Here we go folks with another roll call of those we have lost, or they have moved on in recent months.

With Eric Carman passing away during March.

In no particular order, here we go.

Firstly one we missed from last year, Sir Michael Gambon. English – Irish actor with a prolific career spanning 6 decades.

Gambon’s vast career covered radio, stage , TV and the big screen. Possibly best known for his role as Albus Dumblemore in the Harry Potter movies. One of his finest works though would have to be the TV show The Singing Detective, outstanding!

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Hands up those who made a point of a weekly catch up with the Home Guard at Walmington-On-Sea in Dad’s Army?

Sad to report that Ian Lavender, the last surviving member of the main cast of the hugely popular comedy passed away.

Lavender played the mummy’s boy and junior bank clerk Private Pike.

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He was just a junior actor when he got the role and found himself acting alongside some of the people that he idolized as a youngster.

Lavender enjoyed a successful career after Dad’s Army appearing in many TV shows including Yes, Minister and EastEnders and many, many stage productions.

Ian Lavender had some health issues over recent years and reportedly died of a heart attack.

David Gapes from The Shoestring Pirates – Adrian Blackburn

Early January we lost David Soul, follower’s of this page who were around in the 70’s surely will remember Soul in playing Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in the hugely popular cop show Starsky and Hutch alongside Paul Michael Glaser.

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When the TV show was going David Soul also turned to singing and had two big hits with Silver Lady and Don’t Give Up On Us Baby.

When S & H finished David Soul moved to Britain to further his acting career.

An actor with a vast catalogue of work was Joss Ackland with a huge range of stage, TV and radio productions to his credits over several decades.

Actor Tom Wilkinson left us at the end of last year. Wilkinson was an OSCAR nominated actor best known for his perforamnces in The Full Monty, Shakespeare In Love and Michael Clayton.

British writer and director David Leland died Dec. 24 at age 82. Leland built his career across film, television, and theatre.

Leland being a close friend of Beatle George Harrison directed several of the videos for The Travelling Wilbury’s and helped launch the career of future James Bond star Peirce Brosnan.

Speaking of music a personality not so prominent here but a big name in the UK that we lost was Annie Nightingale. Annie was a DJ on BBC’s Radio One for several years and was a big name in promoting new music, right up to her final days.

Richard Franklin, best known for his role as Captain Mike Yates on Doctor Who, died on Dec. 25 at age 87. The actor made his first appearance in the role in 1971 opposite Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

American actress Casey Kramer left us just before Christmas. Casey Kramer featured in many TV productions including Falcon Crest, Criminal Minds, Dexter, The Young and the Restless, Baskets, and Transparent. She recently appeared in the films Darkness in Tenement 45, Blood of Drago, and Mississippi Requiem.

Kamar de los Reyes left us late last year. He appeared regularly in films and television, from Jennifer Lopez’s 2000 thriller The Cell to stints on Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Blue Bloods, The Mentalist, Pretty Little Liars, and Sleepy Hollow. Most recently Kamar de los Reyes appeared in The Rookie and had a recurring role on the CW’s All American.

Richard Romanus, best known for starring as loan shark Michael Longo in the 1973 crime film Mean Streets, died on Dec. 23 at 80. Romanus had a long and prolific TV career appearing in Mission: Impossible, Kojak, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, Hawaii Five-O, MacGyver, The A-Team, Chicago Hope, NYPD Blue, and, most recently and notably, The Sopranos.

Founding member of formerly The Dixie Chicks, now The Chicks, Laura Lynch lost her life in a traffic crash in December. Lynch parted ways with the band she helped create some years ago.

Colin Burgess, original drummer for AC/DC passed away late last year.

Another name in music that we lost recently and at a relatively young age was Aaron Spears, the Grammy-nominated drummer known for his work with Usher, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande. Spears also worked Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Chaka Khan, and the Backstreet Boys.

Who remembers the hit TV show Night Court? One of the stars of the show, bailiff Bull Shannon played by Richard Moll passed away late last year.

Aside from Night Court, Richard Moll had an extensive career appearing in shows like Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy and The Rockford Files to name just a few.

Just recently we lost actor and former pro footballer Carl Weathers. Weathers was best known for his work playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies opposite Silvester Stallone. He also starred in projects like Predator, Happy Gilmore, Arrested Development, and the Star Wars spinoff show The Mandalorian.

Also gone to that great gig in the sky is American singer songwriter Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk, otherwise known as Melanie Safka or just, Melanie.

Melanie is widely known for the 1971–72 global hit “Brand New Key”; her 1970 version of the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”; her composition “What Have They Done to My Song Ma”. Melanie’s international breakthrough hit in 1970 “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)”, which was inspired by her experience of performing at the 1969 Woodstock music festival.

While still writing, performing and recording up til recently Melanie never recaptured those glory days of the late 60’s early70’s.

US Country music star Toby Keith passed away in early February aged 62

End of February beginning of March has not been a good period with these names going. British actor John Savident. Like many of his peers, Savident has been in all manner of stage, TV and big screen productions over many years.

He’s most probably remembered as Fred Elliott, I say Fred Elliott the butcher on Coronation Street from 1994 to 2006.

Who watched the original and best version of The Office?

Sad news in that Ewan MacIntosh who played Keith “Big Keith” Bishop from Accounts in the mock-u-mentary.

While MacIntosh was best known for playing the deadpan Scotch egg-loving accountant Keith in all three seasons of The Office, the Welsh star also had roles in Miranda and Little Britain.

No cause of death has been published.

Remember the British foodie show “Hairy Bikers”? Well said to report that one of the stars Dave Myers aged 60. Myers was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago.

On the NZ scene we lost David Gapes ONZM during March. Probably not a household name as such but it was Gapes with a few others who stood up and fought the system back in the heady days of the 1960’s to bring us private radio in the form of Radio Hauraki. A beacon of light in the dark grey days of mediocrity.

David Gapes and his team fought long and hard against a Government that was hell bent on stopping them but the Hauraki Pirates / The Good Guys succeeded and broadcast rock n roll to an eager audience from the good ship Tiri then the Tiri2 from international waters outside the Hauraki Gulf.

A great story, check out the book The Shoestring Pirates

Stars We Have Lost In Recent Months – R I P

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