Actors We Lost In 2022

Iconic singer and actor Meat Loaf, who won a Grammy for his hit ballad "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" and appeared in films like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Fight Club," died in January 2022. His manager confirmed the news to The New York Times, but did not immediately reveal the cause of death. He was 74.

Born Marvin Lee Aday, the Dallas native adopted his childhood nickname as a stage name early in his career. He got his big break when he auditioned for the off-Broadway musical "More Than You Deserve" in the early '70s: He won a role and formed a lifelong partnership with writer Jim Steinman, who would go on to pen Meat Loaf's debut album, 1977's "Bat Out of Hell." Todd Rundgren produced the record, and everyone from the New York Philharmonic to members of the E Street Band contributed. It was an unlikely hit that critics begrudgingly praised, though Meat Loaf would struggle to replicate its success in the years that followed. After a few flops, he dropped 1993's "Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell," which included his Grammy-winning single.

In terms of films, Meat Loaf is best known for playing Eddie the delivery boy in 1975's "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and former bodybuilder Bob Paulson in 1999's "Fight Club." Other notable credits include 1992's "Wayne's World," 2001's "The 51st State," and "Ghost Wars," on which he recurred between 2017 and 2018.

French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who was best known to international audiences for his turn as the young Hannibal Lecter, died due to a skiing accident in January 2022, as reported by Deadline. He was 37.

Ulliel began his career on French television in the late 1990s, and was landing film roles by the early 2000s. His big break arrived in 2004, when he landed the part of Manech in "A Very Long Engagement." This wartime drama reunited "Amelie" director Jean-Pierre Jeunet with the star of that film, Audrey Tautou. Ulliel won his first Cesar award for this movie (his second came in 2017, when he scooped up Best Actor for "It's Only the End of the World") and would make the transition to Hollywood soon after, playing the titular killer in the 2007 prequel film "Hannibal Rising." It was his biggest role at the time of his death, though that likely won't remain the case.

Sadly, Ulliel died a few months before Marvel's "Moon Knight" dropped, in which he plays Anton Mogart (aka Midnight Man), a black market antiquities dealer who goes head to head with the titular hero.

Hollywood legend Sidney Poitier, widely seen as the first Black movie star, died in January 2022 at the age of 94, as confirmed by The New York Times. "Through his groundbreaking roles and singular talent, Sidney Poitier epitomized dignity and grace, revealing the power of movies to bring us closer together," Barack Obama said in a tweet. Denzel Washington called him "a gentle man [who] opened doors for all of us that had been closed for years" in an interview with People.

Poitier earned his first credited film role, Dr. Luther Brooks, in 1950's "No Way Out." He actively avoided demeaning roles, and by the end of the decade, his persistence began paying off. He became the first Black man to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1959, blowing critics away with his turn as an escaped prisoner in "The Defiant Ones." He missed out on that occasion, but would make history a few years later when he became the first Black man to win that award for his performance as an itinerant laborer 1963's "Lilies of the Field."

How did Poitier feel about opening so many doors for Black actors and artists everywhere? "It's been an enormous responsibility," he once told Oprah Winfrey. "And I accepted it, and I lived in a way that showed how I respected that responsibility. I had to."

Up-and-coming actor Moses J. Moseley, who appeared on shows like "Watchmen," "Queen of the South," and "The Walking Dead" was found dead in Georgia in January 2022. "Moses was a very talented person, with a bright light around him," his agent, Tabatha Minchew, told The Hollywood Reporter. "He will be missed deeply by his friends, family and fans. Always a ball of happy energy around him." The cause of death was not immediately revealed by authorities, who launched an investigation to determine the circumstances. He was 31.

A native of South Carolina, Moseley studied at Georgia State University before settling down in Atlanta. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he worked as a model before transitioning into acting. He got his foot in the door with a number of uncredited appearances in locally-shot films like "Trouble with the Curve," "The Internship," and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." Moseley began playing Michonne's pet walker Mike on "The Walking Dead" in 2012, and would appear on the hit AMC show half a dozen times over the next few years.

