A final farewell

JANUARY:

Del Reeves, 74. Grand Ole Opry star (“Girl on the Billboard.”) Jan. 1.

Vincent Sardi Jr., 91. Consummate host of Broadway watering hole Sardi’s. Jan. 4.

Yvonne De Carlo, 84. The vampire mom on “The Munsters.” Jan. 8.

Carlo Ponti, 94. Italian producer who discovered — and married — Sophia Loren. Jan. 9.

Ron Carey, 71. Played cocky, height-challenged policeman on “Barney Miller.” Jan. 16.

Art Buchwald, 81. Pulitzer-winning Washington humorist; battled Hollywood over movie “Coming to America.” Jan. 17.

Denny Doherty, 66. Member of 1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas (“California Dreamin’.”) Jan. 19.

Liz Renay, 80. Colorful cult movie actress (John Waters’ “Desperate Living.”) Jan. 22.

Bob Carroll Jr., 87. TV writer for Lucille Ball’s shows. Jan. 27.

Sidney Sheldon, 89. Stage and screen writer turned best-selling novelist (“The Other Side of Midnight.”) Jan. 30.

FEBRUARY:

Gian Carlo Menotti, 95. Pulitzer-winning Italian composer (“The Consul,” “Amahl and the Night Visitors”); founded Spoleto arts festivals. Feb. 1.

Joe Hunter, 79. Motown’s first bandleader; three-time Grammy winner with the Funk Brothers. Feb. 2.

Barbara McNair, 72. Pioneering black singer-actress; had her own TV variety show. Feb. 4.

Frankie Laine, 93. Big-voiced singer; one of the most popular entertainers of the 1950s (“That Lucky Old Sun.”) Feb. 6.

Anna Nicole Smith, 39. Model and sometime actress. Feb. 8. Accidental overdose of medication.

Robert Adler, 93. Co-inventor of the TV remote, the 1956 Zenith Space Command. Feb. 15.

Ray Evans, 92. Oscar-winning songwriter (“Mona Lisa,” “Buttons and Bows.”) Feb. 15.

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., 89. Pulitzer-winning historian; Kennedy administration’s “court philosopher.” Feb. 28.

MARCH:

Brad Delp, 55. Lead singer for the band Boston (“More Than a Feeling.”) March 9. Suicide.

Betty Hutton, 86. Singer-actress who brought brassy vitality to Hollywood musicals (“Annie Get Your Gun.”) March 11.

Stuart Rosenberg, 79. TV, film director (“Cool Hand Luke.”) March 15.

Luther Ingram, 69. R&B singer and songwriter known for “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want to Be Right).” March 19.

Calvert DeForest, 85. Played bespectacled nebbish Larry “Bud” Melman on David Letterman’s shows. March 19.

Walter Turnbull, 62. Founded acclaimed Boys Choir of Harlem. March 23.

APRIL:

Edward Mallory, 76. Portrayed angst-ridden Dr. Bill Horton on soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” April 4.

Johnny Hart, 76. Cartoonist whose “B.C.” showed the humorous side of the Stone Age. April 7.

Kurt Vonnegut, 84. Novelist who captured the absurdity of the world in darkly humorous works such as “Slaughterhouse-Five.” April 11.

Roscoe Lee Browne, 81. Emmy-winning actor known for rich voice, dignified bearing. April 11.

Don Ho, 76. Hawaiian crooner (“Tiny Bubbles”). April 14.

Kitty Carlisle Hart, 96. Singer-actress; long career spanned Broadway, opera, television and film (“A Night at the Opera.”) April 17.

David Halberstam, 73. Journalist whose acclaimed books included towering study of Vietnam War, poignant portrait of aging baseball stars. April 23.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett, 69. Did his dead-on Boris Karloff impression in the novelty hit “Monster Mash.” April 25.

Jack Valenti, 85. Film industry lobbyist who instituted the modern movie ratings system. April 26.

Mstislav Rostropovich, 80. The ebullient master cellist who fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents. April 27.

Tom Poston, 85. The tall, pasty-faced TV comic whose characters were clueless. (“Newhart.”) April 30.

MAY:

Bernard Gordon, 88. Screenwriter, blacklisted in the 1950s. (”55 Days at Peking.”) May 11.

Charles Nelson Reilly, 76. Tony Award winner; later known for ribald TV game show appearances. May 25.

Gretchen Wyler, 75. Broadway actress (“Silk Stockings.”) May 27.

Mark Harris, 84. Novelist (“Bang the Drum Slowly.”) May 30.

William Meredith, 88. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (“Partial Accounts: New and Selected Poems.”) May 30.

JUNE

Don Herbert, 89. Television’s “Mr. Wizard.” June 12.

Gianfranco Ferre, 62. Italian designer known as “architect of fashion.” June 17.

Antonio Aguilar, 88. Mariachi singer, actor during Mexican cinema’s Golden Era. June 19.

Liz Claiborne, 78. Designer whose styles became a cornerstone of career women’s wardrobes. June 26.

Joel Siegel, 63. “Good Morning America” movie critic. June 29.

JULY

Beverly Sills, 78. Opera diva with a dazzling voice, bubbly personality. July 2.

Boots Randolph, 80. His spirited saxophone made “Yakety Sax” a hit. July 3.

Regine Crespin, 80. French opera great. July 5.

Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, 68. Pioneer of the modern historical romance novel (“The Flame and the Flower.”) July 6.

Charles Lane, 102. Prolific character actor whose face was recognizable to generations of moviegoers. July 9.

Doug Marlette, 57. Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist, creator of comic strip “Kudzu.” July 10. Car accident.

