"BIOGRAPHIES of the notable deaths in 2024" --Aphrodite Avidon, Eighth Grade
Trigger Warning: The following article contains contents involving murder, domestic violence, and self-harm that may be upsetting to some audiences
2024, a year in which monumental things happened, from the largest election year ever, with 2 billion people voting in elections worldwide, those people included the United States, with former president Donald Trump making a historic comeback, capturing the electoral and popular votes. This year held disasters, surprises, comebacks, defeats, and unfortunately, deaths. This article is to honor the most notable deaths in 2024.
OJ Simpson
O.J. Simpson, born Orenthal James Simpson in 1947, died this July. Simpson rose to fame as a running back for the Buffalo Bills and had a major acting career, including roles in the successful Naked Gun series. Despite his fame, he was known by many strictly for his involvement in the murder trials of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
Simpson was born in San Francisco to parents James and Eunice Simpson, he grew up in a working-class neighborhood and lived with his mother, as his parents separated in 1952. In his teenage years, he became a ticket-scalper for the San Francisco 49ers and joined the Persian Warriors, a street gang where he was arrested three times. In the late 1950s, baseball star Willie Mays encouraged him to reform his behaviors, and he discovered his love of football and graduated from Galileo High School.
After high school, Simpson enrolled in the City College of San Francisco, where he joined the Junior All-American team as a running back, he later transferred to the University of Southern California (USC), where he became one of the best-known college football players in the country. After two successful seasons, he entered the 1969 NFL Draft, where he was the first pick for the Buffalo Bills. He struggled in his first seasons, only in 1972 he reached an average of 1,000 rushing yards. However, in 1973, he became the first NFL player to have 2,000 yards in a single season, a title that only eight people have. Simpson is still regarded as one of the best football players, and has been inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Few were surprised to see Simpson enter the acting world. He floated the idea of an acting career years before his football stardom, even appearing in a role in the show Medical Center alongside Emmy winner Cicely Tyson. He was cast in major motion pictures like The Klansmen, Back to the Beach, and the Naked Gun trilogy.
In 1985, at the height of his acting fame, he married Nicole Brown, a waitress at a Beverly Hills nightclub. The couple had two children, Sydney and Justin. Brown stopped living with Simpson in early 1992, and a month later she filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Accusations of abuse were prevalent on both sides of the relationship, however, they were much more publicized on Simpson’s side. Brown had called the police at least twice during the relationship saying “He’s going to beat the shit out of me.” During that specific phone call, Simpson could be heard accusing Brown of having an extramarital affair. Despite the relationship troubles, the couple seemed to share custody of their two children successfully. In 1994, that no longer became true. In an interview with Brown’s mother, she claimed that Simpson had followed her while doing errands.
On June 12, 1994, Brown and her boyfriend Ron Goldman were found dead at Brown’s Los Angeles house. Brown was found with two major knife injuries, one 14-centimeter gash on her throat, and a 2-centimeter gash on her scalp. Both deaths were reported by a passerby, and Simpson was alerted, however, he had caught a flight to Chicago directly after the murders were committed.
In Simpson’s hotel room blood was found, however, he claims the blood was from a paper cut. A warrant for Simpson’s arrest was filed soon after the female body was identified as Brown, as well as the fact that early evidence suggested that Simpson’s blood was at Brown’s home, as well as at Simpson’s home, and in one of his white Ford Broncos, which would be seized as evidence.
Days after the murder, Simpson returned to Los Angeles where a suicide note was found. The note said things like “I had nothing to do with Nicole’s murder, and “I have a great life that can’t go on.” The note was reported by news sources at 5:00 PM. At 5:51, a 911 call was made from the other of Simpson’s Ford Broncos. It’s unknown why Simpson made the call, but he spoke with police and reported that he had a gun at his head. At 6:45, the car was spotted by police, searching to arrest him. I-5 was closed off for the remainder of that day, and around 20 police cars followed Simpson at around 35 miles per hour. Simpson and law enforcement officers communicated on the phone, negotiating an arrest offer, and agreed on a deal later that evening. On the evening of June 27, 1994, Simpson was arrested in his home and taken to Men’s Central Jail.
