James Van Der Beek, the beloved star of Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues, has passed away at the age of 48. His death follows a battle with Stage 3 colorectal cancer, a diagnosis he first shared publicly in late 2024. 

Some deaths loom so large that they come to signify the passing of an entire era. This year, it seemed as though the 1970s faded away, along with so many figures from the political and cultural life of the decade. Among them were Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, first lady Rosalynn Carter, filmmaker William Friedkin and stars of show business as varied as David Crosby, Gordon Lightfoot, Jimmy Buffett and Richard Roundtree.

The word “last” appeared with painful frequency in obituaries for people of the 1940s, the World War II generation. Ben Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, and Traute Lafrenz, the last known survivor of the White Rose anti-Nazi resistance group, both died at 103.

We were reminded this year of the glamour of the 1950s, with the passing of such stars as the voluptuous Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, but also the horror, with the death of Carolyn Bryant, whose accusation led to the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till. Singer-activist Harry Belafonte, with his a cappella shout of “Day-O!,”straddled the beauty of music-making and the pain of the civil rights struggle, which he helped bankroll.

The 1960s, too, had its losses, with the deaths of actress Raquel Welch, fashion designer Marc Bohan, and composer and songwriter Burt Bacharach, who had more than 70 Top-40 hits. And we said goodbye to many mainstays of the 1980s and beyond, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

There were those whose lives seemed to transcend time — entertainers Tony Bennett, Tina Turner and Wayne Shorter, acclaimed author Cormac McCarthy, the eternal game-show host Bob Barker — and those who lives ended too soon. “Friends” star Matthew Perry and singer Lisa Marie Presley both died at 54. The rebellious Irish musical genius Sinéad O’Connor was 56. But the death, at 96, of counterculture filmmaker Kenneth Anger reminds us that nonconformists were always with us and always will be, as fascinating as they are timeless.

Celebrity deaths 2023

For 28 years and counting, November in Los Angeles has been punctuated by the starriest, most show-stopping event of the season: GQ’s annual Men of the Year Party.(Actually, there have been a few exceptions—like MOTY 2002, which honored that year’s magazine cover stars Denzel Washington, Hugh Grant, and Ralph Lauren—that took place in New York City. As an event, it’s sort of spiritually bicoastal.) And when we’re talking about the biggest menswear red carpet of the year, let’s just say that “big menswear” has meant a lot of different things through the high-octane 1990s, the freaky early aughts, and the no-rules 2020s.

From Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to France’s iconic fashion designer Thierry Mugler and the Soviet Union’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, many notable public figures left us in 2022. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at the lives and legacies behind some of the year’s most high-profile deaths. 

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The National Fire Protection Association recommends that animal owners in at-risk areas have evacuation plans for animals in place, but because of how urgent some orders were, many were unable to return home for their pets and other animals.

• California wildfires reach grim milestone 

Residents have been using social media to spread images of their lost animals around the internet.

Dedicated accounts, groups and hashtags have also been set up by online volunteers to help reunite pets with their owners.
 

For the past six years, Marcel Hirscher has dominated the world of Alpine skiing, winning six straight World Cup titles.

Now he’s racking up Olympic gold medals.

The 28-year-old Austrian easily won the giant slalom Sunday after winning the combined event last week. He’s the first to win both in the same Winter Games, and he might not be done — he’ll be a favorite in Thursday’s slalom.

Here are some of the most compelling photos we’ve seen from South Korea as the PyeongChang Olympics move into their final week.

DUPONT, Wash. — An Amtrak train on its inaugural run derailed south of Seattle on Monday, causing multiple deaths and injuries as rail cars plunged off a bridge over a traffic-clogged interstate, authorities said.