José ("Pepin") Bello (103) key figure in Spanish culture and a close friend and inspiration of painter Salvador Dali, film director Luis Buńuel, and poet Federico Garcia Lorca. Bello was the last living representative of the cultural movement known as the Generation of 1927 and was the subject of several documentaries and books. He died in his sleep in Madrid, Spain on January 11, 2008.

Angel Gonzalez (82) one of Spain's most prominent poets and member of a literary generation known for its opposition to the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. Gonzalez's poems addressed issues like freedom and solidarity, and like many intellectuals under the Franco regime, he eventually left Spain. In the '70s he accepted a teaching position at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and stayed there until retiring in 1993, although he frequently traveled back to Spain. He died of pneumonia in Madrid, Spain on January 12, 2008.

Andres Henestrosa (101) Mexican writer and poet, a Zapotec Indian who defended and promoted his native language. Henestrosa, who didn't learn Spanish until he was 15, often focused his work on indigenous cultures and languages. He wrote a Zapotec-Spanish dictionary in 1936. He also dabbled in politics and was elected to Mexico's Congress and Senate. He died after a months-long battle with pneumonia, in Mexico City, Mexico on January 10, 2008.

Allison Ledes (53) former editor of the Magazine Antiques who brought a new focus on European, Asian, and 20th-century decorative arts to a publication traditionally devoted to Americana. Appointed editor-in-chief in 1990, Ledes introduced new subject matter and a new tone to the monthly magazine that, since its founding in 1922, had been a bible for collectors and people interested in antiques. She died of cancer in New York City on January 8, 2008.

Boris Lurie (83) Russian-born artist who survived the Holocaust, then depicted its horrors in his paintings while leading a confrontational movement against nuclear weapons, postwar consumerism, and dehumanizing influences like fascism, racism, and imperialism. Lurie died of kidney failure brought on by complications of a stroke, in New York City on January 7, 2008.

Dr. David Bradley (92) writer, surgeon, and antinuclear advocate whose best-selling first book, No Place to Hide (1948), was an eyewitness account of the postwar atomic tests on Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. The book was a journal of Bradley's time as an Army medical officer on Bikini in the summer of 1946. He died in Norway, Maine on January 7, 2008.

Jack Brod (98) businessman who over nearly 80 years gradually worked his way up from the 7th floor of the Empire State Building to the 76th, where he was the skyscraper's last original tenant. On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially opened the building that for more than 40 years was the world's tallest. Two months later, Brod and his father started a new business there, a collection agency. Because many Depression debtors paid off their bills with jewelry, the Brods became dealers in used gold, silver, and diamonds. The long tenancy of Brod's Empire Diamond & Gold Buying Service prompted the building's owners to celebrate in 1996 by bathing the building's top in gold light. In 2004, they invited Brod to flip the switch to turn the tower red, white, and blue for July 4. He died in New York City on January 6, 2008.

Francis Childs (68) Iowa corn farmer, the state's "Corn King." Childs set several world records for nonirrigated corn yields, including 442 bushels per acre in 2002. He was a six-time winner of the National Corn Growers Association's contest. His achievements were featured in several publications, including the Wall Street Journal. Besides farming, Childs also liked tractor pulling and snowmobile racing. He owned a snowmobile shop for more than 20 years. He died in Manchester, Iowa on January 9, 2008.

Sir John Harvey-Jones (85) British businessman who shared his passion for business with millions through the BBC-TV series Troubleshooter. A former chairman of Imperial Chemicals Industries PLC, Harvey-Jones became Britain's best-known industrialist during the late '90s thanks to the TV program on which he advised struggling businesses. He died in his sleep in Hereford, England on January 10, 2008.

Carl Karcher (90) entrepreneur who parlayed a single hot dog pushcart into a chain of more than 1,000 fast-food restaurants bearing his name. Karcher was known to millions as a TV pitchman for the Carl's Jr. chain. He suffered from Parkinson's disease and had been hospitalized with pneumonia since New Year's Day. He died five days before his 91st birthday, in Fullerton, California on January 11, 2008.

