
Joan Fontaine, 96, who won an Oscar for her performance opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's "Suspicion," died in her sleep on Dec. 15.

Julian Myers, 97, a Hollywood publicist who helped shape the images of stars including Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, died of congestive heart failure on Dec. 21.

 Ned Vizzini, 32, the author of "It's Kind of a Funny Story" and television writer, committed suicide in December.

Peter O'Toole, 81, an eight-time Academy Award-nominated actor who became a star after the release of "Lawrence of Arabia," died in December.

Tom Clancy, 66, the bestselling author, and creator of popular government hero Jack Ryan -- featured in over a dozen novels, including "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games" -- died on Oct. 1.

Rick Finkelstein (left), 64, Universal Studios' former chief operating officer, died in October after a long battle with cancer.

Cal Worthington, 92, was a famous face to Southern California natives who grew up watching his commercials with animal co-stars that promoted his auto dealership empire. He died in September.

James Gandolfini, 51, the star of HBO's "Sopranos," as well as dozens of films, died suddenly in Rome on June 19 after suffering a heart attack.

George Jones, the country singer affectionately called "the Possum" and known for hits including "He Stopped Loving Her Today," died in April at 81.

Annette Funicello, the 1950s and '60s-era Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer who went on to star in a variety of beach movies with Frankie Avalon, died from complications related to Multiple Sclerosis. She was 70.

Les Blank, the documentary filmmaker behind Werner Herzog doc "Burden of Dreams," as well as "Chulas Fronteras" and "Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers," died of bladder cancer. He was 77.

Roger Ebert, the Chicago Sun-Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning critic who co-hosted "Siskel and Ebert at the Movies," died at 70 after a long battle with cancer.

Phil Ramone, a virtuoso producing talent who made music with the likes of Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Ray Charles and Tony Bennett, died in March at 79.

Bonnie Franklin, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actress who played Ann Romano in the CBS hit sitcom "One Day at a Time," died in March at 69 of pancreatic cancer.

Fay Kanin, an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning screenwriter and the second female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, died in March at 95. She received her Oscar nomination for penning the 1958 romantic comedy "Teacher's Pet."

Deanna Durbin, the Depression Era actress whose films included "Three Smart Girls," "Lady on a Train" and "Christmas Holiday," died in April at the age of 91.

Dale Robertson, who hosted TV western series "Death Valley Days" and starred in a number of big-screen westerns in the '50s and '60s, died in February at the age of 89 of complications from lung cancer.

Harry Reems, born Herbert Streicher, is best known for his role in the cult porn hit "Deep Throat," which starred Linda Lovelace and took the nation by storm in 1972. He died of cancer in March.

Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly, at one time half of the teenage rap duo Kris Kross, died of an apparent drug overdose in Atlanta. He was 34.

Bobby Rogers (at left in photo), who founded the Motown singing group the Miracles with Smokey Robinson, died in March at 73 after a long illness. The Miracles had many hits including "I Second That Emotion" and "The Tears of a Clown."

Van Cliburn, the American pianist who stunned Russian audiences at the height of the Cold War with performances of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff concertos, died in February at 78 after a battle with cancer.

Mindy McCready, a country singer, died in February at 37 of an apparent suicide.

Shain Gandee, one of the stars of MTV's reality series "Buckwild," was found dead at 21 in a four-wheel vehicle on a West Viginia back road.

Jeff Hanneman, 49, was the founder and guitarist for the thrash-metal group Slash.

Mario Machado, passed away due to complications due to pneumonia. The Los Angeles reporter won eight emmys and had cameos in "Rocky III" and "Robocop".

Ray Harryhausen was a revolutionary special effects artist who helped pioneer stop-motion animation with films like "Jason and the Argonauts" and the original "Clash of the Titans". He was 92.

Jeanne Cooper was a star on the soap "The Young and the Restless" four forty years. She passed away in early May at the age of 84.

Joyce Brothers earned her notoriety as a celebrity psychologist on television and in print media. She passed away at the age of 85.

David Campling, 73, was a long time board member for BAFTA Los Angeles and his credits included both editing and sound editing on films like "Death Wish II" and "Platoon".

Ray Manzarek, 74, was the long time keyoboardist for the influential 60s rock group The Doors.

Steve Forrest, best know for his role as Lt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson on TV's "S.W.A.T", died at the age of 87.

Ed Shaughnessy played drums for "The Tonight Show" band for nearly three decades. He died at his home in Calabasas, CA, at the age of 84.

Jean Stapleton played Edith Bunker on the classic 70s sitcom "All in the Family" passed away from natural causes at the age of 90 on June 1.

Jiah Khan, Bollywood actress, was found dead at the age of 25.

Esther Williams, the professional swimmer turned movie star, died at 91.

Michael Hastings, 33, was a reporter for BuzzFeed and Rolling Stone covering politics and war. He was killed in a car accident.

Slim Whitman, the yodeling country singer featured in "Mars Attacks!," died at 90.

Maxine Stuart, the long-time stage, motion picture, and daytime drama actress, died at the age of 94 in her Beverly Hills home.

Cory Monteith, who played jock-turned-gleek Finn Hudson on Fox's musical phenomenon "Glee" and had recently been treated for addiction, was found dead Saturday at a Vancouver hotel. He was 31.

Dennis Farina, 69, was a police-officer-turned-actor known for his role on "Law & Order," as well as performances in films such as "Get Shorty," "Snatch," and "Saving Private Ryan."