Notable deaths in 2016

Debbie Reynolds, seen here in 2012, an actress known for the musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” and her Oscar-nominated role in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” died on Dec. 28, 2016, a day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, died. Reynolds was 84. Read more.

Actress Carrie Fisher, who found enduring fame as Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars,” died on Dec. 27, 2016. She was 60. Read more.

British singer George Michael, who came to prominence in the 1980s with the group Wham!, died Dec. 25, 2016. He was 53. Read more.

Zsa Zsa Gabor, the jet-setting Hungarian actress who made a career out of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the glamorous life, died Dec. 18, 2016. She was 99. Read more.

Craig Sager, the longtime NBA sideline reporter famous for his flashy suits and probing questions, died Dec. 15, 2016, after a battle with cancer. He was 65. A native of Batavia, Illinois, Sager attended Northwestern, where he walked onto the football and basketball teams and served as the school’s “Willie the Wildcat” mascot for three years. Read more.

E.R. Braithwaite, the Guyanese author, educator and diplomat whose years teaching in the slums of London’s East End inspired the international best-seller “To Sir, With Love” and the popular Sidney Poitier movie of the same name, died Dec. 12, 2016. He was 104. Read more.

John Glenn, whose 1962 flight as the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth made him an all-American hero and propelled him to a long career in the U.S. Senate, died Dec. 8, 2016. The last survivor of the original Mercury 7 astronauts was 95. Read more.

Grant Tinker, who brought new polish to the TV world and beloved shows including “Hill Street Blues” to the audience as both a producer and a network boss, died Nov. 28, 2016. He was 90. Read more.

Ron Glass, the handsome, prolific character actor best known for his role as the gregarious, sometimes sardonic detective Ron Harris in the long-running cop comedy “Barney Miller,” died Nov. 25, 2016. He was 71. Read more.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the icon of leftist revolution who thrust his Caribbean nation onto the world stage by provoking Cold War confrontation and defying U.S. policy through 11 administrations, died Nov. 25, 2016. He was 90. Read more.

Florence Henderson, who went from Broadway star to become one of America’s most beloved television moms in “The Brady Bunch,” has Nov. 24, 2016. She was 82. Read more.

Sharon Jones, the stout powerhouse who shepherded a soul revival despite not finding stardom until middle age, died Nov. 18, 2016. She was 60. Read more.

Gwen Ifill, who covered politics for some of the country’s premier newspapers before transitioning to broadcast journalism and making her greatest mark as one of the most prominent TV anchors of her generation, died Nov. 14, 2016. She was 61. Read more.

Leon Russell, who sang, wrote and produced some of rock ‘n’ roll’s top records, died Nov. 13, 2016. He was 74. Read more.

Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, one of popular music’s most influential figures for four decades, known most widely for the song “Hallelujah,” died Nov. 10, 2016. He was 82. Read more.

Janet Reno, who was the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general and became the epicenter of multiple political storms during the Clinton administration, died Nov. 7, 2016. She was 78. Read more.

Bobby Vee, whose rise toward stardom began as a 15-year-old fill-in for Buddy Holly after Holly was killed in a plane crash, died Oct. 24, 2016. He was 73. Read more.

Tom Hayden, the preeminent 1960s radical who roused a generation of alienated young Americans, became a symbol of militancy by leading riotous protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and added Hollywood glamour to his mystique with an activist partnership and marriage to film star Jane Fonda, died Oct. 23, 2016. He was 76. Read more.

Chicago radio legend Herb Kent, the longest-running DJ in the history of radio and a fixture on local airwaves for more than 70 years, died Oct. 22, 2016. He was 88. Read more.

Chess Records co-founder Phil Chess, who with brother Leonard helped launch the careers of Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and others and amassed a catalog of rock and electric “Chicago” blues that profoundly influenced popular music in the 1950s and beyond, died Oct. 18, 2016. He was 95. Read more.

Thomas Ford, the actor who played Martin Lawrence’s best friend Tommy Strawn on the hit 1990s sitcom “Martin,” died Oct. 12, 2016. He was 52. Read more.

Polish film director Andrzej Wajda, whose career maneuvering between a repressive communist government and an audience yearning for freedom won him international recognition and an honorary Oscar, died Oct. 9, 2016. He was 90. Read more.

Joan Marie Johnson of The Dixie Cups died Oct. 9. 2016. She was 72.

Rod Temperton, a British-born musician and songwriter with a singular knack for pop-funk who wrote the Michael Jackson classics “Thriller,” ’’Rock With You” and many other hits, died in late September. He was 66. Read more.

Gloria Naylor, whose debut novel “The Women of Brewster Place,” became a best-seller, a National Book Award winner and a TV miniseries released through Oprah Winfrey‘s production company, died Sept. 28, 2016. She was 66. Read more.

