JanuaryBob Anderson (swordmaster) -- Dead. Died January 1, 2012. Born September 15, 1922. Choreographed sword fights and trained actors for The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars movies as well as the Highlander series.
Jenny Tomasin (actress) -- Dead. Hypertensive heart disease. Died January 3, 2012. Born November 30, 1936. Ruby on Upstairs/Downstairs, also appeared on Dr. Who and Emmerdale.
Eve Arnold (phtographer) -- Dead. Died January 4, 2012. Born April 21, 1912. Photographer known for shooting the famous (Marilyn Monroe, Marlena Dietrich) and the unknown (starving children).
Roger Boisjoly (engineer/ethics lecturer) -- Dead. Cancer Died January 6, 2012. Born April 25, 1938. A Morton Thiokol engineer who argued against launching the Challenger in January 1986 as he believed the O-rings would fail due to the cold. He was overruled. Despite the fact he was right, NASA made it hard for him to work in the industry after he resigned from Morton Thiokol (now ATK Space Systems). Received the AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award in 1988.
Jerome Rubin (futurist/lawyer) -- Dead. Stroke Died January 9, 2012. Born March 9, 1925. A lawyer who helped develop an early commercial database (Lexis/Nexis) and predicted eBooks.
Mary Raftery (journalist) -- Dead. Died January 10, 2012. Born 1957. Irish journalist who produced documentaries on child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church (States of Fear)
Richard Threlkeld (journalist) -- Dead. Car accident. Died January 13, 2012. Born November 30, 1937. Journalist who alternated between working at CBS and ABC, one of the last journalists out of Saigon in 1975.
Etta James (singer) -- Dead.. Leukemia. Died January 20, 2012. Born January 25, 1938. Jazz singer, best known for the classic "At Last."
Dick Tufeld (voice) -- Dead. Died January 22, 2012. Born December 11, 1926. Famous line: "Danger, danger Will Robinson!" Lost in Space, heard on other Irwin Allen shows, died 3 years after the robot driver Bob May.
Bingham Ray (movie company manager) -- Dead. Stroke Died January 23, 2012. Born circa 1954. Suffered a stroke while attending the Sundance Film Festival, co-founder of October Films, president of United Artists.
James Farentino (actor) -- Dead. Heart failure. Died January 24, 2012. Born February 24, 1938. On many TV series since the '60s, including Dynasty and a stint as Doug Ross's father on ER, divorced from Michele Lee.
Robert Hegyes (actor) -- Dead. Heart attack. Died January 26, 2012. Born May 7, 1951. Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter, Cagney and Lacey, died about 7 months before fellow Kotter alum Ron Palillo.
John Rich (TV director) -- Dead. Died January 29, 2012. Born July 6, 1925. Directed many episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show and All in the Family (including the famous Sammy Davis, Jr. episode)
Damien Bona (writer) -- Dead. Heart attack. Died January 29, 2012. Born March 18, 1955. Co-wrote Inside Oscar.
FebruaryDon Cornelius (producer/host) -- Dead.Suicide-gunshot. Died February 1, 2012. Born September 27, 1936. The man who brought you Soul Train.
Nello Ferrara (candy company director/lawyer) -- Dead. Died February 3, 2012. Born circa 1918. Studied law but went to work at his father's company (Ferrara Pan Candy) and invented Lemonhead and Atomic FireBall candies.
Ben Gazzara (actor) -- Dead. Pancreatic cancer. Died February 3, 2012. Born August 28, 1930. Run for Your Life and more movies than you'd imagine.
Peter Breck (actor) -- Dead. Dementia Died February 6, 2012. Born March 13, 1929. The TV series Maverick and The Big Valley, loads of '60s and '70s TV guest spots.
Patricia Stephens Due (civil rights leader) -- Dead. Thyroid cancer. Died February 7, 2012. Born December 9, 1939. An organizer for civil rights in the South in the '60s, she later wrote an award-winning book (Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights) on her experiences with her daughter Tananarive Due.
