Year “Ends” are always milestones. The passing into ancestry in the previous 12 months of public fugues gives us reasons to reflect. Here are my picks of the most significant passages in the past year. Personal thoughts appear in parenthesis after the brief biographies.
ROW ONE [L to R]
Singer Lou Rawls, January 6
Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to sell more than 40 million albums and win three Grammys in a career that spanned nearly five decades and a range of genres, died on Jan. 6. He was 72. Rawls had been hospitalized for treatment of lung and brain cancer. His wife, Nina, was at his bedside when he died, Shefrin said. The family said Rawls was 72, although other records indicate he was 70.
Actress Shelley Winters, January 14
Shelley Winters, a blond bombshell of the 1940s who evolved into a character actress best remembered for her roles as victims, shrews and matrons, died of heart failure on Jan. 14. She was 85. Winters was the first to win two Oscars in the best supporting category for her roles as Mrs. Van Daan in Stevens' "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959) and Rose-Ann D'Arcy, the abusive mother who tries to turn her blind daughter into a prostitute in "A Patch of Blue" (1965). Among her 130 films was "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972), which earned her another best-supporting actress nomination.
Actor Anthony Franciosa, January 19
Anthony Franciosa, whose strong portrayals of moody, troubled characters made him a Hollywood star in the 1950s and '60s but whose combative behavior on movie sets hampered his career, died on Jan. 19 after suffering a massive stroke. He was 77. Franciosa was part of a new wave in the mid-20th century who revolutionized film acting with their introspective, intensely realistic approach to their roles.
Coretta Scott King, January 31
Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78. She was a supportive lieutenant to her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., during the most tumultuous days of the American civil rights movement. She had married him in 1953. After her husband's assassination in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, she kept his dream alive while also raising their four children.
Actor/political activist Al Lewis, February 3
Al Lewis, a longtime political activist best known for his television role as Grandpa Munster on "The Munsters" sitcom, died on Feb. 3 after years of failing health. He was 95.
ROW TWO [L to R]
Feminist-author Betty Friedan, February 4
Betty Friedan, whose manifesto "The Feminine Mystique" helped shatter the cozy suburban ideal of the post-World War II era and laid the groundwork for the modern feminist movement, died on Feb. 4, her birthday, of congestive heart failure. She was 85. Friedan's assertion that a woman needed more than a husband and children was a radical break from the Eisenhower era, when the very idea of a wife doing any work outside of house work was fodder for gag writers.
(I ate a meal at Thaiphoon’s just off of Connecticut Ave., NW in Washington, DC a couple of years ago across from Betty -- it was rather spooky!)
Actor Franklin Cover, February 5
Franklin Cover, who became a familiar face as George and Louise Jefferson's neighbor in the long-running TV sitcom "The Jeffersons," died on Feb. 5. He was 77. Cover died of pneumonia at the Lillian Booth Actor's Fund of America home in Englewood, N.J. He had been living at the home since December 2005 while recuperating from a heart condition. In his nearly six decades in show business, Cover made numerous appearances on television shows, including "The Jackie Gleason Show,""All in the Family," "Will & Grace," "Living Single," "Mad About You" and "ER."
'Jaws' author Peter Benchley, February 11
Peter Benchley, whose novel "Jaws" terrorized millions of swimmers even as the author himself became an advocate for the conservation of sharks, died at his home in Princeton, N.J., on Feb. 11. He was 65. Wendy Benchley, married to the author for 41 years, said the cause of death ,was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and a fatal scarring of the lungs.
(One reason why I don’t like swimming in the ocean!)
Actor Dennis Weaver, February 24
Actor Dennis Weaver, the slow-witted deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western "Gunsmoke" and the New Mexico deputy solving New York crime in "McCloud," died on Feb. 24. He was 81.
(I saw “Duel” when it first premiered on the Wednesday Night Movie of the Week. Amazing, riviting film, my most vivid memory of Dennis Weaver.)
Actor Don Knotts, February 24
Don Knotts, the saucer-eyed, scarecrow-thin comic actor best known for his roles as the high-strung, small-town deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s CBS series "The Andy Griffith Show" and the leisure-suit-clad landlord Ralph Furley on ABC's '70s sitcom "Three's Company," died on Feb. 24. He was 81.
ROW THREE [L to R]
Actor Darren McGavin, February 25
Darren McGavin, the husky, tough-talking actor who starred in the TV series "Mike Hammer," played a grouchy dad in the holiday classic "A Christmas Story" and had other strong roles in such films as "The Man with the Golden Arm" and "The Natural," died on Feb. 25. He was 83.
Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, March 6
Kirby Puckett, a Hall of Fame outfielder who won two World Series in a 12-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins, died on March 6, a day after suffering a stroke at his Arizona home. He was 45.
Musician Ali Farka Toure, March 7
Ali Farka Toure, a traditional African musician who won two Grammy Awards, died on March 7 in his native Mali after a long illness. He was in his late 60s.
Actress Maureen Stapleton, March 13
Actress Maureen Stapleton, the Oscar-winning character actress whose subtle vulnerability and down-to-earth toughness earned her dramatic and comedic roles on stage, screen, and television, died on March 13. She was 80.
