YEAR IN REVIEW : Deaths

From “dancing landmark” Eileen Anderson to groundbreaking musician Frank Zappa, Los Angeles lost some of its legends in 1993. Some were born here, others died here, and still others made their mark in the entertainment industry that calls Hollywood home. Here is a roster of some who passed away:

Eileen Anderson, the perennial political protest candidate who through her abbreviated costume, flaming red hair and marathon street-corner dancing, became recognized as one of the city’s truly free spirits, died Sept. 12, at 65, of cancer.

Bill Bixby, television actor, director and producer best known for his starring role in the “Incredible Hulk,” died Nov. 22, at 59, of cancer.

Sammy Cahn, the burlesque violinist who grew up to write some of America’s favorite songs and win four Academy Awards for such tunes as “Three Coins in the Fountain” and “All the Way,” died Jan. 15, at 79.

Roy Campanella, a Hall of Fame catcher and one of the all-time greats in Dodgers history, died at 71 after suffering a heart attack June 26.

Gen. James H. (Jimmy) Doolittle, the tough Los Angeles street kid who rose to become one of the great figures in aviation and a World War II air hero of epic stature, died Sept. 27, at 96.

Don Drysdale, Hall of Fame pitcher and Dodgers broadcaster, died July 3, at 56, of a heart attack.

George Williams Elkins, a pioneering realty agent who helped develop Beverly Hills and brought such merchandising giants as W & J Sloane, Saks Fifth Avenue and I. Magnin to Wilshire Boulevard, died Feb. 24, at 93.

H. R. (Bob) Haldeman, the White House chief of staff under President Richard Nixon who went to prison for his role in the Watergate scandal, died Nov. 12, at of 67, of abdominal cancer. He grew up in Los Angeles.

Ruby Keeler, the cherub-faced dancer who tapped her way to motion picture fame in the 1920s, died April 30, at 83, of cancer.

Joe (Pegleg) Morgan, a street kid from the Eastside who grew up to become the Mexican Mafia’s reputed godfather, died in state prison, at 64, of cancer.

Patricia Ryan Nixon, the poised, gracious model political wife through the roller-coaster rises and falls of her husband’s turbulent political career, died June 22, at 81, of lung cancer. Her childhood home in Cerritos has been made into the four-acre Pat Nixon Park.

Father Luis Olivares, the defiant Roman Catholic priest who declared his Downtown Los Angeles church a sanctuary for Central American refugees, died March 18, at 59, of complications of AIDS.

River Phoenix, who gained fame as a teen-age actor in the film “Stand by Me” and became one of Hollywood’s rising young stars, died Oct. 31, at 23.

Vincent Price, master of the macabre known for his bloodcurdling roles in horror films, died Oct. 25, at 82, of lung cancer.

Rand Schrader, one of the first openly gay judges in California and an eloquent champion of gay and lesbian causes, died June 13, at 48, of complications of AIDS.

Jesse Dean Sepulveda, who was known only as Baby Jesse when he underwent a heart transplant 16 days after his birth, died July 16, at age 7, a month after receiving his second transplant at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Richard E. Sherwood, former president of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Center Theatre Group that operates the Ahmanson and Taper theaters at the Los Angeles County Music Center, and one of the first Jewish partners in a major Downtown law firm, died April 8, at 64, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Norton Simon, molder of conglomerates, world-class art collector and candidate for U.S. senator, died June 2, at 86, of pneumonia.

Robert P. Strub, son of the founder of Santa Anita Race Track and one of Thoroughbred horse racing’s national leaders, died May 5, at 74, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Wallace Tope Jr., a street evangelist who was beaten and kicked when he tried to stop looters during the 1992 riots, died Dec. 1 after lying in a coma for 19 months. He became the 55th fatality linked to the riots.

Herve Villechaize, the elfin Tattoo in the TV series “Fantasy Island,” died Sept. 4, at 50, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Ted Watkins Sr., who founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee to provide jobs and social services after the 1965 Watts riots, died Oct. 25, at 71, apparently of a heart attack.

Dewey Weber, whose intricate surfing style and board designs helped popularize the sport and made him a surfing legend, died Jan. 6, at 54, of cardiac failure.

Frank Zappa, who rode to fame in the late 1960s as leader of the eccentric Mothers of Invention and kept on breaking the musical rules, died Dec. 5, at 52, of complications of prostate cancer.