January 2022 has dealt a sad blow to pop culture as legendary actors, singers and sports greats all died within weeks.
The world lost some of its brightest stars — including historic Oscar winner Sidney Poitier, beloved funnyman Bob Saget and acclaimed rocker Meat Loaf — on the heels of “Golden Girls” actress Betty White’s death in late December.
The first heartbreak came on New Year’s Day, when former New York Giants coach and NFL running back Dan Reeves died at his Atlanta home from complications of dementia. The 77-year-old gridiron great had appeared in nine Super Bowls as a player and coach throughout his career.
Tragedy struck again when Poitier — the first black actor ever to win an Oscar, for his role in “Lilies of the Field” — died at his home in Los Angeles on Jan. 6. The 94-year-old, who also starred in “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” succumbed to heart failure.
The Oscar-nominated filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, famous for the 1977 dramatic comedy “Paper Moon,” died the same day from natural causes. He was 82.
On Jan. 9, comedic actor and stand-up comic Bob Saget — beloved for his role as the wholesome dad on the ’90s sitcom “Full House” — was found dead in his hotel room in Orlando at age 65 with no sign of foul play. Fellow actors mourned his death as a massive blow to comedy.
Next came Ronnie Spector, the soulful vocalist and teenage ingenue behind the 1960s girl group the Ronettes, who died on Jan. 12 at age 78. The music industry darling — who belted out 1960s hits including “Be My Baby” and “Walking in the Rain” — lived her life with a “spunky attitude” and a “wicked sense of humor,” her family said in a statement.
On Jan. 17, fashion genius André Leon Talley, who served as Vogue’s creative director and editor-at-large, died due to an unknown illness, sources said. He was 73.
Three days later, the rock legend Meat Loaf died after becoming “seriously ill” with COVID-19. It wasn’t immediately clear if the 74-year-old “Bat Out of Hell” singer, who was reportedly an outspoken opponent of vaccine mandates, had been vaccinated.
Fans of comedy were heartbroken again on Jan. 21 when the Emmy Award-winning comedian Louie Anderson died at a Las Vegas hospital after a battle with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a version of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The “Coming to America” star, who won recent acclaim for his hilarious role as Christine Baskets in FX’s “Baskets,” was 68.
Other celebrities, including the South Korean actress Kim Mi-soo and Broadway star Joan Copeland, also died this month.