Arthur D. Lewis (89) transportation executive whose long career spanned airplanes, buses, and the formation of Conrail, which consolidated many of the country's surviving freight lines. As chairman of a government agency, the US Railway Association, Lewis was responsible for overhauling freight service in the Northeast and Midwest at a time when regional rail companies were going bankrupt. At its creation in 1976, Conrail, a quasi-governmental entity made up of the assets of seven bankrupt railroads, was considered the largest corporate reorganization in American history. Lewis died of congestive heart failure in Silver Spring, Maryland on January 12, 2008.

Dr. P. K. Sethi (80) Indian surgeon, inventor of a low-cost prosthetic foot that has helped millions of people in developing and war-torn countries. Working with a local craftsman, Ram Chandra, Sethi developed the Jaipur Foot in 1968 with India's rural poor in mind. Because many villagers squat on the ground and often go barefoot, the limb is designed to be worn without a shoe and to allow its users to squat; it also allows amputees to pedal bicycles, climb trees, and run. The flexible, low-tech prosthetics are made of plastic pipes, blocks of wood and rubber, and strips of leather; each one costs less than $30. Sethi died of cardiac arrest in the northern Indian city of Jaipur on January 6, 2008.

Jean-Claude Vrinat (71) owner and director of the renowned Paris restaurant Taillevent, which opened under Vrinat's father, Andre, in 1946. Jean-Claude joined the business in 1962, and his daughter, Valerie Vrinat, now runs the establishment after taking over in '87. Located in a tony Right Bank neighborhood, the restaurant is known for its innovative French cuisine and extensive wine cellar; it won its third Michelin star in 1973, under Jean-Claude's management, but lost it in 2007. Jean-Claude Vrinat died of lung cancer in Paris, France on January 7, 2008.

Donald R. Wheeler (85) former board chairman of Claremont Men's College and a life trustee of the school now known as Claremont McKenna College. Wheeler was elected to the CMC board of trustees in 1971, was chairman (1976-79), and was elected a life trustee in '95. He began his tenure as chairman the same year the college implemented a plan to become coeducational. He died of a heart attack in Newport Beach, California on January 9, 2008.

Keith Baxter (37) British rock drummer, former founding member of the heavy metal band Skyclad. Baxter recorded five albums before leaving that group in 1995 to join the hard rock band 3 Colours Red, with whom he recorded two UK Top-40 albums, Pure and Revolt, which included six Top-40 singles. Baxter had performed with several other bands briefly and later formed his own group before 3CR split up again, permanently, in 2005. He died of heart or liver failure in Lancaster, Lancashire, England on January 7, 2008.

Bill Belew (76) costume designer who created the flamboyant, bejeweled jumpsuits, matching capes, and wide, ornate belts that became Elvis Presley's trademark stage wear in the '70s. Belew died of complications from diabetes in Palm Springs, California on January 7, 2008.

Pete Candoli (84) one of the top high-note lead jazz trumpeters who performed with leading figures of the big-band era. Candoli moved to the West Coast in the early '50s and established himself as an excellent studio musician. Pete and his brother Conte (d. 2001), also an acclaimed trumpeter, were a popular attraction at southern California clubs, concert halls, and festivals, often leading their own band. A gifted showman, Pete perfected an impression of Louis Armstrong that became near-legendary. He was divorced from singers-actresses Betty Hutton and Edie Adams. Candoli died of prostate cancer in Studio City, California on January 11, 2008.

Murray ("Dusty") Cohl (79) founder in 1976 of the Toronto International Film Festival, a predictor of winners in the annual movie awards cycle. In recent years the festival, held in September, has drawn increasing attention in the six months leading up to the Academy Awards. In 2007, 349 films—including Michael Clayton, Eastern Promises, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Into the Wild—were shown during the 11-day festival, and more than 350,000 tickets were sold. Cohl died of colon cancer in Toronto, Canada on January 11, 2008.

