A blog a day

People who didn't make it through the year

With Saddam Hussein and Gerald Ford recently gone, I decided to make a list and categorize (via wikipedia) of all of the people who died this past year that I considered noteworthy in some way (either famous or infamous). In many cases, they were well known. In some cases, they were related to the well known. And in still other cases, they really fit more than one category, although I forced myself to limit them to just one.

I didn’t realize how many entertainers we lost this year.

Anyways, without further adieu, here’s my list of people who didn’t make it through this year. Here’s hoping that all of you make it through this year and next!

- Bob

Aerospace:

Brady, Charles E. Jr., 54, American former astronaut. July 23
Crossfield, Scott, 84, American X-15 test pilot, plane crash. April 19
Finley, John L., 70, American astronaut under the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program September 19
Hall, Edward N, 91, U.S. Air Force rocket expert, father of the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile program. January 15
Petrone, Rocco, 80, American NASA engineer, director of Project Apollo and the Marshall Space Flight Center. August 24
Van Allen, James, 91, American space physicist, heart failure. August 9

Business:
Anderson, Robert, 85, American president and chairman of Rockwell International Corporation. October 28
Bass, Perry, 91, Texas oilman and philanthropist. June 1
Bronfman, Andrea, 60, philanthropist and wife of Charles Bronfman, hit by car. January 23
Cassini, Oleg, 92, fashion designer. March 17
Comer, Gary, 78, founder of the clothing chain Lands' End, and philanthropist, prostate cancer. October 4
Farb, Harold, 83, developer who expanded Houston by more than 30,000 apartments over the course of his career, heart attack.. October 10
Hunt, J.B. Sr., 79, American trucking executive and founder of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., head injuries from a fall. December 7
Lacoste, Bernard, 74, French clothing magnate of Lacoste, unspecified illness. March 21
Lay, Kenneth, 64, former CEO of U.S. energy firm Enron, later convicted of fraud, heart attack. July 5
Mattus, Rose, 90, Polish-born co-founder of Häagen-Dazs ice cream, natural causes. November 28
Rockefeller, Winthrop Paul, 57, American billionaire and Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas since 1996, myeloproliferative disorder. July 16
Shugart, Alan, 76, American pioneer of the disk drive and co-founder of Seagate Technology, complications from heart surgery. December 12
Werber, Jack 92, Polish-born Holocaust survivor, American manufacturer of coonskin caps during the 1950s craze, heart attack. November 25
Wilson, H. Donald, 82, founder of LexisNexis, heart attack November 13
Wooldridge, Dean, 93, American physicist and co-founder of TRW. September 20

Economics:
Friedman, Milton, 94, American monetarist and free-market economist, winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize, heart failure. November 16
Galbraith, John Kenneth, 97, American economist and author (The Affluent Society), natural causes. April 29
Rukeyser, Louis, 73, business and economics expert, multiple myeloma. May 2

