CBS Photo Archive / Getty ImagesWayne Rogers, as Captain Trapper John McIntyre, center, on the television series 'M.A.S.H.,' in 1972. Rogers died on Dec. 31 of complications from pneumonia at 82 in Los Angeles. Also pictured are actors Alan Alda and Loretta Swit.
LM Otero/APChef Paul Prudhomme in 2005.
Jeff Barnard / APDennis Greene, founding member of the 50s retro-rock/doo-wop group Sha Na Na who later became a movie studio executive and law professor, died Sept. 5 at age 66.
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesThe ESPN personality and "SportsCenter" anchor known for his enthusiastic and original commentary died Jan. 4 after a battle with cancer. He was 49.
Rene Macura/APDick Van Patten, the genial comic actor best known as the patriarch of TV's "Eight is Enough," died on June 23. He was 86.
Jae C. Hong / APPop artist Chris Burden, noted performance artist and sculptor has died. He was 69. His friend, Paul Schimmel, tells the L.A. Times that Burden died Sunday, May 10, 2015 from melanoma at his home in Topanga Canyon. He made complex installations, some with thousands of pieces, and works that had automated functions. Other works are in museums in New York, London and around the world.
CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images"Good Times" actor Ben Powers, third from right, died April 6 at 64. Powers played the husband of Thelma, played by BernNadette Stanis, in wedding dress.
Tonya Wise/Invision/APBen Woolf, who played the character Meep on "American Horror Story: Freak Show," died on Feb. 23, four days after being hit by the side mirror of a passing car in Los Angeles. He was 34.
Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago TribuneTootsie Roll CEO Melvin Gordon, shown in 2013, moved Tootsie Roll Industries from New Jersey to Chicago's Southwest Side in 1966. Gordon died on Jan. 20, 2015 at 95.
Paul Drinkwater, NBCRichard Dysart, fifth from left, a veteran stage and screen actor who played senior partner Leland McKenzie in the long-running courtroom drama "L.A. Law," died on April 5 at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 86.
Cheryl Gerber / Associated PressDarryl Hamilton, seen here in 2011, a member of the New York Mets team that reached the 2000 World Series, was killed in a murder-suicide in a suburban Houston home on June 22, 2015, police said. Hamilton, who also played for the Giants, Brewers, Rangers and Rockies over 13 seasons, had worked for the MLB Network since 2013.
Christina House / For the TimesComic writer Harris Wittels, a co-executive producer of NBC's "Parks and Recreation," a stand-up comic and author of the 2012 book "Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty," died Feb. 19 in Los Angeles at age 30.
Mike DiBattista, Associated PressBlues legend B.B. King, playing in Niagara, Ontario, died May 14, 2015 at the age of 89. King was one of the most influential blues musicians in history.
Derik Hamilton / APIndy Car driver Justin Wilson died on Aug. 24, 2015, from a head injury he suffered during a Pocono IndyCar 500 race a day earlier. Wilson, who was hit in the head by a piece of debris from another car, was 37.
Chris Carlson / APMarty Ingels, a raspy-voiced comedian, actor and talent agent who was married to singer and actress Shirley Jones for nearly 40 years, died at 79 following complications of stroke.
Jim Mendenhall / Los Angeles TimesDallas Taylor, a drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young who required a liver transplant in 1990 due to heavy drinking and later became an addiction counselor, died on Jan. 18, 2015 in Los Angeles. He was 66.
Kevork Djansezian, APRobert Schuller, a world-famous televangelist from his "Hour of Power" show and an author memorialized in decades of recorded sermons and books, died on March 2 at a care facility in Artesia. He was 88.
Marty Reichenthal / APGene Saks, the Tony Award-winning director who brought to life many of Neil Simon's works onstage and on screen, died Saturday, March 28, 2015, his son said. He was 93.
Robert F. Bukaty / APBurt Shavitz, a former beekeeper, is the Burt behind Burt's Bees. The co-founder behind Burt's Bees died on July 5, 2015 at the age of 80.
AP PhotoWalter Scheib was White House chef for 11 years under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He was known for refocusing the White House kitchen on distinctly American cuisine with seasonal ingredients and contemporary flavors. He was found dead on June 21, 2015, after vanishing during a solo hike in New Mexico. He was 61.