Jack Eagle (81) rotund comedian and actor who appeared in commercials, most notably as Brother Dominic in a Xerox ad that first aired during the 1977 Super Bowl. The 5-foot-4, 210-pound Jewish comedian had a stand-up act in the Catskills before landing the role that won him international recognition. Playing a medieval monk, he was able to quickly reproduce 500 illuminated manuscripts, to which his abbot exclaimed, "It's a miracle!" The father of New York Nets broadcaster Ian Eagle, Jack Eagle died five days before his 82nd birthday, in New York City on January 10, 2008.

Bob Enos (60) jazzman who played trumpet in the band Roomful of Blues for 26 years. Enos's last album with the band, entitled Raisin' a Ruckus, was released four days after his death at a hotel while touring with the band, in Douglas, Georgia on January 11, 2008.

Johnny Grant (84) "honorary mayor of Hollywood," so named by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1980 as Tinseltown's No. 1 cheerleader for more than 50 years. Grant was perhaps best known as the jolly host of more than 500 celebrities he inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also made 60 overseas trips to entertain US troops with the USO and recently returned from a mission to Guantanamo Bay. He was found dead in his suite at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California on January 9, 2008.

Leo Janos (74) former speechwriter for President Lyndon B. Johnson whose ghostwriting talents were displayed in legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager's best-selling autobiography. A longtime correspondent for Time magazine and a free-lance nonfiction writer, Janos became best known for Yeager: An Autobiography (1985). Cowritten with the World War II ace fighter pilot who in 1947 became the first to break the sound barrier, the book sold more than a million copies in hardcover. Janos died of cancer in Brentwood, California on January 11, 2008.

János Körmendi (80) Hungarian actor, comedian, and writer. Most famous as a comedian, Körmendi was one of the great actors of Hungary after World War II. He played in some well-known films such as Te rongyos élet (1983; Oh, Bloody Life), usually not as a leading character, but in memorable roles. He also wrote many TV comedies, the most famous of which was a parody of Anton P. Chekhov's Three Sisters that won great acclaim in Hungary. Körmendi's acting career embraced 60 years, and he was one of the last great actors of Hungary. He won several prizes, including Best Artist in 1989 and the 2005 Kossuth Prize (the highest honor an artist can receive in Hungary). He fell ill a year ago and retired from the stage. He died of kidney failure in Budapest, Hungary on January 6, 2008.

Bob LeMond Jr. (94) familiar voice on radio and TV as an announcer for Leave It to Beaver, Ozzie & Harriet, Our Miss Brooks, and Lucille Ball's first radio sitcom, My Favorite Husband. LeMond spent most of his career working for CBS, where he also announced such specials as the Rose Parade and the Academy Awards. His countless TV commercials included spots for Oldsmobile, Dial soap, Johnson's wax, and Raid. He died in Bonsall, California on January 6, 2008.

Norman Morrice (76) British choreographer and former director of the Royal Ballet. Morrice trained at the Rambert Ballet School and joined Ballet Rambert in 1953. He choreographed more than 30 works for Rambert, which he helped to run (1970-74), helping to transform it into a contemporary dance company. In 1977 he replaced Kenneth Macmillan as the Royal Ballet's director, where he put on two new full-length productions of Swan Lake (1979) and Giselle (1980), stepping down in '86. Morrice was found dead at his home in London, England on January 11, 2008.

Ken Nelson (96) longtime Capitol Records talent scout and producer whose work with Buck Owens and Merle Haggard took them to the top rank of country music stardom in the '60s and helped to define the genre's twangy "Bakersfield sound." A cofounder of the Nashville-based Country Music Association, Nelson produced dozens of No. 1 country hits—more than 100 by some counts—over more than 20 years in charge of Capitol's country music division. But unlike many producers with an identifiable sound, Nelson prided himself on showcasing the musicians. He died 13 days before his 97th birthday, in Somis, California on January 6, 2008.

