In the space of two days at the end of August 2026, Dolly Parton died in Nashville, Tim Curry died in Los Angeles and Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, died at home in the same city. It was the worst stretch of a month that had already taken Hayden Panettiere at 36. These are ten of the best-known people who died in August 2026.
1. Vincent Pastore (August 1, aged 80)
Vincent Pastore was Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero in The Sopranos, the friend Tony Soprano discovers is an FBI informant and takes out on a boat at the end of season two. He was a nightclub owner in New Rochelle before he became an actor. He died of natural causes in his sleep.
2. Don Nelson (August 9, aged 86)
Don Nelson won five NBA championships as a Boston Celtics player and then coached the Bucks, the Warriors twice, the Knicks and the Mavericks for 31 seasons. He retired with more wins than any coach in NBA history, 1,335, a record that stood until Gregg Popovich passed it in 2022. He was Coach of the Year three times. His family said he died surrounded by them.
3. Tommy John (August 15, aged 83)
In 1974 the Dodgers pitcher Tommy John had his torn elbow ligament replaced with a tendon from his other arm, an operation nobody had tried on a pitcher before. He came back to pitch for another fourteen years and won 288 games in all. The surgery now carries his name, and thousands of pitchers have had it since. He died at home in Bradenton, Florida, after time in hospice.
4. Hayden Panettiere (August 16, aged 36)
Hayden Panettiere was a child actor in Remember the Titans, the indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes and the country singer Juliette Barnes in Nashville. She also appeared in Scream 4 and Scream VI. Her representative announced her death and called her a force of nature. No cause had been released.
5. Bill Rasmussen (August 18, aged 93)
Bill Rasmussen had just been fired as communications director of a hockey team in 1978 when he came up with the idea of a cable channel that would show sport around the clock. ESPN went on air in September 1979. He died of complications from Parkinson’s disease.
6. Zolani Tete (August 21, aged 38)
The South African boxer won world titles at junior bantamweight and bantamweight and, in 2017, knocked out Siboniso Gonya eleven seconds into a WBO title fight, the fastest knockout in world title history. He was shot dead.
7. Shelley Fabares (August 22, aged 82)
Shelley Fabares played Mary Stone in The Donna Reed Show and, in 1962, took “Johnny Angel” to number one in the United States. She later starred with Elvis Presley in three films and played Christine Armstrong in the sitcom Coach. She died of complications from pneumonia.
8. Dolly Parton (August 25, aged 80)
Dolly Parton grew up in a one-room cabin in the Smoky Mountains, one of twelve children, and became one of the most successful songwriters in history. She wrote “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” in the same day, according to her own account, and turned down Elvis Presley’s manager when he asked for half the publishing rights. Her Imagination Library has sent free books to children around the world. Her nephew announced that she died peacefully in Nashville. Her family asked fans to donate to the Imagination Library instead of sending flowers.
9. Tim Curry (late August, aged 80)
Tim Curry was Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the butler Wadsworth in Clue and Pennywise in the 1990 television version of It. After a major stroke in 2012 he used a wheelchair and worked mainly as a voice actor. His manager said he died at home in Los Angeles.
10. Peter Cullen (August 26, aged 85)
Peter Cullen first voiced Optimus Prime in the Transformers cartoon in 1984 and returned to the role for the live-action films from 2007. He was also the voice of Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. His family said he died peacefully at home in Los Angeles and asked fans to honour him by serving their communities.
Parton, Curry and Cullen were all 80 or older and had worked for more than fifty years, and between them they covered country music, cult cinema and the cartoons of a whole generation’s childhood.