Twenty Movie Legends We Lost in 2022 | Tributes

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN by Nell Minow

“She was ideally cast as the sweet, confused Sandy, singing about holding hands and drinking lemonade. And that is why her transformation at the end, with those iconic skin-tight leather pants, is such a shock. We might disapprove for many reasons of a girl changing her personality and pretending to be ‘fast’ in order to get a boy, but somehow we know she is still sweet Sandy (and resiliently wholesome Olivia) at heart. The poppy love song as they dance through the Fun House and the car flying off into the clouds give the ending a reassuring wink.”

NICHELLE NICHOLS by Odie Henderson

“Lt. Uhura was a fictional Black woman in space, in a time when there were no people of color nor women in space for real. She was fashionable, smart, witty and ran a control panel with gorgeous nails unfit for pushing buttons. She left an impression on us kids—what innocent crushes we had!—and she was played by Nichelle Nichols. Nichols portrayed Uhura for the run of the series, and for the first six ‘Star Trek’ theatrical movies that followed. For any Black kid, or little girl in general, with dreams of being an astronaut, Uhura made the idea a possibility, an aspiration that may not be as far-fetched as we thought.”

BOB RAFELSON by Peter Sobczynski

“As a writer, director, and producer, he contributed to some of its most notable films, he helped make the career of one of the most beloved movie stars of all time, and he was even a key person behind one of the most successful pop groups of their era. He was a true Renaissance man of popular culture, and the effects of his contributions can still be seen, felt, and heard today.”

IVAN REITMAN by Peter Sobczynski

“Despite the film’s enormous popularity, Reitman’s contributions to the project have always tended to be underrated when it is discussed. Unlike his previous films, which were relatively modest in size, budget, and ambition, ‘Ghostbusters’ was a hugely expensive proposition that attempted to blend together two things that did not necessarily go together easily—elaborate special effects and broad humor.”