Dead Celebrity Alert

…in which we review all the deaths of the past 365 days posted to Dead Celebrity Alert, and pick up the ones we missed.

DECEMBER, 2005

26 - Muriel Costa-Greenspon, 30-yr NY City Opera mezzo-soprano, 68
30 - Candy Barr, stripper & stag star who dated Jack Ruby, 70
31 - Sanora Babb, novelist, widow of James Wong Howe, 98
31 - Harry Clarke, former Chicago Bear, 89
31 - Enrico Di Giuseppe, American tenor, 73
31 - Rona Jaffe, novelist (”Mazes and Monsters”), 74
31 - Neil Strawser, CBS News radio anchor, 78

JANUARY, 2006

1 - Susan Bergman, author, sister of actress Anne Heche, 48
1 - Otis Carney, author & TV scriptwriter (”Zane Grey Theater”), 83
1 - Frank Cary, former IBM CEO, 85
1 - Dawn Lake, veteran Australian entertainer, 78
2 - Osa Massen, Danish actress, in Hollywood from ’30s-’50s, 91
2 - John Wojtowicz, “Dog Day Afternoon” bank robber, 60
2 - John Woodnutt, prolific British TV & movie actor, 81
3 - (identified; Katrina victim) Barry Cowsill, 51 (see also Feb. 17)
3 - Urbano Lazzaro, WWII resistance fighter; captured Mussolini, 81
3 - U.A.E. V.P. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum, mid-60s
3 - Arturo Sergi, American tenor, 79
3 - Bill Skate, former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, 52
4 - John Bierman, BBC reporter, 76
4 - Phyllis Gates, Rock Hudson’s ex-wife and ex-”beard,” 80
4 - Sophie Heathcote, Australian TV actress, 33
5 - Alex St. Clair, Captain Beefheart guitarist, 64
5 - Ramona Bell, wife of radio personality Art Bell, 47
6 - Eric Anthony Beard, stunt pilot, 47
6 - Lou Rawls, jazz & blues singing great, 72
6 - Hugh Thompson, Jr., Vietnam War hero, 62
7 - Jim Zulevic, actor (”Curb Your Enthusiasm”), 40
7 - Foy Valentine, former Southern Baptist leader, 82
8 - Jamie Hodgson, photographer, 76
8 - Stuart Quan, movie stuntman, 43
8 - David E. Rosenbaum, New York Times journalist, 63
8 - Jack Snow, former Rams receiver, 62
9 - Andy Caldecott, Australian rally champ, 41
9 - Patricia Reilly Hitt, ass’t HEW secretary under Nixon, 87
9 - Don Stewart, actor (Michael Bauer, “The Guiding Light”), 70
10 - Dave Brown, former NFL star & coach, 52
10 - Raymond “Cowboy Ray” Hofstatter, radio personality (”Mancow”)
10 - Jack Tanner, U.S. federal judge, civil rights activist, 86
11 - Eric Namesnik, Olympic silver-medalist swimmer, 35
12 - (announced) Bahraini Prince Faisal, 15 (auto wreck)
13 - Brendan Cauldwell, Irish actor, 83
13 - Geoffrey Donald Chisholm, ex-Tasmanian cabinet minister, 76
14 - Shelley Winters, Oscar-winning actress, 85 (see also Jan. 19)
15 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, 79
18 - Thomas Murphy, former General Motors CEO, 90
18 - Anton Rupert, World Wide Fund for Nature co-founder, 89
19 - Anthony Franciosa, actor; Shelley Winters ex (see Jan. 14), 77
19 - Wilson Pickett, legendary soul singer, 64
20 - David Maust, serial child-killer, 51
20 - Rose Bouziane Nader, mother of Ralph Nader, 99
23 - Louanne Hogan, big-band singer, 86
23 - Samuel W. Koster, Army general charged in My Lai massacre, 86
23 - Joseph M. Newman, producer-director (”This Island Earth”), 96
22 - Janette Carter, last survivor of singing Carter Family, 82
23 - E.M. Smedley-Aston, British producer, noted asst director, 93
24 - Betty Berzon, therapist, author, LGBT-rights activist, 78
24 - Fayard Nicholas, older (& surviving) Nicholas Brother, 91
24 - (found) Chris Penn, actor (”Footloose”), brother of Sean, 43
24 - Henry Zapruder, son of Abraham Zapruder of JFK film fame, 67
25 - Anna Malle, star of more than 200 porn movies, 38
25 - Sudharmono, former Vice President of Indonesia, 78
27 - Gene McFadden, soul songwriter, 56
28 - Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri, Kabbalah leader, about 106
28 - Henry McGee, British actor, “Benny Hill Show” perennial, 76
30 - Stew Albert, original 1960s Yippie, 66
30 - Paul Clinton, CNN film critic, 53
30 - Otto Lang, TV producer-director, 98
30 - Wendy Wasserstein, playwright (”The Heidi Chronicles”), 55
31 - Coretta Scott King, civil rights activist, widow of MLK, 78
31 - Moira Shearer, ballerina, star of “The Red Shoes,” 80

FEBRUARY, 2006

1 - Roy Alon, British movie stuntman, 63
1 - Samuel Pearson Goddard, Jr., former Governor of Arizona, 86
2 - Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, former P.M. of Bangladesh, 77
3 - Jean Byron, actress best remembered as Patty Duke’s TV mom, 80
3 - Sonny King, comedian, singer, sidekick to Jimmy Durante, 83
3 - Al Lewis, actor (”Car 54, Where Are You?” “The Munsters”), 95
3 - Romano Mussolini, artist & son of Benito Mussolini, 78
4 - Betty Friedan, author (”Feminine Mystique”), on 85th birthday
4 - Myron Waldman, animator (Betty Boop, Superman), 97
5 - Franklin Cover, actor (Tom Willis, “The Jeffersons”), 77
5 - Reuven Frank, journalist, former NBC News president, 85
5 - Jack Taylor, at 700 lbs. (50 stone), heaviest man in UK, 60
6 - Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Mexican-American comic actor, 80
7 - (found; homicide) Alan Shalleck, “Curious George” co-author, 76
8 - Akira Ifukube, movie composer (”Gojira”/”Godzilla” series), 91
8 - Mart Kenney, Canadian Big Band leader, 95
8 - Gigi Parrish, minor Goldwyn actress/WAMPAS Baby Star, 92
9 - Phil Brown, actor (Uncle Owen in “Star Wars”), 89
9 - Sir Freddie Laker, founded Laker Airways, 83
10 - Dr. Norman Shumway, heart transplant pioneer, 83
11 - Peter Benchley, author (”Jaws”), 65
11 - Harry Schein, writer, Swedish Film Institute founder, 81
11 - Alan Sytner, Liverpool Cavern Club founder, 70
12 - Geordie Hormel, Hormel Foods heir, 77
15 - Xavier Barquet, movie & TV producer & actor, 46
15 - Sun Yun-suan, former Premier of the Republic of China, 93
16 - Michael Durham, a.k.a. Johnny Grunge, pro wrestler, 39
16 - Dennis Kirkland, British TV director (”Benny Hill Show”), 63
17 - Paul Carr, busy TV supporting actor, 72
17 - William Cowsill, Cowsills lead singer, 58 (see also Jan. 3)
17 - Harold Hunter, pro skateboarder (seen in movie “Kids”), 31
17 - Ray J. Mauer, wrote Cold War scare film “Duck and Cover,” 89
18 - Richard Bright, actor (”The Godfather”), 68
18 - Laurel Hester, gay 23-yr NJ cop, won pension for partner, 49
20 - Curt Gowdy, veteran sportscaster, 86
20 - Paul C. Marcinkus, archbishop, disgraced Vatican Bank head, 84
20 - Eli Segal, Bill Clinton aide, 63
21 - Bruce Hart, “Sesame Street” songwriter, 68
21 - Don Herbert, firefighter who woke from 9-year coma in 2005, 44
21 - Mirko Marjanovic, former Prime Minister of Serbia, 68
22 - Larry Neill, composer & singer with Paul Whiteman, 87
23 - Diane Shalet, author, TV scriptwriter, 71
24 - Don Knotts, beloved comedic actor (”Andy Griffith Show”), 81
24 - Dennis Weaver, actor (”Gunsmoke,” “McCloud”), 81
25 - Darren McGavin, actor (”Night Stalker,” “Christmas Story”), 83
25 - Henry M. Morris, “young earth” creationism propagandist, 87
26 - Bill Cardoso, writer who coined word “gonzo,” 68
26 - Sir Hans Singer, co-founded UN Development Program, 95
27 - Alice Baker, last surviving British woman to serve in WWI, 107
27 - Otis Chandler, newspaper heir, former L.A. Times publisher, 78
27 - Milton Katims, longtime Seattle Symphony conductor, 96
27 - John Prestwich, longest-lived iron lung patient (51 years), 67
27 - Robert Lee Scott, Jr., wrote “God is My Co-Pilot,” 97
27 - Linda Smith, comedian, British Humanist Assn. president, 48
28 - Owen Chamberlain, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, 85
28 - James Ronald “Bunkie” Blackburn, former NASCAR driver, 69

