Advertisement

Requiem: 2007 passings of note

Share

Among the major notables who passed from the scene this year, three of the most famous -- two masters of cinema and a genius of football -- died on the same day: July 30.

Two others -- a historic Russian leader and a U.S. chronicler of war -- left us on April 23.

A giant of American letters and a groundbreaking black politician both died Nov. 10.

The world of opera heard the last from the king of high Cs (Sept. 6) and a diva with a dazzling voice and personality (July 2).

Advertisement

We said goodbye to a former first lady (July 11) but no former presidents.

The NFL lost two young players (Jan. 1 and Nov. 27) in their prime.

A wondrous cellist played his last note (April 27), as did a legendary jazz drummer (Aug. 16), a masterful jazz pianist (Dec. 23) and a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer (Dec. 12).

A fixture of tabloid news died young (Feb. 8), and print journalists eulogized two of their wittiest colleagues (Jan. 17 and Jan. 31).

California lost a once-leading politician (Feb. 5) and, across the border, the Roy Rogers of Mexico sang his last rodeo song (June 19).

Two businessmen who left their mark on Los Angeles also died (March 23 and June 24).

And a leading figure in Pakistan was claimed at year’s end (Dec. 27).

Here is a roll call of some newsworthy figures who died in 2007.

January

Jan. 1. Darrent Williams, 24. Denver Broncos cornerback.

Tillie Olsen, 94. Author whose struggles with poverty, motherhood and writing endowed her slim but influential books.

Jan. 2. Teddy Kollek, 95. Six-term mayor of Jerusalem, tried to balance needs of Jewish and Arab populations.

Advertisement

Jan. 3. C. William Verity Jr., 89. As secretary of Commerce, he pushed to recognize quality.

Jan. 4 Vincent Sardi Jr., 91. Consummate host of Sardi’s, famed Broadway watering hole.

Jan. 5. Momofuku Ando, 96. Japanese businessman who invented instant noodles.

Jan. 6. Mario Danelo, 21, kicker on USC football team.

Jan. 7 Bobby Hamilton, 49. NASCAR driver who won the 2001 Talladega 500.

Jan. 8. Yvonne De Carlo, 84. The vampire mom on “The Munsters.”

Jane Bolin, 98, the first black female judge in the United States.

Jan. 9. Carlo Ponti, 94. Italian producer who discovered -- and married -- Sophia Loren.

Jan. 11. Robert Anton Wilson, 74. Co-author of science fiction cult classic “The Illuminatus! Trilogy.”

Jan. 12. Larry Stewart, 58. Anonymous philanthropist known as Secret Santa.

Alice Coltrane, 69. Widow of John Coltrane and a jazz artist and composer of New Age music.

Jan. 13. Michael Brecker, 57. Versatile tenor saxophonist won 11 Grammys.

Jan. 16. Benny Parsons, 65. Former NASCAR champion, popular racing broadcaster.

Jan. 17. Art Buchwald, 81. Pulitzer-winning humorist who skewered Washington’s elite.

Jan. 19. Denny Doherty, 66. Member of ‘60s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas (“California Dreamin’ ”).

Jan. 20. George A. Smathers, 93. Three-term Florida senator, friend to presidents.

Jan. 21. Julio Ochoa Ruelas, 62. A co-founder and first president of Dukes So. Cal, the oldest lowrider car club in the world.

Jan. 22. Abbe Pierre, 94. Beloved French priest praised for devotion to the needy.

Jan. 23. E. Howard Hunt, 88. He helped organize the Watergate break-in.

Ryszard Kapuscinski, 74. Acclaimed Polish journalist covered Third World.

Jan. 25. Eleanor McGovern, 85. George McGovern’s wife, outspoken campaigner in his 1972 presidential run.

Roberta Semple Salter, 96. Daughter and one-time heir of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. Jan. 27. C.K. Yang, 74. Decathlete won first Olympic medal for his native Taiwan.

Bob Carroll Jr., 88. Co-wrote scripts for “I Love Lucy.”

Tige Andrews. 86. Character actor played Capt. Greer on TV’s “The Mod Squad.”

