Thursday, January 28, 2016

Gone In 2015

I'm really late getting this post out! Better late than never I guess.

Welcome to my 10th annual list of notable pop culture deaths for the year 2015. It's hard to believe I've been putting this list together since 2006. It's also really sad to see all of the great entertainers we lose each year. May they rest in peace.

Most of the information for this list comes from Who's Alive and Who's Dead. Check out their Yahoo! Group and Website.

My past lists can be viewed here.

Jan 1 - Mario Cuomo, governor of New York (1983-94), 82
Jan 1 - Donna Douglas, actress (Elly May Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies"), 81
Jan 2 - Little Jimmy Dickens, country/novelty singer ("May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose"), 94
Jan 6 - Lance Percival, actor (Yellow Submarine), 81
Jan 7 - Tim Roberts, aka The Zombie, pro wrestler, 38
Jan 8 - Andrae Crouch, gospel singer ("The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power"), 72
Jan 8 - Curtis Lee, rock and roll singer ("Pretty Little Angel Eyes"), 75
Jan 8 - Rod Taylor, actor (The Birds), 84
Jan 9 - Sam Goldwyn Jr., film producer (Mystic Pizza), 88
Jan 10 - Brian Clemens, TV screenwriter ("The Avengers"), 83
Jan 10 - George Dickerson, actor (Blue Velvet), 81
Jan 10 - Taylor Negron, actor (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), 57
Jan 11 - Anita Ekberg, actress (La Dolce Vita), 83
Jan 12 - Clifford Adams, jazz trombonist (Kool and the Gang), 62
Jan 12 - Darrell Winfield, model (Marlboro Man), 85
Jan 13 - H. Wesley Kenney, TV director and producer ("All in the Family"), 89
Jan 17 - Donald Harron, TV performer (Charlie Farquharson on "Hee Haw"), 90
Jan 18 - Dallas Taylor, folk drummer (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), 66
Jan 19 - Anne Kirkbride, actress (Deirdre Barlow on "Coronation Street"), 60
Jan 23 - Ernie Banks, MLB (Chicago Cubs), 83
Jan 23 - Barrie Ingham, actor (The Great Mouse Detective), 82
Jan 29 - Will McBride, photographer (postwar Berlin), 82
Jan 29 - Colleen McCullough, author (The Thorn Birds), 77
Jan 29 - Rod McKuen, poet and songwriter ("Seasons In the Sun"), 81
Jan 30 - Geraldine McEwan, actress (Miss Marple on "Agatha Christie's Marple"), 82
Jan 31 - Lizabeth Scott, actress (Dead Reckoning), 92
Feb 2 - Stewart Stern, screenwriter (Rebel Without a Cause), 92
Feb 3 - Mary Healy, actress (The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.), 96
Feb 9 - Ed Sabol, filmmaker (NFL Films), 98
Feb 12 - Gary Owens, TV announcer ("Rowan &Martin's Laugh-In"), 80
Feb 14 - Michele Ferrero, chocolatier, 89
Feb 14 - Louis Jourdan, actor (Gigi), 93
Feb 16 - Lesley Gore, pop singer ("It's My Party"), 68
Feb 17 - June Fairchild, actress (Up In Smoke), 68
Feb 18 - Jerome Kersey, NBA basketball player (Portland Trail Blazers), 52
Feb 19 - Sam Andrew, rock guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company), 73
Feb 21 - Clark Terry, jazz trumpeter, 94
Feb 24 - Maurice Hurley, TV producer ("Star Trek: The Next Generation"), 75
Feb 24 - Mirjana Puhar, reality TV contestant ("America's Next Top Model"), 19
Feb 25 - Harve Bennett, film producer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), 84
Feb 27 - Richard Bakalyan, actor (Chinatown), 84
Feb 27 - Leonard Nimoy, actor (Spock on "Star Trek"), 83
Mar 1 - Daniel von Bargen, actor (Commandant Spangler on "Malcolm in the Middle"), 64
Mar 2 - Jenna McMahon, TV screenwriter ("The Facts of Life"), 89
Mar 3 - Lynn Borden, actress (Barbara Baxter on "Hazel"), 75
