Do you know about any celebrities who died of pancreatic cancer? This terrible disease has taken the lives of many of our favorite entertainers.
While it saddens us to learn about their passing, we should also find inspiration when we look back at their remarkable lives. These celebrities lived life to the fullest and overcame many obstacles to achieve success in their careers.
They’ve given us incredible performances on stage, radio, film, and television. They were masters of their craft and there’s a lot we can learn from them.
Their lives remain an inspiration for us all. Watch this video to learn about the celebrities who died of pancreatic cancer and their incredible lives and careers.
JACK BENNY
One of America’s legendary comic performers was Jack Benny. He was born as Benjamin Kubelsky on Valentine’s Day 1894 in Chicago. His parents were Jewish immigrants, with his father migrating from Poland and his mother migrating from Lithuania.
As a child, he began learning to play the violin and would play it when he became a professional performer. In his teens, he began playing in an orchestra and it was clear that performing for others was a lot more important to him than his studies.
He eventually got expelled from school due to his poor grades. But this certainly didn’t make him lose hope. In his late teens, he began playing the violin in vaudeville theaters. He began making a regular income from his work and decided that being a professional entertainer was the right career path for him.
He transitioned to radio in the 1930s as the host of his own radio comedy show, The Jack Benny Show. His radio career would last almost 20 years.
It was toward the end of the 1940s that he knew he had to delve into new mediums to expand his reach. He would host popular TV shows and soon became a guest on many TV panel shows such as the $64,000 Question. He soon enough became the host of his own TV show, The Jack Benny Program.
His film career included roles in films such as Chasing Rainbows, The Medicine Man, It’s In The Air, George Washington Slept Here, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Jack Benny passed away on December 26, 1974 at the age of 80. He’s remembered as one of America’s most prolific and versatile entertainers… Watch this video to learn about the celebrities who died of pancreatic cancer and their incredible lives and careers.
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PERNELL ROBERTS
Pernell Roberts Jr. was born in Georgia in 1928. At a young age, Pernell developed a keen interest in acting.
He acted in plays in school and in his church. After serving two years in the Marines he attended the University of Maryland where he acted in a few college plays. However, he left the University to start his professional acting career much faster!
It was in the late 1940s that he began working regularly in the theatre. His theatre work included roles in plays such as The Man Who Came to Dinner and Pygmalion. He later began working in television, having bit parts in shows such as Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, Lawna, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Detectives.
His big break came when he played Adam Cartwright in Bonanza. This was his breakout role which made him a household name.
After leaving Bonanza, he continued to work in the theatre for the remainder of his career. He died in 2010 at the age of 81. Watch this video to learn about the celebrities who died of pancreatic cancer and their incredible lives and careers.
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MICHAEL LANDON
Michael Landon was a star from bonanza. He was born as Eugene Growitz in 1936 in New York.
Michael was more interested in sports than anything else during his teenage years. He was an excellent javelin thrower and pursued the sport in college. Unfortunately, he tore his shoulder ligament and had to put an end to his athletic career.
However, it was at this time that he was also developing an interest in acting. He began his work in television in the 1950s. His first TV appearance was in the show Telephone Time – appearing in the episode “The Mystery of Casper Hauser.”
This followed a series of bit parts in popular TV shows. He soon became popular on Westerns such as The Rifleman, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, and The Texan. When he was cast as Little Joe in Bonanza, he became a huge star!
Following Bonanza he played the lead role of Charles Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. For the remainder of his career, he had parts in TV shows and films. He also worked behind the camera as the writer and director for Where Pigeons Go to Die.
He died in 1991 at the age of 54.
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BONNIE FRANKLIN
Bonnie Franklin was born in California in 1944. She began her acting career by appearing in television shows during her childhood. She even had a small uncredited role in the Alfred Hitchcock film The Wrong Man.
In the 1970s, she began her theatre career with her first role in the musical Applause. Her later plays included A Thousand Clowns and Carousel. She became a household name when she played Ann Romano in the sitcom One Day At A Time.
Following her work on the sitcom, she continued to play bit parts in television shows and also continued working in the theatre. One of her notable roles was in her later career was in the soap opera The Young and the Restless.
