Gone In '08

I'm late with this list this year. I had it mostly finished last Saturday, when I had some kind of computer glitch and it wiped out most of it.

Here is a partial list of famous people who left us in 2008. This list comes from Who's Alive and Who's Dead. Visit the website here. Or join the Yahoo! group here.

Previous lists --

Gone In '06
Gone In '07

January 6 Bob LeMond, TV announcer ("Leave It To Beaver" opening credits), 94
January 10 Maila Nurmi, TV hostess (Vampira), 86
January 11 Edmund Hillary, mountaineer (Mt. Everest), 88
January 15 Brad Renfro, actor ("The Client"), 25
January 17 Bobby Fischer, chess player, 64
January 17 Ernie Holmes, NFL football player (Pittsburgh Steelers), 59
January 17 Allan Melvin, actor (Sam the butcher on "The Brady Bunch"), 84
January 19 Suzanne Pleshette, actress (Emily Hartley on "The Bob Newhart Show"), 70
January 19 John Stewart, folk singer (The Kingston Trio), 68
January 22 Heath Ledger, actor ("Brokeback Mountain"), 28
January 27 Gordon Hinckley, Mormon church president, 97
January 27 Suharto, ruler of Indonesia (1965-98), 86
January 29 Margaret Truman Daniel, writer ("Murder in the White House"), 83. She was the daughter of President Harry Truman.

February 1 Shell Kepler, actress (Nurse Amy Vining on "General Hospital"), 49
February 2 Earl Butz, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76), 98
February 2 Barry Morse, actor (Lt. Philip Gerard on "The Fugitive"), 89
February 5 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, transcendental meditation guru, 91
February 5 Ken Konz, NFL football player (Cleveland Browns), 79
February 8 Phyllis A. Whitney, mystery writer ("Mystery of the Haunted Pool"), 104
February 9 Robert DoQui, actor ("Robocop"), 74
February 9 Gene Knutson, NFL football player (Green Bay Packers), 75
February 10 Steve Gerber, comic book writer ("Howard the Duck"), 60
February 10 Roy Scheider, actor ("Jaws"), 75
February 12 David Groh, actor (Joe Gerard on "Rhoda"), 68



February 21 Ben Chapman, actor (The Creature from the Black Lagoon), 79
February 26 Buddy Miles, rock drummer, 60
February 27 William F. Buckley, political commentator ("National Review"), 82
February 28 Mike Smith, pop singer (The Dave Clark Five), 64
March 2 Jeff Healey, rock guitarist ("Angel Eyes"), 41
March 4 Gary Gygax, game creator (Dungeons & Dragons), 69
March 5 Leonard Rosenman, film score composer ("Barry Lyndon"), 83
March 10 Dave Stevens, comic artist ("The Rocketeer"), 53
March 12 Howard Metzenbaum, U.S. Senator (D-OH, 1977-95), 90
March 16 Ivan Dixon, actor (Sgt. Kinchloe on "Hogan's Heroes"), 76
March 19 Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction writer ("2001: A Space Odyssey"), 90
March 24 Richard Widmark, actor ("Kiss of Death"), 93
March 30 Jim Mooney, comic artist ("Supergirl"), 88
April 5 Charlton Heston, actor ("The Ten Commandments"), 84
April 6 Gib Shanley, football announcer (Cleveland Browns), 76
April 12 Buzz Nutter, NFL football player (Baltimore Colts), 77
April 14 Ollie Johnston, animator ("Bambi"), 95
April 15 Hazel Court, horror film actress ("The Raven"), 82
April 16 Edward Lorenz, chaos theory scientist (described "the butterfly effect"), 90
April 17 Louis Allen, NFL football player (Pittsburgh Steelers), 83
April 22 Paul Davis, pop singer ("I Go Crazy"), 60
April 23 Joe Feeney, singer ("The Lawrence Welk Show"), 76
April 24 Tristram Cary, synthesizer inventor/musician ("Dr. Who" theme), 82
April 29 Albert Hofmann, chemist (invented the drug LSD), 102
May 1 Jim Hager, country singer ("Hee Haw"), 66
May 3 Ted Key, cartoonist ("Hazel"), 95
May 5 Irvine Robbins, ice cream maker (Baskin-Robbins), 90
May 8 Eddy Arnold, country singer ("Make the World Go Away"), 89
May 11 Dottie Rambo, gospel singer/songwriter ("We Shall Behold Him"), 74
May 13 John Phillip Law, actor ("Barbarella"), 70
May 14 Will Elder, cartoonist ("Mad"), 86
May 24 Dick Martin, comedian & TV host ("Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"), 86
May 15 Alexander Courage, TV & film composer ("Star Trek" theme), 88
May 22 Robert Asprin, fantasy writer ("MythAdventures"), 61
May 25 Joseph Pevney, TV director ("Star Trek"), 96
May 25 Mitch Mullany, comedian (White Mike on "The Wayans Brothers"), 39
May 26 Earle H. Hagen, TV composer ("The Andy Griffith Show" theme), 88
May 26 Sydney Pollack, film director ("The Way We Were"), 73
May 28 Robert H. Justman, TV producer ("Star Trek"), 81
May 29 Harvey Korman, actor ("The Carol Burnett Show"), 81
June 1 Yves Saint Laurent, fashion designer, 71
June 2 Bo Diddley, rock vocalist/guitarist ("I'm a Man"), 79
June 2 Mel Ferrer, actor ("War and Peace"), 90
June 6 Bob Anderson, actor ("It's a Wonderful Life"), 75
June 6 Dwight "Mad Dog" White, NFL football player (Pittsburgh Steelers), 58
June 7 Jim McCay, sports TV host ("Wide World of Sports"), 86
June 11 Mitch Frerotte, NFL football player (Buffalo Bills), 43
June 12 Danny Davis, trumpet player (Nashville Brass), 83
June 13 Tim Russert, TV news correspondent ("Meet the Press"), 58
June 15 Stan Winston, film special effects designer ("Aliens"), 62
June 17 Cyd Charisse, actress/dancer ("The Band Wagon"), 86
June 22 George Carlin, comedian, 71
June 22 Dody Goodman, actress ("Grease"), 93
June 29 Don S. Davis, actor (Gen. George Hammond in "Stargate SG-1"), 65
July 3 Larry Harmon, aka Bozo the Clown, 83
July 4 Jesse Helms, U.S. senator (R-NC, 1973-2003), 86
July 4 Evelyn Keyes, actress ("Gone With the Wind"), 91
July 11 Michael DeBakey, cardiovascular surgeon, 99
July 16 Jo Stafford, pop singer ("You Belong to Me"), 90
July 22 Estelle Getty, actress (Sophia on "The Golden Girls"), 84
August 2 John F. Seiberling, U.S. Congressman (D-OH, 1971-86), 89
August 3 Alexander Solzhenitsyn, novelist ("The Gulag Archipelago"), 89
August 3 Lou Teicher, classical pianist, 83



