ChuckD
The Gay Lord of Freestyle
Don Adams
Age: 82
actor who played the charming yet inept secret agent Maxwell Smart on television’s Get Smart, which ran from 1969 to 1970.
Died: Los Angeles, Sept. 25, 2005
Eddie Albert
Age: 99
comedic stage, screen, and television actor best known for his role as a city lawyer who moves to the country with his wife, played by Eva Gabor, in TV's Green Acres. His film credits include Roman Holiday and I'll Cry Tomorrow.
Died: Los Angeles, May 26, 2005
Anne Bancroft
Age: 73
Academy- and Tony Award–winning actress best known for her portrayal of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher, in the stage and film versions of The Miracle Worker. She played Mrs. Robinson in the film The Graduate. Bancroft starred in dozens of films, including The Turning Point and Agnes of God. She was married to comedic actor and director Mel Brooks.
Died: Manhattan, June 6, 2005
Johnny Carson
Age: 79
legendary comedian who hosted NBC's The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992, when he handed the microphone over to Jay Leno. Carson's quick wit, charm, monologues, and interviews made the show the highest-rated late-night program. He used his monologues to skewer the missteps of celebrities, politicians, and businesspeople. Carson began his career as a magician and went on to write comedy sketches for radio and to host daytime television quiz shows before taking over for Jack Paar in 1962.
Died: Malibu, Calif., Jan. 23, 2005
Johnnie Cochran, Jr.
Age: 67
media-savvy trial lawyer best known for defending O. J. Simpson in his 1995 murder trial.
Died: Los Angeles, March 29, 2005
Constance Cummings
Age: 95
American actress who won a Tony Award for her role as aviator Emily Stilson in the Broadway production of Wings. She lived most of her life in England. Her other roles include Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Blithe Spirit in the film Movie Crazy.
Died: Oxfordshire, England, Nov. 23, 2005
Ossie Davis
Age: 87
actor, playwright, director, and civil rights leader who appeared in several Spike Lee films, including Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever. He wrote the Broadway play Purlie Victorious. He and his wife, Ruby Dee, frequently appeared in films and television movies together, and they worked for racial equality on and off the screen. Davis eulogized Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Died: Miami, Fla., Feb. 4, 2005
Sandra Dee
Age: 62
spunky actress who played innocent tomboys in several teeny-bopper films in the late 1950s, including Gidget and A Summer Place. She was married to singer Bobby Darin from 1960 to 1967.
Died: Thousand Oaks, Calif., Feb. 20, 2005
Bob Denver
Age: 70
actor who played Gilligan, the first mate of the S.S. Minnow on television's cult hit Gilligan's Island. He also played beatnik Maynard Krebs on The Many Lives of Doby Gillis.
Died: Winston-Salem, N.C., Sept. 2, 2005
Frank Gorshin
Age: 72
versatile actor and impressionist who played the wisecracking, green-clad Riddler on television's Batman. He recently won praise for his impersonation of George Burns in Broadway's Say Goodnight, Gracie.
Died: Burbank, Calif., May 17, 2005
Shirley Horn
Age: 71
jazz singer and pianist known for her slow delivery and her masterful interpretations of standards. She won a Grammy Award in 1991 for best jazz vocal performance.
Died: Cheverly, Md., Oct. 21, 2005
Peter Jennings
Age: 67
Canadian-born broadcast journalist who anchored ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 to April 2005, when he announced that he was battling lung cancer. By age 9, Jennings had his own radio show. In 1965, at age 26, he joined ABC Evening News, becoming America's youngest national network anchor. A high-school dropout, Jennings, known for his calm, measured delivery, covered every recent major war, from Vietnam to the war in Iraq, and reported from every state.
Died: Manhattan, Aug. 7, 2005
John Paul II
(Karol Józef Wojtyła)
Age: 84
charismatic pope who was credited with hastening the fall of communism in Poland and in other Eastern bloc countries. He opposed war and the death penalty and spoke out against the war in Iraq. He was also a great champion of the poor and the underprivileged. On social issues, such as birth control, women's roles in the church, and homosexuality, he was staunchly conservative. John Paul II was the first Polish pope, and the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch pope Adrian VI, who served from 1522–1523. The third longest-reigning pope, having served the Catholic Church for 26 years, John Paul II spoke eight languages and traveled more than any pope in history. He visited 129 countries outside Italy. He canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people, believed to be more than all his predecessors combined. John Paul II suffered from Parkinson's disease.
Died: Rome, Italy, April 2, 2005
Rosemary Kennedy
Age: 86
eldest sister of President John Kennedy who was born mildly retarded. In 1941, her father, Joseph Kennedy, had her lobotomized. The operation left Rosemary in an infantlike state, and she remained hospitalized for the remainder of her life.
Died: Fort Atkinson, Wis., Jan. 7, 2005
Dale Messick
Age: 98
cartoonist whose comic strip, Brenda Starr, Reporter, debuted in 1940 and appeared in 250 newspapers at its peak. Messick was perhaps the first—and most successful—woman in the profession.
Died: Sonoma County, Calif., April 5, 2005
Arthur Miller
Age: 89
one of the most respected and talented American playwrights. His work often focused on morality and the pressures faced by families striving to achieve the American dream. Miller's signature work, Death of a Salesman, won the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and the Tony Award. His other important works include The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, and All My Sons.