Jill Kinmont Boothe (educator/skiier) -- Dead. Died February 9, 2012. Born February 16 1936. Skiier on a track for the Olympics before she became paralyzed in an accident; inspired two movies (The Other Side of the Mountain) based on her accident and rehabilitation.
Jeffrey Zaslow (writer) --Dead. Car accident. Died February 10, 2012. Born October 6, 1958. Advice columnist (All That Jazz) and journalist (Wall Street Journal) who became the co-writer of a number of memoirish-books, including Randy Pauch's The Last Lecture and Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly's Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope. Killed while on a book tour for The Magic Room.
Whitney Houston (singer/actress) -- Dead. Rumor. Drowning/effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use. Died February 11, 2012. Born August 9, 1963. Very talented singer in the '80s and '90s. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody Who Loves Me." Too young to be listed here, she was included here for 10 years due to persistant rumors about her health, died at 48.
David Kelly (actor) -- Dead. Died February 12, 2012. Born July 11, 1929. The faux-Ned in Waking Ned Devine; not to be confused with the American TV producer.
Gregg Jevin (legend) -- Dead. Debatable - either drowned or sat on his pen. Died February 23, 2012. Born circa 1960. An actor of mythic proportions, he was a Zelig-like performer who popped in and out of plays, TV shows and movies on whim.
Jan Berenstain (cartoonist/writer) -- Dead. Stroke. Died February 24, 2012. Born July 26, 1923. With her husband Stan, she wrote and illustrated over 200 Berenstain Bears books.
Davy Jones (singer/actor) -- Dead. Heart attack. Died February 29, 2012. Born December 30, 1945. Former Monkee, raised horses.
MarchRalph McQuarrie (artist) -- Dead. Parkinson's disease. Died March 3, 2012. Born June 13, 1929. Propobably best-known for his conceptual art for Star Wars.
Joan Taylor (actress/businesswoman) -- Dead. Died March 4, 2012. Born August 18, 1929. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth, wrote the script for Fools Rush In and managed the syndication of Hawaii 5-0 for many years.
Robert B. Sherman (songwriter) -- Dead. Died March 5, 2012. Born December 19, 1925. With his brother Richard, he wrote iconic music for Disney ("It's a Small World After All" and the score for Mary Poppins), one of the liberators of Dachau.
Adrienne Rich (poet/essayist) -- Dead. Complications of rheumatoid arthritis Died March 27, 2012. Born May 16, 1929. Won the National Book Award for Diving into the Wreck.
Warren Stevens (actor) -- Dead. Lung disease. Died March 27, 2012. Born November 2, 1919. Extremely busy TV actor during the '50s, '60s and '70s, he starred in Forbidden Planet as the ship's doctor.
Earl Scruggs (country musician) -- Dead. Died March 28, 2012. Born January 6, 1924. Flatt and Scruggs.
AprilThomas Kinkade (painter/businessman) -- Dead. Overdose of alcohol and Valium. Died April 6, 2012. Born January 19, 1958. Turned "painted lights" in landscapes into a multi-million dollar business.
Mike Wallace (newscaster) -- Dead. Died April 7, 2012. Born May 9, 1918. 60 Minutes, portrayed by Christopher Plummer in The Insider, worked until he was nearly 89.
Jonathan Frid (actor) -- Dead. Died (Friday) April 13, 2012. Born December 2, 1924. Most famous as Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows, died just before the Depp DS remake came out (in which Frid had a cameo), played Jonathan Brewster in an '80s Broadway revival of Arsenic and Old Lace.
Dick Clark (host/producer/for a long time "the world's oldest teenager") -- Dead. Heart attack. Died April 18, 2012. Born November 30, 1929. Host of American Bandstand, The $10,000 Pyramid, and New Year's Rockin' Eve, continued working after suffering a severe stroke in 2004.
Levon Helm (drummer/actor) -- Dead. Throat cancer. Died April 19, 2012. Born May 26, 1940. Played with The Band ("The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down") and played Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter
Joel Goldsmith (composer) -- Dead. Died April 29, 2012. Born November 19, 1957. Wrote most of the music for the various Stargate TV series.
