(Editor’s Note: Every year, Steven H Silver compiles the obituaries of those we have lost.  This information is published in various locales and is incorporated into the honor roll displayed during the Hugo Awards presentations.

It’s an unenviable task, though a necessary one.  Our community and our genres are built upon a foundation of people and it is fitting that we remember them.)

2017

Actor George Kosana (b.1935) died on January 2. Best known for his appearance as the sheriff in The Night of the Living Dead, he also appeared in Psychotic State, Incest Death Squad, and the forthcoming My Uncle John Is a Zombie!

Croatian author Ivo Brešan (b.1936) died on January 3. Brešan wrote the novel Astaroth and the screenplay for the Yugoslav flim The Secret of Nicola Tesla.

Fan Peter Weston (b.1944) died on January 5. Weston chaired Seacon ’79 (Worldcon). He was a Guest of Honor at Noreascon 4. Weston was nominated for the Hugo Award four times between 1965 and 1971 for his fanzines Zenith, Zenith Speculation, Speculation, and went on to manufacture the rockets used in the Hugo Award trophies. He has also nominated for the Hugo for his memoirs, With Stars in My Eyes. His later fanhistory fanzine, Prolapse (renamed Relapse) won the Nova Award. He has been fighting cancer for the past two years.

Indian actor Om Puri (b.1950) died on January 6. He appeared in The Ghost and the Dakrness, Wolf, Time Traveller, OMG: Oh My God!, Code 46, and provided voicework for Krishna Aur Kans.

Actress Francine York (b.1938) died on January 6. York appeared in Curse of the Swamp Creature, Astro Zombies: M3 – Cloned, and Space Probe Taurus. She recently filmed an episode of the forthcoming Star Trek: Progeny. She also appeared in episodes of Lois & Clark, Jason of Star Command, and Batman.

Australian fan artist John Packer died the weekend of January 7. Packer was a two-time Ditmar Award winner in 1983 and 1984. In 1983, he also won the Golden Caterpillar Award for services to “triffids” and for redefining the word “vermin.” His cartoon appeared in numerous Australian fanzines. In 1984, he stood for DUFF.

Artist James C. Christiansen (b.1942) died on January 8. Christiansen’s work has appeared on the covers of many magazines and books and he published the art book Voyage of the Basset. Christianson has won three Chesley Awards, for the cover the Leading Edge #41 and for two of his sculptures. His Court of the Fairies received a Silver Award for Book from the Spectrum Awards and he was a two-time World Fantasy Award nominee.

Stuntwoman Paula Dell (b.1926) died on January 9. She performed stunts in Son of Flubber, Camelot, The Poseidon Adventure, Blazing Saddles, Death Race 2000, Logan’s Run, and Once Bitten, among others. Her last film was Mystery Men.

British fan Vicky Stock (b.1979) died on January 11. Stock chaired her university science fiction society and was active in the Birmingham SF Group and worked on concoms for Fantasycon.

Author William Peter Blatty (b.1928) died on January 12. Blatty is best known as the author of The Exorcist, which he adapted into a screenplay for the film, and which won Blatty an Oscar. He later wrote the screenplay and directed The Exorcist III. He became a full-time writer after he won $10,000 on You Bet Your Life. Blatty has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the The Horror Writers Association and three Saturn Awards.

Actor Dick Gautier (b.1931) died on January 13. Gautier may be best known as Hymie the Robot on Get Smart in the 1960s. He also portrayed Robin Hood on Mel Brooks’ short lived series When Things Were Rotten. He appeared in numerous other shows including Wonder Woman, Man from Atlantis, and voice work for several animated series. In addition, Gautier was a cartoonist and wrote the books The Creative Cartoonist and Drawing and Cartooning 1,001 Figures in Action.

Author Mark Fisher (b.1968) committed suicide on January 14. Fisher, who also wrote under the name K-Punk mostly wrote about music and politics, however his book The Weird and the Eerie is an exploration of fantastic authors and films.

Dutch fan Annemarie van Ewijck (b.1943) died on January 15. van Ewijck ran handicapped services at ConFiction, the 1990 Worldcon, and was a driving force behind NCSF, a Dutch SF club, for which she edited the clubzine, Holland SF. In addition, van Ewijck was an active translator under the names Annemarie van Ewijck and Annemarie Kindt. She was nominated for the King Kong Award for horror translation in 1977.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan (b.1934) died on January 16. Cernan was known as the last man on the moon since he was the Commander of Apollo 17 and re-entered the Lunar Module after Harrison Schmitt. His first flight into space was on Gemini 9A, in which he flew with Tom Stafford. He also flew on Apollo 10, piloting the Lunar Module to within 15.6 km of the lunar surface. Cernan retired from NASA and the Navy in 1976 and published his memoirs, Last Man on the Moon in 1999. His book was turned into a documentary in 2016. With Cernan’s death 6 of the 12 Moonwalkers have died.

Author Hilary Bailey (b.1936) died on January 17. Bailey was best known in genre circles as Michael Moorcock’s first wife. She edited four volume son New Worlds Quarterly and was Moorcock’s uncredited co-author on The Black Corridor. Among her own work, Cassandra: Princess of Troy and Frankenstein’s Bride is of genre interest.

Artist Pascal Garray (b.1965) died on January 17. Garray worked for Studio Peyo and illustrated The Smurfs and Benoît Brisefer, working on seventeen volumes of the former and seven of the latter.

Actor Miguel Ferrer (b.1955) died on January 19. Ferrer appeared in the films Iron Man 3, The Stand, Robocop, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. He also appeared in numerous television shows and provided voicework for animation, including the voice of Shan-yu in Mulan.

British fan Mike Dickinson (b.1948) died on January 20. Dickinson was active in the Leeds Science Fiction group beginning in 1974. He published the fanzines Adsum, Sirius, Bar Trek, Vector, and Spaghetti Junction. Dickinson served as the co-chair of Yorcon, the 1979 Eastercon and was the toastmaster at Yorcon II in 1981.

Fan Sarah Prince died the week of January 20. Prince has been active in fandom since 1976 and ran for TAFF in 1999. She was an artist and a potter. She served on the Program staff for Noreascon 3 and published fanzines. In 1993, she co-chaired ditto 6 with Bob Webber.

Columbus book dealer Larry Smith (b.1946) died on January 20. Smith co-chaired the Columbus in 1976 Worldcon bid as well as chairing Marcons III-XII. He served as a vice-chair for Chicon IV in 1982. He also co-chaired OVFF in 1998 and World Fantasy Con in 2010. In the early 1990s, he purchased Dick Spelman’s book business and, along with his wife, Sally Kobee, has sold books and most conventions in the Midwest and East Coast. He has managed the dealer’s room at numerous Worldcons and other conventions.

Artist John Watkiss (b.1961) died on January 20 from cancer. Watkiss worked as an animator for Dreamworks, Disney, and other studios, working on art for films including Tarzan, Fantasia 2000, Æon Flux, and Treasure Planet. His work in comics included illustrations for Sandman, Deadman, Starman, and Conan.

Author Emma Tennant (b.1937) died on January 21. She wrote Two Women of London, a gender swapped version of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Many of her books were similarly revisionist version of classics, but she also wrote fantasies and children’s books. She also wrote the television episode Frankenstein’s Baby about the first pregnant man. She occasionally used the pseudonym Catherine Aydy.

Japanese businessman Masaya Nakamura (b.1925) died on January 22. Nakamura was the founder of Namco, the company that created such video game classics as Pac-Man, Galaxian, and Dig Dug.

Nigerian author Buchi Emecheta (b.1944) died on January 25. Most of Emecheta’s novels as semi-autobiographical, but her Kehinde is a fantasy novel and The Rape of Shavi is a post-apocalyptic novel.

Artist and writer Jack Mendelsohn (b.1926) died on January 25 from lung cancer. Mendelsohn worked for various comic companies over his career and worked on the television shows Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The New Adventures of He-Man, The Fantastic Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, and Shazam!. Mendelsohn was nominated for the Hugo for his screenplay for Yellow Submarine.

Actor Mike Connors (b.1925) died on January 26. Best known for playing Mannix, he provided the voice of Chipacles in the Disney TV show Hercules, appeared in the television show One Step Beyond, and the films Day the World Ended and Voodoo Woman.

Actress Barbara Hale (b.1922) died on January 26. Hale is best known for portraying Della Street on Perry Mason, but she also made some genre appearances. She appeared in two episodes of Science Fiction Theatre and the film The Giant Spider Invasion. Hale portrayed the title character’s mother in an episode of The Greatest American Hero, a role she recreated from life as she was series star William Katt’s mother.

Actor Bob Holiday (b.1932) died on January 27. Holiday’s career didn’t last long, debuting on Broadway in 1959 in Fiorello!. His only other role was creating the dual role of Superman and Clark Kent in the 1966 musical It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman, which only ran for three months, although he continued to play the role in touring companies until he retired and entered the building industry.

Actor John Hurt (b.1940) died on January 27. Hurt’s first role in 1962 was on an episode of Z Cars. He went on to appear in Alien as Kane, having the alien burst from his chest, a role he spoofed in Mel Brooks’ comedy Spaceballs. He provided the voice of Hazel in the original animated Watership Down and the voice of General Woundwort in the more recent television version. Other voice work includes Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings and the Horned King in The Black Cauldron. In 1984, he played Winston in a version of 1984 filmed in London during the time the novel was set. More recently, he played Oxley in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ollivander in the Harry Potter series, and the War Doctor in the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who.

Comic artist Dan Spiegle (b.1920) died on January 28. Spiegel worked for Disney for many years and drew the comic version of Space Family Robinson. Some of his other titles included Korak, Son of Tarzan. He also drew Scooby Doo for Hanna Barbera and Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient for Dark Horse.

Author William Melvin Kelley (b.1937) died on February 1. Kelley used fantasy to explore the racial divide in the United States in novels such as A Different Drummer, Dancers on the Shore, and A Drop of Patience. He taught at Sarah Lawrence College.

Agent Jonathan Matson (b.c.1950) died on February 1. Matson became an agent in 1991, taking over his father, Harold Matson’s agency. Prior that that, he worked for Harvard University Press. At various times, the Matson agency represented Ray Bradbury, Henry Kuttner, and C.L. Moore. More recently, Jonathan Matson represented Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts.

Mathematician Raymond Smullyan (b.1919) died on February 6. Smullyan often used elemetns of the fantastic in descriptions of mathematical and logical problems. His logical dilemma “Knights and Knaves” was referenced in the film Labyrinth.

