The news that Austin Powers star Verne Troyer has died at the age of 49 adds to a growing list of notable names that have died in 2018.

Here is our list of familiar faces that we've said goodbye to this year. 

APRIL

VERNE TROYER, 49, AMERICAN ACTOR 

Ilkley Gazette:

The diminutive US actor, Verne Troyer, was best known for playing Mini-Me in the spy comedy films, Austin Powers. 

Troyer, who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2009, was recently baptised while surrounded by family.

The actor’s credits also include Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone and Men In Black. He died aged 49.

  • AVICII, 28, SWEDISH DJ

Avucuu was an electronic dance music producerwhose real name was Tim Bergling.

His death comes days after he was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for top dance/electronic album.

Avicii, who boasted two UK number ones, retired from touring in 2016 and has battled acute pancreatitis in the past and had his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014. He was found dead in Oman at the age of 28.

  • DALE WINTON, 62, TV PERSONALITY 

Ilkley Gazette:

Dale Winton was a popular gameshow host perhaps best known for hosting Supermarket Sweep.

He became a household name in the mid 1990s and early 2000s while fronting shows such as Supermarket Sweep and The National Lottery: In It To Win It, but had kept a low profile in recent years.

Earlier this year he was back on TV, hosting Dale Winton's Florida Fly Drive on Channel 5.

However, only one episode aired in February after the network decided not to show the remainder of the series following the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The other episodes were due to air in June, Channel 5 said. 

Winton's agent confirmed his death on Wednesday at the age of 62, though she did not reveal any further details.

  • BARBARA BUSH, 92, FORMER FIRST LADY 

Barbara Bush was the wife of one president, the mother of another and one of the most popular first ladies ever to live in the White House.

She was also one of her husband George HW Bush’s most trusted advisers and biggest political assets and championed the issue of literacy before, during and after her White House years. She formed the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy to fund schemes that teach parents in low-income families to read and pass on a love of reading to their children. She died aged 92.

  • R LEE ERMEY, 74, AMERICAN ACTOR

Ilkley Gazette:

American actor R Lee Ermey was best known for playing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket.

The Kansas native was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his memorable performance in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, in which he immortalised lines such as: “What is your major malfunction?”

He raked in more than 60 credits in film and television across his long career in the industry, often playing authority figures in everything from Se7en to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. He died aged 74. 

  • TIMMY MATLEY, 36, MUSICIAN

Ilkley Gazette:

Timmy Matley (centre)

The cause of the Cork native’s death is unknown, but singer Timmy Matley had been treated for skin cancer after being diagnosed with stage three malignant melanoma in 2016.

Following his diagnosis, the singer revealed he had found a lump under his arm. He underwent surgery to remove lymph nodes, but doctors later discovered lumps around his collar bone and neck. He died aged 36.

  • JOHN LAMBIE, 77, FOOTBALL PLAYER AND MANAGER

Ilkley Gazette:

John Lambie spent three separate spells in charge at Firhill between 1988 and 2003, guiding Partick Thistle to the top flight in 1992 after winning the First Division twice with Hamilton Accies twice in the 1980s.

He then earned a place in Jags folkore by transforming the club's fortunes, taking a struggling side all the way to the SPL following back-to-back promotions in 2001 and 2002.

A colourful character, the Partick hall of fame inductee was also known for his fondness for cigars and pigeon racing. he died aged 77.

  • ERIC BRISTOW, 60, DARTS CHAMPION 

Ilkley Gazette:

Eric Bristow was the world’s greatest darts player during most of the 1980s, the period in which darts was transformed from a traditional pub game into a popular spectator sport.

He was the world darts champion five times between 1980 and 1986, and also won five World Masters titles and was a founder player when the PDC was formed in 1993.

In later life, Bristow was to capitalise on his fame with regular appearances on the quiz show Bullseye, as a contestant on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and as a commentator for Sky Sports.

He died following a heart attack aged 60. 

  • RAY WILKINS, 61, FOOTBALLER

Ilkley Gazette:

Ray Wilkins was a former Chelsea captain, England midfielder and Rangers player.

The midfielder started his career at Chelsea and spent six years with the Blues, while also having numerous stints as assistant manager. 

Wilkins played 70 games for Rangers, winning a League and League Cup double in 1989 and then 16 games for Hibs in the 1990s when he was 40.

