R&B Star James Ingram Dies at Age 66 After Battling Brain Cancer

Musician James Ingram arrives at the UNICEF Playlist with the A-List celebrity karaoke benefit at El Rey Theatre on May 17, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images For UNICEF

Singer James Ingram has died at the age of 66 after a battle with brain cancer, according to reports on Jan. 29.

Ingram, a longtime R&B singer and songwriter, was fighting a battle against cancer for a period of time, people close to him confirmed to TMZ.

Actress and choreographer Debbie Allen reacted to the news.

“I have lost my dearest friend and creative partner James Ingram to the Celestial Choir,” Allen, a creative partner, wrote in a tribute on Twitter. “He will always be cherished, loved and remembered for his genius, his love of family and his humanity. I am blessed to have been so close. We will forever speak his name.”

An official cause of death wasn’t revealed for the Grammy Award-winning singer, CNN reported.

Ingram was considered one of the biggest R&B stars in the 1980s and 1990s.

His first No. 1 pop hit was 1982’s “Baby, Come to Me,” which was a duet with Patti Austin. He again had a No. 1 hit with “I Don’t Have the Heart” in 1990.

Ingram was nominated for 14 Grammy awards between 1982 and 1996, winning twice. He won a Grammy for male vocal R&B performance for “One Hundred Ways.”

Meanwhile, he was the co-author, along with Quincy Jones, of Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T,” one of the King of Pop’s biggest hits. Later, he appeared with Jackson for the “We Are the World” charity song.

Jones paid his condolences to Ingram after his death.

There are no words to convey how much my [heart] aches with the news of the passing of my baby brother, James Ingram. With that soulful, whisky sounding voice, James was simply magical. He was & always will be beyond compare. Rest In Peace my baby bro … You’ll be in my [heart] forever,” he tweeted.

Remembering Celebrities Who Died in 2018

Penny Marshall

Actress/filmmaker Penny Marshall, Henry Winkler, and guest attend the 2014 Writers Guild Awards L.A. Ceremony at J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, on Feb. 1, 2014. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for WGAw

Penny Marshall, the actress and director famed for her role in “Laverne & Shirley,” died at age 75. Marshall died at her home in Hollywood Hills on Dec. 17 after suffering from complications from diabetes, TMZ reported on Dec. 18.

George HW Bush

Former President George H.W. Bush acknowledges the crowd at his presidential library before his son former President George W. Bush discusses his new book "41: A Portrait of My Father" in College Station, Texas. Bob Daemmrich/Texas Tribune via AP, Pool, File

Former President George H.W. Bush died on Nov. 30, 2018, a family spokesman confirmed. He was 94. His son, President George W. Bush, released a statement on Twitter, saying, “Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.”

Stephen Hillenburg

Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the Nickelodeon cartoon series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died on Nov. 26. He was 57. Carlos Cazurro Burgos/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA 3.0

Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the Nickelodeon cartoon series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died on Nov. 26. He was 57. Hillenburg’s cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to reports. In March 2017, he announced his diagnosis.

Stephen Hawking

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking at a gala screening of the documentary "Hawking," a film about the scientist's life, on opening night of the Cambridge Film Festival in Cambridge, England, on Sept. 19, 2013. Andrew Cowie/AFP/Getty Images

Stephen Hawking, who sought to explain some of the most complicated questions of life while he worked under the shadow of a likely premature death, died at 76. He died peacefully at his home in the British university city of Cambridge in the early hours earlier this year.

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain, seen in a 2016 file photo, was a celebrity chef and travel documentarian. Bourdain died by suicide in France on June 8, 2018. Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File

U.S. celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, host of CNN’s food-and-travel-focused “Parts Unknown” television series, died at the age of 61, the network said on June 8.

The cause of death was suicide, the network said in a statement. He was found dead in a hotel room in France where he had been working on an upcoming episode of his program, the network said.

Avicii

Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

Avicii, born Tim Bergling in Sweden, was found dead in Oman. Police said there was no evidence of foul play but the official cause of death was not revealed by officials. His family indicated that he killed himself.