Actor Richard Hatch (b.1945) died on February 7. Hatch was best known in genre circles for creating the role of Apollo on Battlestar Galactica in 1978 and in subsequent projects. He also appeared in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica as Tom Zarek. Other genre projects included the Star Trek fan film Prelude to Axanar, Starship II: Rendezvous with Ramses, and Prisoners of the Lost Universe. Hatch also co-wrote the Battlestar Galactica novel Armageddon. He was nominated for a Golden Glove for his portrayal of Apollo in 1979.

Swedish fan Lars Erik Helin (b.1937) died on February 7. Helin was the second member of the Gothenburg Club Cosmos, joining in 1954. He co-published the early Swedish fanzines Cosmos News and Cosmos Bulletin.

Bulgarian critic Tzvetan Todorov (b.1939) died on February 7. Todorov published the influential study Introduction à la littrature fantastique (The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to Literary Genre), which helped define what is meant by
“fantastic” in literature in 1973.

Author Edward Bryant (b.1945) died on February 10. Bryant broke into publishing with the short story “They Come Only in Dreams.” He was mostly known for his short fiction and won back to back Nebula Awards for “Stone” and “giAnts” in 1978 and 1979. He collaborated with Harlan Ellison on the novel Phoenix Without Ashes, based on Ellison’s script for the television show The Starlost. He served as Toastmaster for the 39th World Science Fiction convention, Denvention II, in 1981. Bryant has been in ill health for some time, although he did make a surprise appearance at the 2016 Worldcon in Kansas City.

Artist Gino D’Achille (b.1935) died on February 10. D’Achille created the covers for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom novels in the 1970s and painted covers for books by DAW, Ballantine, Grafton, and Del Rey. Prior to working in genre art, D’Achille trained as an architect.

Author Dahlov Ipcar (b.1917) died on February 10. Ipcar wrote three fantasy novels, The Warlock of Night, The Queen of Spells, and A Dark Horn Blowing. The first of them included cover and interior art by Ipcar.

Producer Howard Leeds (b.1919) died on February 11. Leeds created the television show Small Wonder, about a robot that looked like a little girl. He also wrote four episodes of The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and five episodes of Bewitched. Non-genre shows he created include Silver Spoons and The Facts of Life.

Manga writer Jiro Taniguchi (b.1947) died on February 11. Taniguchi wrote the time travel manga A Distnat Neigborhood. He illustrated Garouden and Kamigami no itadaki. In 2011, he was knighted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

British bookseller Dave Holmes (b.1956) died on February 13. Holmes sold books at the Andromeda Bookshop in Birmingham and the Magic Labyrinth in Leicester.

Chicago fan Mark Irwin (b.1938) died on February 13. Irwin published the fanzine Zingaro, which was distributed with FAPA, although Irwin wasn’t a member. He could frequently be found at Chicago area literary and gaming conventions.

Swedish author Börje Crona (b.1932) died on February 14. In addition to writing humorous science fiction novels, Crona was active translating foreign science fiction and fantasy works in to Swedish for publication.

Game designer Loren Wiseman (b.1951) died on February 15. Wiseman helped co-found Game Designer’ Workshop in 1973 and published his first wargame, Eagles, the following year. He worked on the design of Traveller with Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, and Marc Miller and was the editor of the Journal of the Traveller’s Aid Society for 24 issues. Wiseman was the line editor for Twilight: 2000 and when GDW closed in 1995, he moved over to Steve Jackson Games, where he produced GURPS Traveller. Wiseman was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in 2003.

Artist Alan Aldridge (b.1943) died on February 17. Aldridge served as the art director for Penguin Books UK in the 1968s before creating his own graphic design firm. He did a lot of work on album covers and was also tied to the Beatles. Some of his science fiction art includes the Penguin cover for Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! as well as Steve Boyett’s The Gnole. His son is fashion photographer Miles Aldridge and his daughters are models Lily, Saffron, and Ruby Aldridge.

Author Nancy Willard (b.1936) died on February 19. Willard was the author of Things Invisible to See, a baseball novel in the vein of Shoeless Joe. She also wrote the Anatole trilogy and A Visit to Blake’s Inn.

Author Susan Casper (b.1947) died on February 24 following a long illness. Casper was the wife of editor Gardner Dozois for 47 years as well as an author and editor in her own right. Her first published story was “Spring-Fingered Jack,” which appeared in the Charles L. Grant anthology Fears in 1983. Over the next twenty years, she continued to publish short fiction, usually alone, but occasionally in collaboration with her husband (and once with Jack Dann). Although many of her stories were dark or horror fiction, she could also write humor and had works appear in Esther Friesner’s “Chicks in Chainmail” series. With Dozois and Dann, Casper also edited the anthology Ripper! (a.k.a. Jack the Ripper) in 1988.

Baltimore fan Martin Deutsch died suddenly on February 24. Deutsch has served for the past several years as the president of BSFS, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Earlier this year, Deutsch and his wife, Shirley Avery, were the Guests of Honor at the 50th Balticon. After BSFS fell apart in 1971, Deutsch helped relaunch the organization.

Actor Neil Fingleton (b.1981) died on February 24. Fingleton portrayed the Fisher King on Doctor Who, Mag the Mighty on Game of Thrones and also appeared in 47 Ronin, X-Men: First Class, and Jupiter Ascending. He was a stuntman and did motion capture for Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Standing 7’7½”, Fingleton is believed to have been the tallest man in the UK.

Actor Bill Paxton (b.1955) died on February 25 from complications from surgery. Paxton portrayed Fred Haise in Apollo 13 and starred in the television series Big Love. Some of his more memorable genre roles include Private Hudson in Aliens, Chet Donnelly in Weird Science, and, more recently, John Garrett on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Bookseller John R. Newell (b.1935) died on February 25. Newell, who went by the name Klon, ran Klon’s Interplanetary Books, a mail order book business from Athens, Georgia. In addition, he sold rare and collectible SF/fantasy/horror at science fiction and fantasy conventions throughout the south and the east.

Fan Thomas Endrey (b.1940) died in mid-February. Endrey wrote for many fanzines and served as an assistant editor on Science Fiction Chronicle, under original publisher/editor, Andrew Porter. Endrey was born in Hungary and moved to the United States in 1956. He was a frequent attendee of Boskone and other Northeastern conventions.

Author Paula Fox (b.1923) died on March 1. Fox wroter and ullustrated childrens novels, including Dear Prosper, The Little Swineherd, and Amzat and his Brothers. She is Courteney Love’s grandmother.

Actor Richard Karron (b.1934) died on March 1. Karron appeared in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. He provided voicework for an episodes of the television version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Pinky and the Brain. His live action television included episodes of the series Weird Science and Third Rock from the Sun.

Artist Dave Hunt (b.1942) died on March 5. Hunt worked for Marvel on comics including Captain America, Fantatsic Four, and Spider-Man before moving to DC in 1978, where he worked on Wonder Woman and Superboy. Beginning in 1991, he worked for Disney.

Artist Jay Lynch (b.1945) died on March 5. Lynch was active in the unground comics scene of the 1960s, creating the Otto series with Frank Cammuso.

Actress Ann Beach (b.1938) died on March 9. Beach appeared in several episodes of Jackanory as the Storyteller in 1969. She also appeared in episodes of Tales of the Unexpected and The Man Outside and the film The City of the Dead.

Actor John Forgeham (b.1941) died on March 10. He appeared in episodes of The Avengers and Cold Lazarus as well as in the films Star Wars, The Stone Tape, and Sheena.

Actor Tony Haygarth (b.1945) died on March 10. Haygarth provided the voice for Mr. Tweedy in Chicken Run and appeared in Space Precinct, The Bride, The omega Factor, and Kinvig.

Producer Jack H. Harris (b.1918) died on March 14. Harris produced the 1958 film The Blob as well as its 1972 sequel Beware! The Blob and its 1988 remake. Other films he produced included Dinosaurus!, Dark Star, and Eyes of Laura Marsh. He had uncredited cameos in many of the films he produced.

Artist Mervyn Williamson (b.1944) died on March 15. Active in the underground comics scene in the 1960s, he provided the illustrations for Arthur C. Clarke’s short story “When the Twerms Came.”

Director Robert Day (b.1922) died on March 17. Day directed several films and television episodes, many of genre interest including First Man into Space, The Adventures of Robin Hood (Richard Greene series), The Avengers (Steed/Peel), She, and The Invaders, among others. He wrote and directed two Tarzan films and directed several more.

Actor Lawrence Montaigne (b.1931) died on March 17. Montaigne portrayed a Romulan and a Vulcan in episodes of Star Trek, including “Amok Time.” Other genre appearances included the television shows The Time Tunnel, Batman, The Invaders, and The Outer Limits. He also appeared in Escape to Witch Mountain and The Power.

Actor Tony Russel (b.1925) died on March 18. He starred as Mike Halstead in the film The War of the Planets and its sequel, Wild, Wild Planet.

Comic book artist Bernie Wrightson (b.1948) died on March 18 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He began working as an illustrator for the Baltimore Sun in 1966 and the following year decided to go into comics after meeting Frank Frazetta. In 1968, he began doing freelance work for DC Comics. In 1971, Wrightson co-created Swamp Thing with Len Wein. He drew illustrations for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and more recently did the production design for the Reavers in the film Serenity.

Fan Robert Neagle (b.1955) suffered a fatal heart attack on March 22. Neagle was the chair of DeepSouthCon 37 in 1999 and won the 2001 Rebel Award. From 1985 to 2005, he chaired the Crescent City Con. Throughout his time in fandom, Neagle was involved with the New Orleans Science fiction and Fantasy Festival, VulCon, Gulf Coast Con, and others. He was the first Fan Guest of Honor at CONtraflow and returned the following year as their toastmaster.

Actress Lola Albright (b.1924) died on March 23. Albright appeared in the Tales of Tomorrow episode “The Miraculous Serum,” a two-part The Incredible Hulk, and the film The Monolith Monsters.

Animator Joe Harris (b.1928) died on March 26. In the 1050s, Harris worked drawing cartoon advertising mascots. In the late 1950s, he created the Trix Rabbit and came up with its tagline, “Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids.” Harris also drew Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, Klondike Kat, and other characters for Total TeleVision, which was created to help promote General Mills cereals.

