Hey all. I’m back with an important look at some of those amazing people that we lost last year. This is always a very sad column for me, and 2023 seemed to be particularly cruel in terms of taking those we admired. But everyone on this list leaves behind a great legacy which should be celebrated.

I know I will miss people, but I am going to try and focus on the people who had a hand in the video game industry in some way or another.

So, in no particular order, let’s look back in fond remembrance at some of those we lost in 2023.

Michael Gambon: He played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies after the previous Dumbledore actor died just after the Chamber of Secrets movie was released. His passing is a tragedy, as he truly did play his role very well, and I’ll always remember him very fondly as Dumbledore.

David McCallum, or Ducky as he was known on NCIS, was another actor who died this past year. I always enjoyed his character, and he was a very good actor. It’s a pity he wasn’t particularly active in gaming, although gamers did get to enjoy his talents as the voice of the Grand Maester in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls.

Matthew Perry: I grew up watching Friends on cable when I was young, and I remember Perry’s work on the show very fondly. Perry was also a huge video game fan. While it is well known that the Batman games were his favorite, he was also very much into the Fallout series. In fact, his love of that series was so great that Bethesda and Obsidian offered him the chance to play a key villain in Fallout New Vegas. Perry’s character Benny shoots the player in the head in the opening sequence, but thankfully does not finish the job. His role in New Vegas as an opportunistic and suave gangster was epic and one more element that made that title one of the best in the series. He will be sorely missed.

Jimmy Buffet: The guy was a legend in music and business. He was known for his songs about island escapism and was adored by millions.

Lance Reddick: Of everyone on this list, Lance Reddick was probably the most involved with video games. He got to portray many amazing roles including Sylens in the Horizon series and Commander Zavala in Destiny and Destiny 2 just to name a couple of his more recent achievements. He also was a big video game player himself, often logging into Destiny 2 to play late into the night. It was reported that he had logged in to play the game some the night before he died. He will be sorely missed.

Check out his Destiny 2 Take Back Our Home speech if you want to remember how good he was.

Bob Barker: The man, the legend, and the guy who punches out Happy Gilmore in said movie. Bob Barker was a long time TV host of the game show The Price is Right and was generally a very stand-up guy. It’s a pity he passed, but he’s got a long legacy that won’t be easily forgotten.

Paul Reubens: Better known as Pee-wee Herman, the guy is another legend, and he shall also be missed.

Tony Bennett: He is someone I listened to frequently when I visited my grandmother as she loved his work and was one of his biggest fans.

E3 Expo: While not a person, the E3 Expo was pretty critical for the video game industry while it was still growing. GiN used to cover the show every year when it was in Atlanta, which was before my time with the publication, and then followed it when it moved to Los Angeles. It was a fun time but had started to outgrow its usefulness. COVID was probably the last straw for this venerable show. We will miss all the craziness surrounding it every year.