11 Notable Celebrities We Lost in 2020

One of the most bittersweet things about the changing of the year is looking back and reflecting on the celebrities who left us in 2020. There are simply way too many to mention, but we’ve chosen 11 important figures who made a huge impact in the entertainment industry, sports, or pop culture.

1. Sean Connery, 90

The legendary Scottish actor is best known for his role as James Bond in seven movies from 1962 through 1983, but hey, don’t forget that he also played Indiana Jones’s dad! And he was in Highlander! The winner of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Untouchables, Connery received all sorts of accolades through the year, including being knighted by the Queen in 2000 and being voted “Greatest Living Scot” in 2004. He died on October 31 of pneumonia and heart failure. Fun fact: He turned down the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy because he couldn’t make sense of the plot.

2. Paul “Bear” Vasquez, 57

His name might not immediately ring a bell, but if the expression “full-on double rainbow whoooooooo” is something you’re familiar with, then there you go! You know exactly who we’re talking about. Back in January 2010, Vasquez began filming an unobstructed view of a double-rainbow in his backyard in the Yosemite Valley and began freaking out about it in the happiest, emotional way possible. After the video was featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, it went viral and Vasquez became something of a celebrity. He died on May 9 after several days of a fever and breathing difficulties.

3. Roy Horn, 75

Half of the entertainment duo Siegfried & Roy, the stage acts featuring magic and big cats were huge in Las Vegas for more than two decades. Unfortunately, their performances came to an abrupt end in 2003 when Horn was attacked and nearly killed by his white tiger Montecore. Although he ended up with a severed spine, he managed to walk and talk again. He died on May 8 from complications related to Covid-19.

4. Chadwick Boseman, 43

After starring as Black Panther in several movies, Boseman appeared to be the next huge, breakthrough actor. But sadly, he had privately been battling illness since 2016 when he was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. It eventually advanced to stage IV, but he continued to work even as he underwent surgery and chemotherapy. His final movie, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, was released posthumously in December.