Entertainment

01:40 PM CST on Saturday, December 31, 2005

By TOM MAURSTAD / The Dallas Morning News

For such a singular fact of life, death is a many varied thing. There's a big difference between our death and everybody else's, for instance. There are the deaths of those we love and those we hate; those we know and those we don't. You can break down death to an infinite number of categories. And in a final reflection of our star-struck society, celebrities fit in just about every one of them.

Because we love them/hate them and have all sorts of intimate knowledge of them without meeting them, celebrities become mortal markers in a virtual scrapbook. It's a collective project – thus, the roll call of the famous fallen that fills magazines and broadcasts every December – but we each make our own unique copy, highlighted by where-we-were-when memories.

There are those celebrities who find a way into just about everybody's scrapbook. For most, 2005 is the year that Johnny Carson died. He was the living reminder of a pre-cable time when seemingly the whole country tuned in every night to watch Johnny. Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment in a career full of them was walking away from the spotlight and never looking back. He said goodbye, and he was gone.

The year 2005 was also when Richard Pryor died. It's easy to imagine his life becoming the source of some Greek-god-styled myth – the highs, the lows and the flat-out unbelievable. Who else but this stand-up alchemist could turn his personal apocalypse and public humiliation into the funniest stories you've ever heard? As D.L Hughley observed after Mr. Pryor's death earlier this month, people will always argue about who the best basketball player or president was. But the best comedian? Never.

The list of Big Names continues with figures such as Rosa Parks, Peter Jennings, Ossie Davis and Luther Vandross. But where each of our scrapbooks become more personal than public is in the smaller, sharper associations stirred by this or that celebrity name or face. This was the year that John Vernondied. The name may not click for you, but as soon as you see his face, it all comes back: the unforgettable scowl of Dean Wormer, his timeless pronouncement that "fat, drunk and stupid are no way to go through life." At last his double-secret probation has been lifted. Or it was the year that James Doohan of Star Trek fame died, inspiring headline-writers everywhere to quip about Scotty getting beamed up. And while hard-core Andy Griffith Show fans might instantly recognize the name Howard Morris, others need a little prompt – this was the year the actor who played the notorious hillbilly Ernest T. Bass died.

Sometimes it's not a name or a face, but just a voice. It may not mean much if you were told that John Fiedler and Paul Winchell died last June. But if you knew they were the voices of Piglet and Tigger, you might think of all those lazy summer days spent at Pooh Corner. And then there's Frank Gorshin.Best remembered as the Riddler on the Batman television series, he was also the man of a thousand voices.

Sometimes it's not even a voice, but just a moment on-screen. Lorna Thayer died at 85 in Los Angeles. It won't mean much to most until you add that she played the waitress who refused to let Jack Nicholson order a side of toast in Five Easy Pieces.

The 2005 list of deceased celebrities takes on a particular resonance to the summer-of-love generation as it enters its winter of whatever. So many boomer pop culture totems fell – the prom-queen-cute Sandra Dee and gonzo-guerrilla journalist Hunter S. Thompson, game-show poet Nipsey Russell and sitcom secret agent Don Adams.

But for the first wave of boomers staring down 60, 2005 is the year that Gilligan (Bob Denver) got off the island and Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) moved away.

Will Eisner, 87, artist who revolutionized comic books ("The Spirit") and helped pioneer the graphic novel, on Jan. 3.

Danny Sugerman, 50, Doors manager who co-wrote a Jim Morrison bio, on Jan. 5.

Spencer Dryden, 66, drummer during Jefferson Airplane's glory years, on Jan. 10.

Amrish Puri, 72, Bollywood's favorite villain, on Jan. 12.

Charlotte MacLeod, 82, mystery writer who eschewed graphic violence and gore, on Jan. 14.

Victoria de los Angeles, 81, Spanish soprano known for tonal control, on Jan. 15.

Elizabeth Janeway, 91, who wrote popular '40s novels and '70s nonfiction to support the women's movement, on Jan. 15.

Ruth Warrick, 88, darling of the daytime soap All My Children who launched her career in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, on Jan. 15.

Virginia Mayo, 84, who starred in '40s comedies with Bob Hope and Danny Kaye, plus the dramas White Heat and The Best Years of Our Lives, on Jan. 17.

Lamont Bentley, 31, regular in the '90s sitcom Moesha, on Jan. 18.

Johnny Carson, 79, late-night TV's once and forever king as host of The Tonight Show, on Jan. 23.

Bill Simmons, 80, keyboardist with the Grammy-winning Light Crust Doughboys, on Jan. 24.

Philip Johnson, 98, architect who shaped both the postmodernist movement and the new Dallas look of the '70s and '80s, on Jan. 25. His work includes Fort Worth's Amon Carter Museum.

