Quite a heavy year for notable people who left the scene. A much more extensive list can be found
here.
January Lou Rawls, 72 - Velvet-voiced singer of such hits as "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing."
Shelley Winters, 85 - Outspoken, Oscar-winning star who graduated from bombshell parts to dramas such as "The Diary of Anne Frank."
Wilson Pickett, 64 - Fiery soul music pioneer known for song "Mustang Sally."
Fayard Nicholas, 91 - With brother Harold, he wowed the tap dancing world.
Wendy Wasserstein, 55 - Playwright who celebrated women's lives in "The Heidi Chronicles."
Coretta Scott King, 78 - Civil rights leader; carried on work of her martyred husband.
February Al Lewis, 82 - Grandpa on "The Munsters."
Betty Friedan, 85 - Her "The Feminine Mystique" helped shatter the cosy suburban ideal in postwar America.
Freddie Laker, 83 - British entrepreneur who changed air travel with his low-cost Skytrain service.
Peter Benchley, 65 - Author of "Jaws," novel made into blockbuster movie.
Dennis Weaver, 81 - Chester on "Gunsmoke."
Don Knotts, 81 - Won five Emmys for playing bumbling deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show."
March John Profumo, 91 - Former British cabinet minister at centre of huge 1963 scandal.
Slobodan Milosevic, 64 - Former Yugoslav leader; accused of orchestrating conflict that killed 250,000 people.
Maureen Stapleton, 80 - Oscar-winning actress who excelled on stage, screen, and television.
Oleg Cassini, 92 - His designs added to the glamour of U.S. President John F. Kennedy's wife Jacqueline.
Buck Owens, 76 - Flashy rhinestone cowboy who shaped country music - "Act Naturally."
April Gene Pitney, 66 - Singer with a string of hits including "Town Without Pity."
June Pointer, 52 - Youngest of hitmaking Pointer Sisters - "I'm So Excited."
Dame Muriel Spark, 88 - British novelist best known for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."
John Kenneth Galbraith, 97 - Canadian-born economist whose influence stretched from White House to Main Street.
Jane Jacobs, 89 - Author and urban activist known for her book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities."
May Floyd Patterson, 71 - Boxing great; regained heavyweight title in 1960 in rematch.
June Billy Preston, 59 - Singer-keyboardist - "Nothing From Nothing"; played with the Beatles.
Kenneth Thomson, 82 - Canada's richest person.
Aaron Spelling, 83 - TV impresario whose shows "Beverly Hills 90210" were wildly popular.
Patsy Ramsey, 49 - Was thrust into spotlight by unsolved slaying of her daughter JonBenet.
July Kenneth Lay, 64 - Enron founder who tumbled into disgrace.
June Allyson, 88 - Hollywood movies' "perfect wife."
Red Buttons, 87 - Actor-comedian; won Oscar with a dramatic turn in "Sayonara."
Mickey Spillane, 88 - Macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers.
August Johannes Cardinal Willebrands, 96 - Key figure in Roman Catholics' efforts to improve relations with other Christians, Jews.
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, 90 - Soprano who won global acclaim.
Mike Douglas, 81 - Affable TV talk show host and singer.
Naguib Mahfouz, 94 - First Arab writer to win Nobel in literature.
Glenn Ford, 90 - Actor who played strong, thoughtful men in such flicks as "The Blackboard Jungle."
September Nellie Connally, 87 - Wife of former Texas governor John Connally; was in President John F. Kennedy's limousine when he was assassinated.
Steve Irwin, 44 - Television's irrepressible "Crocodile Hunter."
Byron Nelson, 94 - Golfer; his 11 straight tournament victories in 1945 stand as one of sports' most enduring records.
October Jane Wyatt, 96 - One of TV's favourite moms on "Father Knows Best."
P.W. Botha, 90 - Apartheid-era South African president.
November William Styron, 81 - Pulitzer-winning novelist - "The Confessions of Nat Turner."
Ed Bradley, 65 - TV journalist who created a powerful body of work on "60 Minutes."
Jack Palance, 87 - Hollywood heavy ("Shane") who turned to comedy, winning Oscar for "City Slickers."
Milton Friedman, 94 - Nobel-winning economist; advocated an unfettered free market.
Robert Altman, 81 - Caustic Hollywood director perhaps best known for "Nashville."
Betty Comden, 89 - Her collaboration with Adolph Green produced "Singin' in the Rain."
Anita O'Day, 87 - One of most respected 1940s jazz vocalists.
Alexander Litvinenko, 43 - Former Russian spy who criticized homeland's government.
December Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, 80 - U.S. ambassador to United Nations during Reagan administration. Dec. 7.
Georgia Gibbs, 87 - Hitmaking 1950s singer - "Kiss of Fire," "Dance With Me, Henry."
Augusto Pinochet, 91 - Chilean leader who terrorized opponents; took power in bloody coup.
Peter Boyle, 71 - The curmudgeonly father on "Everybody Loves Raymond."
James Brown, 73 - The pompadoured dynamo of music for a half-century; classic singles included "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)."
Gerald Ford, 93 - The 38th U.S. president, a former Michigan congressman who did much to restore national confidence after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace in 1974.
Saddam Hussein, 69 - Deposed leader/dictator of Iraq.
-Source
And we still have a few days left....