Mark Furhman, a forensic investigator for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was assigned to the case, discovering a glove. Furhman took the glove home the evening of the murder, bringing it back to LAPD offices the next morning. That conduct was illegal, due to the risk of tampering with evidence. While that was the only illegal activity Furhman committed, he engaged in highly controversial behaviors, including describing Mexican and African Americans with racial slurs. The behavior of Furhman made many people, especially people of color, think that Furhman had planted evidence and tried to frame Simpson.
In America’s most highly publicized trial, all jurors declared that Simpson was not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore should be acquitted of the charges.
In Simpson’s later life, he remained out of the public spotlight. In later legal events, the family of Ron Goldman filed civil suits against Simpson for the murders. Simpson was found guilty and ordered to pay 33 million dollars to the Goldman family, which he had not paid. In 2008, Simpson was convicted of battery and assault for holding someone at gunpoint and attempting to steal valuable sports memorabilia. He was paroled in 2013 and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2023. He died due to his cancer surrounded by his children.
Quincy Jones
Said by Time Magazine to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Quincy Jones lived his life mingling with elites and was surrounded by stardom, something which his 28 Grammy Awards prove. Said by many to be the most successful record producer of all time, Jones died of pancreatic cancer in November 2024. He was 91.
Jones was born Quincy Delight Jones Jr. in 1933 on the south side of Chicago to Sara and Quincy Sr. His mother, a member of a local church choir, introduced music to him and his neighbor, who played piano as a hobby. In Jones’ teenage years, his father took a job in Seattle, where he attended Garfield High School. Inspired by Ray Charles, he learned to play trumpet while in school, his first major introduction to music. After high school, he went to Seattle University, but after a semester transferred to the Berklee College of Music, one of America’s most prestigious music schools.
1953 he began his musical career by traveling to Europe to play with Lionel Hampton. He played in Hampton’s band for a year, and in late 1954 moved to New York offering to write music for “anyone who would pay.” Two years later, he would become the second trumpet in Elvis Presley’s band, eventually playing trumpet on Presley’s song “Heartbreak Hotel.”
After years of performing, he moved to Paris, where he studied composition theory and eventually took his first producing job. He worked for the French record label Barclay, producing music for stars like Jimi Hendrix. After coming back to the United States, Jones worked with some of the most iconic names in the music industry, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra, with whom he developed a friendship.
In 1961, after becoming vice president at Mercury Records, he entered the film industry. He composed music for wildly successful movies like Walk, Don’t Run, and The Italian Job, as well as TV shows such as The Bill Cosby Show. During his fame on the screen, he met Leslie Gore and produced her No. 1 song “It’s My Party,” his introduction to pop music. He later worked on the soundtrack for the 1978 film The Wiz, which starred Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. After meeting Jackson, he offered to produce music for him, and he produced three of the best-selling albums of all time: Bad, Off the Wall, and Thriller.
Producing for Jackson turned Jones from a music star to a household name, leading him to a career until his death. He worked with people like Miles Davis, Chaka Khan, Usher, Bono, and Travis Scott. His fame led him to briefly have a show on the Fox Network, where he spoke about the evolution of African-American music as well as turned to activism, being involved in the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton in 1992 and Barack Obama in 2008.
During Jones’ lifetime, he had seven children with five women, four of whom he was married to. He had many high-profile friendships with some of the world’s most influential people. He holds the title for the third-most Grammy nominations, as well as the third-most won, with 28. He died on November 3rd, 2024. He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Maggie Smith
Dame Maggie Smith, winner of Grammy, Tony, and Academy Awards, is widely regarded as one of the most iconic actresses of all time. She is known for her dramatic and comedic roles, which led her to receive the Order of Companions of Honor and the Most Excellent Honor of the British Empire, both granted to her by Queen Elizabeth II.