Jan. 28. The Rev. Robert Drinan, 86. Priest who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives during the ‘70s

Advertisement

Jan. 30. Gordon S. Macklin, 79. a founder and longtime president of Nasdaq stock market.

Sidney Sheldon, 89. Stage and screen writer turned best-selling novelist (“The Other Side of Midnight.”). Jan. 31. Molly Ivins, 62. Best-selling author, columnist, a sharp-witted liberal who referred to President George W. Bush as “Shrub.”

February

Feb 1. Gian Carlo Menotti, 95. Pulitzer-winning composer (“The Consul,” “Amahl and the Night Visitors”) founded Spoleto arts festivals.

Feb. 4. Barbara McNair, 72. Pioneering black singer-actress had her own TV variety show.

Feb. 5. Leo McCarthy, 76. Democrat served as California attorney general, Assembly speaker.

Feb. 6. Frankie Laine, 93. Big-voiced singer, one of the most popular entertainers of the ‘50s (“That Lucky Old Sun”).

Lew Burdette, 80. MVP of the 1957 World Series when he pitched for the Milwaukee Braves.

Nelson Polsby, 72, UC Berkeley political science teacher and an expert on Congress.

Feb. 7. Alan G. MacDiarmid, 79, shared chemistry Nobel Prize in 2000.

Feb. 8. Anna Nicole Smith, 39. Model, sometime actress and tabloid favorite.

Feb. 9. Ian Richardson, 72. Actor made evil an art form in TV miniseries.

Hank Bauer, 84. Won World Series as a Yankees player, Orioles manager.

Feb. 12. Peter Ellenshaw, 93. Oscar-winning special effects artist for Disney.

Peggy Gilbert, 102. Pioneering jazz player led several all-female bands.

Feb. 15. Ray Evans, 92. Half of award-winning, prolific songwriting team with Jay Livingston.

Robert Adler, 93. Co-inventor of the TV remote, the 1956 Zenith Space Command.

Feb. 17. Maurice Papon, 96. Former French Cabinet minister convicted of complicity in World War II crimes.

Feb. 22. David Berger, 94. Class-action lawsuit pioneer who won major cases in the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.

Advertisement

Dennis Johnson, 52. Former NBA star who played on three championship teams.

Feb. 23. Donnie Brooks. 71. Had Top 10 pop hit with the love song “Mission Bell.”

Feb. 24. Lamar Lundy, 71. Part of feared L.A. Rams defensive line in the ‘60s.

Herman Brix, 100. Olympic silver medalist in shot put who forged a film career under the name Bruce Bennett.

Feb. 28. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., 89. Pulitzer-winning historian, Kennedy administration “court philosopher.”

March

March 2. Joseph Metcalf III, 79. Navy vice admiral who led the U.S. invasion of Grenada.

March 3. Marjabelle Young Stewart, 82. Etiquette authority co-wrote “White Gloves and Party Manners.”

March 4. Thomas Eagleton, 77. Former senator who resigned as George McGovern’s running mate in 1972 after it was revealed he had been hospitalized for depression.

March 6. Ernest Gallo, 97. With his brother Julio built the world’s largest winemaking empire.

March 10. Ernie Ladd, 68, football star with the San Diego Chargers who found lucrative work in pro wrestling.

Advertisement

March 11. Betty Hutton, 86. Singer-actress who brought brassy vitality to Hollywood musicals (“Annie Get Your Gun”).

March 12. Vilma Ebsen, 96. A dancer who teamed with her brother Buddy on Broadway.

March 14. Stan Duke, 70. Southland sportscaster’s crime of passion cut short his broadcasting career.

March 15. Bowie Kuhn, 80. Baseball commissioner during development of free agency, multimillion-dollar contracts.

March 16. Milton Wexler, 98, a visionary who led efforts to demystify Huntington’s disease.

March 17. John Backus, 82. Developer of Fortran programming language that changed how people interacted with computers.

March 19. Luther Ingram, 69. R&B singer and songwriter best known for the hit “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want to Be Right).”

March 20. G.E. Patterson, 67. Presiding bishop of 6-million-member Church of God in Christ.

March 22. Jacques Courtin-Clarins, 85, founder of the Clarins line of cosmetics.

March 23. Robert E. Petersen, 80. Publisher whose Hot Rod, Motor Trend magazines helped shape car culture.

