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.
One thing I found was "The Eye Of Hugo." Hugo, Man Of A Thousand Faces was manufactured by Kenner in the mid 70's. My parents aquired one for me for Christmas back then (even though I had never asked for him). The story behind why I got it is - my folks were going back to their car after doing some Christmas shopping, they saw another car pulling out and Hugo fell off the top. They picked him up and gave him to me at Christmas. I guess, technically, my parents are thieves. :) 
I grew very fond of Hugo, even though he was kind of creepy. He had several 'disguises' you could glue on his face, such as eyes, nose, scars, moustache, etc. I don't know what happened to Hugo. All I have left is his eye.
