RIP to all
These notable figures with Dallas connections passed away in 2022
As 2022 comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the notable figures in Dallas or with Dallas connections who died this year. This year's list includes musicians, actors, media personalities, and figures from local politics.
Here's the 2022 list of notable deaths, in chronological order:
Rock star Meat Loaf, a native of Dallas known for hits such as "Paradise By the Dashboard Light," died on January 20; he was 74. Born Marvin Lee Aday, his career spanned six decades, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and starring in more than 65 movies, including Fight Club, Focus, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Wayne's World. Aday grew up in Dallas and was already singing and acting in high school before attending Lubbock Christian College and the University of North Texas. After moving to Los Angeles, he found massive success with Bat Out of Hell, his collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman, which was released in 1977, won a Grammy Award, and became one of the best-selling records in history, with worldwide sales of more than 40 million copies.
Beloved rock musician Trey Johnson, a founding member of rock band Sorta, died on January 31; he was 53. Born Lewis Harlan Johnson III, Trey was a graduate of Greenhill School and the University of North Texas, and co-founder of State Fair Records, a Dallas music label that released albums by acclaimed artists such as Joshua Ray Walker, Kristy Kruger, and Eleven Hundred Springs. Sorta was an Americana rock band that released four full-length records and garnered national attention when their songs were picked up for several television series.
Dennis González, a jazz musician, artist, and teacher, died on March 15; he was 67. González recorded more than 30 albums for international and domestic jazz labels as well as his own label Daagnim Records. He was also a public school educator for decades in Dallas.
Max Glauben, a Holocaust survivor who co-founded the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, passed away on April 28. He was 94. Glauben was a part of a group of Dallas Holocaust survivors who came together with the goal of creating a memorial center where they could remember loved ones and educate future generations about the horrors of the Holocaust. The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum opened in downtown Dallas in 2019.
Dallas radio personality Jim White, who co-founded the Savor Dallas food festival as well as Restaurant Week, died on June 4. His wife, Vicki Briley-White, confirmed that White passed away while in hospice care, after learning he had cancer just two months before. White, who had a mellifluous voice that could melt ice, served as a news anchor and talk show host for 1080 KRLD for a decade from 1995-2004. He was probably Dallas' original foodie in his capacity as host of "The KRLD Restaurant Show with Jim White," a two-hour talk show featuring famous chefs, cookbook authors, winemakers, and restaurateurs that earned a James Beard Foundation nomination for "Best Radio Show on Food."
Dallas musician Jess Barr, a member of seminal alt-country rock band Slobberbone, passed away on December 6; he was 46. Barr was guitarist for Slobberbone during its heyday, when the quartet put its hometown Denton on the map and created a vibrant local scene at bars like the Barley House. He also played with a Slobberbone offshoot band, The Drams. In 2013, he opened Twilite Lounge, a bar in Deep Ellum, with partner Danny Balis, then opened a spinoff in Fort Worth in 2017. Both earned best bar awards and provided a platform for local musicians — another of his legacies.
Anna Casey, a formidable political consultant and strategist who worked on many pivotal campaigns in Dallas, died on December 8 after a long illness. She was 61. She was known for her difference-making work on several city propositions including helping to vanquish the proposal to build a toll road in the Trinity River, as well as for candidates for the Dallas School Board, Dallas City Council, Dallas County Commissioners Court, and Texas State House of Representatives.
Michael Lindenberger, a former writer and editor at The Dallas Morning News, died on December 11, following an illness; he was 51. Lindenberger worked for the newspaper for 14 years until 2018, when he moved to the Houston Chronicle, and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022.
Hollywood actor Stuart Margolin died on December 12; he was 82. Margolin won two Emmy Awards for his role as "Angel" Martin in the TV show The Rockford Files. Although born in Iowa, he grew up in Preston Hollow and attended Hillcrest High School. In 1979, already a success in Hollywood, he moved back to Dallas for a couple of years, working on writing projects and establishing a production company River Entertainment.
Lionel "Leo" Messi and Argentina came into the 2026 World Cup as defending champions. Leo Messi/Facebook