During his career as a player, Wilkins won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 1983, scoring a memorable goal in the first tie against Brighton at Wembley, which ended 2-2. He died in hospital following a cardiac arrest aged 61.

  • WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA, 81, SOUTH AFRICAN ANTI-APARTHEID CAMPAIGNER

Ilkley Gazette:

South African anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was known to the world as the former wife of Nelson Mandela.

She was famously pictured holding her husband’s hand as he walked free from prison after serving 27 years and together, the couple were regarded as a symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle.

But in later years, her own reputation became mired in controversy.

In 1992, she separated from Nelson and he sacked her from his cabinet three years later after allegations of corruption. She died aged 81 following a long illness.

  • STEVEN BOCHCO, 74, HILL STREET BLUES CREATOR

Ilkley Gazette:

Writer and producer Steven Bochco was best known for creating the groundbreaking US police drama Hill Street Blues.

Bochco, who won 10 primetime Emmys, created several hit television shows including LA Law, NYPD Blue, and Doogie Howser, MD. He died aged 74.

MARCH

  • BILL MAYNARD, 91, ACTOR BEST KNOWN FOR HIS ROLE ON HEARTBEAT

Ilkley Gazette:

Bill Mayard played Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in Heartbeat between 1992 and 2000.

Maynard, whose real name was Walter Williams, chose his stage name as a reference to the sweet company, Ms Reddin said.

The actor also played the title role in Oh No, It’s Selwyn Froggitt, and starred in Carry On films Carry On At Your Convenience, Carry On Matron and Carry On Dick.

He died in hospital in Leicestershire shortly after breaking his hip in a fall off his mobility scooter, he was 91.

  • KATIE BOYLE, LADY SAUNDERS, 91, FORMER EUROVISION SONG CONTEST HOST AND ACTRESS

Ilkley Gazette:  Katie Boyle was married to the late producer of The Mousetrap Sir Peter Saunders, and was best known for presenting the Eurovision music spectacular in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Italian-born British star’s career started as a model, before working as a continuity announcer for the BBC in the 1950s. She appeared on panel game shows and programmes including What’s My Line? and Juke Box Jury. She died aged 91. 

  • KEITH O'BRIEN, 80, SCOTTISH CARDINAL WHOSE TENURE ENDED IN DISGRACE

Ilkley Gazette:

Cardinal Keith O'Brien was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 until his resignation in 2013, and only the fourth Scottish clergyman to have been appointed Cardinal since the Reformation.

The latter part of Keith O’Brien’s tenure was heavily overshadowed by accusations of sexual impropriety, some of which he admitted. O’Brien, after initially denying the claims, by three serving priests and one who had resigned his orders, conceded that his conduct had “fallen short of his duty as a priest, archbishop and cardinal”, and retired from the public life of the church in Scotland. He died aged 80 after suffering a head injury after a fall. 

  • JIM BOWEN, 80, COMEDIAN AND FORMER BULLSEYE PRESENTER 

Ilkley Gazette:

Comedian and former Bullseye presenter Jim Bowen was best known for the TV game show, which aired for 15 years and was watched by over 12 million viewers.

The darts-themed show aired in the 1980s and 1990s, obtaining cult status among university students.

He was known for the “super, smashing, great” and “now look what you could have won…” catchphrases in the show.

The former comedian was previously a deputy headmaster.

He enjoyed cameo roles in dramas such as Last Of The Summer Wine  as well as roles in Jonathan Creek and in Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights. He died aged 80.

  • PROFESSOR STEPHEN HAWKING, 72, PHYSICIST 

Ilkley Gazette:

Renowned British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking was one of the world’s finest scientific minds who was diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease in 1964 at the age of 22 and was given just a few years to live.

He eventually became confined to a wheelchair and dependent on a computerised voice system for communication. Despite this, he continued to travel the world giving lectures and writing scientific papers about the basic laws that govern the universe.

Prof Hawking explained the Big Bang and black holes in his best-selling book A Brief History Of Time. He died at the age of 76.

  • Liam O’Flynn, 72, Irish musician 

Irish musician Liam O’Flynn played the uilleann pipes and was a member of the group Planxty alongside Christy Moore, Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny.

The master piper had also performed with Kate Bush, Emmylou Harris and Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler and worked with the poet Seamus Heaney and the composer Shaun Davey on The Brendan Voyage. He died aged 72.

