Actors In Adam Sandler Movies You May Not Know Are Dead

Love him or hate him, you can't deny the fact that Adam Sandler has left his mark on Hollywood. Since the 1990s, the former "Saturday Night Live" standout has offered up a profusion of comedy movies – some undoubtedly great, others not so much – that have left audiences either laughing or groaning. During that time, he's established a core team of dependable comic friends, including Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade and Rob Schneider, and also worked with some of the most well-known actors on the planet, such as Jennifer Aniston, Steve Buscemi, and of course, Drew Barrymore. He's nothing if not a skilled collaborator.

Over the years, Sandler's flicks have featured a slew of talented cast members, ranging from NBA stars to musical icons, in supporting roles. Some are one-offs, only appearing in one movie, whereas others return for more on-set laughs in additional films. Given that the Sandman has been making movies for over two decades, it's inevitable that some of his former costars are unfortunately no longer with us. Here are some beloved actors in Adam Sandler movies that you might not know have passed away.

Although he's almost certainly most recognized as the notorious steel-toothed Bond villain Jaws, from 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me" and 1979's "Moonraker," Richard Kiel made an unforgettable appearance alongside Adam Sandler in "Happy Gilmore." A behemoth of a man (he was 7 feet, 2 inches tall), Kiel perfectly played an intimidating presence in the gallery at Gilmore's tournaments, one who just so happened to always be hilariously crossing paths with Gilmore's rival, Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald). Apparently, he and Sandler developed a great bond while on set.

When Kiel passed away in September 2014, Sandler mourned the loss of his pal on X (known as Twitter at the time): "Richard Kiel was one of the nicest, funniest guys I've ever met. I'll never forget hanging out with him and how good he was to everyone." It is believed that the towering actor died of a heart attack, but his death certificate seemed to indicate that he had coronary artery disease too. Regardless of the cause of his ultimate demise, Kiel will always be remembered as one of the greatest of Hollywood's giants.

Ray Liotta's death in May 2022 rocked the world. The mega-talented actor, best known for playing the main protagonist, Henry Hill, in Martin Scorsese's 1990 gangster classic "Goodfellas," passed away in his sleep while working on the upcoming movie "Dangerous Waters" in the Dominican Republic. He was 67 years old, with a slew of movie credits and impressive awards, including an Emmy win for outstanding guest actor in a drama series thanks to his work in "ER." 

While Liotta's death is pretty common knowledge at this point, it might be less known that he actually starred in one of Adam Sandler's Netflix movies before he died. In 2020's "Hubie Halloween," the "Shades of Blue" actor played Pete Landolfa, one of Hubie's many bullies. Although Liotta's character in the flick was a major jerk, Sandler noted that he was the polar opposite in real life, tweeting that he was a "tremendous actor" and a "sweetheart of a dad," while adding, "[He was] such a great funny man to know. Prayers are with his whole family."

One could argue that some of Adam Sandler's best works are his romantic comedies alongside Drew Barrymore. The two stars seem to bring out the best in each other, and their three films together — 1998's "The Wedding Singer," 2004's "50 First Dates" and 2014's "Blended" — are honestly all phenomenal movies that are both heartwarming and hilarious. Interestingly, there's almost always another person who tagged along whenever Barrymore and Sandler teamed up: Alexis Arquette.

Arquette was a talented character actor and also a major transgender activist who transitioned into a woman in 2004. Sadly, she passed away in late 2016 after suffering a heart attack while also stricken with AIDS. In their statement about her death, her siblings Patricia, Rosanna, Richmond and David Arquette praised her for living her truth (via The Guardian): "Despite the fact that there are few parts for trans actors, she refused to play roles that were demeaning or stereotypical ... She was a vanguard in the fight for understanding and acceptance for all trans people."

Arquette's final appearance in a feature film before she died was actually in 2014's "Blended," wherein she had a brief cameo as Georgina/George Stitzer, the same character that she played in 1998's "The Wedding Singer." In both movies, she played a Boy George impersonator, and she actually did it so well, George himself tweeted that she was "another bright light gone out far too soon" when he learned of her passing.