MayGeorge Lindsey (actor) -- Dead. Died May 6, 2012. Born December 17, 1928. Longtime Hee-Haw regular, Goober Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show, fundraiser for the Alabama Special Olympics.
Maurice Sendak (writer) -- Dead. Stroke. Died May 8, 2012. Born June 10, 1928. Great kids' book writer, Where the Wild Things Are.
Vidal Sassoon (hairstylist/businessman) -- Dead. Died May 9, 2012. Born January 17, 1928. The first celebrity hairstylist to globally market products, he gave Mia Farrow her memorable haircut for Rosemary's Baby.
Donna Summer (singer) -- Dead. Breast/lung cancer. Died May 17, 2012. Born December 31, 1948. The Disco Queen, her hits included "Love to Love Ya Baby (a short version and a 17 minute version)," "On the Radio" and "She Worked Hard for the Money."
Robin Gibb (singer/songwriter) -- Dead. Cancer. Died May 20, 2012. Born December 22, 1949. Part of the Bee Gees (the thin one), Saturday Night Fever.
Leo Dillon (artist) -- Dead. Died May 26, 2012. Born March 2, 1933. Illustrated the Dangerous Visions collections and many children's books with his wife Diane.
Dick Beals (voice) -- Dead. Died May 29, 2012. March 16, 1927. The original voice for Speedy Alka-Seltzer, Gumby and Davey (Davey & Goliath).
Doc Watson (guitarist) -- Dead. Complications following colon surgery. Died May 29, 2012. Born March 3, 1923. Legendary flat-picking guitarist who won many Grammys for best folk recording.
JuneRichard Dawson (actor/gameshow host) -- Dead. Rumor. Esophageal cancer. Died June 2, 2012. Born November 20, 1932. Survey says dead. Leering Family Feud host, a Laugh-in and Hogan's Heroes regular.
Kathryn Joosten (actress/psychiatric nurse) -- Dead. Lung cancer. Died June 2, 2012. Born December 20, 1939. The West Wing, died not long after filming her character's death scene for the finale of Desperate Housewies.
Ray Bradbury (author/futurist) -- Dead. Died June 5, 2012. Born August 22, 1920. The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, wrote the script for movies such as Moby Dick.
Frank Cady (actor) -- Dead. Rumor. Died June 8, 2012. Born September 8, 1915. Mr. Drucker on Green Acres.
Ann Rutherford (actress) -- Dead. Heart disease. Died June 11, 2012. Born November 2, 1917. Carreen in Gone with the Wind, appeared in some Andy Hardy movies.
Rodney King (man who begged us all to just get along) -- Dead. Drowning. Died June 17, 2012. Born April 2, 1965. Man beaten by cops, cops found not guilty of police brutality, verdict sparked LA riots and Rodney asked people to "just get along."
LeRoy Neiman (artist) -- Dead. Died June 20, 2012. Born June 8, 1921. Painted for Playboy, many Olympics Games and illustrated many pop culture events of the '60s and '70s.
Nora Ephron (director/writer) -- Dead. Cancer. Died June 26, 2012. Born May 19, 1941. Wrote Heartburn, a thinly-veiled account of her marriage to Carl Bernstein, went on to direct movies like Sleepless in Seattle.
Doris Singleton (actress) -- Dead. Died June 26, 2012. Born September 28, 1919. Frequent co-star of Lucille Ball in series including I Love Lucy.
Don Grady (composer/actor) -- Dead. Cancer. Died June 27, 2012. Born June 8, 1944. Robbie on My Three Sons, a Mouseketeer, older brother of Eight is Enough's Lani O'Grady, composed music for the Discovery Channel and for The Phil Donahue Show.
Richard Isay (psychiatrist/writer) -- Dead. Cancer. Died June 28, 2012. Born December 13, 1934. Psychiatrist who fought institutionalized homophobia among psychoanlysts, wrote books including Becoming Gay.
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