By: Jon Corrigan
We said goodbye to – what seemed like – an inordinate number of celebrities in 2016, and from every spectrum of fame.
From David Bowie to Prince, Muhammad Ali to Gordie Howie or Alan Rickman to Gene Wilder, join us in paying them tribute one final time.
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JANUARY –
Jan. 4 – Robert Stigwood, entertainment manager – managed the Bee Gees and Cream – age 81
Jan. 6 – Pat Harrington Jr., actor – Schneider on “One Day at a Time” – age 86
Jan. 7 – Troy Shondell, singer – big hit was “This Time (We’re Really Breaking Up)” – age 76
Jan. 7 – Kitty Kallen, singer – Big Band era, biggest hit was ‘”Little Things Mean a Lot” – age 94
Jan. 8 – David Bowie, musician – two-time Grammy winner and pop culture icon – age 69
Jan. 11 – David Margulies, actor – played the mayor in Ghost Busters I and II (1984 & 1989)- age – 78
Jan. 14 – Alan Rickman, actor – Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in Harry Potter – age 69
Jan. 14 – René Angélil, singer/manager – husband and manager of Celine Dion – age 73
Jan. 15 – Dan Haggerty, actor – The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams – age 74
Jan. 15 – Noreen Corcoran, actress – Kelly Gregg in Bachelor Father (1957-59) – age 72
Jan. 18 – Glen Frey, singer/songwriter – founded legendary group The Eagles – age 67
Jan. 26 – Abe Vigoda, actor – Detective Fish on Barney Miller (1975-’77) – age 94
Jan. 28 – Paul Kantner, singer/songwriter – co-founder of The Jefferson Airplane – age 74
Jan. 28 – Mike Minor, actor – Steve Eliot on Petticoat Junction – age 75
FEBRUARY –
Feb. 2 – Bob Elliot, comedian – one-half of the comedy duo of Bob and Ray – age 92
Feb. 3 – Maurice White, musician/songwriter – founding member of Earth, Wind & Fire – age 74
Feb. 3 – Joe Alaskey, voice actor – Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety – age 63
Feb. 4 – Joe Dowell, singer – #1 hit song “Wooden Heart” (1961) – age 76
Feb. 13 – Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice – appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1986 – age 79
Feb. 15 – George Gaynes, actor – Commandant Eric Lassard on the Police Academy series – age 98
Feb. 19 – Harper Lee, novelist – Pulitzer Prize for fiction for novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” – age 89
Feb. 22 – Yolande Fox, singer – Miss America 1951 and sang opera – age 87
Feb. 22 – Sonny James, country music singer/songwriter – the first teenage country crossover #1 single “Young Love” – age 87
Feb. 24 – Lennie Baker, musician – 1950s music tribute group and TV show Sha-Na-Na (1969-2000) – age 69
Feb. 25 – Tony Burton, actor – boxing trainer to Apollo Creed and later Rocky in six Rocky films – age 78
Feb. 28 – George Kennedy, actor – Academy Award for Cool Hand Luke also in all the Airport movies – age 91
Feb. 29 – Gil Hill, police commander/actor – Inspector Todd in three Beverly Hills Cop films – age 84
MARCH –
Mar. 4 – Joey Martin Feek, singer/songwriter – husband and wife country duo “Joey + Rory” – age 40
Mar. 6 – Nancy Reagan, First Lady of the U.S. (1981-1989) – wife to 40th President Ronald Reagan – age 94
Mar. 8 – Sir George Martin, producer for the “Beatles” albums, known as “The Fifth Beatle” – age 90
Mar. 9 – Robert Horton, actor – Flint McCullough in Wagon Train (1957-1962) – age 91
Mar. 10 – Keith Emerson, musician/keyboardist – created Emerson, Lake & Palmer rock group – age 71
Mar. 13 – Adrienne Corri, actress – Mrs. Alexander in A Clockwork Orange (1971) – age 85
Mar. 16 – Frank Sinatra Jr., singer – singer and son of Frank Sinatra– age 72
Mar. 17 – Larry Drake, actor – Benny Stulwicz on L.A. Law (1987-1994) – age 66
Mar. 18 – Joe Santos, actor – Lieutenant Dennis Becker on The Rockford Files (1974-1980) – age 84
Mar. 21 – Peter Brown, actor – Deputy Johnny McKay in Lawman (1958-62) and Chad Cooper in Laredo (1965-67) – age 80
Mar. 22 – Rob Ford, politician – crack smoking Mayor of Toronto, Canada – age 46
Mar. 22 – Richard Bradford, actor – Man in a Suitcase on British ITC (1967) – age 81
Mar. 22 – Phife Dawg, singer – rapper with the group A Tribe Called Quest, also known as “Five Foot Assassin” – age 45
Mar. 23 – Joe Garagiola, baseball player – MLB catcher and announcer and television host – age 90
Mar. 23 – Ken Howard, actor – Coach Reeves on White Shadow & President of SAG-AFTRA – age 71
Mar. 24 – Earl Hamner, Jr., writer/producer – created The Waltons – age 92
Mar. 24 – Garry Shandling, comedian – Garry Shandling Show and The Larry Sanders Show – age 66
Mar. 27 – Mother Angelica, Franciscan nun – founder of Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) – age 92
Mar. 28 – James Noble, actor – Governor Gatling on Benson (1979-1986) – age 94
Mar. 29 – Patty Duke, actress – played identical cousins in The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966) – age 69