While losing someone always hurts, there's arguably nothing worse than losing someone who still has a whole life ahead of them. That's precisely what happened in the case of Disney Channel breakout Cameron Boyce, who in 2019 died of SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) at the young age of 20. Boyce was probably best known for his roles in Disney TV shows like "Descendants" and "Jessie," but he also starred as Adam Sandler's son, Keithie, in the highly lucrative "Grown Ups" franchise.

When speaking to Young Hollywood, the teenage star admitted that Sandler was actually the first person who he was starstruck by, noting that since he was nine years old when they first met, Sandler's trademark immature jokes were right up his alley: "A nine-year-old likes their fart jokes. So, he's good at those." However, that bond clearly developed into something deeper, as the comedian took Boyce's passing incredibly hard. "Too young. Too sweet. Too funny. Just the nicest, most talented, and most decent kid around. Loved that kid," Sandler wrote on his social media accounts. "Thank you, Cameron, for all you gave to us. So much more was on the way. All our hearts are broken."

Sandler even honored Boyce in the credits of "Hubie Halloween." A few minutes after the film ends, a picture of the late actor appears on the screen, as well as a heartfelt tribute that reads: "You live on forever in our hearts and are truly missed every day." 

Adam Sandler has possibly worked with more top-notch comedians than anyone else in Hollywood history. However, during the most touching song of his uniquely musical Netflix special, "100% Fresh," he poignantly sings, "When they ask me who's the funniest guy I ever knew, I tell 'em hands down without a doubt it's you." Of course, he's "singin' about [his] friend Chris Farley."

Farley and the Sandman were incredibly close buddies. They came up together on "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1990s, and aside from countless hilarious "SNL" sketches, the duo co-starred together in "Coneheads," "Airheads," and "Billy Madison." In "Billy Madison," Farley absolutely steals every scene as the wildly unhinged bus driver, arguably providing more infamous lines than any other character in that movie. The man was truly a one-of-a-kind comedic talent.

As probably everyone now knows, however, Farley's "wild man" personality came with great consequences. On December 18, 1997, he was found dead in his apartment due to an accidental drug overdose. He was only 33 years old.

1999's "Big Daddy" has perhaps the most tearjerking scene in any Adam Sandler movie. In the film, it's established that Sonny (Sandler) has an estranged relationship with his father, Lenny, played by Oscar-nominated screenwriter and actor Joseph Bologna. This relationship is tested when, during a hearing to establish whether or not Sonny was a good father to Julian, Sonny asks his dad to question him. It's a truly powerful scene that will make you want to call up your own dad and tell him, "I love you."

While "Big Daddy" was Bologna's only appearance in a Sandler flick, it was most definitely a memorable one. So much so that, when he passed away in 2017, it's arguably one of the parts he was most remembered for, despite the fact that he'd been starring in TV shows and movies since 1971. Bologna died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 82.

If you watched any sitcoms in the 1990s, there's a very good chance you saw Mary Pat Gleason in action. The talented actress was seemingly everywhere during that era, appearing in huge shows like "Saved by the Bell," "Friends," and "Will and Grace." She also starred in a plethora of movies throughout her lengthy career, ranging from teenage romcoms like 2004's "A Cinderella Story" to historic dramas like 1996's "The Crucible."

Although she had great range, one could easily argue that Gleason's forte was in the world of comedy. She just had a natural ability to make people laugh, and she didn't need a big part to do so. For example, in the two Adam Sandler movies she popped up in, 2007's "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and 2014's "Blended," Gleason had very limited lines (in "Blended," she's only in one scene), but still contributed to some of the films' biggest laughs.

Unknown to most, Gleason did most of her later acting after being diagnosed with cancer, and she ultimately succumbed to it at age 70 in June 2020, joining a slew of other actors and actresses that we lost that year. In a statement (via CNN), her manager confirmed that she was an incredibly tough woman who "continued to work on shows like 'The Blacklist' and 'Mom' even through the pain." 