MARCH, 2006

1 - Harry Browne, two-time U.S. Libertarian prez candidate, 72
1 - Johnny Jackson, former Jackson 5 drummer (no relation), 54
1 - Jenny Tamburi, popular Italian movie actress, 53
1 - Jack Wild, actor (”Oliver!,” “H.R. Pufnstuf “), 53
2 - Bill Hays, British TV director (”Z Cars,” “Lovejoy”), 67
2 - Marion Higgins, oldest person in California, 112
3 - Charlie Hodge, guitarist & backup singer for Elvis Presley, 71
3 - Lily Lambert McCarthy, American philanthropist, 91
5 - Reba Hancock, sister of Johnny Cash, 72
5 - Richard Kuklinski, Mafia hitman known as “The Iceman,” 70
6 - Kirby Puckett, MLB Hall of Famer, 44
6 - Dana Reeve, actress-singer, widow of Christopher Reeve, 44
7 - Gordon Parks, photographer, filmmaker (”Shaft”), 93
9 - John Profumo, disgraced ex-U.K. cabinet minister, 91
11 - Slobodan Milosevic, Yugoslavian dictator & war criminal, 64
11 - Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, Montreal Canadien, 75
11 - Andrall Pearson, former PepsiCo president, 80
11 - Lindsay Shonteff, producer-director (”Devil Doll”), 70
12 - Robert C. Baker, revolutionized processed-chicken industry, 84
12 - Maureen Stapleton, Oscar-/Emmy-/Tony-winning actress, 80
13 - Tara Rose McAvoy, Miss Deaf Texas, 18
13 - Charles Newman, novelist (”White Jazz”), 67
13 - Peter Tomarken, TV game-show host (”Press Your Luck”), 63
14 - Ann Calvello, S.F. Bay Bombers roller derby legend, 76
14 - Herb Tobman, former Stardust Hotel (Las Vegas) head, 81
15 - John Falotico, “Son of Sam” detective, 82
15 - George Rallis, former Prime Minister of Greece, 87
15 - Red Storey, former pro hockey player & referee, 88
16 - Jonathan Delisle, pro hockey player, 28
16 - Paul A. Flaherty, computer engineer, AltaVista co-creator, 42
16 - Moira Redmond, British TV actress, 77
16 - Jade Snow Wong, author (”Fifth Chinese Daughter”), 84
17 - Oleg Cassini, legendary fashion designer, 92
17 - G. William Miller, Jimmy Carter’s Treasury Secretary, 81
17 - Bob Papenbrook, U.S. & Japanese video-game voice actor, 50
18 - Michael Attwell, British TV & stage actor, 63
18 - Bill Beutel, longtime WABC-TV news anchor, 75
18 - Drexel Sprecher, U.S. prosecutor at Nuremberg Trials, 92*
18 - Belle Zeck, U.S. prosecutor at Nuremberg Trials, 87*
21 - Bob Delegall, familiar TV supporting actor, 60
21 - Philip B. Kundhardt, Jr., Life mag editor, doco producer, 78
21 - Bernard Lacoste, head of French clothier Lacoste, 74
22 - Pierre Clostermann, WWII French flying ace, 85
22 - Eugene Landy, psychologist to Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, 71
22 - Britt Lomond, actor (Captain Monasterio of TV’s “Zorro”), 80
23 - Addwaitya, Kolkata tortoise, pet of Robert Clive, approx. 250
23 - Peter Shand Kydd, stepfather of Princess Diana, 80
24 - Lynne Perrie, British actress (”Coronation Street”), 74
25 - Erma Ora James Byrd, wife of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), 89
25 - Richard Fleischer, director (”20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”), 89
25 - Buck Owens, country music star (”Hee Haw”), 76
26 - Paul Dana, rookie race-car driver, 30
26 - Abdul Rahman Al-Sudairy, Saudi prince, uncle of King Fahd, 89
27 - Wayne Boden, Canadian serial rapist-killer, 58
27 - Dan Curtis, prolific TV producer (”Dark Shadows”), 77
27 - Pro Hart, popular Australian artist, 77
27 - Lyn Nofziger, Reagan adviser & spokesman, 81
28 - Jerry Brudos, Portland, OR, “Shoe Fetish Slayer,” 67
28 - Caspar “Cap” Weinberger, Reagan Secretary of Defense, 88
29 - Henry Farrell, scripter (”What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”), 85
29 - Gretchen Rau, set decorator (”Memoirs of a Geisha”), 66
29 - Jacqueline Roumeguere-Eberhardt, anthropologist
30 - Red Hickey, former San Francisco 49ers coach, 89
30 - Gloria Monty, “General Hospital” executive producer, 84
31 - George Leslie Brown, U.S.’s 1st black Lt. Gov. (Colorado), 79
31 - Olive McKean, 1936 Olympics silver-medalist swimmer, 90
31 - Candice Rialson, actress (”Moonshine County Express”), 54

APRIL, 2006

2 - Bernard Seigal, a.k.a. Buddy Blue, Beat Farmers co-founder, 48
3 - Tom Abercrombie, National Geographic photographer, 75
3 - Lou Carrol, man who gave Checkers to Richard M. Nixon, 83
3 - Doug Coombs, extreme skier, 48
3 - Marshall Goldberg, Chicago Cardinals running back, 88
3 - Peter Hadhazy, former Cleveland Browns GM, 62
4 - Fred Christensen, American WWII fighter ace, 84
4 - Denis Donaldson, ex-Sinn Fein leader & British double agent, 55
4 - Gary Gray, child actor (”Rachel and the Stranger”), 69
4 - Vickery Turner, UK actress (”Prudence and the Pill”), 66
5 - Alain de Boissieu, French general; son-in-law of de Gaulle, 92
5 - Pasquale Macchi, archbishop, ex-assistant to Pope Paul VI, 82
5 - Gene Pitney, rock and roller, 65
6 - Maggie Dixon, US Military Academy women’s basketball coach, 28
7 - Jim Clack, former NFL lineman, 58
7 - Bobbie Nudie, fashion designer, widow of Nudie Cohn, 92
7 - Frederick Pough, mineralogist, author, 99
9 - Billy Hitchcock, MLB infielder, 89
9 - Jimmy Outlaw, MLB infielder/outfielder, 93
9 - Vilgot Sjoman, Swedish director (”I Am Curious [Yellow]”), 81
9 - Natalia Troitskaya, Russian soprano, 55
11 - Les Foote, Australian rules football Hall of Famer, 81
11 - DeShaun Holton, a.k.a. Proof of D-12, rapper, 32
11 - Siobhan O’Hanlon, adviser to Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams, 43
12 - William Sloane Coffin, minister, peace activist, 81
13 - Dame Muriel Spark, novelist (”Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”), 88
13 - Arthur Winston, retired from Los Angeles MTA at age 100; 100
15 - Louise Smith, “First Lady of Racing,” 89
16 - Morton Freedgood, author (”The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3″), 93
16 - Daniel Schaefer, former Colorado Republican U.S. Rep, 70
17 - Scott Brazil, TV producer-director (”The Shield”), 50
17 - Henderson Forsythe, actor (”As the World Turns”), 88
17 - Vaishnavi, Bollywood actress, 20
18 - Dick Rockwell, cartoonist & nephew of Norman Rockwell, 85
22 - Kay Finegan, Big Band singer, 95
22 - Alida Valli, actress (”The Third Man”), 84
23 - Susan Browning, actress (”Sister Act”), 65
23 - Harvey Bullock, TV writer-producer (”The Love Boat”), 84
23 - Johnny Checketts, New Zealand WWII Wing Commander ace, 94
23 - Jennifer Jayne, TV & movie actress (”William Tell”), 64
23 - Florence Mars, civil rights activist, author, 83
23 - David E. Peckinpah, TV producer-director, nephew of Sam, 54
23 - Phil Walden, Capricorn Records founder, 66
26 - Russ Swan, former MLB pitcher, 42
27 - Alexander Buel Trowbridge, LBJ’s Secretary of Commerce, 76
27 - Julia Thorne, ex-wife of Mass. Sen. John Kerry, 61
29 - William L. Durkin, rescued Howard Hughes in plane crash, 89
29 - Leighton Kerner, Village Voice music critic, 79
29 - Alberta Nelson, Frankie-and-Annette beach-movie perennial, 68
30 - Jay Bernstein, Hollywood publicist, 69
30 - Tyler Fry, model & boyfriend of Shoshana Bean, 33
30 - Harold “Bunny” Levitt, former Harlem Globetrotter, 96
28 - Steve Howe, ex-Dodgers relief pitcher, 48
29 - John Kenneth Galbraith, liberal economist & author, 97
30 - Robert “Bobby” Fetzer, vintner, 50

