IN MEMORIUM, 2012

While best and worst of everything lists are compiled by others as another year draws to a close, The Free Choice E-zine continues it annual tradition of pausing to briefly look back and remember those that are sadly no longer with us.

While unfortunately we cannot post the whole list; amongst the innocents who died needlessly at the hands of others; our family, friends, and loved ones; as well as those within law enforcement, medical/emergency services, and the military who lost their lives helping and/or protecting others during 2012, we have also lost...

ACTORS

Norman Alden (Back to the Future, Ed Wood)

R. G. Armstrong (El Dorado, Dick Tracy, Predator)

Ernest Borgnine (McHale’s Navy, Marty)

Frank Cady (Green Acres, Petticoat Junction)

Richard Dawson (Hogan’s Heroes, Family Feud’s first host, The Running Man)

Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile, The Finder)

Charles Durning (The Sting, Tootsie, Dog Day Afternoon)

Chad Everett (Medical Center, Airplane 2: The Sequel)

Steve Franken (Bewitched, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Party)

Jonathan Frid (Dark Shadows)

Ben Gazzara (Anatomy of a Murder, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof)

Don Grady (the very first Mickey Mouse Club, My Three Sons)

Andy Griffith (The Andy Griffith Show, Salvage 1, Matlock)

Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeanie, Dallas)

Robert Hegyes (Welcome Back Kotter)

Sherman Hemsley (All In The Family, The Jeffersons)

Geoffrey Hughes (Keeping Up Appearances, voiced “Paul McCartney” in Yellow Submarine)

John Ingle (General Hospital, Days of Our Lives)

David Kelly (Waking Ned Devine)

George Lindsey (The Andy Griffith Show, Hee Haw)

Herbert Lom (the original Pink Panther movie franchise)

Jack Klugman (The Odd Couple, Quincy M.E., helped get the 1982 “Orphan” Drug Act passed)

Michael O’hare (Babylon 5)

Ron Palillo (Welcome Back Kotter)

Sage Stallone (Rocky V, Daylight)

William Windom (My World and Welcome To It)

ACTRESSES

Peggy Ahern (Our Gang/The Little Rascals shorts)

Bonnie Lynn Fields (the original Mickey Mouse Club; Bye, Bye, Birdie; Funny Girl)

Ruth Foster (Little House on the Prairie)

Celeste Holm (Gentlemen’s Agreement, All About Eve)

Carolyn John (Doctor Who as Liz Shaw)

Kathryn Joosten (The West Wing, Desperate Housewives)

Susan Luckey (The Music Man, Carousel)

Deborah Raffin (Forty Carats, Once Is Not Enough)

Joan Roberts (Oklahoma!)

Ann Rutherford (Gone With The Wind, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)

Doris Singleton (I Love Lucy, My Three Sons)

Mary Tamm (first Romana on Doctor Who, Brookside, Eastenders)

Phyllis Thaxter (The Adventures of Superman, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo)

ATHLETES/SPORTS FIGURES

Boxing legend Jimmy Bivins

Baseball player Boyd Bartley of the Brooklyn Dodgers

Boxer Hector Camacho

Bowling legend Don Carter, who helped form the Professional Bowlers’ Association

Tennis great Margaret Osborne DuPont

Jockey Peter Fuller

Alex Karras (Football player turned actor: Webster, Blazing Saddles)

Basketball great Slater Martin

Marvin Miller (Former baseball player who helped form the players’ union)

Johnny Pesky (Famous Boston Red Sox baseball player for whom the right field foul pole at Fenway Park is named after)

Darrell Royal (long time and most decorated coach of Texas Longhorns college football)

Carroll Shelby (Creator of the Shelby Cobra racer cars)

Skier Bjorn Sieber

Bob Smith (Invented ski goggles)

Boxer Emanuel Steward

Football great Steve Van Buren

Colleen Walker (Nine time winner on the LPGA tour)

CREATIVE PERSONNEL

Gerry Anderson (Developer of Supermarionation and producer: Thunderbirds, Space 1999)

Jan Berenstain (Co-creator of the Berenstain Bears)

Lucille Bliss (Voice actress: Crusader Rabbit, The Smurfs)

