A note to our viewers. As this video was being finalized, we received the late breaking news
that NASCAR legend Kyle Busch died Thursday, May 21st, 2026, following a severe illness at the age
of forty-one. We'll publish a full tribute on our website and in next week's video.
Here are the most recent deaths in the national news, as reported at Legacy.com in the third
week of May, 2026. I'm your host, Linnea Crowther. I'm the news editor at Legacy.com,
where you can read full obituaries for most of the people featured in this video, and leave your
own condolences on their Legacy page.
I want to let you know that my Legacy teammates will be helping out for a few weeks while I'm on a
brief leave of absence. You'll still hear me later in the video, when we share this week's memorial
anniversaries. But first, here's my fellow editor Stephen Segal with this week's headlines.
Dennis Locorriere, the lead singer of the classic rock group Dr. Hook, died May 16,
2026, of kidney disease at the age of 76. Locorriere and Dr. Hook boasted six Top 10 hits
in the U.S., including "Sylvia's Mother," "When You're in Love
with a Beautiful Woman," and "Sexy Eyes.” He is also being remembered as a songwriter, whose
work has been recorded by the likes of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Olivia Newton-John.
Blues and soul singer Clarence Carter died May 13, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia of complications
from pneumonia. He was 90. Carter, who was born blind,
was known for hits like “Strokin’,” and the Grammy Award-winning “Patches.” He was inducted into the
Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2003. He is being remembered for his soulful
voice and risqué lyrics, as well as for writing the original version of
the Etta James hit “Tell Mama.”
died May 14, 2026, at the age of 84. She became the central figure in a tragic
criminal case in 1977, when she was convicted of the negligent homicide of her boyfriend,
Olympic skier Vladimir Sabich. Longet is being remembered for such
songs as “Nothing to Lose,” from her 1968 film “The Party” with Peter Sellers. Music lovers
are also remembering her first marriage in the 1960s to singer Andy Williams.
Christian television broadcaster Joni Lamb died May 7, 2026, after a back injury exacerbated
previous medical issues. She was 65. Lamb was best known for her show “Joni’s
Table Talk,” which debuted in 2001 and over the years garnered five Daytime Emmy nominations.
She is also being remembered as the cofounder of the Christian television network Daystar.
Stage and screen actress Aleta Mitchell died April 14, 2026, while in hospice care
in Branford, Connecticut. She was 74. Mitchell graced the stage in the original
Broadway production of August Wilson's “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,” which was
nominated for three Tony Awards in 1985. She is also being remembered for television
and movie roles including “The Cosby Show,” “Law & Order,” and “Malcolm X.”
Voice actor Tom Kane died May 18, 2026, at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri,
of complications from a stroke. He was 64. Kane delighted a generation of viewers as
Professor Utonium in “The Powerpuff Girls,” a role he played throughout
the series, and in multiple spinoffs. He is also remembered for his work in the
Star Wars universe, playing Yoda and performing the opening narration in “The Clone Wars,” as well
as voice work in series such as “Archer,” “Kim Possible,” “Shrek,” and many others.
Actress Ann Robinson died September 25, 2025, in Los Angeles at the age of 96.
Her death was publicly reported in May 2026. Robinson is best remembered for her leading role
in the 1953 science fiction classic, “The War of the Worlds,” in which she played Sylvia Van Buren,
a woman trying to survive an alien invasion. She is also being remembered for appearances in
such television shows as “Rawhide,” “Gilligan’s Island,” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”
Televangelist James Robison died May 16, 2025, at the age of 82.
Robison was the founder of the Christian ministry organization Life Outreach International, and the
co-host of the television program LIFE Today. He was also the author of more than a dozen
published books about faith, life, and family.
Influencer and U.S. Navy veteran Kenny Jary, known to fans as Patriotic Kenny, died May 18,
2026, in Willernie, Minnesota after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He was 84.
Over 4 million people followed his messages of positivity on Instagram and TikTok.
Jary used his fame to create the Patriotic Kenny Foundation,
a nonprofit that has provided over 130 mobility scooters to veterans in need.
Inventor Greg Hyman, who co-created the wildly popular Tickle Me Elmo toy, died May 1, 2026,
in Boca Raton, Florida at the age of 78. Hyman’s invention began life as a laughing
monkey named Tickles the Chimp, created with fellow inventor Ron Dubren. Toy manufacturer
Tyco suggested it be made into the Muppet character Elmo instead. The rest is history.