Canadian author Marie Jakober (b.1941) died on March 26. Jakober began publishing in 1976 with The Mind Gods and also wrote High Kamilan, The Black Chalice, and The Demon Left Behind. She won the Writers Guild of Alberta novel award for her non-genre historical novel Sandinista and won a Michael Shaara Award for her Civil War novel Only Call Us Faithful.

Actress Chelsea Brown (b.1947) died on March 27. Best known for her appearances on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, she was also a dancer in The Monkees’ Head and appeared in The Thing with Two Heads and The Return of Captain Invincible.

Austrian actress Christine Kaufman (b.1945) died on March 28. She appeared in an episode of Die ProSieben Märchenstunde and the films Goldflocken, World on a Wire, and Pankow ’95. Her best known films to Anglophonic viewers were Bagdad Café and Town Without Pity. From 1963-1968, she was married to Tony Curtis.

Fan and academician Michael Levy (b.1950) died on April 3. Levy published Young Adult Science Fiction as Bildungsroman and had articles in The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction and The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction, and wrote the entry on Octavia Butler for Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction. Levy had been battling cancer and underwent surgery on March 28 to stop bleeding and entered hospice shortly thereafter. Levy served as the editor of Extrapolation and as a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly. He was a frequent attendee at Madison area conventions as well as ICFA in Orlando.

German fan Waldemar Kumming (b.1924) died on April 5. Kumming was the editor of the Munich Roundup, a fanzine focused on European fandom. In 1984, he received the European SF Award for services to fandom. He won the Big Heart Award at Interaction in 2005. Some of his writing appearing in Vector, Heyne Science Fiction Magazin, and Das Science Fiction Jahr Ausgabe.

Comedian Don Rickles (b.1926) died on April 6. Best known as an insult comic, Rickles provided the voice for Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story movies. In the 60s and 70s, he made guest appearances on genre television shows like I Dream of Genie and The Addams Family. He also appeared in a 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone and in the film X; The Man with the X-Ray Eyes.

George McGinnis (b.1931) died on April 7. McGinnis was the last imagineer to be hired directly by Walt Disney. He was involved in many designs for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, including the design of Space Mountain, the Hoizons Pavilion at EPCOT, and various methods of transportation.

Author Patricia McKissack (b.1944) died on April 7. McKissack wrote the trilogy The Clone Codes in collaboration with John and Frederick McKissack. She also wrote the children’s book The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatual.

Actor Tim Pigott-Smith (b.1946) died on April 7. Primarily a stage actor, Pigott-Smith appeared in the Doctor Who serials “Claws of Axos” and “The Masque of Mandragora.” More recently, he was in the films V for Vendetta, Jupiter Ascending and Alice in Wonderland. He also played Thallo in the original Clash of the Titans.

Actor Peter Hansen (b.1921) died on April 9. Hansen appeared in the 1951 film When Worlds Collide and also appeared in episodes of the television shows The Outer Limits, Starman, Man into Space, and Science Fiction Theatre.

Artist Carolyn Kelly died on April 9. Kelly, who had been suffering from cancer, took over her father’s comic strip, Pogo, and edited several books collecting the comic strips.

Roy Millenson (b.1921) died on April 9. Millenson only published a single science fiction story, “183^rd Congress,” which appeared in Science Fiction Adventures in 1954. He worked to establish both the National Science Foundation and the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities. He worked for the Association of American Publishers promoting public libraries.

Washington state fan Karrie Dunning died on April 11. Dunning discovered fandom in the 1970s and was the Masquerade emcee for Norwescon in 1978. She was a member of the Vanguard group and was part of the unsuccessful bid to bring the Worldcon to Seattle in 1981.

German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (b.1935) died on April 12. Ballhaus worked on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Wild Wild West, and World on a Wire. He was nominated for the Oscar for Cinematography three times.

Comedian and actor Charlie Murphy (b.1959) died on April 12. Murphy received a Razzie Award for his screenplay for Norbit. He appeared in the films Night at the Museum, Vampire in Brooklyn, Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe, and Unearthed.

Illustrator Norio Shioyama (b.1940) was killed in a house fire along with his wife on April 12. Shioyama created Armored Trooper Votoms and was one of the founders of Oh! Production. He also worked on Yoroiden Samurai Troopers.

Author V. E. Mitchell (b.1954) died on April 13. Mitchell began publishing in 1987 with the short story “The Captain” in The Moscow Moffia Presents Rat Tales. She published three stories in a chapbook in 1990 and had a story published in Amazing Tales in 1992 and Rat Tales in 1994. Between 1990 and 1994, she wrote four Star Trek novels, beginning with Original Series novel Enemy Unseen and ending with the Starfleet Academy novel, Atlantis Station. Mitchell was married to art historian, editor, and author Jon Gustafson, who died on April 13, 2002.

Comics fan Martin Greim died on April 15. Greim was the publisher of The Comic Crusader in the 1970s and created the character Thunder Bunny. Greim also wrote a Donald Duck comic for Disney.

Playwright Trish Vradenburg (b.1946) died on April 17. Vradenburg wote Surviving Grace, about a drug which temporarily reverses the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. The play was originally called The Apple Doesn’t Fall… and was directed by Leonard Nimoy.

Anthologist Richard Dalby (b.1949) died on April 21. Dalby edoited numerous anthologies, including several in The Mammoth Book…series. His anthologies also included Dracula’s Brood, Shivers for Christmas, and Twelve Gothic Tales.

Author Patrick Meadows (b.1934) died on April 22. He published five short stories in Analog and F&SF in the 60s and 70s, bginning with “Countercommandment” and ending with “Supernovas and Chrysantehmums.”

Comic book creator Leo Baxendale (b.1930) died on April 23. His creations included The Three Bears, Minnie the Minx, Wham!, and Smash!. He was the second person inducted into the British Comic Awards Hall of Fame.

Actor Don Gordon (b.1926) died on April 24. Gordon appeared in episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Wild Wild West, Knight Rider, Airwolf, The Outer Limits, and other genre shows. His films included The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and The Exorcist III.

Critic Roger C. Schlobin (b.1944) died on April 25. Schlobin began publishing with the book A Research Guide to Science Fiction Studies, written in collaboration with L.W. Currey and Marshall B. Tymn. Schlobin and Tymn also co-edited the Year’s Scholarship in Science Fiction and Fantasy from 1976 through 1981.

Director Jonathan Demme (b.1944) died on April 26. Demme won the Oscar for his work on The Silence of the Lambs. His other genre credits include The Incredible Melting Man, Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk, and episodes of A Gifted Man and Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theeater.

Fan Elmer Sharp (b.1953) died on April 27. Sharp was active in Ohio and Michigan fandom, attending various conventions in those two states.

Gamer Rich Tucholka (b.1954) died on April 27. Tucholka was a game designer who created Fringeworthy and Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic. He also worked on The Morrow Project and Escape from Westerville State. In addition to being a game designer, Tucholka sold in dealers rooms at cons and often served as the night watchman for the rooms. He was a member of the Dorsai Irregulars.

Australian actress Clytie Jessop (b.1929) died in April. Jessop was an art gallery owner and director who appeared in the horror films The Innocents, Torture Garden, and Nightmare.

Author Grania Davis (b.1943) died on April 28. Davis was married to Avram Davidson for 3 years and served as his primary editor after his death. She co-authored several works with Davidson as well as writing works on her own.

Author Anne Dick (b.Anne Williams Rubinstein, 1927) died on April 28. Dick was the third wife of author Philip K. Dick and they were married from 1959 to 1965. Following Dick’s death, Anne began working on a memoir of her life with Dick, which was published in 2010 as The Search for Philip K. Dick.

Boston area fan Peter Olson (b.1949) died on April 28. Olson, who was known as Peabo, was active in NESFA and participated in the Ig Nobel Awards.

Actor James Burnett (b.1968) died on April 30. Burnett appeared in the film Transcendence and in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. He also appeared in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.

Actress Lorna Gray (b.Lorna Pound, 1917) died on April 30. Gray, who used the name Adrian Booth after 1945, appeared in the original Captain America serial from 1944, The Man They Could Not Hang, and Valley of the Zombies.

Collector Howard Frank (b.1941) died on May 1. Frank, along with his wife, Jane, was an avid fantasy art collector and co-authored two books with his wife based on their collection. When Jane was Guest of Honor at Chicon 7, she and Howard loaned pieced of their collection to the convention to exhibit. In 2013, he received First Fandom’s Sam Moskowitz Archive Award.

Author Ama Patterson (b.1961) died on May 1. Patterson attended Clarion West in 1999 and helped found the Beyon’ Dusa writing group and the Carl Brandon Society. She served as a judge for the 2001 Tiptree Award and her short fiction appeared in Dark Matter, Scarab, and 80! Memories and Reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin.

Stanley Weston (b.1933) died on May 1. Weston was a licensing agent working for Soupy Sales and Twiggy. In 1963, he created G.I. Joe, selling the rights to Hasbro. He went on to oversee the creation of the cartoon Thundercats and the related product lines. Wesotn was inducted into the inaugural class of the Licensing Industry Hall of Fame.

Actor Moray Watson (b.1928) died on May 2. Watson appeared in The Quatermass Experiment, the Doctor Who serial “Black Orchid,” and episodes of The Avengers and Star Cop. On Catweazle, he played Lord Collingford.

Israeli actress Daliah Lavi (b.1940) died on May 3. Lavi appeared in the David Niven Casino Royale, The Silencers, Some Girls Do, Those Fantastic Flying Fools, and The Return of Dr. Mabuse.

British fan Doreen Rogers (b.Doreen Parker, 1930) died on May 3. Rogers was an active member of BSFA in the 1960s and served as the editor of Vector. IN 1967, she received the Doc Weir Award and the following year was inducted into the Order of Saint Fantony. She was the Fan Guest of Honour at Novacon 2 in 1972.

Actress Quinn O’Hara (b.Alice Jones, 1941) died on May 5. O’Hara appeared in In the Year 2889, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, Cry of the Banshee, and episodes of UFO, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Fantasy Island.

Swiss author Yves Velan (b.1925) died on May 6. Banned from working for several years because of his membership in the Communist Party, Velan published his first novel in Paris in 1959. His 1977 dystopian novel Soft Goulag is of genre interest.

Japanese producer Yoshimitsu Banno (b.1931) died on May 7. Banno directed the 1971 film Godzilla vs. Hedorah and produced an animated The Wizard of Oz as well as the 2014 Godzilla. He was producing Godzilla: King of Monsters at the time of his death.

