- ADVERTISEMENT -

Celebrity Obituaries

Review this week's trending celebrity news stories

2013 Year In Review

Featured Tributes commemorating the lives of the most notable personalities lost in 2013.
Click on a thumbnail photo to review.

  • 'Tennessee Waltz' singer Patti Page has died.
  • Conrad Bain, a veteran stage and film actor who became a star in middle age as the kindly white adoptive father of two young African-American brothers in the TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," has died.
  • Advice columnist Pauline Friedman Phillips, who wrote under the pseudonym Abigail Van Buren and was known to her readers as "Dear Abby," has died at the age of 94, her publicist said.
  • In this Friday, June 13, 2008 file photo, former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver waves to the crowd during a celebration in honor of the 1979 Orioles American League pennant winners before the baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates in Baltimore. Weaver, the fiery Hall of Fame manager who won 1,480 games with the Baltimore Orioles, has died, the team announced Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. He was 82.
  • In this Oct. 27, 2006, file photo, Hall of Famer Stan Musial gets ready to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 5 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers in St. Louis. Musial, one of baseball's greatest hitters and a Hall of Famer with the Cardinals for more than two decades, died Saturday, Jan 19, 2013, the team announced. He was 92.(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
  • This 1942 file photo shows singer Patty Andrews, the last survivor of the three singing Andrews sisters, who has died in Los Angeles at age 94. Andrews died Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, at her home in suburban Northridge of natural causes, said family spokesman Alan Eichler. (AP Photo, File)
  • In this April 18, 2007, file photo, former New York Mayor Ed Koch listens during the 9th annual National Action Network convention in New York. Koch, the combative politician who rescued the city from near-financial ruin during three City Hall terms, has died at age 88. Spokesman George Arzt says Koch died Friday morning Feb. 1, 2013 of congestive heart failure. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
  • In this Nov. 14, 2008 file photo, Country singer Mindy McCready performs, in Nashville, Tenn. McCready, who hit the top of the country charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. She was 37.
  • In this Feb. 12, 2002 file photo, former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop testifies in Concord, N.H. Calling it the "forgotten epidemic," Koop urged Americans to end what he called complacency about AIDS and put the deadly disease back on the radar screen.
  • This Sept. 18, 2008 file photo shows pianist Van Cliburn at the presentation ceremony of the Liberty Medal that was presented to former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev in Philadelphia. Cliburn, the internationally celebrated pianist whose triumph at a 1958 Moscow competition helped thaw the Cold War and launched a spectacular career that made him the rare classical musician to enjoy rock star status died early Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, at his Fort Worth home following a battle with bone cancer. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek, file)
  • Bonnie Franklin, of the 1970's sitcom "One Day at a Time, " appears on the the NBC "Today" television program in New York, when the cast was reunited Tuesday Feb. 26, 2008.
  • In this July 5, 2012 file photo, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez waves during a parade marking Independence Day in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 that Chavez has died. Chavez, 58, was first diagnosed with cancer in June 2011.
  • Two-time Pulitzer winner Anthony Lewis, whose New York Times column championed liberal causes for three decades, died Monday. He was 85.
  • Film critic Roger Ebert gives thumbs up as he arrives for the 2004 IFP Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., in a Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004 file photo.
  • Annette Funicello in a Babes in Toyland publicity picture
  • Former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher leaves her house in central London, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004. Thatcher's son Sir Mark Thatcher appeared in a South African court on Tuesday on charges he helped bankroll a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.
  • This May 6, 1997 file photo shows comedian Jonathan Winters posing at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Winters, whose breakneck improvisations inspired Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and many others, died Thursday, April 11, 2013, at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes. He was 87.
  • This Oct. 3, 1994 file photo shows former ballerina Maria Tallchief Paschen at the Princess Grace Foundation-USA 11th Annual Princess Grace Awards in New York. Tallchief died Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Chicago at the age of 88. Tallchief joined the company that would become the New York City Ballet in 1948. She was married for a time to George Balanchine, who founded the School of American Ballet in New York. Tallchief worked with Balanchine on such masterpieces as 1949's "Firebird" and his now-historic version of "The Nutcracker."