He is being remembered for delighting countless children, frustrating just as many parents,
and kickstarting a toy craze that dominated the late 1990s.
Longtime U.S. Congressman Barney Frank died May 19, 2026, in Ogunquit, Maine after suffering from
congestive heart failure in April. He was 86. Entering Congress in 1981, Frank established
a reputation as a blunt and direct elected official focused on civil rights and economic
equality. His signature legislation was the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, drafted to address the
causes of the 2007–2008 financial crisis. He is also being remembered as a staunch advocate
for LGBT rights. He was the first openly gay member of Congress, and the first representative
to be in a same-sex marriage.
known to fans as Totó La Momposina, died May 17, 2026, of a heart attack at the age of 85.
Often called the “Queen of Cumbia,” she helped bring the Afro-Colombian rhythms of cumbia and
bullerengue to audiences across the world. In 2013, two years after her album “Latinoamérica”
won the Latin Grammy for Record of the Year, she was honored with the Latin
Grammys’ lifetime achievement award.
mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. The community mourns the loss of
Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and
Nader Awad. In this video,
we do our best every week to bring you the week’s obituary headlines. To find tributes to millions
more people, you can visit our website, Legacy.com, where ANY family can publish
an obituary in honor of a loved one’s memory, online and in local newspapers everywhere.
In addition to featuring current deaths in the news, Legacy.com also honors the lives and
legacies of notable people who died in the past. Here are some of this week’s anniversaries.
Five years ago this week, actor Gavin MacLeod died at the age of 90. He played newswriter
Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and starred as the cheerful Captain
Stubing on The Love Boat. Fifteen years ago this week,
actor Jeff Conaway died at the age of 60. He played Kenickie in the beloved
1978 musical film Grease and was Golden Globe nominated for his role on the sitcom Taxi.
Fifteen years ago this week, jazz poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron died at the age of 62.
Widely regarded as a forefather of hip-hop, he is best remembered for his landmark 1971 recording
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Thirty-five years ago this week, singer-songwriter
Gene Clark died at the age of 46. A founding member of the folk-rock band the Byrds, he
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the group just months before his death.
Rapper Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes would have been 55 this week. The fiery
creative force of the Grammy-winning trio TLC, she co-wrote and performed on hits
including "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs." She died in 2002 at the age of 30.
Astronaut Sally Ride was born 75 years ago this week. The first American woman in space,
she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. She died in 2012 at the age of 61.
Actress Beth Howland was born 85 years ago this week. She starred in Stephen Sondheim's
original Broadway production of Company, and earned four Golden Globe nominations playing
the waitress Vera on the sitcom Alice. She died in 2015 at the age of 74.
Actor Louis Gossett Jr. was born 90 years ago this week. He was the first African American to
win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for An Officer and a Gentleman, and won an Emmy
Award for his role in the landmark miniseries Roots. He died in 2024 at the age of 87.
Jazz legend Miles Davis was born 100 years ago this week. An innovator
who helped shape jazz from bebop to fusion, his record Kind of Blue is
the best-selling jazz album of all time. He died in 1991 at the age of 65.
Every week in the United States, flags are lowered to half-staff to honor the
lives of Americans whose communities are mourning their loss. Here are the most
recent half-staff memorial flag honors. Flags in South Carolina have been lowered
in tribute to Officer Don “DJ” Keller of the Greenwood Police Department,
who died in the line of duty. Flags in Michigan have been lowered
in honor and memory of former state Representative Paul Clemente.
Flags in Delaware have been lowered in honor of former Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki.
Flags in Alabama have been lowered in honor of former state Representative
Harry DuWayne Bridges. Flags in Maine have been lowered
in honor of Morrill firefighter Andrew Cross, who died in the line of duty.
Flags in Massachusetts have been lowered in honor of former United States
Congressman Barney Frank. Flags across the nation are expected
to be lowered in observance of Memorial Day, in honor of the members of the Armed Forces
who died while serving their country. You can read more about the lives of the people
featured in this video on Legacy.com. Follow Legacy.com on Instagram and Facebook
and subscribe to our channel on YouTube to stay up to date on national news deaths.