Brian Chapman / APThis undated photo provided the Spitzer family shows Dr. Robert Sptizer, a psychiatrist who played a leading role in establishing agreed-upon standards to describe mental disorders and eliminating homosexuality's designation as a pathology. Spitzer died Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, in Seattle. He was 83.
Mel Evans, APRobert Marshall, whose story was the subject of Joe McGinniss' book "Blind Faith" and a 1990 movie of the same name, died Feb. 21 in a New Jersey prison at 75. Marshall was convicted in 1986 of arranging the murder of his wife.
Mary Altaffer, APAuthor E.L. Doctorow smiles during an interview in his office at New York University on April 27, 2004. Doctorow, author of novels such as "The March" and "Billy Bathgate," died in New York on July 21, 2015 at 84.
Evan Agostini/Invision/APBen E. King, singer of such classics as "Stand By Me," "There Goes My Baby" and "Spanish Harlem," died on April 30. He was 76.
Robert F. Bukaty, APGunnar Hansen, who played iconic villain Leatherface in the original "Texas Chain Saw Massacre," died Nov. 7, 2015, of pancreatic cancer. He was 68.
Alan Diaz / APJean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers, died April 29, 2015 in her Florida home. She was 91. She was a New York housewife who tackled her own obesity problem, then shared her guiding principles with others in meetings that became known as Weight Watchers, the most widely known company of its kind.
Chicago Tribune historical photoErnie Banks, an 11-time All-Star, two-time MVP and the Chicago Cubs' first African-American player died Jan. 23, 2015. He was 83.
Chris Felver, Getty ImagesArchitect Michael Graves, a winner of the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal who brought good design to the masses with his product line for Target, died March 12 of natural causes in New Jersey at 80.
AFP/Getty ImagesClark Terry, one of the most popular and influential jazz trumpeters of his generation and an enthusiastic advocate of jazz education, died in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was 94.
Associated PressActor Al Molinaro, a Kenosha, Wis. native, died Oct. 30, 2015, at a hospital in Glendale, Calif. He was 96. Molinaro had a long career as one of television's most recognizable faces, as Murray the cop on "The Odd Couple" and diner owner Al Delvecchio on "Happy Days."
Rogers Photo Archive, Getty ImagesStu Miller pitched 16 seasons in the majors for San Francisco, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Atlanta. Miller who died Jan. 4, 2015, at 87, was famous for a wind-blown balk in the 1961 All Star Game, but also led his league in saves twice.
Paul Sancya / APVice President Joe Biden's son, Beau, died from brain cancer on Saturday, May 30, 2015. Beau Biden was 46. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
APJack Carter, whose brash, caustic comedy made him a star in early television and helped him sustain a career of more than a half-century, died of respiratory failure on June 28 at 93.
Dave Kotinsky / Getty ImagesChris Squire, the bassist and co-founder of the band Yes, died on July 4 at age 67. He had been diagnosed with acute erythroid leukemia months earlier.
Powell Kruege / APVerne Gagne, one of professional wrestling's most celebrated performers and promoters died on April 27, 2015 at the age 89. Here, he poses with wrestler Ken Patera, right, in 1972.
Chitose Suzuk, Associated PressGrand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens died Jan. 2, 2015 at a Nashville-area hospital of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day. He was 94.
Matt Sayles, APWrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper gestures to the crowd April 2, 2005, after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Piper, one of WWE's top villians who also made a foray into film acting, died July 31, 2015. He was 61.
Victoria Will / APGrammy winning singer-songwriter Natalie Cole, the daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, who carved out her own success with R&B hits like "Our Love" and "This Will Be" before triumphantly intertwining their legacies to make his "Unforgettable" their signature hit through technological wizardry, died Dec. 31 at age 65. Read the obituary
Shizuo Kambayashi, Associated PressGerman architect Frei Otto, shown in 2006, was awarded the 2015 Pritzker Architecture Prize on March 10, a day after he died in Germany at 89.
Walter McBride / Getty ImagesBetsy Von Furstenberg, a star of Broadway during the 1950s who also made appearances in early television and on daytime soaps, died April 21, 2015 from complications of Alzheimer's disease in Manhattan. She was 83.
