As Michele mentioned in my last blog, the list of dead celebrities seems to get longer and longer each year. Here are more we lost in 2009:
July 19 – Frank McCourt (78)
McCourt, a Pulitzer Prize winner, was best known for his memoir Angela’s Ashes. He died of melanoma.
July 23 – E. Lynn Harris (54)
The African American author who specialized in writing about gay men had ten consecutive books on the New York Times Best Seller list. He died in Los Angeles while on a business meeting. The cause of death was listed as heart disease.
August 6 – John Hughes (59)
The king of teen films in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Hughes was responsible for writing The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Home Alone. Hughes died of a heart attack while taking a walk in Manhattan.
August 11 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver (88)
The sister of Robert, Edward, and John Kennedy, Eunice founded the Special Olympics in 1962. She was also the mother of Maria Shriver.
August 12 – Les Paul (94)
Paul was not only a guitarist and songwriter, but also developed the electric guitar, overdubbing, and several different delay effects. Paul, a key inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died of pneumonia.
August 18 – Robert Novak (78)
Novak was an author, columnist, reporter, television personality, and commentator. Along with Rowland Evans, he wrote Inside Report, which was the longest running syndicated political column in American history. Inside Report ran until Novak’s death from brain cancer.
August 19 – Don Hewitt (86)
Hewitt was the creator of “60 Minutes,” the longest running prime time broadcast show in television history. Hewitt died of pancreatic cancer.
August 25 – Edward Kennedy (77)
Known as the “The Lion of the Senate,” Kennedy was elected as a Massachusetts senator nine times, serving a total of 46 years in the U.S. Senate. He died of brain cancer.
August 26 – Dominick Dunne (83)
Dunne was a novelist who turned to investigative journalism after the murder of his daughter Dominique in 1982. He died of bladder cancer.
August 28 – DJ AM (36)
A well known DJ and member of Crazy Town, DJ AM survived a horrifying plane crash in 2008, in which he suffered severe burns to his hands and head. Some friends felt that the trauma from the crash led DJ AM to an accidental drug overdose that resulted in his death.