2016 was another year that had a lot of notable celebrity deaths. Like the 2022, this will be ranked by whose death was the saddest and most impactful.
#10: Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman was one lucky dude. And I say that because he’s responsible for portraying 2 of the most iconic villains in movie history. The 1st being Hans Gruber in the action classic “Die Hard”. The 2nd (sort of) being Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise. While Gruber was definitely ice cold, there was a lot more to Snape than people expected. Snape showcased more of the versatility that Rickman had, which is great considering how good he was at portraying villains. His other notable roles include, “Love Actually”, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street”, “Alice In Wonderland” and “Dogma”. Rickman had battled cancer twice, with the 1st being in 2005 with prostate cancer. The 2nd however was proven to be deadly as he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015. It eventually became terminal, and he passed on January 14.
#9: Anton Yelchin
Anton Yelchin probably has the dumbest death on this list. This man started off as a child actor with one of his most notable roles as a child being “Hearts In Atlantis”. However, he was able to make a name for himself as an adult in the “Star Trek” reboot series as Pavel Chekov. Whether he’s as good as the original actor or not, I will leave that decision to my father (the ultimate Trekkie). On June 19, the dude was found pinned between his car (which was a jeep) and a brick pillar gate outside his house. He was pronounced dead at the scene. With all due respect to the actor and his loved ones, this is one of the dumbest deaths that I have ever heard. I do not know the whole story, so I won’t say it was his fault. But at the same time, being pinned against a gate by your own car is such an idiotic way to die. Sorry he had to go that way, but jeez.
#8: Muhammad Ali
He Is The Greatest, The Greatest Of All Time! Born Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali is mostly known as one of the most influential boxers of all time. While his boxing career was one thing, his personality was another. Not only was he notorious for hyping himself, but had 0 problems with trash-talk, mainly in poetry or free-style form. I did not always agree with his views, but I will not deny that the dude made sure he left an impression on people, which I strangely respect. The man never backed down from a fight. He wouldn’t even let Parkinson’s take him down, as he still promoted his biopic, and lit the torch for the Olympics in 2012. He eventually passed on June 2, but I think it’s safe to say that in a way, he kind of was the greatest of all time (or at least an MVP). You did good Mr. Ali.
#7: Gene Wilder
I kind of have a soft spot for Gene Wilder as I participated in a community production of “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory'' when I was 11 as an oompa loompa. Aside from Wonka, Wilder is also known for his frequent collaborations with Mel Brooks, with one of their most notable works being "The Producers' ' (for which he earned a supporting actor nomination). The dude also helped raise awareness for ovarian cancer after losing his wife (the late great Gilda Radner) to the disease in 1989. We would eventually lose Mr. Wilder to Alzheimer's on August 29. My experience with "Willy Wonka Jr'' was a wonderful moment in my life, and it will always have a special place in my heart.
#6: Leonard Cohen
To be completely honest, I don't really know much about Mr. Cohen, but I do know his most notable song (pretty much everybody does). This man is responsible for creating probably the most over-covered song in history. "Hallelujah" has been covered by probably every single music artist on the planet. The very first cover that I've ever heard was Rufus Wainwright's version from "Shrek". However, my favorite cover of the song is Pentatonix's version, which my music class had the honor of covering in college. Mr. Cohen would pass away from leukemia on Nov 7. He will forever only be associated with that song. I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing. But it is the way it is.
#5: George Michael
Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (professionally known as George Michael) originally became famous as a member of the British duo Wham! 2 of their biggest hits being "Wake Me Up, Before You Go-Go" and "Last Christmas". As for his solo career, some of his most notable songs include "Faith" and "Freedom". There's also that duet with Aretha Franklin "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". I just find it surprising that the dude had enough guts to sing a duet with Aretha Franklin of all people. But then again, the song was a hit. And according to my mother, the dude could sing his butt off. Eventually he sang himself to sleep permanently on Christmas due to heart disease. Ironically, that was his literal last Christmas.
#4: Christina Grimmie
The youngest death on this list, Miss Grimmie originally made a name for herself as a YouTube star. She posted videos of herself singing on the internet and It was obvious that she was talented from the start. Seriously, that girl could SANG! She was able to extend her talent outside YouTube by trying out for "The Voice", and ended up on Adam Lavine's team. While she didn't win, she did make quite the impression. Unfortunately we lost Miss Grimmie on June 10 after a psychotic fan shot her while she was signing photographs. I wouldn't necessarily say that I was a fan of Miss Grimmie, but she did not deserve that. She was just doing what she loved and some crazed fan had to ruin that. She might not be the biggest star in the world, but she definitely made her mark despite her short time on this planet.
#3: Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds
While Anton Yelchin had the dumbest death on this list, these 2 had the saddest ones. Debbie Reynolds was a golden age actress with her most notable roles being “Singin In The Rain”, and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (Oscar nominated). Though younger viewers like myself know her as Grandma Aggie from the "Halloweentown" series on Disney Channel. Her daughter, Carrie Fisher, will always and forever be known as Princess Leia from the "Star Wars'' franchise. Fisher (who struggled with drugs and Bipolar disorder) had suffered a heart attack in December before passing away 4 days later. Apparently, this was too much for Reynolds as she passed away from a stroke just 1 day after her daughter's death. If that doesn't scream depressing, then I don't know what will.
#2: David Bowie
I wouldn't say that I'm a huge fan of David Bowie, but I will say that I never thought I'd see a day where he would die. His hit list is pretty much endless, with probably his most notable being "Starman" (though I do have a soft spot for "Changes"). He also surprisingly made a name for himself in movies as well, with his most notable movie being "Labyrinth". His album "Blackstar" was released 2 days before Bowie succumbed to liver cancer after receiving a diagnosis 18 months before. The album was described as a final goodbye to his fans. Due to the amount of tributes and impact that was left behind, It was hard to decide whether Bowie or my next pick should take the top spot. But in the end, Bowie's the runner-up.
Here are several more celebs we lost in 2016..........
Starting With Florence Henderson
Harper Lee
Nancy Reagan
Elie Wiesel
Fidel Castro
John Glenn
Garry Marshall
Maurice White
Alan Thicke
Doris Roberts
Garry Shandling
George Martin
Phife Dawg
#1: Prince
Prince was a true diamond in the rough and was probably one of the greatest musicians in American music (and possibly music as a whole) history. Like Bowie, Prince’s hit list is also endless, but I’m only gonna mention one because I’m more familiar with Prince than my last pick and I know way too many songs to summarize in 1 commentary. The song I would like to call out is “Purple Rain” as it is possibly his signature song. We lost Prince on April 21 and his death was probably the biggest surprise to me mainly due to the cause of his death, which was a drug overdose. All I know is that it was a tragic loss. Again, it was really hard to choose between Prince and Bowie. And to be honest, Prince tops the list just barely. But at the end of the day, It was still sad to see him go and he is deeply missed.
RIP to everyone mentioned. Google slides link is down below. Thanks for reading.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wNevtfItGps3T8vrRQP7yy7fkz60hncrXh3A4TpotfI/edit?usp=sharing
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