They Shall Not Pass This Way Again

December brought forth several high-quality wrap-ups of famous people who died in 2022 (including those in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Hollywood Reporter). But nowhere have I spotted a list of notable deaths specifically within the crime-fiction community. So I decided to create one myself.

Our lives and world were improved by the presence of the people mentioned below, and have been diminished by their loss. We owe all of them our thanks for having entertained and enlightened us.

• David Birney, who co-starred with Meredith Baxter in Bridget Loves Bernie and held the lead role in the 1976 TV series Serpico.
• Robert Brown, star of Primus and Here Come the Brides.
• James Caan, star of The Godfather, Thief, and the 1998 HBO-TV film Poodle Springs, adapted from Robert B. Parker’s 1989 novel.
• Anne Turner Cook, former Gerber Baby model and author of the Brandy O’Bannon series.
• Ron Goulart, prolific science fiction, fantasy, and mystery novelist.
• Clu Gulager, who appeared in the movies The Killers and The Last Picture Show, was a regular face on TV series such as The Virginian, Bonanza, and San Francisco International Airport, and starred in the 1977 TV pilot film Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging.
• Elizabeth Gunn, author of the Detective Jake Hines series and the Sarah Burke series.
• Jack Higgins, aka Henry Patterson, the author of such thrillers as The Eagle Has Landed.
• Bo Hopkins, a prolific actor who appeared on the TV shows The Rockford Files, Charlie’s Angels, The Manhunter, and Doc Elliott, and in big-screen films such as The Wild Bunch and American Graffiti.
• William Hurt, star of Body Heat and Gorky Park.
• J. Robert Janes, author of the fine World War II-era Jean-Louis St-Cyr/Hermann Kohler mysteries.
• J.J. Lamb, co-author (with his wife, Bette) of the Gina Mazzio medical thrillers.
• Angela Lansbury, star of Murder, She Wrote.
• Ray Liotta, who starred in GoodFellas and the Silence of the Lambs sequel Hannibal.
• Michael Malone, author of the Justin Bartholomew Savile V/Cudberth "Cuddy" Mangum mysteries.
• Stuart Margolin, who played Angel on The Rockford Files, featured regularly as con man Philo Sandeen on the TV series Bret Maverick, and starred in the NBC Mystery Movie pilot Lanigan's Rabbi.
• Monty Norman, composer of the James Bond movie theme.
• Nehemiah Persoff, recognizable from myriad TV and film appearances, including in Columbo, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, and Richie Brockelman, Private Eye.
• Sidney Poitier, star of the movie In the Heat of the Night.
• Thalia Proctor, London bookseller and an editor with Little, Brown.
• Williams Reynolds, who starred as Special Agent Tom Colby on 161 episodes of The F.B.I.
• Peter Robinson, author of the DCI Alan Banks series.
• Shelley Singer, author of the Jake Samson mystery series.
• Paul Sorvino, star of The Oldest Rookie and the Streets of San Francisco spin-off, Bert D’Angelo/Superstar.
• Peter Straub, bestselling author of horror and mystery novels.
• Andrew Vachss, author of the Burke series.
• Monica Vitti, Italian star of the 1966 spy-fi film Modesty Blaise.
• Stuart Woods, author of the Stone Barrington series.

I’m certain there are other folks who passed away last year, and who I have neglected to mention. Please feel free to make additions to the list in the Comments section at the end of this post.

READ MORE: “In Memoriam: the Columbo Stars We Lost in 2022” (The Columbophile); “Notable Literary Deaths in 2022,” by Emily Temple (Literary Hub); “Literary Deaths of 2022,” by Bill Morris (The Millions); “Marijane Meaker Obituary,” by Michael Carlson (The Guardian).