Alex Trebek, Salome Bey and Neil Peart were among the Canadian icons who passed away this year. Here’s a list of notable people who died in 2020, from authors and artists to musicians and athletes.
John Baldessari, conceptual artist
Ronald Bell, musician, Kool & The Gang
Honor Blackman, actor
Christo, artist
Christie Blatchford, journalist
Chadwick Boseman, actor
Kobe Bryant, professional basketball player
Bonnie Burstow, anti-psychiatry critic, educator
Pete Carmichael, musician, Diableros
David Carter, author, Stonewall historian
Sean Connery, actor
Nick Cordero, actor
Simeon Coxe, musician, Silver Apples
Spencer Davis, musician
Olivia de Havilland, actor
Brian Dennehy, actor
Chi Chi DeVayne, drag queen
Manu Dibango, musician
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, poet laureate priest (2019)
Linda Diebel, journalist
Kirk Douglas, actor
Shirley Douglas, actor/activist
Saeb Erekat, Palestinian peace negotiator
Tony Fernandez, baseball player
Robert Fisk, journalist
Andy Gill, musician, Gang of Four
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Buck Henry, actor, screenwriter
Toots Hibbert, musician
Mary Higgins Clark, author
Ian Holm, actor
Houdini, Toronto rapper/songwriter
Rishi Kapoor, actor
Irrfan Khan, actor
Ivan Kral, musician
Larry Kramer, AIDS activist/author
John le Carré, author
Bunny Lee, reggae producer
Amoy Levy, singer
John Lewis, U.S. congressman & civil rights leader
Little Richard, musician
MF Doom, rapper and producer
Diego Maradona, soccer player
Ellis Marsalis Jr., jazz musician
Howie Meeker, hockey player, commentator, MP
Terrence McNally, playwright
Ennio Morricone, composer
Daniel David Moses, First Nations playwright/poet
Joanne Nisbet, dancer, senior ballet mistress at National Ballet of Canada
Nobuhiko Obayashi, filmmaker
Regis Philbin, talk show host
Bonnie Pointer, singer
David Prowse, Darth Vader actor
Kelly Preston, actor
Charley Pride, musician
John Prine, musician
Sushant Singh Rajput, actor
Helen Reddy, singer
Carl Reiner, actor
Diana Rigg, actor
Naya Rivera, actor
Kenny Rogers, singer/songwriter, riverboat gambler
Regan Russell,animal rights activist
Adam Schlesinger, songwriter
Joel Schumacher, director
Eddie Shack, hockey player
Lynn Shelton, filmmaker
Jerry Stiller, comedian
Kenzo Takada, fashion designer
Deanne Taylor, performer and playwright
Doug Taylor, local historian
Alex Trebek, game show host
John Turner, Canadian Prime Minister
Eddie Van Halen, musician
RM Vaughan, writer and artist
Max von Sydow, actor/director
Andrew Weatherall, musician/producer
Charles Webb, author
Bill Withers, musician
Fred Willard, actor
Betty Wright, musician
Elizabeth Wurtzel, journalist and author
Say their names
A number of tragic deaths in 2020 are a reminder that systemic racism must be dismantled.
Ahmaud Arbery
Rayshard Brooks
D’Andre Campbell
Ejaz Choudry
Joyce Echaquan
George Floyd
Regis Korchinski-Paquet
Rodney Levi
Chantel Moore
Breonna Taylor
Update (January 1, 2021): This article was updated to include the deaths of Canadian singer Amoy Levy and rapper MF Doom.