Author Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles)

Helen Gurley Brown (Feminist, publisher of Cosmopolitan)

Don Cornelius (Creator and first host of Soul Train)

Josie DeCarlo (French model and widow of Dan DeCarlo, who created Josie and the Pussycats, basing Josie upon his wife)

Nora Ephron (Screenwriter/director: Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail)

Marvin Hamlisch (Composer: The Sting, The Way We Were)

Author Howard Hopkins (The Lone Ranger: Vendetta)

Painter Thomas Kinkade

Legendary comic book artist Joe Kubert

Bernard Lansky (Men’s fashion designer, clothier to Elvis Presley)

Ralph McQuarrie (Designer: Cocoon, the original Star Wars trilogy: Episodes 4-6)

Jeff Millar (writer, co-creator of the Tank McNamara comic strip)

Muppeteer Jerry Nelson

Mark O’Donnell (Tony Award winning Broadway writer: Hair Spray, Cry Baby)

Frank Pierson (Screenwriter: Dog Day Afternoon, Cool Hand Luke)

Vidal Sassoon (Noted hair stylist)

Tony Scott (Director: Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop 2)

Maurice Sendak (Author: Where the Wild Things Are)

Mel Shaw (Artist: Fantasia, Bambi, The Lion King)

Robert B. Sherman (Composer: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, It’s A Small World)

Science fiction writer Josepha Sherman (The Shining Falcon, numerous Star Trek books)

Mystery writer Donald J. Sobol (Encyclopedia Brown)

Emily Squires (Producer/director: Sesame Street, As the World Turns, Guiding Light)

Mel Stuart (Director: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium)

Gore Vidal (Writer/actor; Suddenly Last Summer, With Honors)

Mike Wallace (Reporter/anchor: 60 Minutes)

Animator Bill White

TV writer Digby Wolfe (The Monkees, The Munsters, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In)

Richard Zanuck (Movie producer: Jaws, Driving Miss Daisy)

Ray Zone (Noted film and 3D expert)

ENTERTAINERS

Fontella Bass (Singer: Rescue Me)

Dick Clark (Host of American Bandstand and $25,000 Pyramid)

Gary Collins (Host of Hour Magazine and The Miss America Pageant)

Phyllis Diller (pioneering comedian)

Robin Gibb (The Bee Gees, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: The Movie)

Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard, How Will I Know?)

Singer Etta James (At Last, Trust In Me)

Davy Jones (Oliver!, The Monkees)

Dorothy McGuire of the McGuire Sisters

Scott McKenzie (Singer: If You’re Going To San Francisco, and songwriter: Kokomo)

Martin Richards (Broadway producer)

Billy Scott (Rhythm and Blues singer)

Donna Summer (Bad Girls, She Works Hard For the Money)

Dick Tufeld (Voice actor, Robot B-9 on Lost In Space)

Andy Williams (Moon River and other hits)

HISTORIC

Astronaut Neil Armstrong (First Human to set foot on the moon)

Rodney King (Victim of excessive force that sparked riots in Los Angeles, California)

US Politician George McGovern

Sir Patrick Moore (Noted astronomer)

Retired US General Norman Schwarzkopf (the Gulf War)

Shlomo Venezia (World War 2 Holocaust survivor)

Violet Wood (passing at 112, was the oldest person in Great Britain, if not the world)

MUSICIANS

Dave Brubeck (Jazz composer and pianist)

Donald “Duck” Dunn (The Blues Brothers, Booker T and the MGs)

Levon Helm of The Band

Jon Lord (Deep Purple’s keyboardist)

Earl Scruggs (Legendary banjo player: Foggy Mountain Breakdown, The Ballad of Jed Clampett)

Ravi Shankar (Internationally known sitar player, composer)

Big Jim Sullivan (Highly demanded session guitarist who participated in over 1000 charting records in his career)

Doc Watson (Country/blue grass guitar legend)

DISHONORABLE MENTION

The gunmen responsible for the shoot outs at the Aurora, Colorado theater; the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut; and anyone else who would take another’s life without moral or legal justification.

NOTE: All categories and the names within them are alphabetical, except the last.