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2020s Obituaries

Can you name these notable people who left us in the decade of the 2020s?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 22, 2023
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First submittedDecember 7, 2021
Times taken28,614
Average score60.0%
Rating4.26
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Year
Age
Hint
Person
2023
86
Billionaire who was a three-time Prime Minister of Italy
Silvio Berlusconi
2023
100
Secretary of State under Richard Nixon who won a controversial
Peace Prize in 1973
Henry Kissinger
2023
56
Irish singer of "Nothing Compares 2 U"
Sinéad O'Connor
2023
54
Starred as Chandler on "Friends"
Matthew Perry
2022
96
Oldest and longest reigning monarch in British history
Queen Elizabeth II
2022
73
Before she got "Physical", she starred as Sandy in the movie "Grease"
Olivia Newton-John
2022
82
The only player to win three men's FIFA World Cups
Pele
2021
99
Prince consort of the United Kingdom
Prince Philip
2021
98
He was already considered old when he ran against Bill Clinton in 1996
Bob Dole
2021
85
Last white President of South Africa
F. W. de Klerk
2020
41
Basketball star known as the "Black Mamba"
Kobe Bryant
2020
90
He was Bond. James Bond.
Sean Connery
2020
60
Player who led Argentina to a World Cup title in 1986
Diego Maradona
2020
103
Star of "Spartacus"
Kirk Douglas
2020
87
"A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop, a-lop-bam-boom!", he sang
Little Richard
2020
43
Actor who starred as Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman
2020
65
Guitarist whose band mates included David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar
Eddie Van Halen
2020
87
U.S. Supreme Court justice satirically known as the "Notorious RBG"
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2020
80
Host of "Jeopardy!"
Alex Trebek
2020
97
Pilot who broke the sound barrier
Chuck Yeager
60 Comments
+6
Level 68
Dec 7, 2021
RBG works as a type in for the SCOTUS justice, you might want to change that
+2
Level ∞
Dec 7, 2021
Fixed
+1
Level 93
Apr 22, 2023
I guessed that nickname based on the first half of the clue, was going to request it be added as a type in... and then read to the end.
+3
Level 76
Dec 7, 2021
Spelling: Basketball star
+2
Level ∞
Dec 7, 2021
Fixed
+6
Level 69
Dec 7, 2021
Surprised not to see Sondheim on this list. Good quiz!
+2
Level 68
Dec 8, 2021
Did pretty bad on this one! Only got 7/16. Should have gotten the Supreme Court justice and the last white president of South Africa, but apart from that, I haven't heard of them. I'm probably too young (ok should have remembered Van Halen as well).
+3
Level 73
Dec 9, 2021
Yeah, that is quite a US centric list, albeit QM has limited options to pick from.
+5
Level 56
Feb 10, 2022
US Centric? Prince Philip was Greek-Danish and was the husband of the Queen of Britain, Bob Dole was American but was a presidential candidate so pretty important, Charlie Watts was an English musician, Norm MacDonald was Canadian, F. W. de Klerk was South African, Christopher Plummer was Canadian, Kobe Bryant was American but also a world famous basketball player, Sean Connery was Scottish, Diego Maradona was Argentinian, Kirk Douglas was a world famous American actor and lived to 103, Little Richard was a world famous American musician who helped inspire the Beatles, Chadwick Boseman was a world famous American actor who was in the MCU, Eddie Van Halen was a world famous Dutch-American musician, RBG was an American Supreme Court judge and fairly well known outside of America, Alex Trebek was Canadian and Chuck Yeager was an American pilot who also broke the sound barrier so should be pretty well known world wide. So no, not US-Centric
+1
Level 61
Dec 28, 2023
Charlie Watts seems to have gone from the list. Shame.
+8
Level 82
Mar 29, 2022
So, 8/16 from the USA then.
+5
Level 81
Dec 10, 2022
These two and a couple others on the site are under some kind of binding contract and cannot take a quiz without publicly expressing their complex. Probably best just to ignore them. The quiz is perfectly fine. Even a little non-US centric considering the oversized population and importance to world culture, etc, that the US has had since the early 1920s, so since the people on this list started being born, and especially since the end of WW2, so since these people started becoming famous.
+6
Level 80
Dec 8, 2021
3 fine Canadians RIP
+3
Level 74
Dec 9, 2021
Didn't know Trebek was Canadian. That tracks though.
+7
Level 57
Dec 9, 2021
Should have included Trevor Moore from the whitest kids you know
+2
Level 33
Dec 14, 2021
Indeed, though he is not as well known as some of the others, his impact on comedy especially on the internet is substantial.
+12
Level 63
Dec 14, 2021
When you next update:

Olivia de Havilland

Diana Rigg

Regis Philbin

Anne Rice

Stephen Soundheim

Larry King

Colin Powell

Alex Trebek and Chadwick Boseman hit me the hardest personally.

+14
Level 71
Dec 14, 2021
Same. Alex Trebek was huge blow to me, as a childhood fan of Jeopardy. It's always been a dream of mine to go on the show, and while I know that's incredibly difficult, I had still hoped against hope to meet him some day.

And, of course, Chadwick Boseman was an incredibly talented and incredibly kind person. Really sad that he passed so young, at the height of his career.

+6
Level 78
Jan 21, 2022
They can also now add:

Betty White

Peter Bogdanovich

Sidney Poitier

Bob Saget

Meat Loaf

Louie Anderson

And that's just the last three weeks!

