Friday, January 2, 2015

In Memoriam: July Through December, 2014



It's almost impossible for any of us to really pay attention to all those that have passed from the public eye.  Whether they are famous or not, every year we seem to lose those that have contributed to society in ways that we may never realize.  They are actors, musicians, entertainers, politicians, activists, scientists, and writers.  They enrich our lives through their works, and without them, our lives would be just a little bit more empty.  I would like to take this time to thank many of them for their contributions.  I obviously can't include everyone on this list, so I will let those I can include, stand in for those I can't.  Whether they are on this particular list or not, we owe all of them a big thank you.

Back in July, I tried to bring to your attention some of those that we lost in the first half of the year, January through June.  This post will be my attempt to do the same thing for the second half of the year, July through December.  I hope we will all take the time, as this year is wrapping up, to remember those that we have lost, whether they were in the public eye, or in our own lives, they will be missed.

July 2014


Louis Zamperini, 1917-2014.  American Prisoner of War during World War II & American Olympian. 


C.J. Henderson, 1951-2014.  American Author of Brooklyn Knight & Central Park Knight


Dave Legeno, 1963-2014.  English Actor, the Harry Potter movies. 


Philip Hurlic, 1927-2014.  American Actor, the Our Gang movies. 


Dick Jones, 1927-2014.  American Actor, the Our Gang movies, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Pinocchio.


Elaine Stritch, 1925-2014.  American Stage And Screen Actress.


James Garner, 1928-2014.  American Actor; The Rockford Files, Maverick, The Great Escape.


Alex Angulo, 1953-2014.  Spanish Basque Actor; Pan's Labyrinth


Margot Adler, 1946-2014.  American Journalist and NPR Correspondent. 


August 2014


James Brady, 1940-2014.  American White House Press Secretary and Gun Control Advocate. 


Robin Williams, 1951-2014. American Actor; Mrs. Doubtfire, Mork & Mindy, Good Will Hunting


Lauren Bacall, 1924-2014.  American Actress; The Big Sleep, Key Largo, Designing Woman


Jim Jeffords, 1934-2014.  American Politician; United States Senator from Vermont. 


James Foley, 1973-2014.  American Freelance Journalist.


Richard Attenborough, 1923-2014.  English Actor, Producer, Director; The Great Escape, Ghandi, Jurassic Park.


September 2014


Joan Rivers, 1933-2014.  American Actress & Comedian; Spaceballs & How to Murder a Millionaire


Richard Kiel, 1939-2014.  American Actor; The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, & Tangled.  


Bob Crewe, 1930-2014.  American Singer, Songwriter, and Manager; "My Eyes Adored You", "Lady Marmalade", "Walk Like A Man", and "Rag Doll."


Buster Jones, 1943-20147.  American Voice Actor; G.I. Joe, Super Friends, The Real Ghostbusters, and Defenders of the Earth


Polly Bergen, 1930-2014.  American Actress; Cap Fear, Cry-Baby, The Winds of War, & War and Remembrance


October 2014


Marian Seldes, 1928-2014.  American Stage & Screen Actress; The Haunting, Perry Mason, & If These Walls Could Talk 2. 


Jan Hooks, 19572014.  American Actress; Saturday Night Live, Designing Women, and Frosty Returns


Elizabeth Pena, 1959-2014.  American Actress; Jacob's Ladder, Blue Steel, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and Resurrection Blvd. 


Marcia Strassman, 1948-2014.  American Actress; Welcome Back, Kotter, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.


November 2014


Larry Latham, 1953-2014.  American Animator and Director; TaleSpin, Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. 


S. Donald Stookey, 191-2014. American Scientist and Inventor of CorningWare.


R.A. Montgomery, 1936-2014.  American Author of more than 50 of the Choose Your Own Adventure books.


Ken Takakura, 1931-2014.  Japanese Actor; The Yakuza and Black Rain.


Carol Ann Susi, 1952-2014.  American Actress; The Secret of My Success, Death Becomes Her, and The Big Bang Theory.


P.D. James, 1920-2014.  English Mystery Author; The Adam Dalgliesh series & Death Comes to Pemberley.


December 2014


Mary Ann Mobley, 1937-2014.  American Actress and Miss America; Diff'rent Strokes, Match Game, Perry Mason, and Burke's Law.


Norman Bridwell, 1928-2014.  American Cartoonist and Author; Clifford, the Big Red Dog.


Joe Cocker, 1944-2014.  American Singer & Musician; "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Up Where We Belong", and "You Are So Beautiful."


Leelah Alcorn, 1997-2014.  American Transgender Teenager.


Edward Herrmann, 1943-2014.  American Actor; The Lost Boys, Gilmore Girls, Overboard, and Big Business

8 comments:

The Reading Frenzy said...

Thanks Ryan for posting this. It's good to look back and some were so young.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful post! I still can't look at Leelah Alcorn without wanting to cry, and I haven't been able to bring myself to read the articles, beyond a blurb here and there. As a mom, thinking about kids who suffer because their parents are unwilling -- or unable -- to accept their gender identity or sexuality is devastating.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

This is always the sad part of the year. I'm always amazed at how many passed.

Nise' said...

Just watched Robin William in Night At The Museum 3. They will be missed.

Lisa said...

We watched a lot of end of year shows with tributes and I still missed some of these, like Elizabeth Pena and Edward Herman. I so loved him in Gilmore Girls!

Alexia561 said...

So many great talents lost this year! Thank you for posting this, as I had missed hearing about some of them passing.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Ryan, every time I see an "In Memoriam" I wonder "Who's left?" We lose so many great entertainers and writers every year. They leave behind a rich legacy.

Becca said...

These posts are so sad yet I really appreciate them because I forget so quickly! Before I read this post the only person I could think of lately was Robin Williams. Even though I was totally upset about Edward Herrmann and Lauren Bacall.