Mar 4 - Emory Bass, actor (1776), 89
Mar 8 - Sam Simon, TV producer ("The Simpsons"), 59
Mar 8 - Lew Soloff, jazz trumpeter ("Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat, and Tears), 71
Mar 9 - Windell Middlebrooks, actor (Curtis Brumfield in "Body of Proof"), 36
Mar 9 - Gene Patton, TV performer (Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine on "The Gong Show"), 82
Mar 9 - Lou Silverstone, comedy writer (MAD), 90
Mar 11 - Jimmy Greenspoon, rock keyboardist (Three Dog Night), 67
Mar 11 - Ralph Taeger, actor (Hondo Lane in "Hondo"), 78
Mar 12 - Terry Pratchett, comic book author (Discworld), 66
Mar 13 - Al Rosen, MLB player (Cleveland Indians) and executive (Houston Astros), 91
Mar 15 - Sally Forrest, actress (Not Wanted), 86
Mar 15 - Mike Porcaro, rock bassist (Toto), 59
Mar 19 - Michael Brown, keyboardist and songwriter ("Walk Away Renee"), 65
Mar 20 - Jim Berry, cartoonist (Berry's World), 83
Mar 20 - A.J. Pero, heavy metal drummer (Twisted Sister), 55
Mar 20 - Gregory Walcott, actor (Plan 9 From Outer Space), 87
Mar 21 - Chuck Bednarik, NFL football player (Philadelphia Eagles), 89
Mar 21 - Alberta Watson, actress (La Femme Nikita), 60
Mar 22 - Tom Koch, comedy writer ("Bob and Ray"), 89
Mar 28 - Richard L. Bare, TV director ("Green Acres"), 101
Mar 28 - Richard Rosenbloom, TV producer ("Cagney & Lacey"), 91
Mar 28 - Gene Saks, stage and film director (The Odd Couple), 93
Apr 2 - Robert Schuller, Protestant minister and broadcaster ("Hour of Power"), 88
Apr 2 - Bob Burns, rock drummer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), 64
Apr 5 - Richard Dysart, actor (Leland McKenzie on "L.A. Law"), 86
Apr 5 - Tom Towles, horror actor (Night of the Living Dead), 65
Apr 6 - James Best, actor (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on "The Dukes of Hazzard"), 88
Apr 6 - Ray Charles, singer (theme to "Three's Company"), 96
Apr 6 - Ben Powers, actor (Keith Anderson on "Good Times"), 64
Apr 7 - Stan Freberg, musical satirist ("St. George and the Dragonet"), 88
Apr 7 - Geoffrey Lewis, actor (Earl Tucker on "Flo"), 79
Apr 9 - Vanda Barra, actress (Vanda on "Here's Lucy"), 90
Apr 10 - Judith Malina, actress (Dog Day Afternoon), 88
Apr 13 - Claire Gordon, actress (Konga), 74
Apr 14 - Percy Sledge, R&B singer ("When a Man Loves a Woman"), 74
Apr 15 - Jonathan Crombie, actor (Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables films), 48
Apr 22 - Lois Lilenstein, actress (Lois in "Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show"), 78
Apr 24 - Sawyer Sweeten, actor (Geoffrey Barone on "Everybody Loves Raymond"), 19
Apr 25 - Don Mankiewicz, TV screenwriter ("Ironside"), 93
Apr 26 - Jayne Meadows-Allen, actress and game show panelist ("I've Got a Secret"), 95
Apr 27 - Suzanne Crough, actress (Tracy Partridge on "The Partridge Family"), 52
Apr 27 - Jack Ely, rock singer ("Louie, Louie"), 71
Apr 28 - Marcia Brown, children's book illustrator (Stone Soup), 96
Apr 30 - Ben E. King, R&B singer ("Stand By Me"), 76
Apr 30 - Nigel Terry, actor (Excalibur), 69
May 1 - Grace Lee Whitney, actress (Yeoman Rand on "Star Trek"), 85
May 2 - Michael Blake, author (Dances With Wolves), 69
May 2 - Ruth Rendell, aka Barbara Vine, crime novelist (Inspector Wexford series), 85
May 4 - Ellen Albertini Dow, actress (The Wedding Singer), 101
May 6 - Errol Brown, soul singer ("You Sexy Thing"), 71
May 6 - Jim Wright, U.S. Speaker of the House (D, 1987-89), 92
May 9 - Elizabeth Wilson, actress (The Graduate), 94
May 14 - B. B. King, blues guitarist and singer ("The Thrill Is Gone"), 89
