Here’s Every Major Star That Graced Disney’s Projects Who Has Sadly Passed Away

Over the decades, The Walt Disney Company has introduced audiences to unforgettable talents who shaped television series, classic live-action features, and iconic animated films. Many of these performers became household names during their careers, leaving an enduring mark on the entertainment industry and generations of viewers. While their contributions continue to be celebrated worldwide, several beloved stars have passed away over the years. Here is a look at major Disney stars who have died, honoring their memorable roles and lasting legacies.

Cameron Boyce

Cameron Boyce rose to prominence as Luke Ross in the Disney Channel comedy series ‘Jessie’. He gained widespread fame playing Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil, in the Disney Channel television movie franchise ‘Descendants’. Beyond these franchises, he voiced the title character in ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates’ and starred in the Disney XD series ‘Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything’. The actor passed away in his sleep due to a seizure resulting from epilepsy on July 6, 2019, at the age of 20. His legacy continues through the Cameron Boyce Foundation, which supports epilepsy awareness and causes dedicated to ending gun violence.

Robin Williams

Robin Williams delivered one of the most celebrated voice performances in animation history as the Genie in Disney’s ‘Aladdin’. His improvisational energy and comic versatility redefined how animated characters were voiced in family entertainment. Williams later returned to voice the character in ‘Aladdin and the King of Thieves’ and starred in the live-action Disney comedy ‘Flubber’. He was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2009 for his significant contributions to the studio. Williams died on August 11, 2014, at the age of 63 at his home in Paradise Cay, California.

Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury was a decorated performer who starred in landmark Disney productions across several decades. She led the cast as the apprentice witch Miss Eglantine Price in the 1971 musical fantasy ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’. Lansbury achieved global acclaim among younger generations for voicing Mrs. Potts in the 1991 animated classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’. She also appeared as the Balloon Lady in the 2018 live-action musical sequel ‘Mary Poppins Returns’. Lansbury passed away at her home in Los Angeles on October 11, 2022, at the age of 96.

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones provided the resonant and commanding voice of King Mufasa in Disney’s 1994 animated feature ‘The Lion King’. He reprised this memorable role in the 1998 direct-to-video sequel ‘The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride’ and the 2019 photorealistic remake ‘The Lion King’. Jones also became a central figure in Disney entertainment history by voicing the iconic villain Darth Vader across the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. In recognition of his decades of cinematic excellence, he was honored as a Disney Legend in 2019. Jones passed away on September 9, 2024, at the age of 93 at his home in Pawling, New York.

Annette Funicello

Annette Funicello achieved national stardom as the most prominent original cast member of ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ during the 1950s. Personally discovered and mentored by Walt Disney, she quickly became one of the studio’s primary teenage stars. She went on to headline major Disney live-action feature films, including ‘The Shaggy Dog’ and ‘Babes in Toyland’. Funicello was officially inducted into the Disney Legends hall of fame in 1992. She passed away on April 8, 2013, at the age of 70 due to complications arising from multiple sclerosis.

Bobby Driscoll

Bobby Driscoll was one of Walt Disney’s earliest child stars, signing a studio contract in the late 1940s. He starred in notable Disney live-action projects, including ‘Song of the South’, ‘So Dear to My Heart’, and ‘Treasure Island’. Driscoll served as both the voice actor and live-action reference model for the title hero in the 1953 animated classic ‘Peter Pan’. His performances earned him an Academy Juvenile Award in 1949 for his outstanding screen work. Driscoll died of heart failure on March 30, 1968, at the age of 31 in New York City.

Dean Jones

Dean Jones became the quintessential leading man for live-action Disney comedies throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for playing race car driver Jim Douglas in ‘The Love Bug’ and its 1977 sequel ‘Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo’. His extensive Disney filmography includes major roles in ‘That Darn Cat!’, ‘The Ugly Dachshund’, ‘The Million Dollar Duck’, and ‘The Shaggy D.A.’. Jones was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1995 for his prolific career with the studio. He died from complications of Parkinson’s disease on September 1, 2015, at the age of 84.

