Brian Wilson Dead After Dementia Battle: Public Figures We Lost This Year

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On June 11, Brian Wilson's family took to Instagram to announce that the legendary Beach Boys frontman died. He was 82.

"We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now," they said, adding that they realized they were "sharing our grief with the world."

A little more than a year earlier, in February 2024, they revealed the hitmaker had dementia.

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On Monday, June 9, Sly Stone's family released a statement announcing that he'd died at 82.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone," they said. "After a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family. While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come."

According to the National Institutes of Health, COPD — or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — is a condition caused by damage to the airways or other parts of the lung that leads to inflammation and other problems that block airflow and make it hard to breathe.

Stone is considered one of the most influential artists of all time in the funk, soul, R&B and rock genres.

Keep reading to look back at more public figures we lost this year…

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Loretta Swit died of natural causes at her home in New York City on Friday, May 30, her publicist confirm. The M*A*S*H actress was 87.

She won two Emmys for her work as Korean War nurse Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the beloved CBS war dramedy, on which she starred from 1972 to 1983.

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Entrepreneur and Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson died on May 25 — five months after his family shared that he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He was 79.

Robertson starred on the A&E reality series — which centered around his family and their Duck Commander company — from 2012 to 2017.

A reboot of the beloved reality show, Duck Dynasty: The Revival, is due later this year.

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Cheers star George Wendt died at 76 on May 20, his publicist said, noting that he passed peacefully in his sleep at his home sometime "early Tuesday morning."

A cause of death was not immediately clear, though the actor — who scored six consecutive Emmy nominations for his work as barfly Norm on the hit '80s sitcom — was seen looking frail during a November 2024 visit to a dialysis clinic in Los Angeles, where a caretaker notably helped him from a car to a wheelchair as they made their arrival. His wife of nearly five decades, actress Bernadette Birkett, reportedly picked him up after the appointment.

Wendt's nephew is Ted Lasso and Saturday Night Live star Jason Sudeikis.

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Floribama Shore star Kirk Medas died at 33 on Friday, May 2, his friend and costar Aimee Elizabeth Hall announced on social media — just hours after she wrote that she believed the MTV personality would "walk out of this."

"Today we lost a brother, a best friend, and heaven gained the most beautiful angel. We are all trying to process this unimaginable loss. Kirk was the glue that held us all together. He loved each and every one of us so deeply, with a heart bigger than this world," Hall wrote on Instagram after Medas died in a Miami hospital.
Just a day earlier, Hall revealed on social media that Medas was in the midst of a medical crisis: "Our friend Kirk has been in the ICU for over two weeks now, battling a severe case of necrotizing pancreatitis. He's currently on a ventilator, and the situation is incredibly serious," she wrote on Instagram.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, necrotizing pancreatitis occurs when pancreatitis inflammation is so severe that it causes tissue death (necrosis).
Medas' father told TMZ that the reality star ultimately died from liver failure. He was reportedly in a coma at the time.

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Virginia Giuffre died at her farm in Australia on April 24, her family announced the following day. She was 41.
"She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and s** trafficking," they said. "Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and s** trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors. Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure."
"She was heroic and will always be remembered for her incredible courage and loving spirit," they continued, adding that "in the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight."
"We know that she is with the angels," they concluded.
In late March, the mother of three made headlines when she claimed on Instagram that she'd "gone into kidney renal failure" and that doctors had given her just "four days to live" after she was in a car accident involving "a school bus driver."
"I'm ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time, but you know what they say about wishes. S*** in one hand and wish in the other, and I guarantee it's still going to be s*** at the end of the day. Thank you all for being the wonderful people of the world and for being a great part of my life," she captioned a photo of herself looking battered and bruised while resting in a hospital bed. She also noted that "this year has been the worst start to a new year."
In the days that followed, she accused her husband of more than two decades of domestic violence, telling People magazine, "I was able to fight back against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein who abused and trafficked me. But I was unable to escape the domestic violence in my marriage until recently. After my husband's latest physical assault, I can no longer stay silent."
Her family echoed her allegations and also clarified that her injuries may not have been solely related to the car accident: "Nobody ever said her liver issues and kidney failure were ever from that. We still don't know if it is. … I think that's from years of alleged abuse. You got to think, she's been allegedly being abused for over 10 years. Anyone's body is going to take a toll over a course of time," her brother told People.


Giuffre accused Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell of trafficking her to Prince Andrew when she was 17. (The Duke of York has denied the allegations against him, though he settled with Giuffre out of court in 2022.)


(If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.)

