Gone In '06

January 7 - Lou Rawls, singer, of cancer, 72
January 12 - Eldon Dedini, cartoonist ("Playboy"), of esophagus cancer, 84
January 14 - Shelley Winters, actress, of heart failure, 85
January 19 - Wilson Pickett, soul singer ("Mustang Sally"), of a heart attack, 64
January 31 - Coretta Scott King, civil rights activist, following a stroke, 78
February 3 - Al Lewis, actor (Grandpa on "The Munsters"), after a lengthy illness, 82
February 5 - Franklin Cover, actor (Tom Willis on "The Jeffersons"), of pneumonia, 77
February 6 - Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, actor ("Rio Bravo"), of natural causes, 80
February 9 - Phil Brown, actor (Uncle Owen in "Star Wars: A New Hope"), after a lengthy illness, age not reported
February 16 - Ernie Stautner, NFL football player (Pittsburgh Steelers), 80
February 20 - Curt Gowdy, sportscaster (NBC), of leukemia, 86
February 24 - Don Knotts, actor ("Three's Company"), of lung problems, 81
February 24 - Dennis Weaver, actor ("McCloud"), 81
February 25 - Darren McGavin, actor ("A Christmas Story"), of natural causes, 83
March 1 - Jack Wild, actor ("H.R. Pufnstuf"), of cancer, 53
March 6 - Kirby Puckett, major leaguer (Minnesota Twins), following a stroke, 45
March 13- Maureen Stapleton, actress ("Reds"), of lung disease, 80
March 13 - Peter Tomarken, game show host ("Press Your Luck"), in a private plane crash, 63
March 25 - Richard Fleischer, film director ("Soylent Green"), 89
March 25 - Buck Owens, country singer / TV host ("Hee Haw"), cause not reported, 76
March 27 - Dan Curtis, TV director/producer ("Dark Shadows"), of a brain tumor, 78
March 28 - Caspar Weinbergar, U.S. secretary of defense (1981-87), 88
March 30 - Gloria Monty, TV producer ("General Hospital"), of cancer, age not reported
April 5 - Gene Pitney, pop singer ("24 Hours From Tulsa"), of natural causes, 65
April 11 - June Pointer, pop singer (The Pointer Sisters), of cancer, 52
April 23 - Linn Sheldon, Cleveland children show host "Barnaby", of congestive heart failure, 86
April 27 - Steve Howe, major leaguer (Los Angeles Dodgers), in an auto accident, 48
May 8 - Iain MacMillan, photographer ("Abbey Road" album cover), cause not reported, 67
May 10 - Val Guest, science fiction filmmaker ("The Quatermass Experiment"), 94
May 11 - Frank Thomas Jr., actor ("Tom Corbett, Space Cadet"), following a stroke, 85
May 14 - Lew Anderson, actor (Clarabell the Clown on "The Howdy Doody Show"), of complications from prostate cancer, 84
May 27 - Paul Gleason, actor ("The Breakfast Club"), of mesothelioma lung cancer, 67
May 27 - Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, NFL football player (New Orleans Saints) / Zest spokesman, of a brain tumor, 39
May 27 - Alex Toth, comic artist ("Space Ghost"), case not reported, 77
June ? - Moose, actor (Eddie on "Frasier"), 16 ½
June 6 - Billy Preston, pop musician ("Will It Go Round in Circles"), of kidney failure resulting from chronic hypertension, 59
June 8 - Robert Donner, actor (Exidor on "Mork & Mindy"), from a heart attack, 75
June 11 - Tim Hildebrandt, artist (Star Wars movie poster), from complications of diabetes, 67
June 18 - Richard Stahl, actor ("Beware! The Blob"), of Parkinson's disease, 74
June 21 - Theo Bell, NFL football player (Pittsburgh Steelers), of kidney disease, 52
June 23 - Aaron Spelling, TV producer ("Charlie's Angels"), following a stroke, 83
June 24 - Patsy Ramsey, person of interest in the murder of her daughter, JonBenet Ramsey, of ovarian cancer, 49
June 26 - Jeffrey Brock, actor (Fleegle on "The Banana Splits"), of a brain tumor, 64 or 65
June 28 - Lennie Weinrib, voice actor ("H.R. Pufnstuf"), following a stroke, 71
July 6 - Kasey Rogers, actress (Louise Tate on "Bewitched"), of cancer, 79
