ELMA LEWIS, 82. Her work as a fine arts teacher in Boston’s black community won her a “genius grant” and a presidential arts medal. Jan. 1.

LYNN CARTWRIGHT, 76. Veteran actress; portrayed the older Geena Davis character in “A League of Their Own.” Jan. 2.

BRIAN GIBSON, 59. Director of acclaimed films including “What’s Love Got To Do with It?” Jan. 4. Cancer.

JOHN TOLAND, 91. Won 1971 Pulitzer for nonfiction for “The Rising Sun,” on the Japanese empire during World War II. Jan. 4.

KIHARU NAKAMURA, 90. Wrote about her experiences as a geisha; consultant on movies, plays. Jan. 5.

ELIZABETH PFOHL CAMPBELL, 101. Founded WETA, Washington’s first PBS station. Jan. 9.

ALEXANDRA RIPLEY, 70. Novelist selected by Margaret Mitchell’s estate to write “Scarlett,” 1991 “Gone With the Wind” sequel. Jan. 10.

SPALDING GRAY, 62. Actor-writer who laid bare his life in acclaimed monologues like “Swimming to Cambodia.” Jan. 10. Apparent suicide.

OLIVIA GOLDSMITH, 54. Her novel “The First Wives Club” became a revenge fantasy for abandoned wives. Jan. 15. Complications of plastic surgery.

RAY STARK, 88. Hollywood power broker; produced “Funny Girl,” “The Way We Were.” Jan. 17.

BOB KEESHAN, 76. He gently entertained generations of youngsters as TV’s mustachioed Captain Kangaroo and became an outspoken opponent of violence in children’s television. Jan. 23.

JACK PAAR, 85. Made the “The Tonight Show” the talk show everybody talked about, setting the stage for Johnny Carson and others to follow. Jan. 27.

MARY-ELLIS BUNIM, 57. Reality TV pioneer with MTV’s “The Real World.” Jan. 29. Breast cancer.

ROBERT HARTH, 47. Led Carnegie Hall into an adventurous new era. Jan. 30. Heart attack.
FEBRUARY
JOHN RANDOLPH, 88. Tony-winning character actor (“Broadway Bound”); Roseanne’s father in “Roseanne.” Feb. 24.

JEROME LAWRENCE, 88. Writer for stage, radio and screen, including “Inherit the Wind,” “Mame.” Feb. 29.
MARCH
MERCEDES MCCAMBRIDGE, 87. Oscar-winning actress; provided demon-possessed girl’s voice in “The Exorcist.” March 2.

FRANCES DEE, 94. Actress; co-starred in the 1930s and ‘40s with Katharine Hepburn, Gary Cooper and her husband, Joel McCrea. March 6.

ROBERT PASTORELLI, 49. Played screwball house painter Eldin on “Murphy Brown.” March 8. Accidental heroin overdose.

DAVE BLOOD, 47. Bassist with 1980s punk band the Dead Milkmen (“Punk Rock Girl.”) March 10. Suicide.

GENEVIEVE, 83. French-born chanteuse whose mangled English was a running gag on Jack Paar’s “The Tonight Show.” March 14.

ART JAMES, 74. Announcer or host for a dozen TV game shows. March 28.

ALISTAIR COOKE, 95. Urbane host of television’s “Masterpiece Theatre”; interpreter of U.S. culture for decades on BBC’s “Letter from America.” March 30.
APRIL
NORRIS MCWHIRTER, 78. Co-founder of Guinness Book of Records. April 19.

ESTEE LAUDER, 97. Built multimillion-dollar cosmetics empire. April 24.
MAY
RUDY MAUGERI, 73. Founder of 1950s group The Crew-Cuts; had a string of hits covering R&B songs. May 7.

ALAN KING, 76. Witty comedian, known for tirades against everyday suburban life. May 9.

OLIVE OSMOND, 79. Mother of the performing Osmonds. May 9.

SYD HOFF, 91. New Yorker cartoonist; author of “Sammy the Seal,” “Danny and the Dinosaur.” May 12.

FLOYD KALBER, 79. Popular Chicago anchorman; had stint on “Today.” May 13.

LINCOLN KILPATRICK, 72. Appeared in stage version of “A Raisin in the Sun.” May 18.
JUNE
WILLIAM MANCHESTER, 82. Historian who brought novelist’s flair to biographies of such giants as Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy. June 1.

FRANCES SHAND KYDD, 67. Princess Diana’s mother. June 3.

RONALD REAGAN, 93. Before entering politics, a popular Hollywood actor (“Knute Rockne: All-American,” “King’s Row.”) June 5.

RAY CHARLES, 73. Transcendent talent who erased musical boundaries with hits such as “What’d I Say,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” June 10.

MATTIE STEPANEK, 13. Child poet whose inspirational verse made him a best-selling writer (“Heartsongs”) and a voice for muscular dystrophy sufferers. June 22.
JULY
MARLON BRANDO, 80. Revolutionized American acting with “A Streetcar Named Desire”; created the iconic character of Vito Corleone in “The Godfather.” July 1. Brando screamed “Stella!” and set about bringing a new realism and machismo to the stage and screen.

SYREETA WRIGHT, 58. Motown recording artist and songwriter, teamed with ex-husband Stevie Wonder (“Signed, Sealed, Delivered”). July 6.

JEFF SMITH, 65. Public television’s “Frugal Gourmet.” July 7.

Isabel Sanford, 86. “Weezie” on “The Jeffersons.” July 9.

JOE GOLD, 82. Founded original Gold’s Gym in 1965. July 11.

IRVIN SHORTESS “SHORTY” YEAWORTH JR., 78. Directed 1958 cult movie “The Blob.” July 19.