(Will never forget her performance in “Bye, Bye, Birdie”.....)
Fashion designer Oleg Cassini, March 17
The magic of Camelot may have had something to do with Oleg Cassini, the designer who created Jacqueline Kennedy's graceful, elegant look. Cassini died on March 17 at age 92 in a Long Island, N.Y., hospital, said his wife, Marianne. Cassini created Jackie Kennedy's Inauguration Day outfit, a fawn-colored wool coat with a sable collar over a matching wool dress, with a pillbox hat from Halston. Try though they might, the work of imitators never quite compared.
ROW FOUR [L to R]
Race car driver Paul Dana, March 26
Race car driver Paul Dana, 30, died after a horrific two-car crash during the final practice for the Toyota 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 26. The rookie driver had been traveling at close to 180 mph. He was pronounced dead in the trauma center of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
Last Titanic survivor Lillian Gertrud Asplund, May 6
Lillian Gertrud Asplund, 99, the last survivor of the Titanic who remembered its sinking, died on May 6 at her home in Shrewsbury, Mass. Asplund's mother, Selma, and another brother, Felix, who was 3, also survived the Titanic sinking on April 15, 1912. The Asplund family had boarded the ship as third-class passengers on their way back to Worcester from their ancestral homeland, Sweden, where they had spent several years.
Former U.S. poet laureate Stanley Kunitz, May 14
Stanley Kunitz, a former U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner whose expressive verse, social commitment and generosity to young writers spanned three-quarters of a century, died on May 14 at his home in Manhattan. He was 100.
(I once had dinner in a tragically lousy restaurant at a table adjacent to Stanley Kunitz. Afterwards, I and my guest attended a reading by him at the Folger Library Theatre here in Washington, D.C. We were the only present who knew how many martini’s the good poet had just downed, and how difficult it was for him to get the Asian staff at the Thai-Italian fusion dive to get his directions for making one correct! Priceless evening; I only wish I had picked up the tab for him....)
Texas politician Lloyd Bentsen, May 23
Lloyd Bentsen, a courtly Texan who represented the state in Congress for 28 years and served as President Bill Clinton's first treasury secretary, died at his home in Houston on May 23. He was 85. Bentsen's distinguished political career took him from the humble beginnings of a county office in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1940s to six years in the U.S. House, 22 in the U.S. Senate and two in the Clinton Cabinet, where he was instrumental in directing the administration's economic policy.
Keyboardist Billy Preston, June 6
Billy Preston, the exuberant keyboardist who landed dream gigs with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and enjoyed his own series of hit singles, including "Outta Space" and "Nothing From Nothing," died on June 6. He was 59. Preston had battled chronic kidney failure, and received a kidney transplant in 2002. But the kidney failed and he remained on dialysis.
ROW FIVE [L to R]
Comedian-actor Red Buttons, July 13
Red Buttons, the carrot-topped burlesque comedian who became a top star in early television and then in a dramatic role won the 1957 Oscar as supporting actor in "Sayonara," died on July 13. He was 87. Buttons died of vascular disease at his home in the Century City area of Los Angele, CA.
Actor Jack Warden, July 19
Jack Warden, an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated actor who played gruff cops, coaches and soldiers in a career that spanned five decades, died on July 19. He was 85. Warden was nominated twice for best-supporting-actor Oscars -- for the 1975 movie "Shampoo" and in 1978's "Heaven Can Wait." He won a supporting-actor Emmy for his role as a coach in the 1971 TV movie "Brian's Song" and was twice nominated in the 1980s for best leading actor in a comedy for his show "Crazy Like a Fox."
Talk Show Host, Mike Douglas, August 11
Former television talk show host Mike Douglas applauds during ceremony inducting him and others into the Walk of Fame in Philadelphia, on Sept. 25, 1997. Douglas, who drew on his affable personality and singing talent during 21 years as a talk show host, died in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 11, on his 81st birthday, his wife said.
Actor Glenn Ford, August 30
Actor Glenn Ford, who played strong, thoughtful protagonists in films such as "The Blackboard Jungle,""Gilda" and "The Big Heat," died on Aug. 30. He was 90. Failing health forced Ford to skip a 90th birthday tribute on May 1 at Hollywood's historic Grauman's Egyptian Theatre. But he did send greetings via videotape, adding, "I wish I were up and around, but I'm doing the best that I can.... There's so much I have to be grateful for."
Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, September 4
"The Crocodile Hunter", Steve Irwin, 44, who made a career out of getting dangerously close to deadly beasts, was stabbed through the heart on Sept. 4, by a stingray during filming of a new TV program on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
(Krykee! Live hard and fast, die young.....)
ROW SIX [L to R]
Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, September 13
Former Texas Gov. Anne Richards, the witty and flamboyant Democrat who went from homemaker to national political celebrity, died on Sept. 13 at her home after a battle with cancer surrounded by her family. She was 73.
(What is it with Texas women? They are so amazing! Molly Ivans, Barbara Jordan, Barbara Lee...and certainly, Ann Richards. If only the men could manage to be such role models!)