Hugh Thomas, Baron Thomas of Swynnerton (b.1931) died on May 7. Thomas served in the Foreign Office and was a professor of history and chairman of the European committee. He wrote two novels in the 50s and a third in 1988. His 1958 novel The Oxygen Age was science fiction. Apropos nothing, the motto on his coat of arms was “Late, but in time.”

Comic dealer Alan Austin died on May 9. Austin edited Fantasy Unlimited and Comics Unlimited in the 1970s and published the first UK price guide for comics. He ran the comic book shop Heroes in Islington.

Actor Michael Parks (b.1940) died on May 9. Parks appeared in Kill Bill, Planet Terror, From Dusk Til Dawn, Twin Peaks, Sorceress, and Nightmare Beach. In 2012, he won a Chainsaw Award for his appearance in Red State.

Actor Geoffrey Bayldon (b.1924) died on May 10. Bayldon appeared as Q in the David Niven Casino Royale and appeared in the Doctor Who serial “The Creature from the Pit.” He also appeared in Space: 1999, The Tomorrow People, and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. He is probably best known for starring in Catweazle.

Author Louis Charbonneau (b.1924) died on May 11. Charbonneau wrote No Place on Earth, Corpus Earthling, Down to Earth, and Embryo, among other novels. Two of his works, were turned into episodes of the television series The Other Limits.

Artist Edmund Bagwell (b.1966) died on May 14 from pancreatic cancer. Badwell drew the strip “Syd Syrene” and also illustrated for Black Axe, Judge Dredd, and Cradlegrave.

Actor Powers Boothe (b.1948) died on May 14. Boothe played Gideon Malick on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and appeared as a World Security Council member in The Avengers. He did voicework as Gorilla Grodd and Red Tornado for both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. In the Sin City franchise, he portrayed Senator Roark. Boothe won an Emmy for portraying cult leader Jim Jones in Guyana Tragedy.

Producer Brad Grey (b.1957) died on May 14. Grey served as a producer on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and What Planet Are You From?. He won two Emmy Awards for The Sopranos.

Miniature building Jacque Fresco (b.1916) died on May 18. Fresco built the miniatures used for Project Moonbase. His book Looking Forward, written with Ken Keyes, was an exploration of a 21^st century cybernetic society.

Fan Karen Davidson (b.Karen Giglio, 1958) died on May 19 following a battle with cancer. Davidson’s first husband was Jeffrey Edwards, with whom she had two sons. While working as a production manager for Paintball News, she met Steve Davidson, whom she eventually married. Davidson supported her husband when he decided to revive Amazing Stories and served as the President of Experimenter Publishin Company, which has published Amazing Stories since its revival.

Actress Dina Merrill (b.1923) died on May 22. Merrill appeared in episodes of Night Gallery, Tales of the Unexpected, and Batman and starred in Anna to the Infinite Power. She also appeared in the remake of Mighty Joe Young.

Actor Roger Moore (b.1927) died on May 23. Moore is best known for his roles as Simon Templar on The Saint and as the third actor to play James Bond in the primary James Bond series. He played Bond in the most science fictional episode of the series, Moonraker. He also appeared in an episode of Alias and in the animated film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. In 1980, he won a Saturn Award as Most Popular International Performer.

Author Denis Johnson (b.1949) died on May 24. Although mostly known as a mainstream author, Johnson’s second novel, Fiskadero is set in a a post-apocalyptic landscape.

Actor Jared Martin (b.1941) died on May 24. Martin played Harrison Blackwood in the 1980’s television series War of the Worlds and had a small role in the original Westworld. He appeared in the films Aenigma and Sea Serpent and can be seen in episodes of Fantasy Island, Knight Rider, and Tales of the Gold Monkey.

Belgian cartoonist Pierre Seron (b.1942) died on May 24. Seron began working in comics using the pseudonym Foal before launching his own series, Les Petits Hommes, running from 1967 until 2004.

Actress Molly Peters (b.1942) died on May 30. Peters is best remembered for her role in the James Bond film Thunderball, but she also appeared in The Dream World of Harrison Marks.

Actress Elena Verdugo (b.1925) died on May 30. Verdugo appeared in Thief of Damascus, The Frozen Ghost, Day of the Nightmare, and House of Frankenstein. She may be best known for her role as Consuelo Lopez on Marcus Welby, M.D.

Chicago fan Bob Beese (b.1943) died on June 2 from an aortic aneurysm. Beese was active in Illinois fandom, regularly attending Windycon and Chambanacon, and often helped concoms behind the scene. He negotiated several Windycon hotel contracts and on at least one occasion, the hotel representative pleaded with the con not to include Beese in the negotiations. He was married with author P.J. Beese.

Cartoonist Geoffrey Hayes (b.1947) died on June 2. Hayes began drawing comics as a child and made films and fanzines with his brother, Rory. He drew fror underground commix in the 60s before creating comics for kids, including Patrick in a Teddy Bear’s Picnic and the Benny and Penny series.

Actor Peter Sallis (b.1921) died on June 2. Sallis is best known in science fiction circles for providing the voice of Wallace in the Wallace and Gromit series of Aardman Studios. He also appeared as Penley in the Doctor Who serial “The Ice Warriors” opposite Patrick Troughton and in the films The Mouse on the Moon, a sequel to The Mouse That Roared, and Taste the Blood of Dracula. Sallis won an Annie Award for his voice work as Wallace in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Australian artist Arthur Mather (b.1925) died on June 4. Mather began drawing for the Captain Atom comic and moved on the publishing The Pawn.

Puppeteer Andy Cunningham (b.1950) died on June 5. Cunningham played the title characters on the television series Bodger and Badger and was the creator and writer for the show. Cunningham was uncredited for his work on the Ephont Mon puppet, Jabba’s head of security in Return of the Jedi.

Author Helen Dunmore (b.1952) died on June 5 from cancer. Dunmore was a poet and children’s author. Her novel Greatcoat is a ghost story. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her novel A Spell of Winter won the first Orange Prize.

Comic author James Vance (b.1953) died on June 5. Vance wrote numerous comics, including Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man, Lost Girls, and wrote scripts for The Crow, Aliens, and Predator. Following the death of his wife, Kate Worley, in 2004, he completed her strip Omaha the Cat Dancer.

Actor Adam West (b.William West Anderson, 1928) died on June 9. West is best known for his role as Bruce Wayne and Batman in the 1966 television series Batman and the associated theatrical film. He provided voicework for several animated works, including Meet the Robinsons, Kim Possible, and various versions of Batman. He also made cameo appearances on the 1990 series The Flash and Lois and Clark. He and Burt Ward shared TV Land Awards in 2004 and 2005 for the work on Batman.

Actress Glenn Headley (b.1955) died on June 8. Headley appeared in the films The X-Files, Making Mr. Right, Dick Tracy, The Purple Rose of Cairo, and episodes of Future Man. She may be best known for her role in Mr. Holland’s Opus.

Academic critic Morton N. Cohen (b.1921) died on June 12. Cohen was the author of Lewis Carroll: A Biography and Reflections in a Looking Glass, among other works which explored the writings of Lewis Carroll. He also wrote about H. Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling.

Jim Galton (b.1925) died on June 12. Galton served as President of Marvel Entertainment Group. Galton worked for Popular Library in the 1960s and briefly served as the publishing house’s President. from 1975 to 1991, he worked at Marvel, where he moved international licensing in-house and helped set up the Marvel Productions and Marvel Books divisions.

Actress Anita Pallenberg (b.1944) died on June 13. Pallenberg was romantically involved with both Brian Jones and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and active in Andy Warhol’s Factory. She appeared as the tyrant in Barbarella, in 4:44 Last Day on earth, and Candy.

Swedish author Ulf Stark (b.1944) died on June 13. Stark wrote numerous childrens books, many with fantastical elements, such as The Friends in Fantasy Forest and The Midsummer Tomte and the Little Rabbits.

Author John Dalmas (b.John Jones, 1926) died on June 15 following a brief bout of pneumonia. Dalmas first book, The Yngling was serialized in Analog in 1969 and published in book form in 1971. Dalmas began publishing regularly in the 1980s, producing the Fanglith books and The Regiment series, as well as many short stories. In addition to his career as an author Dalmas has worked for the US Forest Service.

Comedian Bill Dana (b.William Szathmary, 1924) died on June 15. Dana was known for his astronaut routine in the early 1960s in which he claimed to be an astronaut named José Jimenez who was ambivalent about the idea of going into space. The Jimenez character was also interviewed about his other careers, as a baseball player, a judo expert, a politician, an Olympic skier, and other jobs. Bill Dana appeared in the José Jimenez character as one of the actors who popped his head out the window watching Batman and Robin climb a building on Batman.

Academic William F. Touponce (b.1948) died on June 15. Touponce has taught English and American Studies at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) since 1985 and in 2007 co-founded the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at the university. He served as the center’s first director for four years and established The New Ray Bradbury Review, an annual scholarly journal.

Italian author Sergio Altieri (b.1952) died on June 16. Altieri translated George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire into Italian and wrote the novel that served as the basis for the film The Final Contract. He wrote an unproduced screenplay based on Wilson Tucker’s The Years of the Quiet Sun, which was published in 2007 along with Tucker’s original novel.

Actor Stephen Furst (b.1955) died on June 16. Furst may be best known as Kent “Flounder” Dorfman from Animal House, but he also starred as Dr. Elliot Axelrod in St. Elsewhere. His major genre credit was playing Vir Cotto on Babylon5 and various spin-off projects. He also voices Booster in the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command series and appeared in the post-apocalyptic film The Day After. His final film was Basilisk: The Serpent King in 2006.

Canadian fan Rodney Leighton (b.1948) died on June 18. Leighton published several different fanzines, including Life of Rodney, The Mail Carrier Brought It, Rodney’s Fanac, and more. Leighton was also a letterhack. Living in a small town in Nova Scotia, Leighton maintained his fanac and pubbing using copy machines and typewriters, without access to the internet. Chuck Conner eventually began scanning Leighton’s fanzines to OCR and resetting them for the internet in 2006.

Game designer and publisher Stewart Wieck (b.1968) died on June 22. Weick founded White Wolf Magazine in 1986 which led to the creation of White Wolf Game Studio and White Wolf Fiction. He was the designer of White Wolf’s Mage: The Ascension RPG.

Comics artist Tommy Castillo (b.19) died on June 23. Catillo drew for Batman, Legends of the Dark Knight, Tales from the Crypt, Green Arrow, Evil Ernie, and other comics. Castillo had suffered a long battle with diabetes.

Childrens author Michael Bond (b.1926) died on June 27. Bond created the popular Paddington Bear, featured in his books, animation, and more recently film.

Author William Sanders (b.1942) died on June 29. In addition to writing the novels Journey to Fusang, The Wild Blue and the Gray, and J., Sanders also published mystery novels and non-fiction, occasionally writing under the name Will Sundown. He won two Sidewise Awards for his stories “The Undiscovered” and “Empire.” From 2006 to 2008, Sanders was the publisher and editor of the on-line ‘zine Helix SF.

Journalist Barry Norman (b.1933) died on June 30. Norman occasionally turned his attention to writing novels, including the science fiction novel End Product. He also wrote scripts for the comic strip Flook.

Playwright and actor Heathcote Williams (b.1941) died on July 1. Williams wrote the play The Immoralist. He appeared as Prospero in a film version of The Tempest and also appeared in Slipstream, The Odyssey, Alice in Wonderland, Dinotopia and City of Embers.

Bookstore owner and LASFS member Dwain Kaiser (b.1947) was murdered on July 3 by a teenager who was living with Kaiser and his wife. Kaiser has been active in fandom since 1961 and founded the Las Vegas SF Society in 1963. He attended his first convention the following year. He opened Magic Door Used Books in 1967 and, although he closed it to return to college, he eventually opened three other stores called Magic Door, the most recent located in Pomona, CA. Kaiser edited several fanzines over his career, including Astron, Nimrod, Nonstop Fun Is Hard on the Heart, and No Time, No Energy & Not Much To Say. His wife, JoAnn, intends to keep the store open.

Joan Lee (b.Joan Boocock, 1924) died on July 4. Lee was the wife of comic book publisher Stan Lee. When Lee considered quitting Timely Comics (later called Marvel), his wife convinced him to stay, which led to the creation of The Fantastic Four).

Turkish comics artist Galip Tekin b.1958) died on July 6. His work appeared in Girgir, Firt, and Günaydin. In 1989, hr was named editor of Digil magazine. Tekin spent time in prison in 2008 after tring to hire a contract killer and in 2011, he compiled his work into the series Tuhaf Öyküler.

Comic artist Bob Lubbers (b.1922) died on July 8. He started out working for the Centaur and later Lubbers drew the Tarzan newspaper strip from 1950-1954 and also worked on L’il Abner. In the late 70s, he drew The Human Fly for Marvel. He received the Yellow Kid Award in 14998 and the Inkspot Awqard in 2002. An exhibit of his Tarzan strips was featured at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris in 2003.

Actor Nelsan Ellis (b.1977) died on July 8. Ellis is best known for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the television show True Blood. Ellis also worked as the director and writer of some short films and documentaries.

Canadian screenwriter, playwright, and director David Widdicombe (b.1962) died on July 8. Widdicombe won the Aurora Award in 2001 for his stage play Science Fiction. His comedy Santa Baby was named best film comedy at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival in 2006. Other works included the plays Dinosaur Dreams, Swamp Baby & Other Tales, and The River Lady. Widdicombe had suffered a series of small strokes and died from a large stroke.

Voice director Wally Burr (b.1924) died on July 9. Burr during voicework on animated films and television shows, including Dino-Riders, The Transformers, Spider-Man, Super Friends, and The Addams Family.

Italian actress Elsa Martinelli (b.1935) died on July 10. Martinelli appeared in the fantasy film Candy, the science fiction film The 10^th Victim, and the horror film Blood and Roses. She may have been best known to Anglophonic audiences for her appearance in Hatari!.

Comic artist Sam Glanzman (b.1924) died on July 12. Glanzman drew the Charlton Comics Hercules and Fightin’ Army. He created Fly-Man for Harvey Comics before leaving comics following his service in World War II. In the 1950s, he returned to comics, working on war comics for DC and doing work on Jonah Hex.

Actor Martin Landau (b.1928) died on July 15. Landau claims to have turned down the role of Spock in Star Trek, but later went on to play Commander John Koenig on Space: 1999. He appeared in two episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits and starred in the film Meteor. Landau played Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood.

Actor Trevor Baxter (b.1932) died on July 16. Baxter portrayed Professor Litefoot in the Doctor Who serial “The Talons of Weng-Chiang.” He has also portrayed Litefoot in the Big Finish spin-off production of Jago & Litefoot. Baxter appeared as Dr. Jennings in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Dr. Phillimore in The Dark Side of the Sun.

Producer George A. Romero (b.1940) died on July 16. Romero wrote and directed Night of the Living Dead in 1968 and made several sequels, including Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and others, defining the concept of zombies for a generation and making an indelible mark on horror films.

Author Jeff Carlson (b.1969) died on July 17. Carlson published the short story “Exit” in 1994″ and his next story, “Pressure,” appeared in 2001. His first novel, The Plague Year appeared in 2007 and opened a trilogy, including The Plague War and The Plague Zone. His other trilogy, beginning with The Frozen Sky appeared between 2012 and 2016. Carlson also published the standalone novel Interrupt and his fiction was collected in Long Eyes and Other Stories.

Los Angeles fan Lee Henderson died on July 17 when a car he was working under fell on him. Henderson was active in LASFS and worked on Loscon managing the gaming room.

Filker Jordin Kare (b.1956) died on July 19. In addition to his life in fandom, which included the release of the albums Fire in the Sky and Parody Violation, Kare worked as an aerospace engineer and was involved with the Clementine lunar mapping mission and developed the Sailbeam propulsion concept. Kare was a partner in Off Centaur Publications, the first publisher specializing in filk songbooks. Kare is survived by his wife, fan and con-runner Mary Kay Kare.

Actor John Heard (b.1945) died on July 21.

Heard was in C.H.U.D, Big, Cat People, and episodes of The Outer Limits and Battlestar Galactica, and Tales from the Darkside. He appeared in Sharkando and Sharknado 5. Heard may be best known as the father in the Home Alone films.

Actress Deborah Watling (b.1948) died on July 21. Watling played Victoria Wakefield on Doctor Who opposite Patrick Troughton from 1967-8. Prior to her time on the show, she had appeared in the television series H. G. Wells’ Invisible Man as Sally Wilson from 1958-9. Although she retired from film and television in 1981, she appeared in Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time in 1993, the video Downtime, and in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. For a long time, the only complete serial featuring Watling known to exist was Tomb of the Cybermen, but all the episodes of The Enemy of the World were recovered in 2013.

Comic executive Flo Steinberg (b.1939) died on July 23. Steinberg worked as the secretary for Marvel Comics and serving as the company’s fan liaison in the 1960s. She left Marvel in 1968 and went on to establish Big Apple Comix in a move that began to bring the underground comix industry to the mainstream.

British fan Alan Dorey (b.1958) died on July 24. Dorey was active in British fandom from the 1970s-80s. He co-edited several issues of Vector and was one of the eight founding editors of Interzone. He published a few stories in the fanzine Gross Encounters in 2012 under the names “Hank Frampson,” “G.K. Ballard,” and “Hyacinth Beckett.”

Stuntman Loren Janes (b.1931) died on July 24. Janes performed stunts in Spider-Man, The Abyss, Escape from New York, Back to the Future, and nearly 170 other films and television shows. In 1961, he co-founded the Stuntmen’s Association.

Indian academic Naiyer Masud (b.1936) died on July 24. In addition to writing his own short stories, some of which have been translated into English, Masud translated works by Franz Kafka into Urdu.

Actor Hywel Bennett (b.1944) died on July 25. Bennett’s first screen role was in the Doctor Who episode “The Death of Time.” He later appeared in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and episodes of The Twilight Zone, Robin Hood, and Neverwhere.

Voice actress Patti Deutsch (b.1945) died on July 26. Although she occasionally appeared on screen, most of her work was as a voice actress, providing foces for The Emperor’s New Groove, Happily N’Ever After, Tarzan, Monsters, Inc., and various other animated films and television shows. She got her start as a performer on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.

Actress June Foray (b.1917) died on July 26, less than two months before her 100th birthday. Foray appeared in very few films, but she provided voicework for hundreds of projects. Some of her most famous work includes the voices of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Witch Hazel, Nell Fenwick, Granny, Cindy Lou Who, and Chatty Cathy. In addition to her animation work, Foray’s voices could also be heard on numerous radio shows. Chuck Jones once stated, “June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc is the male June Foray.”

Brazilian Author Mustafa ibn Ali Kanso (b.1960) died on July 26. Ibn Ali Kanso was part of the third wave of Brazilian Science Fiction and served as director of the Literary Workshop André Carneiro. His stories were published in various magazines and collected in A Cor de Tempestade. His first novel, O Mesmo Sol que Rompe os Céus, was published in 2016.

Author H.A. Hargreaves (b.1928) died on July 27. Hargreaves began publishing short fiction in 1963 with “Tee Vee Man.” He published additional work occasionally through the 1970s and collected his first six stories in North by 2000 in 1976, publishing an expanded version of the collection in 2012.

Actor Ty Hardin (b.1930) died on August 3. Hardin was best known for appearing in Westerns, but made a handful of genre roles, including The Space Children, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, and Image of the Beast.

British actor Robert Hardy (b.1925) died on August 3. Hardy appeared with Peter Davison in All Creatures Great and Small and made a name for himself played the title role in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years. His genre work included portraying Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films and Grisworld in The 10^th Kingdom.

Author Jack Wodhams (b.1931) died on August 3. Wodhams began publishing SF in 1967 and mostly focused on short fiction, occasionally using the name Trudy Rose and sometimes in collaboration with Paul Collins. He published three novels, including The Authentic Touch, looking for Blücher, and Ryn.

Fan Gregg Calkins died on August 5. Calkins was active in APAs and fanzines since the 1950s and had letters published in Astounding, Fantastic Story, Science Fiction Review, and other magazines. He published the poem “Poetry Leaflet” in Fanfare in 1958. He edited the fanzine OOPSLA and his fanzine The Rambling Fap was part of FAPA.

Actor Haruo Nakajima (b.1929) died on August 7. Nakajima played Godzilla/Gojira in several films, beginning in 1954 with Godzilla and continuing until 1972’s Godzilla vs. Gigan. He also made appearances in The Hidden Fortress and Seven Samurai.

Actor Joe Bologna (b.1934) died on August 13. Bologna voiced Ben Turpin in the animated Superman and also did voice work for Ice Age: The Meltdown. He appeared in Transylvania 6-5000 and Alligator II: The Mutation. He was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay Lovers and Other Strangers.

