More of the famous people we lost in 2012:
June 2012
2 – Richard Dawson – Esophageal Cancer (79)
Dawson was a regular on “Hogan’s Heroes” but may be best remembered as the host of “Family Feud” for ten years and as a panelist on “Match Game.”
5 – Ray Bradbury – Unknown (91)
Bradbury was one of the best selling fantasy/sci-fi/horror/mystery writers of the 20th century with novels such as “Fahrenheit 451” and “The Martian Chronicles.”
26 – Nora Ephron – Pneumonia (71)
Ephron was a screenplay writer and you may have heard of a few of her movies – Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally…, and Sleepless in Seattle.
July 2012
3 – Andy Griffith – Heart Attack (86)
Griffith had a long career, but was beloved as Sheriff Andy Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” and a lawyer in “Matlock.” He also won a Grammy for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album in 1997.
8 – Ernest Borgnine – Renal Failure (95)
Borgnine’s career spanned six decades. He won an Oscar for 1955’s Marty and won an Emmy nomination for his appearance on “ER” at the age of 92. He played Quinton McHale in “McHale’s Navy” during the mid-‘60s and was the voice of Mermaid Man on “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
15 – Celeste Holm – Heart Attack (95)
Holm was another Oscar winner we lost this year. She won for Gentleman’s Agreement in 1947, but was also nominated for Come to the Stable and All About Eve.
16 – Jon Lord – Pancreatic Cancer (71)
Lord was a co-founder as well as keyboardist for Deep Purple, but also worked with Whitesnake, Paice, Ashton & Lord, and The Artwoods.
23 – Sally Ride – Pancreatic Cancer (61)
America lost its first lady in space when Ride died after a battle with cancer. She also founded the Sally Ride Science for educators and worked at the Center for International Security and Arms Control.
24 – Sherman Hemsley – Lung Cancer (74)
Hemsley appeared in “Amen” and “Dinosaurs,” but will forever be remembered for the feisty character of George Jefferson from “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.”
31 – Gore Vidal – Pneumonia (86)
Vidal was an essayist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright who wrote for The Nation, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, and Esquire.