By Darlene Donloe
Many noteworthy people closed their eyes for the last time in 2024. They were writers, actors, directors, musicians, publicists, entertainment executives, activists, community leaders, and politicians. All were influential in their own way. Before leaving the planet, they made their mark and touched many lives. This column remembers their legacies and pays tribute to those who passed this way. Respect!
JANUARY
Jan. 5 – Lucius ”Tal/Tawl” Ross, guitarist of Funkadelic. He was 75.
Jan. 9 – Reggie Wells, makeup artist who worked on Michelle Obama, Oprah, Beyonce, Whitney Houston and more. He was 76.
Jan. 12 – Josephine Wright resisted the development of the family’s Gullah land on Hilton Head Island. She was 94.
Jan. 12 – Diane Larche, Larche Communications LLC's publicist, president, and CEO. She was 65.
Jan. 15 - Ronald Powell, former NFL player. He was 32.
 |
| Marlena Shaw |
Jan. 19 – Marlena Shaw, singer (California Soul, Woman of the Ghetto). She was 81.
Jan. 30 - Chita Rivera, the singer and actress who leaped to stardom in Broadway’s production of “West Side Story.” She was 91.
Jan. 30 - Hinton Battle, Tony Award-winning actor. He was 67.
FEBRUARY
Feb. 1 – Joe Madison, civil rights and radio legend. He was 74.
 |
| Carl Weather |
Feb. 2 – Carl Weathers, actor – Rocky, Predator, and Mandalorian. He was 76.
Feb. 7 – Henry Fambrough, the last original member of The Spinners. He was 85.
Feb. 21 – Hydeia Broadbent, HIV/AIDS activist. She was 39.
Feb. 28 – Michael Jones, former pro wrestler – best known as “Virgil.” He was 61.
MARCH
March 4 - Anthony “Baby Gap” Walker, a former member of The Gap Band. He was 60.
March 8 – Ernie Fields, Jr., musician and music contractor. He was 89.
March 9 – Julie Robinson Belafonte, wife of Harry Belafonte. She was 95.
March 11 – Everett Collins, Isley Brothers drummer in the 70s.
March 11 - Bo$$, a rapper best known for her album Born Gangstaz and for being the first female rapper to sign with Def Jam. She was 52.
March 17 – Sandra Crouch, gospel singer. She was 81.
March 18 – Kevin Toney, The Blackbyrds, pianist and composer. He was 70.
 |
| Louis Gossett Jr. |
March 29 – Louis Gossett Jr. is the first Black man to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He was 87.
APRIL
April 2 – Casey Benjamin, saxophonist. He was 45.
April 5—Rev. Cecil Murray, civil rights activist and former pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles died at the age of 94.
April 10 – O.J. Simpson. He was 76.
April 10 – Mister Cee, New York radio personality. He was 57.
April 13 - Rico Wade co-wrote and produced TLC’s 1995 hit “Waterfalls.” He was 52.
April 17 - Arthur “Pooch” Tavares, founding member of the legendary group Tavares. He was 74.
 |
| Mandisa |
April 18 – Mandisa, American Idol, Grammy-winning Christian singer. She was 47.
April 23 – Terry Carter, actor on Battlestar Galactica, McCloud and Foxy Brown. He was 95.
MAY
May 4 – Darius Morris, former Los Angeles Lakers guard. He was 33.
May 12 – Sherif Lawal, boxer. He was 29.
May 13 - Samm-Art Williams, playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He was 77.
 |
| Peggy Blu |
May 19 – Peggy Blu, soul singer. She was 77.
May 31 – Drew Gordon, former NBA player. He was 33.
JUNE
June 3 – Brother Marquis, a rapper known for being a core member of 2 Live Crew.
June 9 - Rev. James Lawson Jr., Civil Rights Giant. He was 95.
June 12, Ron Simons, actor, and four-time Tony-winning producer. He was 63.
June 13 – Angela Bofill, singer. She was 70.
June 16 - Cedric Napoleon, Pieces of a Dream co-founder, Fo Fi Fo singer.
 |
| Willie Mays |
June 18 – Willie Mays, the Say Hey Kid, baseball legend (Giants) and Hall of Famer. He was 93.
June 20 - Taylor Wily, actor (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hawaii Five-O), a former sumo wrestler. He was 56.
June 23 – Pat Colbert, actress on Dallas. She was 77.
June 23—Julio Foolio, a Florida rapper, was born Charles Jones. He is known for “Crooks” and “Reach The Top.” He was 26.
June 25 – Sika Anoa’i, WWE Hall of Famer and father of fellow pro wrestling star Roman Reigns. He was 79.
June 26 – Bill Cobb, actor, The Bodyguard, The Brother from Another Planet, Night at the Museum, and Oz the Great and Powerful. He was 90.
June 26 - Renauld White, actor/model. The first African American to appear on the cover of GQ Magazine. He was 80.
June 26 - Dr. Doris Yvonne Wilkinson, the first African American female appointed to a full-time position at the University of Kentucky in 1967. She was 88.
JULY
July 2 – KeKe Jabbar, cast member of the OWN reality show, Love and Marriage: Huntsville. She was 42.
July 6 - Khyree Jackson, Minnesota Vikings rookie. He was 24.
July 14 – Jacoby Rashi’d Jones, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver. He was 40.
July 15 – Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant, former Philadelphia 76er NBA player and father of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. He was 69.
July 17—Bernice Johnson Reagon was a civil rights activist who co-founded The Freedom Singers and later started the African American a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. She was 81.
July 18 – Gail Lumet Buckley, daughter of Lena Horne. She was 86.
 |
| Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee |
July 19 – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, former Democratic Congresswoman. She was 74.
