Departures: Oscar-winning actress dies at 79

Diane Keaton

A generational acting talent who landed scores of film and TV roles from 1970 onward, Keaton died Oct. 11. She was 79. Keaton broke through after landing the part of Kay Adams, wife of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather trilogy. Throughout the 1970s, Keaton forged a working relationship with comic filmmaker Woody Allen. She appeared in eight Allen movies, including the critically acclaimed Annie Hall for which she won an Academy Award. A powerful enough screen presence to not get lost behind strong leading men, she’d find success in softer comedies, starring alongside Steve Martin in Father of the Bride in 1991 and next to Jack Nicholson in the 2003 romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give.

Patricia Routledge

An English star of stage and screen who, for a portion of the 1990s, could have arguably laid claim to the title of funniest woman on television, Routledge died Oct. 3. She was 96. As a theater actress, she played with the Royal Shakespeare Company and on Broadway, winning a Tony Award for her performance in the 1968 musical Darling of the Day. But it was Routledge’s portrayal of fussy social climber Hyacinth Bucket on British television’s Keeping Up Appearances from 1990 until 1995 that won her widest popularity. Her bellowing voice and natural talent for physical hijinks won her a British Comedy Award in 1991. She would later star in the BBC crime drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

Jane  Goodall

A primatologist whose research unveiled the lives of great apes, Goodall died Oct. 1. She was 91. Goodall began living in close proximity to chimpanzees in 1960 after moving to Tanzania. Her 1963 report published by National Geographic detailed the heretofore unknown lives of great apes that included tribal conflict, cannibalistic behavior, and the use of tools. Through articles, books—including the 1971 title In the Shadow of Man—and documentary series, Goodall demystified chimpanzees and warned against the loss of the animals’ natural habitats. She promoted conservation efforts through the Jane Goodall Institute and inspired young women to enter the previously male-dominated field.

Voddie Baucham

A pastor and seminarian who was at one time nominated to lead the Southern Baptist Convention, Baucham died Sept. 25. He was 56. Raised in a Buddhist home, Baucham converted to Christianity while a college football player at New Mexico State University. He earned numerous degrees including a doctorate from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and served as a conference speaker in the 1990s. He served as dean of theology at African Christian University in Zambia between 2015 and 2024 during which time he fielded an offer in 2022 to lead the Southern Baptist Convention—an offer he ultimately rejected. Baucham had recently moved back to the U.S. and was serving as the president of Founders Seminary in Florida.

Robert Redford

One of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men in the latter half of the 20th century, Redford died Sept. 16. He was 89. After years of smaller television and film roles, Redford broke out as a bona fide movie star opposite Paul Newman in the 1969 Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Redford would again star with Newman in the 1973 caper film The Sting, which earned him his only Academy Award nomination as an actor. After playing journalist Bob Woodward in All the President’s Men, Redford began directing films, including his 1980 Oscar-winning Ordinary People. He created the Sundance Film Festival and grew it into the nation’s largest independent film festival.