  • In this April 19, 1994, file photo, Pat Summerall, completing his 34th and final season with CBS, receives an award for lifetime achievement at the 1994 Sports Emmy Awards in New York. Fox Sports spokesman Dan Bell said Tuesday, April 16, 2013, that Summerall, the NFL player-turned-broadcaster whose deep, resonant voice called games for more than 40 years, has died at the age of 82.
  • A firefighter stands on a rail line and surveys the remains of a fertilizer plant destroyed by an explosion in West, Texas, Thursday, April 18, 2013. A massive explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160, officials said overnight.
  • This 1937 file photo shows singer and film actress Deanna Durbin. Durbin, the internationally famous child star from Hollywood's Golden Age who brought her pure soprano voice and natural, girl-next-door looks to nearly 30 movies, died in April. Family friend Bob Koster, whose father directed six of Durbin's films, tells The Associated Press on Wednesday that she died at age 91 in a village outside Paris in April.
  • Chrissy Amphlett, the raunchy lead singer of the Australian rock band Divinyls whose hit "I Touch Myself" brought her international fame in the early 1990s, died at her home in New York City on Sunday. She was 53 years old.
  • In this photo provided by Starpix, Richie Havens performs Warner Home Video Release party for "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music," in New York, Thursday, June 4, 2009. Havens performed at the original Woodstock Art and Music Festival in August 1969.
  • Country music star George Jones performs one of his biggest songs, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," during his 75th birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006.
  • In this June 27, 2010 file photo, actress Jeanne Cooper arrives at the 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Las Vegas. CBS says soap opera star Jeanne Cooper has died. She was 84. Cooper played grande dame Katherine Chancellor on CBS' "The Young and the Restless" for nearly four decades.
  • In this Sept. 1, 1987 file photo, Dr. Joyce Brothers takes a break from a busy schedule in Los Angeles to talk about her upcoming television series, "The Psychology Behind the News." Brothers died Monday, May 13, 2013, in New York City, according to publicist Sanford Brokaw. She was 85.
  • Ray Manzarek attended the Sunset Strip Music Festival VIP party at SkyBar on Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, in West Hollywood, Calif.
  • A woman carries a child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., Monday, May 20, 2013. The relationship between the woman and the child was not immediately known. A tornado as much as a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide with winds up to 200 mph (320 kph) roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school.
  • This 1991 file photo shows Jean Stapleton in the off-Broadway musical theater piece called "Bob Appetit."
  • Sen. Frank Lautenberg is shown in his office in Newark, N.J. on Dec. 14, 2006. With his 83rd birthday approaching later this month, Lautenberg is currently the third-oldest U.S. senator in office. He says his health is excellent and frequent trips to the gym, plus skiing as often as he can, have the senator looking and feeling younger than his age.
  • This May 20, 2013 file photo shows actor James Gandolfini at the LA premiere of "Nicky Deuce" in Los Angeles. HBO and the managers for Gandolfini say the actor died Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in Italy. He was 51.
  • This 1980 file photo originally provided by Epic Records shows country singer Slim Whitman. Whitman died Wednesday, June 19, 2013 of heart failure in Florida. He was 90. Whitman's career began in the late 1940s, and his tenor falsetto and ebony mustache and sideburns became global trademarks. They were also an inspiration for countless jokes thanks to the ubiquitous 1980s and 1990s TV commercials that pitched his records.
  • In this Jan. 15, 1992, file photo, Bobby "Blue" Bland, left, receives his award for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from B.B. King during induction ceremonies in New York. Bland's son Rodd said his father died Sunday, June 23, 2013, at his Memphis home surrounded by relatives. He was 83.
  • Actor Cory Monteith arrived at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday Jan. 27, 2013.
  • In this photo taken Oct. 16, 2007, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas smiles as she leaves the White House after attending a briefing. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. A friend said Thomas died at her apartment in Washington on Saturday morning. Thomas made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old. She used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents _ often to their discomfort and was not shy about sharing her opinions. She was persistent to the point of badgering; one White House press secretary described her questioning as "torture" _ and he was one of her fans.
  • Dennis Farina arrives for the premiere of "What Happens in Vegas" in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 1, 2008.
  • In this June 5, 2004 file photo, singer-songwriter J.J. Cale plays during the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas. Cale, whose best-known songs became hits for Eric Clapton with "After Midnight" and Lynyrd Skynyrd with "Call Me the Breeze," has died. He was 74. Cale’s manager Mike Kappus said the architect of the Tulsa Sound died Friday, July 26, 2013 of a heart attack at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, Calif.