July 21—Evelyn Thomas, disco singer best known for her hit track “High Energy." She was 70.
July 21 – Ron Charles, Basketball player. He was a member of Michigan State University’s 1979 national championship team and played professionally in many leagues, including Italy’s Lea Baset Serie A. He was 65.
July 22 – Abdul “Duke” Fakir, original Four Tops member. He was 88.
July 27 – Rapper DJ Polo. He was 56.
July 28 – Alma Powell, civic leader and wife of Secretary of State Gen. Colin L. Powell. She was 86.
July 28 – Rapper Chino XL. He was 50.
July 29 – Erica Ash, actress, Survivor’s Remorse, TV One original movie, Miss Me This Christmas, Scary Movie. She was 46.
July 29 - Reyes Moronta, former Dodgers pitcher. He was 31.
July 29 - Oba Adefunmi II: King of the Yorubas in the United States, son of Oba Oseijiman Adefunmi, founder of Oyotunji Afrikan Village and “pioneer” of Afrikan Traditional Religion (ATR) in the U.S.
July 30 - Winzell Kelly, member of The Dramatics since 1994. He was 71.
AUGUST
Aug. 2 – Ellis Gordon, Jr., financial executive, and community advocate.
Aug. 6 – Connie Chiume, “Black Panther” actress. She was 72.
Aug. 6 – Maurice Williams, legendary “Stay” singer. He was 86.
Aug. 14 – Wally “Famous Amos” Amos, creator of Famous Amos Cookies. He was 88.
Aug. 20 – Al Attles, Warrior Hall of Famer. Among NBA’s first Black head coaches. He was 87.
 |
| John Amos |
Aug. 21 – John Amos, ‘Good Times,’ ‘Roots,’ ‘Coming to America,’ ‘Die Hard 2,’ ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ actor. He was 84.
Aug. 27 – Betty Bridges, actress and director. Also, the mother of actor Todd Bridges. She was 83.
Aug. 30 – Fatman Scoop, rapper and hype man. He was 53 or 56.
Aug. 31 – Obi Ndefo, known as Bodie on Dawson’s Creek. He was 51.
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 5 - Boris ‘Bo’ Ricks, CSU-Northridge Educator.
Sept. 5 - Rich Homie Quan, rapper. He was 34.
Sept. 8 - James Earl Jones, legendary actor. He was 93.
Sept. 10 - Michaela Mabinty DePrince, a ballerina from war-torn Sierra Leone. She was 29.
Sept. 11 - Antoinette Russell, Los Angeles Black radio personality (KJLH, KACE, KOST).
Sept. 11 - Legendary R&B singer Frankie Beverly of Frankie Beverly and Maze. He was 77.
Sept. 11 - Tina McElroy Ansa, noted novelist. She was 74.
 |
| Tito Jackson |
Sept. 15 – Toriano Adaryll ‘Tito’ Jackson, member of The Jackson 5, The Jacksons, and the brother of Michael Jackson. He was 70.
Sept. 21 - Bennie Golson, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He composed the soundtrack for Room 222, Mash, Mission Impossible, and more. In 2009, he was inducted into the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame. He was 95.
Sept. 27 – Warren Wilson, Los Angeles broadcaster and KTLA reporter. He was 90.
Sept. 30 – Dikembe Mutombo, Hall of Fame – NBA player. He was 58.
OCTOBER
 |
| Cissy Houston |
Oct. 7 – Cissy Houston, Grammy-winning singer and mother of Whitney Houston. She was 91.
NOVEMBER
 |
| Quincy Jones |
Nov. 3 – Quincy “Q” Jones, legendary musician, producer, and composer. He was 91.
Nov. 6 - Tony Todd, ‘Candy Man’ and ‘Final Destination’ actor. He was 69.
Nov. 9 - Ella Jenkins, American singer/songwriter and children’s singer. She was 100.
Nov. 9 – Judith Jamison, Alvin Ailey dancer and choreographer. She was 81.
Nov. 12 – Roy Haynes, pioneering modern jazz drummer. He was. 99.
Nov. 19 – Sir Lady Java, Trans Nightlife Legend (actress, singer, dancer, and comedian) and transgender rights activist. She was 82.
Nov. 22 – Harry Williams, the last original member of Bloodstone.
Nov. 24 - Nancy Cheryll Davis-Bellamy, Townstreet Theatre co-founder and artistic producing director.
Nov. 28 – Solomon Herbert II, assistant editor at Black Meetings & Tourism magazine. He was 44.
Nov. 29 – Hildreth (Hal) Walker, Jr., laser scientist and professor. He was 91.
DECEMBER
Dec. 5—Robin Ayers, host of KBLA Talk 1580 and writer/reporter for EURweb.com. She was 54.
Dec. 5 - Dominique Brown, Disney influencer. She was 34.
 |
| Nikki Giovanni |
Dec. 9 – Nikki Giovanni, poet and Virginia Tech professor. She was 81.
Dec. 17 – Alfa Anderson, founding member of Chic. She was 77.
Dec. 21- Rickey Henderson, MLB’s all-time stolen base king. He was 65.
Dec. 22 – Ryan Levert, daughter of Eddie LeVert (The O’Jays). She was 22.
Dec. 21 – Art Evans, veteran actor (A Soldier's Story, Die Hard 2). He was 82.
Dec. 25 - Bill Speed, pioneering music veteran. He was the first Black Editor at Radio and Records. Also helped create BET's Video Soul. He was 75.
Dec. 26 – Richard Parsons, former Time Warner CEO. He was 76.
Dec. 27 – Greg Gumbel, CBS sports broadcaster. He was 78.
