News and Entertainment
Ron Aspery - Saxophonist and keyboard player in the 1970's fusion trio Back Door, considered one of the most original jazz groups ever to have formed in Britain, known for its odd instrumentation, use of improvisation and surprise, and unusual repertoire, who released four albums for Warner Brothers during four years, and toured the United States and Europe, sharing billing with some of the biggest rock bands of the day, died Dec. 10 after a stroke at age 57.
Renata Babak - Internationally known opera singer with one of the world's great mezzo-soprano voices, who defected from the Bolshoi Opera in 1973 in Milan, Italy, then immigrated to Canada and went into hiding for two years before re-emerging to a standing room only crowd at Carnegie Hall in 1975, and who spoke out against Soviet repression for the rest of her life, died Dec. 31 of pancreatic cancer at her home in Silver Springs, MD at age 69.
Etta Moten Barnett - Trailblazing African-American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930's with the films "Gold Diggers of 1933" and "Flying Down to Rio", the latter where she portrayed a Brazilian entertainer, complete with fruit on top of her head, singing the Oscar-nominated dance-song "The Carioca", but who became more respected for her work in the fields of black causes and international relations after her retirement from show business, died Jan. 2 of pancreatic cancer in Chicago at age 102.
Hugh Bean - One of Britain's most distinguished and versatile violinists, known as an outstanding soloist, chamber musician and teacher, who was co-leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 1957 to 1967 and the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1967 to 1969, died Dec. 26 after a brief illness at age 74.
Chaqueton (real name Jose Antonio Diaz Fernandez ) - One of Spain's best known flamenco singers, who became a star at a young age, who toured the world with flamenco companies including "El Ballet de Maria Rosa" but who in recent years was known more for his solo concerts, died Dec. 29 in Madrid of cancer at age 58.
Sophie Daumier - French actress and comedienne best known as half of the comedy duo with actor/husband Guy Bedos, who appeared in a number of films together, mostly musical comedies, but whose career came to a screeching halt in 1977 upon the breakup of her marriage, about which she wrote a tell-all memoir (Bedos continues to act to this day), died Dec. 31 of Huntington's disease at age 67.
Harold Gast - Television writer and producer best known for writing the screenplay for the Emmy-winning miniseries "A Woman Called Golda", who wrote for numerous TV series including "Dr. Kildare", "Ben Casey", "Cannon", "The Untouchables" and "I Spy", died Dec. 28 in Los Angeles of pneumonia at age 85.
Lynda Gibson - Well-known and fearless Australian comedienne and actress, who created the evil cult character Matron Connivingbitch on the "Let The Blood Run Free" television show, who was best known for her stand-up comedy and ensemble shows like Comedy Is Still Not Pretty, died Jan. 2 in Melbourne of ovarian cancer at age 47.
Gerald Gutierrez - Tony Award-winning director, who won back-to-back Tony Awards in 1995 and 1996 for his direction of revivals of "The Heiress" and "A Delicate Balance", who was a mainstay at Lincoln Center Theater where he directed last season's lavish revival of "Dinner at Eight", was found dead on Dec. 29 in his New York apartment, apparently dying of respiratory complications of the flu. He was 53 years old.
Claire Hagen - B-movie actress who appeared in such films as "Angel's Wild Woman", "Attack of the 60-Foot Centerfold", "Bikini Drive-In" and "The Sidehackers" (used as fodder by "Mystery Science Theatre 3000"), and who was married to prolific B-movie director Ross Hagen, died Dec. 3 in Woodland Hills, CA of cancer. Her age was not stated.
John Hart - Louisiana-based sax player in both the zydeco and jazz genres, who was best known as a member of Clifton Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, but who also played with Lil' Bob and the Lollipops, Rockin' Doopsie and the Zydeco Twisters, and Nathan William and the Cha Chas, died Dec. 26 in Opelousas, LA at age 71.