Smith, born in 1934, was born in the Greater London area and then moved with her family to Oxford when she was four. She went to high school in Oxford until she was one when she went to study at the Oxford Playhouse. She began her professional acting career at 17, appearing in a performance of The Twelfth Night. She continued her work in Oxford for much of her early career, however, once her performances became more successful, she made her Broadway debut in 1956. After media attention as a Broadway actress, she moved back to the United Kingdom, taking a stage job at the National Theatre. After becoming one of England’s most recognizable stage actors, she took to the screen, making her film debut in Nowhere to Go, a British crime film.
After her early roles, she appeared in the film adaptation of Othello, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 1965 Academy Awards. Despite it being one of her first films, she had already become a top actress. She won her first Oscar in 1968 for her role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie for Best Actress. She appeared in more films, such as Travels with My Aunt, (1972), The Pumpkin Eater, (1964), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, (1987), David Copperfield, (1999), and Sister Act, (1972).
After the 1990s, Smith got one of her most recognizable roles, Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise. She had large roles in seven of the eight movies, something she called her introduction to “old lady acting.” After becoming one of the most successful series of all time, grossing nearly 8 billion dollars worldwide, and being nominated for 12 Oscars. Many cite the success of the films to her landing a role in the British drama Downton Abbey.
Downton Abbey, the long-running show cast Smith as Violet Crawley, a large role. She starred on TV, earning her multiple Golden Globe and Emmy awards.
Smith was married twice, to actor Robert Stephens, who she had two children with, and Beverley Cross. She divorced Stephens in 1975, and Cross died in 1998.
Smith had one of the most successful careers of all time, having roles from her teenage years until her death in September. She was 89.
2024, a year in which monumental things happened, from the largest election year ever, with 2 billion people voting in elections worldwide, those people included the United States, with former president Donald Trump making a historic comeback, capturing the electoral and popular votes. This year held disasters, surprises, comebacks, defeats, and unfortunately, deaths. This article is to honor the most notable deaths in 2024.
OJ Simpson
O.J. Simpson, born Orenthal James Simpson in 1947, died this July. Simpson rose to fame as a running back for the Buffalo Bills and had a major acting career, including roles in the successful Naked Gun series. Despite his fame, he was known by many strictly for his involvement in the murder trials of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
Simpson was born in San Francisco to parents James and Eunice Simpson, he grew up in a working-class neighborhood and lived with his mother, as his parents separated in 1952. In his teenage years, he became a ticket-scalper for the San Francisco 49ers and joined the Persian Warriors, a street gang where he was arrested three times. In the late 1950s, baseball star Willie Mays encouraged him to reform his behaviors, and he discovered his love of football and graduated from Galileo High School.
After high school, Simpson enrolled in the City College of San Francisco, where he joined the Junior All-American team as a running back, he later transferred to the University of Southern California (USC), where he became one of the best-known college football players in the country. After two successful seasons, he entered the 1969 NFL Draft, where he was the first pick for the Buffalo Bills. He struggled in his first seasons, only in 1972 he reached an average of 1,000 rushing yards. However, in 1973, he became the first NFL player to have 2,000 yards in a single season, a title that only eight people have. Simpson is still regarded as one of the best football players, and has been inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Few were surprised to see Simpson enter the acting world. He floated the idea of an acting career years before his football stardom, even appearing in a role in the show Medical Center alongside Emmy winner Cicely Tyson. He was cast in major motion pictures like The Klansmen, Back to the Beach, and the Naked Gun trilogy.
In 1985, at the height of his acting fame, he married Nicole Brown, a waitress at a Beverly Hills nightclub. The couple had two children, Sydney and Justin. Brown stopped living with Simpson in early 1992, and a month later she filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Accusations of abuse were prevalent on both sides of the relationship, however, they were much more publicized on Simpson’s side. Brown had called the police at least twice during the relationship saying “He’s going to beat the shit out of me.” During that specific phone call, Simpson could be heard accusing Brown of having an extramarital affair. Despite the relationship troubles, the couple seemed to share custody of their two children successfully. In 1994, that no longer became true. In an interview with Brown’s mother, she claimed that Simpson had followed her while doing errands.