MAY, 2006

1 - Jay Presson Allen, screenwriter (”Cabaret”), 84
1 - Ed Casey, former Queensland Labor Party leader, 73
1 - John Edward Hawkins (”Big Hawk”), rapper, 36
1 - Betsy Jones-Moreland, actress (”Perry Mason”), 76
1 - Johnny Paris, saxophone player (Johnny & the Hurricanes), 65
1 - Bruce Peterson, test pilot; inspired “6 Million Dollar Man,” 72
2 - Sam Mokuahi, Jr. (”Sammy Steamboat”), Hawaiian pro wrestler, 71
2 - Louis Rukeyser, business author, PBS host, 73
3 - Earl Woods, father of golfer Tiger Woods, 74
6 - Joe Amsler, kidnapped Frank Sinatra, Jr., in 1963, 65
7 - Richard Carleton, Australian journalist, “60 Minutes” host
7 - Lillian Gertrud Asplund, last American Titanic survivor, 99
8 - George Lutz, “Amityville Horror” hoaxster, 59 (see also Aug 23)
9 - Frank Boos, “Antiques Roadshow” host, 70
10 - Val Guest, sci-fi/horror director (”Quatermass” series), 94
10 - James Keogh, former Time exec. editor & Nixon speechwriter, 89
10 - Soraya, Colombian-American singer, 37
11 - Floyd Patterson, heavyweight boxing champ, 71
11 - June Pointer, youngest of the singing Pointer Sisters, 52
11 - Frankie Thomas, actor (”Tom Corbett, Space Cadet”), 85
12 - Ted Berkman, screenwriter (”Bedtime for Bonzo”) & author, 92
12 - Sonny Montgomery, 15-term Mississippi Rep., 85
14 - Lew Anderson, “Howdy Doody’s” Clarabell the Clown, 84
14 - Stanley Kunitz, U.S. Poet Laureate/Pulitzer Prize winner, 100
14 - Paul Marco, Ed Wood Z-actor (”Plan 9 from Outer Space”), 80
15 - Joyce Ballantyne, artist (created Coppertone Girl ad), 88
15 - George Crile III, CBS News journalist & author, 61
15 - Chic Hecht, ex-U.S. Senator (R-Nev.), 77
16 - Martin F. Dardis, attorney who linked Watergate to Nixon, 83
16 - Herbert Doan, former Dow Chemical CEO, 83
16 - Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson, professional poker player, 77
16 - Takahiro Tamura, actor (”Tora! Tora! Tora!”), 77
17 - Eric Forth, Conservative UK MP, 61
17 - Cy Feuer, Broadway producer, writer (”Guys and Dolls”), 95
17 - Dan Q. Kennis, B-movie producer (”I Spit on Your Corpse”), 86
17 - Dan Ross, Ex-Bengals tight end, 49
17 - Lawrence “Ramrod” Shurtliff, Grateful Dead roadie, 61
18 - Andrew Martinez, UC Berkeley’s “Naked Guy,” 33
18 - Vitor Negrete, Mount Everest climber, on Mount Everest, 38
19 - Freddie Garrity, singer (Freddie and the Dreamers), 65
21 - Katherine Dunham, dance pioneer, civil rights activist, 96
21 - Billy Walker, Grand Ole Opry star, 77
22 - Dr. Lee Jong-wook, World Health Organization head, 61
22 - Sherman Skolnick, conspiracy theorist, 73
23 - Lloyd Bentsen, former U.S. Sen. & Dukakis running mate, 85
23 - Ian Copeland, New Wave promoter, Stewart & Miles’ brother, 57
24 - Henry Bumstead, art director (”To Kill a Mockingbird”), 91
24 - John Wheeldon, Australian Labor Sen, Whitlam govt minister, 76
26 - Alan Kotok, pioneer video game designer (”Spacewar”), 64
26 - Edouard Michelin, Michelin CEO, 42
26 - Ted Schroeder, 1942 U.S. Open & 1949 Wimbledon champ, 84
27 - Gen. Romeo Lucas Garcia, former President of Guatemala, 81
27 - Paul Gleason, actor (”The Breakfast Club,” “Die Hard”), 67
27 - Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, NFL fullback, 39
27 - Thelma Leeds, 1930s actress, mother of Albert Brooks, 95
27 - Alex Toth, comic book artist/cartoonist (”Jonny Quest”), 77
28 - James Conway, Sr., Mister Softee co-founder, 78
28 - Sue Fear, Australian mountaineer, 43
28 - Arthur Widmer, movie “blue screen” developer, 92
29 - James Brolan, CBS News sound tech, 42 (killed with Douglas)
29 - Paul Douglas, CBS News cameraman, 48 (killed with Brolan)
29 - Steve Mizerak, billiards champ, 61
30 - Bobby Harden, country singer, 70
30 - Shohei Imamura, Japanese director (”Black Rain”), 79
30 - Robert Sterling, actor (TV’s “Topper”), 88
31 - Lula Mae Hardaway, mother of Stevie Wonder, 76

