2026 has already delivered some heartbreaking losses, as Hollywood says goodbye to a number of beloved actors whose performances helped shape film and television history. Here are twenty of them—names you might not realize you still quote, still reference, still remember.
Chuck Norris, born Carlos Ray Norris, died March 19, 2026, at 86 years old. Through the ’80s and ’90s, his films like Missing in Action and Delta Force helped turn him into a Hollywood superstar. Then he shifted into TV with Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001), which aired for nine seasons before it ended. Of course, when he stopped starring in films, the internet turned to Chuck Norris jokes—painting him as a force of nature.
Valerie Perrine died March 23, 2026, in Beverly Hills at 82, after living with Parkinson’s disease since 2015. Most superhero fans will remember her as Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor’s assistant in Superman (1978), but her resume goes beyond that—Lenny (1974) opposite Dustin Hoffman, and that Oscar nomination for her role as Honey Bruce. Meanwhile, Carrie Anne Fleming, known to some for Supernatural or iZombie, passed away on February 26, 2026, at 51 after battling cancer. Her IMDb page lists roles in Stargate SG-1, Smallville, The L Word, Good Luck Chuck, 14 Hours, and Heart of Clay.
Matt Clark was most famous for his Western roles, including parts in In the Heat of the Night and The Outlaw Josey Wales. He died March 15, 2026, in Austin, Texas, aged 89, after surgery complications. Clark also showed up in TV roles for Bonanza, Magnum, P.I., and Walker, Texas Ranger. James Van Der Beek, who played Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek from 1998 to 2002, died February 11. He’d learned he had stage 3 colon cancer in 2023. It’s one of those stories that makes you stare at the calendar a second longer.
Nicholas Brendon died March 20, 2026, at 54. Buffy the Vampire Slayer mourned him, and he’ll always be Xander Harris—the one cracking jokes while everyone else saved the world. James Tolkan died at 94 in Saranac Lake, New York. He shouted orders at Tom Cruise in Top Gun and terrorized teens as Strickland in Back to the Future. Actress Lea Thompson offered a tribute, saying, “I loved this man.”
Sidney Kibrick—2 January—will be Woim to anyone who grew up on Our Gang shorts. He was spotted by an agent while out watching a movie, attended reunions over the years, and stayed close to his co-stars. He died in Los Angeles at 97. T.K. Carter—9 January—started in comedy at a young age, even doing stand-up at 12. Horror fans will remember him as Nauls in The Thing; others might know him from Punky Brewster. He died at 69. Charles C. Stevenson Jr.—19 January—managed to get 115 screen credits across Dynasty, L.A. Law, Cheers, The West Wing, Will & Grace, Six Feet Under, and Scandal. Stevenson died of natural causes on January 19 in Camarillo, California, at 95.
You can feel how these names ripple out into different memories—some sharp, some quiet. Floyd Vivino, “Uncle Floyd,” died January 22, 2026, at 74, after years of health problems. In 1974 he launched The Uncle Floyd Show, mixing piano, puppets, sketches, and that checkered jacket with the clashing porkpie hat. Yvonne Glee Lime Fedderson died January 23, 2026, at 90. John Stamos wrote on Instagram, “Her smile, her warmth, and her fierce unwavering dedication to protecting children left an imprint on my heart and on the world. Through Childhelp, she helped save and protect millions of children who never would have had a voice without her. That is not just a legacy, it is a living miracle.” Alexis Ortega, the Mexican voice actor who brought Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to life for Latin American audiences, died at 38. Ortega also voiced Tadashi Hamada in Big Hero 6, worked on the Spanish dubs of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, and Cars 3, and even stepped in for MrBeast content adapted for Spanish-speaking viewers.
Catherine O’Hara died January 30, 2026, at her Los Angeles home after a pulmonary embolism following a battle with rectal cancer. From Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice to Kate McCallister in Home Alone, from Christopher Guest mockumentaries with Eugene Levy to Moira Rose’s wigs on Schitt’s Creek, she was a legend. Demond Wilson died January 30, 2026, at 79 at his home in Palm Springs, California, from complications related to prostate cancer. Blake Garrett died February 8, 2026, at 33. His mom, Carol, confirmed to TMZ that he passed away just days after undergoing emergency surgery in Oklahoma. Tom Noonan died February 14, 2026, aged 74, and Robert Duvall died February 15, 2026, at 95.
Eric Dane died February 19, 2026, at 53 from ALS complications, best known for Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy. Robert Carradine died February 23, 2026, at 71—most known as Lewis Skolnick in 1984’s Revenge of the Nerds and the father on Lizzie McGuire; Hilary Duff wrote, “My heart aches for him.” Annabel Schofield died February 28, 2026, aged 62. Alexis—sorry, actually, that’s already earlier—so we’ll stick with Annabel Schofield: she began as a model, switched to acting in 1988, appeared on Dallas, and then produced films like The Brothers Grimm.
Although most people remember him as a comedian, Alex Duong appeared on Blue Bloods as Sonny Le, a gang leader. In early 2025, doctors found a tumor pressing his optic nerve. Septic shock claimed his life on March 28, 2026, aged 42. Dee Freeman died April 2, 2026, aged 66, after lung cancer, and Michael Patrick died April 7 at 35. Mel Schilling died March 24 at 54 after colon cancer. Jennifer Runyon Corman died March 6 at 65. Cass Lacelle died Feb. 11 at 34. Shelly Desai died Feb. 10 at 90. And with all of it, it’s hard not to picture the small, ordinary moments around the news—like the soft click of a phone speaker in an office hallway before someone says another name out loud. Not all of these stories end the same way, but they all leave a kind of echo behind.