Advertisement

Walter Turnbull, 62. Founded acclaimed Boys Choir of Harlem.

March 25. Robert Austrian, 90, pioneer in devising pneumonia vaccine.

March 31. Tom Moore, 88, ABC executive gave sports a high profile.

April

April 1. Louis Flores Ruiz, 88. His firm was the largest manufacturer of frozen Mexican food in the U.S.

Herb Carneal, 83. Broadcast Minnesota Twins games for 45 seasons.

April 2. William Becker, 85. Co-founded the Motel 6 chain.

April 3. Eddie Robinson, 88. Longtime Grambling coach transformed the small college into a football power.

Nina Wang, 69. Hong Kong businesswoman, one of the world’s richest women.

April 4. Bob Clark, 67. Director of “A Christmas Story.”

April 5. Darryl Stingley, 55. New England Patriots player paralyzed during on-field collision in 1978.

April 6. Raymond G. Murphy, 77, awarded Medal of Honor for heroism during Korean War.

Jimmy Lee Smith, 76. “Onion Field” killer whose crime was documented in Joseph Wambaugh’s best-selling book. April 7. Johnny Hart, 76. Cartoonist whose “B.C.” showed the Stone Age’s humorous side.

Otto Natzler, 99. Master glazer of daring ceramic objects.

April 8. Sol LeWitt, 78. Influential abstract painter, sculptor.

April 11. Kurt Vonnegut, 84. Novelist who captured the absurdity of the world in darkly humorous works such as “Slaughterhouse-Five.”

Roscoe Lee Browne, 81, award-winning actor with a mellifluous baritone voice.

April 13. Marie Clay, 81. New Zealand psychologist developed a plan for helping struggling readers.

Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel, 88. California poet wrote of Dust Bowl migration.

April 14. Don Ho, 76. Hawaiian crooner (“Tiny Bubbles”) entertained generations of tourists.

Frank Westheimer, 95. Eminent chemist, former science adviser to President Johnson.

April 15. Brant Parker, 86, cartoonist co-created “The Wizard of Id.”

April 17. Kitty Carlisle Hart, 96. Singer-actress; career spanned Broadway, opera, television and film (“A Night at the Opera”).

Advertisement

James B. Davis, 90. Founder of Gospel’s Dixie Hummingbirds.

April 19. Bohdan Paczynski, 67. Astrophysicist was key figure in search for dark matter and new planets.

April 20. Andrew Hill, 75. Innovative jazz pianist and composer.

April 21. Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, 68. Seven-term California congresswoman advocated electoral reform.

April 23. Boris Yeltsin, 76. Former Russian president who helped bring demise of Soviet Union.

David Halberstam, 73. Journalist whose books included towering study of Vietnam and Korean wars, poignant portraits of aging baseball stars.

Michael Smuin, 68. Tony Award-winning choreographer also worked in ballet and film.

April 24. Warren Avis, 92. Founded Avis Rent A Car.

Right Rev. Robert Wolterstorff, 92. First Episcopal bishop of San Diego.

April 25. Bobby “Boris” Pickett. Co-wrote and performed novelty hit “Monster Mash.”

April 26. Jack Valenti, 85. Film industry lobbyist, instituted modern movie ratings system.

Henry LeTang, 91. Tony-Award winning choreographer and tap dance teacher.

April 27. Mstislav Rostropovich, 80. Ebullient master cellist who fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents.

April 28. Tommy Newsom, 78. “Tonight Show” musician was Johnny Carson’s foil.

James Cleary, 80. Former Cal State Northridge president guided school through massive change.

April 30. Gordon Scott, 80. Bodybuilder and actor played Tarzan in six films.

Tom Poston, 85. The tall, pasty-faced TV comic whose characters were clueless. (“Newhart.”)

Advertisement

May

May 3. Walter M. Schirra Jr., 84. An original Mercury Seven astronaut who combined the Right Stuff with a pronounced rebellious streak.

May 5. Theodore Maiman, 79. Harnessed light to build world’s first working laser.

May 7. Yahweh Ben Yahweh, 71. Former cult leader in Miami linked to nearly two dozen gruesome killings in the 1980s.