Blues guitarist Etta Baker, September 24
Etta Baker, an influential blues guitarist who recorded with Taj Mahal and was awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, died on Sept. 23. She was 93.
Actress Jane Wyatt, October 20
Jane Wyatt, the actress who for six years on "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's favorite moms, died on Oct. 20. She was 96. Wyatt died in her sleep at her Bel-Air home. She experienced health problems since suffering a stroke at 85, but her mind was sharp until her death, her son Christopher Ward said. Wyatt had a successful film career in the 1930s and '40s, notably as Ronald Colman's lover in 1937's "Lost Horizon." But it was her years as Robert Young's TV wife, Margaret Anderson, on "Father Knows Best" that brought the actress her lasting fame.
(And don’t forget, she was Spock’s mother!)
Author William Styron, Nov. 1
William Styron, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist whose explorations of the darkest corners of the mind were charged by personal demons that nearly drove him to suicide, died in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., on Nov. 1. He was 81. Styron was reportedly working on a military novel, yet published no full-length work of fiction after "Sophie's Choice," which came out in 1979. His other works include "Lie Down In Darkness" and "The Confessions of Nat Turner," which won the Pulitzer despite protests that the book was racist and inaccurate.
Journalist Ed Bradley, Nov. 9
CBS newsman Ed Bradley died of leukemia at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital on Nov. 9. He was 65.
(A class act! Period.)
ROW SEVEN [L to R]
Actor Jack Palance, Nov. 10
Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in "Shane," "Sudden Fear" and other films who turned to comedy at 70 with his Oscar-winning self-parody in "City Slickers," died on Nov. 10. Palance died of natural causes at his home in Montecito, Calif., surrounded by family,. Palance was 85 according to Associated Press records, but his family gave his age as 87.
Ex-Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, Nov. 17
Bo Schembechler, who became one of college football's great coaches in two decades at Michigan, died on Nov. 17 after taping a TV show on the eve of the Wolverines' No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with perennial rival Ohio State. He was 77. Schembechler collapsed during the taping of a television show in and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died.
(College football was the thing in my little hometown in Michigan; and Bo was the god. Every year when U of M and Ohio State met the balance of the universe teeter upon the outcome. I was saddened to learn of his sudden death, and reminded of how much power a stranger has over other’s worlds.....)
R&B singer Ruth Brown, Nov. 17
Ruth Brown, whose recordings of "Teardrops in My Eyes,""5-10-15 Hours" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" shot her to rhythm-and-blues stardom in the 1950s, died on Nov. 17. She was 78. Brown, who later in life won a Grammy, died of complications from a stroke and heart attack at a Las Vegas-area hospital. Brown's soulful voice produced dozens of hits for Atlantic Records, cementing the then-fledgling record label's reputation as an R&B powerhouse.
Director Robert Altman, Nov. 20
Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind "M-A-S-H," "Nashville" and "The Player" who made a career out of bucking Hollywood, died on Nov. 20. He was 81. A five-time Academy Award nominee for best director, most recently for 2001's "Gosford Park," Altman finally won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.
(And my favorite: “Gossford Park”.)
Former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, Dec. 8
Former United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, a one-time Democrat who switched to the Republican Party and became a heroine of conservatives, died on Dec. 8. She was 80.
ROW EIGHT [L to R]
Actor Mike Evans, Dec. 14
Mike Evans, best known as Lionel Jefferson in the TV sitcoms "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," died of throat cancer on Dec. 14 at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was 57.
(Mike was just one part of an amazing franchise created by Norman Lear that profoundly challenged and ultimately changed America in the 70’s and 80’s. He joins fellow troup members Esther Rolle, Carole O’Connor and fellow Jeffersons’ cast members; Isabel Sanford, Roxie Roker, and Frank Cover into the realm of Ancestry. Thanks for being a part of something so culturally important! Let this be a salute as well to all the actors present and passed who participated in shows like: “All In The Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Maude,” and “Good Times!”)
'Godfather of Soul' James Brown, Dec. 25
James Brown, the undeniable "Godfather of Soul," died of heart failure on Christmas morning. He was 73. The pompadoured dynamo's classic singles included "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)." One of the major musical influences of the past 50 years, Brown was to rhythm and dance music what Bob Dylan was to lyrics. From Mick Jagger to Michael Jackson, David Bowie to Public Enemy, Brown's rapid-footed dancing, hard-charging beats and heartfelt yet often unintelligible vocals changed the musical landscape.
Former President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26
Former President Gerald R. Ford, who declared "Our long national nightmare is over" as he replaced Richard Nixon but may have doomed his own chances of election by pardoning his disgraced predecessor, died at his desert home on Dec. 26. He was 93. A Michigan Republican elected to Congress 13 times before becoming the first appointed vice president in 1973 after Spiro Agnew left amid scandal, Ford was Nixon's hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straightforward as Nixon was tightly controlled and conspiratorial.
(And yet, he was as entwined in the roots and essence of the neo-con machine whose agenda and ideology threatens the very foundation of our Constitution in this present hour as any politician of his time. His hands are not so clean, methinks...RIP)
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