JUNE, 2006

2 - Bernard Loomis, toymaker; “father” of Strawberry Shortcake, 82
2 - Vince Welnick, keyboardist (Grateful Dead, The Tubes), 51
2 - Edward Yates, former “American Bandstand” director, 87
5 - Eric Gregg, MLB umpire, 55
6 - Reathel Odum, Bess Truman’s personal assistant, 97
6 - Billy Preston, singer, musician, “fifth Beatle,” 59
7 - Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda leader, 39
7 - Ingo Preminger, producer, brother of Otto Preminger, 95
8 - Robert Donner, comedian, actor (”Mork and Mindy”), 75
12 - Gyorgy Ligeti, composer (”2001: A Space Odyssey”), 83
13 - Charles Haughey, former Irish Prime Minister, 80
13 - Hiroyuki Iwaki, Melbourne Symphony conductor, 73
14 - Monty Berman, British TV & B-movie producer, 94
14 - Michael A. Estrella, 2,500th U.S. troop killed in Iraq, 20
18 - Donald Reilly, “New Yorker” cartoonist, 72
18 - Vincent Sherman, director (”The Young Philadelphians”), 99
18 - Richard Stahl, actor (”Five Easy Pieces”), 74
18 - Arthur Wood, Sears, Roebuck exec; built Sears Tower, 93
19 - E. Pierce Marshall, Anna Nicole Smith nemesis, 67
19 - Duane Roland, guitarist, Molly Hatchet co-founder, 53
20 - Bill Daniel, former Governor of Guam, 90
20 - William Shurcliff, physicist, helped develop atomic bomb, 97
20 - Claydes Charles Smith, Kool and the Gang lead guitarist, 57
22 - Moose, Jack Russell terrier, played Eddie on “Frasier,” 16
23 - Harriet, Galapagos tortoise, pet (?) of Charles Darwin, 176
23 - Grady Johnson/”Crazy” Luke Graham, former WWF wrestler, 66
23 - Aaron Spelling, prolific TV producer (e.g., “Love Boat”), 83
24 - Denice Denton, disgraced chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, 46
24 - Ben Garry, former Baltimore Colt, 50
24 - Jeffrey Harbers, Microsoft exec; developed MS-Office, 54
24 - Patsy Ramsey, mother of 6-year-old murder victim JonBenet, 49
24 - Ric Weiland, original & 1st openly gay Microsoft employee, 53
25 - Elkan Allan, creator of UK pop show, “Ready Steady Go!”, 83
25 - Dibya Khaling, Nepali composer of 1,000+ songs, 56
26 - Bruno, first wild bear in Germany in 170 years, shot & killed
26 - Al Brounstein, Napa Valley vintner, 86
26 - Joe Carter, gospel singer (”A Song in the Night”), 57
26 - Johnny Jenkins, influential blues guitarist, 67
26 - Marlon Kalkai, former pro wrestler (as “Tiger Kahn”), 33
26 - Marion Mingins, 1st female chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, 53
26 - Abbye Stockton, early female bodybuilder, 88
26 - Stephen Tiger, Native American rocker (Tiger Tiger), 57
26 - Jeff Winkless, voice actor (”Look Who’s Talking Now”), 65
27 - Eileen Barton, singer (”If I Knew You Were Comin’…”), 76
27 - J. Robert Elliott, overturned conviction of Wm. Calley, 96
28 - Vance Rudy Martin, The Lending Tree founder & former CEO, 64
28 - George Page, creator & narrator of PBS series “Nature,” 71
28 - Mickey Sims, former Cleveland Brown, 51
28 - George Unwin, Battle of Britain Wing Commander, 93
29 - Tom Brown, Texas oilman; Brown & Roper founder, 79
29 - Mercedes Quezada de Fox, mother of Mexican Prez Vicente, 87
29 - Caroline Kearney, Irish Triathlete, 22
29 - Glen Renfrew, Australian-born former head of Reuters, 77
29 - F. Mark Wyatt, CIA agent who fixed 1948 Italian election, 86
30 - Ross Tompkins, “The Tonight Show” pianist, 68

JULY, 2006

1 - Edwin Broderick, director, Catholic Relief Services, 89
1 - Willie Denson, singer-songwriter (”Mama Said”), 69
1 - Irving Green, Mercury Records co-founder, 90
1 - Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Prime Minister of Japan, 68
1 - Samir Sarhan, organizer of Cairo International Book Fair, 65
1 - Robbie “Rocket” Watts, Aussie guitarist (Cosmic Psychos), 47
2 - Maurice Fox-Strangways, Ninth Earl of Ilchester, 86
2 - Jan Murray, comedian, 89
2 - Jeffrey Wasserman, American painter, 59
3 - Mark Aubrey Tennyson, great-grandson of Lord Tennyson, 86
3 - Dick Dickey, former Boston Celtic, 79
3 - (found) Benjamin Hendrickson, actor (”As the World Turns”), 55
3 - Lars Korvald, former Prime Minister of Norway, 90
3 - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano, 52
3 - Jack Smith, TV host (”You Asked for It”) & singer, 92
3 - Lynn Stanley, Arizona anti-gay activist, 58
4 - Dean Goodman, actor & son-in-law of Marlene Dietrich, 86
4 - Bobby Joe Mason, 15-year Harlem Globetrotters player, 70
4 - Dorothy Hayden Truscott, world bridge champion & author, 80
5 - Ken Lay, Enron founder; convicted conspirator & fraud, 64
5 - Paul Nelson, Rolling Stone critic; former record exec, 69
5 - Tongan Prince Tu’ipelehake, 55, & wife, Princess Kaimana, 45
6 - Kasey Rogers, actress (Louise Tate’s on “Bewitched”), 80
7 - Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd co-founder, 60
8 - June Allyson, throaty, hugely popular MGM musical star, 88
8 - Catherine Leroy, Life magazine photojournalist, 60
9 - Milan B. Williams, original Commodores keyboardist & singer, 58
9 - Michael Zinzun, ex-Black Panther, 57
10 - Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel leader, 41
10 - Tommy Bruce, singer (”Ain’t Misbehavin’”), 68
10 - Robert Fumerton, Canadian WWII fighter ace, 93
11 - Kathy Augustine, impeached Nevada State Controller, 50
11 - John Coletta, former manager of Deep Purple & Whitesnake, 74
11 - Neil Coulbeck, Royal Bank of Scotland exec involved in Enron
11 - Gerald Gidwitz, Helene Curtis co-founder, 99
11 - Barnard Hughes, prolific stage, screen, & TV actor, 90
11 - Bill Miller, Frank Sinatra’s pianist, 91
11 - John Spencer, three-time world snooker champion, 71
11 - Philippe Takla, former Lebanese foreign minister, 91
12 - Kurt Kreuger, actor (”Sahara,” “The Enemy Below”), 89
13 - Red Buttons, Borscht Belt comedian, Oscar-winning actor, 87
14 - Carrie Nye, actress, wife of Dick Cavett, 69
15 - John Feild, exec director of President’s Commission on EEO, 83
15 - Rupert Pole, actor, ex-husband of Anais Nin, 87
16 - Robert H. Brooks, Hooters restaurants CEO, 69
17 - Robert Mardian, Richard Nixon’s Watergate-era lawyer, 82
17 - Mickey Spillane, “Mike Hammer” novelist, 88
18 - David Maloney, British TV producer-director (”Doctor Who”), 72
19 - Jack Warden, prolific character actor, 85
20 - Robert Cornthwaite, actor (”The Thing from Another World”), 89
20 - Harry Olivieri, co-invented Philly cheesesteak, 90
21 - Mako, actor (”The Sand Pebbles,” “Pearl Harbor”), 72
21 - Bob McCausland, Seattle Post-Intelligencer cartoonist, 90
21 - J. Madison Wright, former child actress (”The Nanny”), 21
22 - Heather Bratton, model, 19
22 - James E. West, disgraced former Spokane mayor, 55
23 - Charles E. Brady, Jr., former U.S. astronaut, 54
23 - (body parts found) Gianmario Roveraro, Italian financier
23 - Simonetta Stefanelli, actress (Apollonia, “The Godfather”), 51
24 - Michael Sellers, author, son of actor Peter Sellers, 52
25 - Carl Brashear, first black U.S. Navy diver, 75
25 - Bill Meistrell, Body Glove founder, 77
25 - Aldo Notari, International Baseball Federation president, 74
26 - Vincent J. Fuller, defended would-be assassin John Hinckley, 75
26 - Jessie Gilbert, youngest female world amateur chess champ, 19
26 - Darrell Martinie, astrologer known as “The Cosmic Muffin,” 63
27 - Elisabeth Volkmann, actress, German voice of Marge Simpson, 70
27 - Johnny Weissmuller, Jr., actor, son of “Tarzan,” 65