Isabella Blow, 48. Flamboyant British fashion editor championed rising design talents.

May 11. Bernard Gordon, 88. Blacklisted screenwriter led 1999 protest against honorary Academy Award for Elia Kazan.

Malietoa Tanumafili II, 94. King of Samoa for more than four decades.

May 13. Kate Webb. 64. Pioneering UPI foreign correspondent was captured in Vietnam War.

May 15. The Rev. Jerry Falwell, 73. Evangelist who used the power of television to transform the religious right into a mighty political force.

Yolanda King, 51. Actress and activist, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. .

May 17. Joseph Zuska, 93. Long Beach Navy doctor was a pioneer in treating alcoholism.

May 18. Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, 74. Nobel laureate in physics for work on liquid crystals.

May 20. Stanley Miller, 77. UC San Diego chemist was pioneer in studying origins of life.

May 22. Fannie Lee Chaney, 84. Mother of one of three civil rights workers killed in 1964 “Mississippi Burning” case.

Advertisement

May 25. Charles Nelson Reilly, 76. Tony Award winner known for ribald TV game show appearances.

May 26. Homer J. Stewart, 91. Rocket pioneer helped develop first successful U.S. satellite, Explorer I.

May 27. Ed Yost, 87. Pioneer of hot-air ballooning.

May 28. Barbara Cox Anthony, 84. Heiress to Cox media fortune; one of world’s richest women.

May 29. Wallace Seawell, 90. A top portrait and glamour photographer during Hollywood’s “Golden Era.”

May 30. Preston Martin, 83. Top Federal Reserve official; helped create Freddie Mac.

Mark Harris, 84. Novelist wrote “Bang the Drum Slowly.”

June

June 2. Charles William Maynes, 68. Longtime editor of Foreign Policy magazine.

Martin Mayerson, 84. City planner led UC Berkeley briefly during the ‘60s.

June 3. Wiley Mayne, 90. Four-term Iowa congressman, one of 10 Republicans who voted not to impeach President Nixon.

June 4. Bill France Jr., 74. Transformed NASCAR from a small Southern sport into a billion-dollar conglomerate.

Sen. Craig Thomas, 74. Three-term Senate Republican, reliably represented conservative Wyoming.

Advertisement

June 5. Edwin Traisman, 91. Food scientist helped develop Cheez Whiz.

June 8. Robert R. Wark. 82. Former director of art collections at the Huntington Library.

Richard Rorty, 75. Stanford University professor and philosopher who resuscitated American pragmatism.

June 9. Sembene Ousmane, 84. Father of Senegalese cinema, one of the pioneers of the art in Africa.

June 11. Ray Mears, 80. Winningest men’s coach in Tennessee basketball history.

June 12. Don Herbert, 89. Television’s “Mr. Wizard.”

Baron Guy de Rothschild, 98. Managed his family’s French banking empire.

Colin Fletcher, 85. Hiking icon’s books inspired generations to set out into the wilderness.

June 14. Kurt Waldheim, 88. U.N. secretary-general, Austrian president, was revealed to have been in German army unit that committed atrocities in World War II.

Ruth Graham, 87. The Rev. Billy Graham’s closest confidant, providing a solid foundation for her husband’s evangelism career.

June 16. Thommie Walsh, 57. “A Chorus Line” dancer won two Tony Awards for choreography.

June 17. Gianfranco Ferre, 62. Italian designer known as “architect of fashion.”

June 19. Antonio Aguilar, 88. Mexican singer and actor had huge following in California.

June 21. Mary Ellen Solt, 86. A leader in the concrete poetry movement.

June 22. Guy Vander Jagt, 75. 13-term Michigan congressman; led House GOP election strategy.

June 23. Rod Beck, 38. Outstanding relief pitcher had 286 career saves.

June 24. Albert J. Langer, 94. Founded acclaimed delicatessen near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.

Charles W. Lindberg, 86. Helped raise first American flag over Iwo Jima.

Madale Watson, 95. California Democratic Party leader and influential operative.

June 25. Chris Benoit, 40. A WWE wrestler who was found dead in his home with his wife and 7-year-old son in an apparent murder-suicide.

Advertisement

June 26. Liz Claiborne, 78. Her fashion designs became a cornerstone of career women’s wardrobes.

