Influential people who died in 2026

Emmy-winning comedian Catherine O’Hara is one of the most notable and influential people to have died in the first month of this year.

His career began with the Second City Comedy Group in Toronto. But O’Hara is best known for her role as Macaulay Culkin’s mother in the first two “Home Alone” movies and her role as the dramatically ditzy matriarch Moira Rose in the TV series “Shit’s Creek.”

January also saw the death of notorious CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, whose betrayal of Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia is considered one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in US history. The secrets he revealed were responsible for the deaths of Western agents and were a major blow to the CIA during the Cold War.

Among those who died in January were South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki, Grateful Dead band member Bob Weir, “Dilbert” comic strip creator Scott Adams and Italian designer Valentino Garvani.

Here’s a roll call of some influential figures who died this year (with cause of death cited if available):

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January ___

Diane Crump, 77. In 1969, she became the first woman to ride a horse professionally and a year later became the first female jockey in the Kentucky Derby. January 1.

Ahn Sung-ki, 74. He was one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.” January 5.

Aldrich Ames, 84. A CIA turncoat who betrayed Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in American history has died in prison. January 5.

Bella Tarr, 70. The famous Hungarian filmmaker directed such works as “Satantango” and “The Turin Horse” and received several awards for his long and often dark comedies. January 6.

Glenn Hall, 94. Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” he was a Hockey Hall of Famer whose Ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains the NHL record. January 7.

Bob Weir, 78. The guitarist and singer was an essential member of the Grateful Dead who helped found the sound of the San Francisco counterculture of the 1960s and kept it alive through decades of endless tours and marathon jams. January 10.

Scott Adams, 68. His popular comic strip “Dilbert” captured the frustrations of frustrated, white-collar cubicle workers and satirized the ridiculousness of modern office culture until it was abruptly pulled from syndication in 2023 for racist comments. January 13

John Forte, 50. The Grammy-nominated musician was known for his work with Fugee and Refugee Camp All-Stars. January 12

Claudette Colvin, 86. His 1955 arrest for refusing to give up his seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement. At age 15, Rosa Parks was arrested nine months before she gained international fame for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus. January 13

Valentino Garavani, 93. He was the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns — often in the trademark shade of “Valentino red” — were fashion show staples for nearly half a century. January 19

Ota Zaremba, 68. He won a weightlifting gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics before admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs as part of a secret program run by the authoritarian regime in the former Czechoslovakia. January 23.

William Foge, 89. As a doctor, he was the leader of one of humanity’s greatest public health victories – the global eradication of smallpox. January 24

Catherine O’Hara, 71. The talented Canadian-born comedian and “SCTV” alum starred as Macaulay Culkin’s grieving mother in two “Home Alone” movies and won an Emmy as the dramatically ditzy wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in “Schitt’s Creek.” January 30.

Daymond Wilson, 79. He rose to fame playing Lamont on “Sanford & Son” in the 1970s and became a minister. January 30.