August 9 Bernard McCullough, aka Bernie Mac, comedian and actor ("The Bernie Mac Show"), 50
August 10 Isaac Hayes, soul singer ("Theme from Shaft"), 65
August 12 Bill Stulla, Los Angeles TV Host ("Cartoon Express with Engineer Bill"), 97
August 17 Dave Freeman, travel writer ("100 Things To Do Before You Die"), 47
August 20 Gene Upshaw, NFL football player ("Oakland Raiders") and executive, 63
August 21 Fred Crane, actor ("Gone With the Wind"), 90
August 22 Ralph Young, singer/comedian ("Sandler and Young"), 90
August 30 Walter "Killer" Kowalski, pro wrestler, 81
September 1 Don LaFontaine, movie trailer voiceover artist, 68
September 1 Jerry Reed, guitarist/singer/actor ("Smokey and the Bandit"), 71
September 2 Bill Melendez, animator ("A Charlie Brown Christmas"), 91
September 6 Anita Page, actress ("Our Dancing Daughters"), 98
September 7 Gregory Mcdonald, novelist ("Fletch"), 71
September 10 Robert "Bobby" Mallon, actor ("Our Gang"), 89
September 15 Richard Wright, rock keyboardist (Pink Floyd), 65
September 24 Don Wilder, comic strip writer ("Crock"), 74
September 26 Paul Newman, actor, 83
October 1 House Peters Jr., actor (Mr. Clean), 92
October 1 Nick Reynolds, folk singer (The Kingston Trio), 75
October 8 Eileen Herlie, actress (Myrtle Fargate on "All My Children"), 90
October 11 Neal Hefti, trumpeter/composer ("Batman Theme"), 85
October 15 Chris Mims, NFL football player (San Diego Chargers), 38
October 15 Jack Narz, game show host ("Concentration"), 85. He was the brother of game show host Tom Kennedy (aka Jim Narz)
October 17 Levi Stubbs, pop singer (The Four Tops), 72
October 19 Richard Blackwell, aka Mr. Blackwell, fashion critic ("Ten Worst Dressed Women"), 86
October 19 Rudy Ray Moore, comedian/actor ("Dolemite"), 81
October 20 Gene Hickerson, NFL football player (Cleveland Browns), 73
October 25 Gerald Damiano, adult film director ("Deep Throat"), 80
October 25 Estelle Reiner, actress ("When Harry Met Sally"), 94. She was the wife of director Carl Reiner and the mother of director Rob Reiner.
November 1 Tiffany Sloan, model (Playboy), 35
November 4 Michael Crichton, novelist ("Jurassic Park"), 66
November 11 Herb Score, major leaguer (Cleveland Indians), 75
November 12 Mitch Mitchell, rock drummer (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), 61
November 17 Irving Brecher, comedy writer (The Marx Brothers), 94
December 1 Paul Benedict, actor (Mr. Bentley on "The Jeffersons"), 70
December 4 Forrest J. Ackerman, science fiction author/editor ("Famous Monsters of Filmland"), 92
December 5 Nina Foch, actress ("Executive Suite"), 84
December 5 Beverly Garland, actress (Barbara Douglas on "My Three Sons"), 82
December 6 Sunny von Bulow, coma victim, 76
December 8 Robert Prosky, actor (Sgt. Stan Jablonski on "Hill Street Blues"), 77
December 11 Bettie Page, pinup model ("Playboy"), 85
December 11 Van Johnson, actor (The Minstrel on "Batman"), 92
December 17 Sammy Baugh, NFL football player (Washington Redskins), 94





December 18 Majel Barrett, actress (Nurse Chapel on "Star Trek"), 76. She was the wife of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.
December 18 W. Mark Felt, aka "Deep Throat", political informant, 95
December 22 Coy Bacon, NFL football player (Cincinnati Bengals), 66
December 25 Eartha Kitt, actress/singer (Catwoman on "Batman"), 81
December 25 Edward D. Cartier, illustrator ("The Shadow"), 94
December 30 Bernie Hamilton, actor (Capt. Harold Dobey on "Starsky and Hutch"), 80