Tammy Faye Messner, 65. Helped then-husband Jim Bakker build an evangelism empire that later collapsed; reality TV performer. July 20.

Laszlo Kovacs, 74. Influential cinematographer (“Easy Rider,” “Five Easy Pieces.”) July 22.

Ulrich Muehe, 54. German actor acclaimed for role in Oscar-winning “The Lives of Others.” July 22. Stomach cancer.

George Tabori, 93. Avant-garde playwright-director in postwar Germany (“Goldberg Variations.”) July 23.

Tom Snyder, 71. Late-late night TV talk show host with a robust laugh, trademark cloud of cigarette smoke. July 29.

Ingmar Bergman, 87. Swedish filmmaker; one of the greatest artists in cinema history (“The Seventh Seal,” “Cries and Whispers.”) July 30.

Michelangelo Antonioni, 94. Italian filmmaker whose depiction of modern-day malaise made him a symbol of art-house cinema (“Blow-Up,” “L’Avventura.”) July 30.

AUGUST:

Lee Hazlewood, 78. Singer, songwriter; produced Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” Aug. 4.

Merv Griffin, 82. Parlayed game shows into a multimillion-dollar empire. Aug. 12.

Brooke Astor, 105. Philanthropist who gave millions to New York City arts institutions. Aug. 13.

Max Roach, 83. Jazz drummer whose rhythmic innovations defined bebop. Aug. 16.

Grace Paley, 84. Acclaimed poet and short story writer. Aug. 22.

Hilly Kristal, 75. His Manhattan club CBGB was birthplace of punk rock. Aug. 28.

Miyoshi Umeki, 78. Oscar-winning actress (“Sayonara.”) Aug. 28.

SEPTEMBER:

Marcia Mae Jones, 83. Child actress; Shirley Temple’s pal in “Heidi.” Sept. 2.

Luciano Pavarotti, 71. Opera superstar hailed as “king of the high C’s.” Sept. 6.

Madeleine L’Engle, 88. Author who captivated schoolchildren with “A Wrinkle in Time.” Sept. 6.

Jane Wyman, 90. Won Oscar as deaf rape victim in “Johnny Belinda”; later in TV’s “Falcon Crest.” Ronald Reagan’s ex-wife. Sept. 10.

Joe Zawinul, 75. Jazz keyboardist; one of the creators of jazz-rock fusion with Weather Report (“Birdland.”) Sept 11.

Robert Jordan, 58. Author of “Wheel of Time” fantasy novels. Sept. 16. Blood disease.

Alice Ghostley, 81. Tony-winning actress (“The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.”) Sept. 21.

Marcel Marceau, 84. French master of pantomime who transformed silence into poetry. Sept. 22.

OCTOBER:

George Grizzard, 79. Tony-winning Broadway actor (“A Delicate Balance.”) Oct. 2.

Werner von Trapp, 91. Member of singing family made famous by “The Sound of Music.” Oct. 11.

Deborah Kerr, 86. Actress who kissed Burt Lancaster on a beach in “From Here to Eternity” and danced with Yul Brynner in “The King and I.” Oct. 16.

Joey Bishop, 89. Stone-faced TV and nightclub comedian; last of the Rat Pack. Oct. 17.

Teresa Brewer, 76. She topped the charts in the 1950s (“Till I Waltz Again With You.”) Oct. 17.

Friedman Paul Erhardt, 63. Television’s “Chef Tell.” Oct. 26.

Porter Wagoner, 80. Grand Ole Opry star; helped launch the career of Dolly Parton. Oct. 28.

Robert Goulet, 73. Baritone made Broadway debut in “Camelot;” won Tony in 1968 for “The Happy Time.” Oct. 30.

NOVEMBER:

Igor Moiseyev, 101. Choreographer who transformed folk dance into a legitimate art, showcasing Russian culture worldwide. Nov. 2.

George Osmond, 90. Patriarch of singing Osmond family. Nov. 6.

Norman Mailer, 84. The pugnacious prince of American letters. Nov. 10.

Laraine Day, 87. Actress in nearly 50 films including Hitchcock thriller “Foreign Correspondent.” Nov. 10.

Delbert Mann, 87. Directed “Marty,” classic lonely-guy teleplay that became multiple Oscar-winning film. Nov. 11.

Ira Levin, 78. Best-selling novelist (“Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Boys From Brazil.”) Nov. 12.

Dick Wilson, 91. Played the fussy, mustachioed grocer who begged customers, “Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin.” Nov. 19.

Maurice Bejart, 80. Avant-garde French choreographer. Nov. 22.

Roger B. Smith, 82. As General Motors chief, was the subject of Michael Moore’s documentary “Roger & Me.” Nov. 29.

Evel Knievel, 69. Motorcycle daredevil known for spectacular jumps and bone-crushing crashes. Nov. 30.

DECEMBER:

Elizabeth Hardwick, 91. Leading intellectual author (“Sleepless Nights”) and critic. Dec. 2.

Pimp C, 33. Rapper with the Texas hip-hop group Underground Kingz (“Super Tight.”) Found Dec. 4.

Karlheinz Stockhausen, 79. Avant-garde German composer; pioneer of electronic music. Dec. 5.

Roger M. King, 63. CBS and King World Productions executive; helped bring such stars as Oprah Winfrey to television. Dec. 8.

Freddie Fields, 84. Colorful Hollywood agent, producer (“Glory”) and studio executive. Dec. 11.

Ike Turner, 76. Rock innovator who teamed with wife Tina Turner (and denied abusing her). Dec. 12.

Dan Fogelberg, 56. His gentle, poignant hits (“Longer,” “Leader of the Band”) helped define soft-rock. Dec. 16. Cancer.