Farewell

MEDIA AND PUBLISHING

Richard Ben Cramer, political journalist and author, died Jan. 7, age 62.

Pauline Phillips, aka Dear Abby, advice columnist, died Jan. 16, age 94.

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ChinuaAchebe, Nigerian novelist who wrote Things Fall Apart, died March 21, age 82.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, novelist who wrote the screenplay for The Remains of the Day, died April 3, age 85.

Roger Ebert, influential Chicago Sun-Times film critic, died April 4, age 70.

Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today, died April 19, age 89.

E.L. Konigsburg, author of popular children’s books such as From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, died April 19, age 83.

Joyce Brothers, psychologist and newspaper columnist, died May 13, age 85

Andrew Greeley, Catholic priest who wrote steamy best-sellers such as The Cardinal Sins, died May 29, age 85.

Michael Hastings, journalist whose article on Gen. Stanley McChrystal led to the Afghanistan commander’s dismissal, died June 18, age 33.

Helen Thomas, longtime doyenne of the White House press corps, died July 20, age 92.

Elmore Leonard, Detroit-based author of crime capers such as Get Shorty, died Aug. 20, age 87.

Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize–-winning Irish poet, died Aug. 30, age 74.

David Frost, British broadcaster who recorded interviews with Richard Nixon, died Aug. 31, age 74.

Marcella Hazan, cookbook author who redefined Italian cooking, died Sept. 29, age 89.

Tom Clancy, author of military thrillers such as The Hunt for Red October, died Oct. 1, age 66.

Oscar Hijuelos, author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, died Oct. 12, age 62.

Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize–winning author of The Golden Notebook, died Nov. 17, age 94.

STAGE AND SCREEN

Annette Funicello, Mouseketeer on television’s The Mickey Mouse Club and teenage star of beach movies, died April 8, age 70.

Jonathan Winters, comedian and actor, died April 11, age 87.

Jean Stapleton, actress who played Edith Bunker in All in the Family, died May 31, age 90.

Esther Williams, swimmer and actress in films like Dangerous When Wet, died June 6, age 91.

James Gandolfini, actor who played Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, died June 19, age 51.

Cory Monteith, actor in the television series Glee, died July 13, age 31.

Karen Black, actress in Nashville, Five Easy Pieces, and other films, died Aug. 8, age 74.

Julie Harris, Tony Award–winning stage and film actress, died Aug. 24, age 87.

Paul Walker, actor in the film series The Fast and the Furious, died Nov. 30, age 40.

Peter O’Toole, high-living Irish-English actor who starred in Lawrence of Arabia, died Dec. 14, age 81.

MUSIC AND THE ARTS

Patti Page, singer who made a 1950 hit of “Tennessee Waltz,” died Jan. 1, age 85.

Patty Andrews, last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters vocal trio, died Jan. 30, age 94.

Donald Byrd, jazz trumpeter who moved from hard bop to funk, died Feb. 4, age 80.

Wolfgang Sawallisch, old-school German conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, died Feb. 22, age 89.

Van Cliburn, American pianist who soared to fame by winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, died Feb. 27, age 78.

Alvin Lee, guitarist with Ten Years After, died March 6, age 68.

Bebo Valdés, Cuban pianist and bandleader, died March 22, age 94.

Maria Tallchief, Native American prima ballerina, died April 11, age 88.

Colin Davis, longtime conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, died April 14, age 85.

Richie Havens, folksinger and guitarist, died April 22, age 72.

George Jones, country singer of hits like “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” died April 26, age 81.

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist who gave the Doors its signature sound, died May 20, age 74.

J.J. Cale, rock musician who wrote “Cocaine,” died July 26, age 74.

Eydie Gormé, singer who often performed with her husband, Steve Lawrence, died Aug. 10, age 84.

Lou Reed, rock musician who wrote “Sweet Jane” and “Walk on the Wild Side,” died Oct. 27, age 71.

Chico Hamilton, jazz drummer and bandleader who exemplified the West Coast’s cool jazz sound, died Nov. 25, age 92.

Jim Hall, jazz guitarist prized for his impeccable technique, died Dec. 10, age 83.

Ray Price, Texas-born country singer who brought strings to Nashville, died Dec. 16, age 87.

POLITICS

Ed Koch, three-term mayor of New York City, died Feb. 1, age 88.

Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan president from 1999 to 2013, died March 5, age 58.

Margaret Thatcher, British prime minister from 1979 to 1990, died April 8, age 87.

Giulio Andreotti, seven-time Italian prime minister, died May 6, age 94.

Jorge Rafael Videla, head of Argentina’s military junta from 1976 to 1981, died May 17, age 87.

Frank Lautenberg, U.S. senator from New Jersey for almost 30 years, died June 3, age 89.

Lindy Boggs, U.S. representative from Louisiana from 1973 to 1991, died July 27, age 97.

Tom Foley, U.S. representative from Washington and speaker of the House from 1989 to 1995, died Oct. 18, age 84.

Nelson Mandela, leader of the struggle against apartheid who became South Africa’s first black president, died Dec. 5, age 95.

GENERAL

Aaron Swartz, computer wizard whose activism for an open Web led to wire-fraud charges, died Jan. 11, age 26.

Earl Weaver, longtime manager of the Baltimore Orioles, died Jan. 19, age 82.

Stan Musial, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, died Jan. 19, age 92.

C. Everett Koop, U.S. surgeon general from 1982 to 1989 who took a strong stand against smoking, died Feb. 25, age 96.

Boris Berezovsky, Russian oligarch who ran afoul of President Vladimir Putin, died March 23, age 67.

Robert G. Edwards, British physician who pioneered in vitro fertilization, died April 10, age 87.

Pat Summerall, football player and broadcaster, died April 16, age 82.

Douglas Engelbart, computer visionary who invented the mouse and laid out principles of networking, died July 2, age 88.

John Casablancas, modeling agent who ushered in the era of supermodels, died July 20, age 70.

Virginia Johnson, sexologist and partner of Dr. William Masters, died July 24, age 88.

Julius Chambers, civil rights lawyer who won several landmark cases against racial segregation, died Aug. 2, age 76.

Art Donovan, Hall of Fame tackle for the Baltimore Colts, died Aug. 4, age 89.

Muriel Siebert, financier who became the first woman to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, died Aug. 24, age 84.

Ray Dolby, sound engineer and innovator, died Sept. 12, age 80.

Eiji Toyoda, president and chairman of Toyota, died Sept. 17, age 100.

Ken Norton, heavyweight boxer who broke Muhammad Ali’s jaw in a 12-round victory in 1973, died Sept. 18, age 70.

Vo Nguyen Giap, North Vietnamese general who drove the French and the Americans from his homeland, died Oct. 4, age 102.

Scott Carpenter, astronaut who was the second American to orbit the earth, died Oct. 10, age 88.

Walt Bellamy, Hall of Fame center for the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks, died Nov. 2, age 74.

Charlie Trotter, innovative Chicago-based chef and restaurateur, died Nov. 5, age 54.

Ronnie Biggs, longtime British fugitive from justice for the Great Train Robbery of 1963, died Dec. 18, age 84.