Died: Roxbury, Conn., Feb. 10, 2005
Age: 82
actor who played the charming yet inept secret agent Maxwell Smart on television’s Get Smart, which ran from 1969 to 1970.
Died: Los Angeles, Sept. 25, 2005
Eddie Albert
Age: 99
comedic stage, screen, and television actor best known for his role as a city lawyer who moves to the country with his wife, played by Eva Gabor, in TV's Green Acres. His film credits include Roman Holiday and I'll Cry Tomorrow.
Died: Los Angeles, May 26, 2005
Anne Bancroft
Age: 73
Academy- and Tony Award–winning actress best known for her portrayal of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher, in the stage and film versions of The Miracle Worker. She played Mrs. Robinson in the film The Graduate. Bancroft starred in dozens of films, including The Turning Point and Agnes of God. She was married to comedic actor and director Mel Brooks.
Died: Manhattan, June 6, 2005
Johnny Carson
Age: 79
legendary comedian who hosted NBC's The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992, when he handed the microphone over to Jay Leno. Carson's quick wit, charm, monologues, and interviews made the show the highest-rated late-night program. He used his monologues to skewer the missteps of celebrities, politicians, and businesspeople. Carson began his career as a magician and went on to write comedy sketches for radio and to host daytime television quiz shows before taking over for Jack Paar in 1962.
Died: Malibu, Calif., Jan. 23, 2005
Johnnie Cochran, Jr.
Age: 67
media-savvy trial lawyer best known for defending O. J. Simpson in his 1995 murder trial.
Died: Los Angeles, March 29, 2005
Constance Cummings
Age: 95
American actress who won a Tony Award for her role as aviator Emily Stilson in the Broadway production of Wings. She lived most of her life in England. Her other roles include Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Blithe Spirit in the film Movie Crazy.
Died: Oxfordshire, England, Nov. 23, 2005
Ossie Davis
Age: 87
actor, playwright, director, and civil rights leader who appeared in several Spike Lee films, including Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever. He wrote the Broadway play Purlie Victorious. He and his wife, Ruby Dee, frequently appeared in films and television movies together, and they worked for racial equality on and off the screen. Davis eulogized Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Died: Miami, Fla., Feb. 4, 2005
Sandra Dee
Age: 62
spunky actress who played innocent tomboys in several teeny-bopper films in the late 1950s, including Gidget and A Summer Place. She was married to singer Bobby Darin from 1960 to 1967.
Died: Thousand Oaks, Calif., Feb. 20, 2005
Bob Denver
Age: 70
actor who played Gilligan, the first mate of the S.S. Minnow on television's cult hit Gilligan's Island. He also played beatnik Maynard Krebs on The Many Lives of Doby Gillis.
Died: Winston-Salem, N.C., Sept. 2, 2005
Frank Gorshin
Age: 72
versatile actor and impressionist who played the wisecracking, green-clad Riddler on television's Batman. He recently won praise for his impersonation of George Burns in Broadway's Say Goodnight, Gracie.
Died: Burbank, Calif., May 17, 2005
Shirley Horn
Age: 71
jazz singer and pianist known for her slow delivery and her masterful interpretations of standards. She won a Grammy Award in 1991 for best jazz vocal performance.
Died: Cheverly, Md., Oct. 21, 2005
Peter Jennings
Age: 67
Canadian-born broadcast journalist who anchored ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 to April 2005, when he announced that he was battling lung cancer. By age 9, Jennings had his own radio show. In 1965, at age 26, he joined ABC Evening News, becoming America's youngest national network anchor. A high-school dropout, Jennings, known for his calm, measured delivery, covered every recent major war, from Vietnam to the war in Iraq, and reported from every state.
Died: Manhattan, Aug. 7, 2005
John Paul II
(Karol Józef Wojtyła)
Age: 84
charismatic pope who was credited with hastening the fall of communism in Poland and in other Eastern bloc countries. He opposed war and the death penalty and spoke out against the war in Iraq. He was also a great champion of the poor and the underprivileged. On social issues, such as birth control, women's roles in the church, and homosexuality, he was staunchly conservative. John Paul II was the first Polish pope, and the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch pope Adrian VI, who served from 1522–1523. The third longest-reigning pope, having served the Catholic Church for 26 years, John Paul II spoke eight languages and traveled more than any pope in history. He visited 129 countries outside Italy. He canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people, believed to be more than all his predecessors combined. John Paul II suffered from Parkinson's disease.
Died: Rome, Italy, April 2, 2005
Rosemary Kennedy
Age: 86
eldest sister of President John Kennedy who was born mildly retarded. In 1941, her father, Joseph Kennedy, had her lobotomized. The operation left Rosemary in an infantlike state, and she remained hospitalized for the remainder of her life.
Died: Fort Atkinson, Wis., Jan. 7, 2005
Dale Messick
Age: 98
cartoonist whose comic strip, Brenda Starr, Reporter, debuted in 1940 and appeared in 250 newspapers at its peak. Messick was perhaps the first—and most successful—woman in the profession.
Died: Sonoma County, Calif., April 5, 2005
Arthur Miller
Age: 89
one of the most respected and talented American playwrights. His work often focused on morality and the pressures faced by families striving to achieve the American dream. Miller's signature work, Death of a Salesman, won the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and the Tony Award. His other important works include The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, and All My Sons.
Died: Roxbury, Conn., Feb. 10, 2005