On June 12, 1994, Brown and her boyfriend Ron Goldman were found dead at Brown’s Los Angeles house. Brown was found with two major knife injuries, one 14-centimeter gash on her throat, and a 2-centimeter gash on her scalp. Both deaths were reported by a passerby, and Simpson was alerted, however, he had caught a flight to Chicago directly after the murders were committed.
In Simpson’s hotel room blood was found, however, he claims the blood was from a paper cut. A warrant for Simpson’s arrest was filed soon after the female body was identified as Brown, as well as the fact that early evidence suggested that Simpson’s blood was at Brown’s home, as well as at Simpson’s home, and in one of his white Ford Broncos, which would be seized as evidence.
Days after the murder, Simpson returned to Los Angeles where a suicide note was found. The note said things like “I had nothing to do with Nicole’s murder, and “I have a great life that can’t go on.” The note was reported by news sources at 5:00 PM. At 5:51, a 911 call was made from the other of Simpson’s Ford Broncos. It’s unknown why Simpson made the call, but he spoke with police and reported that he had a gun at his head. At 6:45, the car was spotted by police, searching to arrest him. I-5 was closed off for the remainder of that day, and around 20 police cars followed Simpson at around 35 miles per hour. Simpson and law enforcement officers communicated on the phone, negotiating an arrest offer, and agreed on a deal later that evening. On the evening of June 27, 1994, Simpson was arrested in his home and taken to Men’s Central Jail.
Mark Furhman, a forensic investigator for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was assigned to the case, discovering a glove. Furhman took the glove home the evening of the murder, bringing it back to LAPD offices the next morning. That conduct was illegal, due to the risk of tampering with evidence. While that was the only illegal activity Furhman committed, he engaged in highly controversial behaviors, including describing Mexican and African Americans with racial slurs. The behavior of Furhman made many people, especially people of color, think that Furhman had planted evidence and tried to frame Simpson.
In America’s most highly publicized trial, all jurors declared that Simpson was not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore should be acquitted of the charges.
In Simpson’s later life, he remained out of the public spotlight. In later legal events, the family of Ron Goldman filed civil suits against Simpson for the murders. Simpson was found guilty and ordered to pay 33 million dollars to the Goldman family, which he had not paid. In 2008, Simpson was convicted of battery and assault for holding someone at gunpoint and attempting to steal valuable sports memorabilia. He was paroled in 2013 and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2023. He died due to his cancer surrounded by his children.
Quincy Jones
Said by Time Magazine to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Quincy Jones lived his life mingling with elites and was surrounded by stardom, something which his 28 Grammy Awards prove. Said by many to be the most successful record producer of all time, Jones died of pancreatic cancer in November 2024. He was 91.
Jones was born Quincy Delight Jones Jr. in 1933 on the south side of Chicago to Sara and Quincy Sr. His mother, a member of a local church choir, introduced music to him and his neighbor, who played piano as a hobby. In Jones’ teenage years, his father took a job in Seattle, where he attended Garfield High School. Inspired by Ray Charles, he learned to play trumpet while in school, his first major introduction to music. After high school, he went to Seattle University, but after a semester transferred to the Berklee College of Music, one of America’s most prestigious music schools.
1953 he began his musical career by traveling to Europe to play with Lionel Hampton. He played in Hampton’s band for a year, and in late 1954 moved to New York offering to write music for “anyone who would pay.” Two years later, he would become the second trumpet in Elvis Presley’s band, eventually playing trumpet on Presley’s song “Heartbreak Hotel.”
After years of performing, he moved to Paris, where he studied composition theory and eventually took his first producing job. He worked for the French record label Barclay, producing music for stars like Jimi Hendrix. After coming back to the United States, Jones worked with some of the most iconic names in the music industry, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra, with whom he developed a friendship.