Barbara Hepler - Mother of actors Rob and Chad Lowe, died Nov. 29 in Summerland, CA of breast cancer at age 64.
Rose Hill - British actress who appeared in such films as "The Bank Raiders" and the Pink Panther film "A Shot In The Dark", but who made a name for herself playing Fanny La Fan, the bedridden, elderly wartime resistance fighter in the long-running British TV series "'Allo 'Allo", died Dec. 22 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England at age 89.
Earl Hindman - Actor known to millions as Wilson, the odd neighbor peering over a fence whose mouth you never saw on the long-running TV sitcom "Home Improvement", who also appeared in films, television series and specials for more than 30 years, including a 16-year stint on the soap opera "Ryan's Hope" and in films like "The Parallax View" and "The Taking of Pellham 1-2-3", and who in recent years had made a name for himself doing commercial voiceovers, died Dec. 29 in Stamford, CT of lung cancer at age 61.
Charles "Blackie" Hunt - Longtime Las Vegas lounge act, who performed as a musician and comedian at venues such as the Sahara and Stardust hotels beginning in the 1940's, who was a member of The Characters, one of the leading lounge acts at the Sahara's Casbah Lounge, and who continued to perform until recently at The Bootlegger Bistro, a club he co-owned with his estranged wife, former lounge singer and current Nevada Lieutenant Governor, Lorraine Hunt, died Dec. 30 in Las Vegas of heart failure at age 75.
Harpo Kidwell - Noted hillbilly harmonica player, who was a star on Atlanta radio's famed WSB Barn Dance for over 10 years, and who penned the songs "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?", "Just Because", and "Harpo's Waltz", died Dec. 29 in Adairsville, GA of Parkinson's disease at age 93.
Helen Kleeb - Venerable character actress who spent a career playing old ladies, who is best known for her recurring role as Miss Mamie Baldwin on "The Waltons" TV series, but who appeared in dozens of TV shows like "Dragnet", "Gunsmoke", "Bewitched" and "The Andy Griffith Show" and who had roles in movies like "The Manchurian Candidate", "Fitzwilly" and "Magnificent Obsession", died Dec. 28 in Kernersville, NC of heart failure just short of her 97th birthday.
Dinsdale Landen - British comic stage and television actor known for playing nervous husbands, faltering suitors and eccentric bumblers, though mostly known for his stage work, he appeared in numerous British TV movies and made guest appearances in such shows as "Doctor Who", "The Avengers" and "Lovejoy", died Dec. 29 in Fakenham, Norfolk, England of mouth cancer at age 71.
Bob Monkhouse - Veteran British comedian and television host and one of Britain's best known entertainers, who was best known in England as a host of popular TV game shows including "Celebrity Squares", "Candid Camera", "The Golden Shot" and "Family Fortunes", who started out as a standup comedian and gag writer, before landing a TV show with partner Denis Goodwin in 1953 with "Fast and Loose", and who was awarded the OBE in 1993, died Dec. 29 in Eggington, Bedfordshire, England of prostate and bone cancer at age 75.
Anita Mui (real name Mui Yim Fong ) - Hong Kong pop diva and actress known as the "Asian Madonna" and the "queen of the Hong Kong pop-music industry", known for her flamboyant and often outrageous on-stage persona and controversial personal life, who shot to stardom in the early 1980's after winning a singing contest, among whose 40 albums is 1986's "Bad Girl" which is the best selling Hong Kong Cantonese album of all time, and who starred in dozens of films including several with Jackie Chan (he was at her bedside at death) including "Legend of the Drunken Master", "Rumble in the Bronx" and "Black Dragon", died Dec. 30 in Hong Kong of cervical cancer at age 40.
Nicola Paone - Italian folk singer known for his songs that depicted the joys and sorrows of being an Italian immigrant in the U.S., who during the 1940's and 50's was known as the "Italian Troubadour" and the "Italian Bing Crosby", who recorded for the ABC-Paramount and Cadence labels in the 1950's, scoring a hit with the novelty tune "Blah, Blah, Blah" in 1959, who found a second career as a restaurateur opening the Italian restaurant Nicola Paone in 1958, died Dec. 25 in Albuquerque, NM of pneumonia at age 88.