Actor and writer Victor Pemberton (b.1931) died on August 13. Pemberton appeared in the Doctor Who serial “The Moonbase” opposite Patrick Troughton. He was later brought on board as a script editor during “The Tomb of the Cybermen.” Pemberton wrote several episodes and introduced the “sonic screwdriver” in his script for “Fury from the Deep,” which also wrote out Victoria, one of the Doctor’s companions. In addition to his work on Soctor Who, he also wrote Timeslipe, Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, and the UK adaptation Fraggle Rock.

Author Mark Merlis (b.1950) died on August 15. Merlis’s fantasy novel An Arrow’s Flight received the Lambda Award in 1999. His other novels were not of genre interest. He died from pneumonia associated with ALS.

Editor Diane Pearson (b.1931) died on August 15. Pearson started working for Jonathan Cape when she was 16 and went on to become a seniot editor at Transworld. She received the 1994 British Book Editor of the Year Award. Pearson published the first paperbacks of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

Artist Kim Poor (b.1952) died on August 16. Poor’s space art appeared in Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, Omni, and other astronomy-focused magazines. He was commissioned to produce art for the National Air & Space Museum. In 1987, he led a delegation of space artists who displayed their work in Moscow to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sputnik, which led to a series of joint workshops between US and Soviet space artists. Poor served as the first president of the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA), which he co-founded with Michael Carroll and Rick Sternbach. He ran Novaspace Galleries.

Actress Jennifer Daniel (b.1936) died on August 16. Most of Daniel’s career was on television, where she appeared in several adaptations of Shakespeare and historical dramas and episodes of One Step Beyond, Doomwatch, and Adam Adamant Lives!. She appeared in Hammer Films Kiss of the Vampire and The Reptile.

Actor Sonny Landham (b.1941) died on August 17. Landham appeared in Predator, Northstar, and 2090. He also had a minor role in Poltergeist. He started out in soft-core porn films.

Scientist Paul Doherty (b.1948) died on August 18. Doherty worked at San Francisco’s Exploratorium and collaborated with Pat Murphy on science column for F&SF. The two also collaborated on the 2016 short story “Cold Comfort,” published in the anthology Bridging Infinity.

Swedish fan Lars Helander (b.1939) died in mid-August. Helander published the fanzine Sfaira in English in the 1950s, making himself one of the first internationally known Swedish fans. After leaving fandom, he became a television producer

Author Brian W. Aldiss (b.1925) died on August 19, the day after his 92nd birthday. Aldiss was the author of Supertoys Last All Summer Long, the “Helliconia” trilogy, Non-Stop, and Frankenstein Unbound. He won the Hugo award for short fiction for his collection Hothouse and for related work for his non-fiction history of the field Trillion Year Spree, and updating of his own Billion Year Spree. His novella “The Saliva Tree” won the Nebula Award Aldiss was named SFWA Grand Master in 2000. Aldiss was twice honored as a Worldcon Guest of Honor, in London in 1965 and Brighton in 1979. he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2004. Aldiss received an OBE in 2005.

Actor Jerry Lewis (b.1926) died on August 20. Best known for teaming up with Dean Martin, Lewis appeared in The Nutter Professor, Visit to a Small Planet, and an episode of Batman among his genre roles. He has won the Hean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Scottish author Gordon Williams (b.1934) died on August 20. Williams began publishing in 1974 with The Bornless Kepper, written with Terry Venables and published as by P.B. Yuill. He went on to publish three novels in The Micronauts series.

Screenwriter Thomas Meehan (b.1929) died on August 21. Meehan got his start writing for That Was the Week That Was and went on to work for Mel Brooks, appearing in The Producers and writing When Things Were Rotten, To Be or Not to Be, and Spaceballs. He was also a producer on Spaceballs: The Animated Series.

Author Tim Poston (b.1945) died on August 22. Potson co-wrote the Living Labyrinth and Rock Star with Ian Stewart. A third book in the series is planned.

Actor Jay Thomas (b.1948) died on August 24. Thomas played the Easter Bunny in the Santa Clause movies and provided the voice of Ares in Disney’s Hercules animated series. He had a bit role in C.H.U.D. and played Remo DaVinci on Mork and Mindy.

Director Tobe Hooper (b.1943) died on August 26. Hooper directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, Salem’s Lot, and other horror films and episodes of horror television shows. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for Poltergeist and was inducted into the Phoenix International Horror & Sci Fi Film Festival Hall of Fame.

Actor Richard Anderson (b.1926) died on August 31. Anderson is best known for portraying Oscar Goldman on both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. Prior to that role, he played Chief Quinn in the film Forbidden Planet. He also made appearances on Knight Rider, The Wild Wild West, The Green Hornet, and Land of the Giants.

Actor and comedian Shelley Berman (b.1925) died on September 1. Berman is best known as a comedian, but he also appeared in episodes of The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, Pushing Daisies, Teen Witch, The Munsters Today, and Knight Rider.

Japanese actor Yoshio Tsuchiya (b.1950) died on September 3. Tsuchiya appeared in several Akira Kurusawa films, including Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and The Hidden Fortress. His specific genre work includes Invasion of Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Son of Godzilla, Battle in Outer Space, and many more.

Chicago fan Catarina Pryde died on September 5 from cancer. Pryde entered fandom through Fan Tech and was a frequent attendee of Chicago area conventions and could regularly be seen bidding at art auctions.

Chinese academic Haiyan Xu died on September 6 in a diving accident. Xu, who used the pen name denovo translated the works of Charles Stross, Robert Heinlein, Nancy Kress, and William Gibson into Chinese. She helt a Ph.D. in genetic science from Columbia University.

Author Jerry Pournelle (b.1933) died on September 8. Pournelle won the first John W. Campbell Award for Best New Author in 1973, the same year he published his first novel and was elected President of SFWA. In addition to his own novels, he co-wrote many novels with Larry Niven, often with other authors as well, including Inferno, The Mote in God’s Eye, and Lucifer’s Hammer. The novel Fallen Angels, which he co-wrote with Niven and Michael F. Flynn, received the Seiun and Prometheus Awards. Pournelle also edited several anthology series, including War World, which allowed other authors to write in his universe, and There Will Be War.

Swedish actor Hans Alfredson (b.1931) died on September 10. He appeared in Sofies Welt and provided voicework for Dunderklumpen! And Resan Till Melonia, among other ilms.

In addition to his film work, Alfredson wrote the alternate history novel Attentatet i Pålsjö Skog.

Disney animator Francis Xavier Atencio (b.1919) died on September 10. Known as X, he first began working at Disney in 1938, when he was 18. His first work appeared on screen in Pinocchio and he was later assigned to be an assistant animator on Fantasia. His first on-screen credit was for the Oscar winning Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom. After working on the animated sequences of Mary Poppins, X began to word for WED Enterprises, where he developed music and dialogue for rides including Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.

Comic book writer Len Wein (b.1948) died on September 10. Wein co-creasted the characters Wolverine, Storm, and Swamp Thing. In addition, he worked on numerous other comcis for both DX and Marvel. He served as the editor in chief for Marvel’s color-comics line in 1974 and later served as editor in chief for Disney Comics. Wein was married to Christine Valada. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008, won the Inkpot Award and the Comic Fan Art Award for Pro Writer and Comic Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Best Editor.

Artist Basil Gogos (b.1949) died on September 14. Gogos painted numerous portraits of monsters which were used on the covers of Famous Monsters of Filmland. He turned his attention to fine art, but later painted covers for CDs. He received the 2006 Rondo Hatton Horror Award.

Author Charles H. King (b.1939) died on September 15. Using the name H. Charles Blair, King published the short story “The Rememberers” in Future Science fiction Stories in 1952. He published non-sf under his own name. King was a member of the Trap Door Spiders with Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, Lester del Rey, Lin Carter, and Theodore Sturgeon.

Actor Harry Dean Stanton (b.1926) died on September 15. Stanton’s first role was in an episode of Inner Sanctum in 1954. Although he then appeared in several westerns, he eventually returned to genre, appearing in Escape from New York, Repo Man, and Alien. He also had a cameo on The Avengers.

Fan Dave E Romm (b.1955) died around September 15/6. Dave was active in Minneapolis fandom and was an avid photographer, taking pictures of various Minicons and other conventions he was able to get to. He traveled to Antarctic in 2005 and wrote about his experience in Argentus. He also hosted Shockwave Radio Theatre on KFAI-AM and archived the podcasts on his website. Romm became a baron of the micro-country of Ladonia in 2001.

Actor Bernie Casey (b.1939) died on September 19. Casey appeared in two episodes of Babylon 5 and an episode of SeaQuest 2032. He played Commander Hudson in “The Maquis” two part episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Other genre appearances include Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Martian Chronicles, and In the Mouth of Madness.

Fan Andy England (b.1954) died on September 22. England helped out at the Fantasy Centre, both at the story and when they were in dealers rooms. He served as an art auctioneer at conventions and was an avid book and magazine collector.

Author Harvey Jacobs (b.1930) died on the evening of September 23 from an infection while being treated for brain cancer. Jacobs began publishing fiction in 1951 with the story “A Wind Age.” He focused on the short story length throughout the 60s and 70s, publishing his first novel, The Juror, in 1980. He also published Beautiful Soup and Side Effects. His novel American Goliath was nominated for the World Fantasy Award. his fiction was collected in The Egg of the Glak and My Rose & My Glove.

Author and critic Charles Osborne (b.1927) died on September 23. Osbourne served as the Director of the UK Arts Council and among his books was The Bram Stoker Bedside Companion and Kafka. He was overseeing the Arts Council when Interzone was awarded its council grant.

Author Kit Reed (b.Lillian Craig Reed, 1932) died on September 24 from an inoperable brain tumor. Reed published her first short story, “The Wait” in 1958 and she was nominated for a Hugo for Best New Author of 1958, a forerunner to the John W. Campbell Award. Her short fiction has appeared in both genre and mainstream magazines and has been collected in ten collections over the years. She was nominated for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award three times and received the ALA Alex Award for Thinner Than Thou. Her novel Where was a John W. Campbell Memorial Award finalist. Reed was a Guggenheim Fellow and Resident Writer at Wesleyan University. Reed’s most recent novel, Mormama, was published earlier this year.

Editor and critic Digby Diehl (b.1940) died on September 26. Diehl is best known for his collaborations with celebrities on their autobiogrpahies. He also wrote Tales from the Crypt; The Official Archives, an exploration of EC Comics and served as a book columnist for Playboy.

