Honoring the Inspiring Sci-Fi, Horror, and Fantasy Luminaries Lost in 2024

In io9’s annual “in memoriam” post, we pay tribute to actors, directors, artists, composers, writers, creators, and other icons in the realms of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy that have passed. Their inspiring work has impacted the lives of so many and will live on through their legacies in the worlds of genre entertainment.

In Memoriam

Shelley Duvall

A regular of director Robert Altman, Duvall’s many film credits include 3 Women, Nashville, Popeye, Brewster McCloud, and McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Duvall’s genre credits additionally include Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, Guy Maddin’s Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, Russell Mulcahy’s Tale of the Mummy, and Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme. Also a producer, Duvall created and hosted the children’s television series Faerie Tale Theatre and Tall Tales & Legends, as well as the short-lived horror anthology series, Nightmare Classics.

Tony Todd

Born December 4, 1954, Todd made his acting debut with the 1986 films Platoon and Sleepwalk. From there, much of his storied resume consisted of genre fare. On TV, you’d see him on Star Trek (Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager), MacGyver, or Smallville; then he’d be on the big screen in films such as Night of the Living Dead, The Crow, and Wishmaster. Horror was particularly kind to him: as Ben in the Night of the Living Dead remake, Todd achieved stardom, which led to him becoming a much bigger name as the titular killer in the Candyman series, which he reprised in Nia DaCosta’s 2021 sequel.

Jon Landau

“Jon believed in the dream of cinema. He believed that film is the ultimate human art form, and to make films you must first be human yourself,” said James Cameron to the Hollywood Reporter. “He was my right hand, and I was his. […] I am grateful for every year, every day, every minute we had together. A part of myself has been torn away. But the amazing team he assembled and led still remains, and we will dedicate ourselves to fulfilling Jon’s legacy. Not just the films yet to come, but the love and connection that binds Avatar and Lightstorm together.”

Maggie Smith

The legendary English actress had an award-winning career and was truly one of the greats of our time. In genre she played a huge role in the childhoods of so many in films like Steven Spielberg’s Hook as Wendy Darling, and as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise. Co-star Daniel Radcliffe remembered the actress in a statement shared in Variety: “The first time I met Maggie Smith I was 9 years old and we were reading through scenes for David Copperfield. which was my first job. I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her … I remember feeling nervous to meet her and then her putting me immediately at ease. She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the Harry Potter films.”

“She was a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny…I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set. The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her.”

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, The Lion King‘s Mufasa, and countless more iconic roles, died at the age of 93. The legendary actor was a star across stage and screen—one of the vaunted few to have earned the EGOT, winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards—in a career bursting with some of the most beloved films in history. From Dr. Strangelove in 1964 all the way up to his reprisal of King Jaffe Joffer in the sequel Coming 2 America in 2021, Jones’ filmography is defined by some of the most successful films of all time, including memorable turns in Field of Dreams, Conan the Barbarian, The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and many more, and of course famous TV roles in everything from Gabriel’s Fire to his memorable Simpsons cameos.

Olivia Hussey

The star of 1974 horror classic Black Christmas—she answered the calls that were coming from inside the house!—Hussey came to fame as a teen in Franco Zefferelli’s 1968 Romeo and Juliet adaptation. (That film was very recently back in the news when Hussey and co-star Leonard Whiting, who was also a teen at the time of filming, pursued a pair of lawsuits alleging they were pressured into nude scenes; the second suit was dismissed in October 2024.) An elegant presence in any medium, her legacy also includes not just Shakespeare and holiday slashers, but also turns as Norma Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning and Audra Denbrough in the original It TV mini-series. She also had a slew of voice-acting credits, including work on three Star Wars video games (Rogue Squadron, Force Commander, and The Old Republic).

Jeri Taylor

Born June 30, 1938, Taylor got her start in TV writing scripts for Little House on the Prairie and The Incredible Hulk, and would later produce and direct episodes of Quincy, M.E. and Jake and the Fatman. Lee Sheldon, who she’d worked with on the former, recommended her to the Star Trek: The Next Generation producers, and she joined the show as a supervising producer on season four. During her time on the show, she was promoted to executive producer, became showrunner for the final season and penned several episodes, including Wesley Crusher’s (Wil Wheaton) final appearance as a series regular, and “The Wounded,” the first Star Trek episode to feature the Cardassians, who would become a major faction in ’90s Star Trek in Deep Space Nine.

Roger Corman

Throughout his career, Corman became known for making movies at a fast clip, the majority of which were low-budget genre fare like sci-fi, horror, and action. Those movies helped launch the careers of several actors between the 1950s and 70s: Jack Nicholson, William Shatner, Diane Ladd, and so on. He was equally helpful to those behind the camera, having mentored directors like James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Dante, and Martin Scorsese as they were emerging onto the scene. He’d also handled U.S. distribution for films of the era directed by foreign filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, and Federico Fellini.