June 28. Eugene B. Fluckey, 93. Renowned World War II submarine commander awarded Medal of Honor.

June 29. Joel Siegel, 63. “Good Morning America” movie critic.

July

July 2. Beverly Sills, 78. Opera diva with a dazzling voice, bubbly personality.

July 3. Boots Randolph, 80. His spirited saxophone made “Yakety Sax” a hit.

July 6. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, 68. Pioneer of the modern historical romance novel (“The Flame and the Flower”).

Richard H. Goodwin, 96. Pioneering land preservationist and early president of the Nature Conservancy.

July 7. John Szarkowski, 81. Longtime director of photography at Museum of Modern Art helped establish photography as an art form.

July 9. Charles Lane, 102. Longtime character actor perfected role of meanie.

Ralph S. Paffenbarger Jr., 84. An epidemiologist whose landmark study confirmed exercise boosts longevity.

July 10. Doug Marlette, 57. Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist, creator of comic strip “Kudzu.”

July 11. Lady Bird Johnson, 94. Former first lady who championed conservation, worked tenaciously for the political career of her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson.

Advertisement

July 12. Shirley Slesinger Lasswell, 84. Brand-marketing pioneer fought Disney over Winnie the Pooh royalties.

July 15. George W. Comstock, 92. Epidemiologist helped develop strategies to prevent tuberculosis.

July 18. Jerry Hadley, 55. Once considered one of America’s most versatile and important opera singers.

Sherman Torgan, 63. Developed New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles into venue for screen classics.

July 20. Tammy Faye Messner, 65. Helped then-husband Jim Bakker build a TV evangelism empire that later collapsed in disgrace.

Kai Siegbahn, 89. Shared 1981 Nobel Prize in physics, invented electron spectroscopy process.

July 22. Laszlo Kovacs, 74. Influential cinematographer (“Easy Rider,” “Five Easy Pieces”).

Norma Gabler, 84. Influential Texas crusader against what she saw as anti-American errors in textbooks.

Advertisement

July 23. Mohammad Zahir Shah, 92. Afghanistan’s last king, who oversaw four decades of peace before a 1973 coup.

July 24. Albert Ellis, 93. Influential psychologist, founded a renowned therapy institute.

July 26. Carole Meyers, 50. First female rabbi to lead a congregation in the Los Angeles area.

July 27. Alan Pottasch, 79. PepsiCo. executive whose ‘60s ads dubbed baby boomers “the Pepsi Generation.”

July 28. Melvin B. Lane, 85. Conservationist helped protect California’s coast as first chairman of the Coastal Commission.

July 29. Tom Snyder, 71. Late-night TV talk show host with a robust laugh, trademark cloud of cigarette smoke.

Jack Cole, 87. Marketing expert created reverse telephone directories. ,

July 30. Ingmar Bergman, 87. Swedish filmmaker, one of the greatest in cinema history (“The Seventh Seal,” “Cries and Whispers.”)

Bill Walsh, 75. San Francisco 49ers coach won three Super Bowls. Michelangelo Antonioni, 94. Italian filmmaker whose depiction of modern-day malaise made him a symbol of art-house cinema (“Blow-Up,” “L’Avventura.”)

Advertisement

William J. Tuttle, 95. Pioneering film makeup artist whose groundbreaking work included “7 Faces of Dr. Lao.”

August

Aug. 4. Lee Hazlewood, 78. Singer, songwriter wrote “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.”

Raul Hilberg, 81. Scholar was an authority on the Holocaust.

Aug. 6. Atle Selberg, 90. Renowned mathematician, worked on the properties of prime numbers.

Aug. 7. Hal Fishman, 75. Longtime KTLA anchorman fought TV fluff.

Russell Johnson, 83. Innovative acoustician for classical music venues, including Segerstrom Hall in Orange County.

Aug. 8. Melville Shavelson, 90. Acclaimed writer, director and producer.

Aug. 10. Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, 90. A black woman whose refusal to give up her bus seat led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in the ‘40s.

Aug. 12. Merv Griffin, 82. Singer turned TV host turned impresario who parlayed game shows into a multimillion-dollar empire.

