mario Monicelli. She died just nine days after her 100th birthday.

Daisy Coleman, an advocate for sexual abuse victim and subject of a Netflix documentary, has taken her own life at the age of 23. After her mother called the police for a wellness check, Coleman was found dead.

Coleman was allegedly sexually assaulted when she was 14 while being unconscious at a high school party. In 2016, she was featured in the Netflix documentary "Audrie & Daisy" which followed the aftermath of both girls' harassment after the assault.

"She was my best friend and amazing daughter. I think she had to make it seem like I could live without her. I can't. I wish I could have taken the pain from her! She never recovered from what those boys did to her and it's just not fair. My baby girl is gone," so her mother, Melinda Coleman, in a post to Facebook.

Actor Wilford Brimley has died at age 85 in St. George, Utah on Saturday after suffering from a kidney ailment. Brimley, who spotted a walrus moustache, is known for his roles in the 1985 fantasy movie "Cocoon", the television series "The Waltons" and sports film "The Natural". He was also a spokesperson for Quaker Oats and Liberty Medical, a diabetes-testing supply company.

Sir Alan Parker, the acclaimed British director of such films as Fame, Evita and Bugsy Malone, has died aged 76.

Parker, a double Oscar nominee, had many other credits including Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning, The Commitments, Angela's Ashes, Birdy and The Life of David Gale.

John Saxon has died of pneumonia at age 83 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The actor played a martial artist in Enter the Dragon alongside Bruce Lee and starred in three Nightmare on Elm Street movies, among others.

Actress and two-time Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland has died peacefully from natural causes in her Paris Home on July 26. She was 104 years old. De Havilland made her debut in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but was best known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in the 1939 movie classic "Gone With The Wind" and was considered as one of the movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In the 1950s, she moved to Paris and received the National Medal of the Arts and France's Légion d'Honneur. She was also appointed to Dome Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Regis Philbin, the American media personality, actor, television host and singer, has died of at age 88. Philbin is known for hosting the Miss America pageants and ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." He also co-hosted "Live with Regis...", first with Kathie Lee and later with Kelly Ripa. Philbin was nominated for 37 Daytime Emmy Awards, of which he won six, and holds the world record for most hours on US television with over 16,700 hours.

"We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday. His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him -- for his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about," so the statement shared by his family with CNN.

Peter Green has died "peacefully in his sleep" at age 73. Green, who was an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, co-founded Fleetwood Mac with drummer Mick Fleetwood in 1967. He left the band four years later, though Mick Fleetwood told the Associated Press in 2017, that Green deserved the "lion’s share of the credit for the band’s success."

Andrew Mlangeni passed away on June 6th in Pretoria, the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on Wednesday. Mlangeni was the last surviving Rivonia trialists, a trial which brought to light the segregationist policies of apartheid in South Africa. He died in a military hospital after being committed with abdominal complaints.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said: "The passing of Andrew Mekete Mlangeni signifies the end of a generational history and places our future squarely in our hands. Until recently, we were able to sit at Bab’ Mlangeni’s feet and draw on his wealth of wisdom and his unfailing commitment – even at his very advanced age – to a better life for all South Africans. With his passing as the last remaining Rivonia Trialist, Bab’ Mlangeni has indeed passed the baton to his compatriots to build the South Africa he fought to liberate and to reconstruct during our democratic dispensation."

John Lewis, the US civil rights hero and US Democratic congressman has died at the age of 80 after a six-month battle with cancer.

Lewis, a son of sharecroppers, was the last survivor of the “Big Six” civil rights activists, a group led by Martin Luther King. He was best known for leading some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in 1965.

Lewis was elected as the congressman for Georgia’s 5th district in 1987 and held the office until his death.

Her family disclosed that Zindzi Mandela was diagnosed with the Coronavirus before her death. The daughter of Nelson Mandela was laid to rest next to her mother Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Johannesburg on July 17th.

C.T. Vivian has died of natural causes in his Atlanta home at age 95. Vivian was a civil rights veteran and a close associate of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., who he met in 1955. He helped organise the Freedom Rides and was an advocate for non-violent protest, racial justice and equality.

In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Vivan with the presidential medal of freedom.