In early 2021, the world was rocked by the news that Cloris Leachman, treasured actress and comedian, had passed away of natural causes. The Oscar-winning star, who was 94 when she died, made her onscreen debut in 1947's "Carnegie Hall," accumulating a laundry list of acting credits over the next 70 years. In total, she starred in more than 280 films and TV shows alongside some of Hollywood's most elite celebrities, ranging from Gene Wilder to Paul Newman.

Another of Leachman's prestigious costars was Adam Sandler. It's easy to forget that the "Young Frankenstein" actress actually popped up in not one, but two of the Sandman's movies. In 2004's moody romantic drama, "Spanglish," Leachman played Evelyn, Sandler's alcoholic mother-in-law. One year later, she took on a small but hilarious role in 2005's remake of "The Longest Yard," wherein she played the warden's assistant with an especially aggressive crush on Sandler's character, Paul Crewe. 

The pair had a natural chemistry that apparently extended even after the cameras stopped rolling. When Sandler learned of Leachman's passing, he posted on X that she was "a true legend," and even crowned her as "one of the funniest of all time." That's quite high praise coming from someone who has made movies with so many A-list comedians throughout his career.

Although she's likely best known for playing sassy housekeeper Berta in over 200 episodes of "Two and a Half Men," Conchata Ferrell starred in loads of popular movies and TV shows throughout her decades-spanning acting career. Her filmography boasts credits in popular shows like "L.A. Law," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Grace and Frankie," and she was nominated for Emmy awards on three separate occasions. She also starred as the no-nonsense Jan alongside Adam Sandler in 2002's quirky comedy, "Mr. Deeds."

Ferrell's great run all came to an end in October 2020, however, when she passed away from medical complications at the age of 77 following a cardiac arrest. Some of her old costars and celebrity friends took to social media to express their sympathy over the terrible news, including "Two and a Half Men" stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. Sandler himself even posted on X: "RIP. Great lady. Will be missed terribly. So sorry to her family." 

Adam Sandler has an undeniable ability to seamlessly combine laughs and sports. With films like "Happy Gilmore" and "The Longest Yard," the Sandman has been responsible for helping create some of the most memorable sports comedies of all time. However, his most quotable sports laugher was easily 1998's timeless classic, ""The Waterboy."."

Sandler stars as good-hearted momma's boy Bobby Boucher, an oft-bullied waterboy for the University of Louisiana football "foos-ball" team. After he's fired from UL, Bobby's given a second chance by Coach Klein (Henry Winkler) and his South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs, where he learns that his place on the gridiron is actually on the field as opposed to the sidelines. "The Waterboy" is arguably the funniest football film in history, mostly due to the great performances of Sandler and his fellow cast members.

Sadly, some of those cast members are no longer with us. Jerry Reed, who perfectly captured Coach Klein's fiercely competitive nemesis, Red Beaulieu, passed away in 2008 due to emphysema, a dangerous lung condition. Reed was not only a talented actor, starring as Cledus Snow in three "Smokey and the Bandit" films during the late '70s and early '80s, but also a chart-topping country music star. Reed took home three Grammy awards and was even inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017. Talk about an impressive legacy to leave behind.

You might not know it from his small role as the frequently intoxicated Mr. Herlihy in "Big Daddy," but Edmund Lyndeck was once a big-time Broadway star. He was actually the very first actor to bring the nefarious Judge Turpin to life in Stephen Sondheim's timeless musical, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," and he went on to star in several other plays during his time on stage.

While Broadway was clearly his forte, Lyndeck did dip his toes into film and television. He popped up in small roles in Disney's "Enchanted" and the raunchy teen comedy "Road Trip," and also appeared in a few TV shows, even including one episode of "The Cosby Show" in 1990. His most recognized film role was probably in the aforementioned "Big Daddy," but he actually did cameo in another Adam Sandler comedy nearly a decade later, 2008's  "You Don't Mess with the Zohan."

Lyndeck passed away on December 14, 2015 at the age of 90, though the cause of death was not immediately known at the time.