In 1961, after becoming vice president at Mercury Records, he entered the film industry. He composed music for wildly successful movies like Walk, Don’t Run, and The Italian Job, as well as TV shows such as The Bill Cosby Show. During his fame on the screen, he met Leslie Gore and produced her No. 1 song “It’s My Party,” his introduction to pop music. He later worked on the soundtrack for the 1978 film The Wiz, which starred Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. After meeting Jackson, he offered to produce music for him, and he produced three of the best-selling albums of all time: Bad, Off the Wall, and Thriller.
Producing for Jackson turned Jones from a music star to a household name, leading him to a career until his death. He worked with people like Miles Davis, Chaka Khan, Usher, Bono, and Travis Scott. His fame led him to briefly have a show on the Fox Network, where he spoke about the evolution of African-American music as well as turned to activism, being involved in the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton in 1992 and Barack Obama in 2008.
During Jones’ lifetime, he had seven children with five women, four of whom he was married to. He had many high-profile friendships with some of the world’s most influential people. He holds the title for the third-most Grammy nominations, as well as the third-most won, with 28. He died on November 3rd, 2024. He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Maggie Smith
Dame Maggie Smith, winner of Grammy, Tony, and Academy Awards, is widely regarded as one of the most iconic actresses of all time. She is known for her dramatic and comedic roles, which led her to receive the Order of Companions of Honor and the Most Excellent Honor of the British Empire, both granted to her by Queen Elizabeth II.
Smith, born in 1934, was born in the Greater London area and then moved with her family to Oxford when she was four. She went to high school in Oxford until she was one when she went to study at the Oxford Playhouse. She began her professional acting career at 17, appearing in a performance of The Twelfth Night. She continued her work in Oxford for much of her early career, however, once her performances became more successful, she made her Broadway debut in 1956. After media attention as a Broadway actress, she moved back to the United Kingdom, taking a stage job at the National Theatre. After becoming one of England’s most recognizable stage actors, she took to the screen, making her film debut in Nowhere to Go, a British crime film.
After her early roles, she appeared in the film adaptation of Othello, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 1965 Academy Awards. Despite it being one of her first films, she had already become a top actress. She won her first Oscar in 1968 for her role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie for Best Actress. She appeared in more films, such as Travels with My Aunt, (1972), The Pumpkin Eater, (1964), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, (1987), David Copperfield, (1999), and Sister Act, (1972).
After the 1990s, Smith got one of her most recognizable roles, Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise. She had large roles in seven of the eight movies, something she called her introduction to “old lady acting.” After becoming one of the most successful series of all time, grossing nearly 8 billion dollars worldwide, and being nominated for 12 Oscars. Many cite the success of the films to her landing a role in the British drama Downton Abbey.
Downton Abbey, the long-running show cast Smith as Violet Crawley, a large role. She starred on TV, earning her multiple Golden Globe and Emmy awards.
Smith was married twice, to actor Robert Stephens, who she had two children with, and Beverley Cross. She divorced Stephens in 1975, and Cross died in 1998.
Smith had one of the most successful careers of all time, having roles from her teenage years until her death in September. She was 89.
Other Notable Deaths
Liam Payne
Shannen Doherty
James Earl Jones
Phil Donahue
Tito Jackson
Chita Rivera
Alexei Navalny
Willy Mays
Sheila Jackson Lee
Donald Sutherland
Sergio Mendes
Sheila Jackson Lee
Ethel Kennedy
As well as the 62,338,350 people who died this year
Liam Payne
Shannen Doherty
James Earl Jones
Phil Donahue
Tito Jackson
Chita Rivera
Alexei Navalny
Willy Mays
Sheila Jackson Lee
Donald Sutherland
Sergio Mendes
Sheila Jackson Lee
Ethel Kennedy
As well as the 62,338,350 people who died this year