Entertainment
Albert, Edward, 55, American actor, son of actors Margo and Eddie Albert, lung cancer. September 22
Allen, Elizabeth, 77, American actress (Donovan's Reef, Do I Hear a Waltz?, The Jackie Gleason Show). September 19
Allyson, June, 88, Hollywood actress, pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis after a long illness. July 8
Altman, Robert, 81, American film director (MASH, Nashville, Short Cuts), complications from leukemia. November 20
Ballantyne, Joyce, 88, artist best known for creating the "Coppertone Girl" ad, heart attack. May 15
Benchley, Peter, 65, American author best known for Jaws, pulmonary fibrosis. February 11
Bergen, Frances, 84, American actress, wife of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and mother of actress Candice Bergen. October 2
Boyle, Peter, 71, American actor (Young Frankenstein, Everybody Loves Raymond), multiple myeloma. December 12
Brown, James, 73, American rhythm and blues singer and bandleader, heart failure related to pneumonia. December 25
Buttons, Red, 87, American comedian, vascular disease July 13
Cockrum, Dave, 63, American comic book artist (X-men, Legion of Super-Heroes), complications from diabetes. November 26
Corbett, Ed, 74, American actor. April 13
Davidson, Ross, 57, former EastEnders actor, brain tumor. October 16
Douglas, Mike, 81, American talk-show host and entertainer. August 11
Downie, Gary, South African psychotherapist and television production manager (Doctor Who, Star Cops), cancer. [91] January19
Evans, Mike, 57, American actor best known as Lionel Jefferson on the television series The Jeffersons, throat cancer. December 14
Fender, Freddy, 69, Mexican-American singer ("Before the Next Teardrop Falls"), lung cancer. October 14
Ferguson, Maynard, 78, Canadian jazz trumpeter, kidney and liver failure. August 23
Ferguson, Robert “H-Bomb”, 77, American blues singer, complications of emphysema and cardiopulmonary disease. November 26
Fleischer, Richard, 89, American film director (Tora! Tora! Tora!, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Soylent Green) March 25
Flores, Danny, 77, American saxophonist and vocalist on the Champs' 1958 hit "Tequila", pneumonia. September 19
Ford, Glenn, 90, Canadian-American actor (Blackboard Jungle, Cimarron). August 30
Forsythe, Henderson, 88, American actor (As the World Turns). April 17
Franciosa, Anthony, 77, American actor, third husband of Shelley Winters, stroke. January 19
Hart, Bruce, 68, American lyricist for TV's Sesame Street, lung cancer. February 21
Hayward, Chris, 81, creator of Dudley Do-Right and co-creator of The Munsters, illness. November 20
Jackson, Johnny, 54, former drummer for The Jackson 5, stabbing March 1
Jagger, Basil (“Joe”), 93, father of Rolling Stones' vocalist Mick Jagger, pneumonia November 11
Johnson, Tommy, 71, session musician best known for his work on the Jaws theme, complications of cancer and kidney failure. October 16
Jones, Robert Earl, 96, American actor, father of James Earl Jones. September 7
Kelly, Emmett Jr., 83, clown and son of Emmett Kelly, complications from pneumonia. November 29
Kirby, Bruno, 57, American character actor (The Godfather Part II, City Slickers), complications from leukemia. August 14
Knotts, Don, 81, American actor (The Andy Griffith Show, Three's Company), complications from lung cancer. February 24
Lewis, Al, 82, American actor (Grandpa Munster on The Munsters), Green Party political candidate, restauranteur, and radio host. February 3
Lutz, George, 59, owner of the Amityville Horror house. May 8
Mako, 72, Japanese-American film, television, and Broadway actor; esophageal cancer July 21
Maloney, David, 72, British television director and producer for Doctor Who and Blakes 7 July 18
McFerrin, Robert, 85, first African-American to sing at the New York Metropolitan Opera and father of Bobby McFerrin, heart attack. November 24
McGavin, Darren, 83, American actor (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, A Christmas Story), natural causes. February 25
Murray, Jan, 89, American Borscht Belt comedian July 2
O'Day, Anita, 87, American jazz singer, pneumonia November 23
Owens, Buck, 76, American country music star, heart attack. March 25
Palance, Jack, 87, Oscar-winning American actor (Shane, City Slickers), natural causes. November 10
Peyton Denis, 63, British saxophone player for The Dave Clark Five, cancer. December 17
Pickett, Wilson, 64, American soul singer, heart attack. January 19
Preminger, Ingo, 95, Hollywood talent agent and producer (M*A*S*H), brother of Otto Preminger. June 7
Preston, Billy, 59, American musician ("You Are So Beautiful", "Nothing from Nothing") known for his work with the Beatles, malignant hypertension leading to kidney failure. June 6
Rawls, Lou, 72, jazz and blues singer, lung and brain cancer January 6
Redman, Dewey, 75, American jazz saxophonist, father of Joshua Redman, liver failure. September 2
Reeve, Dana, 45, activist, widow of Christopher Reeve, lung cancer. March 6
Rockwell, Dick, 85, American cartoonist, assistant on Steve Canyon, nephew of Norman Rockwell. April 18
Rooney, Tim, 59, American actor, son of Mickey Rooney, dermatomyositis. September 23
Shalleck, Alan, 76, American TV writer, director (Curious George animated films), murdered. February 7
Spelling, Aaron, 83, American television producer (Charlie's Angels, Starsky and Hutch, Beverly Hills 90210), complications of stroke. June 23
Spillane, Mickey, 88, American author, creator of Mike Hammer detective fiction, cancer. July 17
Stapleton, Maureen, 80, American actress, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. March 13
Stewart, Don, 70, actor (Michael Bauer on The Guiding Light), lung cancer. January 9
Tucker, Boe, 79, father and manager of country music singer Tanya Tucker, lung cancer. November 23
Waldman, Myron, 97, American animator for Betty Boop and Superman cartoons. February 4
Warden, Jack, 85, Emmy Award-winning American actor, heart and kidney failure. July 19
Weaver, Dennis, 81, American actor (Gunsmoke, McCloud), complications from cancer. February 24
Wild, Jack, 53, British actor (Oliver!, H.R. Pufnstuf), oral cancer. March 2
Winters, Shelley, 85, American actress, heart failure. January 14
Wyatt, Jane, 96, American actress (Father Knows Best), natural causes. October 20