One of Carl Weathers' most important roles, right alongside his appearances in the "Rocky," "Star Wars," and "Predator" franchises, is playing golf mentor Chubbs Peterson in "Happy Gilmore." It not only introduced Weathers to a whole new audience, but allowed him to flex his oft-underused comedic muscles — muscles he would later use to scene-stealing effect in his recurring role on the sitcom "Arrested Development." In fact, Weathers' impact as Chubbs was so great that he was among the first actors to reprise his role in a subsequent Adam Sandler film, when the actor did a cameo as Chubbs in heaven in "Little Nicky." 

Unfortunately, Weathers not only didn't play Chubbs a third time for "Happy Gilmore 2," he didn't live to even see the finished movie. The actor died on February 1, 2025 of natural causes at the age of 76. But just because he didn't play Chubbs in "Happy Gilmore 2," doesn't mean he wasn't in "Happy Gilmore 2" — the sequel featured several archival scenes of Weathers from the first film, marking what is technically his final screen credit. 

After spending the first 40-odd years of his career playing a variety of roles, the twilight years of Darren McGavin's career were dominated by two high-profile patriarch characters. First, he played the grumpy, working-class dad in "A Christmas Story," then later went in almost the exact opposite direction as the extremely wealthy hotel magnate dad in "Billy Madison." Well, maybe it wasn't the exact opposite, as Brian Madison was pretty grumpy, too — although, with a man-child son like Billy (Adam Sandler), who wouldn't be?

After "Billy Madison," McGavin added only a handful of film and television credits to the last stretch of his filmography before leaving acting behind for the final years of his life. McGavin died at age 83 of heart disease on February 25, 2006. His final film, "Still Waters Burn," was released two years after his death in 2008. Very little is known about the movie or its production, though it was clearly filmed many years earlier, given how old McGavin and the other actors appear to be in it. 

Adam Sandler was bound to team up with Disney at some point, especially as he got a bit older and started to add more family films to his repertoire. That happened in 2008 with "Bedtime Stories," where Sandler played a man named Skeeter Bronson, who finds that the stories he tells his niece and nephew to help them sleep are coming true. That includes a story he tells about his boss, Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths), in which Barry becomes a king and promises Skeeter a promotion — the latter of which happens in real life. Once Skeeter and the kids become aware of Skeeter's power, chaos and hijinks ensue.

Despite "Bedtime Stories" being a box office success, Griffiths was in the middle of something much bigger and more successful at the time — the "Harry Potter" film series, where he played Harry's cruel uncle, Vernon Dursley. Other noteworthy films that Griffiths appeared in include "Withnail and I," "Chariots of Fire," "Gandhi," and "Hugo." He was also known to British audiences for playing the lead role in the 1994 BBC series "Pie in the Sky." Griffiths died in 2013 at age 65, following complications from heart surgery. 

In "Anger Management," Adam Sandler plays tightly-wound Dave Buznik, who lets just about everyone in his life walk all over him. On the rare occasion that he shows even the slightest hint of asserting himself, it always seems to lead to a chain of events where he finds himself before a judge who wants to put him in jail. And it just so happens that said judge, Brenda Daniels (Lynne Thigpen), is friends with famous therapist Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) — and Buddy always uses their history to get Dave out of legal trouble and back into his anger management program.

Sadly, "Anger Management" would be a posthumous release for Thigpen. The actor died in March 2023, mere weeks before the release of the film, at age 54. Thigpen had also been a main cast member on the TV series "The District" at the time, and her character was killed off following the actor's death. 

'90s kids would likely best remember Thigpen as The Chief on the educational game show "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?", which earned her five Daytime Emmy nominations. 1979 cult classic "The Warriors," a rare example of a B movie that is actually awesome, featured Thigpen as the mostly unseen DJ who served as the movie's narrator. In between, the actor appeared in a number of movie, film, and live theater roles. 