  • KEN DODD, 90, COMEDIAN 

Ilkley Gazette:

Sir Ken Dodd was an eccentric, idiosyncratic and inventive comedian who became a huge star in the 1960s and then never stopped working.

Not only did his career in comedy last for more than 60 years, his stand-up shows were famously long and would often last into the small hours. “The usherettes will be round soon to take your breakfast orders,” he would sometimes joke, and his fans lapped it up.

The reason he kept going for so long – he was still touring well into his 80s – was that for him comedy was a kind of compulsion. He certainly did not need the money (he made a fortune early on in his career and famously was accused of avoiding tax on it) but what he did need was the reaction of the audience. Bob Monkhouse once said that for Ken Dodd, everything off stage was just an interval. He died at his home, Knotty Ash, aged 90.

  • SIR ROGER BANNISTER, 88, FIRST MAN TO RUN A FOUR-MINUTE MILE 

Sir Roger Bannister was the first man to run a sub-four minute mile.

Bannister, aided by Sir Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher as pacemakers, achieved the feat by running three minutes 59.4 seconds at the Iffley Road track on May 6 1954.

Bannister, who also won a Commonwealth and European Championship gold medal that year, went on to become a leading neurologist.

He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011 and died at the age of 88.

  • DAVID OGDEN STIERS, 75, AMERICAN ACTOR 

Ilkley Gazette:

David Ogden Stiers was an American actor best known for playing the pompous Major Charles Winchester on the long-running comedy, M*A*S*H.

In addition to playing Winchester, Stiers also did voice acting in several Disney films. He voiced the character of Cogsworth in the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast and played characters in Lilo & Stitch and Pocahontas. He died aged 75.

  • FEBRUARY

LEWIS GILBERT, 97, BRITISH FILM DIRECTOR 

The British filmmaker directed three 007 films including The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice and Moonraker.

Born in London in 1920, he also directed Educating Rita and Alfie - the film which made Michael Caine a star and earned Gilbert an Oscar nomination. He died aged 97.

  • EMMA CHAMBERS, 53, ACTOR 

Emma Chambers was best known for her role on the BBC One comedy The Vicar of Dibley. 

The actress – who portrayed the dim but lovable Alice Tinker opposite Dawn French’s Geraldine Granger in the long-running BBC comedy – died from natural causes at the age of 53.

  • BILLY GRAHAM, 99, US EVANGELIST

Ilkley Gazette:

The Rev Billy Graham transformed American religious life through his preaching and activism.

He reached more than 200 million people through his appearances and millions more through his pioneering use of television and radio. He was a counsellor to American presidents and travelled the globe to become perhaps the most widely heard Christian evangelist in history.

Unlike many traditional evangelists, he abandoned narrow fundamentalism to engage broader society. He died aged 99.

  • BARBARA ANN ALSTON, 74, SINGER WITH THE CRYSTALS

The '60s girl group singer died last week (February 16)

Barbara Ann Alston was a singer in the '60s girl group, The Crystals. 

The Crystals formed in 1961, with an original line-up featuring Alston, Mary Thomas, Dolores “Dee Dee” Kenniebrew, Myrna Giraud, and Patricia “Patsy” Wright, and were put together by Alston’s uncle Benny Wells. The group signed to Phil Spector’s Philles Record, and released their debut single ‘There’s No Other (Like My Baby)’ later the same year. She died aged 74.

  • VIC DAMONE, 89, AMERICAN SINGER 

Vic Damone was a singer-songwriter, actor, TV and radio presenter best known for pop hits "You're Breaking My Heart," "On the Street Where You Live" (from My Fair Lady) and "My Heart Cries For You."

The musician recorded over 2,500 songs and rose post-Second World War alongside Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como and Dean Martin. He died aged 89.

  • JAN MAXWEL, 61, STAGE ACTOR

Ilkley Gazette:

Jan Maxwell was a New York stage actress who earned five Tony Award nominations in seven years, including two in one season.

Maxwell announced her retirement from the stage in 2015, telling Time Out magazine that it was because “the kinds of roles I was being offered were just — I’d been there and done that.” Her last performance was as Galactia, a 16th-century Venetian painter who fights back when her art angers the government, in “Scenes From an Execution,” at Atlantic Stage 2 in Chelsea. She died from breast cancer aged 61.

  • REG E CATHEY, 69, AMERICAN ACTOR 

Ilkley Gazette:

(Andrew H Walker/REX/Shutterstock)

Reg E Cathey was best known for his roles on House of Cards and The Wire.