Tommy Kirk

Tommy Kirk was a central figure in Disney live-action cinema during the late 1950s and 1960s. He starred as Travis Coates in the 1957 classic drama ‘Old Yeller’ and reprised the character in the 1963 sequel ‘Savage Sam’. Kirk also headlined popular Disney family hits such as ‘The Shaggy Dog’, ‘Swiss Family Robinson’, ‘The Absent-Minded Professor’, and ‘The Misadventures of Merlin Jones’. He was officially honored as a Disney Legend in 2006 for his extensive cinematic legacy. Kirk passed away at his home in Las Vegas on September 28, 2021, at the age of 79.

David Ogden Stiers

David Ogden Stiers provided memorable voice acting across numerous Disney animated films starting during the Disney Renaissance. He voiced the dignified mantle clock Cogsworth and narrated the prologue in the 1991 feature ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Stiers later voiced Governor Ratcliffe and Wiggins in ‘Pocahontas’, the Archdeacon in ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, and Dr. Jumba Jookiba in ‘Lilo & Stitch’. He frequently reprised these roles for Disney animated television series, video games, and direct-to-video sequels. Stiers died of bladder cancer on March 3, 2018, at the age of 75 at his residence in Newport, Oregon.

Suzanne Pleshette

Suzanne Pleshette was a frequent leading lady in live-action Disney family comedies throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She starred opposite Dean Jones in four popular Disney features, including ‘The Ugly Dachshund’, ‘Blackbeard’s Ghost’, ‘The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin’, and ‘The Shaggy D.A.’. Pleshette later voiced the villainous lioness Zira in the 1998 animated sequel ‘The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride’. Her voice work on the animated sequel earned her an Annie Award nomination for voice acting. Pleshette passed away from respiratory failure related to lung cancer on January 19, 2008, at the age of 70.

David Tomlinson

David Tomlinson was a celebrated British comic actor who played major roles in classic live-action Disney films. He gained international recognition as the strict father George Banks in the 1964 musical classic ‘Mary Poppins’. Tomlinson subsequently played the villainous racer Peter Thorndyke in ‘The Love Bug’ and the fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’. He was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2002 to honor his contributions to the studio’s cinematic history. Tomlinson died on June 24, 2000, at the age of 83 in Buckinghamshire, England, following a stroke.

Matthew Garber

Matthew Garber was a British child actor who starred in three prominent Disney feature films during the 1960s. He made his film debut alongside Karen Dotrice in the 1963 drama ‘The Three Lives of Thomasina’. Garber achieved lasting international fame for portraying the young Michael Banks in the 1964 masterpiece ‘Mary Poppins’. He completed his acting career with the 1967 Disney fantasy film ‘The Gnome-Mobile’ before stepping away from the film industry. Garber died of pancreatitis on June 13, 1977, at the age of 21 in London, England.

Mary Wickes

Mary Wickes was a versatile character actress whose distinctive comedic timing enriched several Disney projects. She portrayed Sister Mary Lazarus in the Touchstone Pictures comedies ‘Sister Act’ and ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’. Wickes originally served as the live-action physical reference model for the villain Cruella de Vil in the 1961 animated film ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’. She later provided the speaking voice of the gargoyle Laverne in the 1996 animated feature ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. Wickes passed away on October 22, 1995, at the age of 85 in Los Angeles, California.

Lee Thompson Young

Lee Thompson Young became a major Disney Channel star in the late 1990s as the lead character in ‘The Famous Jett Jackson’. The hit television series followed a teenage actor juggling his Hollywood television career with everyday life in a small town. Young starred in the 2001 television film ‘Jett Jackson: The Movie’ and headlined the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie ‘Johnny Tsunami’. His breakthrough with Disney paved the way for an extensive acting career across prime-time television. Young died on August 19, 2013, at the age of 29 in Los Angeles, California.