May 15 - Garo Yepremian, NFL football player (Miami Dolphins), 70
May 21 - Louis Johnson, bassist (Michael Jackson's Thriller), 60
May 23 - Anne Meara, comedienne and actress (Veronica Ulchin on "The King of Queens"), 85
May 24 - Tanith Lee, science-fiction author (Death's Master), 67
May 28 - Reynaldo Rey, actor ("Friday"), 75
May 29 - Betsy Palmer, actress and game show panelist ("I've Got a Secret"), 88
Jun 5 - Richard Johnson, actor (The Haunting), 87
Jun 6 - Ronnie Gilbert, folk singer (The Weavers), 88
Jun 7 - Christopher Lee, actor (Dracula), 93
Jun 9 - James Last, easy listening bandleader ("Happy Heart"), 86
Jun 10 - Robert Chartoff, film producer (Rocky), 81
Jun 11 - Jim Ed Brown, country singer (The Browns), 81
Jun 11 - Jack King, NASA mission announcer/commentator, 84
Jun 11 - Ron Moody, actor (Oliver!), 91
Jun 11 - Dusty Rhodes, pro wrestler, of natural causes, 69
Jun 12 - Rick Ducommum, actor (The 'Burbs), 55
Jun 12 - Monica Lewis, singer (voice of Chiquita Banana) and actress (Earthquake), 93
Jun 15 - Blaze Starr, burlesque entertainer, 83
Jun 18 - Jack Rollins, comedy producer (Woody Allen films), 100
Jun 19 - Phil Austin, comedian (Firesign Theatre), of cardiac arrest, 74
Jun 20 - Anthony Sydes, child actor (Miracle on 34th Street), 74
Jun 21 - Tony Longo, actor (Artie on "Alice"), 53
Jun 22 - James Horner, film score composer (Titanic), 61
Jun 22 - Buddy Landel, aka "Nature Boy", pro wrestler, 53
Jun 23 - Dick Van Patten, actor (Tom Bradford on "Eight Is Enough"), 86
Jun 25 - Patrick Macnee, actor (John Steed on "The Avengers"), 93
Jun 27 - Chris Squire, rock bassist (Yes), 67
Jun 28 - Jack Carter, comedian ("The Ed Sullivan Show"), 93
Jun 30 - Leonard Starr, cartoonist (Little Orphan Annie), 89
Jul 3 - Diana Douglas, actress (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles), 92
Jul 3 - Amanda Peterson, actress (Can't Buy Me Love), 43
Jul 6 - Jerry Weintraub, film producer (Ocean's Eleven), 77
Jul 8 - Irwin Keyes, actor (Hugo Mojelewski on "The Jeffersons"), 63
Jul 8 - Kenny Stabler, NFL football player (Oakland Raiders), 69
Jul 10 - Roger Rees, stage (Nicholas Nickleby) and TV actor (Robin Colcord on "Cheers"), 71
Jul 10 - Omar Sharif, actor (Doctor Zhivago), 83
Jul 14 - "Diamond" Dave Somerville, rock and roll singer (The Diamonds), 81
Jul 15 - Aubrey Morris, actor (A Clockwork Orange), 89
Jul 17 - Nova Pilbeam, actress (The Man Who Knew Too Much), 95
Jul 18 - George Coe, actor (Kramer vs. Kramer), 86
Jul 18 - Alex Rocco, actor (The Godfather), 79
Jul 19 - Van Alexander, bandleader, 100
Jul 20 - Tom Moore, cartoonist (Archie Comics), 86
Jul 21 - Theodore Bikel, actor (The Defiant Ones), 91
Jul 21 - E. L. Doctorow, author (Ragtime), 84
Jul 22 - Natasha Parry, actress (Romeo and Juliet), 84
Jul 25 - Peg Lynch, comedy writer and actress ("Ethel and Albert"), 98
Jul 30 - Lynn Anderson, country singer ("Rose Garden"), 67
Jul 30 - "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, pro wrestler, of cardiac arrest, 61
Jul 31 - Gerald S. O'Loughlin, actor (Lt. Ryker on "The Rookies"), 93
Aug 3 - Coleen Gray, actress (The Killing), 92
Aug 6 - Mark Sheeler, actor (From Hell It Came), 92
Aug 7 - Terrence Evans, actor (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), 81
Aug 8 - Susan Sheridan, voice actress (Trillian in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"), 68
Aug 9 - Frank Gifford, NFL football player (New York Giants) and broadcaster ("Monday Night Football"), 84
Aug 11 - Randy Glasbergen, cartoonist (The Better Half), 58
