RIP-Forrest J. Ackerman

too many have passed this year
Christopher Bowman, World Champion figure skater, considered one of the top three male figure skaters in the world, died January 10 at the age of 40
Vampira (Maila Nurmi), B-movie icon, died January 10 at the age of 85
Edmund Hillary, famed mountain climber and the first person to climb Mount Everest, died January 11 at the age of 88
Brad Renfro, child and teen actor (The Client, Apt Pupil), died January 15 at the age of 25
Bobby Fischer, World Chess Champion, died January 17 at the age of 64
Allan Melvin, prolific television and voice actor (The Brady Bunch, All in the Family), died January 17 at the age of 84
Suzanne Pleshette, actress, best known for The Bob Newhart Show, died January 19 at the age of 70
Heath Ledger, Academy Award nominated actor (Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight), died January 22 at the age of 28
Barry Morse, actor best known as Lt. Gerard on the TV series The Fugitive, died February 2 at the age of 89
Roy Scheider, Academy Award nominated actor, best known for Jaws and All That Jazz, died February 10 at the age of 75
David Groh, actor best known for the TV series Rhoda, died February 12 at the age of 68
William F. Buckley, pioneering conservative commentator, died February 27 at the age of 82
Jeff Healey, rock musician, died March 2 at the age of 41
Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons, considered the father of the role playing game, died March 4 at the age of 69
Ivan Dixon, actor best known for Hogan's Heroes, TV director, and activist, died March 16 at the age of 76
Anthony Minghella, Academy Award winning director of The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain, died March 18 at the age of 54
Sir Arthur C. Clarke, science-fiction pioneer, best known for his work 2001: A Space Odyssey, died March 19 at the age of 90
Paul Scofield, Academy Award winning actor of A Man for All Seasons, died March 19 at the age of 86
Richard Widmark, Academy Award nominated actor, known for his film noir works, died March 24 at the age of 93
Abby Mann, Academy Award winning screenwriter and the creator of the TV series Kojak, died March 25 at the age of 80
Charlton Heston, legendary Academy Award winning actor, known for his historical epics and science-fiction classics, died April 5 at the age of 84
Stanley Kamel, film and TV actor, best known for the TV series Monk, died April 8 at the age of 65
Ollie Johnston, pioneering animator and last surviving member of Disney's Nine Old Men, died April 14 at the age of 95
John Phillip Law, actor best known for his cult hits Barbarella and Danger: Diabolik, died May 13 at the age of 70
Dick Martin, TV personality, best known for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died May 24 at the age of 86
Sydney Pollack, Academy Award winning film director, producer, and actor (Michael Clayton, Out of Africa, Tootsie), died May 26 at the age of 73
Harvey Korman, Emmy Award winning actor and comedian, known for The Carol Burnett Show, died May 29 at the age of 81
Yves Saint Laurent, revolutionary fashion designer, famous for his brand name, died June 1 at the age of 71
Bo Diddley, influential rock and roll musician, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, died June 2 at the age of 79
Mel Ferrer, film actor (War and Peace), died June 2 at the age of 90
Jim McKay, sports anchor and commentator, best known for ABC's The Wide World of Sports, noted for covering the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics, died June 7 at the age of 86
Tim Russert, television journalist and anchorman, best known for Meet the Press and his extensive coverage of the 2008 primaries, died June 13 at the age of 58
Stan Winston, Academy Award winning special effects pioneer of motion pictures, best known for his imaginative creature designs seen in The Terminator, Predator, and Jurassic Park, died June 15 at the age of 62
Cyd Charisse, actress and dancer, paired often with Gene Kelly, died June 17 at the age of 86
George Carlin, father of modern day stand-up comedy, died June 22 at the age of 71
Don S. Davis, actor best known for Stargate SG-1 and Twin Peaks, died June 29 at the age of 65
Jesse Helms, controversial US senator, died July 4 at the age of 86
Evelyn Keyes, Hollywood Golden Age actress (Gone with the Wind), died July 4 at the age of 91
Tony Snow, news commentator and former White House Press Secretary under George W. Bush, died July 12 at the age of 53
Estelle Getty, TV actress, best known for Golden Girls, died July 22 at the age of 84
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, died August 3 at the age of 89
Bernie Mac, actor and comedian, died August 9 at the age of 50
Isaac Hayes, legendary musician and actor, died August 10 at the age of 65
LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of the Dave Matthews Band, died August 19 at the age of 46
Julius Carry, actor best known for The Last Dragon and the TV series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., died August 19 at the age of 56
Jerry Reed, actor (Smokey and the Bandit series) and country singer, died August 31 at the age of 71
Don LaFontaine, arguably the most prolific and well-known voiceover artist, has done work for literally thousands of movie trailers, commercials, and narrations, died September 1 at the age of 68
Anita Page, silent film era actress, died September 7 at the age of 98
Don Haskins, Hall of Fame college basketball coach (UTEP Miners) who led the first all-Black starting team to an NCAA title, died September 7 at the age of 78
David Foster Wallace, best-selling author and columnist, died September 12 at the age of 46
Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of the groundbreaking band Pink Floyd, died September 15 at the age of 65
Cirio H. Santiago, prolific exploitation filmmaker, died September 26 at the age of 72
Paul Newman, legendary Academy Award winning actor, one of the very best actors to have worked in Hollywood of any generation, died September 26 at the age of 83
Edie Adams, Tony Award winning Broadway actress, singer, and comedienne, died October 15 at the age of 81
Levi Stubbs, Motown musician (lead singer of The Four Tops) and voice actor (best known as the voice of Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors), died October 17 at the age of 72
Mr. Blackwell (Richard Selzer), fashion critic and icon best known for his annual "Ten Worst Dressed Women" lists, died October 19 at the age of 86
Rudy Ray Moore, comedian and actor best known as "Dolemite", died October 19 at the age of 81
Studs Terkel, Pulitzer Prize winning author, broadcaster, and historian, died October 31 at the age of 96
Michael Crichton, Preeminent bestselling author known for his science fiction works (Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, et. al) which speak about the perils of modern technology, died November 4 at the age of 66
Miriam Makeba, singer, activist, and occassional actress, best known for her international hit "Pata Pata", died November 10 at the age of 76
Paul Benedict, actor best known for the TV series The Jeffersons, died December 1 at the age of 70
Odetta, hailed as both "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement" and "The Queen of American folk music"; considered an important figure in the revival of American folk music and a source of inspiration for, amongst others, musicians Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Janis Joplin, died December 2 at the age of 77
Forrest J. Ackerman, the guy who made science-fiction fandom cool, died December 4 at the age of 92
Nina Foch, actress who went from B-movie starlet of the 1940s to a supporting actress in several Hollywood blockbusters of the 1950s including Spartacus, An American in Paris, and The Ten Commandments, died December 5 at the age of 84
Beverly Garland, actress primarily known for the TV series My Three Sons and her starring roles in several Roger Corman cult classics, died December 5 at the age of 82
Robert Prosky, film and TV actor (Dead Man Walking, Christine, TV's "Hill Street Blues"), died December 8 at the age of 77