Daily Dirt: It’s already been a rough year for celebrity deaths and now…Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried’s death on Tuesday just adds to an already crappy year in celebrity deaths.

Sidney Poitier? Gone. Meat Loaf? Gone. Today we pay tribute to some of the biggest names in entertainment we have already lost in 2022 … Welcome to Vol. 258 of The Daily Dirt and today’s three thoughts.

1. Late in 2021, we lost such personalities as Betty White, Norm MacDonald and John Madden.

And now, in the early months of 2022, more of those we adored on both the silver and television screens have departed.Here’s our updated list of the most recognizable and popular stars we’ve already lost this year:

• 1. Sidney Poitier, 94: The Hollywood legend, who was one of my all-time favorites on the big screen, was the first Black man to win the Oscar for best actor back in 1963. He died in early January.
• 2. Bob Saget, 65: Three days after Poitier’s death, Saget was found dead in a Florida Hotel room. The “Full House” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” star was a prime-time television staple for a decade. Then he was the narrative voice of an older Ted Mosby in “How I Met Your Mother.”
• 3. Meat Loaf, 74: “The “I’d Do Anything for Love” singer also passed in January.  His “Bat Out of Hell” release in 1977 remains one of the top-10 selling albums of all time. 
• 4. Ivan Reitman, 75: His name might not mean much on the surface to many, but he was the director and producer behind such Hollywood classics as “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” “Ghostbusters,” “Stripes” and “Meatballs”. He died peacefully in his sleep in mid-February.
• 5. Ronnie Spector, 78: The Ronettes’ lead singer, known for hits like “Be My Baby,” “Baby I Love You” and “Walking in the Rain,” lost her battle with cancer in early January.
• 6. William Hurt, 71: The well-known actor will likely always be most fondly remembered for his role of Nick Carlton in “The Big Chill”. He died of natural causes in March.
• 7. Estelle Harris, 93: She was George Costanza’s cranky mother on “Seinfeld” and a voice actress in “Toy Story”.
• 8. Bobby Rydell, 79: Rydell was a 1960s teen idol and such a popular singer that Rydell High School in “Grease” was named after him. He died in April, just weeks prior to his 80th birthday.
• 9. Sally Kellerman, 84: The award-winning actress portrayed Hot Lips Houlihan in the original “M*A*S*H” film.
• 10. Louie Anderson, 68: The sad-sack comedian died in late January from Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a version of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

2. Obviously, the end is near when it comes to Kmart.

Some recent closings now leave only three Kmart stores in the entire country. At one time, there were more than 2,000, including Quincy and Hannibal. The three remaining are in Westwood, N.J., Long Island, N.Y., and Miami, Fla.

3. My favorite baseball terms:

Gold medal: “LOOGY.” An acronym for “Lefty One Out Guy,” used to describe a left-handed relief specialist.

Silver medal: “Mendoza Line”. A batting average around .200, named after former Major Leaguer Mario Mendoza, who posted a .215 career average.

Bronze medal: “The Show”. The Major Leagues, the big time.

Honorable mention: “Tools of ignorance” (catcher’s equipment), “Uncle Charlie,” “Yakker” (curveball), “Worm burner” (a scorching ground ball).

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Despite all the rumors, Steve insists he has never appeared on “Naked and Afraid”. 

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He will be letting us know who else dies throughout the year.