Agnes Nixon, who created popular daytime TV dramas such as “One Life to Life” and “All My Children,” died Sept. 28, 2016. The Chicago-born Northwestern University graduate was 93. Read more.

Shimon Peres, a former Israeli president and prime minister, whose life story mirrored that of the Jewish state and who was celebrated around the world as a Nobel prize-winning visionary who pushed his country toward peace, died Sept. 28, 2016. He was 93. Read more.

Bill Nunn, a veteran character actor whose credits ranged from the “Spider-Man” movie franchise to such Spike Lee films as “Do the Right Thing” and “He Got Game,” died Sept. 24, 2016. He was 63. Read more.

Three-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee — best known for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” — died Sept. 16, 2016. He was 88. Read more.

Canadian novelist W.P. Kinsella, who blended magical realism and baseball in the book that became the smash hit film “Field of Dreams,” died Sept. 16, 2016. He was 81. Read more.

Jerry Heller, the combative music manager whose fraught relationship with the seminal hip-hop group N.W.A was searingly portrayed in the box office hit “Straight Outta Compton,” died Sept. 2, 2016. He was 75. Read more.

Jon Polito, a character actor whose more than 200 credits ranged from “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Modern Family” to the Coen Brother films “Barton Fink” and “The Big Lebowski,” died Sept. 1, 2016. He was 65. Read more.

Fred Hellerman, right, a founding member of the influential folk music quartet the Weavers, died Sept. 1, 2016. He was 89. Read more.

Gene Wilder, the frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in “The Producers” and the mad scientist of “Young Frankenstein,” died Aug. 29, 2016. He was 83. Read more.

Mexican superstar songwriter and singer Juan Gabriel died Aug. 28, 2016. He was 66. Read more.

Boy band promoter Lou Pearlman, known for launching groups such as the Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync, died in prison Aug. 19, 2016, while serving a 25-year sentence for one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Florida history. Read more.

Donald “D.A.” Henderson, an American epidemiologist who led the international war on smallpox that resulted in its eradication in 1980, an achievement that was credited with saving tens of millions of lives, died Aug. 19, 2016. He was 87. Read more.

Fyvush Finkel, the Emmy Award-winning character actor whose career in stage and screen started in Yiddish theater and led to memorable roles in “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway and on TV in “Boston Public” and “Picket Fences” died Aug. 14, 2016. He was 93. Read more.

John Saunders, the versatile sportscaster who had hosted ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters” for the last 15 years, died Aug. 10, 2016. He was 61. Read more.

David Huddleston, a character actor who already had a vast list of credits to his name when — late in his career — he took what was to become his most famous role as the title character in “The Big Lebowski,” died Aug. 2, 2016. He was 85. Read more.

Singer and Hollywood voice double Marni Nixon died July 24, 2016 at age 86. Her singing was heard in place of the leading actresses in classic movie musicals as “West Side Story,” ’’The King and I” and “My Fair Lady.”

Writer-director Garry Marshall, whose deft touch with comedy and romance led to a string of TV hits that included “Happy Days” and “Laverne & Shirley” and the box-office successes “Pretty Woman” and “Runaway Bride,” died July 19, 2016. He was 81. Read more.

Alan Vega, the singer of iconic New York proto-punk band Suicide, died July 16, 2016. He was 78. Read more.

Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, the Romanian-born Holocaust survivor whose classic “Night” became a landmark testament to the Nazis’ crimes and launched Wiesel’s long career as one of the world’s foremost witnesses and humanitarians, died July 2, 2016. He was 87. Read more.

Scotty Moore, the pioneering rock guitarist whose sharp, graceful style helped Elvis Presley shape his revolutionary sound and inspired a generation of musicians that included Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Bruce Springsteen, died June 28, 2016. He was 84. Read more.

Buddy Ryan, the defensive architect of the Super Bowl champion 1985 Chicago Bears, died on June 28, 2016. He was 82. Read more.

Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who uplifted the women’s game from obscurity to national prominence during her 38-year career at Tennessee, died June 28, 2016. She was 64. Read more.

Bill Cunningham, a longtime fashion photographer for The New York Times known for taking pictures of everyday people on the streets of New York, died June 25, 2016. He was 87. Read more.

Bernie Worrell, the ingenious “Wizard of Woo” whose amazing array of keyboard sounds and textures helped define the Parliament-Funkadelic musical empire and influenced performers of funk, rock, hip-hop and other genres, died June 24, 2016. He was 72. Read more.

Ralph Stanley, a patriarch of Appalachian music who with his brother Carter helped expand and popularize the genre that became known as bluegrass, died June 23, 2016. He was 89. Read more.