AUGUST, 2006

1 - Dr. Vincent Dole, discovered methadone as heroin treatment, 93
2 - Kim McLagan, model, Mrs. Ian McLagan, ex-wife of Keith Moon, 57
2 - Harold Ronk, Ringling Brothers ringmaster, 85
2 - Audrey Lindvall, model & sister of model Angela Lindvall, 23
3 - Ken Richmond, British actor & J. Arthur Rank gong striker, 80
3 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano, 90
4 - Esther Snyder, In-N-Out Burger president, 86
5 - Susan Butcher, four-time Iditarod champion, 51
7 - Mary Anderson Bain, FDR’s New Deal director, 94
7 - Lois January, Emerald City manicurist in “Wizard of Oz,” 92
9 - James Van Allen, discovered Van Allen belts, 91
8 - Bob Thaves, “Frank & Ernest” comic strip creator, 81
9 - Melissa Hayden, ex-New York City Ballet principal dancer, 83
11 - Mike Douglas, TV talk show host, singer, on his 81st birthday
12 - Victoria Gray Adams, civil rights activist, 79
12 - Karl von Stroheim, professional wrestler, 78
14 - Johnny Duncan, country singer, 67
14 - Bruno Kirby, actor (e.g., “City Slickers”), 57
15 - Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, Maori Queen, 75
15 - Alex Buzo, Australian playwright & novelist, 62
16 - Herschel Green, American WWII fighter ace, 86
16 - Alan Vint, prolific supporting TV & movie actor, 61
17 - Dr. Vernon Ingram, discovered cause of sickle cell anemia, 82
17 - Walter “Li’l Wally” Jagiello, polka musician, 76
17 - Sig Shore, producer (”Superfly”), 87
18 - Kathryn George Frost, highest-ranking woman in U.S. Army, 57
18 - Jeffrey Tennyson, artist & author (”Hamburger Heaven”), 54
19 - Joseph Hill, Jamaican reggae singer (Culture), 57
20 - Alexander Cushing, brought 1960 Winter Olympics to U.S., 92
20 - Robert K. Hoffman, National Lampoon co-founder, 59
20 - Jack Laughery, former Hardee’s fast-food chain CEO
20 - Joe Rosenthal, photog; shot pic of Iwo Jima flag-raising, 94
20 - Neil Trezise, Australian Labor politician, ex-footballer, 75
21 - William C. Norris, Control Data Corporation founder, 95
21 - Buck Page, musician, Riders of the Purple Sage founder, 84
22 - Bruce Gary, The Knack drummer, 55
23 - Walter “Maynard” Ferguson, jazz musician & bandleader, 78
23 - Ed Warren, “Amityville” demonologist, 79 (see also May
23 - Jay Young, original CNN anchor, 56
24 - Anthony Malara, former CBS Television president, 69
24 - Rocco Petrone, NASA engineer, Project Apollo director, 80
24 - David Plowright, former Granada Television CEO, 75
25 - Joseph Stefano, “Psycho” screenwriter, 84
25 - John Wilson, Nat’l Lesbian/Gay Journalists Assn. founder, 56
27 - Maria Esther de Capovilla, last person alive in 1880s, 116
27 - Don Chipp, Australian Democrats founder, 81
27 - Jon Dough, porn star, 43
27 - Jesse Pintado, Napalm Death guitarist, 37
28 - Ed Benedict, animator; designed Fred Flintstone, 94
28 - Mary Lee Robb Cline, actress (”The Great Gildersleeve”), 80
28 - William F. Quinn, first Governor of Hawaii, 87
28 - Alfred Sherman, co-founder, Centre for Policy Studies, 86
29 - Gerald Green, author (”The Last Angry Man”) & screenwriter, 84
29 - Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, rockabilly musician, 73
30 - Glenn Ford, leading man (”Gilda,” “The Blackboard Jungle”), 90
31 - Guy Gabaldon, WWII hero (”Pied Piper of Saipan”), 80
31 - Charlie Wagner, 1930s Boston Red Sox pitcher, 93

SEPTEMBER, 2006

1 - Bob O’Connor, Pittsburgh mayor for 8 months before death, 61
1 - Warren Mitofsky, credited with inventing the exit poll, 72
2 - Nellie Connally, widow of TX gov; last JFK ride survivor, 87
2 - (announced) Gyorgy Faludy, WW2 Hungarian resistance fighter, 95
2 - Bob Mathias, two-time Olympic decathlon champ, ex-U.S. Rep., 75
4 - Remy Belvaux, Belgian filmmaker (”Man Bites Dog”), 38
4 - Steve Irwin, Australia’s irrepressible “Crocodile Hunter,” 44
4 - Astrid Varnay, Swedish-American soprano, 88
6 - Lovette George, Broadway actress & singer, 44
7 - Joan Donaldson, CBC Newsworld TV Network founder, 60
7 - Robert Earl Jones, actor & father of James Earl Jones, 96
7 - Peter Greenough, journalist, husband of Beverly Sills, 89
8 - Peter Brock (”Brocky”), popular Australian race-car driver, 41
8 - Thomas Judge, former Governor of Montana, 71
8 - Frank Middlemass, British actor (”As Time Goes By”), 87
9 - Gerard Brach, screenwriter (”The Fearless Vampire Killers”), 79
9 - Herbert Rudley, actor (”The Mothers-in-Law”), 95
9 - William B. Ziff, Jr., ZiffDavis founder, 76
10 - Patty Berg, golfer, LPGA Tour co-founder, 88
10 - Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga, 88
10 - Daniel Smith, son of Anna Nicole Smith, 20
11 - Pat Corley, actor (”Murphy Brown”), 76
11 - Tyron Garner, co-plaintiff in Lawrence v. Texas, 39
11 - Joseph Hayes, author (”The Desperate Hours”), 88
13 - Silviu Brucan, former Romanian ambassador to U.S., 90
13 - Ann Richards, colorful & beloved former Texas governor, 73
14 - Mickey Hargitay, ex-Mr. Universe, ex-Mr. Jayne Mansfield, 80
14 - Adm. J. William Kime, former head of U.S. Coast Guard, 72
14 - Esme Melville, Australian movie & TV actress, 87
15 - Oriana Fallaci, high-profile Italian journalist, 77
15 - Ricky Gibson, former pro wrestler, 53
15 - Charles L. Grant, horror & science fiction author & editor, 64
15 - Donald Kimball, defrocked & convicted sex-abuse priest, 62
15 - Evelyn LaBruce, mezzo-soprano, 69
16 - Helene Adams, French resistance fighter, 85
16 - Pablo Santos, actor (”Greetings from Tucson”), 19
17 - Jack Banta, Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher, 81
17 - Patricia Kennedy Lawford, JFK sister, Peter Lawford widow, 82
17 - Dorothy C. Stratton, 1st director of USCG Women’s Reserve, 107
18 - Edward J. King, former Dem Governor of Massachusetts, 81
19 - Elizabeth Allen, actress (”Donovan’s Reef”), 77
19 - Josh Crouch, actor (”Dawson’s Creek”), 24
19 - Danny Flores, saxophone player & voice of “Tequila,” 77
19 - Martha Holmes, Life magazine photographer, 83
19 - Sir Hugh Kawharu, New Zealand Maori leader, 79
19 - Terry Smith, Richmond & St. Kilda Aussie rules footballer, 47
20 - Sven Nykvist, I. Bergman’s Oscar-winning cinematographer, 83
21 - Boz Burrell, guitarist (Bad Company, King Crimson), 60
21 - Charles Larson, TV writer & producer (”The FBI”), 86
21 - William C. Schultz, Fender Guitar Co. CEO, 80
22 - Edward Albert, actor & son of Eddie Albert, 55
22 - Mary Orr, author; “Wisdom of Eve” inspired “All About Eve,” 95
23 - Sir Malcolm Arnold, composer (”Bridge on the River Kwai”), 84
23 - Tim Rooney, actor & son of Mickey Rooney, 59
24 - Patrick Quinn, Broadway actor, 56
24 - Shelby Walker, professional (female) boxer, 31
25 - Safia Ahmed-jan, Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs head, 65
25 - Maureen Daly, young-adult author (”Seventeenth Summer”), 85
25 - Tetsuro Tamba, actor (”You Only Live Twice”), 84
26 - Iva Toguri D’Aquino, a.k.a. “Tokyo Rose,” 90
26 - “Lord” Byron Nelson, American golf champ, 94
27 - Craig Kusick, former Minnesota Twins first baseman, 57
28 - George Balzer, radio & TV writer for Jack Benny, 91
28 - William Whalen III, Carter’s Nat’l Park Service director, 66
30 - Burkett Howard Graves (”Uncle Josh”), Dobro guitarist, 79

