2016 celebrity death cluster

In early 2016, there was a surge in the number of celebrity deaths which caused comment and speculation. The high-profile celebrities dying during this period included Alan Rickman, David Bowie and Prince.
Theories about the possible cause included the celebrity lifestyle and drug abuse; statistical coincidence; baby boomer demographics; or the effect of modern media in creating and amplifying celebrity news. The BBC programme, More or Less, analysed the statistics and found that the number of celebrity obituaries published by the BBC in the period was double the number for the same period in the previous year.<ref name=Standard/>
List of deaths
The celebrity deaths listed in accounts of the phenomenon include:
* Abe Vigoda - actor<ref name=Newsweek/>
* Alan Rickman - actor<ref nameDT/><ref nameBBC/><ref name=TIME/>
* Cesare Maldini - footballer
* Chyna - wrestler<ref nameDT/><ref nameBBC/>
* Cliff Michelmore - TV presenter<ref name=DT/>
* Dale Griffin - musician<ref name=Newsweek/>
* Dan Hicks - musician<ref name=Newsweek/>
* David Bowie - musician<ref nameDT/><ref nameBBC/><ref nameNewsweek/><ref nameTIME/>
* David Gest - entertainer and producer<ref name=DT/>
* Doris Roberts - actress
* Garry Shandling - comedian<ref name=DT/>
* Harper Lee - author<ref name=DT/>
* George Kennedy - actor
* George Martin - music producer<ref nameDT/><ref nameTIME/>
* Glenn Frey - musician<ref nameNewsweek/><ref nameTIME/>
* Howard Marks - drug dealer<ref nameDT/><ref nameBBC/>
* Joe Alaskey - actor
* Johan Cruyff - footballer<ref name=DT/>
* Keith Emerson - musician<ref name=DT/>
* Larry Drake - actor
* Maurice White - musician<ref name=Newsweek/>
* Merle Haggard - musician<ref nameDT/><ref nameBBC/>
* Nancy Reagan - actress and First Lady of the United States
* Natalie Cole - musician<ref name=Newsweek/>
* Patty Duke - actress
* Paul Daniels - magician<ref name=DT/>
* Paul Kantner - musician<ref nameDT/><ref nameNewsweek/>
* Phife Dawg - rapper<ref name=TIME/>
* Prince - musician<ref nameDT/><ref nameBBC/><ref name=TIME/>
* Ronnie Corbett - comedian<ref name=DT/>
* Sir Terry Wogan - DJ and TV host<ref nameDT/><ref nameNewsweek/>
* Victoria Wood - comedienne<ref nameDT/><ref nameBBC/>
* Zaha Hadid - architect<ref name=DT/>

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