Memorial Quiz: 2021 Celebrity Deaths Round-Up

Norm Macdonald was born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on Oct. 17, 1959. The legendary comic died September 14, 2021, after a nine-year private battle with cancer. He was 61.

Why is Norm Macdonald famous?

Norm Macdonald was an SNL cast member from 1993-98. He made his most significant impact as the anchor of the show’s “Weekend Update” segments for three seasons, influencing a generation of comedians. Watch Norm MacDonald's incredible Moth Joke on Conan O'Brien's show.

Omar Little was Actor Michael K. Williams’s recurring character on HBO’s classic The Wire. He also had unforgettable roles on Broadwalk Empire, When They See Us, and The Night Of. Williams received a 2021 Emmy nomination for his performance in HBO's Lovecraft Country.

Michael K. Williams News Fact

Michael K. Williams was found dead Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, in his apartment in Brooklyn. He was 54. The NYPD is investigating his death.

Ed Asner is the most honored male performer in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, having won seven. He is also the most nominated actor for the Emmys, with 17 nominations - a tie-in with Michael J. Fox. Asner won five of his Emmys for portraying Lou Grant (three in the comedy series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and two on its dramatic spin-off "Lou Grant"). His other Emmys were for "Rich Man, Poor Man" (1976) and "Roots" (1977).

Ed Asner News Fact

Ed Asner died on Sunday, Aug 29, 2021, at age 91. His family confirmed the death on the actor's Twitter feed, writing, "We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head- Goodnight, dad. We love you."

R.I.P Jackie Mason, who, among other roles, voiced The Simpsons’ Krusty the Clown’s father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, between the years 1991 and 2019. Mason was a rabbi in real life before turning to comedy.

Jackie Mason News Fact

Jackie Mason died Saturday, July 24, 2021, after being hospitalized for over two weeks. He was 93. Among his notable cameo appearances is an uncredited appearance as the voice of robot tailor in Woody Allen’s 1973 futuristic comedy Sleeper and Jew #1 in Mel Brooks's “History of the World, Part I.”

The Everly Brothers were Don and Phil Everly.

Everly Brothers News Fact

While Phil died of pulmonary disease at the age of 74, on January 3, 2014, Don Everly, the last surviving member of the Everly Brothers, passed away at his home in Nashville on Saturday, Aug 21, 2021. He was 84.

Modern Sudoku was introduced in Japan by Maki Kaji, president of the Nikoli puzzle company, in April 1984 as Sūji wa dokushin ni kagiru - Japanese for “Unmarried (or single) Numbers” - and in short, Sudoku. "Sudoku" is a registered trademark in Japan.

Maki Kaji News Fact

Maki Kaji, the “Godfather of Sudoku,” died Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer.

R.I.P. Helen McCrory, the actress who portrayed Cherie Blair in The Queen (2006) and The Special Relationship (2010).

McCrory also appeared as Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films. Her other notable roles include Mama Jeanne in Martin Scorsese's Hugo (2011), The James Bond film Skyfall (2012), and Peaky Blinders (2013–2019).

What happened?

McCrory died of cancer on Friday at the age of 52. Her husband, actor Damian Lewis, said: “She’s left our beautiful children, Manon and Gully, too early, but they have been prepared for life.”

Prince Phillip married the then young crown princess, Elizabeth,  on Nov. 20, 1947 — he was 26, and she was 21 years old.

Prince Phillip’s death

R.I.P. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Charles's father. On Friday, April 9, 2021, he died at Windsor Castle in England at the age of 99.

R.I.P Yaphet Kotto, best known as Lieutenant Al Giardello from the ‘90s cop show,  Homicide: Life on the Street, and unforgettable roles in the films Alien, The Running Man, Live and Let Die, and Midnight Run. Kotto was born in New York City. His mother was of Panamanian and West Indian descent. His father was the Crown Prince of the Royal Bell family of Cameroon but was raised Jewish. His mother converted to Judaism. His maternal grandparents raised him.

News Fact:

Yaphet Kotto died Monday, March 15, 2021, in the Philippines, at age 81. Kotto's death was announced by his third wife, Tessie Sinahon, in a Facebook post, saying she was sad and in shock after losing her husband of 24 years.

