Deaths 2022

Deaths 2021

Deaths 2020

Deaths 2019

Deaths 2018

Deaths 2017

Deaths 2016

Deaths 2015

Deaths 2014

Deaths 2013

Deaths 2012

Deaths 2011

Deaths 2010

Deaths 2009


Full list by date of death

Edd Byrnes

Actor

Born - 30 July 1932, New York City, USA
Died - 9 January 2020

Forever famous as the hair-combing Kookie, whose fan mail soon ran into the thousands per week, in the 77 Sunset Strip TV series, the muscular, brown-haired, baby-faced star was born Edward Byrne Breitenberger, and led a much-troubled life apart from his brief time in the sun. A male model who drifted into minor theatrical work and bit parts on TV, Edd eventually won a contract with Warner Brothers, a double-edged sword as it later prevented him from taking roles in such films as Rio Bravo and North to Alaska. He never did attain star roles in American films, but, after battles with alcohol and substance abuse, he did keep working: Reform School Girl (1957), Johnny Trouble (1957), The Young Invaders/Darby's Rangers (1958), Girl on the Run (1958), Up Periscope (1959), Yellowstone Kelly (1959), The Secret Invasion (1964), Beach Ball (1965), Any Gun Can Play (1967), the lead in Payment in Blood/7 Winchester per un massacro (1967), Stardust (1974), guying his old image in Grease (1978), Erotic Images (1983), Back to the Beach (1987), Party Line (1988) and Troop Beverly Hills (1989), his last feature, although he continued to act on TV, including a guest appearance in the short-lived revival of 77 Sunset Strip, and latterly in the TV movie Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story (1999). He died from natural causes.