May closes a stretch of 2026 obituaries the culture has been absorbing since winter. Robert Duvall, 95, the actor who carried Tom Hagen across the Godfather trilogy and Bull Meechum through The Great Santini, died in mid-February; Viola Davis's tribute, posted six days later, read as the year's first major Hollywood eulogy [1]. Catherine O'Hara, 71, the Schitt's Creek matriarch and Kate McCallister of Home Alone, died January 30 at her home; SAG-AFTRA's statement called her "a beloved actor and comedian" with two acting-award wins still on the current ledger [2]. The paper's Friday brief on Kyle Busch's death three days before the Coca-Cola 600 sat in the same week as Rob Base's.

Rob Base — born Robert Ginyard, half of the Harlem hip-hop duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock — died Saturday at 59 after what his family called a private battle with cancer [3]. "It Takes Two," recorded in 1988 and certified double platinum, became one of the most-sampled rap tracks of the late twentieth century; Pitchfork's notice ran Sunday [4]. Dick Parry, 83, the saxophonist whose tenor solo opened "Money" on The Dark Side of the Moon, died earlier in May; Pink Floyd's posthumous statement noted that the original recording is among the most-played in radio history.

Legacy.com's running 2026 list continues; the paper will carry individual obits as warranted. For the moment, the May roll-up is the artifact.

-- MAYA CALLOWAY, New York