Celebrity Deaths – J

by Michael RichComment — Updated November 21, 2023
Janis Joplin - celebrity deaths J
Janis Joplin
1970
Anissa jones
Anissa Jones
1976
David Janssen
David Janssen
1980
Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson
1996
Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
2005
Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
2007
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
2009
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
2011
Davy Jones
Davy Jones
2012
Kathryn Joostin
Kathryn Joostin
2012
George Jones
George Jones
2013
Russell Johnson
Russell Johnson
2014

Wolfman Jack b. 1939 d. 1995 (heart attack)
DJ extraordinaire

J.J. Jackson b. 1941 d. March 17, 2004 (heart attack)
L.A. D.J. – first MTV VJ

Mahalia Jackson b. 1912 d. 1972
Singer

Maynard Jackson b. 1938 d. June 23, 2003
Politician – First Black mayor of Atlanta Georgia

Michael Jackson b.1958 d. 2009 (cardiac arrest)
Entertainer – “The King of Pop” was the most influential force in music and culture of his generation

Pervis Jackson b.1938 d. 2008 (cancer)
Singer/ sang bass vocals for the Spinners

Oswald Jacoby b. 1902 d. 1984
Bridge player extraordinaire

Richard Jaeckel b. 1926 d. 1997 (cancer)
Actor – Sergeant Clyde Bowren on the Dirty Dozen

Sam Jaffe b. 1891 d. 1984 (cancer)
Actor – Dr. David Zorba on Ben Casey

Dean Jagger b. 1903 d. 1991 (heart disease)
Actor – Twelve O’Clock High (1949)

Art James b. 1922 d. March 28, 2004
Game show host/announcer – Concentration, Family Feud Challenge

Dennis James b. 1917 d. 1997 (cancer)
Actor, game show host

Etta James b. 1938 d. January 20, 2012 (leukemia & Alzheimer’s disease)
Singer “At Last”, “Dance With Me”

Harry James b. 1916 d. 1983
Musician

Rick James b. 1948 d. August 6, 2004 (heart attack)
Singer – Superfreak

Sonny James b. 1928 d. 2016
Country Music Singer/Songwriter – “Young Love” (1957)

Jimi Jamison b. 1951 d. 2014 (heart attack)
Singer – frontman for Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” and sang the “Baywatch” theme

David Janssen b. 1931 d. 1980 (heart attack)
Actor – The Fugitive

Al Jarreau b. 1940 d. 2017
Jazz Singer – 7 Grammy Awards, “We’re in This Love Together”, “After All”

Gregory B. “Greg” Jarvis b. 1944. d. January 28, 1986
Challenger astronaut

Rick Jason b. 1926 d. 2000 (suicide – self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head)
Actor – Lt. Gil Hanley on Combat!

Leon Jaworski b. 1905 d. 1982
Watergate prosecutor

Aunt Jemima (Rosie Riles) b. 1901 d. 1969
Pancake lady

Richard Jeni b. 1957 d. March 10, 2007 (suicide)
Comedian – HBO special Richard Jeni: Good Catholic Boy

Peter Jennings b. 1938 d. August 7, 2005 (lung cancer)
Journalist – Anchor & chief editor ABC News Tonight

Waylon Jennings b. 1937 d. Ferbruary 13, 2002 (complications of diabetes)
Country music great

George Jessel b. 1898 d. 1981 (heart attack)
Comedian/actor

Michael Jeter b. 1952 d. March 30, 2003 (complications of HIV)
Actor – The Green Mile

Steve Jobs b. 1955 d. October 5, 2011 (pancreatic cancer)
co-founder of Apple Computer invented ipod, itunes, iphone, ipad and more

Ben Johnson b. June 13, 1918. d. April 8, 1996 (heart attack)
Actor – Chisum, Undefeated and many more Westerns

Gail Johnson b. 1942 d. 1999
Actress – Mimi Grosset on Days of Our Lives

John H. Johnson b. 1918 d. August 8, 2005
Publisher – Ebony and Jet magazines

Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson b 1912 d. July 11, 2007
Former First Lady of the United States 1963-1969

Lyndon B. Johnson b. 1908 d. 1973 (heart attack)
36th President of the United States

Russell Johnson b. 1924 d. Jan. 16, 2014 (kidney failure)
Actor – The Professor on “Gilligan’s Island“(1964-1967)

Van Johnson b. 1916 d. 2008 (natural causes)
Actor / many supporting roles for MGM

Anissa Jones b. 1958 d. 1976 (drug overdose)
Actress – Buffy on Family Affair

Brian Jones b. 1942 d. 1969 (drowned)
Rolling Stone

Carolyn Jones b. 1929 d. 1983 (cancer)
Actress – Morticia on the Addams Family

Davy Jones b. 1945 d. 2012 (heart attack)
Singer/Actor “The Monkees” band and tv show

Deacon Jones b. 1938 d. 2013 (natural causes)
Athlete – Pro football player (1961-1974),he coined the term “sack the quarterback”

Dean Jones b. 1931 d. 2015 (Parkinson’s disease) 
Actor – several Walt Disney movies incl. “The Love Bug” and both sequels

Dick Jones b.1927 d. 2014 (natural causes)
Actor – Artimer “Artie” Peters, nephew of Buck Peters, in the Hopalong Cassidy film

George Jones b. 1931 d. 2013 (fever and irregular blood pressure)
Musician – known as the greatest C&W singer for the last 5 decades

Louis “Grandpa” Jones b. 1914 d. 1998 (strokes)
Musician – Co-star of Hee Haw

Robert Trent Jones b. 1906 d. 2000
Golf course architect – 300 courses including Spyglass Hill (Pebble Beach)

Kathryn Joostin b. 1939 d. 2012 (lung cancer)
Actress – Dolores Landingham on “West Wing”

Janis Joplin b. 1943 d. 1970 (herion overdose)
Singer – Me and My Bobby McGee

Barbara Jordan b. 1936 d. 1996
U.S. Congresswoman

Jim “Fibber McGee” Jordan b. 1896 d. 1988
Radio personality

Richard Jordan b.1938 d. 1993 (brain tumor)
Actor – Dirk Pitt in Raise the Titanic

Christine Jorgensen, (George William Jorgensen, Jr.) b. 1926 d. 1989 (bladder cancer)
1952 Sex change pioneer

Louis Jourdan b. 1921 d. 2015
Actor – Gigi (1958), Octopussy (1983)

Florence Griffith “FloJo” Joyner b. 1959 d. 1998 (heart attack)
Olympic track star

Raul Julia b. 1940 d. 1994 (stroke/cancer)
Actor – Gomez Addams in the Addams Family movies

Gordon Jump b. 1932 d. September 23, 2003 (heart and respiratory failure)
Actor – Mr. Arthur “Big Guy” Carlson from WKRP; the second Matag repairman

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