Showbiz deaths in 2025: Brian Wilson, Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan

The world said goodbye to the following celebrities in 2025: 

George Wendt

Comic actor George Wendt, best known for his Emmy-nominated supporting role as the beer-bellied barfly Norm on the long-running hit NBC television sitcom "Cheers," died on May 20. He was 76.

He died in his sleep from cardiac arrest.

Wendt got his showbiz start in the Second City improvisational comedy troupe of his native Chicago in the 1970s and went on to appear in small roles in various prime-time TV series during the 1980s, including "M*A*S*H," "Taxi," and "Soap."

He was most famous for his signature role as the beer-quaffing accountant Norm Peterson - as amiable as he was portly - during the entire run of "Cheers," which aired in U.S. prime time from 1982 to 1993.

Loretta Swit

Loretta Swit, the Emmy Award-winning actress who played no-nonsense U.S. Army combat nurse Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the hit TV series "M*A*S*H" for more than a decade, died on May 30 at the age of 87.

Swit, a mainstay of one of the most successful and acclaimed series in U.S. television history, died at her home in New York City from what was suspected to be natural causes, her publicist said.

Swit earned two best supporting actress Emmys and 10 nominations for her role as "Hot Lips," the lusty, tough but vulnerable, patriotic Army career nurse in the series that ran from 1972-1983.

As the only regular female character in the groundbreaking show set in the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War of the 1950s, "Hot Lips" endured the insults, pranks and practical jokes of the fun-loving male surgeons. The show's cast also included Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Larry Linville, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Gary Burghoff, David Ogden Stiers and Jamie Farr.

Frederick Forsyth

British novelist Frederick Forsyth, who authored best-selling thrillers such as "The Day of the Jackal" and "The Dogs of War," died on June 9, aged 86.

A former correspondent for Reuters and the BBC, and an informant for Britain's MI6 foreign spy agency, Forsyth made his name by using his experiences as a reporter in Paris to pen the story of a failed assassination plot on Charles de Gaulle. 

Forsyth presented himself as a cross between Ernest Hemingway and John le Carre - both action man and Cold War spy - but delighted in turning around the insult that he was a literary lightweight.

His books, fantastical plots that almost rejoiced in the cynicism of an underworld of spies, criminals, hackers and killers, sold more than 75 million copies.

Sly Stone

Sly Stone, the driving force behind Sly and the Family Stone, a multiracial American band whose boiling mix of rock, soul and psychedelia embodied 1960s idealism and helped popularize funk music, died on June 9. He was 82.

Stone died after a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues, his family said.

Stone was perhaps best known for his performance in 1969 at the historic Woodstock music festival, the hippie culture's coming-out party.

His group was a regular on the U.S. music charts in the late 1960s and 1970s, with hits such as "Dance to the Music," "I Want to Take You Higher," "Family Affair," "Everyday People," "If You Want Me to Stay," and "Hot Fun in the Summertime."

But he later fell on hard times and became addicted to cocaine, never staging a successful comeback.

The confident and mercurial Stone played a leading role in introducing funk, an Afrocentric style of music driven by grooves and syncopated rhythms, to a broader audience.

James Brown had forged the elements of funk before Stone founded his band in 1966, but Stone's brand of funk drew new listeners. It was celebratory, eclectic, psychedelic and rooted in the counterculture of the late 1960s.

Stone made his California-based band, which included his brother Freddie and sister Rose, a symbol of integration. It included Black and white musicians, while women, including the late trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, had prominent roles.

Brian Wilson

Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, who created some of rock's most enduring songs such as "Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows" in a career that was marked by a decades-long battle between his musical genius, drug abuse and mental health issues, died on June 11. He was 82.

Wilson's family announced his death in a statement on the singer's website. The statement did not disclose a cause of death. Wilson had suffered from dementia and was unable to care for himself after his wife Melinda Wilson died in early 2024, prompting his family to put him under conservatorship.

Starting in 1961, the Beach Boys put out a string of sunny hits celebrating the touchstones of California youth culture - surfing, cars and romance. But what made the songs special was the ethereal harmonies that Wilson arranged and that would become the band's lasting trademark.

Wilson formed the band with younger brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine in their hometown, the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne. They went on to have 36 Top 40 hits, with Wilson writing and composing most of the early works.

Songs such as "Little Deuce Coupe," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "California Girls," "Fun, Fun, Fun" and "Help Me, Rhonda" remain instantly recognizable and eminently danceable.

Michael Madsen

Michael Madsen, an actor who appeared in dozens of films including "Reservoir Dogs" and "Thelma & Louise," died of cardiac arrest on July 3. He was 67.

Born in Chicago, Madsen began acting in the early 1980s in projects that included the TV show "St. Elsewhere" and the movie "The Natural" on his way to racking up more than 300 on-screen credits.

He played Mr. Blonde in 1992 film "Reservoir Dogs" and appeared in several other movies from director Quentin Tarantino including "Kill Bill," "The Hateful Eight" and "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."

Alan Bergman

Award-winning lyricist Alan Bergman died on July 17, aged 99.