Maila Nurmi (85) actress whose "Vampira" TV persona pioneered the spooky-but-sexy Goth genre. Nurmi created her Vampira character—reminiscent of Charles Addams' spooky New Yorker cartoons—to host horror movie broadcasts on KABC-TV in Los Angeles in 1954. With heavily mascaraed eyes and blood-red lipstick, she appeared each week in a revealing black dress and slinky fishnets to introduce such films as Revenge of the Zombies and Devil Bat's Daughter. The character was thought to have inspired the vampish Morticia Addams, played by Carolyn Jones on The Addams Family, which premiered in 1964. Nurmi died in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2008.

Clyde Otis (83) songwriter and record producer, one of the first black executives at a major record company. Otis began writing songs when he moved to New York after World War II. After several years of struggle, he finally hit the charts in 1956 when Nat King Cole's recording of his song "That's All There Is to That" reached the Billboard Top 20. In 1958 Otis joined Mercury Records as director of artists and repertory, an unusually high-profile position for a black in the mainstream music business at the time. At Mercury, Otis produced more than a dozen hits for singer Brook Benton (d. 1988), also writing or collaborating on most of them, beginning with "It's Just a Matter of Time," which he and Benton wrote together. Otis died in Englewood, New Jersey on January 8, 2008.

Irvan J. ("Pooka") Perez (85) folk singer whose haunting a cappella songs in the disappearing Isleńos language told tales of fishing, trapping, and life in the swamps of southern Louisiana. Perez sang decimas, distinctive narrative songs in 10-line stanzas. Some of the songs date from the Middle Ages and others Perez wrote to preserve his community's unusual history. He was a descendant of Canary Islanders who settled in the St. Bernard Parish swamplands of Louisiana in the late 1700s. He was considered the best singer of decimas in the Americas and one of the world's few remaining speakers of the Isleńos dialect, a combination of 18th-century maritime Spanish, antiquated formal Spanish, and snippets of Louisiana's Cajun French. He died of a heart attack in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 8, 2008.

Lew Spence (87) songwriter who composed the Grammy-nominated Frank Sinatra song "Nice 'n' Easy" and "That Face," a standard recorded by Fred Astaire. Other artists who sang Spence's songs included Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Bobby Short, Peggy Lee, Nat ("King") Cole, Johnny Mathis, Bing Crosby, Billy Eckstine, and Dinah Shore. Spence died in his sleep in Los Angeles, California on January 9, 2008.

Charles Tasnadi (82) top Associated Press photographer for 30 years who in 1951 braved minefields and barbed wire to escape from his native Communist Hungary. During his career, Tasnadi covered seven US Presidents, including a shot of President Lyndon B. Johnson displaying his surgical scar to the media. Tasnadi died of a stroke in Washington, DC on January 10, 2008.

Philip Agee (72) former Central Intelligence Agency operative whose naming of other CIA agents led to a US law against exposing government spies. Agee quit the CIA in 1969 after 12 years working mostly in Latin America at a time when leftist movements were gaining sympathizers. His 1975 book, Inside the Company: CIA Diary, cited alleged misdeeds against leftists in the region and included a 22-page list of alleged agency operatives. The list created an uproar around the world and prompted Congress to pass a law against naming clandestine US agents abroad. The State Department stripped Agee of his US passport, and former CIA colleagues called him a traitor and said he was linked to Cuban and Soviet intelligence agencies. Agee was never prosecuted in the US because officials feared a trial would expose Soviet defectors living in America under new identities. He died of peritonitis related to surgery for perforated ulcers, in Havana, Cuba on January 7, 2008.

Jorge Isaac Anaya (81) former Argentine navy chief, leading proponent of the past dictatorship's ill-fated 1982 invasion of the Falklands Islands. The invasion triggered a 10-week war that claimed hundreds of lives and hastened the end of Argentina's last dictatorship. In 1986, a military tribunal ordered Anaya stripped of rank and sentenced him to 14 years in prison, although he was pardoned in '90. He suffered a heart attack in 2006 while awaiting court questioning about human rights abuses during military rule. He died of complications from heart problems in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 9, 2008.