Moseley went on to play Tic Toc on USA Network's "Queen of the South," an usher on HBO's critically-acclaimed "Watchmen" series, and Kadeem on Irv Gotti's "Tales." His most notable feature film was 2017's "Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies," in which he played Robbie. Moseley had several projects in various stages of production when he was reported missing by his family, including "Hank" and "Cadillac Respect."

Academy Award winner William Hurt — who owned the '80s with hits like "The Big Chill" and "Gorky Park" — died in March 2022. The actor was 71 years old, and as his son, Will, said in a statement (via Variety), Hurt "died peacefully, among family, of natural causes." Hurt was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in 2018, although it hasn't been publicly confirmed this was the cause of his death. What is known is that Hurt left behind a major cinematic legacy.

Born in Washington, D.C., Hurt studied theology at Tufts before finding his true passion: acting. After attending Juilliard, he decided to tread the boards, snagging a Tony nod in 1985 for his performance in "Hurlyburly." But it was on the screen that Hurt would truly shine. The actor made his debut film performance with "Altered States," a psychedelic trip that mixes mushrooms, religious imagery, and body horror. He followed that up with the sexy noir flick "Body Heat" — the film that propelled him to stardom.

After that, Hurt won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of gay prisoner Luis Molina in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." It was just the first of four times he'd be up for an Oscar, with the Academy nominating his work for "Children of a Lesser God," "Broadcast News," and "A History of Violence." Fans will also recognize Hurt from projects like "The Village" and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence." Of course, the man left his stamp on the superhero genre by playing Thaddeus Ross, the MCU antagonist who pursued Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff while making things incredibly difficult for Steve Rogers with the Sokovia Accords.

The embodiment of the always-working character actor, Nehemiah Persoff amassed more than 200 screen credits over the course of a career that spanned nearly 60 years. An original member of the innovative and focused Actors Studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Persoff, a Jerusalem native, appeared in 11 Broadway productions in the '40s and '50s before moving into film and TV. There, his roles were usually small but memorable, including a U-Boat captain cursed to repeat his most vicious decision for eternity on "The Twilight Zone," an exiled despot on an episode of "Gilligan's Island," a cab driver in "On the Waterfront," a gangster in "Some Like it Hot," a rabbi on HBO's "Angels in America," and the kindly Papa Mousekewitz in the 1986 animated hit "An American Tail." He is particularly well remembered for playing Rebbe Mendel, the titular heroine's beloved father, in "Yentl."

According to Persoff's son, the actor died in a care facility in San Luis Obispo on April 5, 2022. He was 102.

With parallel, long-lasting careers on the stage and on television, Liz Sheridan was a highly recognizable face on both Broadway and sitcoms for years. 

Sheridan starred in seven major productions on the Great White Way in the 1970s, including "Ballroom," "Happy End," "Best Friend," and "Something's Afoot." In the early 1980s Sheridan took her talents to the small screen, racking up numerous guest appearances on hit shows of the era, including "Archie Bunker's Place," "St. Elsewhere," "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," "Riptide," and "One Day at a Time" before landing her first signature role — nosy, obnoxious, adversarial neighbor lady Raquel Ochmonek on NBC's mega-hit alien sitcom "ALF." Sheridan appeared on multiple episodes of the series between 1986 and 1990, the same year she was cast in another recurring role on an NBC comedy, for which she's probably best known: Helen Seinfeld, the meddling, Florida-residing mother of Jerry Seinfeld on "Seinfeld."

Sheridan's representative reported to Deadline on April 15, 2022 that the actor had died in her sleep sometime during the previous evening. Sheridan was 93.

Mike Hagerty was among the most prolific and recognizable character actors of the last 40 years, popping up in more than 100 movies and TV shows, usually playing a gruff, blue-collar, working man type with a big mustache and pronounced Chicagoan accent. 

Among Hagerty's most familiar roles, there's Davey, a cable TV station employee in "Wayne's World," apartment building superintendent Mr. Treeger on "Friends" (who becomes Joey's ballroom dance partner), best friend of the main character in the original "Overboard," an auto shop owner on "Lucky Louie," and a main cast role on "The George Carlin Show." Hagerty recently played a captain on multiple episodes of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," appeared on "Shameless," and played farmer Ed Miller on "Somebody Somewhere."