She died in 2013 at the age of 69.
JOAN CRAWFORD
One of Hollywood’s legendary actresses was Joan Crawford. She began her career dancing in traveling revues. She was born in the early 1900s in Texas.
She’d later appear in plays which would catch the attention of film producers. Her first film roles were in the films Lady of the Night, The Circle, Pretty Ladies, The Only Thing, and The Merry Widow.
While she was getting regular work, she felt that she had the potential to become a major star. She began to promote herself and actively sought out bigger roles.
Her major film roles included work in The Unknown, Spring Fever, Across to Singapore, Our Blushing Brides, Laughing Sinners, and Possessed.
One of her most memorable roles was in Mildred Pierce for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She had such a commanding presence on screen that she never seemed to lose popularity throughout her career. While she did have a few flops and her fair share of harsh critics, she never let anyone stop her.
Any fan of classic American cinema knows the formidable presence Joan Crawford had throughout her career. Whether it’s Johnny Guitar or Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? you can look back at Joan Crawford’s career and marvel at her talent and her persistence.
She died in 1977.
DONNA REED
Donna Reed was born and raised on a farm in Iowa in 1921. It seems unlikely that she’d become an actress. However, her life was changed when her high school chemistry teacher gave her a copy of the book How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
This classic book on self-improvement and communication must have sparked her interest in performing.
She appeared in a school play and then later appeared in many plays while a student at Los Angeles City College.
Donna made her film debut in 1941 in the film The Get Away. She then had roles in major films such as Shadow of the Thin Man, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, Eyes in the Night, Thousands Cheer, The Picture of Dorian Gray and They Were Expendable.
But perhaps her most well-known role was as Mary Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life.
From 1958 to 1966 she starred in her own sitcom called The Donna Reed Show. This was one of her most rewarding roles.
She loved playing a wife and a mother who looked after her home and her family. While the show was criticized by feminists, Donna Reed stood her ground on the importance of the role. To this day, this sitcom is remembered as a show that emphasized the importance of family.
She continued to play bit parts on television show for the remainder of her career. Donna even briefly replaced Barbara Bel Geddes in Dallas until the former actress returned to the role.
She died in 1986 at the age of 64.
ALAN RICKMAN
Few actors could match the screen presence of Alan Rickman. He was born in London in 1946 and started his career as a graphic designer. Alan Rickman and his friends had begun a successful graphic design business but he soon decided that working in graphic design wasn’t his true calling.
He later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the 1970s and began acting in theatre. His first major film role was as Hans Gruber in the blockbuster action film Die Hard. To this day, Hans Gruber is considered to be one of cinema’s greatest villains.
In the 1990s, she starred as The Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He also had major roles in films such as Truly Madly Deeply, Quigley Down Under, Galaxy Quest and Dogma.
In the 2000s he became best known for playing Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. He also had a role in the now-classic British rom-com Love, Actually.
Alan Rickman passed away in 2016 at the age of 69.
PETE POSTLETHWAITE
One of cinema’s greatest character actors was the British actor, Pete Postlethwaite. He was born in 1946 in Lancashire.
Pete initially studied to become a Catholic Priest, but soon realized he had a passion for acting. He began his acting career at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool and later played several roles on TV shows and TV movies.
He began appearing in small roles in feature films as early as the mid 1970s. But his big break came in 1988 when he appeared as the Father in Terence Davies’ film Distant Voices, Still Lives.
This launched him to stardom, and he began working regularly in films after the role. His later roles included To Kill A Priest, The Dressmaker, Hamlet, and Alien 3.
In the 1990s, he acted in some of the greatest films of the decade. This included roles in The Last of the Mohicans, In The Name of the Father, and of course, The Usual Suspects – in which he played Kobayashi.
Pete Postlethwaite continued to act regularly in the 2000s appearing in films such as The Constant Gardner, Aeon Flux, Inception, The Town, and Killing Bono – which was his final film role.
He died in 2011 at the age of 64.
Are you a fan of any of these celebrities?
Do you feel they’ve gotten their due for their incredible careers? Or do we need to promote their work more so that they’re never forgotten?
Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.
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