Bebeto Matthews / APAmerican novelist Robert Stone known for "A Flag for Sunrise" and "Dog Soldiers," has died due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his Key West. Fla. home. He was 77.
Betty Udeson / APTrue-crime author Ann Rule, who wrote more than 30 books, including one about serial killer Gary Ridgway and a profile of serial killer Ted Bundy, died at age 83 on July 26, 2015.
APTom Moore, the "Archie" cartoonist, brought to life the escapades of a freckled-face, red-haired character, died on July 20, in Texas. He was 86.
Associated PressCountry singer Lynn Anderson died on July 30, 2015, of cardiac arrest at age 67. Anerson is best known for her chart-topping hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden."
Phil Brock, Studio Talent Group via APActor Irwin Keyes, seen here on Dec. 16, 2012, died on July 8, 2015, of complications from acromegaly, a hormonal disorder at 63. Keyes, a character actor, played Hugo the bodyguard on "The Jeffersons" and countless roles as villains and henchmen.
Petr David Josek, APSir Nicholas Winton almost single-handedly save more than 650 Jewish children from the Holocaust, earning himself the label "Britain's Schindler." He died Wednesday at age 106 in a hospital near Maidenhead, his hometown west of London, his family said.
Evan Agostini, Associated PressMario Cuomo, a son of Italian immigrants who became an eloquent spokesman for a generation of liberal Democrats during his three terms as governor of New York, died Jan. 1, 2015. He was 82.
Amy Sancetta, APDonald Featherstone, creator of the original plastic pink flamingo, died in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, on June 22, 2015, after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. He was 79.
Bob Jordan / APNorth Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith died 'peacefully' at his home on Feb. 7, 2015, the school said in a statement from Smith's family. He was 83.
Saul Young / APGuy Carawan, whose rendition of "We Shall Overcome" became a civil rights anthem, died on May 2, 2015, at age 87.
Anthony Correia, Getty ImagesFrank Gifford, longtime "Monday Night Football" broadcaster and Hall of Fame football player, died of natural causes at his Connecticut home on Aug. 9, 2015. He was 84.
Mark Aronoff/The Press Democrat via AP, FileIn this March 20, 2007 file photo, Chuck Williams stands in front of his original store location in Sonoma, Calif, during a reception celebrating the company's 50th anniversary. Williams, who founded the Williams-Sonoma empire and ushered in an era of aspirational culinary retailing, died Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015. He was 100.
Michael Fryer / Chicago TribuneThe Rev. Willie T. Barrow, the longtime civil rights leader known as "The Little Warrior" who marched at Selma and helped found the organization that became the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, died March 12 after a long illness. She was 90. Read the obituary.
JANE MINGAY / APCynthia Lennon, the first wife of Beatle's band member John Lennon, died on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at her home in Mallorca, Spain, following a short but brave battle with cancer.
Alvan Quinn / APJenny Wallenda, the matriarch of the famous family of high-flying circus performers, died late Saturday, April 4, 2015, at her home in Sarasota, Fla., according to family members. She was 87.
Russell Frank / For The TimesPhilip Levine, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet known for intimate portraits of blue-collar life, died Feb. 15. Levine, the country's poet laureate in 2011-12, was 87.
Laura Rauch / APJohn Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician whose struggle with schizophrenia was chronicled in the 2001 movie "A Beautiful Mind," died in a car crash along with his wife Alicia in New Jersey on May 23, 2015, police said.
Matt Sayles / APWes Craven, whose "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream" movies made him one of the most recognizable names in the horror film genre, has died at 76. Craven's family said in a statement that he died in his Los Angeles home Sunday after battling brain cancer.
Patrick Riviere, Getty ImagesNovelist Colleen McCullough, author of 1977's "The Thorn Birds," which sold millions of copies and was made into a popular miniseries, and 24 other novels died Jan. 29 after a long illness at 77.
AP, The Plain DealerSamuel Glazer and his North American Systems business partner, Vincent Marotta Sr., introduced the Mr. Coffee drip coffeemaker in 1972 to compete with older percolator and less–tasty instant coffee methods. Glazer died March 12, 2015, at the Cleveland Clinic of complications of leukemia. He was 89.
Peter Kramer / APRobert Loggia poses for a portrait Jan. 22, 2009, during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Loggia, who played drug lords and mobsters and danced with Tom Hanks in "Big," has died at age 85.
Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles TimesStan Freberg was a comedian and voice actor known for his comedy albums and memorable advertising campaigns. He died April 7 at 88 in Santa Monica, Calif.
Francine Or, McClatchy-TribuneGrace Lee Whitney, who played Capt. Kirk's assistant Yeoman Rand in the original "Star Trek" series, died of natural causes May 1, 2015, in Coarsegold, California. She was 85.
Frank Micelotta, APActor Windell Middlebrooks, who played a no-nonsense beer delivery man in TV commercials, died on March 9 at 36.
Aaron Davidson, Getty ImagesEsquire food writer Josh Ozersky was found dead in a Chicago hotel room on May 4 while in town for the James Beard Awards. Ozersky, a founder of Meatopia, an annual food festival for carnivores, was 47.
Alberto E. Rodriguez, Getty ImagesProducer Sam Simon, co-creator of "The Simpsons," died of complications from cancer on March 8 at his home in the Los Angeles area. He was 59.
Sean Dougherty / Sun SentinelPro wrestling legend and former NWA World Champion Dusty Rhodes died on June 11, 2015 at age 69.
Steve Helber / APFormer Sen. Fred Thompson, a folksy former Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee who appeared in feature films and television including a role on "Law & Order," died Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, his family said. He was 73.
Ed Betz, AP PhotoJames Salter, the prize-winning author of "Light Years," ''A Sport and a Pastime" and other fiction, died June 19 at age 90.
Fred Jewell, Associated PressJerome Kersey, who led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA finals twice and won the title with San Antonio in a 17-year playing career, died Feb. 19 at 52 due to a blood clot that traveled to his lungs.
Russ Okawa / APScot Alexander Breithaupt, who organized bicycle races on dirt motorcycle courses in the early 1970s, becoming a founder of BMX and later a champion and one of the cycling sport's best known figures, died in Indio, Calif., authorities said Monday, July 6, 2015. Breithaupt was 57.
Debbie Vanstory / Abaca PressScott Weiland, the former frontman for the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, died Dec. 3, 2015 at age 48.
Dan Steinberg / APIn this Feb. 12, 2011, file photo, singer Whitney Houston, left, and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown arrive at an event in Beverly Hills, Calif. Brown, who was in hospice after months of receiving medical care, died on July 26, 2015.
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty ImagesInfluential cinematographer and social documentarian Haskell Wexler, who won Oscars for his work in both arenas, has died. He was 93.
Mark Lennihan / APIn this Jan. 17, 1996, file photo, Gladys Knight, center, William Guest, left, and Merald Knight take the stage as they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during ceremonies in New York. William Guest, a member of Gladys Knight and the Pips, has died. He was 74. Guest's daughter, Monique Guest, said her father died Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015.
Cindy Ord, Getty ImagesDarryl Dawkins made history in 1975 when he became the first player ever drafted directly from high school to the NBA. The Orlando native played 15 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets. He was 58.
Al Seib / Los Angeles TimesJerry Weintraub, who made his name as a music manager working with Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin before moving on to the movie business, where he produced such hits as "The Karate Kid," "Diner" and the "Ocean's Eleven" franchise, died July 6 in Santa Monica at 77.
David Cannon, AFP/Getty ImagesDean Potter, 43, died during a wingsuit flight in Yosemite National Park on Saturday May 16, 2015.
Baltimore SunBlaze Starr, a burlesque icon and stripper who drew tourists to post-World War II Baltimore, lent glamour to New Orleans and became known far and wide for her affair with a colorful mid-century Louisiana governor, died on June 15 at 83.
Mark Humphrey, APJim Ed Brown, a longtime Grand Ole Opry member and a fixture on country music television shows, died of cancer on June 11, 2015 at 81.
Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/Invision/APIn this Feb. 22, 2015 file photo, author Jackie Collins arrives at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party n Beverly Hills, Calif. Collins, died of breast cancer in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. She was 77.
ABC Photo Archives/Getty ImagesActress and philanthropist Mary Ellen Trainor, who appeared in every "Lethal Weapon" film and played the mother in "Goonies," died at her home in Montecito, Calif., on May 20. She was 62.