Ralph Alpher, 86. Physicist did key work on underpinnings of the big-bang theory.

Aug. 13. Brooke Astor, 105. Philanthropist who gave millions to New York City institutions, large and small.

Advertisement

Phil Rizzuto, 89. Hall of Fame Yankee shortstop; sportscaster much loved for exclaiming, “Holy cow!”

Aug. 15. John W. Gofman, 88. Physicist known as father of antinuclear movement warned of radiation risks.

Aug. 16. Max Roach, 83. Jazz drummer whose rhythmic innovations defined bebop.

Aug. 18. Michael K. Deaver, 69. Advisor to Ronald Reagan who directed the president’s picturesque public appearances.

Leo Kanowitz, 81. UC professor wrote first book about gender discrimination in law.

Aug. 20. Leona Helmsley, 87. Ran a $5-billion real estate empire with her husband but became known as the “queen of mean” during her 1989 tax evasion trial.

Aug. 22. Grace Paley, 84. Acclaimed poet and short story writer.

Butch van Breda Kolff, 84. Led the Los Angeles Lakers to two NBA finals appearances, won 482 games as a college coach. Aug. 26. Rabbi Judah Nadich, 95. Military chaplain who advised Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower after the discovery of Nazi concentration camps.

Edward Brandt Jr., 74, Oklahoma physician oversaw federal government’s first response to AIDS.

Advertisement

Aug. 28. Paul MacCready, 81. Designed the Gossamer Condor flying machine, which in 1977 made the first sustained, controlled flight powered solely by human muscle.

Miyoshi Umeki, 78. Oscar-winning actress (“Sayonara”). .

Hilly Kristal, 75. His Manhattan club CBGB served as birthplace of punk rock.

Aug. 29. Richard Jewell, 44. Former security guard wrongly linked to 1996 Olympic bombing in Atlanta.

September

Sept. 1. Robert H. Ahmanson, 80, longtime president of the philanthropic Ahmanson Foundation.

Sept. 2. Anthony Day, 74. Led Los Angeles Times editorial pages to prominence.

Sept. 3. Janis Martin, 67, rockabilly singer dubbed “Female Elvis.”

Sept. 5. The Rev. D. James Kennedy, 76. Megachurch pastor; prominent Christian broadcaster.

Sept. 6. Luciano Pavarotti, 71. Opera superstar hailed as “king of the high Cs.”

Madeleine L’Engle, 88. Author who captivated children with “A Wrinkle in Time.”

Sept. 10. Jane Wyman, 90. Actress won Oscar as deaf rape victim in “Johnny Belinda,” later appeared on TV’s “Falcon Crest.” Ronald Reagan’s ex-wife.

Anita Roddick, 64. Founded eco-friendly beauty retailer The Body Shop.

Sept. 11. Joe Zawinul, 75. Jazz keyboardist, one of the creators of jazz-rock fusion with Weather Report (“Birdland.”)

Gene Savoy, 80. Explorer who discovered lost Inca and pre-Inca cities in Peru.

Sept. 13. Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, late 30s. Iraq sheik who aided U.S. strategy of enlisting aid of Sunni tribes.

Advertisement

Sept. 15. Colin McRae, 39. Britain’s best-known rally driver, former World Rally champion.

Sept. 16. Robert Jordan, 58. Author of “Wheel of Time” fantasy novels.

Sept. 21. The Rev. Rex Humbard, 88. His televangelism ministry once spanned the globe.

Sept. 22. Marcel Marceau, 84. French master of pantomime who transformed silence into art.

Sept. 23. Ivan Hinderaker, 91. UC Riverside chancellor during the Vietnam War era.

Sept. 24. Wolfgang “Pief” Panofsky, 88. Nuclear physicist pushed for Stanford’s linear accelerator.

Sept. 28. Wally Parks, 94. Founded National Hot Rod Assn., helping turn drag racing into legitimate sport.

Sept. 29. Eugene Saenger, 90. Physician conducted pivotal studies on effects of radiation exposure.

Lois Maxwell, 80. Canadian-born actress was definitive Miss Moneypenny in James Bond films.

October

Oct. 1. Al Oerter, 71. Discus great who won gold medals in four Olympics.

George Grizzard, 79. Versatile actor originated role of Nick in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” .

