The final curtain

Some of the faces were so enduring that as they passed their eighth or ninth decade it seemed they had achieved a kind of permanence. Surely, there would always be another holiday appearance by a Bob Hope, a Katharine Hepburn. They’d be frailer, yes, but present. So this year, which saw significant loss among path-setters in the worlds of the arts and entertainment, many of the names on the lists of the dead still feel surprising: Gregory Peck and Art Carney, masters of different ends of the acting spectrum. Composer Lou Harrison. Salsa queen Celia Cruz. Johnny Cash. Mr. Rogers -- and figures whose names were less familiar than their identities: “the guy who played Whitey on ‘Leave It to Beaver.’ ” We recall them fondly.

Sir Hardy Amies, designer for Queen Elizabeth II.

Hank Ballard, singer, songwriter (“The Twist”).

Earl Bellamy, TV director.

Luciano Berio, noted Italian composer.

Stan Brakhage, avant-garde filmmaker.

Erik Braunn, Iron Butterfly guitarist.

David Brinkley, journalist.

Charles Bronson, actor.

Benny Carter, saxophonist.

Nell Carter, actress, singer.

Joseph Chaikin, actor, director.

Art Cooper, editor, GQ.

Franco Corelli, Italian tenor.

Hume Cronyn, actor.

Alan Dugan, poet.

Buddy Ebsen, actor.

Jack Elam, actor.

Stanley Fafara, actor (Whitey on “Leave It to Beaver”).

Maurice Gibb, Bee Gee.

Don Gibson, singer, songwriter (“I Can’t Stop Loving You”).

Tom Glazer, folk/children’s singer (“On Top of Spaghetti”).

C.Z. Guest, New York socialite.

Buddy Hackett, comedian.

Conrad L. Hall, cinematographer (“American Beauty”).

Bobby Hatfield, singer.

David Hemmings, actor.

Gregory Hines, tap dancer.

Jerome Hines, longtime Metropolitan Opera singer.

Al Hirschfeld, caricaturist.

Elia Kazan, director.

Gisele MacKenzie, singer, actress.

Herbie Mann, jazz flutist.

Bill Mauldin, editorial cartoonist.

Robert McCloskey, children’s author/illustrator (“Make Way for Ducklings”).

Donald O’Connor, singer, dancer.

Robert Palmer, singer.

Suzy Parker, model, actress.

Johnny PayCheck, singer.

Sam Phillips, record producer who discovered Elvis Presley.

George Plimpton, editor, writer.

Neil Postman, author.

Noel Redding, bass player, Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Leni Riefenstahl, filmmaker, Hitler propagandist.

John Ritter, actor.

Rod Roddy, “Price Is Right” announcer.

John Schlesinger, director (“Midnight Cowboy”).

Sandman Sims, Apollo Theater’s “executioner.”

Elliott Smith, singer, songwriter.

Robert Stack, actor (“The Untouchables”).

William Steig, New Yorker cartoonist.

Daniel Taradash, screenwriter (“From Here to Eternity”).

Leon Uris, author (“Exodus”).

Kirk Varnedoe, art historian, New York Museum of Modern Art curator.

Kellie Waymire, actress.

Barry White, singer.

Warren Zevon, singer, songwriter.