Tom Uhlman, Associated PressLauren Hill, a freshman at Mount St. Joseph University in Ohio who fought an inoperable brain tumor to play college basketball, died April 10 at 19.
J. Scott Applewhite / APThomas Stemberg, founder of Staples office supply stores, died Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, in Massachusetts. He was 66.
CBS Photo Archive / Getty ImagesPromotional portrait of, from left, American actresses Pat Woodell (as Bobbie Jo Bradley), Jeannine Riley (as Billie Jo Bradley), and Linda Henning (as Betty Jo Bradley Elliot) on the set of an episode of 'Petticoat Junction' entitled 'The Art Game,' Los Angeles, California, January 7, 1964. Woodell died Sept. 29 in Fallbrook, Calif., according to the LA Times. She was 71.
Len Trievnor / APAmerican ballet dancer and actress Yvonne Craig, best known for her role as Batgirl from the TV series 'Batman' died of breast cancer at age 78 on August 18, 2015, in her home in Pacific Palisades, California.
Check with Chicago Tribune PhotoOrestis "Minnie" Minoso died in Chicago on March 1, 2015, according to his son. His family believes it was due to a heart condition.
Miguel Medina / AFP/Getty ImagesFrench cartoonists known as Tignous (left), Charb (center) and Cabu were among 12 people killed during a terrorist attack on the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo's Paris office on Jan. 7, 2015.
Larry Davis / Los Angeles TimesActress and TV personality Jayne Meadows, who often teamed with her husband Steve Allen, died on April 26 of natural causes at 95. Above, the couple is seen together in 1995.
AP File PhotoIn this undated photo, Fred Astaire and 18-year-old co-star Joan Leslie perform a dance routine from the 1943 movie "The Sky's the Limit, " in Los Angeles, Calif. Leslie, whose expressive almond eyes and innocent beauty made her one of the most popular film ingenues of the 1930s and 40s, has died at the age of 90. She died in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, her family announced in an obituary.
Dan Grossi / APActor Dean Jones, seen here on the set of "Any Wednesday" in New York in 1966, was a favorite in lighthearted Disnehy films such as 'That Darn Cat' and 'The Love Bug.' He died on Sept. 1 in Los Angeles of Parkinson's disease at 84.
David Grunfeld / APLegendary New Orleans musician and composer Toussaint died Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, after suffering a heart attack following a concert he performed in Madrid. He was 77.
SUZANNE PLUNKETT / APIn this Oct. 10, 2002 file photo, fashion designer Arnold Scaasi talks about his designs at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Scaasi, whose flamboyant creations adorned first ladies, movie stars and socialites, died Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital of cardiac arrest. He was 85.
Ron Galella, Ltd. / WireImageAmanda Peterson, best known for her role in the 1987 romantic comedy "Can't Buy Me Love," died on July 5 in Greeley, Colo. She was 43.
Andreas Rentz, GettyGuenter Grass, the Nobel-winning German writer of "The Tin Drum" who gave voice to the generation that came of age during the horrors of the Nazi era but later ran into controversy over his own World War II past and stance toward Israel, died April 13 at 87.
Marty Lederhandler, APSinger-songwriter Lesley Gore, who topped the charts in 1963 with her epic song of teenage angst, "It's My Party," and followed it up with the hits "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "You Don't Own Me," died on Feb. 16 of cancer at 68.
CARL COURT / AFP/Getty ImagesChristopher Lee, the prolific, aristocratic British actor who brought dramatic gravitas to the low-budget thrills of Hammer Studios' 1950s and 1960s horror films and to the more recent "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and two of George Lucas' "Star Wars" prequels, has died at age 93.
Yuri Gripas, APFormer Texas Rep. Jim Wright of Texas, who served two years as House Speaker and resigned amid an ethics controversey in 1989, died on May 6 at 92.
Tim Mosenfelder / Getty ImagesCynthia Robinson, trumpeter, vocalist and co-founder of Sly and the Family Stone, died Nov. 23, 2015, at 69.
David Klein / Getty ImagesActor Nathaniel Marston, known for his work on the soap opera "One Life to Live," died Nov. 11, 2015, following a car accident in late October.
Frank Wiese, Associated PressAndrae Crouch, a legendary gospel performer, songwriter and choir director whose work graced songs by Michael Jackson and Madonna and movies such as "The Lion King," has died. He was 72.