Sebastian Cabot

Sebastian Cabot was a renowned British actor whose deep, theatrical voice became a hallmark of Disney animation. He provided the voice of the sensible black panther Bagheera in the 1967 animated classic ‘The Jungle Book’. Cabot also served as the narrator and voiced Sir Ector in the 1963 fantasy ‘The Sword in the Stone’. He is widely recognized for narrating multiple classic featurettes that comprised the 1977 release ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh’. Cabot passed away following a stroke on August 22, 1977, at the age of 59 in Victoria, British Columbia.

Ed Wynn

Ed Wynn brought his unique comedic persona and distinctive voice to classic Disney films throughout the mid-twentieth century. He voiced the eccentric Mad Hatter in the 1951 animated adaptation of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Wynn portrayed Uncle Albert in the 1964 live-action musical ‘Mary Poppins’, floating to the ceiling during his scene. His other Disney live-action credits include prominent appearances in ‘The Absent-Minded Professor’, ‘Son of Flubber’, and ‘That Darn Cat!’. Wynn died of throat cancer on June 19, 1966, at the age of 79 in Beverly Hills, California.

Sterling Holloway

Sterling Holloway was an acclaimed voice actor whose distinctive voice made him a regular collaborator of Walt Disney. He was the original voice of the titular bear in ‘Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree’ and numerous subsequent Winnie the Pooh shorts and films. Holloway voiced several other animated characters, including Mr. Stork in ‘Dumbo’, the Cheshire Cat in ‘Alice in Wonderland’, and Kaa in ‘The Jungle Book’. In 1991, he became the very first voice performer to be inducted as a Disney Legend. Holloway died of cardiac arrest on November 22, 1992, at the age of 87 in Los Angeles, California.

Russi Taylor

Russi Taylor was a prolific voice actress who served as the official voice of Minnie Mouse for over three decades. She was chosen for the iconic role in 1986, voicing Minnie across television specials, feature films, theme parks, and video games. Taylor also provided the voices for Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as well as Webby Vanderquack, in the original animated series ‘DuckTales’. She was named a Disney Legend in 2008 alongside her husband Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse. Taylor died of colon cancer on July 26, 2019, at the age of 75 in Glendale, California.

Wayne Allwine

Wayne Allwine was a sound effects editor and voice artist who voiced Mickey Mouse from 1977 until 2009. He inherited the legendary role from sound editor Jimmy MacDonald, making him the third official voice of the iconic character after Walt Disney. Allwine debuted as Mickey in the 1983 theatrical featurette ‘Mickey’s Christmas Carol’ and voiced him in ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’. He married Russi Taylor in 1991, uniting the real-life performers behind Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Allwine passed away from diabetes complications on May 18, 2009, at the age of 62 in Los Angeles, California.

Phil Harris

Phil Harris was an entertainer and comedian who voiced three of the most memorable animal characters in Disney animation history. Walt Disney cast him as the carefree bear Baloo in the 1967 animated film ‘The Jungle Book’. Harris followed that performance by voicing the alley cat Thomas O’Malley in the 1970 feature ‘The Aristocats’. He concluded his Disney voice career as the loyal bear Little John in the 1973 animated adventure ‘Robin Hood’. Harris died of heart failure on August 11, 1995, at the age of 91 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Betty White

Betty White was a legendary television actress who enjoyed a celebrated collaboration with The Walt Disney Company. She starred as Rose Nylund in the long-running Touchstone Television hit comedy series ‘The Golden Girls’. White also appeared in Touchstone Pictures comedy films such as ‘The Proposal’ and ‘Bringing Down the House’. She lent her voice to Disney projects as Grandma Penelope in the English release of ‘Ponyo’ and Bitey White in ‘Toy Story 4’. After being named a Disney Legend in 2009, White passed away on December 31, 2021, at the age of 99.

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