International
Al-Rahman, Sheik Abd, spiritual adviser for Al-Qaeda in Iraq, US military strike. June 7
al-Zarqawi, Abu Musab-al, 39, leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, US military strike June 7
Basayev, Shamil, 41, Chechen rebel leader, terrorist, explosion. July 10
Batista, Martha, 82, First Lady of Cuba (1952–1959), second wife of President Fulgencio Batista. October 2
Botha, P.W, 90, South African politician, Prime Minister (1978–1984), State President (1984–1989), heart attack. October 31
Fallaci, Oriana, 77, Italian journalist and writer, breast cancer. September 15
Gemayel, Pierre, 34, Lebanese Minister of Industry, shot. November 21
Hussein, Saddam, 69, President of Iraq (1979–2003), execution by hanging. December30
Litvinenko, Alexander, 43, former Russian spy and critic of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, poisoning November 23
Mussolini, Romano, 78, Italian jazz musician and painter, son of Benito Mussolini. February 3
Pinochet, Augusto, 91, ex-president of Chile, complications from heart attack. December 10
Revel, Jean Francois, 82, French philosopher April 30
Rugova, Ibrahim, 61, President of Kosovo, lung cancer. January 21
Sgorbati, Sr. Leonella, 65, Italian nun, gunshot wounds. September 17
von Stauffenberg, Nina, 92, widow of Hitler's would-be assassin April 2

Journalism/Writing:
Apple, R.W. Jr., 71, American political journalist and food writer for The New York Times, thoracic cancer. October 4
Bennett, Winnifred, 71, American amateur historian, suggested DNA testing to establish a relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. October 7
Bradley, Ed, 65, American CBS News journalist and 60 Minutes correspondent, leukemia. November 9
Brolan, James, 42, CBS News sound technician, injuries sustained in car bombing in Iraq. May 29
Carlson Richard, 45, American author (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff), heart attack. December 13
Douglas, Paul, 48, veteran CBS News cameraman, injuries sustained in car bombing in Iraq. May 29
Glenn, Christopher, 68, American CBS News radio and television news anchor, liver cancer. October 17
Murray, Jim, 76, news photographer, photographed aftermath of the JFK assassination, cancer. January 25
Rosenthal, Joe, 94, Pulitzer Prize winner for photographing United States Marines raising their flag on Iwo Jima, natural causes. August 20