Michelle Stocker, The Capital TimesStanley Kutler, the Watergate historian who successfully fought for the release of President Richard Nixon's secret tapes, died in Madison, Wis., on April 7 at 80.
Tribune file photoOrnette Coleman, one of the most honored and reviled composers and alto saxophonists in jazz, died Thursday in Manhattan. He was 85.
Los Angeles TimesBasketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, who led the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to the finals four times, winning once in 1990, in a career at times overshadowed by allegations of recruiting violations, died Feb. 11 at age 84.
Brendan Smialowski / APKing Abdullah, who died Jan. 23 at the age of 90 after nearly two decades in power in Saudi Arabia.
Maurice Murray / Hartford CourantBilly Casper, one of the most prolific winners on the PGA Tour who was overshadowed by the "Big Three" (Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player), died of a heart attack Feb. 7, 2015 at his home in Utah. He was 83.
Gary Gershoff / WireImageActress and comedian Anne Meara died May 23, 2015 at the age of 85. She was married to Jerry Stiller and mother to actor Ben Stiller.
APSwedish actress Anita Ekberg, sex-symbol of the 1950s and '60s who was immortalized bathing in the Trevi fountain in "La Dolce Vita," died Jan. 11, 2015. She was 83.
JoJo Whilden, Sony Pictures Classics via APDirector Richard Glatzer, standing, wrote "Still Alice," starring Julianne Moore, who won an Oscar for her role. Glatzer, diagnosed in 2011 with ALS, died March 10 at 63.
Alexander Zemlianichenko / APRussian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya, 89, widely regarded as one of the greatest ballerinas of her time, died May 2, 2015, from a heart attack in Germany, according to an announcement by ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Matt Sayles / APAlex Rocco, the character actor best known for playing the bespectacled Las Vegas mobster Moe Greene in "The Godfather," has died, his daughter announced on July 18, 2015. He was 79.
Associated PressBess Myerson, the former beauty queen, television personality and New York politician later tarnished by scandal, died Dec. 14 at 90. At left is former New York City Mayor Ed Koch in 1977.
APMoses Malone, a three-time NBA MVP and one of basketball's most ferocious rebounders, died Sept. 13, 2015, of natural causes. He was 60.
Stephen Chernin / APDavid Carr, culture reporter and media columnist for The New York Times poses for a photograph on Eighth Avenue, in New York.
Ted Jackson / APRichard J. "Dick" Brennan Sr., who helped turn Commander's Palace restaurant into a world-famous destination for Creole cuisine and co-founded one of the city's best-loved Mardi Gras organizations, died Saturday, March 14, 2015. He was 84.
Ron Galella / WireImageActor Martin Milner attends the 49th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 7, 1997 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. Milner appeared in police drama 'Adam-12' as 'Officer Peter J. Malloy'. Milner died Sept. 6, 2015 at his home in Carlsbad, Calif., at the age of 83 after a long illness, according to family.
Frazer Harrison / Getty ImagesFilm producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2015. He was 88 years old.
CBS, ShowtimeLongtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Bob Simon, who covered riots and wars and was held captive for more than a month in Iraq two decades ago, died in a car crash on Feb. 11. He was 73.
Evan Agostini / Getty ImagesEllen Dow, a character actress best known for her rendition of "Rapper's Delight" in "The Wedding Singer," died on May 4, 2015, said her agent. She was 101.
Los Angeles TimesDarrell Winfield, one of the most recognizable Marlboro Men who roamed the countryside of the western United States, appearing in ads for the cigarette brand, has died. He was 85.
Mario Tama, Getty ImagesCardinal Edward Egan, who led the New York archdiocese for almost a decade, died March 5 after a heart attack at age 82.
Ron Frehm, APAnthony Mason, the rugged power forward who was a defensive force in the NBA from the 1990s into the early 21st century, died on Feb. 28, 2015. He was 48.
William Thomas Cain / Getty ImagesBillionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who made a fortune in Las Vegas hotels, MGM deals, died on June 16, 2015 at the age of 98, according to the MGM.
Joe Raymond, APThe Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, who served 35 years as president of the University of Notre Dame, died on Feb. 26, 2015. He was 97.
