Celebrity deaths of 2026: The entertainers and artists we lost this year

Breaking: Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir dead at 78

Bob Weir, co-founder of the Grateful Dead, has died at 78 years old, a statement from his family on his social media page confirmed. "It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could."

In 2026, several notable public figures died, drawing attention across the entertainment, sports, political, and cultural spheres.

The individuals included actors, musicians, athletes, artists, politicians, and religious leaders whose work and public roles made them widely known.

List of celebrity deaths

Below is a list of prominent figures who died in 2026.

Yeison Jiménez

Jan. 10, 2026: Colombian music star Yeison Jiménez, 34, died following a plane crash in Colombia.

According to TMZ, Jiménez was one of Colombia’s most successful artists, known for blending Mexican ranchera music with Colombian influences.

Bob Weir

Celebrity deaths of 2026: Bob Weir sings as Dead & Company performs at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on August 3, 2025. (Credit: Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Jan. 10, 2026: Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir died, according to a family statement posted to his official Instagram account. He was 78.

Weir was famously the "little brother" of the Grateful Dead, as the guitarist and vocalist joined the band in 1965 at just 17 years old. He'd spend the next 30 years playing on endless tours with the Grateful Dead alongside fellow singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995.

T.K. Carter

Jan. 9, 2026: Thomas Kent "T.K." Carter, a veteran actor known for roles in the horror film "The Thing" and TV’s "Punky Brewster," died.

He began his career in stand-up comedy, and had been acting for years before a breakthrough role as Nauls the cook in John Carpenter's 1982 horror classic, "The Thing." Other big-screen roles include "Runaway Train" in 1985, "Ski Patrol" in 1990 and "Space Jam" in 1996.

Guy Moon

Jan. 8, 2026: Music Composer Guy Moon – the man behind "The Fairly OddParents" theme song – died in a car crash.

Moon's family posted on the composer's public Facebook page that Guy Moon had died on Thursday, January 8.

Sidney Kibrick

Jan. 3, 2026: Sidney Kibrick, one of the original cast members of the 1930s film shorts "Our Gang/Little Rascals," died. He was 97 years old.

Kibrick was cast as Woim and appeared in dozens of "Our Gang/Little Rascals" shorts throughout the 1930s. The "Our Gang" shorts would later be titled "The Little Rascals" after it was sold to MGM for syndication in the 1950s.

The Source

This story was reported from Los Angeles. Previous FOX Local reporting contributed.

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