On her Instagram page, "Somebody Somewhere" star Bridget Everett reported that Hagerty had died on May 5, 2022, in Los Angeles. A cause of death was not revealed to media outlets for the actor, who was 67 years old.

One of the finest and most recognizable actors of his era, Ray Liotta alternated between rugged leading man roles and quirky character actor parts, usually playing tough guys, criminals, and intimidating figures, as well as frequently sending up his public image as a man of simmering, unhinged intensity. 

Liotta was a prolific actor, appearing in more than 100 movies and TV shows since the 1980s. He broke out in a big way with back-to-back roles as the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1989's "Field of Dreams" and real-life Mafia big shot Henry Hill in "Goodfellas," Martin Scorsese's classic crime epic that would earn six Oscar nominations. That film solidified Liotta's specialty of playing men just barely on one side of the law or the other, similar to his performances in "Something Wild," "Cop Land," "Unlawful Entry," "Narc," "Observe and Report," "Shades of Blues," and "The Many Saints of Newark."

According to Deadline, Liotta was in the Dominican Republic in May 2022 filming the movie "Dangerous Waters," when he died in his sleep. Liotta was 67.

A chameleonic and frequently employed character actor, Joe Turkel racked up an whopping 142 screen credits over a career that spanned from the late 1940s to the 1990s. Of course, he's most closely associated with the films of Stanley Kubrick, who cast the actor in three films. Turkel starred in "The Killing" and "Paths of Glory," but he's most famous for his appearance in "The Shining," where he played the creepy ghost hotel bartender Lloyd.

Turkel was virtually retired by the 1980s, when Ridley Scott hired him to play replicant maker Dr. Eldon Tyrell in the 1982 sci-fi classic "Blade Runner," a role he reprised in a 1997 "Blade Runner" video game. Other than those major film works, Turkel was a constant presence over decades of television, with one-shot roles on dozens of memorable shows, including "Miami Vice," "Fantasy Island," "Kojak," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Bonanza," "Ironside," and "Combat!"

According to Variety, Turkel died in a Santa Monica, California, hospital on June 27, 2022. He was 94.

An icon of early television and mid-20th century sitcoms, Larry Storch was a familiar face and presence to multiple generations of Americans who grew up watching reruns of classic shows on cable and in syndication. Storch's most famous gig was that of the bumbling, ineffectual Corporal Randolph Agarn on "F Troop," the two-season wacky comedy about U.S. soldiers stationed at the Wild West army outpost Fort Courage in the late 19th century, spending their time cooking up schemes and slacking off. (A broadly comic actor, Storch also played Agarn's cousins from around the world.) 

In addition to "F Troop," Storch put in appearances on "I Dream of Jeannie," "The Love Boat," "Love, American Style," "Car 54, Where Are You?," and later moved into voice work, playing characters on "Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, "The Brady Kids," and "Garfield and Friends." On July 8, 2022, Storch's officially authorized Facebook page reported that the actor had died in his sleep, sometime during the previous night. Storch was 99 years old.

Perhaps the quintessential supporting actor specializing in playing elegant but intimidating mobsters, Tony Sirico found the role of his life as Peter Paul Gualtieri, aka Paulie Walnuts, on HBO's universally acclaimed modern-day Mafia saga "The Sopranos." 

An explosive, funny, and loyal lieutenant to mob boss Tony Soprano, Sirico provided comic relief as Paulie Walnuts, offering up terse one-liners and amusing mispronunciations. "The Sopranos" is the most famous of Sirico's good work playing bad men — he played similar characters in "Goodfellas," "Bullets Over Broadway," and "Mighty Aphrodite." His very first film work came as an extra in the organized crime drama "Crazy Joe," with Sirico having turned to playing fictional law-breakers in order to escape a real life of actual crime. According to Variety, Sirico was arrested 28 times as a kid and young adult, and he had connections to the Colombo crime family. In recent years, and after "The Sopranos" ended, Sirico traded on his image and tendency to be typecast, playing tough characters on comedy shows, like a gangster on "American Dad" and a gruff dog on "Family Guy."

Sirico's manager confirmed to media outlets that the actor died on Friday, July 8, 2022. He was 79.