  • Former Rep. Lindy Boggs, the new U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, addresses the media upon her arrival at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport, Wednesday, December 3,1997. Boggs, 81, was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana. A Democrat, she served from 1973 to 1990, filling the seat previously held by her husband, Hale Boggs, who was killed in a plane crash in Alaska in 1972.
  • David "Kidd" Kraddick, the high-octane radio and TV host of the "Kidd Kraddick in the Morning" show heard on dozens of U.S. radio stations, has died at a charity golf event near New Orleans, a publicist said. Kraddick was 53.
  • In this 1980 file image released by Warner Brothers Pictures, actress Eileen Brennan as Capt. Doreen Lewis in a scene from, "Private Benjamin." Brennan's manager, Kim Vasilakis, says Brennan, died Sunday, July 28, 2013, in Burbank, Calif., after a battle with bladder cancer. She was 80.
  • This is a 1996 photo of former U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Byrd, 84, wrote a short book published this fall about the 1970 election called ``Defying the Odds: An Independent Senator's Historic Campaign.'' Sen. Byrd died on July 30,2013, at the age of 98. (AP Photo/The Winchester Star, HO)
  • This June 11, 2009 file photo shows actress Karen Black, a cast member in "Irene in Time," at the premiere of the film in Los Angeles. The “Easy Rider” and “Five Easy Pieces” star Black, 74, has died. Her husband, Stephen Eckelberry, says the actress died Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013, after battling cancer.
  • FILE - In this May 30,1998 file photo, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme arrive at the black-tie gala called "Thanks Frank" honoring Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas. Gorme, a popular nightclub and television singer as a solo act and as a team with husband Steve Lawrence, has died. She was 84. Her publicist, Howard Bragman, says she died at a Las Vegas hospital Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013 following an undisclosed illness.
  • This undated publicity image released by Random House shows journalist Jack W. Germond. Germond, 85, the portly, cantankerous columnist and pundit who covered 10 presidential elections and sparred with colleagues on TV's "The McLaughlin Group," died Wednesday morning, Aug. 14, 2013. He had recently finished his first novel, "A Small Story for Page Three," about a reporter investigating political intrigue, being published Friday. Germond wrote two memoirs, "Fat Man in a Middle Seat: Forty Years of Covering Politics," and "Fat Man Fed Up: How American Politics Went Bad."
  • Writer Elmore Leonard sits by the set of his latest book-turned movie "Pronto" in Miami Beach, Fla., June, 18, 1996. Leonard is in the enviable position of having most of his books optioned or sold outright for films.
  • In this March 19, 2008 file photo, Marian McPartland smiles while playing the piano during a celebration of her 90th birthday in New York. McPartland, 95, the legendary jazz pianist and host of the National Public Radio show "Piano Jazz," died of natural causes Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 at her Port Washington home on Long Island.
  • This June 2, 2002 file photo shows Julie Harris celebrating her special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre during the 56th annual Tony Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Harris, who won an unprecedented five Tony Awards for best actress, has died. She was 87. Actress and family friend Francesca James says Harris died Saturday Aug. 24, 2013 at her home in West Chatham, Mass. She had previously suffered two strokes.
  • In a Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008, file photo, British broadcaster David Frost, arrives at the world premiere of Frost/Nixon, and the opening of the London Film Festival, in central London. Veteran British broadcaster David Frost died of a heart attack on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at the age of 74,
  • The American flags surrounded the Washington Monument fly at half-staff as ordered by President Barack Obama following the deadly shooting Monday at the Washington Navy Yard, Tuesday morning, Sept. 17, 2013, in Washington.
  • In this Feb. 18, 2012, file photo, provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, former heavyweight boxer Ken Norton poses on the red carpet at the Keep Memory Alive “Power of Love Gala” fundraiser honoring Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Norton, a former heavyweight champion, has died, his son said Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. He was 70.
  • FILE - In this Feb. 4, 1998 file photo, writer Tom Clancy appeared at his home in Calvert County, Md. Clancy, the bestselling author of more than 25 fiction and nonfiction books for the Penguin Group, died on Oct. 1, 2013 in Baltimore, Md. He was 66.
  • In this May 24, 1962 file photo provided by NASA, astronaut Scott Carpenter gestures with one hand after donning his space suit in Hangar S prior to being shot into orbit at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Carpenter, the second American to orbit the Earth and first person to explore both the heights of space and depths of the ocean, died Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 after a stroke. He was 88.
  • This Sept. 7, 2000 file photo shows author Oscar Hijuelos at a reception for the Hispanic Heritage Awards in Washington. Hijuelos, a Cuban-American novelist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1989 novel “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love” and whose work often captured the loss and triumphs of the Cuban immigrant experience, has died. He was 62. Hijuelos died of a heart attack in New York City, on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, while playing tennis, according to his agent, Jennifer Lyons.
