Celebrity Deaths 2017: Celebrating This Year's Greats

The celebrity deaths suffered this past year have been some of the greats, with so many of the world’s heroes and legends leaving us all too soon. Taking a look at the 2017 year in review reveals the loss of many famous faces who had a huge impact in entertainment— from Lil' Peep and Mary Tyler Moore to Chris Cornell and Tom Petty—in addition to others who had so much of their talents still left to share. While their absences are felt in a major way, let's remember them and the legacy of contributions they left behind, whether it was in music, TV, or movies.

More: 2016’s Most Notable Celebrity Deaths

Check out the list of celebrities who died in 2017, from music legends, to big screen stars and television icons. They will all certainly be missed.

More: Most Shocking Reality Star Deaths of 2016

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1. Chris Cornell

Soundgarden and Audioslave front man Chris Cornell died of suicide by hanging on May 18 at age 52. He had performed with Soundgarden just the night before and was in the middle of a tour with the band.

2. Mary Tyler Moore

Television icon Mary Tyler Moore, who starred as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show and as Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died on January 25. She was 80. Moore had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the 1960s and in 2011 had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. Moore’s health had declined in her later years and she was reportedly nearly blind toward the end of her life.

3. Tom Petty

Tom Petty was rock royalty, with an impressive number of hit songs over the years, including “Free Fallin’.” He died from a heart attack on October 2 at age 66. Petty told Rolling Stone earlier in the year, before his 40th anniversary tour with the Heartbreakers, that it would likely be his “last big one.”

4. Hugh Hefner

The Playboy magazine founder died on September 27 at age 91. At the time, Hugh Hefner’s son, Cooper, Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises, issued a statement that said, in part: “My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom. He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history.”

5. Lil Peep

Lil Peep’s star was on the rise, but sadly the rapper left this world too soon, dying on November 15. A toxicology report would later confirm the cause of death was an accidental overdose due to the effects of the pain medications. Blood and urine tests revealed a variety of drugs in his system at the time of his death as well.

6. John Heard

Although Home Alone movie fans knew John Heard best for his role as Peter McAllister, Heard also enjoyed a fruitful career in other famous movies, including Big and Beaches, as well as roles on TV. Heard was recovering from back surgery when his body was discovered by a maid at a Santa Clara County, California hotel on July 21. His cause of death was later determined to be a heart attack. He was 71.

7. Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry, the rock ‘n’ roll icon best known for hits like “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Johnny B. Goode,” died on March 18 at age 90. Berry died of natural causes, according to reports.

8. Della Reese

While Della Reese was perhaps best known for her role on TV’s Touched by an Angel, she was also a singer, ordained minister, and the first black woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Reese passed away on November 19 at age 86.

9. David Cassidy

Once a teen heartthrob, pop singer David Cassidy lit up TV screens in the 1970s classic The Partridge Family. Cassidy retired in 2017 after announcing that he had dementia and, in November 2017, he was hospitalized for liver and kidney failure and put in a medically induced coma. He remained in critical condition when he came out of the coma and died on November 21 from liver failure at age 67.

11. Erin Moran

The Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi star was rumored to have had some challenging times after her TV stardom faded. Erin Moran sadly passed away at the age of 56 on April 22 following a battle with cancer.

14. Bill Paxton

This talented star graced the big screen in classics like Aliens, Apollo 13, and Titanic, as well as in the small screen HBO series Big Love. Bill Paxton passed away at age 61 on February 25 from complications following heart surgery.

17. Adam West

Adam West, who is best known for his role as Batman in the campy 1960s TV series, died on June 9 after a battle with leukemia. He was 88. Among his film and TV resume, fans have also heard his voice work on The Simpsons, The Fairly Odd Parents, and Family Guy.

18. Chester Bennington

Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington was found dead on July 20 at age 41; the cause of death was revealed to be suicide by hanging. His Carpool Karaoke episode was filmed just six days before his death and, when later released that year, showed Bennington in high spirits.

20. Glen Campbell

 A true country music legend, Glen Campbell, known best for his hit song “Rhinestone Cowboy,” passed away on August 8 at age 81. Campbell had battled Alzheimer’s for the six years leading up to his death.

21. Jerry Lewis

The legendary comedic actor Jerry Lewis passed away at age 91 in August 2017. He is best known for his roles in The Nutty Professor and The Bellboy, as well as for his work for the Muscular Dystrophy telethon. Lewis’ daughter, Danielle, confirmed his cause of death in a statement that noted: “he passed peacefully at home of natural causes with his loving family at his side.”