Paul Sorvino worked in character roles and on the New York stage throughout the 1960s and 1970s, earning a Tony nomination for his work in "That Championship Season" on Broadway in 1973. Following a starring role on the short-lived "The Streets of San Francisco" spinoff "Bert D'Angelo/Superstar," Sorvino reprised his role as Phil Romano in the film version of "That Championship Season," his mainstream screen acting breakthrough. 

In 1990, Sorvino would land back-to-back roles in major movies, which would amount to his signature work — gangster Lips Manlis in the big-screen adaptation of "Dick Tracy," and as the paternal, calculating mob boss Paulie Cicero in the crime saga "Goodfellas." In addition to criminals, Sorvino played a lot of authority figures, like Sergeant Phil Cerreta early in the run of "Law and Order," Juliet's father in Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet," Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone's "Nixon," and Frank Costello in "Godfather of Harlem."

Sadly, Sorvino died on July 25, 2022. According to the actor's publicist (via CNN), natural causes were to blame. Sorvino was 83.

Mary Alice began her professional acting career in the early 1970s, co-starring in "No Place to Be Somebody" on Broadway and showing up on TV shows over the next decade and change, including "Good Times," "Sanford and Son," and "The Women of Brewster Place." She began portraying Lettie Bostic on the mega-popular college sitcom "A Different World" in 1988, just after winning a Tony Award for her work in the original Broadway stage production of August Wilson's "Fences." 

On the screen, Alice stayed with NBC, landing the role of Marguerite Peck on the short-lived but critically acclaimed Civil Rights-era drama "I'll Fly Away," for which she'd take home an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Alice showed up in dozens more movies and TV series, but she'll likely always be best known for being part of the ensemble of the extended universe of "The Matrix." After the death of original actress Gloria Foster, Alice played the wise and mysterious figure known as the Oracle in "The Matrix Revolutions" and in two spinoff games.

On July 28, 2022, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department told National Public Radio that Mary Alice had died at her home of natural causes. The actor was 85 years old.

Before she was an actor, England-born but Australia-raised Olivia Newton-John was primarily known as a singer. In the early 1970s, her smooth and twangy sound made her one of the  few non-Americans to find success in country music. She ascended the pop and adult contemporary charts too, with hits like "I Honestly Love You," and "Have You Never Been Mellow." And the movie business made good use of Newton-John's talents. She starred as Sandy in the blockbuster film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Grease," as well as in the original movie musical "Xanadu," with both films serving as major vehicles for Newton-John. 

After scoring the #1 hit of 1982 with her song "Physical," Newton-John focused more on acting. She reunited with her "Grease" co-star John Travolta for the supernatural rom-com "Two of a Kind," then turned in various cameos in the '90s and beyond, popping up on "Snowy River," "Ned and Stacey," and "Murphy Brown." Her most recent role was co-starring as herself with "Crocodile Dundee" standout Paul Hogan in "The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee," reflecting on the Australian cultural craze she helped start.

Newton-John's husband, John Easterling, announced on Facebook (via The Hollywood Reporter) that the actor had died at home in Southern California on August 8, 2022. A source told TMZ that the cause of death was breast cancer, a disease with which Newton-John coped for three decades. She was 73.

With more than 140 screen credits, Henry Silva was a highly recognizable and quintessential character actor. In possession of sharp features and an intense stare, Silva specialized in playing villains. In one of the his most high-profile roles, he portrayed communist operative Chunjin in "The Manchurian Candidate," where he engaged in a martial arts-based combat scene with costar Frank Sinatra. 

He also teamed up with Sinatra as thief-team member Roger Corneal in the original "Ocean's Eleven" and in "Sergeants 3," and he played the title character, a Mafia hitman on a revenge killing spree, in the '60s crime classic "Johnny Cool." Silva remained highly active in the '70s and beyond, popping up in hits like "Sharky's Machine" with Burt Reynolds, Steven Seagal's "Above the Law" (as bad guy Zagon), and "Dick Tracy" as Influence. Silva retired around the millennium after his final roles, in indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" and a cameo as a boxing spectator in 2001's "Ocean's 11" remake.

On September 16, 2022, Deana Martin, daughter of Silva's '60s co-star Dean Martin, confirmed the death of the actor. Silva was 95, per Variety.

