Celebrity deaths in the year 2009...

Editor’s note: Just a few of many celebrities that we lost in the past year of 2009.

Gone But Not Forgotten - 2009

JANUARY
--January 2 - Jet Travolta, son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, age 16;
--January 4 - Martin Patterson ‘Pat’ Hingle, Actor (portrayed the Commissioner in Batman movies) age 84;
--January 6 - Cheryl Holdridge, Actress (a very popular “Mouseketeer” on The Mickey Mouse Club) age 64;
--January 8 - Claude Jeeter, Musician (with the 50s gospel group Swan Silvertones) age 94;
--January 8 - Don Galloway, Actor (Raymond Burr’s protege on Ironside) age 71;
--January 13 - Patrick McGoohan, Actor (Danger Man/Secret Agent and The Prisoner) age 80;
--January 14 - Ricardo Montalban, Actor (Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island) age 88;
--January 27 - John Updike, Novelist (won two Pulitzers for his Rabbit series) age 76;

FEBRUARY
--February 6 - James Whitmore, Actor (portrayed Will Rogers on stage) age 87;
--February 11 - Estelle Bennett, Singer ( the girl group The Ronettes) age 67;
--February 28 - Paul Harvey, (Aurandt) Newsman and Radio Broadcaster (The Rest of the Story segments) age 91;

MARCH
--March 7 - Jimmy Boyd Singer and actor (recorded original “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”) age 70;
--March 13 -Betsy Blair, Actress, (Oscar nominated for “Marty”) age 85;
--March 15 -Ron Silver Actor and politcal activist, (best known recently for recurring role on West Wing) age 65;
--March 18 -Natasha Richardson Tony award winning Actress, (daughter of Vanesa Redgrave and married to Liam Neeson) age 45;
--March 27 -Irving R Levine, NBC on air newsman for 45 years, age 86;
--March 29 -Andrew (Andy) Hallet, played Lorne on TV series “Angel”;

APRIL
--April 25 -Beatrice (Bea) Arthur, Emmy award winning actress-comedienne, star of Maude and Golden Girls TV shows;

MAY
--May 2 - Jack Kemp, Pro Football quarterback and politician, nine term Congressman and Secretary of HUD;
--May 4 - Dom DeLuise, Actor / Comedian, best known for his movies with Burt Reynolds;

JUNE
--June 3 - Koko Taylor, Singer, was known as the “Queen of the Blues”;
--June 3 - David Carradine, Actor, best known for role in “Kung Fu” TV series and “Kill Bill” movies;
--June 10 - Huey Long, Guitarist, original member of the Ink Spots;
--June 23 - Ed McMahon, Announcer, TV Personality, sidekick to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show from 1962 - 1992;
--June 25 - Farrah Fawcett Actress, known for role in Charlie’s Angels; 62;
--June 25 - Michael Jackson, Singer, songwriter, dancer, entertainer, legitimately referred to as “The King of Pop”, was a pioneer in music video’s, pop music, and pop culture; 50;
--June 27 - Gale Storm, Actress/ Singer, TV shows “My Little Marjie and The Gale Storm Show”; 87;
--June 28 - Billy Mays, Actor / Pitchman, promoted “as seen on TV” products, was spokesperson for Oxi-Clean; 50;
--June 28-Fred Travalena, Entertainment, 66;

JULY
--July 1 - Karl Malden, Actor, best known for playing Lt. Mike Stone on The Streets of San Francisco; 97;
--July 1 - Anna Karen Morrow, Actress, best known for playing Mrs. Chernak on “Peyton Place”;
--July 06 - Robert McNamara, Defense Secretary under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson during the Vietnam War; 93;
--July 17-Gordon Waller, Music, 64;
--July 17 - Walter Cronkite, Broadcast Journalist, was the anchorman for the CBS Nightly News for 19 years and possibly the most trusted man in America; 92;

AUGUST
--August 1-Corazon Aquino, Politics, 76;
--August 6 - John Hughes, Film director, producer and writer, films include Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and more; 59;
--August 11 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Philanthropist and champion for the mentally disabled, founded the Special Olympics, sister of John Kennedy (JFK); 88;
--August 13 - Les Paul, inventor, muscian and song writer credited with inventing the electric guitar which made rock music possible; 94;
--August 18- Irving Kristol, Politics, 89;
--August 19 - Don Hewitt, television news producer, created the news show “60 Minutes”; 86;
--August 24-Susan Atkins, Crime, 61;
--August 25 - Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy, nine term US Senator from Mass. was the youngest of seven, including John (JFK) and Bobby Kennedy; 77;
--August 26-Dominic Dunne, Literature, 83;

SEPTEMBER
--September 13 - Paul Burke, Actor, character roles in Twelve O’Clock High and Naked City; 84;
--September 14 - Patrick Swayze, Actor / dancer, movies, include Dirty Dancing, Ghost and North and South; 57;
--September 14 - Henry Gibson, Actor, Judge on Boston Legal also Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In; 73;
--September 16 - Mary Allin Travers, Singer, songwriter with 60’s group Peter Paul and Mary; 72;
--September 27- William Safire, Journalism, 79;

OCTOBER
--October 13 - Al Martino, Singer / actor, played character of Johnny Fontaine in Godfather movies; 82;
--October 14- Lou Albano, Sports, 76;
--October 19 - Joseph Wiseman, Canadian Actor, played Dr. No in the James Bond film of the same name; 91;
--October 22 - Soupy Sales, Comedian, panelist on What’s My Line?, also made getting a pie in the face famous; 83;
--October 23, Lou Jacobi, Entertainment, 95;
--October 31, Claude Levi-Strauss, Science, 100;

NOVEMBER
--November 3, Carl Ballantine, Entertainment, 92;
--November 10, John Allen Muhammad, Crime, 48;
--November 15, Ken Ober, Entertainment, 52;
--November 16, Edward Woodward, Entertainment, 79;

DECEMBER
--December 3- Richard Todd, Entertainment, 90;
--December 9 - Gene Barry, Actor, TV series include Bat Masterson, Burkes Law, Our Miss Brooks, also War of the Worlds; 90;
--December 13- Paul Samuelson, Economics, 94;
--December 14 - Conrad Fowkes, Actor, appeared on Dark Shadows as Frank Garner from 1966 - 1967;
--December 15-Oral Roberts, Religion, 91;
--December 17- Jennifer Jones, Entertainment, 90;
--December 20 - Brittany Murphy Actor / singer co-starred in Clueless, Girl Interrupted and others, 32.