Remembering the Stars We Lost in 2023: Matthew Perry, Ron Cephas Jones, Suzanne Somers, Norman Lear & More
As we reflect on this year in TV, we’re reminded of the beloved stars we lost.
Two titans of TV, Norman Lear and Bob Barker, died this year after providing decades of entertainment for generations of viewers. There were some shocking deaths in 2023 as well, with perhaps none as surprising as the deaths of Friends star Matthew Perry and General Hospital star Billy Miller, the youngest people on this list.
Other dearly departed actors include This Is Us‘ Ron Cephas Jones, Shaft legend Richard Roundtree, Three’s Company‘s Suzanne Somers, daytime TV icon Jerry Springer, and more. Scroll through our In Memoriam gallery below to be reminded of their years on the small screen.
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Norman Lear, 101
July 27, 1922–December 6, 2023
All in the Family. Maude. Sanford and Son. Diff’rent Strokes. Good Times. The Jeffersons. One Day at a Time (both the 1970s classic and its 2017 reboot). Being the creative force behind any one of these iconic sitcoms would be a remarkable accomplishment, but legendary producer and writer Lear helped bring them all to life. In doing so, he altered the national dialogue with his frank and fearless discussion of political and cultural issues. Viewers were more than receptive—he earned 17 Emmy nominations and won six—as Lear re-created the television landscape. As he said in his memoir Even This I Get to Experience, “If you want them laughing from the belly, you stand a better chance of achieving it if you can get them caring first.”
Bob Barker, 99
December 12, 1923–August 26, 2023
Barker was a mainstay when it came to television hosting, from his first job in 1956 as the face of NBC’s Truth or Consequences to his long-running tenure as the emcee of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants. But it was CBS’s game show The Price Is Right that defined his career after he helped launched the daytime show’s revival in 1972. Barker’s vibrant personality made it exciting appointment viewing for all ages—an energy that carried on long after his retirement in 2007.
Suzanne Somers, 76
October 16, 1946–October 15, 2023
Though she was best known for playing a “dumb blonde” as secretary Chrissy Snow on the 1977–84 sitcom Three’s Company, Somers was anything but. She authored a tell-all autobiography, appeared on QVC and wrote books on health and fitness. The actress starred in the sitcoms She’s the Sheriff and Step by Step, and then took her fame to another level: She became a spokesperson for the ThighMaster exercise machine, and later bought the company outright.
Richard Roundtree, 81
July 9, 1942–October 24, 2023
If anything was cool in the 1970s, it was Roundtree’s portrayal of smooth, charismatic action hero John Shaft in the 1973–74 CBS series of television films—a role previously originated on the big screen. He also starred in a 1991 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, guest starred on several episodes of Desperate Housewives as a private detective and played Booker T. Washington in the television movie Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years.
Matthew Perry, 54
August 19, 1969–October 28, 2023
The world lost a little of its laughter after Perry’s sudden death at age 54. Though he’ll forever live in our hearts (and on our television screens) as Friends’ hilarious, sarcastic Chandler Bing, Perry’s talent extended beyond the NBC sitcom: He received accolades for playing a head writer on Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and gave new life to the role of Oscar Madison on the 2015–17 CBS remake of The Odd Couple.
Gayle Hunnicutt, 80
February 6, 1943–August 31, 2023
By the time she joined the cast of Dallas in 1989 as Vanessa Beaumont, an English aristocrat who had a long-ago affair with J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) and produced a child with him, Gayle Hunnicutt had already become a notable actress in Hollywood. After starting her career on TV in 1966 with Mister Roberts, she went on to appear on shows such as Get Smart, The Beverly Hillbillies, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat.
Jerry Springer, 79
February 13, 1944–April 27, 2023
Springer was a jack of all trades: He earned a law degree, worked on the presidential campaign for Robert F. Kennedy and served as mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978. But it was his self-titled daytime talk show that secured his legacy, despite Springer telling TV Guide Magazine, “There was no expectation it would last at all.” Joke’s on him: From paternity tests to family fights, the series (which ran for 27 years, ending in 2018) defined the era of tabloid TV.
Richard Belzer, 78
August 4, 1944–February 19, 2023
Starting his career in stand-up comedy, Richard Belzer made his way to the character of Det. John Munch in 1993 by starring in NBC’s Baltimore-set procedural Homicide: Life on the Street. After seven seasons, he took Munch to New York City for Law & Order: SVU, where he spent 15 seasons becoming beloved by fans as the detective with a hidden heart.
Ron Cephas Jones, 66
January 8, 1957—August 19, 2023
Although he had a distinguished Broadway and film career, Ron Cephas Jones will always be remembered for his role as William Hill, the complicated biological father to Sterling K. Brown’s Randall Pearson on NBC’s hit drama This Is Us. His 31 episode appearances earned him two guest acting Emmys.
Andrea Evans, 66
June 18, 1957–July 9, 2023
A fixture in the soap opera world, Andrea Evans became well-known for playing troubled teenager Tina Lord on One Life to Live from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1985 to 1990 (the role earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination). She starred as Patty Williams on The Young and the Restless (1983–84), Tawny Moore on The Bold and the Beautiful (1999–2000 and 2010-11) and then, over the next eight years, played Rebecca Hotchkiss on NBC’s Passions.
Cindy Williams, 75
August 22, 1947—January 25, 2023
After starring in movies like American Graffiti and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, Cindy Williams wasn’t keen on putting her film career on hold to move over to television. Thankfully she did, introducing the world to Shirley Feeney, one half of the comedy duo that would (alongside Penny Marshall’s Laverne DeFazio) lead the popular Happy Days spinoff Laverne & Shirley. With shades of Lucy and Ethel, Williams helped show the world that girls really do just wanna have fun.