Patricia Roc - British movie actress who for 10 consecutive years during the 1940's and 50's was one of Britain's top 10 box-office stars, who starred in such films as "Millions Like Us", "The Wicked Lady" and "The Brothers", who was the first British star to go to Hollywood under a "lend-lease" deal where she costarred in the western "Canyon Passage" with Susan Hayward, died Dec. 30 in Locarno, Switzerland of kidney failure at age 88.
Ying Ruocheng - Chinese actor who appeared in several western (as in hemisphere) films including fourth billing in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 film "The Last Emperor" and 1993's "Little Buddha", and who served as China's vice minister of culture in the mid-1980s when the nation began to open up again to the outside world, died Dec. 27 in Beijing of liver disease at age 74.
Charles Shannon - Standup comedian and actor who appeared on MTV's "Austin Stories", but who is best known as writer for such programs as "The Man Show", "ESPN's Two Minute Drill", "Battlebots" and "Vibe", died Dec. 21 in Sherman Oaks, CA after a stroke at age 44.
Kemal el-Sheik - Egyptian film director who directed 35 films over a half a decade, who was well known for his political films but made movies on a wide variety of subjects, and among whose titles are "House Number 13", "Langage du Geste" and "The Thief and the Dogs", died Jan. 2 in Cairo at age 85.
Isabelle Stevenson - One of the best-known figures in Broadway's theater world, who for more than 30 years was the president of the American Theater Wing, which is responsible for organizing and doling out the Tony Awards, and who in 1999 was awarded a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement, died Dec. 28 in New York City at age 90.
Francis Thompson - Oscar-winning documentarian, whose multi-screen techniques were a forerunner to today's IMAX technology, who won his Academy Award in the best short documentary in 1965 for "To Be Alive!", a three-screen documentary that gave a glimpse into the lives of children in Africa, Italy and America, died Dec. 26 in New York City of pneumonia at age 95.
Alan Tilvern - British character actor known for playing tough-guy characters, who appeared on British TV shows like "Doctor Who" and "The Saint", who made over 40 films playing many ethnic types, like as a Mexican bandit in "Captain Horatio Hornblower" and an African tribesman in "Khartoum", as well as R.K. Maroon, the head of the cartoon studio in "Who Framed Roger Rabbitt", died Dec. 17 in London at age 85.
Sports
John Franks - Oil man who for more than 20 years earned acclaim as one of America's leading horse owners and breeders, who was the only four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding owner (in 1983, 1984, 1993 and 1994), who won major races with horses such as Answer Lively and Kissin Kris, and who owned breeding farms in Louisiana and Florida, his green and orange silks familiar to racing fans across the country, died Dec. 31 in Shreveport, LA of undisclosed causes at age 78.
Harold Henning - South African professional golfer who won the Texas Open in 1966 and the Tallahassee Open in 1970, who also won three tournaments on the Champions Tour (seniors), and had a professional career that spanned nearly 50 years, died Jan. 1 after a long illness in Florida (?) at age 69.
Paul Hopkins - Man believed to be the oldest major league baseball player, who pitched in a total of 11 major league games from 1927 to 1929 with the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns, but who had the distinction of pitching to Babe Ruth on Sept. 29, 1927 and giving up Ruth's record-tying 59th home run that season, died Jan. 2 in Deep River, CT after a brief illness at age 99 (98-year-old Ray Cunningham becomes the oldest major leaguer however Negro Leagues player Ted Radcliff is still living at age 101).
Yoshio Shirai - Boxer who was the first Japanese person to ever win a world boxing title, who on May 19, 1952 won a decision against the United States' Dado Marino, earning himself the title of Flyweight Champion of the World, a title he held for two years, died Dec. 26 in Kawasaki, Japan of pneumonia at age 80.