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Pope Francis died at 88 on April 21 — a day after he met with Vice President J.D. Vance at the Vatican and then made a major public appearance to bless thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
According to the Vatican, he died from heart failure after suffering a stroke that put him in a come.
The 266th pope — who suffered from chronic lung disease — had seemed to be in better health recently after spending more than a month between mid-February and late March recovering from bronchitis that developed into double pneumonia at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.
Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He became the first pope from the Americas as well as the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere when his papacy began in 2013. He was known for his progressive policies regarding the LGBTQ+ community and women in the Catholic Church.

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On April 16, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner revealed Michelle Trachtenberg's cause of death: complications from diabetes mellitus. She died in New York City on February 26 — months after she underwent a liver transplant. She was 39.
Trachtenberg began her career as a child star with her breakout role in Harriet the Spy and later became a millennial pop culture favorite in the 2000s for her performances on the beloved series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, as well as in the cult comedy EuroTrip.

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Actor Nicky Katt died at his home in the Los Angeles area in early April. He was 54.
According to TMZ, the Boston Public star took his own life. Katt's landlord reportedly found his body in his bedroom on April 8, five days after the landlord visited the performer to discuss his delinquent rent. He died by hanging and did not leave a note.
Katt made his television debut in the early '80s. He later appeared in beloved films like Dazed and Confused, Boiler Room, Rules of Engagement, School of Rock and Sin City. He last appeared on a 2018 episode of "Casual."



(If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.)

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Dennis the Menace child star Jay North died on April 6 after "fighting cancer for a number of years," his longtime friend Laurie Jacobson announced on Facebook later that day. He was 73.
"As many of his fans know, he had a difficult journey in Hollywood and after… But he did not let it define his life. He had a heart as big as a mountain [and] loved his friends deeply," wrote Jacobson, who's married to Lassie actor Jon Provost.
"He is out of pain now. His suffering is over. At last he is at peace," she added.

North — who reportedly battled colorectal cancer — portrayed the titular trouble-prone suburban boy on the CBS sitcom "Dennis the Menace" from 1959 to 1963. He later launched the organization A Minor Consideration to advocate for legislation to protect other children working in the entertainment industry.

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Val Kilmer died of pneumonia on April 1, his daughter told The New York Times. He was 65.
The Top Gun and Batman Forever star was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. The actor's two-year battle with the disease took a visible toll on him, fueling public interest in his health throughout the last decade of his life.
He last appeared on screen in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, returning to the role of hotshot fighter pilot Iceman alongside Tom Cruise as Maverick in the sequel to the beloved 1986 film.

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Actor Richard Chamberlain died of complications from a stroke in Waimanalo, Hawaii, on March 29, a friend confirmed to People magazine the following day. The Dr. Kildare, Shōgun and The Thorn Birds star — whom The New York Times dubbed the "king of the miniseries" and the "Robert Redford of the living room" due to his wildly successful career in television in the late '80s — was 90.

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On March 26, Tucker Carlson took to X to release a lengthy statement announcing that his father — journalist, diplomat and lobbyist Richard "Dick" Carlson — had died two days earlier at his home in Boca Grande, Florida, following a six-week illness. He was 84.
"He refused all painkillers to the end and left this world with dignity and clarity, holding the hands of his children with his dogs at his feet," the conservative media personality wrote.
He went on to detail his father's incredible life — from a Boston orphanage to anchoring ABC News and later working for the Reagan administration.
"He had an outlaw spirit tempered by decency," Tucker wrote, later adding, "He was the toughest human being anyone in his family ever knew, and also the kindest and most loyal. RIP."

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On March 21, George Foreman's family took to his Instagram account to announce that the two-time heavyweight boxing champion and grill entrepreneur had died earlier that day. He was 76.
He "peacefully departed … surrounded by loved ones," they wrote. They did not share a cause of death.

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Legendary film icon and two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in February. He was 95.
An autopsy report stated that the Unforgiven star likely died on February 18 from heart disease and complications from advanced Alzheimer's disease.

His wife, Betsy Arakawa, died days before him after suffering from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a respiratory disease linked to rodent feces. She was 64.
Both bodies — as well as the corpse of one of the couple's three dogs — were found inside the home they shared on February 26. 

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David Hasselhoff's ex-wife and Baywatch costar, Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff, was found dead in her Los Angeles home on March 5. The 61-year-old died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
(If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.)

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On January 16, acclaimed surrealist filmmaker and artist David Lynch, best known for unique works like Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet, died in Los Angeles from cardiac arrest brought on by complications from COPD after years of chain smoking. He was 78.

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Roberta Flack, the award-winning singer known for hits like "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," died on February 24 from cardiac arrest on her way to a Manhattan hospital. She was 88. The vocalist, long-praised for her unique, velvety voice, was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in late 2022. 

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Jeff Baena was an American screenwriter and director known for films like Life After Beth and Joshy. He tragically took his own life at age 47 on January 3. The scribe had been separated from his wife, Aubrey Plaza of Parks and Recreation fame, since September 2024. 
(If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.)