Passages 2024: Toby Keith, Carl Weathers, Chita Rivera and more celebrities we've lost

Aston "Family Man" Barrett, the bassist for Bob Marley & The Wailers, died on Feb. 3 at 77. His children, along with the official Bob Marley Instagram account, announced the death of Barrett, nicknamed "Family Man" or "Fams."

"Anytime we listen to the music pay close attention to the genius of Fams on the bass," read the post on the Bob Marley Instagram account, featuring a set of photos of Marley and Barrett. "A pioneer, unique, trendsetter , revolutionary in the musical space and most of all as his name implies a true family man."

The musician performed with the legendary reggae band until 2018.

Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies and starred on Disney+'s "The Mandalorian," has died. He was 76.

Matt Luber, his manager, told USA TODAY in a Feb. 2 statement that Weathers died on Feb. 1. His family issued a statement saying he died "peacefully in his sleep."

Don Murray, the actor who earned an Oscar nomination for performing opposite Marilyn Monroe in the 1956 rom-com "Bus Stop," has reportedly died at 94.

His son, Christopher Murray, confirmed the news to The New York Times on Feb. 2. In 1957, Murray landed a best supporting actor nomination at the 29th annual Academy Awards. He went on to play leading roles in shows such as "The Outcasts," "Knots Landing" and the 2017 "Twin Peaks" revival.

Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists and shrugged off a near-fatal car accident, died Jan. 30. She was 91. Rivera's death was announced by her daughter, Lisa Mordente, who said she died in New York after a brief illness.

Rivera first gained wide notice in 1957 as Anita in the original production of "West Side Story" and was still dancing on Broadway with her trademark energy a half-century later in 2015's "The Visit." She won Tonys for "The Rink" in 1984 and "Kiss of the Spider Woman" in 1993. When accepting a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018, she said "I wouldn’t trade my life in the theater for anything, because theater is life."

She was nominated for the award seven other times, for "Bye Bye Birdie," which opened in 1960; "Chicago," 1975; "Bring Back Birdie," 1981; "Merlin," 1983; "Jerry’s Girls," 1985; "Nine," 2003; and "Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life," 2005.

Melanie Safka, who saw her singing career launch with her performance at Woodstock, died Jan. 23.The singer, who went by the mononym Melanie, was 76 years old.

Her children shared the news Jan. 24 in a post on the singer/songwriter's official Facebook page.

In 1989, Melanie won an Emmy Award for her songwriting on the CBS series "Beauty and the Beast," has died.

Charles Osgood, the folksy CBS newsman who hosted the network's "Sunday Morning" magazine series, died at 91, CBS reported, quoting from his family members. The bow-tied Osgood was known for his feature reporting and rhyming delivery, and spent 45 years at the network, on both TV and radio as host of "The Osgood Files."

Norman Jewison, the acclaimed and versatile Canadian-born director whose Hollywood films ranged from Doris Day comedies and "Moonstruck" to social dramas such as the Oscar-winning "In the Heat of the Night," died at age 97.

Jewison, a three-time Oscar nominee who in 1999 received an Academy Award for lifetime achievement, died “peacefully” on Jan. 20, according to publicist Jeff Sanderson.

Throughout his long career, Jewison combined light entertainment with topical films that appealed to him on a deeply personal level. As Jewison was ending his military service in the Canadian navy during World War II, he hitchhiked through the American South and had a close-up view of Jim Crow segregation. In his autobiography “This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me,” he noted that racism and injustice became his most common themes.

Mary Weiss, lead singer for 1960s girl group the Shangri-Las whose hits included "Leader of the Pack," died on Jan. 19 in Palm Springs, California. She was 75. Miriam Linna, founder of Weiss' label, Norton Records, announced her death on Jan. 21. No cause of death was given.

The group's first hit, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)," reached the Billboard top five in 1964 and was covered by Aerosmith in 1979. "Leader of the Pack" was the top Billboard single of 1965.

Actor David Gail, who played Shannen Doherty's fiancé Stuart Carson on "Beverly Hills 90210," has died. He was 58.

Gail's sister, Katie Colmenares, shared news of his death on Instagram on Jan. 20. "There's barely been even a day in my life when you were not with me by my side always my wingman always my best friend ready to face anything and anyone w me," she wrote, alongside a photo of the two siblings hugging.

Gail's credits also include playing Dean Collins in the 1996 Warner Bros. TV drama "Savannah," and appearances on "Growing Pains," "Doogie Howser, M.D." and "Murder, She Wrote" in the early 1990s, according to his IMDb page.