Publisher Hugh Hefner (b.1926) died on September 27. Hefner was best known as the publisher of Playboy, which published science fiction throughout its history, including works by Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, J.G. Ballard, Doris Lessing, and other major science fiction authors. In addition to the magazine, Playboy published The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Galaxy, Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction.

Actress Anne Jeffreys (b.1923) died on September 27. Jeffreys played Tess Trueheart in the 1945 Dick Tracy and reprised the role in Dick Tracy vs.Cueball the next year. She starred in the television show Topper and appeared in I Married an Angel, Zombies on Broadway, and Mr. Merlin. In the 1979, she appeared in both Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century.

Los Angeles fan Milt Stevens (b.1942) died on October 2. Stevens was active in LASFS, serving in most of the clubs offices at various times. He was worked at numerous conventions and chaired LA 2000 (the first LosCon), Westercon 33, and LA Con II, the largest Worldcon based on on-site numbers. Stevenss published several fanzines over the years, including APAzines All Digression Weekly, Crypt of Ennui, Opus, and others. He received the Evans-Freehafer Award in 1971 and was Guest of Honor at Loscon 9 in 1982 and Westercon 61 in 2008.

Chicago area fan Bill Surrett (b.c.1947) died on October 2. Surrett attended and volunteered at several Midwestern conventions, including Windycon, Capricon, and Chicon. He could often be seeing working in the dealers room at the various conventions.

LA fan Dian Crayne (b.Dian Girard, 1942) died on October 4. Crayne was a member of LASFS and the group Future Unbounded, which was formed to run F-UNCon in 1968 and the 1969 Westercon. In 1964, she published The Game of Fandom, a boardgame about fandom at the time which included references to several active fans. In the 1960s, she was married to Bruce Pelz and their divorce party inspired Larry Niven’s story “What Can You Say About Chocolate Covered Manhole Covers.” She subsequently was married to Chuck Crayne until his death in 2009.

Finnish academic Jenni Tyynelä died on October 4 following a battle with cancer. Tyynelä was a scholar at the University of Tampere in Finland and was working on her PhD. She was active in Finnish SF study circles and was an attendee at conventions and academic conferences, including ICFA in Orlando, FL.

Actor Trevor Martin (b.1929) died on October 5. Martin is best known for portraying the Doctor in the 1974 stage production Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday. Prior to that, he appeared as a Time Lord in the Patrick Troughton Doctor Who serial “The War Games.” He would go on to appear in the Doctor Who Radio play “Paradise of Death” opposite Jon Pertwee in 1993.

Bookseller Paul Day (b.Jean-Paul Breault-Day, 1937) died around October 6. Day worked as a chemist, but from 1978 to 1984 in Adelaide, Australia. After leaving the book store, Day turned his back on science fiction.

Actress Birgitta Margaretha Ulfsson (b.1928) died on October 8. Ulfsson appeared as Muminmamman and as the narrator in the 1960s television series Mumintrollet on Swedish television.

British fan Gerald Bishop died on October 9. Bishop, who also went by Ye Gerbish, was active in the early 1970s, attending London First Tuesday meetings, working as a projectionist a conventions, and publishing the fanzine Howl of Feedback from 1971-4.

Author ElizaBeth A. Gilligan died on October 9 following a battle with cancer. Gilligan began publishing in 1990 with the short story “Evolution.” Her Silken Magic trilogy beginning with Magic’s Silken Snare was published by DAW Books from 2003-2017. She also edited the anthology Alterna-Teas. She wrote a column for Midnight Zoo in the early 90s and served as Secretary for SFWA from 2002-2003.

Astronomer and author Yoji Kondo (b.1933) died on October 9. Kondo served as the president of various commissions for the International Astronomical Union and headed the astrophysics lab at the Johnson space center during the Apollo and Skylab missions. He published several astronomy books. In addition, Kondo wrote science fiction using the name Eric Kotani and edited Requiem: New Collected Works by Robert A. Heinlein.

Actor Ray Dotrice (b.1923) died on October 16. Dotrice portrayed Abe Gray in the 1957 television series Treasure Island. He went on to be the story teller on Jackanory, appeared in two episodes of Tales from the Crypt, played Commissioner Simmonds in Space: 1999, Jacob Wells in Beauty and the Beast, and played King Balor in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. His final role was as Hallyne in Game of Thrones. Dotrice also recording audio books for The Song of Ice and Fire.

Author Julian May (b.1931) died on October 17. May entered fandom in her late teens and published the fanzine Interim Newsletter. Her first professional sale, “Dune Roller,” appeared in Astounding in 1951, including original illustrations by May. In 1952, she chaired the TASFIC in Chicago, becoming the first woman to chair a Worldcon. She married author Ted Dikty in 1953 and sold the story “Star of Wonder” before dropping out of science fiction and fandom for several years. With the exceptions of two episodes of the “Buck Rogers” comic strip, she focused on writing for encyclopedias and non-fiction books under a variety of pseudonyms. In 1972, “Dune Roller” was filmed as The Cremators. She returned to science fiction in 1976 when she attended Westercon 29. The costume she wore at the convention made her start thinking about the character’s background and grew into the six book Galactic Milieu series. She also wrote the four book Saga of the Pliocene Exile and collaborated on the Trillium series with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton. Health issues prevented May from participating in a panel with the living chairs of the other Chicago Worldcons in 2012, and in 2015 she was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame.

Actor Brent Briscoe (b.1961) died on October 18. Briscoe may be most recognized as the owner of JJ’s Diner on Parks and Recreation. He appeared in Zombeavers and the Dark Knight Rises. His most recent role was as Detective Dave Macklay on the relaunch of Twin Peaks.

Italian director Umberto Lenzi (b.1931) died on October 19. Lenzi directed Cannibal Ferox, Mangiati Vivi!, City of the Walking Dead, Primal Rage, and Le Spie Amano I Fiori.

Argentinian actor Federico Luppi (b.1936) died on October 20. Luppi has appeared in several Guillarmo del Toro films, including Cronos and Pan’s Labyrinth. He has also appeared in The Stone Raft and The Devil’s Backbone.

Actor Rosemary Leach (b.1935) died on October 21. Leach appeared in The Tomorrow People, Chiller, The Great Ghost Rescue, and Jackanory. She has played Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth and created the role of Helene Hanff in the original London production of 84 Charing Cross Road.

Folklorist Iona Opie (b.1923) died on October 23. Opie, along with her husband Peter, published The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, The Classic Fairy Tales, and other studies of popular folklore. In 1999, she received the CBE.

Actor Robert Guillaume (b.1927) died on October 24. Best known for played the character Benson on Soap and Benson, Guillaume also appeared in numerous Broadway shows. His genre credits include providing the voice of Rafiki in The Lion King, appearances in The Outer Limits, The Meteor Man, Half-Life 2, and 13^th Child.

Actor Jack Bannon (b.1940) died on October 25. Bannon appeared in episodes of The Invaders, The Six Million Dollar Man, Night Gallery, Gemini Man, and Future Cop. He also did voice work for the 1970s animated series Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle.

Costume designer John Mollo (b.1931) died on October 25. Mollo entered movies as an historical consultant. In 1976, he designed the costumes for Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader, among others based on the artwork of Ralph MacQuarrie for Star Wars. He also worked on the costumes for Alien, The Empire Strikes Back, and Outland. He won two Academy Awards for his costume design for Star Wars and Gandhi.

Fan D. Potter died on October 25. Potter was an active fan in the 1980s, hosting fannish gatherins and fanzine publications at her apartment. In 1982, she was the fan Guest of Honor at Balticon 16. She served as the Official Editor of the apazine Mixed Company as well as others.

Artist Roger Garland (b.1950) died on October 26 from motor neurone disease. Garland illustrated J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing for Allen & Unwin and HarperCollins throughout the 1980s.

Chicago Fan Ben Solon (b.1946) died on October 26. In addition to attending Chicago area conventions, Solon published the fanzine Nyarlathotep. Solon helped stock the consuite for Ditto 14 in Bloomington, IL in 2001.

Game designer Michael Satran died on October 28 from a brain tumor. Satan Began gaming in 1979 and worked as a designer for Hero Systems, publishing several sourcebooks and modules for the Champions system. He also created the Iron Sky RPG.

Swedish critic Annika Johansson (b.1960) died on October 31. Johansson published various critical books and essays examining fantasy and horror including Worlds of Light, Worlds of Darkness, and Fantasy’s Forests.

Actor Harry Landers (b.Harry Sorokin, 1921) died in October. Landers is best known for his role as Dr. Ted Hoffman on Ben Casey, but played Dr. Coleman in an episode of Star Trek. He also was in Tales of Tomorrow, Phantom from Space, and Captain Video and His Video Rangers.

Director Paddy Russell (b.1928) died on November 2. Russell was one of the first female directors at the BBC in the 1960s. She directed a 1965 adaptation of Treasure Island, numerous episodes of Z Cars, and four serials of Doctor Who during Hartnell, Pertwee, and Tom Baker’s tenure, including Pyramids of Mars.

Australian composer Dudley Simpson (b.1922) died on November 4. Simpson began working as a conductor for the Borovansky Ballet before he moved to England and conducted at Covent Gardens before becoming the Principal Conductor of the Royal Opera House Orchestra. He began composing for the BBC in the early 1960s, and provided mosic for Doctor Who from 1963-1980, as well as for Blake’s 7, Moonbase 3 and The Tomorrow People. He appeared as an orchestra conductor in the Doctor Who serial “The Talons of Weng-Chiang.”

Actress Karen Dor (b.Kätherine Derr, 1938) died on November 6. Dor appeared in The Invisible Dr. Mabuse and Assignment Terror. She was in a German production of Die Nibelungen and Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel. Her best known roles were as Juanita de Cordoba in Topaz and Helga Brandt in You Only Live Twice.

Actor Scott Fredericks (b.1943) died on November 6. Fredericks played Boaz in the Pertwee-era Doctor Who serial “Day of the Daleks” and Maximilian Steele in the Tom Baker serial “Image of the Fendahl.” He also appeared in an episode of Blake’s 7.

Astronaut Dick Gordon (b.1929) died on November 6. Gordon made his first flight as pilot on Gemini 11 with Pete Conrad and performed an EVA that lasted nearly three hours. He later flew as the Command Module Pilot on Apollo 12 with Pete Conrad and Alan Bean. Prior to joining NASA, Gordon served as a Navy pilot. After leaving NASA, he served as an Executive Vice President of the New Orleans Saints and on a variety of boards. He also served as President of the Astro Science Corporation.