  • British actor and musician Noel Harrison, who sang the Academy Award-winning ballad "The Windmills of Your Mind," has died at 79.
  • In this April 6, 2012, file photo, Bill Sharman gesturing as he is honored along with other members of the 1974 Los Angeles Lakers Championship team, in Los Angeles. Sharman, the Hall of Famer who won NBA titles as a player for the Boston Celtics and a coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, has died. He was 87. Sharman died Friday, Oct. 25, 2013, at his home in Redondo Beach, the Lakers announced.
  • This Sept. 5, 2007 file photo shows Marcia Wallace during TV Land's 35th anniversary tribute to "The Bob Newhart Show" in Beverly Hills, Calif. Wallace, who played a receptionist on the show, and the voice of Edna Krabappel on "The Simpsons," died Saturday Oct. 26, 2013.
  • In a June 13, 1986 file photo, Lou Reed performs during musical number at a benefit in Chicago, for Amnesty International. Reed's literary agent Andrew Wylie says the legendary musician died Sunday morning, Oct. 27, 2013 in Southampton, N.Y., of an ailment related to his recent liver transplant. He was 71.
  • In this Nov. 28, 2006 file photo, renowned chef Charlie Trotter talked about his plans to open a new restaurant in Chicago. Chicago and Cook County officials said Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, that Trotter has died
  • In this Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008 file photo, Nobel literature laureate, Doris Lessing holds up the 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature medal after being presented it by the Ambassador of Sweden, Staffan Carlsson, during a ceremony at the Wallace Collection art gallery in London. Doris Lessing, the free-thinking, world-traveling, often-polarizing writer of "The Golden Notebook" and dozens of other novels that reflected her own improbable journey across the former British empire, has died, early Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. She was 94. The author of more than 50 works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, Lessing explored topics ranging from colonial Africa to dystopian Britain, from the mystery of being female to the unknown worlds of science fiction.
  • This undated image released by HarperOne shows psychic and author Sylvia Browne. Browne, a psychic whose frequent appearances on shows such as "Larry King Live" and "The Montel Williams Show," died Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, at a hospital in San Jose, Calif. She was 77. Browne said she believed in reincarnation and could help people communicate with their dead loved ones as well as see the future. She was a regular on "The Montel Williams Show," where she fielded questions on topics ranging from marriage and careers to ghosts. She was also the author of many books, including, "Past Lives of the Rich and Famous."
  • Cast member Paul Walker arrives at the premiere of "Fast & Furious" in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 12, 2009.
  • Former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela arrives at a hotel in central London, Monday, June 23, 2008. Mandela arrived in London Monday for a week of events to celebrate his 90th birthday, including an outdoor concert in his honor at Hyde Park on Friday with Proceeds going to his 46664 charity.
  • A sun-backed dress is modeled by Eleanor Parker, featured player in "Between Two Worlds," May 1, 1944 in Hollywood.
  • American jazz guitarist Jim Hall performs at Duse Theater during the Bologna Jazz Festival, Nov. 20, 2012, in Bologna, Italy.
  • Romance writer Janet Dailey, whose books have sold more than 325 million copies worldwide, has died at her southwest Missouri home. She was 69..
  • In this March 23, 2003 file photo, Actor Peter O'Toole accepts his honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences during the 75th annual Academy Awards telecast in Los Angeles. O'Toole, the charismatic actor who achieved instant stardom as Lawrence of Arabia and was nominated eight times for an Academy Award, has died. He was 81. O'Toole's agent Steve Kenis says the actor died Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013 at a hospital following a long illness.
  • Joan is pictured in New York on Feb. 25, 1944, where she had come in for a day away from her nurse's aide duties in a Hartford, Conn., Hospital.
  • Ned Vizzini, a popular young adult author and television writer who wrote candidly and humorously about his struggles with depression, has committed suicide.
  • John Eisenhower son of Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • In this August 1966 file photo, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Paul Blair sits on a bench with his son Terry on the annual Father and Son Night in Baltimore. Young Terry chews on the end of a plastic bat. In the background, watching his three sons, is Brooks Robinson. Blair, the eight-time Gold Glove center fielder who helped the Orioles win World Series titles in 1966 and 1970, has died. He was 69. Blair died Thursday night, Dec. 26, 2013, at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
  • Andrew Jacobs Jr., a former longtime Indiana congressman, died Saturday afternoon, according to a family spokesman. He was 81.

The Year in Review

Tributes to the most notable personalities lost each year. Select a year:

Go »