OCTOBER, 2006

1 - Frank Beyer, director (”Jacob the Liar”), 74
2 - Frances Bergen, actress, widow of Edgar, mother of Candice, 84
2 - Helen Chenoweth-Hage, extreme right-wing ex-Arizona Rep., 68
2 - Tamara Dobson, blaxploitation star (”Cleopatra Jones”), 59
2 - Paul Richardson, longtime Philadelphia Phillies organist, 74
2 - Clyde Vollmer, Cincinnati Reds player, 85
3 - Gwen Meredith, wrote all 5,795 eps, Aus. radio’s “Blue Hills,” 98
4 - R. W. Apple, Jr., New York Times journalist, 71
4 - Tom Bell, British actor (”Prime Suspect”), 73
4 - Gary Comer, Lands’ End founder, philanthropist, 78
4 - Ralph Griswold, created Snobol & Icon programming languages, 72
5 - Speedy O. Long, ex-Dem Louisiana Rep.; cousin of Huey Long, 78
5 - Jennifer Moss, British actress (”Coronation Street”), 61
6 - Buck O’Neill, Negro Leagues star, 94
9 - Jeff Getty, received 1st baboon bone-marrow transplant, 49
10 - Jerry Belson, Emmy-winning TV writer (”Dick Van Dyke”), 68
11 - Cory Lidle, New York Yankees pitcher, 34
12 - Todd Bolender, director of Kansas City Ballet, 92
12 - Johnny Callison, three-time MLB All-Star outfielder, 67
12 - Eugene Martin, drove in world’s first Grand Prix, 91
12 - Gillo Pontecorvo, Italian director (”Battle of Algiers”), 86
13 - Dr. Mason Andrews, delivered first U.S. test-tube baby, 87
13 - Hilda Terry, cartoonist (”Teena”), 92
14 - Freddy Fender, singer (”Before the Next Teardrop Falls”), 69
14 - Herbert Leonard, producer (”Route 66,” “Naked City”), 84
14 - Gerry Studds, first openly gay U.S. congressman, 69
15 - Derek Bond, actor (”Callan,” “Scott of the Antarctic”), 86
16 - Ross Davidson, actor (”EastEnders”), 57
16 - Sid Davis, educational filmmaker (of school-scare films), 90
16 - Tommy Johnson, “Jaws” soundtrack tuba player (da-DUM…), 71
16 - Sigmund Strochlitz, U.S. Holocaust Museum co-founder, 89
17 - Christopher Glenn, CBS News anchor/correspondent, 68
17 - Daniel Emilfork, actor (”City of Lost Children”), 82
17 - Sandra Regina Arantes do Nascimento, daughter of Pele, 42
17 - Marcia Tucker, New Museum of Contemporary Art founder, 66
18 - Spoony Singh, Hollywood Wax Museum founder, 83
20 - Phyllis Kirk, actress (”House of Wax,” “The Thin Man”), 79
20 - Jane Wyatt, actress (”Father Knows Best”), 96
21 - Daryl Duke, director (”The Thorn Birds”), 77
21 - Bryan Hipp, guitarist (Diabolic, Cradle of Filth)
21 - Sandy West, Runaways co-founder (w/Joan Jett) & drummer, 47
22 - Arthur Hill, actor (”Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law”), 84
22 - Nelson de la Rosa, two-foot-four actor, 38
23 - Dr. Jane Hodgson, abortion rights advocate, 91
23 - Charles Horton, Physicians for Peace founder, 81
23 - Jack E. Scholl, the “Dr. Scholl” of footcare fame, 80
23 - Todd Skinner, pioneering rock climber, 47
24 - David P. Conn, successfully prosecuted Menendez brothers, 56
24 - Sally Lilienthal, Ploughshares Fund founder, 87
24 - Enolia McMillan, first female NAACP president, 102
27 - Joe Niekro, former Houston Astros pitcher, 61
27 - Bradley Roland Will, Indymedia reporter killed in Oaxaca, 36
28 - Robert Anderson, Rockwell International president & CEO, 85
28 - Red Auerbach, legendary Boston Celtics coach, 89
28 - Tina Aumont, French actress (”Fellini’s Casanova”), 60
28 - Trevor Berbick, ex-heavyweight champ who beat Muhammad Ali, 51
29 - Nigel Kneale, screenwriter (”The Quatermass Experiment”), 84
29 - Ian Rilen, Australian rocker (Rose Tattoo), 58
29 - Silas Simmons, Negro Leagues player, 111
31 - P.W. Botha, pro-apartheid former President of South Africa, 90

NOVEMBER, 2006

1 - Bettye Ackerman, actress (”Ben Casey”), 82
1 - Buddy Killen, Dial Records founder, 73
1 - Adrienne Shelly, actress (”Trust,” “Unbelievable Truth”), 40
1 - William Styron, author (”Sophie’s Choice”), 81
3 - Frank Dunham, Jr., led defense for Zacarias Moussaoui, 64
3 - Paul Mauriat, French conductor, “Love Is Blue” arranger, 81
3 - Sputnik Monroe, professional wrestler, 77
3 - Malachi Ritscher, anti-war activist, self-immolated, 52
3 - Marie Rudisill, character actress & aunt of Truman Capote, 95
4 - William Lee Brent, Black Panther who hijacked plane to Cuba, 75
4 - Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, “Cheaper by the Dozen” author, 98
5 - Ex-KKK Imperial Wizard Samuel H. Bowers, 82
5 - Chuck DeShane, former Detroit Lions QB, 87
5 - Hamilton Richardson, U.S. Open doubles winner, 73
6 - Robert Jance Garfat, rocker (Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show), 62
6 - J.T. Rutherford, former Democratic Texas U.S. Rep., 85
8 - Basil Poledouris, movie composer (”Robocop”), 61
8 - Philip Rauch, Ideal Corp. prez, Parker-Hannifin Corp. CEO, 95
8 - Annette Rogers, Olympic relay gold medalist (1932 & 1936), 93
9 - Ed Bradley, journalist, 26-year “60 Minutes” correspondent, 65
9 - Marian Marsh, actress (”Hell’s Angels,” “Svengali”), 93
9 - Ellen Willis, journalist & women’s rights activist, 64
10 - Diana Coupland, British actress (”Bless This House”), 74
10 - Gerald Levert, singer & son of O’Jays’ Eddie Levert, 40
10 - Jack Palance, craggy, beloved movie bad guy (”Shane”), 87
11 - Belinda Emmett, Australian actress (”Home and Away”), 32
11 - Joe Jagger, father of Mick, 93
11 - Ronnie Stevens, British character actor, 81
11 - Florence “Rusty” Tullis, played by Cher in “Mask,” 70
12 - Joseph Ungaro, prompted Nixon’s “I am not a crook,” 76
12 - H. Donald Wilson, LexisNexis founder, 82
13 - Tiger Conway, former professional wrestler, 74
14 - Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian model, 21
15 - John M. Blackburn, songwriter (”Moonlight in Vermont”), 93
15 - Ken Ishikawa, manga creator (”Getter Robo”), 58
16 - Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist, 94
16 - Gary Graver, filmmaker (”The Other Side of the Wind”), 68
17 - Ruth Brown, blues singer, 78
17 - Marcus Cassel, football player, 23
17 - Bo Schembechler, former Michigan football coach, 77
18 - Lee Dong-won, foreign South Korean foreign minister, 80
19 - Dirk Dirksen, punk rock promoter, 69
19 - Jeremy Slate, actor (”Hell’s Angels ‘69″), 80
20 - Robert Altman, anti-director (”MASH,” “Nashville”), 81
20 - Zoia Ceausescu, daughter of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, 56
20 - Walid Hassan, Iraqi comedian & TV personality, 47
20 - Chris Hayward, “Dudley Do-Right” & “Munsters” creator, 81
20 - Kevin McClory, producer (”Never Say Never Again”), 80
21 - Thomas Courtney Fleming, civil rights activist, 98
21 - Pierre Gemayel, Lebanese Minister of Industry, 34
21 - Hassan Gouled Aptidon, first President of Djibouti, 90
22 - Muriel Castanis, sculptor, 80
22 - Pat Dobson, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 64
22 - Gilles Gregoire, Parti Quebecois co-founder, 80
22 - Roy Newell, abstract expressionist painter, 92
23 - Betty Comden, lyricist (”Singin’ in the Rain”), 89
23 - Jack Ferrante, Philadelphia Eagles end, 90
23 - Alexander Litvinenko, former Russian spy, 43 or 44
23 - Anita O’Day, jazz singer, 87
23 - Philippe Noiret, French actor (”Cinema Paradiso”), 76
23 - Chris Sandy, former Harlem Globetrotter, 27
24 - William Diehl, novelist (”Primal Fear”), 81
24 - Phyllis Fraser, actress, author, & cousin of Ginger Rogers, 90
24 - Robert McFerrin, singer & father of Bobby McFerrin, 85
24 - Thelma Scott, Australian actress (”Number 96″), 93
25 - David Hermance, engineer, developed Toyota Prius, 59
26 - Dave Cockrum, comic book artist (”X-men”), 63
26 - Tony Silvester, singer (The Main Ingredient), 65
26 - Raul Velasco, Mexican TV host (”Siempre en Domingo”), 73
27 - Bebe Moore Campbell, author (”Brothers and Sisters”), 56
27 - Alan Freeman, Aussie-born BBC rock DJ & occasional actor, 79
27 - Annie Knight, oldest known person in UK, 111
28 - Sam Calderone, former New York Giants catcher, 80
29 - Rosalie Bradford, heaviest woman & most weight lost, 63
29 - Akio Jissoji, Japanese director (”Ultraman”), 69
29 - Emmett Kelly Jr., clown & son of clown legend Emmett, Sr., 83
29 - Shirley Walker, movie & TV composer (”Final Destination”), 61
30 - Perry Henzell, Jamaican-born director (”Harder They Come”), 70