Lance Reddick, 60
June 7, 1962—March 17, 2023
Lance Reddick was beloved for his roles in several hit titles, namely HBO‘s The Wire, in which he played Deputy Commissioner for Operations Cedric Daniels in all five seasons. Then came Oz, Fringe, Corporate, and Bosch, and of course the John Wick film franchise, among scores more TV credits like the recent Resident Evil live-action series and a bounty of voice over work such as Castlevania. Some of his final performances are still upcoming. Next, he’ll be seen as Zeus in upcoming episodes of Disney+‘s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (pictured above).
Paul Reubens, 70
August 27, 1952—July 30, 2023
Paul Reubens developed his colorful, zany alter ego Pee-wee Herman while in the improv troupe the Groundlings and later introduced him to the world via Tim Burton’s 1985 feature Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. In 1986, Reubens took the character to the small screen where he spent five years delighting both kids and adults every Saturday morning on Pee-wee’s Playhouse alongside actors Laurence Fishburne, Phil Hartman and S. Epatha Merkerson.
Sharon Farrell, 82
December 24, 1940–May 15, 2023
Best known for playing the recurring character of Det. Lori Wilson on the final season of CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 from 1979 to 1980 and Florence Webster on the soap opera The Young and the Restless (1991–97), Sharon Farrell kept herself busy with numerous guest roles throughout her career.
Mark Goddard, 87
July 24, 1936–October 10, 2023
Mark Goddard’s fame came from playing hotheaded Major Don West in the 1960s CBS series Lost in Space, but before piloting Jupiter 2, he starred in series such as Johnny Ringo and The Detectives. He also appeared in Perry Mason and the 1964–65 CBS show Many Happy Returns.
Elizabeth Hubbard, 89
December 22, 1933–April 8, 2023
Starring on NBC’s soap opera The Doctors, Elizabeth Hubbard won the first-ever Daytime Emmy Award for best actress in 1974. She was also a series regular on The Edge of Night and One Life to Live. But she’ll forever be remembered as Lucinda Walsh on CBS’s As the World Turns, a role she played from 1984 until the show ended in 2010—and one that earned her eight more Daytime Emmy nominations.
Piper Laurie, 91
January 22, 1932–October 14, 2023
Piper Laurie’s film career is highlighted by three Oscar nominations, including one for playing the religious fanatic mother of the tormented teen in Carrie (1976). But Laurie also made her mark on television, starring in the 1983 miniseries The Thorn Birds. She was nominated for nine Emmys, including one for a guest-starring role on St. Elsewhere and two for the cult favorite Twin Peaks, and she won the award for the 1986 TV movie Promise.
Lisa Loring, 64
February 16, 1958–January 28, 2023
Before Christina Ricci and Jenna Ortega took on the role of everyone’s favorite twin-braided introvert, Lisa Loring laid the foundation for sullen goth girls with her portrayal of Wednesday Addams in ABC’s 1964–66 Addams Family series. The show only lasted two seasons, but Loring’s performance made her a pop culture icon. The actress was rarely seen on-screen after the show ended, but she did have a stint on the daytime drama As the World Turns in the 1980s.
David McCallum, 90
September 19, 1933–September 25, 2023
A Scottish actor and musician, David McCallum rose to fame as secret agent Illya Kuryakin in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He earned two Emmy nominations and lots of attention for the show, and his career would get a second wind when he took on the role of Donald “Ducky” Mallard in the popular long-running series NCIS. McCallum was 70 when he debuted as the expert medical examiner in 2003, and he stayed on the show for 20 seasons, working right up until his death—and becoming a fan favorite to the many dedicated viewers who tuned in.
Billy Miller, 43
September 17, 1979–September 15, 2023
After breaking into the industry, Billy Miller started acting on the soap opera All My Children. When his character was killed off, he moved to The Young and the Restless, taking over the role of Billy Abbott and winning three Daytime Emmys. In 2014, he joined General Hospital as Jason Morgan, replacing Steve Burton until Burton’s return, after which Miller’s character was changed to be Burton’s previously unknown twin Drew Cain. After five years, he joined USA drama Suits for five episodes. He also appeared on shows such as NCIS, Castle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Rookie.
Shelley Smith, 70
October 25, 1952–August 8, 2023
Model-turned-actress Shelley Smith landed her debut role in the legal sitcom The Associates, costarring with Martin Short, and she spent most of the 1980s guest starring on shows like Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and Diff’rent Strokes and appearing as a celebrity panelist on such game shows as Super Password and Pyramid.
Richard Moll, 80
January 13, 1943–October 26, 2023
Richard Moll presided over the podium as bailiff Aristotle Nostradamus “Bull” Shannon for nine seasons of the NBC sitcom Night Court, lending his towering height and affable personality to the role. He started his career as a gangster in a two-part 1979 Happy Days episode, following it up with appearances on Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy.
Arleen Sorkin, 67
October 14, 1955–August 24, 2023
Arleen Sorkin played the wacky but lovable Calliope Jones on the NBC soap Days of Our Lives from 1984 to 1990 (reprising her role for some years after) and provided the original voice of DC Comics character and Joker sidekick Harley Quinn, debuting on an episode of Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 with Mark Hamill. Sorkin’s role in Days also served as an inspiration for Harley.
Jacklyn Zeman, 70
March 6, 1953–May 9, 2023
Jacklyn Zeman originally attended New York University to study dance but switched to acting when she received a lengthy episode arc on One Life to Live. In 1977, she joined General Hospital as Bobbie Spencer, a bad girl who changes course and becomes a heroic nurse, and she never looked back. Over the course of 45 years, Zeman appeared in more than 800 episodes. “Bobbie wasn’t always right, but she wanted to do her best,” Zeman told TV Insider in 2022.
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