Born in Trinidad, Austin Stoker was only 11 years old when he started working as a professional actor, according to Deadline. Wasting no time, he came to the United States at age 20,  served in the military, and broke into screen acting in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Stoker appeared on a wide variety of shows of the era, including "Kojak," "The Mod Squad," "Love, American Style," and "S.W.A.T.," while also delivering memorable performances in popular action movies like "Airport 1975" and "Battle for the Planet of the Apes." 

Stoker ultimately landed his two signature roles virtually back-to-back: Lt. Ethan Bishop in the crime classic "Assault on Precinct 13," and Virgil Harvey in the monumental TV adaptation of Alex Haley's historical saga, "Roots." Though Stoker took on fewer roles in the last two decades of his life, he kept acting until the end: His final role arrived in the 2022 dark comedy "Give Till It Hurts."

Stoker died of renal failure on October 7, 2022, the day he turned 92 years old.

An intense, classically trained actor, Robbie Coltrane was born Anthony Robert McMillan in Scotland, according to Deadline. He adopted the stage name Robbie Coltrane after jazz legend John Coltrane, and he honed his chops in theatrical productions and in bit parts in movies like "Flash Gordon" and "Mona Lisa" and on cult TV shows like "The Young Ones" and "Blackadder the Third." Eventually, he would break through as one of the U.K.'s most recognizable and in-demand character actors, starring in "Nuns on the Run," "The Pope Must Diet," and Kenneth Branagh's Oscar-nominated "Henry V." 

In 1993, Coltrane found his first signature role, as tormented criminal psychologist Fitz on the crime drama "Cracker," which would win the actor three BAFTA TV Awards for best actor. Concurrently, Coltrane appeared in three '90s James Bond movies as ex-KGB agent Valentin Zukovsky, and then he took on the role as kindly Hogwarts groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid in the blockbuster "Harry Potter" series — and he was reportedly source author J.K. Rowling's first choice.

Coltrane's agent reported that the actor had been suffering from health problems for two years and that he died on October 14, 2022 at a hospital in Larbert, Scotland. Coltrane was 72.

The familiar face, Southern accent, and self-deprecating, larger-than-life persona of Leslie Jordan were all recognized and appreciated by millions who didn't necessarily know his name. 

In the 1990s and beyond, Jordan frequently appeared in short stints and supporting roles on numerous TV comedies, almost always playing a heightened, scene-stealing version of himself. Jordan temporarily took over shows like "Hearts Afire," "Wings," "Arli$$," "Ally McBeal," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "Monk," "Reba," "Ugly Betty," "Desperate Housewives," "Raising Hope," and "Life in Pieces." A sitcom pro, Jordan was a regular on "The Cool Kids" and "Call Me Kat" and injected comedy into multiple installments of Ryan Murphy's "American Horror Story." Of course, he's probably best known for his signature role, that of socialite Beverly Leslie, both rival and friend to Karen Walker on "Will and Grace." During the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, Leslie became an online sensation for his sweet, silly, and revelatory Instagram videos, which sent his follower count into the multi-millions, per TMZ.

According to TMZ, Jordan was driving through Hollywood on the morning of October 24, 2022, when he experienced a sudden medical issue that caused him to crash his car into a building. Jordan was pronounced dead at the age of 67.

Kevin Conroy was a member of an ultra-exclusive club — one of a handful of people to portray Batman on-screen. And to many, he was the best actor to ever portray the Dark Knight, seeing as how his deep-voiced, understated, and unique take on the character would help create a whole new line of moody, introspective, highly dramatic projects about Gotham's tormented crimefighter. 

Conroy first voiced Batman and Bruce Wayne in Fox's acclaimed "Batman: The Animated Series" in the 1990s. The cartoon led to the big-screen "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" and a slew of direct-to-video projects. Conroy would further voice Batman in several related video game titles, as cameos in animated shows like "Teen Titans Go!" and "Scooby Doo and Guess Who?," as well portray him in a live-action gig, such as on a 2019 episode of "Batwoman."

Conroy had more than 100 credits to his name, most of them voice acting, after launching his career in the 1980s with stints on "Another World," "Dynasty," and in the "Kennedy" miniseries as Senator Ted Kennedy. According to Variety, Conroy died on November 10, 2022, shortly after receiving a cancer diagnosis. The actor was 66.