DECEMBER, 2006

1 - Sid Raymond, voice actor (”Baby Huey”), 97
2 - Mariska Veres, Shocking Blue singer (”Venus”), 59
2 - Richard Vernon, Metropolitan Opera bass, 53
4 - Sir Peter Gadsden, former Lord Mayor of London, 77
4 - James Kim, senior CNET editor, “TechTV” presonality, 35
4 - Ronnie Lippin, rock publicist/manager (Eric Clapton, et al), 59
5 - Michael A. Guido, six-term mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, 52
5 - Yvonne Scarlett-Golden, 1st black female mayor Daytona Beach, 80
5 - Van Smith, John Waters makeup artist, created Divine’s look, 61
6 - Khan Akhmedov, former Prime Minister of Turkmenistan, 70
6 - Andy Dill, porn star, 39
6 - Andra Franklin, former Miami Dolphin, 47
6 - Mavis Pugh, British actress (”You Rang M’Lord?”), 92
7 - Lyuben Berov, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, 81
7 - Kevin Berry, Australian Olympic swimmer, 61
7 - Moses Hardy, oldest man U.S.; last black WWI veteran, 113
7 - J.B. Hunt, Sr., J.B. Hunt Transport Services founder, 79
7 - Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, first female ambassador to UN, 80
8 - Martha Tilton, sang with Benny Goodman, 91
8 - Jose Uribe, former San Francisco Giants shortstop, 47
9 - Georgia Gibbs, singer (”Kiss of Fire”), 87
9 - Johnny Hutch, British acrobat & comedian (”Benny Hill”), 93
9 - Fred Marsden, Gerry & the Pacemakers drummer, 66
9 - Martin Nodell, created superhero “Green Lantern,” 91
10 - Augusto Pinochet, former military dictator of Chile, 91
11 - Elizabeth Bolden, oldest known person in the world, 116
12 - Peter Boyle, actor (”Young Frankenstein”), 71
12 - Alan Shugart, Seagate Technology co-founder, 76
13 - Richard Carlson, author (”Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”), 45
13 - Lamar Hunt, KC Chiefs owner; coined term “Super Bowl,” 74
13 - James Williamson (”Homesick James”), blues musician, 96
14 - Mike Evans, actor (Lionel on “The Jeffersons”), 57
14 - Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records founder, 83
17 - Denis Peyton, Dave Clark Five saxophonist, 63
17 - Larry Sherry, L.A. Dodgers pitcher, 1959 MVP 71
18 - Joseph Barbera, Hanna-Barbera animation legend, 95
20 - Yukio Aoshima, Japanese comedian; former governor of Tokyo, 74
21 - Scobie Breasley, Australian jockey, 92
21 - Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan, 66
21 - Philippa Pearce, 86, British children’s author, 86
22 - Dennis Linde, songwriter (”Burning Love”), 63
23 - Robert Stafford, former Vermont governor & U.S. Senator, 93
24 - Charlie Drake, recorded “My Boomerang Won’t Come Back,” 81
24 - Frank Stanton, former CBS president, 98
25 - James Brown, “Godfather of Soul,” 73
25 - Ingerid Vardund, Norwegian actress, 79
26 - Chris Brown, former MLB All-Star, 45
26 - Gerald R. Ford, ex-U.S. Prez & Nixon V.P.; pardoned Nixon, 93
27 - Sahib al-Amiri, adviser to Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
28 - Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian Minister of Justice, 50
28 - Stanislav Landgraf, Russian actor, 68
28 - Tiny Naude, South African rugby player, 70
30 - Saddam Hussein, deposed head of Iraq, 69
30 - Name unknown; 2,998th U.S. soldier killed in Iraq War

* Deaths of Sprecher & Zeck unrelated; pure coincidence

Dead Celebrity Alert Roll Call, 2005

NBC News and news services
updated 7:05 p.m. PT, Sat., Dec. 30, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners before dawn Saturday. But as his final moments approached and masked executioners slipped a black cloth and noose around his neck, he grew calm.

In a final moment of defiance, he refused a hood to cover his eyes.

Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.

Witnesses to the execution told NBC News’ Richard Engel that they were cheering around the body of Saddam after the hanging — three years after the deposed president was hauled from a hole in the ground by pursuing U.S. forces.

Asked if Saddam were dead, the official in the Iraqi prime minister’s office said, “Yes, the body of Saddam Hussein is in front of me.” The hanging reportedly occurred at 6:05 a.m. local time (10:05 p.m. ET).

NBC could hear cheers and celebrations in the background while talking to an official in the prime minister’s office.

By several accounts, Saddam was calm but scornful of his captors, engaging in a give-and-take with the crowd gathered to watch him die and insisting he was Iraq’s savior, not its tyrant and scourge.

“He said we are going to heaven and our enemies will rot in hell and he also called for forgiveness and love among Iraqis but also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the Americans and the Persians,” Munir Haddad, an appeals court judge who witnessed the hanging, told the British Broadcasting Corp. …

The post-execution footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains. His eyes are closed. …

[Sami al-Askari, the political adviser of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki] said Saddam was clad in a black suit, hat and shoes, rather than prison garb. His hat was removed and his hands tied shortly before the noose was slipped around his neck.

Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present.

“Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood,” al-Askari said. “Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: ‘God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab.”‘

Iraqi state television showed footage of guards in ski masks placing a noose around Saddam’s neck. Saddam appeared calm as he stood on the metal framework of the gallows. The footage cuts off just before the execution. … Read full story

…ten minutes ago (as of 7:07pm PST).

No confirmation, no details.

HOUSTON (AP) — Chris Brown, an All-Star third baseman who played six seasons in the majors in the 1980s, died Tuesday, nearly a month after he was burned in a fire at his home outside Houston. He was 45.

Brown died at Memorial Hermann Hospital. An autopsy has been performed but the cause of death is still pending, said Beverly Begay, a spokeswoman for the Harris County medical examiner’s office.