The US star was well known for his role as rib shack owner Freddy Hayes in the Netflix political thriller, for which he won an Emmy – and played Norman Wilson in The Wire. He died aged 69.

  • LIAM MILLER, 36, IRISH FOOTBALLER AND FORMER CELTIC MIDFIELDER

Ilkley Gazette:

Liam Miller was a former Celtic and Manchester United player who won 21 caps for the Republic of Ireland between 2004 and 2009.

Miller started his career at Celtic in 2000 before moving to Old Trafford four years later, also playing for Leeds, Sunderland, QPR and Hibernian.

Miller ended his career in the United States in 2016, having also played for three clubs in Australia and his hometown club Cork City before retiring. He died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 36.

  • JOHN MAHONEY, 77, AMERICAN ACTOR 

Ilkley Gazette:

British-born actor John Mahoney was best known for his role as Martin Crane in the hit US sitcom Frasier. He appeared in the long-running show between 1993 and 2004.

Mahoney earned legions of fans for his portrayal of the cranky Marty, father of Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier. He died in Chicago aged 77.

  • JANUARY

MARK SALLING, 35, ACTOR

Ilkley Gazette:

Former Glee actor Mark Salling died of an apparent suicide weeks before he was due to be sentenced in court over child pornography charges.

He was best known for playing bad boy Noah “Puck” Puckerman in the musical comedy series before it ended in 2015.In December, he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography after prosecutors said he had more than 50,000 images of child porn on his computer and on a USB drive.

  •  HANNAH HAUXWELL, 91, FARMER WHO BECAME A TV STAR 

Ilkley Gazette:

Hannah Hauxwell was living a harsh existence as a hill farmer in the Yorkshire Dales, without electricity or running water, when the 1973 television documentary Too Long a Winter turned her into a national celebrity.

She was first seen leading her cow into its shed as a blizzard raged at Low Birk Hatt farm, 1,000ft up in Baldersdale. Hauxwell had lived in this remote spot next to the Pennine Way from the age of three and had farmed the 80 acres of the holding alone since the death of her uncle in 1961. 

Following the screening of Too Long a Winter, ITV companies around Britain received hundreds of phone calls and bulging sacks of mail containing gifts and money for “the old lady in the Yorkshire Dales” – which enabled her to have electricity installed and invest in a few more cows. She died aged 91.

  • JOHN MORRIS, 91, FILM COMPOSER 

John Morris was a composer who had a long list of movie, theater and television credits but was best known for a long association with Mel Brooks that earned him Academy Award nominations for Blazing Saddles and The Elephant Man. He died aged 91.

  • MARK E SMITH, 60, FOUNDER AND LEADER OF THE FALL

Ilkley Gazette:

Mark E Smith was the irascible frontman of Manchester post-punk band the Fall.

Smith formed the Fall in 1976 in Prestwich and was the only constant member of the band. He was known for his tempestuous relationship with his bandmates, and frequently fired them – there have been 66 different members over the years, with a third of them lasting less than a year. Smith famously once said: “If it’s me and yer granny on bongos, it’s The Fall.” He died from lung cancer at the afe of 60. 

  • PAUL BOCUSE, 91, MASTER OF FRENCH CUISINE 

Ilkley Gazette:

Paul Bocuse was the master chef who defined French cuisine for nearly half a century and put it on tables around the world.

Mr Bocuse's temple to French gastronomy, L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, outside the city of Lyon in south-eastern France, has held three stars - without interruption - since 1965 in the Michelin guide, the bible of gastronomes.

Mr Bocuse, who underwent a triple heart bypass in 2005, had also been suffering from Parkinson's disease. He died aged 91.

  • DOROTHY MALONE, 93, OSCAR-WINNING AMERICAN ACTOR

Dorothy Malone was an American actress who won hearts of 1960s television viewers as the long-suffering mother in the nighttime soap Peyton Place.

Prior to her role as Constance Mackenzie on the ABC soap opera, Malone landed a number of smaller roles in Westerns. She occasionally popped up in bigger films, such as The Big Sleep alongside Humphrey Bogart. She died in an assisted living centre from natural causes days before her 94th birthday.

  • PETER MAYLE, 78, AUTHOR OF A YEAR IN PROVENCE 

Ilkley Gazette:

Peer Mayle was an author most famouse for his book, A Year In Provence, which was also turned into a TV series starring John Thaw in 1993.