Oct. 2. James W. Michaels, 86. Transformed business journalism as Forbes magazine editor.

Gary Franklin, 79. Popular film critic on Los Angeles television. Tawn Mastery, 53. DJ was the voice of L.A.’s heavy-metal scene in the ‘80s.

Oct. 3. Violet de Cristoforo, 90, California poet whose haiku reflected realities of World War II relocation camps.

Advertisement

Oct. 7. Paquita Machris, 95. Los Angeles philanthropist and big-game hunter.

Oct. 9. Enrico Banducci, 85. Influential owner of hungry i nightclub in San Francisco.

Oct. 12. Kisho Kurokawa, 73. Influential Japanese architect who designed adaptable structures.

Oct. 13. Vernon Bellecourt, 75. Fought use of Indian nicknames for teams as a leader of the American Indian Movement.

Oct. 16. Deborah Kerr, 86. Actress who kissed Burt Lancaster on a beach in “From Here to Eternity” and danced with Yul Brynner in “The King and I.”

Barbara West Dainton, 96. Englishwoman believed to be one of the last two survivors from the Titanic. .

Oct. 17. Joey Bishop, 89. Stone-faced TV and nightclub comedian, last of the Rat Pack.

Catherine Roraback, 87. Attorney who won 1965 Supreme Court decision that established the right to contraceptives and privacy.

Teresa Brewer, 76. Singer topped the charts in the ‘50s (“Till I Waltz Again With You.”) .

Oct. 18. William Crowe, 82. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ambassador to Britain.

Oct. 19. Randall Forsberg, 64. Founder of the Nuclear Freeze Movement in the ‘80s.

Oct. 20. Peg Bracken, 89. Author of irreverent “I Hate to Cook Book.”

Rudi Schmid, 85. Played key role in development of U.S. liver transplant system.

Max McGee, 75. Hero of first Super Bowl in 1967, helping Green Bay beat Kansas City.

Shav Glick, 87. Influential motor sports writer for the Los Angeles Times.

Oct. 21. R.B. Kitaj, 74. A key figure in the British Pop Art movement.

Oct. 26. Arthur Kornberg, 89. His test-tube synthesis of DNA earned a 1959 Nobel Prize.

John L. Gaunt Jr., 83. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer for Los Angeles Times.

Oct. 27. Leslie Orgel, 80; Salk Institute chemist was father of the RNA world theory of the origin of life.

Oct. 28. Porter Wagoner, 80. Grand Ole Opry star, helped launch the career of Dolly Parton.

Oct. 30. Robert Goulet, 73. Baritone made Broadway debut in “Camelot,” won Tony in 1968 for “The Happy Time.”

Advertisement

John Woodruff, 92. First black athlete to win gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

November

Nov. 1. Paul Tibbets, 92. Piloted the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Nov. 2. Igor Moiseyev, 101. Choreographer who transformed folk dance into a legitimate art, showcasing Russian culture.

Nov. 4. Peter Viertel, 86. Wrote about Hemingway and Huston, was husband of Deborah Kerr.

Nov. 6. Hank Thompson, 82. Country singer created “honky-tonk swing.”

Jim Hawthorne, 88. Comically outrageous radio, television personality in Los Angeles.

Nov. 9. Luis Herrera Campins, 82. Former Venezuelan president, part of a generation of leaders who helped usher in democracy in the ‘50s.

Bill Hosokawa, 92, World War II internee became highest-ranking Asian American journalist.

Nov. 10. Norman Mailer, 84. The pugnacious prince of American letters.

Augustus Hawkins, 100. California’s first black congressman, elected in 1962.

Laraine Day, 87, actress best known for her roles in “Dr. Kildare” movies.

Nov. 11. Delbert Mann, 87. Directed “Marty,” classic lonely-guy teleplay that became Oscar-winning film.

Charlie Brady “C.B.” Hauser, 90. College professor who took a stand against segregation in 1947 by refusing to give up a bus seat to a white.

Advertisement

Nov. 12. Ira Levin, 78. Best-selling novelist (“Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Boys From Brazil”).

Nov. 14. Merle Sande, 68, helped turned San Francisco General Hospital into a model AIDS hospital.

