In memoriam: Celebrity deaths of 2021

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- 2021 saw the deaths of dozens of artists who helped shape the world of music, literature, television and film for generations.

Here is a look back at some of those we lost in the past year.

Broadway's brightest

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim died Nov. 26 at the age of 91, leaving behind an extraordinary body of work that includes West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Assassins, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods. Five of his shows won the Tony for Best Musical. Bradley Whitford played Sondheim in the Netflix movie musical, Tick Tick Boom, which was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and released last month. A new film adaptation of West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, is now in theaters.

Screen legends

Oscar, Tony and Emmy-award winning Christopher Plummer, who is best known for his role in The Sound of Music, died at the age of 91 on Feb. 5. His other credits include Insider, 12 Monkeys, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, A Beautiful Mind, All the Money in the World, Knives Out, The Man Who Would Be King, Battle of Britain, Waterloo, Fall of the Roman Empire, National Treasure, Up, An American Tale and Madeline.

Cicely Tyson died Jan. 28 at the age of 96. In addition to earning three Emmys, a Tony and SAG Award, she was presented with an honorary Oscar in 2018 and a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. The actress was famous for her roles in Twelve Angry Men, Odds Against Tomorrow, The Comedians, A Man Called Adam, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, The Women of Brewster Place, The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, Trip to Bountiful, Bustin' Loose, Fried Green Tomatoes, Hoodlum, Madam Secretary, How to Get Away with Murder and several Tyler Perry productions.

Comedian silenced

Beloved stand-up comedian, Saturday Night Live alum and actor Norm MacDonald lost his secret, 10-year battle with cancer on Sept. 14. The Norm, Billy Madison and Dirty Work star was remembered as an "honest and courageous comedy genius" by Jim Carrey and Martin Short said of MacDonald, "There was no one funnier."

Rock 'n' roll icons

Mike Nesmith, Charlie Watts and Phil Spector all passed this year, too.

Nesmith, an original member of the 1960s group The Monkees, died at the age of 78 on Dec. 10. Micky Dolenz is the last surviving musician from the group that gave us "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Daydream Believer" and "I'm a Believer." Davy Jones died in 2012 and Peter Tork in 2019. The quartet also starred in an eponymous TV show, which ran from 1966-1968.

Watts played drums for the Grammy-winning, tour-busting Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death at age 80 on Aug. 24. His bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood remembered him as the "greatest drummer of his generation."

Record producer and songwriter Spector died at the age of 81 on Jan. 16 while he was still serving a prison sentence for the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson. Spector was known for his Wall of Sound recording style, and he shepherded the careers of the Teddy Bears, the Ronettes, the Crystals, the Righteous Brothers, and Ike & Tina Turner.

Best-selling authors

Joan Didion -- who died Dec. 23 at the age of 87 -- started her career at Vogue magazine and published her first novel, Run, River, in 1963. Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Didion's 1968 book of essays exploring 1960s counterculture in California, became one of her best-known works She also penned the novels Play It as It Lays (1970) and A Book of Common Prayer (1977), along with the book of essays The White Album (1979).

Anne Rice died Dec. 11 at the age of 80. News of her death comes as AMC is working on two TV shows based on her horror novel, Interview with the Vampire, its sequels and prequels, and her book Lives of the Mayfair Witches. Her other works included Exit to Eden, The Feast of All Saints and Servant of the Bones.

Beverly Cleary was 104 when she died on March 26. She had penned dozens of children's books, including Beezus and Ramona and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. HarperCollins Publishers described her as "one of the most beloved children's authors of all time."

Rap giants

Marcel Theo Hall, known professionally as Biz Markie, died July 16 from complications of diabetes. The "Just a Friend" singer was 57. His albums include 1988's Goin' Off, 1989's The Biz Never Sleeps, 1991's I Need a Haircut, 1993's All Samples Cleared! and 2003's Weekend Warrior. He also acted in Sharknado 2: The Second One, Yo Gabba Gabba, Empire, Black-ish and Spongebob SquarePants.

DMX - whose real name was Earl Simmons - died at the age of 50 after he was placed on life support following a heart attack. The three-time Grammy nominee started performing in the 1980s and released his debut studio album, It's Dark and Hell is Hot, in 1998. He helped establish the Ruff Ryders record label, which also featured such artists as Eve and Swizz Beatz. Among his hit songs were "What's My Name," "Party Up (Up in Here)" and "X Gon' Give It to Ya" and his acting credits included Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds and Cradle 2 the Grave.

Classic TV show castmates

Perhaps most notably, The Mary Tyler Moore Show lost three comedy legends -- Ed Asner, 91, on Aug. 29; Gavin MacLeod, 90, on May 29; and Cloris Leachman, 94 on Jan. 27. The last remaining original cast member is Betty White, who turns 100 on Jan. 17.

Also passing in 2021 were Night Court veterans Markie Post, 70, on Aug. 7, and Charlie Robinson, 75, on July 11; and Designing Women castmates Richard Gillaland, 71, on March 18 and Hal Holbrook, 95, on Jan. 23.

General Hospital fans mourned the loss of Stuart Damon, 84, on June 29, and John Reilly, 86, on Jan. 9.

Other TV stars who passed include Quantum Leap actor Dean Stockwell, 85, on Nov. 7; Newhart and Bosom Buddies star Peter Scolari, 66, on Oct. 22; Sex and the City and Just Like That alum Willie Garson, 57, on Sept. 21; Boardwalk Empire and The Wire scene-stealer Michael K. Williams, 56, on Sept. 6; WKRP in Cincinnati's Frank Bonner, 79, on June 16; George Segal from The Goldbergs, 87, on March 23; former Saved By the Bell child star Dustin Diamond, 44, on Feb. 1; and Gregory Sierra from Barney Miller, 83, on Jan. 4.

Media personalities

Sports broadcaster and former NFL coach John Madden, 85, died Dec. 28; conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, 70, died Feb. 17; Hustler magazine founder/publisher Larry Flynt, 78, died Feb. 10; and famed interviewer Larry King, 87, died on Jan. 23.