A fact that "Little Nicky" fans will love is that legendary film critic Roger Ebert — who had not previously been a fan of Adam Sandler movies — proclaimed the religiously-tinged comedy Sandler's best film up to that point. Unfortunately, it was also Sandler's first big flop, not making nearly enough money at the box office to justify the cost of the pricey, effects-heavy romp. It was definitely Sandler flexing how much clout he had at that point, which was borne out not only by the movie's large budget, but the fact that just about every character was played either by a huge A-lister or a well-known character actor. 

Among the impressive list of character actors in "Little Nicky" is Tommy Lister Jr., who played one of Nicky's bully brothers. Lister had been appearing in movies, in addition to having a short-lived wrestling career, since the 1980s. But it was after he played Deebo in the iconic comedy "Friday" that filmmakers started asking him to do more than just flex and snarl in his movies, with "The Fifth Element" and "The Dark Knight" among his more high-profile projects. Lister Jr. died in December 2020 of complications from heart disease and high blood pressure. He was 62. 

It seems like the harder Adam Sandler's Dave tries to prove he doesn't have a violent temper in "Anger Management," the more he accidentally seems to confirm said violent temper. Of course, we come to learn that therapist Dr. Rydell (Jack Nicholson) is largely orchestrating all of it as part of his radical and unorthodox treatment methods. But that probably isn't much solace to the waitress who really does get her nose broken while Dave is tussling with a blind man at a bar. And although he's uncredited, that blind man was played by prolific character actor Harry Dean Stanton.

While "Anger Management" was the only actual Adam Sandler movie that Stanton appeared in, he did play a role in the Rob Schneider vehicle "The Animal," which was produced by Happy Madison Productions. Those are just two of the more than 200 screen film and television credits the prolific Stanton has to his name. He was almost always a supporting character in movies like "Alien," though he was top billed in the films "Paris, Texas" (1984) and "Lucky" (2017) as well as being a main cast member during the first four seasons of HBO's "Big Love." Stanton made it all the way to 91 years old before passing away from heart failure in September 2017.

In the 2000s, Adam Sandler started to work remakes into his film output. First came "Mr. Deeds," a remake of the 1936 Gary Cooper comedy "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town." Then came "The Longest Yard," a remake of the 1974 movie of the same name. The latter was a bit more of a direct remake, even bringing back original star Burt Reynolds to play a role. It also copied the original's formula of filling out the ensemble with a mix of A-listers, actual football players, and various prolific character actors of the day.

One such character actor in the remake was Steve Reevis, who played Billy "Baby Face Bob" Rainwater. The joke was that Billy was one of the play-by-play commentators, but almost never spoke. Reevis had previously played Shep Proudfoot in "Fargo" (the original film), a member of the Sioux in "Dances with Wolves," and one of the Native Americans in the desert dream sequence in "The Doors." The actor passed away of undisclosed causes in December 2017 at the age of 55. 

There are times that comedy actors surprise us with a serious role, which Adam Sandler has done multiple times throughout his career. But while most of his dramatic roles still have elements of comedy in them, the one that came with almost no laughs at all was 2007's "Reign Over Me" — arguably his only straight drama until "Uncut Gems" 12 years later. 

The movie was among the first batch of films to confront the aftermath of September 11th, with Sandler playing a man whose wife and daughters died during the attacks. When his mental health struggles lead to a series of events that land him in legal trouble, one of the people who defends him against court-ordered commitment to a psychiatric facility is the mother of his late wife, played by Melinda Dillon.

Dillon's most well-known role is arguably that of Mrs. Parker, the mother from "A Christmas Story" — where she played the wife of Darren McGavin from "Billy Madison." She also appeared in "Harry and the Hendersons," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "The Muppet Movie," and the pre-MCU 1990 "Captain America" film (which also featured McGavin). "Reign Over Me" would mark her final film credit before stepping away from acting and living a mostly private life until her death in 2023 at age 83. One of her final public appearances was at a 2018 reunion of "A Christmas Story" to commemorate its 35th anniversary. 