National:
Bentsen, Lloyd, 85, American Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator, and Treasury Secretary under Clinton. May 2
Browne, Harry, 72, American libertarian writer and presidential candidate for the United States Libertarian Party, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. March 1
Byrd, Erma Ora James, 88, wife of US Senator Robert Byrd. March 25
Connally, Nellie, 87, widow of Texas Governor and Treasury Secretary John Connally, shared the automobile with John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated September 1
Falotico, John, 82, NYPD detective who arrested David Berkowitz March 11
Ford, Gerald, 93, 38th President of the United States, heart failure. December 26
Herbert, Don, 44, American firefighter who awoke from a 9-year coma in 2005, pneumonia. February 21
King, Coretta Scott, 78, American civil rights leader, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., ovarian cancer. January 30
Kirkpatrick, Jeane, 80, former American U.N. ambassador, congestive heart failure. December 7
Koster, General Samuel W, 86, highest ranking United States Army officer charged in My Lai massacre, renal cancer January 23
Lawford, Patricia Kennedy, 82, sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and ex-wife of actor Peter Lawford, pneumonia. September 17
Lutwak, Dr. Leo, 77, American biochemist and nutritionist for the US Food and Drug Administration, raised concerns about fen-phen February 23
Nader, Rose Bouziane, 99, President of the Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest, mother of US Presidential candidate Ralph Nader, congestive heart failure. January 20
Nofziger, Lyn, 81, press secretary for Ronald Reagan March 27
Richards, Ann, 73, former Governor of Texas, esophageal cancer. September 13
Studds, Gerry, 69, first openly homosexual U.S. Congressman, Democratic Representative for Massachusetts (1973–1997), pulmonary embolism. October 14
Weinberger, Caspar, 88, U.S. Secretary of Defense 1981-1987 under Reagan; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 1973-1975 under Nixon and Ford March 28
Zapruder, Henry, 67, American tax lawyer who helped establish Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts programs, son of Abraham Zapruder, brain cancer. January 24

Sports:
Auerbach, Red, 89, American coach of the Boston Celtics (1950–1966), heart attack. October 28
Berbick, Trevor, 51, Jamaican former heavyweight boxing champion and last boxer to face Muhammad Ali, homicide. October 28
Brown, Chris, 45, American baseball player, injuries from a house fire December 26
Geoffrion, Bernie “Boom Boom”, 75, NHL player with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, stomach cancer. March 11
Gowdy, Curt, 86, American sports broadcaster, leukemia. February 20
Harmon, Dick, 58, American golfer and golf instructor. February 10
Heyward, Craig “Ironhead”, 39, NFL fullback, complications from a brain tumor. May 27
Hickey, Red, 89, NFL coach of the San Francisco 49ers, inventor of shotgun formation, natural causes. March 30
Hunt, Lamar, 74, American owner of Kansas City Chiefs who coined the term Super Bowl, complications from prostate cancer. December 13
Kimbrough, John, 87, College Hall of Fame American football player with Texas A&M and state legislator, pneumonia. May 8
Mathias, Bob, 75, decathlete, winner of two Olympic gold medals, and former United States Representative, cancer. September 2
Nelson, Byron, 94, professional golfer. September 26
Niekro, Joe, 61, American Major League Baseball pitcher, brain aneurysm. October 27
O'Neil, Buck, 94, American baseball player and manager in the Negro leagues,heart failure and bone marrow cancer. October 6
Puckett, Kirby, 45, Hall of Fame MLB player for the Minnesota Twins, stroke complications. March 6
Schembechler, Bo, 77, former University of Michigan football head coach, heart problems. November 17
Snow, Jack, 62, former National Football League player and radio announcer, complications from a staph infection. January 9
Uribe, Jose, 47, Dominican baseball shortstop, mostly with the San Francisco Giants (1984–93), car accident. December 8
Wagner, Dick, 78, American former President of the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros, injuries from a 1999 car crash October 5
Waters, Andre, 44, former American football player, most recently Fort Valley State University assistant football coach, suicide. November 20
Woods, Earl, 74, father and former coach of U.S. golfer Tiger Woods, prostate cancer May 3

No Comment | Posted in » life