Originally from Sussex, the author moved to France in the late 1980s and wrote several follow-on books inspired by his love for the country, including Toujours Provence and Encore Provence. 

Publisher Alfred A Knopf said he died in a hospital near his home in the south of France after a short illness, he was 78.

  • DOLORES O'RIORDAN, 46, LEAD SINGER OF THE CRANBERRIES 

Dolores O’Riordan was an Irish singer from County Limerick who became most famous for her time as the lead singer of the rock group the Cranberries, with whom she had a huge transatlantic hit with Linger, first in America in 1993 and then upon its reissue in the UK in 1994.

Although the chart records show only modest success – number eight in the US and number 14 in Britain – they under-report just how regularly played and influential the song was at the time, winding its way into the memory of anyone who listened to pop music in the 1990s and firmly establishing itself as an enduring and canonical hit which was an essential part of its times.

She died suddenly at the Hilton on Park Lane while in London for a recording session, she was 46. 

  • PETER WYNGARDE, 90, FLAMBOYANT ACTOR BEST KNOWN FOR JASON KING  Ilkley Gazette:

Peter Wyngarde was best known for his role as sleuth Jason King in Department S and its spin-off.

A heartthrob in his day, he also enjoyed numerous stage roles and appeared as Klytus in Flash Gordon and as Timanov in Doctor Who: Planet Of Fire. 

He had a couple of roles in The Avengers (1966-67), including a notable S&M episode in which he whips Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and in The Saint (1966-67), in which he blacked up to play a Turkish villain. He died aged 90.

  • CYRILLE REGIS, 59, FORMER ENGLAND AND WEST BROM STRIKER 

Ilkley Gazette:

Cyrille Regis won five caps for England between 1982 and 1987, having been one of the stars of West Bromwich Albion between 1977 and 1984.

He scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for Albion before moving on to Coventry, winning the FA Cup with the Sky Blues in 1987. He died aged 59.

  • BELLA EMBERG, 80, ACTOR KNOWN FOR HER WORK WITH RUSS ABBOT

Ilkley Gazette:

Bella Emberg, was an actress who became best known for her work with the comedian Russ Abbot. In their most famous run of sketches, Abbot played Cooperman, a cross between Superman and Tommy Cooper, and Emberg played Blunderwoman, a useless version of the superhero who would nevertheless usually triumph in the end.

The success with Russ Abbot came relatively late in Emberg's career, although she had worked with many of the most successful comedians of the 1970s and 80s. She died aged 80. 

  • PETER PRESTON, 79, JOURNALIST AND FORMER EDITOR AT THE GUARDIAN 

Ilkley Gazette:

Peter Preston joined the Guardian in 1963, was editor between 1975 and 1995 and later went on to be a columnist for the Guardian and Observer.

He died at home on Saturday night 10 years after melanoma first struck and 20 months after it returned. He was 79.

  • JERRY VAN DYKE, 86, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN

Ilkley Gazette:

Actor and comedian Jerry Van Dyke won four Emmy nominations for his role in the US sitcom Coach.

Van Dyke was the younger brother of actor Dick Van Dyke, known for the musical films Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

After an early career in stand-up comedy, the junior Van Dyke turned to acting, appearing on The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1962 as the sibling of his real-life brother. He went on to appear regularly on The Judy Garland Show. He died ageed 86.

  • JOHN YOUNG, 87, ASTRONAUT

Astronaut John Young's Nasa career lasted 42 years during which time he walked on the moon and later commanded on the first space shuttle flight.

Mr Young became the first person to rocket away from Earth six times. Counting his takeoff from the moon in 1972 as commander of Apollo 16, his blastoff tally stood at seven, for decades a world record.

He flew twice during the two-man Gemini missions of the mid-1960s, twice to the moon during the Apollo programme, and twice more aboard the new space shuttle Columbia in the early 1980s.

  • RAY THOMAS, 76, SINGER-SONGWRITER WITH THE MOODY BLUES

Ilkley Gazette:

Ray Thomas started out in blues and soul groups in the 1960s and later formed The Moody Blues alongside Mike Pinder, Denny Laine, Graeme Edge and Clint Warwick.

The rock band's hits include Go Now, Nights In White Satin and Question.

Thomas also enjoyed solo success with albums From Mighty Oaks and Hopes Wishes And Dreams.

The Moody Blues, including Thomas, were to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.