Those we lost in 2022: A remembrance

Dodgers great Vin Scully, musicians Jerry Lee Lewis and Loretta Lynn, and actors James Caan and Angela Lansbury are among the notable deaths of 2022.

Jerry Lee Lewis

As a rock ‘n’ roll wild man, Jerry Lee Lewis helped upend the staid, polished pop music of the 1950s with raw, nearly carnal anthems that all but willed fans to get to their feet and dance.

(Bettmann Archive)

Jerry Lee Lewis, whose fiery records and scandals made him both fascinating and fearsome, died at 87. The Louisiana-born piano player who called himself the “Killer” is considered one of the key founders of rock.

Vin Scully

Vin Scully, right, calls a game at Dodger Stadium in 1967 while sitting alongside broadcaster Jerry Doggett. Scully’s soothing banter became as familiar as a warm breeze on a sunny afternoon to Dodgers fans.

(Associated Press)

Vin Scully, the legendary sports broadcaster who was the beloved voice of the Dodgers from the moment they arrived in town in 1958 until his retirement in 2016, died at 94. Scully’s soothing, insightful style remained a constant for the fans as the team changed players, managers and owners.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II reigned so long that most in the U.K. had known no other person on the British throne.

(Bettmann Archive)

Queen Elizabeth II, whose 70-year reign as Britain’s monarch saw the country transform from an outsize, if insular, imperial power into a modest, multicultural European nation, died at 96. As the first child of Prince Albert, the Duke of York, and the first grandchild of the reigning King George V, she was born a princess but never intended to be queen.

Loretta Lynn

A coal miner’s daughter, country music singer Loretta Lynn staked out a new world order of domestic life in rural America.

(Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Loretta Lynn, who quickly became a trailblazer and controversial figure in the country music scene when she emerged in the early 1960s, died at 90. The Country Music Hall of Famer wrote fearlessly about sex and love, cheating husbands, divorce and birth control, and sometimes got in trouble with radio programmers.

Angela Lansbury

“Murder, She Wrote” rocketed Angela Lansbury to TV stardom, but it was her deep roots in theater that won hearts.

(Jack Mitchell / Getty Images)

Actress
Angela Lansbury
who stormed the New York stage in 1966 as the zestful, eccentric star of “Mame” and solved endless murders as crime novelist in the TV series “Murder, She Wrote,” died at 96. Lansbury won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances and a lifetime achievement award during her 75-year career, which included 36 movies and nearly as many teleplays.

James Caan

James Caan was known to movie fans as the hotheaded Sonny Corleone in “The Godfather” and to TV audiences as the dying football player in “Brian’s Song” and the casino boss in “Las Vegas.”

(Getty Images)

James Caan, an actor known to movie fans as the hotheaded Sonny Corleone of “The Godfather” and to TV audiences as both the dying football player in “Brian’s Song” and the casino boss in “Las Vegas,” died at 82. Caan’s first credited movie role was co-starring with Olivia de Havilland in 1964’s “Lady in a Cage,” and by 1971 he would establish himself as a top acting talent.

Bill Russell

Professional basketball’s first Black superstar and a game-changing big man, Bill Russell reinvented the center position with the dynastic Celtics of the late 1950s and ’60s.

(Associated Press)

Bill Russell, professional basketball’s first Black superstar and a game-changing big man who reinvented the center position with the dynastic Boston Celtics of the late 1950s and ’60s, died at 88. A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell in 1980 was voted the greatest player in NBA history by basketball writers.

Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John was a beloved singer and actor known for her 1970s and ’80s hits and the film musical “Grease.” Once her career took off, it was unstoppable.

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Olivia Newton-John, an actor and singer known for her role as Sandy in the film version of “Grease” and for such hits as “Physical” and “You’re the One That I Want,” died at 73. Newton-John broke onto the U.S. country music scene in the early 1970s, but her image shifted with the 1978 movie musical “Grease.”

Ronnie Spector

With her towering voice, Ronnie Spector was a muse, friend and inspiration to artists such as John Lennon, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse and Billy Joel.

(Paul Natkin / Getty Images)

Ronnie Spector, the lead singer of the Ronettes whose swagger made her a rock icon, died at 78. Her blend of yearning and grit was evidenced on the timeless “Be My Baby” and in her tale of survival at the hands of her abuser.

Madeleine Albright

A child of wartime whose insights into the nation’s global interests made her a valued commodity, Madeleine Albright was the first female U.S. secretary of State.

(Amel Emric / Associated Press)

Madeleine Albright, a child of Czechoslovakian refugees who became the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of State, died at 84. Albright had aspirations of becoming a journalist before climbing the ranks in the Democratic Party.

Maury Wills

Maury Wills, a base-stealing specialist, helped the Dodgers win three World Series titles in the 1960s.

(Getty Images)

Maury Wills, a base-stealing specialist who helped the Dodgers win three World Series titles in the 1960s, died at 89. Wills led the National League in steals six times, earned two Gold Gloves for his fielding and beat out Willie Mays for the league’s award for most valuable player in 1962.

Bob Saget

Known for his role on the TV sitcom “Full House,” Bob Saget had an alter ego as a comedian with a raunchy brand of stand-up.

(ABC Photo Archives)

Bob Saget, an actor-comedian known for his role as the squeaky clean widower and father in the sitcom “Full House” and as the wisecracking host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” died at 65. Saget focused occasionally on directing over the years and most recently was on a stand-up comedy tour.

Naomi Judd

Naomi Judd, left, — the Kentucky-born singer of the Grammy-winning duo the Judds and mother of Wynonna, right, and Ashley Judd — died a day before she was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

(Julie Jacobson / Associated Press)

Naomi Judd, whose harmonies with daughter Wynonna turned them into the Grammy-winning country stars the Judds, died at 76. Naomi was working as a single mother and nurse in Nashville when she and Wynonna started singing together professionally.

Norman Mineta

Norman Mineta, the first Asian American Cabinet secretary and a longtime California congressman, fought for recognition and reparations for Japanese Americans.

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

Norman Mineta, a longtime California congressman who broke racial barriers for Asian Americans in becoming mayor of San Jose and also was the first Asian American Cabinet secretary, died at 90.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier overcame color barriers to play roles beyond the stereotypes for which Black actors in Hollywood were generally cast.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Sidney Poitier, who broke through color barriers during a time when Black people on the Hollywood studio lots were generally given stereotypical roles, died at 94. Poitier arose as one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s in films such as “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”

Gallery: Notable deaths of 2022

Remembering those who died in 2022, including L.A. legend Vin Scully, actors Ray Liotta and Paul Sorvino, and musicians Loretta Lynn and Meatloaf.