July 7 - Syd Barrett, rock musician (Pink Floyd), of complications from diabetes, 60
July 8 - June Allyson, actress ("Too Young to Kiss", Depends commercials), after a lengthy illness, 88
July 9 - Christian Drake, actor ("Them!"), cause not reported, 82
July 11 - Barnard Hughes, actor (Buzz Richman on "Blossom"), after a brief illness, 90
July 13 - Red Buttons, actor ("Sayonara"), of vascular disease, 87
July 16 - Mickey Spillane, author (Mike Hammer series), 88
July 19 - Jack Warden, actor ("Heaven Can Wait"), after a long illness, 85
August 11 - Mike Douglas, TV talk show host ("The Mike Douglas Show"), 81
August 13 - Tony Jay, voice actor ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame"), of complications from lung cancer surgery, 73
August 14 - Bruno Kirby, actor ("City Slickers"), of complications from leukemia, 57
August 29 - Jumpin' Gene Simmons, rockabilly musician, after a long illness, 69
August 30 - Glenn Ford, actor ("Superman"), 90
September 4 - Steve Irwin, wildlife documentary host ("Crocodile Hunter"), stung by a stingray while taping a documentary, 44
September 11 - Pat Corley, actor (Phil the bartender on "Murphy Brown"), of congestive heart failure following heart surgery, 76
October 14 - Freddy Fender, country singer ("Before the Next Teardrop Falls), after a lengthy illness, 69
October 19 - Phyllis Kirk, actress ("House of Wax"), of a post-cerebral aneurysm, 79
October 20 - Jane Wyatt, actress (Margaret Anderson on "Father Knows Best"), of natural causes, 96
October 21 - Sandy West, rock drummer (The Runaways), of cancer, 46
October 28 - Arnold "Red" Auerbach, NBA basketball coach (Boston Celtics), of a heart attack, 89
November 3 - Paul Mauriat, orchestra conductor ("Love Is Blue"), 81
November 8 - Basil Poledouris, film & TV soundtrack composer ("Les Miserables"), of cancer, 61
November 9 - Ed Bradley, TV journalist ("60 Minutes"), of leukemia, 65
November 10 - Gerald Levert, R&B singer ("Baby Hold On to Me"), cause not reported, 40
November 10 - Jack Palance, actor ("City Slickers"), of natural causes, 87
November 17 - Ruth Brown, R&B singer ("Teardrops In My Eyes"), of complications from a stroke and heart attack, 78
November 17 - Bo Schembechler, college football coach (Michigan), after collapsing (probably of heart failure), 77
November 20 - Robert Altman, film director ("M*A*S*H"), of complications from cancer, 81
November 20 - Andre Waters, NFL football player (Philadelphia Eagles), shot (suicide), 44
November 26 - Dave Cockrum, comic book artist (X-Men), of complications from diabetes, 63
November 27 - Casey Coleman, sports announcer (Cleveland Browns), of pancreatic cancer, 55
November 29 - Emmett Kelly Jr., clown, of complications from pneumonia, 83. He was the son of clown Emmett Kelly
December 9 - Martin Nodell, aka Mart Dellon, comic book artist (Green Lantern), 91
December 10 - Jay "Jaybird" Drennan, country music disk jockey (Akron, OH), from a blood clot following surgery for a broken ankle, 78
December 12 - Peter Boyle, actor (Frank Barone in "Everybody Loves Raymond"), of multiple myeloma and heart disease, 71
December 14 - Mike Evans, actor (Lionel Jefferson on "All in the Family"), of throat cancer, 57
December 18 - Joe Barbera, animator ("Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"), 95
December 25 - James Brown, soul singer ("I Got You (I Feel Good)"), of heart failure, 73
December 27 - Len "Boom" Goldberg, disc jockey (Cleveland WMMS), 74
December 27 - Gerald Ford, U.S. President (R, 1974-77), 93
December 29 - Saddam Hussein, Iraqi president (1979-2003), executed by hanging, 69

This is only a partial list of famous people who passed away in 2006. Most of this list is courtesy of Who's Alive And Who's Dead.