Author Gregory Bernard Banks (b.1965), who wrote as G.B.Banks, died on November 7. Banks wrote the Walkers series of Walking Dead parodies as well as Zombie George Washington and The Purifier’s Tale. Banks suffered from Osteogenesis Imperfecta.

Bookseller Lou Donato (b.1940) died on November 8. Donato and his wife, Myrna, co-founded and ran Amber Unicorn Books in Las Vegas in 1981. In addition to running the bookstore, they also had tables in many regional convention dealers’ rooms.

Actor Ray Lovelock (b.1950) died on November 10. Lovelock appeared in Queens of Evil, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, and Autopsy. He may be most recognizable for his role as Fyedka in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof.

Fan Carl T. Ford died on November 13. In the 1980s, Ford published the fanzine Dagon, linking the H.P. Lovecraft literary and gaming communities. The zine eventually branched out to cover additional authors of the weird.

Author and illustrator Jill Barklem (b.1951) died on November 15. Originally an illustrator, after her husband suggested that she could also write, Barklem wrote the children’s series Brambly Hedge, which she also illustrated.

Musician Michael “DikMik” Davies (b.1944) died on November 16. Davies was the original keyboardist for Hawkwind, playing with the band until 1973. He performed on their first four albums.

Actor Earle Hyman (b.1926) died on November 17. Hyman may be most recognizable for his role as Heathcliffe Huxtable’s father on The Cosby Show, for which he won an Emmy. His voice, however, was most recognizable as Panthro from Thundercats. On Broadway, he appeared in The Infernal Machine.

Actress Della Reese (b.1931) died on November 19. Reese is best known for starring in the fantasy series Touched by an Angel. She also provided the voice for the Eema in Dinosaur. Prior to acting, she sang with Mahalia Jackson, the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, and the Meditation Singers.

Seattle fan Randy Byers (b.1960) died on November 20. Byers co-edited the fanzine Chunga with Andy Hooper and Carl Juarez and won the 2007 Best Fanzine Hugo for Science Fiction Five-Yearly with co-editors Lee Hoffman and Geri Sullivan. He also edited Alternative Pants. Byers was the 2003 TAFF delegate to Seacon 03 in Britain.

Author John Gordon (b.1925) died on November 20. Gordon wrote young adult supernatural fiction, publishing fifteen novels, including The Edge of the World, Secret Corridor, and The Midwinter Watch. He edited several anthologies of horror sories and his own stories were collected in four volumes.

Actor Peter Berling (b.1934) died on November 21. Berling was in the film Tykho Moon, A Big Grey-Blue Bird, The Long Swift Sword of Siegfried, Tex and the Lord of the Deep, and The Name of the Rose.

Actor Rodney Bewes (b.1937) died on November 21. Bewes appeared in Unidentified Flying Oddballs, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Jabberwocky, and various episodes of Jackanory. He played Sgt. Stien in the Peter Davison era Doctor Who serial “Resurrection of the Daleks.”

Actor David Cassidy (b.1950) died on November 21. Best known for his role as Keith Partridge on The Partridge Family, Cassidy played the Mirror Master in the 1990s version of The Flash and provided voicework for Kim Possible. Cassidy also had a small role in the time travel spoof The Spirit of ’76 and an episode of Tales of the Unexpected.

Author Meg M. Justus (b.1959) died on November 22 from cancer. Justus, whopublished as M.M. Justus, wrote the Unearthly Northwest series, the Time in Yellowstone series, and other novels reflecting her interest in Western history and time travel.

Director Anthony Harvey (b.1931) died on November 23. Harvey is best known as the director of The Lion in Winter, for which he was nominated for the Oscar. He also worked as a film editor, working on Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Swedish fan Tommy Silverros (b.1961) died on November 24. Silverros was active in the MLSF (Malmö-Lund Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) and served as the organization’s Vice Chairman. Silverros was not only active in Swedish fandom, but also traveled throughout Europe enjoying conventions and promoting Swedish fandom.

Actor Rance Howard (b.1928) died on November 25. Howard, the father of actors Ron and Clint Howard, appeared on The X-Files, Quantum Leap, and Babylon 5, where he played Sheridan’s father. His films included Mars Attacks!, Innerspace, and Cocoon

Actor Julio Oscar Mechoso (b.1955) died on November 25. Mechoso appeared in Jurassic Park III, The Legend of Zorro, Planet Terror. He appeared in episodes of Quantum Leap and Flashforward.

Fan Perdita Boardman (b.Perdita Lilly, 1931) died on November 26. Lilly was first married to author Ray Nelson and in the 1960s married New York fan John Boardman. She hosted Lunarian meetings, ran the con suite for Lunacon, and with John hosted First Saturday meetings. She also made the banner for the NY in ’67 Worldcon bid.

Author and librarian Harold Billings (b.1931) died on November 29. In addition to his work as a librarian, Billings wrote about Arthur Conan Doyle and SF author M.P. Shiel. The first two volumes of a Shiel biography were published, along with selected articles that were part of the final volume.

Director and screenwriter Alain Jessua (b.1932) died on November 30. Jessua worked as a second unit director on the Flash Gordon television series in the 1950s. He later directed the film Shock Treatment and in 1984, he directed Frankenstein 90. His film Jeu de massacre received the 1967 best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Actor Jim Nabors (b.1930) died on November 30. Best known for playing Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle: USMC, he also starred in the Saturday morning children’s show The Lost Saucer with Ruth Buzzi. He also made appearances in an episode of Knight Rider and provided voicework for Off to See the Wizard.

Actress Heather North (b.1945) died on November 30. North is best known for providing the voice of Daphne in the carious Scooby Doo cartoons and movies. She also provided voice work for Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. In the 1960s and early 70s, she had bit roles on various television shows.

Author Leslie H. Whitten (b.1928) died on December 2. Whitten published Progeny of the Adder in 1965 and followed up with three more novels. His four books were reprinted in two omnibus volumes in the early 1990s.

Producer Howard Gottfried (b.1923) died on December 8. Best known for producing Network, he also produced the horror film Altered States and the science fiction film Suburban Commando.

Artist Joe Wehrle, Jr. (b.1941) died on December 10. Wehrle worked as an artist for Digest Enthusiast and collected science fiction and fantasy. Other illustrations appeared in Galaxy and If magazine. His story “The Bandemar” appeared in the first Clarion anthology and he published a couple more stories over the years.

Actor Keith Chegwin (b.1957) died on December 11. Chegwin appeared on The Tomorrow People, The Adventure Game¸ starred in the spoof Kill Keith, and appeared in Shaun of the Dead.

Actress Suzanna Leigh (b.Suzanna Smyth, 1945) died on December 12. Leigh appeared in the films Lust for a Vampire, Son of Dracula, The Deadly Bees, and The Lost Continent.

Producer Martin Ransohoff (b.1927) died on December 13. Ransohoff produced the Gene Wilder films Silver Streak and Hanky Panky as well as the films Catch-22 and Switchin Channels. His genre work included Nightwing, The Fearless Vampire Killers, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Artist Bob Givens (b.1918) died on December 14. Givens worked for Disney beginning in 1937 before moving to Warner Brothers. He drew the model sheet for “A Wild Hare,” which established Bugs Bunny’s appearance. He worked into the 1990s, including She-Ra: Princess of Power and Filmation’s Ghostbusters.

Anime screenwriter Michiru Shimada (b.1959) died on December 15. Shimada wrote scripts for the anime Dragon Ball, Supernova Flashman, Gadurin, and Shinseiki GPX saibâ fômyura.

Actress Darlanne Fleugel (b.1953) died on December 15. Fluegel appeared in Battle Beyond the Stars, Pet Sematary II, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die, and an episode of The Twilight Zone. Her mainstream films included To Live and Die in L.A. and Running Scared.

French comics artist Annie Goetzinger died on December 20. Goetzinger began working for French magazines in the 1970s and won awards for her first graphic novel, Casque d’Or.

Composer Dominic Frontiere (b.1931) died on December 21. Frontiere composed theme music for television shows The Flying Nun, The Invaders, and The Outer Limits.

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II (b.1937) died on December 21. McCandless flew on two space shuttle missions and during his first flight in 1984, he became the first person to do an untethered space walk. On his second mission in 1990, he helped deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.

German comics artist Lona Rietschel died on December 21. Reitschel began working for Mosaic and designed the chaarcters Dig, Dag, and Digedag. When those characters were lost by Mosaic, she helped design their replacements, Abrafaxe. She received the PENG! Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2013.

Comics artist Victor Llamas died on December 22. Llamas worked as an inker for Top Cow on Darkness and Ascension before he moved on to work for DC and Marvel, inking titles including Batman, Star Wars: Republic, and X-Men.

Actress Heather Menzies-Urich (b.1949) died on December 24. Menzies-Urich, who was married to Robert Urich, played Jessica in the television series Logan’s Run and appeared in horror movies Piranha and Sssssss. She also appeared in the made for television movie Captain America, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, and an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. She may be best known for her role as Louisa in The Sound of Music.

Actor Dick Orkin (b.1933) died on December 24. Orkin created the Batman spoof Chickenman for the radio in 1966. He also prod

uced The Secret Adventures of the Tooth Fairy. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, both the Illinois and Pennsylvania Broadcasters Halls of Fame, the Radio Advertising Bureau Hall of Fame, and the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Actor Alfie Curtis (b.1930) died on December 25. Curtis appeared in an episode of the proto-steampunk television series Q.E.D. and the film The Elephant Man. His most recognizable role, however, was as Cornelius Evazan, the drunk in Mos Eisely who threatens Luke, in Star Wars.

Actress Rose Marie (b.Rose Marie Mazetta, 1923) died on December 28. Rose Marie began performing when she was six years old as “Baby Rose Marie” and was best known for her portrayel of Sally Rogers on The Dick van Dyke Show. She provided voicework for several cartoons, including The Real Ghostbusters, Frakazoid!, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, and she appeared in the short lived series Scorch.

Comic book artist Jim Baikie (b.1940) died on December 29. Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine. He worked on television tie-in comics including Start Trek and collaborated with Alan Moore on Skizz. He worked on Batman and The Spectre and co-created Electric Warrior with Doug Moench and First American with Moore.

Actress Peggy Cummins (b.1925) died on December 29. Cummins appeared in Night of the Demon and Meet Mr. Lucifer.

Chicago fan Gyu Sup Lee died on December 31. Lee worked as a guest liaison for Anime Central (ACEN).