DIZZY GILLESPIE - January 6

Musician.
________________________________________

RUDOLF NUREYEV - January 6

(Same day as Dizzy Gillespie.)
Dancer.
[C.O.D.: AIDS.]
________________________________________

AUDREY HEPBURN - January 20

Actress.
________________________________________

THURGOOD MARSHALL - January 24

Judge.
________________________________________

ARTHUR ASHE - February 6

Pro tennis player.
[C.O.D.: AIDS.]
________________________________________

LILLIAN GISH - February 27

Actress.
________________________________________

RUBY KEELER - February 28

(Must have heard about Lillian Gish the day before.)
Dancer.
________________________________________

HELEN HAYES - March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day - you're dead!
Actress married to playwright Charles MacArthur,
and was the mother of '60s Hawaii Five-O actor James MacArthur.
________________________________________

BRANDON LEE - March 31

Actor of The Crow, shot by a gun that was supposed to have been
cleaned out by a stage hand, but it hadn't completely been. Oops!
Bet that stagehand felt mighty embarrassed. Where he is today?
________________________________________

PINKY LEE - April 3

King of the kiddie TV show hosts.
(Not a good week to have the last name of Lee.)
________________________________________

MARIAN ANDERSON - April 8

Superb singer who held a famous concert at the Lincoln Memorial
in 1939 after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to
let her perform at Constitution Hall because she was black.
________________________________________

LESLIE CHARTERIS - April 15

Created The Saint.
________________________________________

JULIO GALLO - May 2

Started making wine with his brother Ernest
became the biggest winemaker in the U. S.
(Not the best, but the biggest.)
________________________________________

CONWAY TWITTY - June 5

Country singer Twitty's bank account wasn't bitty -
so starting tonight, his relatives will fight!
________________________________________

ALEXIS SMITH - June 9

Actress.
________________________________________

RAY SHARKEY - June 11

Actor.
[C.O.D.: AIDS.]
________________________________________

JOHN CONNALLY - June 15

Former Texas Governor wounded by the firing squad that killed JFK.
________________________________________

PAT NIXON - June 22

Politician's wife.
________________________________________

GEORGE "SPANKY" MCFARLAND - June 30

Acted in the Our Gang comedies.
________________________________________

FRED GWYNNE - July 10

Star of Car 54 Where Are You?, and The Munsters.
________________________________________

JOE "CURLY JOE" DERITA - July 3

The "last" official "third" stooge replacement member of
the classic slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges.
________________________________________

STEWART GRANGER - August 16

Star of King Solomon's Mines, and co-star with
his then-wife Jean Simmons in Young Bess.
________________________________________

RICHARD JORDAN - August 30

Played a southern general in Gettysburg.
________________________________________

HERVE VILLECHAIZE - September 4

Tattoo from Fantasy Island.
[COD: Suicide by gun.]
________________________________________

HELEN O'CONNELL - September 9

Great band singer of the 1940s and '50s, and second wife
of musician/composer Frank De Vol of America Tonight.
________________________________________

RAYMOND BURR - September 12

Star of classic lawyer TV series Perry Mason. Later also starred on Ironside.
________________________________________

JIMMY DOOLITTLE - September 27

Did a little flying.
________________________________________

JAMES LEO HERLIHY - October 20

Author of Midnight Cowboy.
[C.O.D.: Suicide.]
________________________________________

VINCENT PRICE - October 25

Actor in House On Haunted Hill and many others.
________________________________________

FEDERICO FELLINI - October 31

Greatest Italian movie director ever.
Happy Halloween - you're dead!
________________________________________

RIVER PHOENIX - October 31

(Same day as Federico Fellini.)
Actor and brother of J. Phoenix.
[C.O.D.: Drug overdose.]
________________________________________

FRITZ FELD - November 18

Played snooty cafe and hotel manager types in over
100 movies, and was married for more than 50 years
to Christina Christine of Mrs. Olson Folger's coffee
TV commercial fame. (Shown above.)
________________________________________

BILL BIXBY - November 21

Actor who co-starred in My Favorite Martian, and starred in The Magician, and The Incredible Hulk.
He later also directed many TV shows, including Blossom.
[C.O.D.: Prostate cancer.]
________________________________________

ANTHONY BURGESS - November 25

Writer of the classic futuristic novel A Clockwork Orange.
________________________________________

GARRY MOORE - November 28

Star of The Garry Moore Show, which unleashed Carol Burnett upon a delighted world..
________________________________________

FRANK ZAPPA - December 4

This genius rock musician, who helmed The Mothers Of Invention,
was also the father of the fabulous Moon Zappa, Dweezel Zappa,
and Ahmed Zappa.
[C.O.D.: Prostate cancer.]
(Wow, that whole celebs dying of "prostate cancer"
phenomenon really got out of hand this year!)
________________________________________

DON AMECHE - December 6

Classic movie star who much later made a comeback in Cocoon.
Also did several other films, including Things Change, and Trading Places.
________________________________________

MYRNA LOY - December 14

William Powell's co-star in the popular Thin Man movie series.
________________________________________

SAM WANAMAKER - December 18

The driving force behind rebuilding the replica of the Globe Theater in London, England.
________________________________________

DON DEFORE - December 22

Starred as George Baxter in the popular Hazel TV series. (Shirley Booth played Hazel the maid.)
Geez, Don - if only you'd waited just three more days,
I could've given you our famous holiday sendoff of
Merry Christmas - you're dead! Oh, well - close enough.
________________________________________

= WELL, THAT'S ALL FOR THIS YEAR, FOLKS! BUT STAY TUNED - YOU KNOW THE GRIM REAPER AIN'T DONE WITH THOSE CELEBS YET! MEANWHILE, ON THE UPPER RIGHT YOU CAN ALWAYS CHECK OUT THE LIST OF LATE LAMENTED LAYABOUTS FROM OTHER YEARS! ENJOY! =