Nov. 15. The Rev. John H. Cross Jr., 82. Pastor of church in Birmingham, Ala., where four girls died in a 1963 racist bombing.

Joe Nuxhall, 79. Youngest major leaguer ever at age 15; later a Cincinnati sportscaster.

Nov. 18. Hollis Alpert, 91. Writer co-founded the National Society of Film Critics.

Nov. 19. Milo Radulovich, 81. Serviceman championed by Edward R. Murrow when the military threatened to decommission him during the anti-communist crackdown of the ‘50s.

Dick Wilson, 91. Played the fussy, mustachioed grocer Mr. Whipple who begged customers, “Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin.” .

Jim Ringo, 75, NFL Hall of Famer helped Packers win championships.

Nov. 20. Ian Smith, 88. Rhodesia’s last white prime minister; his attempts to resist black rule brought isolation and civil war.

Nov. 21. Herbert Saffir, 90. Engineer created the five-category system to describe hurricane strength.

Nov. 22. Col. Jefferson DeBlanc Sr., 86. Marine pilot awarded Medal of Honor for action in the Pacific.

Advertisement

Maurice Bejart, 80. Avant-garde French choreographer.

Nov. 25. Peter Houghton, 68. Longest-living recipient of artificial heart.

Kevin DuBrow, 52. Lead singer of the Los Angeles rock band Quiet Riot. Nov. 26. Silvestre Herrera, 90. Awarded Medal of Honor for a one-man assault on an enemy position during World War II.

Bill Hartack, 74. Hall of Fame jockey, one of only two to win Kentucky Derby five times.

Nov. 27. J. Robert Cade, 80. Inventor of Gatorade.

Sean Taylor, 24. Washington Redskins star safety.

Bill Willis, 86. Hall of Fame guard with the Cleveland Browns; Ohio State’s first black football All-American.

Nov. 29. Henry Hyde, 83. Illinois congressman steered impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.

Roger B. Smith, 82. Led General Motors Corp., was subject of Michael Moore’s documentary “Roger & Me.”

J. Richard Steffy, 83. A leading authority on nautical archaeology. .

Nov. 30. Evel Knievel, 69. Motorcycle daredevil known for spectacular jumps and bone-crushing crashes.

Seymour Benzer, 86. Pioneering Caltech biologist linked genes to behavior.

December

Advertisement

Dec. 2. Robert O. Anderson, 90. CEO of Atlantic Richfield Co. when it announced the discovery of North America’s largest oil field.

Elizabeth Hardwick, 91. Leading intellectual author (“Sleepless Nights”) and critic.

Dec. 4. David “Chip Reese, 56. High-stakes poker player who was widely considered the best.

Dec. 5. Karlheinz Stockhausen, 79. Avant-garde German composer, pioneer of electronic music.

Dec. 8. Roger M. King, 63. CBS and King World Productions executive; helped bring such stars as Oprah Winfrey to television.

Dec. 11. Freddie Fields, 84. Colorful Hollywood agent, producer (“Glory”), studio executive.

Allan Berube, 61. Pioneering gay historian who chronicled gays and lesbians in U.S. military.

Dec. 12. Ike Turner, 76. Rock innovator who teamed with wife Tina Turner (and denied abusing her).

Dec. 13 Laura Huxley, 96. Writer, lay therapist who was devoted to sustaining legacy of her husband, Aldous Huxley.

Dec. 15. Diane Wood Middlebrook, 68. Scholar wrote provocative biographies of poets Anne Sexton and the husband-wife duo of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.

Dec. 16. Dan Fogelberg, 56. His gentle, poignant hits such as “Leader of the Band” helped define soft-rock.

Advertisement

Dec. 18. Bill Strauss, 60. Founder of the satirical group Capitol Steps.

Dec. 23. Oscar Peterson, 82. Pianist dazzled jazz world with technique, creativity.

Michael Kidd, 92. Choreographer created memorable sequences for Broadway and Hollywood.

Dale Baird, 72. Thoroughbred trainer’s 9,445 victories lead all-time list.

Dec. 26. Stu Nahan, 81. Longtime Southern California sportscaster.

Dec. 27. Benazir Bhutto, 54. Former prime minister of Pakistan.

Advertisement