Todd Smith - Star U.S. soccer player and general manager of the New England Revolution of the MSL from 2000 to 2002, who played seven years in the NPSL with Atlanta, Fort Wayne, Hershey and Harrisburg, later serving as GM for Hershey, died Dec. 31 of leukemia in Boston at age 38.
Jim Tescher - One of North Dakota's most famous rodeo cowboys, who was a National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc winner who also wrestled steers and rode bulls around the country, and who was among the first to be inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, died Dec. 27 in Mandan, ND from injuries suffered in an ATV accident in August 2003. He was 74 years old.
Art and Literature
Yossl Birstein - One of Israel's best known writers, who wrote novels and short stories in both Hebrew and Yiddish, whose novels always began with the fact that someone had died, and dealt with looking back on life and man's efforts to cope with inevitable death, died Dec. 27 of cancer in Israel at age 83.
Vladimir Bogomolov - Russian author best known for his 1958 book "Ivan", which became the basis for Andrei Tarkovsky's 1962 debut feature film as "Ivan's Childhood", and who wrote several other novels such as "In August 1944" that were translated into several languages, died Dec. 30 in Moscow at age 77.
Denise Colomb - French photographer who was well-known for her series of portraits of artists, which included Picasso, Giacometti, Nicolas de Stael and Antonin Artaud, died Jan. 1 in Paris at age 101.
John Gregory Dunne - Novelist, journalist and screenwriter, known for his searing literary glimpses into the sometimes-tormented experience of Irish Americans, whose best-known work was 1977's "True Confessions", which was made into a 1981 film starring Robert DeNiro, who often collaborated with his writer-wife Joan Didion, including the screenplay for the film "A Star Is Born", died Dec. 30 of a heart attack at his New York City apartment at the age of 71.
Nora Heysen - Groundbreaking Australian painter, who in 1938 was the first woman to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture, who was appointed the first female official war artist during WW2 and completed over 170 works as a war artist, and who in 1998 received an Order of Australia for service to art as a painter of portraits and still life subjects, died Dec. 30 in Sydney at age 92.
Ibram Lassaw - Artist known mainly for his colorful, open-form metal sculptures, who in 1936 helped found the American Abstract Artists, devoted to nonrepresentational art, whose work often reflected his interest in astronomy and natural science with sculpture names like "Milky Way" and "Moons of Saturn", and who was the last of the original generation of the New York School artists that included his friends Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, died Dec. 30 in East Hampton, NY at age 90.
Don Lawrence - British science-fiction cartoonist who drew the strip "The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire", considered one of the finest of the genre, which has a huge following throughout Europe, including a fan club, and is especially popular in the Netherlands, died Dec. 29 in Jevington, West Sussex, Engand of emphysema at age 75.
John Newlove - Award-winning Canadian poet, who first gained prominence in the late 1960's, whose poetry often dealt with his birth province of Saskatchewan, and whose 1972 poetry collection "Lies" won the Governor General's Award, died Dec. 23 in Ottawa of an intracranial hemorrhage at age 65.
Juan Garcia Ponce - Renowned Mexican art critic, translator and novelist who authored more than 50 books, who wrote novels, plays, screenplays and essays, and who in 2001 was awarded the the Juan Rulfo Literature Prize, one of Latin America's and the Caribbean's top writing awards, died Dec. 27 in Mexico of multiple sclerosis at age 71.
Politics and Military
Jiri Loewy - Noted Czech journalist who spent six years in prison for anti-communist activities, who emigrated to Germany in 1969 where he became a leader of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party in exile and began publishing the party's paper 'Pravo lidu', died Jan. 1 in Wuppertal, Germany at age 73.
Jaime de Pinies - Longtime Spanish diplomat who served as president of the United Nations General Assembly in 1985, and who during his career served as Spain's ambassador to Britain, Havana, Manila and Washington, died Dec. 29 after a fall in his Madrid home at the age of 86.