Marlena Shaw, the jazz and R&B vocalist whose "California Soul" was one of the defining soul songs of the late 1960s, died. She was 81.

Shaw's daughter, Marla Bradshaw, announced the singer's death on Jan. 19 in a video posted on Facebook. A cause of death was not given.

"It's with a very heavy heart for myself and my family I announce that our beloved mother, your beloved icon and artist Marlena Shaw has passed away today at 12:03," Bradshaw said in the video. "She went very peacefully, and she went listening to some of her favorite songs."

Alec Musser, 50, the actor and model who played Del Henry on the soap opera “All My Children,” reportedly died Jan. 13. His fiancée, Paige Press, confirmed his death to multiple news outlets. Musser starred on ABC’s “All My Children” from 2005 to 2007, earning the role after he won the second season of the reality-competition series “I Wanna Be a Soap Star.” He also guest-starred on “Desperate Housewives” and had a role in the Adam Sandler-led movie “Grown Ups” (2010).

“Such a wonderful, funny good man,” Sandler wrote on Instagram. “A true great sweetheart of a person.”

Tisa Farrow, an actress who starred in several films in the '70s and made a cameo in Woody Allen's 1979 film "Manhattan," has died at 72. Her sister, Mia Farrow, announced the news in a Jan. 11 Instagram post that her sister "died unexpectedly," "apparently in her sleep," the previous morning.

Reggie Wells, who spent more than 30 years as Oprah Winfrey's personal makeup artist and worked with former first lady Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Halle Berry and numerous other celebrities, died Jan. 8. He was 76. Wells died of natural causes, his niece Kristina Conner told The Associated Press.

Wells received five Daytime Emmy nominations for his work on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," winning a statuette in 1995. "Reggie Wells was an artist who used his palette of talent to create beauty no matter the canvas," Winfrey said in a statement emailed to the AP.

Drummer James Kottak, best known for his stints in the hard rock bands Scorpions and Kingdom Come, has died. He was 61.

Kottak's former band Scorpions mourned the musician's death in a Facebook post on Jan. 9, 2024. A cause of death was not given.

"Very sad news … our dear friend and Drummer for 20 years James Kottak has passed at the age of 61," the band wrote alongside a black-and-white image of Kottak. "James was a wonderful human being, a great musician and loving family man … he was our Brother from another Mother and will be truly missed."

Adan Canto, a Mexican actor best known for his roles in "Designated Survivor" and the superhero drama "X-Men: Days of Future Past," died Jan. 8 following a battle with appendiceal cancer, the actor’s publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed to USA TODAY. He was 42.

Canto, who was born in Mexico and raised in Texas, starred as the pyrokinetic mutant Sunspot in 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” appearing alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Hugh Jackman in the sci-fi-action flick. He also portrayed Aaron Shore on the ABC political drama “Designated Survivor” from 2016-2019.

“Adan had a depth of spirit that few truly knew,” Allen said. “Those who glimpsed it were changed forever. … He will be greatly missed by so many.”

Christian Oliver, known for roles in the 2008 film "Speed Racer" and "Saved by the Bell: The New Class," was killed Jan. 4 in a plane crash in the eastern Caribbean with his two young daughters. He was 51.

David Soul, who hit fame as the blond half of crime-fighting duo "Starsky and Hutch" in the popular 1970s television series, has died at 80 on Jan. 4. Wife Helen Snell said Soul died "after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family." Soul, seen here at an event in Los Angeles, Dec. 6, 1983, portrayed detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson alongside Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in "Starsky & Hutch."

Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played Mrs. Banks in the classic movie "Mary Poppins," died on Jan 4. She was 100.

Mitch Clem, her manager, said she died at an assisted living home in Los Angeles of natural causes. "Today's a sad day for Hollywood," Clem said. "She is the last of the last of old Hollywood."

Mexican actor Ana Ofelia Murguía, who gave voice to the character of Mama Coco in the popular Pixar film "Coco," has died, Mexican officials announced. She was 90.

"Coco," which was released in 2017, brought Murguía to an international audience late in life. But the actor had a long acting career in Mexican film and television, and on the stage. She appeared in some 70 plays and 90 movies, including "Life Sentence" (1979) and "The Queen of the Night" (1994).

Les McCann, a prolific and influential musician and recording artist who helped found the soul-jazz genre and became a favorite source for sampling by Dr. Dre, A Tribe Called Quest and hundreds of other hip-hop performers, died at 88 on Dec. 29.