JERRY GOLDSMITH, 75. Oscar, Emmy-winning composer for shows ranging from “Star Trek” to “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” July 21.

EUGENE ROCHE, 75. Paunchy character actor; “Ajax man” in commercials. July 28.

SAM EDWARDS, 89. The town banker in “Little House on the Prairie.” July 28.

VIRGINIA GREY, 87. Actress from 1920s (“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”) to 1970s (“Airport”). July 31.
AUGUST
RICK JAMES, 56. Funk legend known for 1981 hit “Super Freak.” Aug. 6.

JULIA CHILD, 91. She brought the intricacies of French cuisine to Americans through television and books. Aug. 13.

NEAL FREDERICKS, 35. Cinematographer of the low-budget horror smash “The Blair Witch Project.” Aug. 14. Plane crash.

ELMER BERNSTEIN, 82. Oscar-winning composer, scored such classics as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Great Escape.” Aug. 18.

AL DVORIN, 81. Announcer who dispersed Presley fans with the phrase “Elvis has left the building.” Aug. 22.

DANIEL PETRIE, 83. Directed the movie version of “A Raisin in the Sun,” and won Emmy for “Eleanor and Franklin.” Aug. 22.
SEPTEMBER
FRANK THOMAS, 92. One of Disney’s top artists; animated the pups romantically nibbling spaghetti in “Lady and the Tramp.” Sept. 8.

FRED EBB, about 76. Wrote lyrics for “Chicago” and “Cabaret” as well as “New York, New York.” Sept. 11.

KENNY BUTTREY, 59. Top Nashville session drummer; recorded hits with Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffett. Sept. 12.

RUSS MEYER, 82. Producer-director who helped spawn the “skin flick” – and later gained a measure of critical respect – for such films as “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” Sept. 18.

GEOFFREY BEENE, 77. Award-winning designer whose classic styles put him at the forefront of American fashion. Sept. 28.

SCOTT MUNI, 74. New York DJ whose encyclopedic knowledge of rock made him “The Professor” to generations of listeners. Sept. 28.
OCTOBER
RICHARD AVEDON, 81. Redefined fashion photography as an art form while achieving acclaim through his stark portraits of the powerful. Oct. 1.

JANET LEIGH, 77. Wholesome beauty whose shocking murder in Hitchcock thriller “Psycho” is a landmark of film. Oct. 3.

RODNEY DANGERFIELD, 82. The bug-eyed comic whose self-deprecating “I don’t get no respect” brought him stardom in clubs, television and movies. Oct. 5.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE, 52. “Superman” actor who became the nation’s most recognizable spokesman for spinal cord research after a paralyzing accident. Oct. 10. Reeve was a respected actor even beyond his “Superman” roles – but then a heartbreaking accident that left him paralyzed pushed him onto an even larger stage, as a passionate advocate for spinal cord research.

ROBERT MERRILL, 87. Metropolitan Opera superstar with the velvet baritone, equally at home singing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium. Oct. 23.

VAUGHN MEADER, 68. Gained instant fame satirizing John Kennedy in the multimillion-selling album “The First Family.” Oct. 29.

PEGGY RYAN, 80. Teamed with Donald O’Connor in movie musicals such as “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” Oct. 30.
NOVEMBER
THEO VAN GOGH, 47. Outspoken Dutch filmmaker; great-grandnephew of Vincent. Nov. 2. Murdered, apparently by Islamic radicals.

JOE BUSHKIN, 87. Jazz pianist and songwriter, co-wrote early Frank Sinatra hit “Oh! Look at Me Now.” Nov. 3.

HOWARD KEEL, 85. Broad-shouldered baritone in glittery MGM musicals (“Kiss Me Kate,” “Annie Get Your Gun”); later on “Dallas.” Nov. 7.

O.D.B., 35. The rapper (real name: Russell Jones) whose unique rhymes and wild lifestyle made him one of the most vivid characters in hip-hop. Nov. 13. Death ruled accident; from combined effect of cocaine, prescription painkiller.

CY COLEMAN, 75. Composer of Broadway musicals (“Sweet Charity,” “City of Angels”); pop songs (“The Best Is Yet to Come”). Nov. 18.

TERRY MELCHER, 62. Songwriter, record producer who aided the Byrds, Beach Boys; son of Doris Day. Nov. 19.

NOEL PERRIN, 77. He catalogued his experiments in rural living in books such as “First Person Rural.” Nov. 21.

LARRY BROWN, 53. Author who wrote about the often rough, gritty lives of rural Southerners (“Big Bad Love,” “Dirty Work”). Nov. 24. Apparent heart attack.

JOHN DREW BARRYMORE, 72. The troubled heir to an acting dynasty; Drew’s father. Nov. 29.
DECEMBER
WILLIAM SACKHEIM, 84. Television, movie writer and producer, involved in everything from “Gidget” to “Rambo.” Dec. 1.

DAME ALICIA MARKOVA, 94. One of the 20th century’s greatest ballerinas, co-founder of English National Ballet. Dec. 2.

MONA VAN DUYN, 83. Pulitzer-winning poet (“Near Changes”). Dec. 2.

JERRY SCOGGINS, 93. He sang “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” theme song to “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Dec. 7.

“DIMEBAG” DARRELL ABBOTT, 38. Guitarist with Grammy-nominated heavy-metal band Pantera, more recently Damageplan. Dec. 8. Shot to death during a performance.

HANK GARLAND, 74. Nashville studio guitarist, adept at country, rock and jazz, who performed with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, George Shearing and many others. Dec. 27.

ARTIE SHAW, 94. The clarinetist and bandleader whose hit recording of “Begin the Beguine” epitomized the Big Band era. Dec. 30.