Donald Sutherland

While cinephiles of all stripes appreciated Sutherland’s work—he brought an intelligence and dignity to all his characters, plus a wide range (intimidating, mischievous, world-weary…) of nuances depending on the role—genre fans will always especially appreciate his work in sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. Titles in those realms include, of course, his stint playing President Coriolanus Snow across four Hunger Games movies, as well as Don’t Look Now, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie), Space Cowboys, Ad Astra, and Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, among many others. He is also the father of Kiefer Sutherland, also a prolific actor.                                                c

Akira Toriyama

There are not many ways to truly articulate just how influential Toriyama’s work was to legions of people. Across mediums, across series, across forms and styles and across multiple generations, there are few contemporary artists who it’s possible to say didn’t just touch the lives of billions of fans, but fundamentally reshaped the industries he operated in. It’s impossible to quantify just what manga’s reach across the world, and the shape of its most popular trends and series, would be without Dragon Ball’s influence and inspirations—and the same can be said for its anime adaptations, and not just how it shaped the industry at home but proliferated the form across the entire planet.

Mark Dodson

Born February 1, 1960, Dodson originally worked as a radio producer before stepping into voice acting in 1983 as Salacious B. Crumb in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. He’d go to do voice work in plenty of movies and shows throughout the decades, including Day of the Dead, Darkwing Duck, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, and Arachnicide. He also did voice work across multiple Gremlins projects.

Bob Newhart

The actor known for a legacy of comedic work from Catch 22 to Disney’s The Rescuers to Elf was remembered by filmmaker Judd Apatow on Instagram: “Bob Newhart was as funny as they come. The best stand up, the best situation comedy star, the kindest soul. It was the thrill of a lifetime to spend some time with him when we made Bob and Don – A Love Story. I watched thousands of hours of his work growing up and he made my life much happier and did the same for the world.”

Carl Weathers

Carl Weathers, who brought a gruff dignity (with a hint of mischief) to his role as The Mandalorian’s Greef Karga, has died at the age of 76. Weathers was also much-beloved for his portrayals of Apollo Creed in the Rocky films and Col. Al Dillon—opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, who shared with Weathers one of the most iconic handshake scenes ever—in Predator. And, of course, comedy fans will love him forever as Derick “Chubbs” Peterson in Adam Sandler’s golf epic Happy Gilmore.

John Cassady

One of the most prominent comics artists of the 21st century, Cassady will be forever remembered for his time as the artist on Astonishing X-Men. Together with writer Joss Whedon, Cassaday’s re-envisioning of the X-Men in a post-New X-Men world from 2004 through to 2008 elevated Astonishing into one of Marvel’s best books at the time, giving X-Fans many incredible moments as well as defining a new look for Marvel’s mutants in the mid-aughts. More recently, Cassaday relaunched Marvel’s Star Wars comics line alongside Jason Aaron in January 2015, helping to reshape the then-newly rebooted Star Wars canon as he helped depict the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Marc Gustafson

News of the 64-year-old filmmaker’s death was revealed by Pinocchio co-director Guillermo del Toro, who eulogized him on Twitter as a “true artist. I admired [Mark], even before I met him. […] A Legend- and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him.” He went on to say Gustafson leaves behind “a Titanic legacy of animation. […] I loved having had the chance to share time and space with him during the highs and the lows. Always and forever.”

Martin Mull

Comedian Martin Mull had a long and varied career, mostly on TV (Arrested Development‘s Gene Parmesan being a particular fan favorite); genre fans in particular will always remember his humorous turns in the board game-inspired Clue movie (as Colonel Mustard) and the 1990s Sabrina the Teenage Witch series.

Chance Perdomo

A young actor whose career was tragically cut short by a motorcycle crash, Perdomo’s breakout role came with Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as Ambrose Spellman, followed by a regular role as Andre Anderson for The Boys spinoff Gen V on Prime Video.

Shannen Doherty

Born April 12, 1971, Doherty began acting at 11 years old as a guest star on shows like Voyagers! and Father Murphy. She’d later land a recurring role on Little House on the Prairie as Jenny Wilder for the ninth and final season. She had a healthy career in both film and TV–in the former, she debuted as the voice of Teresa Brisby in 1982’s The Secret of NIMH, and also starred in Heathers and Mallrats. After a streak of guest roles in series like 21 Jump Street and Magnum P.I., she landed her biggest role as Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210. After negative reception from her character’s shift to a “bad girl” and conflicts with the show’s staff, Doherty exited the show after season four, though she later reprised her role for the first season of the CW’s 2008 reboot. One of her other big roles was the top-billed lead in Charmed (from the CW’s predecessor, the WB) as Prue Halliwell.

Gary Graham

Star Trek‘s official site remembered Graham as follows: “Fans of Star Trek knew him best as Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Soval, the Vulcan ambassador to Earth, who causes problems for both Admiral Forrest and Captain Archer with his unfavorable attitude towards humans. Soval would go on to object to giving Archer command of the Enterprise NX-01, and later blame him for the destruction of the P’Jem monastery. Prior to Enterprise, Graham appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Cold Fire” as Tanis, an Ocampan community leader whose ancestors elected to live with the Caretaker’s mate, Suspiria. His presence in the Star Trek fandom would continue with appearances at conventions and two Star Trek fan films.”

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