NEW YORK — James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in "Dawson's Creek" and in later years mocking his own hunky persona, died at age 48.
James Van Der Beek attends the FOX Winter Press Day on Nov. 18, 2024, in Los Angeles.
SAFIYAH RIDDLE and MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Associated Press
Actors Ali Larter, left, poses with co-stars James Van Der Beek, center, and Amy Smart at the Jan. 7, 1999, premiere of "Varsity Blues" in Los Angeles.
James Van Der Beek, left, and Krysten Ritter, cast members in the ABC series "Don't Trust the B— in Apartment 23," take part in a Jan. 10, 2012, panel discussion at the Disney ABC Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif.
Diane Crump, who in 1969 became the first woman to ride professionally in a horse race and a year later became the first female jockey in the Kentucky Derby, died Jan. 1. She was 77.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Jan. 5. He was 74.
Kin Cheung, Associated Press
Eva Schloss
Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, died Jan. 3. She was 96.
Jae C. Hong, Associated Press
Glenn Hall
Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, died Jan. 7. He was 94.
Fred Waters, Associated Press
Bob Weir
Bob Weir, the guitarist and singer who, as an essential member of the Grateful Dead, helped found the sound of the San Francisco counterculture of the 1960s and kept it alive through decades of endless tours and marathon jams, died Jan. 10. He was 78.
Amy Harris, Invision
Scott Adams
Scott Adams, whose popular comic strip “Dilbert” captured the frustration of beleaguered, white-collar cubicle workers and satirized the ridiculousness of modern office culture until he was abruptly dropped from syndication in 2023 for racist remarks, died Jan. 13. He was 68.
Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press
Sly Dunbar
Two-time Grammy Award-winning reggae drummer Sly Dunbar, who fueled countless tracks from Bob Marley to Bob Dylan and was one-half of the influential reggae rhythm section Sly & Robbie, died Jan. 26. He was 73.
Collin Reid, Associated Press
John Brodie
John Brodie, who won an MVP award and was one of the NFL's most prolific passers during a 17-year career with the San Francisco 49ers, died Jan. 23. He was 90.
Associated Press
Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin, whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement, died Jan. 13. She was 86.
Vasha Hunt, Associated Press
Valentino Garavani
Valentino Garavani, the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns — often in his trademark shade of “Valentino red” — were fashion show staples for nearly half a century, died Jan. 19. He was 93.
Alessandra Tarantino, Associated Press
Catherine O'Hara
Catherine O'Hara, the Emmy-winning actor known for comedic roles across the decades — from Kevin's beleaguered mom in “Home Alone” to the iconic Moira Rose in “Schitt's Creek” — died Jan. 30. She was 71.
Chris Pizzello, Associated Press
Demond Wilson
Demond Wilson, who found fame in the 1970s playing Lamont on “Sanford and Son” and went on to become a minister, died Jan. 30. He was 79.
FILE
LaMonte McLemore
Singer LaMonte McLemore, a founding member of vocal group The 5th Dimension, whose smooth pop and soul sounds with a touch of psychedelia brought them big hits in the 1960s and ’70s, died Feb. 3. He was 90.
Harold P. Matosia, Associated Press
Sonny Jurgensen
Sonny Jurgensen, the Hall of Fame quarterback whose strong arm, keen wit and affable personality made him one of the most beloved figures in Washington football history, died Feb. 6. He was 91.
Associated Press
James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in “Dawson’s Creek” and in later years mocking his own hunky persona, died Feb. 11. He was 48. Van Der Beek revealed in 2024 that he was being treated for colorectal cancer.
Richard Shotwell, Invision
Robert Duval
Robert Duvall, the Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in Hollywood classics such as "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now," died Feb. 15. He was 95.
Evan Agostini, Invision
Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman, the celebrated director of “Titicut Follies” and dozens of other documentaries whose in-depth, unadorned movies comprised a unique and revelatory history of American institutions, died Feb. 16. He was 96.
Jordan Strauss, Invision
Jesse Jackson
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader's assassination, died Feb. 17. He was 84.
Fred Jewell, Associated Press
Eric Dane
Eric Dane, the celebrated actor best known for his roles on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Euphoria” and who later in life became an advocate for ALS awareness, died Feb. 19. He was 53.
Jordan Strauss, Inivsion
Robert Carradine
Robert Carradine, the youngest of his prolific Hollywood family and whose biggest hit was the 1984 comedy “Revenge of the Nerds,” died Feb. 23. He was 71.
Evan Agostini, Invision
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Actors Ali Larter, left, poses with co-stars James Van Der Beek, center, and Amy Smart at the Jan. 7, 1999, premiere of "Varsity Blues" in Los Angeles.
James Van Der Beek, left, and Krysten Ritter, cast members in the ABC series "Don't Trust the B— in Apartment 23," take part in a Jan. 10, 2012, panel discussion at the Disney ABC Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif.