Farewell
Among those who died in 2008 ...
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Arthur C. Clarke, science-fiction giant and author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, died March 19, age 90.
Jim McKay, host of ABC’s Wide World of Sports, died June 7, age 86.
Tim Russert, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, died June 13, age 58.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Nobel peace laureate and Soviet dissident, died Aug. 3, age 89.
Robert Giroux, publisher of award-winning fiction and nonfiction, died Sept. 5, age 94.
David Foster Wallace, postmodern novelist, died Sept. 12, age 46.
Studs Terkel, gravel-voiced oral historian, died Oct. 31, age 96.
Michael Crichton, best-selling author of Jurassic Park and other technothrillers, died Nov. 4, age 66.
Stage and screen:
Suzanne Pleshette, co-star of The Bob Newhart Show, died Jan. 19, age 70.
Heath Ledger, brooding star of Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, died Jan. 22, age 28.
Roy Scheider, star of The French Connection, Jaws, and All That Jazz, died Feb. 10, age 75.
Paul Scofield, Tony- and Oscar-winning portrayer of Sir Thomas More, died March 19, age 86.
Richard Widmark, reliable movie tough guy, died March 24, age 84.
Charlton Heston, Oscar-winning star of Ben-Hur and president of the National Rifle Association, died April 5, age 85.
Sydney Pollack, director of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, The Way We Were, and Tootsie, died May 26, age 73.
Harvey Korman, comedian and Carol Burnett Show co-star, died May 29, age 81.
Cyd Charisse, leggy dancer, died June 17, age 86.
George Carlin, taboo-busting comedian, died June 22, age 71.
Bernie Mac, raucous comedian, died Aug. 9, age 50.
Paul Newman, Oscar-winning actor, liberal activist, and philanthropist, died Sept. 26, age 83.
Van Johnson, handsome, redheaded leading man and dancer, died Dec. 12, age 92.
Music:
Alexander “Sandy” Courage, composer of the theme from Star Trek, died May 15, age 88.
Bo Diddley, pioneering rock ’n’ roll guitarist, died June 2, age 79.
Isaac Hayes, funky composer of the “Theme From Shaft,” died Aug. 10, age 65.
Norman Whitfield, composer of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” died Sept. 16, age 68.
Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops, died Oct. 17, age 72.
Yma Sumac, exotic Peruvian chanteuse, died Nov. 1, age 86.
Miriam Makeba, Grammy-winning singer known as “Mama Africa,” died Nov. 10, age 76.
Odetta, singer known as “the voice of the civil-rights movement,” died Dec. 2, age 77.
Politics:
Suharto, ruthless leader of Indonesia for 32 years, died Jan. 27, age 86.
Evan Mecham, outspoken governor of Arizona, died Feb. 21, age 83.
Howard Metzenbaum, liberal Democratic senator from Ohio, died March 12, age 90.
Hamilton Jordan, chief of staff to President Jimmy Carter, died May 20, age 63.
Jesse Helms, conservative Republican senator from North Carolina, died July 4, age 86.
Hua Guofeng, premier of China, died Aug. 20, age 87.
Jörg Haider, ultraconservative Austrian party leader, died Oct. 11, age 58.
General:
Sir Edmund Hillary, first man to conquer Mount Everest, died Jan. 11, age 88.
Bobby Fischer, eccentric chess genius, died Jan. 17, age 64.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, spiritual advisor to the Beatles, died Feb. 5, age 91.
Gary Gygax, inventor of Dungeons and Dragons, died March 4, age 69.
Dith Pran, Cambodian photographer who survived the “Killing Fields,” died March 30, age 65.
Albert Hoffmann, inventor of LSD, died April 29, age 102.
Robert Rauschenberg, groundbreaking modern artist, died May 12, age 82.
Robert Mondavi, California winemaker, died May 16, age 94.
Yves Saint Laurent, legendary fashion designer, died June 1, age 71.
Michael DeBakey, pioneering heart-transplant surgeon, died July 11, age 99.
Gene Upshaw, head of the National Football League Players Association, died Aug. 20, age 63.
Don LaFontaine, voice-over artist for thousands of movies and commercials, died Sept. 1, age 68.
Mr. Blackwell, creator of the annual “Worst Dressed List,” died Oct. 19, age 86.
Martha “Sunny” von Bülow, heiress and coma victim, died Dec. 6, age 76.
Bettie Page, 1950s pinup queen, died Dec. 11, age 85.
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Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dadIn the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
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Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach BoysFeature The musical giant passed away at 82
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Sly Stone: The funk-rock visionary who became an addict and recluseFeature Stone, an eccentric whose songs of uplift were tempered by darker themes of struggle and disillusionment, had a fall as steep as his rise
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Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin AmericaFeature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
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Dame Maggie Smith: an intensely private national treasureIn the Spotlight Her mother told her she didn't have the looks to be an actor, but Smith went on to win awards and capture hearts
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James Earl Jones: classically trained actor who gave a voice to Darth VaderIn the Spotlight One of the most respected actors of his generation, Jones overcame a childhood stutter to become a 'towering' presence on stage and screen
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Michael Mosley obituary: television doctor whose work changed thousands of livesIn the Spotlight TV doctor was known for his popularisation of the 5:2 diet and his cheerful willingness to use himself as a guinea pig
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Morgan Spurlock: the filmmaker who shone a spotlight on McDonald'sIn the Spotlight Spurlock rose to fame for his controversial documentary Super Size Me
