RIP

As 2016 seems to be an unendingly cruel mistress, another beloved TV parent has left us behind. Alan Thicke, actor behind Growing Pains patriarch Jason Seaver has passed away at age 69. The acclaimed sitcom star had only days earlier made a surprise cameo in the second season of Netflix’s Fuller House.

Although his watch had since ended on the series, Game of Thrones fans no doubt remember the inimitable Peter Vaughan, actor behind the wise and enigmatic Maester Aemon. Word now comes that the actor has passed away at age 93, following a distinguished career that also includes the U.K.’s Porridge and Citizen Smith.

Unfortunate news for fans of Firefly and accomplished film and TV actor Ron Glass, as the Emmy-nominated Barney Miller star has passed away at age 71. Glass had also appeared in everything from The Twilight Zone to Friends, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

A sad day for fans of The Brady Bunch and revered actress Florence Henderson, as the Brady family matriarch has passed away at age 82. Henderson had since appeared in everything from Murder, She Wrote, to Roseanne, 30 Rock and Dancing With the Stars.

A sad day for fans of Preacher co-creator and revered comic artist Steve Dillon, as the Hellblazer and Punisher icon has passed away at age 54. Dillon had worked on everything from Doctor Who, to Nick Fury and Judge Dredd, including the original Preacher art-work alongside co-creator Garth Ennis.

For every cinephile and aspiring filmmaker interested in the worlds of horror and exploitation, it is a rite of passage: The first viewing of Blood Feast. Notorious in its day, infamous for decades for its extreme violence and graphic depictions of blood and guts, Blood Feast became one of the foundational movies of the splatter subgenre. Sadly, its director, Herschell Gordon Lewis, the so-called “Godfather of Gore,” passed away today according to Blood Feast’s DVD distributor, Something Weird Video. He was 87 years old.

TMZ reports some very sad news: Curtis Hanson, the director of movies like L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, and 8 Mile has died. Their sources say that he was found dead in his home in Hollywood of what “appears to have been a heart attack.”

According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Arthur Hiller has died. A former President of the Academy, Hiller’s best known as the director of The Americanization of Emily, The In-Laws, and particularly Love Story, the iconic ’70s romance starring Alice MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal. Hiller passed away in Los Angeles today of natural causes. He was 92 years old.

Sad news today for fans of the Star Wars films and Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits: Kenny Baker, the man who brought droid R2-D2 to life, has passed away at the age of 81. According to The Guardian, Baker’s passing comes after a long battle with an unspecified illness.

Very sad news out of Japan: According to Mental Floss, Funai Electric, the last company making VCRs has announced that it will cease production of VCRs, “due to declining sales and difficulty acquiring parts.” Though effectively on life support for the last several years, the will mark the true and final death of the VCR, or video cassette recorder. It was 40 years old.