"He never lost his impish sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries, and Michelle and I will miss him dearly." A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere," he wrote on Twitter. "Desmond Tutu was a mentor, a friend, and a moral compass for me and so many others. President Barack Obama, who awarded the late archbishop the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, mourned him on social media.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa grieved the activist and holy man, calling him "a patriot without equal" and "a man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid." Former U.S. He was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997. The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation confirmed to The New York Times that the Anglican cleric passed away from cancer in a care facility. "But he beat it, you know, he beat it, but it did take its toll and then the unrelated infection finally is what took him, but boy, he was not gonna go down easily."Īrchbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning peace activist from South Africa whose human rights work helped end apartheid, died on Dec. You know, he never wanted to go but his sweet little body was just, it had just been hit so many times with so many things and once we heard the word COVID, all of our hearts just sunk," Shawn added. "He was finally ready to go, I will tell you that. His sixth wife, Julia Alexander, told the New York Post that Larry died from COVID-19, but his most recent wife, Shawn Southwick King - whom Larry was in the midst of divorcing when he passed away - told "Entertainment Tonight" that the cause of death "was an infection, it was sepsis." Larry had famously, over the years, endured lung cancer, chronic leukemia, a heart attack, a stroke and more. Larry had been hospitalized amid a battle with the coronavirus in late December. 23, veteran journalist and radio host Larry King, 87, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. RELATED: Betty White's life and career in photos Keep reading to see more stars who died this year… She believed she would be with him again." I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. "I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. The star of shows including "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Golden Girls" and "Hot in Cleveland" was an eight-time Emmy winner. "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told People magazine in a statement hours after her death. A source close to Betty told the webloid that the comedy star, who didn't experience any sudden illness and wasn't battling any specific ailment, is believed to have died from natural causes. 31 - less than three weeks before her 100th birthday - legendary actress Betty White passed away at her home, law enforcement sources confirmed to TMZ. is taking a look back at the bold-faced names we lost in 2021, starting with this Hollywood icon… On the morning of Dec.