Authorities say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire and how Brown was burned. Doug Adolph, a spokesman for the Sugar Land police and fire departments, said arson is suspected.

Brown played with the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers. He is the second member of the mid-1980s Giants infield to die this month. Jose Uribe played shortstop for the team from 1985-92. He died at 47 in a Dec. 8 car crash in the Dominican Republic.

A few years ago, Brown took a job with Halliburton Co. and ended up in Iraq driving, inspecting and repairing 18-wheel fuel trucks. In a 2004 telephone interview with The Associated Press, he said he’d faced enemy fire several times. … Read full obituary

NEW YORK, Dec. 25, 2006 (CBS) Longtime CBS president Dr. Frank Stanton, who helped mold the company into a symbol of excellence reflected in its “Tiffany Network” nickname, died Sunday afternoon at his home in Boston. He was 98.

He was the master builder of CBS, turning an also-ran radio network into a broadcasting powerhouse under company architect and founder William S. Paley, who appointed him president in 1946.

Stanton was known as the “conscience of broadcasting” for his battles for First Amendment rights and the unwavering support of the journalists who worked for him.

“Like the CBS Eye logo that he unveiled in 1951, Frank Stanton was an American icon, recognized and respected around the world,” said Leslie Moonves, the President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS. … Read full obituary

Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon’s scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America’s history, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93. …

Ford had battled pneumonia in January 2006 and underwent two heart treatments — including an angioplasty — in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He was the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93. Ford had been living at his desert home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.

Ford was an accidental president, Nixon’s hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straight-forward as Nixon was tightly controlled and conspiratorial.

He took office minutes after Nixon flew off into exile and declared “our long national nightmare is over.” But he revived the debate a month later by granting Nixon a pardon for all crimes he committed as president. … Read full obituary

ATLANTA — James Brown, the legendary singer known as the “Godfather of Soul,” has died, his agent said early Monday. He was 73.

Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia on Sunday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles Bobbit was by his side, he said. …

Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie’s “Fame,” Prince’s “Kiss,” George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog” and Sly and the Family Stone’s “Sing a Simple Song” were clearly based on Brown’s rhythms and vocal style. … Read full obituary

TWENTYNINE PALMS, California (AP) — Actor Mike Evans, best known as Lionel Jefferson in the TV comedy series “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” has died. He was 57.

Evans died of throat cancer Dec. 14 at his mother’s home in Twentynine Palms, said his niece, Chrystal Evans.

Evans, along with Eric Monte, also created and wrote for “Good Times,” one of the first TV comedy series that featured a primarily black cast. …

He also acted in the 1976 TV miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man” and made guest appearances on the TV series “Love, American Style” and “The Streets of San Francisco.” His last role was in a 2000 episode of “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

In recent years he had invested in real estate in Southern California. … Read full obituary

Burbank, Calif. (December 18, 2006) — Animation legend Joseph Barbera, co-chairman and co-founder of the world renowned Hanna-Barbera Studios, died today at his Studio City, CA home with wife Sheila at his side. He was 95 years old.

“Joe Barbera truly was an animation and television legend,” said Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. “From the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday mornings, syndication and cable, the characters he created with his late partner, William Hanna, are not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture. …”

Born in the Little Italy section of New York City, New York, on March 24, 1911, Barbera and his partner William Hanna (who passed away in March of 2001) created hundreds of beloved cartoon characters during their 60-plus-year partnership. They enjoyed one of the most enduring and successful relationships in entertainment history and together created some of the world’s most recognizable and beloved characters including Tom and Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear among many others. … Read full obituary

DALLAS — Lamar Hunt, the Kansas City Chiefs’ owner who was a founder of the American Football League and one of the leaders of the AFL-NFL merger, has died.

Remembered as a humble and inventive entrepreneur, Hunt also came up with the term “Super Bowl.” He died Wednesday night at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas due to complications from prostate cancer, Chiefs spokesman Bob Moore said. Hunt was 74. … Read full obituary

Peter Boyle, the actor who transformed from an angry workingman in “Joe” to a tap-dancing monster in “Young Frankenstein” and finally the comically grouchy father on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” has died. He was 71.

Boyle died Tuesday evening at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He had been suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease, said his publicist, Jennifer Plante.

A member of the Christian Brothers religious order who turned to acting, the tall, prematurely balding Boyle gained notice in the title role of the 1970 sleeper hit “Joe,” playing an angry, murderous bigot at odds with the emerging hippie youth culture.

Briefly typecast in tough, irate roles, Boyle began to escape the image as Robert Redford’s campaign manager in “The Candidate” and left it behind entirely after “Young Frankenstein,” Mel Brooks’ 1974 send-up of horror films. The latter movie’s defining moment came when Gene Wilder, as scientist Frederick Frankenstein, introduced his creation to an upscale audience. Boyle, decked out in tails, performed a song-and-dance routine to the Irving Berlin classic “Puttin’ On the Ritz.”

It showed another side of Boyle, one that would be best exploited in the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” in which he played curmudgeonly paterfamilias Frank Barone for 10 years. … Read full obituary

Augusto Pinochet, the former military dictator of Chile who was revered by supporters for leaving behind the most stable country in Latin America but reviled by critics who say he ruled with a complete disregard for human rights, died Sunday. He was 91. …

He was one of the most controversial political figures of the 20th century and had been in poor health in recent years, suffering from diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and the effects of at least three mild strokes that his family said had left him with mild dementia.

Pinochet will be most remembered for leading a military coup that toppled the world’s first democratically elected Marxist president, Salvador Allende, on Sept. 11, 1973. Allende had named Pinochet commander-in-chief of the armed forces just 18 days before the coup.

In recent years, declassified U.S. government documents have shown that the Nixon administration began a program to destabilize the Allende government, which had earned President Richard Nixon’s wrath by nationalizing U.S. copper mines and other foreign-controlled businesses, rural estates and banks and recognizing Cold War foes of the United States such as Cuba, North Korea and North Vietnam. Led by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Washington financed labor strikes, propaganda and military plotters, paving the way for Pinochet’s rise to power, some historians have argued. “It is not part of American history we are proud of,” former Secretary of State Colin Powell said in 2003. … Read full obituary

Former San Francisco Giants shortstop Jose Uribe was killed early Friday in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic.

The Dominican National Police said the 47-year-old Uribe’s sport utility vehicle crashed about 3 a.m. on a highway about 30 miles west of the capital, Santo Domingo. Police said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Jose Uribe owned a hardware store in his hometown of Juan Baron in recent years, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor. Police said he was driving to his hometown, in San Cristobal province, at the time of the crash.

Uribe played in the major leagues from 1984-93, mostly with the Giants. He began his career with one season in St. Louis, when he was known as Jose Gonzalez Uribe, and ended it with one in Houston. …

Uribe’s death prompted an outpouring of grief in his hometown, where Los Angeles Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero led thousands of mourners through the streets. … Read full obituary

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, an unabashed apostle of Reagan era conservatism and the first woman U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has died.

The death of the 80-year-old Kirkpatrick, who began her public life as a Hubert Humphrey Democrat, was announced Friday at the senior staff meeting of the U.S. mission to the United Nations and on the Web site of the American Enterprise Institute, where she had been a senior fellow. …

Kirkpatrick, elevated to the U.N. post by President Reagan in 1981, was known as a blunt and sometimes acerbic advocate for her causes. She remained involved in public issues even though she’d left government service two decades ago. …

In the Reagan years she played a quiet role in cutting off U.S. aid to a leftist government in Nicaragua and supporting a military junta in El Salvador. …

In 2002, at a seminar in Washington sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America, Kikpatrick warned that a Palestinian state would be “a catastrophic mistake” and a danger to Israel. It would be appeasement, Kirkpatrick argued, and a step backward from the U.S. fight against terrorism. … Read full obituary

PHOENIX, Dec. 3 (AP) — Emmett Kelly Jr., who followed his father, one of the nation’s most famous clowns, into a career under the big top, died Wednesday near his home in Tombstone, Ariz. He was 83.

The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his daughter, CherryAnn Kelly-Knapp. … Read full obituary