APJoanne Carson, who later in life became a close confidant of Truman Capote, died May 8, 2015 at home in Los Angeles, according to the executor of her estate. She was married to Carson from 1963 to 1972.
APMike Porcaro, third from left, the bass player for the pop group Toto, pictured here in 1983, died March 15 at age 59. He had suffered from Lou Gehrig's Disease.
APVincent Bugliosi, Manson trial prosecutor who wrote 'Helter Skelter' based on case, dies at 80.
MARY ANN CHASTAIN / APJulian Bond, a civil rights activist and longtime board chairman of the NAACP, died Aug. 15, 2015, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. He was 75.
AP / APGary Dahl, originator of the Pet Rock, holds Pet Rock items in 1976. Gary Ross Dahl, the creator of the wildly popular 1970s fad the Pet Rock, has died at age 78 in southern Oregon. Dahl's wife, Marguerite Dahl, confirmed Tuesday March 31, 2015 that her husband of 40 years died March 23 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Steve Granitz / WireImageSuzanne Crough Condray, who played Tracy Partridge, the youngest daughter on hit 1970s television show, "The Partridge Family," has died in Laughlin, Nevada near Las Vegas. She was 52.
Don Ryan / APJack Ely died on April 28, 2015, his son confirmed. He was 71. In this April 16, 2009 photo, Ely, best known for his 1963 rendition of the song "Louie, Louie", poses for a photo at his home in Terre Bonne, Ore.
Associated PressRaiders quarterback Kenny Stabler, seen here in 1978, died of colon cancer on July 9 at 69, his family said. Stabler, nicknamed The Snake, led the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XI. He starred under Bear Bryant in Alabama in the 60s before joining the Raiders. He also played for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints.
Getty ImagesGeorge Coe, an original member of "Not Ready For Prime Time Players," the original cast of "Saturday Night Live,"died in Santa Monica, Calif., after battling a long illness. He was 86. Coe acted for more than 50 years of film, television, commercial and stage work.
Astrid Stawiarz / Getty ImagesComedian/actor Taylor Negron, who appeared in 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' and numerous TV and film roles, died of cancer on Jan. 10, 2015. He was 57.
Daniel Karmann / APHorst Brandstaetter who launched the popular Playmobil range of plastic toys in the 1970s, has died. He was 81. Playmobil manufacturer Geobra Brandstaetter Stiftung said in a statement that he died on June 3, 2015.
APTom Towles, a character actor who popped up in several Rob Zombie's movies and other horror films, died April 2 of complications following a stroke. He was 71.
Sun SentinelDr. Fredric Brandt, a dermatologist popular with celebrities and an early Botox proponent, was found hanging in his Miami home on April 5, authorities said. He was 65. Brandt, pictured in 2002, was an author, radio host and frequent talk show guest.
Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty ImagesComposer James Horner, who won two Oscars for the film "Titanic," was killed when his plane crashed in Southern California on June 22, 2015. He was 61. Horner also received Oscar nominations for the scores to "Alien," ''Apollo 13," ''Field of Dreams," ''Braveheart," ''A Beautiful Mind," ''House of Sand and Fog" and "Avatar."
APRacing legend Buddy Baker, a former Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee, died Aug. 10, 2015, after a brief battle with lung cancer. He was 74.
BETH BERGMAN / Associated PressLillian Vernon, who created a sprawling catalog business that specialized in personalized gifts and ingenious gadgets and made her an American household name, died on Dec. 14, 2015, in New York. She was 88.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / APBritish fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, creator of the "Discworld" series and author of more than 70 books, died on March 12. Pratchett, who suffered from a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's disease, was 66.
NBCCory Wells (far right), a founding member of the vocal trio behind Three Dog Night, has died. He was 74.
Harry Langdon / APFilm and television director, producer and writer, Bud Yorkin, best known for his work on the pioneering sitcom "All in the Family" died on Aug. 18, 2015, in Los Angeles. He was 89.
Chris Pizzello / APMaureen O'Hara, the flame-haired Irish movie star who appeared in classics ranging from the grim "How Green Was My Valley" to the uplifting "Miracle on 34th Street," died in her sleep on Oct. 24, 2015, at her home in Boise, Idaho. She was 95.
CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty ImagesJean Darling and Joe Cobb in, "Noisy Noises," an Our Gang comedy, later to be known as The Little Rascals. Darling died in Rodgau, Germany at the age of 93, according to the New York Times.
Getty ImagesActor James Best, known for the role as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on "The Dukes of Hazzard," died April 6, 2015 at the age of 88.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Actor Geoffrey Lewis, who appeared in several Clint Eastwood movies, died on April 7 in Woodland Hills, Calif. of natural causes. He was 79.
CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
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Wayne Rogers, as Captain Trapper John McIntyre, center, on the television series 'M.A.S.H.,' in 1972. Rogers died on Dec. 31 of complications from pneumonia at 82 in Los Angeles. Also pictured are actors Alan Alda and Loretta Swit.
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By Mary Schmich | Special to the Tribune
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
R.I.P., famous person.
I can’t believe you’re gone! Too soon!
Though honestly? I hadn’t thought about you in years. More honestly? I wasn’t sure you were still alive.
But, along with a few thousand friends, I can’t wait to share the heartbreaking news of your demise on Facebook!
Does this sound familiar?
If you’re a Facebook user, it does. With every new week, logging into Facebook is more like visiting a celebrity graveyard.
Day after day, it seems, some celebrity is “trending” due to the news that he or she has slipped out of this mortal circus.
A few are young, and drugs are usually involved, but among my Facebook cohort, most are middle-aged or older.
They’re the TV and movie stars we grew up with, the musicians who gave us the lyrics we can still recite by heart and the tunes we still hum. There’s the occasional politician worth a lament, sometimes even a writer.
As they peel off one by one, Facebook becomes the place to mourn not only their passing but what their deaths say about our own passage through time.
But, forgive me if this sounds insensitive: The relentless Facebook celebrity funerals can tucker a living person out.
In olden times, before Facebook, the death of a famous person was something we read about in the newspaper, or heard on radio or TV, then maybe mentioned to one or two people.
Now we’re all town criers, heralding the death of the famous as fast as we can.
The trend — one I’ll admit I’ve occasionally abetted — reached its zenith recently with the news that Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock on “Star Trek,” had died at the age of 83. For hours after the news broke, my Facebook feed was a nonstop wake.
Image after image of Nimoy — most often in his Spock uniform — cascaded past, interrupted occasionally by a pet photo.
“I don’t normally jump on the memorial bandwagon every time a luminary dies,” one Nimoy fan posted. “My grief here goes beyond Facebook-sad.”
Facebook-sad. It’s a good term.
To me, Facebook-sad means a kind of sad that isn’t all that sad, a sentiment that’s closer to startled than to grieving.
True sadness lodges in you for a while. Facebook-sad is more superficial, a jolt to the heart but not a break. It doesn’t last much longer than it takes to post the news and see how many people comment.
When I asked my Facebook friend what he meant by “Facebook-sad,” he said it referred to “the half-second of impulse and desire to be first among our Facebook contemporaries to point to something.”
However, he added, his feeling about Nimoy was deeper than that.
“Like many people my age and older, I grew up with ‘Star Trek,'” he emailed. “It informed relationships with relatives and friends. Moments after the news broke, I texted an uncle whose love of ‘Star Trek’ informed my own and thanked him for being influential in that regard. Nimoy’s death reminded me that, behind the poorly constructed sets and cheesy special effects, there was a message of equality and inclusion.”
The last time I was Facebook-sad was after the recent death of the poet and songwriter Rod McKuen. I surprised myself by posting news of his death; I don’t think I’d given him a thought since high school, except maybe to remember that his poems were sappy.
But when I learned he’d died, I flashed back to sitting on my bed in Phoenix with my mother’s copy of “Stanyan Street & Other Sorrows” in my lap, riveted by what seemed like the first adult poems I’d ever read.
Posting news of McKuen’s death was a small bow to him but it was also a brief reconnection with that teenage girl who sat in a hot, little, crowded house and dreamed of love in San Francisco.
After I posted, I enjoyed the comments from all the Facebook friends who had similar stories about his poems, so maybe I was somewhere between Facebook-sad and truly sad.
But all of us should choose our celebrity-obit posts carefully. Don’t overload your friends.
No matter how much you hope to be first with the news, you won’t be.
Twitter @MarySchmich