Houston I. Flournoy (78) Republican who narrowly lost to Jerry Brown in the 1974 California gubernatorial election. Flournoy blamed his loss on public backlash to President Gerald Ford's pardon of ex-President Richard M. Nixon and a shortage of campaign money. He had suffered for years from emphysema. He died of heart failure while flying on a private plane from San Diego to Santa Rosa, California on January 7, 2008.

Moshe Levi (71) Israel's 12th army chief of staff, who in the mid-'80s oversaw the establishment of an Israeli buffer zone in southern Lebanon, in which his country battled with Lebanese guerrillas. Israel withdrew all its forces from Lebanon in 2000. A few years ago, Levi suffered a stroke and had since been confined to a wheelchair. Last week he suffered another larger stroke and died in Jerusalem, Israel on January 8, 2008.

Sara Misquez (62) former president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in southern New Mexico. Misquez was appointed president of the tribe after the Tribal Council's May 1999 ouster of Paul Ortega. She won the office in her own right in an August 1999 special election and served until losing the post to Mark Chino in 2003. She was killed when her SUV hit a highway median and rolled over on US 70 near Tularosa, New Mexico on January 9, 2008.

Myra Riddell (81) psychotherapist, a former president of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women and pioneering activist for lesbian and gay rights. A prominent figure in the gay community for several decades, Riddell was founding president of Southern California Women for Understanding, launched in 1976 to build a social and political network of gay career women. Riddell, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died in Studio City, California on January 11, 2008.

Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum (87) Talmudic scholar who led the 1,200-member Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn for more than 50 years after fleeing Nazi-occupied Poland and briefly taking refuge in Shanghai. Berenbaum died of stomach cancer in New York City on January 6, 2008.

Gemina the Giraffe (21) giraffe with a distinctive crooked neck and one of the most beloved animals at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Gemina was around 3 years old when she began to develop a crooked neck that eventually bent sharply and made it appear that she had swallowed a hockey stick. Although her neck was X-rayed, the cause of the condition was never conclusively found; it did not affect her eating, and she was treated normally by other giraffes. She was euthanized when she stopped eating after two weeks of declining appetite, in Santa Barbara, California on January 9, 2008.

Timothy Goode (24) nephew of former Mayor Wilson Goode, the first black mayor of Philadelphia (1984-92). Timothy Goode was shot and killed by police when he ran away, then turned on them with a gun after being caught in a drug transaction in Germantown, Pennsylvania on January 12, 2008.

Sir Edmund Hillary (88) unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest in 1953 and was renowned as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers. The New Zealander devoted much of his life to aiding the mountain people of Nepal and took his fame in stride. The climbing accomplishment, part of a British climbing expedition, even added luster to the coronation of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II four days later, and she knighted Hillary as one of her first acts. But Hillary was more proud of his decades-long campaign to set up schools and health clinics in Nepal, the homeland of his climbing companion Tenzing Norgay (pictured above; d. 1986), the mountain guide with whom he stood arm in arm on the summit of Everest on May 29, 1953. Hillary died of a heart attack in Auckland, New Zealand on January 11, 2008.

Eddie ("Bozo") Miller (89) man known for his amazing capacity for food consumption. Miller was known for his appetite for life and feasting. He once downed 27 two-pound chickens at one sitting on a bet. The 5-foot-7 Miller weighed 330 pounds at his peak. He worked at a variety of jobs, including as a bookie, fight manager, and restaurant owner; but it was with a knife and fork that he made his name. His prowess as an eater landed him in record books and newspaper columns. He died of complications of diabetes in Oakland, California on January 7, 2008.