Aug 12 - Stephen Lewis, actor (Cyril "Blakey" Blake in "On the Buses"), 88
Aug 15 - Danny Sembello, pop songwriter ("The Neutron Dance"), 52
Aug 17 - Yvonne Craig, actress (Batgirl in "Batman"), 78
Aug 18 - Bud Yorkin, TV director and producer ("What's Happening!"), 89
Aug 20 - Melody Patterson, actress (Wrangler Jane Thrift on "F-Troop"), 66
Aug 21 - Anna Kashfi, actress (Night of the Quarter Moon), 80
Aug 24 - Howard Lipstone, TV producer ("In Search Of ..."), 87
Aug 25 - Red Duke, trauma surgeon (President Kennedy and Governor Connally), 86
Aug 27 - Darryl Dawkins, NBA basketball player (Philadelphia 76ers), 58
Aug 30 - Brad Anderson, cartoonist (Marmaduke), 91
Aug 30 - Wes Craven, horror film director (A Nightmare on Elm Street), 76
Aug 30 - Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author (Awakenings), 82
Aug 31 - Joy Beverley, singer (The Beverley Sisters), 91
Sep 2 - Dean Jones, actor (That Darn Cat!), 84
Sep 3 - Judy Carne, actress ("Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"), 76
Sep 4 - Jean Darling, actress (Our Gang), 93
Sep 5 - Sergio Ciani, aka Alan Steel, bodybuilder and actor (Hercules Against the Moon Men), 79
Sep 5 - Dennis "Denny" Greene, nostalgia singer (Sha Na Na), 66
Sep 6 - Martin Milner, actor (Officer Pete Malloy on "Adam-12"), 83
Sep 8 - Merv Adelson, TV producer ("The Waltons"), 85
Sep 10 - John P. Connell, actor (Dr. David Malone on "Young Dr. Malone"), 91
Sep 10 - Dick "Dickie" Moore, actor (Miss Annie Rooney), 89
Sep 13 - Moses Malone, NBA basketball player (Philadelphia 76ers), 60
Sep 13 - Gary Richrath, rock guitarist (REO Speedwagon), 65
Sep 17 - Milo Hamilton, baseball announcer (Houston Astros), 88
Sep 19 - Jackie Collins, novelist (Hollywood Wives), 77
Sep 20 - Jack Larson, actor (Jimmy Olsen in "Adventures of Superman"), 87
Sep 22 - Yogi Berra, MLB player (New York Yankees), 90
Sep 27 - John Guillermin, film director (The Towering Inferno), 89
Sep 27 - Denise Lor, pop singer ("If I Give My Heart to You"), 86
Sep 28 - Catherine Coulson, actress (Log Lady on "Twin Peaks"), 71
Sep 28 - Frankie Ford, rock and roll singer ("Sea Cruise"), 76
Sep 29 - Pat Woodell, actress (Bobbie Jo Bradley #1 on "Petticoat Junction"), 71
Oct 3 - Barbara Meek, actress (Ellen Caby on "Archie Bunker's Place"), 81
Oct 5 - Frank Albanese, actor (Uncle Pat Blundetto on "The Sopranos"), 84
Oct 5 - Andrew Rubin, actor (Police Academy), 69
Oct 6 - Kevin Corcoran, actor (Old Yeller), 66
Oct 6 - Billy Joe Royal, pop and country singer ("Down in the Boondocks"), 73
Oct 7 - Gene Allen, Hollywood art director (My Fair Lady), 97
Oct 8 - Paul Prudhomme, chef, 75
Oct 8 - Hugh Scully, TV host ("Antiques Roadshow"), 72
Oct 10 - Alan Weeks, actor (The French Connection), 67
Oct 12 - Joan Leslie, actress (Yankee Doodle Dandy), 90
Oct 13 - Bruce Hyde, actor (Lt. Kevin Riley on "Star Trek"), 74
Oct 20 - Cory Wells, pop singer (Three Dog Night), 74
Oct 21 - Peter Baldwin, actor (Wilton on "Coronation Street"), 82
Oct 21 - Marty Ingels, actor ("I'm Dickens. He's Fenster"), 79
Oct 23 - Murphy Anderson, comic book artist ("Superman"), 89
Oct 24 - Maureen O'Hara, actress (How Green Was My Valley), 95
Oct 27 - Betsy Drake, actress (Every Girl Should Be Married), 92
Oct 27 - Ralph Richeson, actor (Richardson on "Deadwood"), 63
Oct 29 - Al Molinaro, actor (Big Al on "Happy Days"), 96
Oct 31 - Charles Herbert, actor (The Fly), 66
Nov 1 - Molly McGreevy, actress (Polly Longworth on "Ryan's Hope"), 79
Nov 1 - Fred Thompson, U.S. Senator (R-TN) and actor (Arthur Branch on "Law & Order"), 73