Bergman wrote a song with his future wife on the day they first met. Over the next 60 years, they never stopped making music together. Bergman was one half of one of the greatest American songwriting duos. The other was his wife Marilyn, who died in 2022.

Together, the couple wrote the lyrics for "The Way We Were" and "The Windmills of Your Mind," tunes for the film "Yentl," and the theme songs for 1970s television comedies "Maude," "Alice" and "Good Times."

The songwriting team went on to win three Oscars, four Emmys, and two Grammy awards, and to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Bill Cosby's son Theo on the 1980s television hit "The Cosby Show," died on July 20 at age 54.

Warner died from drowning during a family trip in Costa Rica.  

"The Cosby Show," which aired from 1984 to 1992, was a groundbreaking show that portrayed a successful Black middle-class family. Cosby portrayed a doctor, and Warner played his only son.

The actor received an Emmy nomination in 1986 for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his role on the NBC series. Warner won a Grammy award in 2015 for best traditional R&B performance for the song "Jesus Children."

Warner also had roles in "The Cosby Show" spin-off series "A Different World," "Jeremiah," "Sons of Anarchy," "Suits" and hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 1986.

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne, known to fans as "The Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal," died on July 22. He was 76.

The frontman of 1970s heavy metal band Black Sabbath, earned his infamy biting the head off a bat on stage and pursuing a drug-fuelled lifestyle before reinventing himself as a loveable if often foul-mouthed reality TV star.

Osbourne kicked off his career in the early 1970s as singer on Black Sabbath's hits, from "Paranoid" to "War Pigs" to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath." Those plus a string of solo releases saw him sell more than 100 million records worldwide.

The hard riffs and dark subject matter - from depression to war to apocalypse - combined with an instinct for Halloween theatrics. As a performer, Osbourne sprinkled audiences with raw meat and, in 1982, had his encounter with a bat thrown on stage by a fan.

He always insisted he thought it was a toy until he bit into it, realised his mistake and rushed to hospital for a rabies shot. He later sold branded bat soft toys with a removable head.

In 2002, Osbourne won legions of new fans when he starred in U.S. reality TV show "The Osbournes."

Osbourne revealed in 2020 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The illness made him unable to walk.

In his final concert on July 5 in Birmingham, he performed sitting, at times appearing to have difficulties speaking as he thanked thousands of adoring fans, some of whom were visibly emotional.

Chuck Mangione

American two-time Grammy-winning jazz flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione, best known for his 1970s cross-over hit "Feels So Good," died on July 22 at age 84.

The prolific musician and composer - whose career spanned five decades and 30 albums - died in his sleep.

Born Charles Frank Mangione, he was a virtuoso flugelhorn and trumpet player. He grew up in a household where his father exposed him to the jazz greats of the 1950s, including Dizzy Gillespie, a family friend who dined with them frequently.

He began taking music lessons at age eight, and by the time he was a teenager, Gillespie was so impressed by his musical prowess that he gave Mangione one of his trademark "upswept" trumpets.

Mangione's composition "Chase The Clouds Away" was featured at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, while his "Give It All You Got" was the theme music for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

Mangione's biggest hit was his 1977 single "Feels So Good," which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys.

His album by the same name is a staple on smooth jazz radio stations.

Mangione won two Grammys out of 14 nominations - the first in 1977 for best instrumental composition for "Bellavia," named in honor of his mother. In 1979 he won in the best pop instrumental performance category for "The Children of Sanchez." The latter, a soundtrack for the movie of the same name, also won a Golden Globe.

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan, the American sports and entertainment star who made professional wrestling a global phenomenon and loudly supported Donald Trump for president, died on July 24. He was 71.

He died of a heart attack, according to a medical examiner's report.

The bleach-blond, mahogany-tanned behemoth became the face of professional wrestling in the 1980s, helping transform the mock combat from a seedy spectacle into family-friendly entertainment worth billions of dollars.

A key moment in that evolution came at the WrestleMania III extravaganza in 1987, when Hogan hoisted fellow wrestler André the Giant before a sold-out Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan for a thunderous body slam of the Frenchman.

Hogan parlayed his wrestling fame into a less successful career in Hollywood, starring in films like "Rocky III" and "Santa With Muscles," but kept returning to the ring as long as his body would allow.

In 2024, he appeared at the Republican National Convention to endorse the presidential bid of Trump, who in the 1980s had played host to Hulk-headlined WrestleManias. Hogan said he made the decision to support the Republican candidate after seeing his combative, fist-pumping reaction to an attempted assassination on the campaign trail.

Terence Stamp

Terence Stamp, who made his name as an actor in 1960s London and went on to play the arch-villain General Zod in the Hollywood hits "Superman" and "Superman II" died on August 17. He was 87.

The Oscar-nominated actor starred in films ranging from Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Theorem" in 1968 and "A Season in Hell" in 1971 to "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" in 1994, in which he played a transgender woman.

After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, he appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s.

He dropped out of the limelight and studied yoga in India before landing his most high-profile role - as General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in "Superman" in 1978 and its sequel in 1980.

He went on to appear in a string of other films, including "Valkyrie" with Tom Cruise in 2008, "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton.

-Lisa Giles-Keddie and Marie-Louise Gumuchian