An Oscar winner and powerful vocalist, Irene Cara was best known for her work in the 1980s. Born in 1959 in the Bronx, Cara was involved in show business at a young age, finding work on the "Sesame Street"-style show "The Electric Company." She then broke out in a big way with "Fame," the 30th highest-grossing film of 1980. In this musical drama, Cara played the uber-talented Coco Hernandez, who also sang the movie's title song.

While she didn't star in "Flashdance," the 1983 dance film would earn Cara her Oscar (and two Grammys and a Golden Globe), as she both co-wrote and sang the Academy Award-winning song "Flashdance... What a Feeling." Cara would also go on to star in projects like cop thriller "City Heart," which starred the legendary Clint Eastwood. Cara died at her Florida home in November 2022, with publicist Judith Moose saying (via NPR), "She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films." Cara was 63.

Al Strobel didn't have the biggest filmography. He only appeared in nine projects, such as the TV movie "Child of Darkness, Child of Light" and the Kate Hudson indie drama "Ricochet River." However, Strobel did play one character that fans of '90s TV, David Lynch, and damn good coffee will remember forever. The one-armed actor is without a doubt best known for his work in the world of "Twin Peaks," portraying two characters sharing the same body — one-armed salesman Philip Gerard and the otherworldly entity known as Mike.

Strobel played in multiple episodes across the original CBS "Twin Peaks" series before reprising the role of Mike in both the film "Fire Walk With Me" and the show's Showtime revival, "Twin Peaks: The Return." His commanding presence and delivery of the "fire walk with me" poem made him absolutely unforgettable, even among all the other strange and larger-than-life figures surrounding him.

After Strobel died in Eugene, Oregon, in November 2022 at the age of 83 (via Variety), his "Twin Peaks" co-star Kyle MacLachlan wrote on Instagram, "One of the nicest guys ever. I'm so sad to hear this news. He brought a gravitas and intensity to the world of 'Twin Peaks' that was essential." Co-creator of the show, Mike Frost, also shared on Twitter, "Oh no... Dear Al... as those of you lucky enough to have met him over the years, what a warm and wonderful gentleman he was."

Tragically, Kirstie Alley died at the age of 71 in December 2022. The cause of death was cancer, which — as her children, True and Lilillie Parker — explained in a statement, had only been recently discovered. However, Alley leaves behind quite the impressive filmography.

She starred alongside John Travolta in the "Look Who's Talking" series, where they played the parents of a baby whose inner monologue sounds a lot like the voice of Bruce Willis. "Star Trek" fans remember her fondly as Spock's protege, Saavik, in 1982's "Wrath of Khan," and '90s kids who loved Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movies will definitely recall her from "It Takes Two." She was the lead of her own sitcom, NBC's "Veronica's Closet," and if you're a fan of reality TV, Alley made her mark there as well, dancing her way across "The Masked Singer" and "Dancing With the Stars."

Of course, the role that Alley will be best remembered for is Rebecca Howe in "Cheers." She joined the sitcom after the departure of Shelley Long, who famously portrayed Diane Chambers. Those were some big shoes to fill, and Alley did an incredible job, even winning an Emmy for her performance in the show. (She picked up her second Emmy for the drama "David's Mother.") "Cheers" co-star Ted Danson mourned her loss, telling the Los Angeles Times, "I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh. I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her." John Travolta also mourned her passing, posting on Instagram, "Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I've ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again."

Bob McGrath racked up more than two dozen acting credits in a career that spanned the decades. In almost all of these projects, he played the same character: Sweet, helpful, kind-hearted city-dweller Bob Johnson of "Sesame Street" and its various straight-to-video specials and feature film spin-offs, like "Follow That Bird" and "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland." Bob was an original "Sesame Street" character, and McGrath portrayed the sunny guy in more than 400 episodes. His performance frequently showed off his fantastic singing. Indeed, McGrath had prominent vocal parts on many "Sesame Street" standards, including "Sing a Song" and "People in Your Neighborhood," according to CNN.

On December 4, 2022, the actor's family took to McGrath's Facebook page to announce the "Sesame Street" icon's death. McGrath was 90 years old.