The Legends We Loved And Lost In 2018
LOS ANGELES, CA — The new year is upon once again. It’s the most bittersweet of all the holidays when we embrace the future and say goodbye to the past. As we ask ourselves, “Should old acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind…” it’s only naturally to give a look back at the luminaries we lost in 2018.
Together the nation mourned many leaders from President George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush to Sen. John McCain and “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin. Closer to home, California lost some of the greats of art and culture that define the Golden State. Some were born and raised here while others came to know California as home, and still others simply found their calling and their fame here. They all, however, left their mark.
Here are just some of the local legends who left us in 2018:
Penny Marshall
Age: 75, (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) Died from complications of Diabetes at her Hollywood Hills home
Notable (actress): played Laverne DeFazio on both "Happy Days" (1975-1979) and spinoff "Laverne & Shirley" (1976-1983), see more.
Notable (director): "The Preacher's Wife" (1996), "A League of Their Own" (1992) "Awakenings" (1990), "Big" (1988), see more.
Mac Miller
Age: 26, (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018). Born Malcolm McCormick, he died from drug toxicity at his Studio City home
Notable: has a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album of 2019
Stan Lee
Age: 95 (December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) Died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after suffering several health problems including a bout of pneumonia
Notable : credited as creator of popular Marvel superheroes including Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Black Panther, Thor, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Ant-Man and Doctor Strange.
Burt Reynolds
Age: 82 (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) Died from a heart attack at died at Jupiter Medical Hospital in Florida
Notable: "Deliverance" (1972; film), "The Longest Yard" (1974; film), "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977; film), "The Man Who Loved Women" (1982; film), Boogie Nights" (1997; film)
Verne Troyer
Age: 49 (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) Died by suicide
Notable: Mini-Me in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1999; film) and in it's follow-up "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (2002; film)
R. Lee Ermey
Age: 74 (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) Died from Pneumonia
Notable: Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in "Full Metal Jacket" (1987; film), "Se7en" (1995; film), "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2003; film)
Larry Harvey
Age: 70 (January 11, 1948 – April 28, 2018) Died at a hospital in San Francisco weeks after suffering a stroke
Notable: co-founded the "Burning Man" festival
Juan Romero
Notable: He was the 17-year-old Ambassador Hotel busboy who knelt down and cradled a dying icon, Robert F, Kennedy in the seconds after he was shot. Romero's stunned expression, his helplessness, captured something a whole nation was feeling. But while the world moved on, Romero would forever do battle with that moment, struggling to come to terms with his role in history, fighting and often failing to absolve himself of the blame for not saving his hero.
Margot Kidder
Age: 69 (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018)
Notable: Lois Lane in "Superman" (1978; film; sequels), "The Amityville Horror" (1979; film), "Halloween II" (2009; film)
Charlotte Rae
Notable: Actress in "Diff'rent Strokes," "The Facts of Life" Rae's acting career spanned six decades including Broadway plays "Three Wishes for Jamie," "Li'l Abner," "The Threepenny Opera" and "Pickwick."
Age:95 (September 28, 1923 – October 9, 2018) Died from complications from dementia
Notable: Rags to riches owner of the NFL's Chargers
Patch Editor David Allen contributed to this report.