Nov 2 - Colin Welland, actor and screenwriter (Chariots of Fire), 81
Nov 4 - Melissa Mathison, screenwriter (E.T.), 65
Nov 5 - George Barris, automobile customizer (The Batmobile on "Batman"), 89
Nov 7 - Gunnar Hansen, actor (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), 68
Nov 9 - Carol Doda, stripper (San Francisco's Condor Club), 78
Nov 9 - Andy White, rock and roll drummer (The Beatles' "Love Me Do"), 85
Nov 10 - Gene Amdahl, computer designer (IBM mainframes), 92
Nov 10 - Helmut Schmidt, West German chancellor (Social Democrat, 1974-82), 96
Nov 11 - Nathaniel Marston, actor (Al Holden on "One Life to Live"), 40
Nov 11 - Phil Taylor, aka Philthy Animal, heavy metal drummer (Motorhead), 61
Nov 15 - Nicoletta Machiavelli, actress (Navajo Joe), 71
Nov 15 - Vincent Margera aka Don Vito, actor (Jackass), 59
Nov 15 - P. F. Sloan, pop songwriter ("Secret Agent Man"), 70
Nov 16 - David Canary, actor (Candy Canaday on "Bonanza"), 77
Nov 19 - Rex Reason, actor (This Island Earth), 86
Nov 20 - Jim Perry, game show host ("Card Sharks"), 82
Nov 21 - John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia, actor (Albie Cianfione on "The Sopranos"), 75
Nov 22 - Arthur Brooks, R&B singer (The Impressions), 82
Nov 23 - Cynthia Robinson, trumpeter (Sly and the Family Stone), 69
Nov 24 - Al Markim, actor (Astro on "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet"), 88
Nov 25 - Elmo Williams, film editor (High Noon), 102
Nov 26 - Ronnie Bright, R&B singer (The Coasters), 77
Nov 26 - Guy V. Lewis, college basketball coach (University of Houston), 93
Nov 28 - Marjorie Lord, actress (Kathy Williams on "Make Room for Daddy"), 97
Dec 1 - Shirley Gunter, singer (The Queens), 82
Dec 3 - Scott Weiland, rock singer (Stone Temple Pilots), 48
Dec 3 - Melvin Williams, (drug trafficker and actor (The Deacon on "The Wire")), 73
Dec 4 - Chris Carney, rock singer (The Prom Kings), 35
Dec 4 - Robert Loggia, actor (Scarface), 85
Dec 5 - Chuck Williams, retailer (Williams-Sonoma), 100
Dec 6 - Marque Lynche, actor and singer ("All New Mickey Mouse Club"), 34
Dec 6 - Nicholas Smith, actor (Mr. Rumbold on "Are You Being Served"), 81
Dec 6 - Holly Woodlawn, r.n. Harold Danhakl, drag queen, 69
Dec 7 - Martin E. Brooks, actor (Rudy Wells on "The Six Million Dollar Man"), 90
Dec 11 - John "Hot Rod" Williams, NBA basketball player (Cleveland Cavaliers), 53
Dec 12 - Rose Siggins, actress (Legless Suzi on "American Horror Story: Freak Show"), 43
Dec 14 - Lillian Vernon, mail-order retailer, 88
Dec 16 - Snuff Garrett, record producer (Bobby Vee), 77
Dec 19 - Douglas Dick, actor (Carl Herrick in "Waterfront"), 95
Dec 19 - Kurt Masur, orchestra conductor (New York Philharmonic), 88
Dec 20 - Patricia Elliott, stage actress (A Little Night Music), 77
Dec 20 - Angela McEwan, actress (Nebraska), 81
Dec 22 - Brooke McCarter, actor (The Lost Boys), 52
Dec 24 - William Guest, R&B singer (The Pips), 74
Dec 25 - George Clayton Johnson, science-fiction author (Logan's Run), 86
Dec 25 - Jason Wingreen, actor (Harry Snowden on "Archie Bunker's Place"), 95
Dec 27 - Ellsworth Kelly, artist, 92
Dec 27 - Meadowlark Lemon, basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters), 83
Dec 27 - Haskell Wexler, cinematographer (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), 93
Dec 28 - Lemmy Kilmister, heavy metal musician (Motorhead), 70
Dec 28 - Sean Whitesell, actor ("Oz") and producer ("Cold Case"), 52
Dec 31 - Natalie Cole, pop/R&B singer ("Pink Cadillac"), 65
Dec 31 - Wayne Rogers, actor (Cpt. "Trapper" John McIntyre on "M*A*S*H"), 82