Polly Rosenbaum - Longest serving member of the Arizona House of Representatives, who in 1949 was appointed to complete the term of her husband after his death from a heart attack, and then was re-elected every 2 years until 1994 when she was defeated in the general election at age 95, and who was considered an institution in Arizona politics, died Dec. 28 in Phoenix of congestive heart failure at age 104.
Social and Religion
David Bale - Environmentalist and animal rights activist, who served on the boards of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and of World Education Inc. for adult learning programs in developing countries, and who was the husband of the feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem and the father of actor Christian Bale, died Dec. 30 in Santa Monica, CA of brain lymphoma at age 62.
Faye Copeland - Missouri woman who, along with her husband Ray Copeland (died 1993), were convicted of killing five transients (and suspected of killing many more) as part of a 1980's livestock swindle at their farm, who was sentenced to death for her role in the killings and who at age 69 became the oldest woman placed on death row in U.S. history, but who was paroled after suffering a stroke in 2002, died Dec. 28 at a nursing home in Chillicothe, MO at age 82.
Nikki, Krista and Jessica Mayer - Three sisters who were on their way to be bridesmaids at their brother's wedding, and who on Jan. 1 were running late for a bridal party, were killed near Willmar, Minnesota when the car driven by Nikki attempted to pass another vehicle and was struck head on by a minivan. Killed were Krista, 19, Nikki, 17, and Jessica, 12. Only one of the girls was wearing a seatbelt.
Tobb Dell'Oro - San Francisco man and world traveler, who was vacationing with his fiancé in Iran, exploring the ancient city of Bam, was killed in the Iranian earthquake on Dec. 26 that killed over 30,000 people and injured at least 12,000 others. He was 41 years old and became the only American casualty of the earthquake.
Joseph Kopechne - Father of Mary Jo Kopechne, the young woman who was a passenger in a car driven by Sen. Edward Kennedy and who drowned after the car ran off a bridge into a pond on Chappaquidick Island, Massachusetts on July 19, 1969, in one of the most notorious scandals to plague the Kennedy family, died Dec. 24 in East Stroudsburg, PA at age 90.
Nicole Oxendine - North Carolina girl who lived with her grandmother and liked playing video games, who went to stay with her older sister in her mobile home in Lumberton for the Christmas holiday, was shot in the head and killed while she slept in a drive-by shooting on Dec. 29. She was 11 years old and no motive is known.
David Scaringe - Albany, New York man who during 2003 graduated from engineering school, started a new job in the high paying field, became engaged to be married during 2004, and had been walking on his own for the first time in years after surgery to repair hip damage from Crohn's disease (in other words, life was looking up), and who was walking down the street in Albany on Dec. 31 just hours before the new year arrived, was accidentally shot to death by the Albany police who were shooting at a motorist they believed threatened them (they missed and the bullet hit Scaringe in the chest). He was 24 years old.
Carolyn Simpson - Casino worker at the Okemah Bingo and Casino in Okemah, Oklahoma, who was 6 months pregnant and had befriended 37-year-old casino patron Effie Goodson, but who disappeared after leaving the casino with Goodman after her shift on Dec. 22, was found dead on Dec. 26 in a field near Lamar, OK. She was 21 years old. She had been shot in the head and her stomach cut open and fetus removed. Goodman is being held on kidnap and murder charges (She had been telling people she was pregnant and even had a baby shower. She showed up at an emergency room with the dead fetus claiming it was hers).
Carl Smith - 81-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico man, who decided to burglarize his ex-wife while she was on her honeymoon, who crawled into the air conditioning vent from the roof of the house in the attempt to break into her home, apparently became stuck and asphyxiated. The couple returning from their honeymoon on Dec. 30 found his legs dangling out of the ceiling.