R.I.P Rush Limbaugh. The radio talk show host died Wednesday, Feb.17, at the age of 70.  He was best known as the host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, nationally syndicated since 1988, and the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. The show aired on almost 600 radio stations nationwide. Limbaugh held strong conservative stands and often ridiculed opposite ideals, such as feminism and civil equality. President Donald Trump awarded him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

R.I.P Larry Flynt. The Hustler founder died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. On Mar. 6, 1978, a gunman shot Flynt during a legal battle related to obscenity. The shooting left Flynt partially paralyzed and in need of a wheelchair.

R.I.P Mary Wilson, a founding member of The Supremes. Wilson passed away on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021, just two days after she published a video commemorating Black History Month and announcing “surprising new songs” that she hoped to have out by her birthday on March 6. Watch Wilson’s final public video message.

R.I.P George Shultz. Reagan’s secretary of state also served under Eisenhower (as Secretary of Labor) and Nixon (as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and then as Treasury secretary). He was 100 when he passed away on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021.

 Cicely Tyson was an Honorary Oscar winner, Oscar nominee, multiple Emmy winner, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, among other honors. After her death on Jan. 28, 2021, her recently published memoir became a #1 bestseller on Amazon. The 432-page book fell “temporarily out of stock,” but an audio version of the biography is still available. Tyson herself narrates in part on the audiobook alongside How To Get Away with Murder co-star Viola Davis.

R.I.P Dustin Diamond, best known as Screech on the hit '90s sitcom "Saved by the Bell." Diamond was hospitalized in January 2021 and died Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, after a three-week fight with carcinoma. He was 44.

Screenshot: Saved by the Bell

R.I.P. Michael Apted. In Hollywood, Apted was perhaps best known for directing the 1999 Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. The film director, who also helmed Gorillas In The Mist, is best known in the UK for the Up series of TV documentaries following the lives of 14 people every seven years. He died on Jan. 7, 2021, aged 79.

R.I.P iconic CNN host Larry King. In his 25 years on CNN’s Larry King Live, the multiple award-winning talk show host interviewed more than 30,000 guests, from movie stars to every sitting president from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama.

Larry King's death

One of the most prominent faces on television died on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, after a weeks-long battle with Covid-19. He was 87. The news was announced on his official Twitter account by the company he co-founded, Ora Media. 

Antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee was wanted in the US for tax-related criminal charges that carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years. Hours after Spain’s highest court approved McAfee’s extradition to the United States on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the 75-year-old creator of the McAfee virus software was found dead in his cell in Spain from an apparent suicide.

John McAfee bizarre fact:

Since making a fortune in the 1980s with the software that still bears his name, McAfee twice made long-shot runs for the US presidency and became the subject of media scrutiny following the unsolved 2012 murder of a neighbor in Belize. Police found him living with a 17-year-old girl and discovered many weapons in his home in the Central American country.

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is a children's picture book designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle. On Saturday, the hungry caterpillar eats a piece of chocolate cake, an ice-cream cone, a pickle, a slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of salami, a lollipop, a piece of cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake, and a slice of watermelon. It's on Monday that he eats an apple.

 "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" 2021 fact

Eric Carle, the beloved children's author/illustrator behind "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and other works, has died Sunday, May 23, 2021, at age 91. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," published in 1969, has sold 40 million copies and has been translated into 60 languages.

Bo and Sunny were the Presidential pets during the Obama era. The Obamas welcomed Bo into their family in 2009, shortly after Obama's first presidential inauguration. Sunny, a female, joined the family in 2013.

News Fact:

R.I.P Bo Obama. On Saturday, May 9, 2021, Michelle Obama announced that Bo had died after a battle with cancer at 12 years old.

President Joe Biden announced Saturday, June 19, 2021, that Champ, the older of the family’s two dogs, had died “peacefully at home” at 13. Champ’s passing leaves the Bidens with their younger German shepherd, Major, whom the family adopted from the Delaware Humane Society in 2018. The Bidens got Champ from a breeder after Biden was elected vice president in 2008.