Terrell Rogers (39) antiviolence activist who founded and organized the nonprofit organization Peacekeepers after his father, Adam Rogers, was shot and killed on New Year's Day 1977, becoming a target for murder because of his activism. Terrell Rogers was also the father of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory school basketball star Tierra Rogers. He was shot and killed by two assailants during the halftime period of his daughter's basketball game in San Francisco, California on January 12, 2008.

Alexy Belyy (26) top swimmer at California State University-Bakersfield who swam the breaststroke and freestlye sprint. Belyy held the school's record in the 400-yard individual medley. He died unexpectedly after complaining of chest pains in Bakersfield, California on January 11, 2008.

Christopher Bowman (40) former US figure skating champion dubbed "Bowman the Showman" for his flair on the ice. A former child actor, Bowman was one of figure skating's bigger personalities in the late '80s and early '90s. He won the US men's figure skating titles in 1989 and '92 and was runner-up in '87 and '91. He also won a silver medal at the 1989 world championships and a bronze in '90. He skated in the 1988 and '92 Winter Olympics, finishing seventh and fourth, respectively. Bowman was also known for his off-the-ice struggles with drugs and alcohol. He was found dead of a possible drug overdose at a budget hotel in the North Hills area of the San Fernando Valley, California on January 10, 2008.

Merle Butler (72) International Softball Federation director who taught softball umpires the rules of the game and supervised officiating at three Olympics (1996, 2000, '04). Butler was the group's director of umpires since 1981; in that role, he traveled around the world, teaching classes and certifying softball umpires for the sport's premier events. He died in Edmond, Oklahoma on January 6, 2008.

Vic Cuccia (80) coach known for his innovative passing schemes, showmanship, and success in building Los Angeles's Wilson High School into a football powerhouse in the '70s. Cuccia guided the school to a 39-game winning streak in which the Mules won City Section 3-A championships (1975-77), led by his son, Ron, a quarterback who set a national record for total offense. The Mules were 151-42-6 during Cuccia's 22-year coaching career (1956-77). He died in Pasadena, California on January 11, 2008.

Jim Dooley (77) former head coach of the Chicago Bears (1968-71). Dooley spent nearly 30 years with the Bears as a wide receiver, head coach, and later as an assistant coach alongside Mike Ditka. He was the team's first draft pick from the University of Miami in 1952. He played until 1961, with some time off for military service. In 1968, Dooley took over for head coach George Halas. He was 20-36, including a 1-13 season in 1969, but coached Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus. After a stint working in the packing business, Dooley returned to the Bears in 1981 and was assistant coach until '90. He died of Lou Gehrig's disease in Lake Forest, Illinois on January 8, 2008.

Edward ("Buddy") LeRoux (77) former part owner of the Boston Red Sox and real estate baron. LeRoux was forced to sell his share of the team after a failed attempt to wrest control from other owners, including Jean Yawkey, widow of longtime team owner Tom Yawkey. The "Le Coup LeRoux" occurred June 6, 1983, on a night to honor former Red Sox player Tony Conigliaro, whose career was derailed when he was hit in the face with a fastball in '67. Conigliaro was in a coma after suffering a stroke in 1982 when LeRoux announced he had enough support from the team's partners to take control of the team. Red Sox fans were outraged by the timing, and the other owners later took LeRoux to court, where he lost. He died in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire on January 7, 2008.

Steve Ridzik (78) member of the "Whiz Kids" Philadelphia Phillies who lost the 1950 World Series to the New York Yankees. Ridzik was signed as a prospect by the Phillies when he was 16. He won 39 games and had a lifetime 3.79 ERA over 12 major league seasons that included stops with the Washington Senators, the New York Giants, and the Cincinnati Reds. He died of heart disease in Bradenton, Florida on January 8, 2008.

Rix N. Yard (90) former Tulane University athletic director (1963-76) who oversaw Tulane's 1966 move from the Southeastern Conference and the football team's move from old Tulane Stadium to the Louisiana Superdome. Yard died in Newport News, Virginia on January 9, 2008.