There were many celebrities who died in 2021, most of them legends. See the icons in music, movie, sports, and TV we lost this year.
The world is mourning the loss of many great entertainers in 2021. So many stars were taken from us too soon, including Saved By The Bell star, Dustin Diamond, who was just 44 years old when he died on Feb.1. This year also claimed the life of Larry King, who is recognizable to just about anyone as a talk show host. That 70s Show star, Tanya Roberts, also passed away, along with Hank Aaron and more. Jazz legend Chick Corea passed away at the age of 76 in February, while a fellow music icon — The Supremes founding member Mary Wilson — also left us. Read on pay respect to all the wonderful stars who passed this year. Former Lakers star Elgin Baylor passed away at the age of 86 on March 22 from natural causes, his wife, Elaine Baylo r, told the NBA in a statement. “Elgin was the love of my life and my best friend,” said Elaine. “And like everyone else, I was in awe of his immense courage, dignity and the time he gave to all fans. At this time we ask that I and our family be allowed to mourn his passing in privacy.” Elgin was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1958 and was named Rookie of the Year. He would go on to play 14 seasons for the Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers, when the team moved to California. Elgin NBA All-Star honors 11 times before retiring from basketball in 1971. But he didn’t leave the league behind. Elgin also served as a coach for the New Orleans Jazz and Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977. His No.22 jersey was retired by the Lakers in 1983; a statue honoring Elgin was unveiled in 2018 at the Staples Center. He is survived by Elaine and three children: daughters Krystal and Alison, and son Alan. Chick Corea, a famous pianist and composer who had a legendary impact on jazz, sadly passed away at 79 years old on Feb.9. He died from “a rare form of cancer” that was “only discovered very recently,” which the music icon’s team shared on his Facebook page two days after his passing. Leading up to his death, Chick penned a heartfelt message for his fans: “I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It’s not only that the world needs more artists, it’s also just a lot of fun.” Chick, who composed classics like “Spain” and “500 Miles High,” continued, “And to my amazing musician friends who have been like family to me as long as I’ve known you: It has been a blessing and an honor learning from and playing with all of you. My mission has always been to bring the joy of creating anywhere I could, and to have done so with all the artists that I admire so dearly—this has been the richness of my life.” Iconic Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt passed away from heart failure at his Hollywood Hills home on Feb.9,2021. He was 78-years-old. Flynt founded the graphic adult mag in 1974, and as a result became the target of a number of obscenity cases. He was a champion of First Amendment rights, and one of his legal battles made it all the way to the Supreme Court in 1981. Larry had been confirmed to a wheelchair since a 1978 assassination attempt where he was shot. He was a frequent critic of Donald Trump and openly supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Flynt’s greatest fear was that a Republican would pack the Supreme Court with conservatives, which is what Trump did by naming three arch-conservative judges Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney-Barrett to the high court for life, tipping the balance of SCOTUS in favor of right wing issues.