Business and Science
Merrill J. Allen - Optometrist whose research on car safety led to higher placement of brake lights on vehicles and the use of daytime headlights to increase visibility, and who co-founded the Indiana University School of Optometry, died Dec. 28 in Bloomington, IN at age 85.
Enric Bernat - Spanish candy maker who invented the world-famous Chupa Chups lollipop, which was first sold in Spain in 1958, but today is sold in 170 countries with factories in five nations and 1,700 employees worldwide, died Dec. 27 in Barcelona, Spain at age 80.
Richard Bowser - Inventor and elevator engineer, who developed the Bowser Parking System in which elevators traveled vertically, horizontally and diagonally in parking garages, but who is best known for designing the elevator system in the St. Louis Gateway Arch, which he designed in just 2 weeks in 1960, died Dec. 26 in Richmond, VA at age 82.
Don Durgin - President of NBC Television from 1965 to 1973, who expanded the programming by promoting original dramas, news and cultural specials, and variety shows featuring celebrities like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews and Bill Cosby, and who was among the first executives to promote the showing of motion pictures on the small screen, died Dec. 26 in New York City of a brain aneurysm at age 79.
Susan Eaton - Nursing home researcher at Harvard University and worker's rights activist who wrote about health care management, women's role in union leadership, work-family issues and gender equity in the workplace, died Jan. 2 of leukemia in Boston at age 46.
Phil Goldman - Silicon Valley engineer and entrepreneur, who in 1995 with former Apple colleagues Steve Perlman and Bruce Leak founded WebTV, a service that allowed users to surf the Internet from their televisions (bought by Microsoft in 1997 and now called MSN TV), who in 2002 founded Mailblocks, a company that sells a Web-based e-mail system that promises to eliminate spam, and who held 19 U.S. patents for technological inventions, died suddenly on Dec. 26 at his home in Los Altos Hills, CA of as of yet unknown causes at the age of 39.
Harold Haak - President of Fresno State University from 1980 to 1991, who is credited with development of the school's athletic and academic programs, and who increased the number of women in the university's administration during his tenure, died Dec. 26 in Fresno of unreleased causes at age 68.
Takashi Ishihara - President of Nissan Motor Corp. from 1977 to 1985, who as head of the export operations during the 1950's, launched the aggressive export strategy that propelled the carmaker into a global player, and who established the company's first plants overseas, including the United States and Britain, died Dec. 31 of heart failure in Tokyo at age 91.
Italian Gardens - Kansas City restaurant founded in 1925 that was the oldest restaurant run by the same family in the state of Missouri, which during its heyday was a gathering place for visiting luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Katharine Hepburn, Joe DiMaggio, Judy Garland and Anthony Quinn, and which had been at its current location for 70 years, shuttered its doors for good on Dec. 28 after nearly 80 years in business (and a personal favorite restaurant of mine!).
Reginald Jones - Chairman and president of General Electric from 1973 to 1981, who helped shift the focus of the company to the use of new materials like plastics, under whose leadership the revenues at GE more than doubled, and who was ranked as the most influential man in business by U.S. News & World Report in 1981, died Dec. 30 in Greenwich, CT at age 86.
Dr. Richard L. Masland - Prominent neurological doctor and expert on mental retardation, who was the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health from 1959 to 1968, died Jan. 2 in Englewood, NJ of pneumonia at age 93.
Esmond Snell - One of the top biochemists of the 20th century, who independently discovered several B vitamins, including folic acid (recommended today as a supplement for pregnant women to prevent neural tube defects), who was known for his method of using bacteria to study metabolic processes, and whose methods led to the discovery of more than half of the known vitamins, died Dec. 9 in Boulder, CO at age 89.
John White - Founder of the Hawaii Foodbank, the state's largest food-distribution organization and one of the top charities in Hawaii, which distributes more than 8.5 million pounds of food each year to 245 charitable agencies on Oahu, died Dec. 19 of Parkinson's disease in Honolulu at age 69.
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