When the long-awaited "Happy Gilmore 2" finally arrived in July 2025, there was a mixed bag of characters who did and didn't return from the original. One glaring omission was Donald Floyd (Joe Flaherty), the heckler hired by Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) to goad Happy into losing his cool — leading to the memorable shouting of "jackass!" any time Happy is about to tee off. Donald later drives a car into both Happy and a TV tower, nearly costing Happy the tour championship.

Well, there was a pretty good reason why Donald wasn't in "Happy Gilmore 2." The sequel didn't begin filming until September 2024, and Joe Flaherty passed away five months prior, in April, at the age of 82. Other than "Happy Gilmore," Flaherty was famous for being a cast member of the sketch comedy show "SCTV" and playing Harold Weir on "Freaks and Geeks." Many of his final screen credits were voice roles, including "Clone High," "Family Guy," and "American Dad." Archival footage in "Happy Gilmore 2" not withstanding, his final credit was a 2014 short called "Nightlife."

Adam Sandler seemed to enjoy working with the Arquette family. Not only did Alexis Arquette play George in "The Wedding Singer," but both Patricia Arquette and Lewis Arquette appeared in "Little Nicky." Patricia played Nicky's love interest Valerie Veran, one of the long line of women in Sandler's movies with the initials V.V. Meanwhile, Lewis Arquette plays a cardinal who is possessed by one of the devil's children and encourages his congregation to sin and misbehave. 

Lewis is the father of not only Patricia and Alexis, but also actors David Arquette and Rosanna Arquette. He's not just the father of actors, though — he was a prolific actor himself with nearly 150 screen credits. He was a main cast member of "The Waltons" for several seasons, and appeared in the films "Waiting for Guffman," "Scream 2," "Tango and Cash," and "The China Syndrome." Lewis was also a prolific voice actor who was heard in numerous animated projects and video games. Lewis Arquette died of heart failure in 2001 at the age of 65, making his "Little Nicky" role one of his final performances. 

When it comes to the best and worst Adam Sandler movies, "Pixels" finds itself avoiding both extremes and floating somewhere in between. Despite being released in 2015, it is already often forgotten entirely when discussing Sandler's filmography — getting a bit lost in that limbo period between when his theatrical films were slowing down and his Netflix deal was kicking in. It also doesn't help that all of the video game characters that come to life in the movie date back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, with several being part of franchises that had been inactive for decades at that point.

Of course, Pac-Man is timeless and iconic, so much so that his actual creator appears as a named character in the movie. But that obviously isn't the real Tōru Iwatani whose hand gets bitten off by his own creation. It was a version of Iwatani played by actor Denis Akiyama. Akiyama had previously appeared on screen in "Resident Evil: Afterlife," "The Pacifier," and "Johnny Mnenomic," but he was far more prolific as a voice actor. He was part of the cast of the original English dub of "Sailor Moon," and played multiple characters in "X-Men: The Animated Series." Akiyama died of cancer at age 66 in June 2018. "Pixels" was commonly mentioned in coverage of his passing, given that it was his most recent high-profile role.

The devastating death of Norm Macdonald in 2021 at 61 years old was a shock to everyone, as the actor hadn't publicly disclosed that he had cancer because he didn't want that to become the focal point of his relationship with his fans. And while much of that relationship came via Macdonald's stint on "Saturday Night Live" and his various comedy specials and talk show appearances, he was also a common fixture as a character actor on film — often in the films of his friends, which included Adam Sandler.

Macdonald's biggest role in a Sandler film was in "Billy Madison," where he played Frank, one of Billy's buddies who seems to perpetually be sleeping over. But Macdonald also appeared in "Grown Ups," "Jack and Jill," "Funny People," and "The Ridiculous 6," not to mention a number of non-Sandler-starring Happy Madison films. 

Of course, Macdonald did plenty of non-Sandler-adjacent movies as well, including "Dirty Work," which he co-wrote. Macdonald also starred in and co-created the sitcom "The Norm Show," which ran for three seasons on ABC. At the time of his death, he was voicing the character Yaphit on "The Orville," and his work on the show's third season ended up being aired posthumously.