Anton Yelchin, a rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, was killed by his car as it rolled down his driveway June 19, 2016. He was 27. Read more.

Attrell Cordes, who formed the hip-hop duo P.M. Dawn with his brother and was also known by the name Prince Be, died June 17, 2016. Read more.

Lincoln “Chips” Moman, a producer, guitarist, and songwriter, who helped Elvis Presley engineer a musical comeback in the late 1960s and then moved to Nashville to record country legends such as The Highwaymen, died June 13, 2016. He was 79. Read more.

Christina Grimmie, a vivacious, outgoing singer whose career was born on social media and propelled toward the big time by television on “The Voice,” died June 10, 2016. The 22-year-old was shot and killed as she was signing autographs for fans after performing in Orlando. Read more.

Kimbo Slice, a street-fighting sensation from Miami whose fisticuffs went viral on YouTube, died June 6, 2016. Slice, whose real name was Kevin Ferguson, was 42.

Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, who thrilled the world even after the punches had taken their toll and his voice barely rose above a whisper, died June 3, 2016. He was 74. Read more.

Jan Crouch, who co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network with her late husband more than four decades ago, died on May 31, 2016. She was 78.

Angela Paton, an actress best known for appearing with Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day,” died May 26, 2016. She was 86. Read more.

Burt Kwouk, who played martial arts expert Cato in the comic “Pink Panther” films, died May 24, 2016. He was 85. Read more.

Morley Safer, the veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent who was equally at home reporting on social injustices, the Orient Express and abstract art, and who exposed a military atrocity in Vietnam that played an early role in changing Americans’ view of the war, died May 18, 2016. He was 84. Read more.

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, one of the first incumbents ousted in a national wave of tea party-led anger in 2010, died May 4, 2016. He was 82. Read more.

Billy Paul, center, a jazz and soul singer best known for the No. 1 hit ballad and “Philadelphia Soul” classic “Me and Mrs. Jones,” died April 24, 2016. He was 81. Read more.

Prince, a quintuple threat instrumentalist-singer-songwriter-producer-performer who became one of the towering figures in music the last four decades, died April 21, 2016. He was 57. Read more.

Chyna, the WWE star who in the 1990s became one of the best-known and most-popular female professional wrestlers in history and who billed herself as the “9th Wonder of the World,” died April 20, 2016. She was 45. Read more.

Doris Roberts, who played the tart-tongued, endlessly meddling mother on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” died April 17, 2016. She was 90. Read more.

David Gest, a music producer, reality TV star and former husband of Liza Minnelli, died April 12, 2016. He was 62. Read more.

Country music legend Merle Haggard died April 6, 2016 of pneumonia. He was 79. Read more.

Visionary London architect Zaha Hadid, renowned for her swooping, strongly sculpted buildings and for being the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, her field’s highest honor, died March 31, 2016. She was 65. Read more.

Imre Kertesz, the Hungarian writer who won the 2002 Nobel Prize for Literature for fiction largely drawn from his experience as a teenage prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, died March 31, 2016. He was 86. Read more.

Patty Duke, who won an Oscar as a teen for “The Miracle Worker” and maintained a long and successful career throughout her life, died March 29, 2016. She was 69. Read more.

Mother Angelica, a folksy Roman Catholic nun who used a monastery garage to begin a television ministry that grew into a global religious media empire, died March 27, 2016. She was 92. Read more.

Garry Shandling, who as an actor and comedian pioneered a pretend brand of self-focused docudrama with “The Larry Sanders Show,” died March 24, 2016, in Los Angeles. He was 66. Read more.

Actor Ken Howard, who starred in the 1970s series “The White Shadow” and served as president of SAG-AFTRA, died March 23, 2016. He was 71. Read more.

Phife Dawg, a founding member of the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, died March 22, 2016. He was 45. Read more.

Rob Ford, the pugnacious, populist former mayor of Toronto whose career crashed in a drug-driven, obscenity-laced debacle, died March 22 after fighting cancer. He was 46. Read more.

Larry Drake, who won two Emmy Awards for best supporting actor in a drama series for his role as a mentally challenged character in “L.A. Law,” died on March 17, 2016, at his Los Angeles home. He was 66. Read more.

Frank Sinatra Jr., who carried on his famous father’s legacy with his own music career and whose kidnapping as a young man added a bizarre chapter to his father’s legendary life, died March 16, 2016. He was 72. Read more.

Ernestine Anderson, the internationally celebrated jazz vocalist who earned four Grammy nominations during a six-decade career, died March 10, 2016. She was 87. Read more.

Keith Emerson, the flamboyant, English prog-rock pioneer who rose to fame as the keyboardist for supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer in the 1970s, died March 11, 2016. He was 71. Read more.