+7
Level 69
Dec 14, 2021
That 41 and 43 next to Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman... RIP
+4
Level 59
Dec 14, 2021
The fact only 29% of people got Norm hurts quite a bit. RIP to one of the funniest men ever to live
+7
Level 52
Dec 16, 2021
I don't think he's particularly well known outside North America.
+2
Level 79
Dec 12, 2022
Nothing to do with geography - he was simply a cult figure. Certain circles considered him a genius, while most people do not remember him or just remember his time on SNL. I am in the group that considers him a genius.
+3
Level 89
Dec 14, 2022
I was aware of him from SNL and a few film appearances, but I never found him particularly notable. I'm curious as to why he was "considered the ultimate late night talk show guest".
+1
Level 67
Dec 28, 2023
Because he was so quick-witted and his humor was so unexpected. Most guests go through rehearsed patter that is boring to watch and surely boring to listen to as a host. Norm was razor-sharp and he said things you never saw coming. Much more interesting than what we and the hosts are used to sitting through. Even the great comedians usually just fell back on their routines (Don Rickles and Dangerfield especially) when sitting in the guest chair. Norm just said whatever came to his mind. It was great.
+2
Level 72
Dec 20, 2022
I don't think the clue is great--a lot of other entertainers are given specific credits or catchphrases but this one is pretty vague. "Was considered the ultimate late night talk show guest"... by whom? When? He's Canadian? Along with half the U.S. comedy industry? He was on SNL? There's been over 160 cast members. But if you'd said that he starred in Dirty Work or that while hosting Weekend Update he frequently claimed that Germans love David Hasselhoff, it might have a little more parity than the other questions.

Though it's also true that he's one just one of the less well-known celebrities on the list.

+3
Level ∞
Dec 22, 2023
Sadly, Norm McDonald has been removed from this update due to low recognition.
+2
Level 85
Dec 14, 2021
May they all RIP
+1
Level 56
Dec 14, 2021
We just lost 'El Rey' Vicente Fernández 2 days ago too :(
+3
Level 76
Dec 14, 2021
Bob Dole, shockingly still alive in the 2020s
+2
Level 70
Dec 14, 2021
These were pretty sad RIP
+1
Level 45
Dec 16, 2021
It seems kind of early for this quiz. There will surely be more famous people dead by 2029.
+1
Level 91
May 29, 2022
Add DMX
+1
Level 91
Dec 9, 2022
Also add John McAfee
+1
Level 40
Jul 7, 2022
We loved you, Real Elvis.
+4
Level 75
Sep 19, 2022
I don't think anyone mentioned adding Hank Aaron who passed in January of 2021. Holds the RBI record and broke Babe Ruth's HR record. Pretty significant athlete.
+7
Level 84
Dec 9, 2022
Unless Olivia Newton-John dabbled in the occult, I think the song she did was *Physical*, not *Psychical*.
+3
Level ∞
Dec 9, 2022
Lol, fixed.
+4
Level 85
Dec 10, 2022
And yet, no Keith Richards.
+5
Level 85
Dec 10, 2022
Sorry, "Richard" doesn't work for "Little Richard"???
+2
Level 67
Dec 23, 2023
Drives me mad, I typed in Edinburgh for the DOE so assumed I must be wrong on this one!

(Also a bit USA heavy and Pelé is spelt incorrectly)

+1
Level 81
Dec 24, 2023
That threw me too. When "Richard" didn't work, I started guessing other singers on the basis that I must have been wrong.
+3
Level 85
Dec 11, 2022
Betty White!?
+1
Level 78
Dec 14, 2022
The fact that Angela Lansbury isn't here saddens me. She was Jessica Fletcher, Mrs. Potts, dozens of iconic roles in musicals,...
+2
Level 48
Feb 6, 2023
you should add pele in the next update
+1
Level 34
Jun 2, 2023
i cannot believe eddie van halen and prince philip are both dead - those two were my idles
+2
Level 53
Dec 9, 2023
I know it would become too soccer-centric, but Pele is definitely important enough to be on this quiz. One of the most important soccer players to ever live.
+4
Level 79
Dec 22, 2023
Surprised that Tina Turner didn’t make the cut. I guess people would just complain that another American was on the quiz.
+10
Level 79
Dec 22, 2023
Actually, I'm surprised that Shinzo Abe isn't on here either. He's not even American and his death was major worldwide news.
+1
Level 81
Dec 24, 2023
Yes, that would have added a little more geographic balance to the quiz.
+1
Level 85
Dec 23, 2023
Yet another quiz where my inability to spell Berlusconi costs me.
+2
Level 30
Dec 28, 2023
Id probably add Gorbachev in, as he was a major figure in 20th century history.
+1
Level 50
Dec 28, 2023
I'd add Technoblade and InquisitorMaster. they were great people 😢
+2
Level 69
Dec 29, 2023
PELÉ AND SEAN CONNERY ARE DEAD??????
+1
Level 50
Dec 30, 2023
idk who Sinead is
+1
Level 62
Dec 30, 2023
Regis?
+1
Level 61
Jan 2, 2024
I think you can put Jiang Zemin and Li Keqiang on the test
+1
Level 93
Nov 29, 2024
I mean sure, if they want two answers sitting at like 10% guessed tops.
+1
Level 56
Apr 11, 2024
Why is Sinead O'Connor on it but Shane MacGowan isn't?
+1
Level 39
May 17, 2024
Add George cooper RIP