Ray Peterson, 65, whose hit "Tell Laura I Love Her" exemplified the teen-tragedy songs popular in early rock, on Jan. 25.

Max Velthuijs, 81, Dutch author whose playful stories of Frog and friends provided kids with parables about prejudice, fear, charity and love, on Jan. 25.

Jim Capaldi, 60, drummer for '60s rockers Traffic, on Jan. 28.

John Vernon, 72, Animal House's sinister Dean Wormer, on Feb. 1.

Ossie Davis, 87, actor and civil-rights leader, on Feb. 4.

Lazar Berman, 74, acclaimed Russian pianist, on Feb. 6.

Karl Haas, 91, who brought classical music to millions through radio's Adventures in Good Music, on Feb. 6.

Nathalie Krassovska, 85, prima ballerina and doyenne of the local dance scene, on Feb. 8.

Arthur Miller, 89, who wrote Death of a Salesman and married Marilyn Monroe, on Feb. 10.

Brian Kelly, 73, Porter Ricks in the '60s series Flipper, on Feb. 12.

Jewel Fay "Sammi" Smith, 61, singer of "Help Me Make It Through the Night," on Feb. 12.

Daniel O'Herlihy, 85, Oscar-nominated for 1954's Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, on Feb. 17.

Sandra Dee, 62, teen queen of '60s flicks Gidget and Tammy and the Doctor who'd wed Bobby Darin, on Feb. 20.

John Raitt, 88, Bonnie's dad who made his name in the original Broadway Carousel and opposite Doris Day in Pajama Game, on Feb. 20.

Hunter S. Thompson, 67, acerbic counterculture writer who pioneered a new form of fictional journalism in Rolling Stone and the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, on Feb. 20.

Simone Simon, 93, French actress known for her haunting turn in 1942's Cat People, on Feb. 22.

Joe Carter, 78, of country music's Carter Family, on March 2.

Teresa Wright, 86, Oscar winner for Mrs. Miniver, on March 6.

Philip Lamantia, 77, San Francisco poet who embraced surrealism and associated with the West Coast Beats, on March 7.

Chris LeDoux, 56, rodeo champ who parlayed songs about cowboys he knew into a country singing career, on March 9.

Danny Joe Brown, 53, lead singer of Southern rockers Molly Hatchet, on March 10.

Don Durant, 72, who sang with Ray Anthony's orchestra and starred in the TV Western Johnny Ringo, on March 15.

Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero Jr., 88, pioneering barrio troubadour whose bilingual repertoire earned him worldwide accolades as the father of Chicano music, on March 17.

Andre Norton, 93, author of the Witch World series, on March 17.

Barney Martin, 82, Jerry's dad on Seinfeld, on March 21.

Bobby Short, 80, cherubic singer-pianist who evoked the glamour of Manhattan nightlife, on March 21.

Kenzo Tange, 91, architect of 1964 Tokyo Olympic stadiums and the Hiroshima Peace Center, on March 22.

Rigo Tovar, 59, Mexican tropical icon who broke out in the '70s with Costa Azul, on March 27.

Robert Creeley, 78, poet whose work was influenced by jazz and the paintings of his friend, Jackson Pollock, on March 30.

Mitch Hedberg, 37, rising comic featured on David Letterman's and Conan O'Brien's shows, on March 30.

Saul Bellow, 89, whose novels mastered comic melancholy that championed the soul's fate in the modern world, on April 5.

Dale Messick, 98, whose comic strip Brenda Starr, Reporter gave her entry into the male world of the funny pages, on April 5.

Debralee Scott, 52, regular on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and a frequent face on the '70s game-show circuit, on April 5.

Frank Conroy, 69, ex-director of the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, on April 6.

Yoshitaro Nomura, 85, director whose 1974 thriller Castle of Sand was hailed as one of Japan's best films, on April 8.

Onna White, 83, choreographer given a special Oscar for Oliver! and nominated for eight Tonys, on April 8.

Andrea Dworkin, 58, feminist writer who saw porn as a violation of women's civil rights and a direct cause of rape and violence, on April 9.

Faith McNulty, 86, author of the 1980 best-seller The Burning Bed, which focused attention on domestic violence, on April 10.

Johnnie Johnson, 80, rock pioneer who teamed with Chuck Berry on "Roll Over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place to Go," on April 13.

Laura Canales, 50, modern Tejano's first female star and the woman who paved the way for Selena, on April 16.

Ruth Hussey, 93, Oscar-nominated as James Stewart's sassy photographer girlfriend in The Philadelphia Story, on April 19.

Mason Adams, 86, Emmy-nominated for Lou Grant and the voice of Smucker's jelly ads, on April 26.

Kay Walsh, who starred in '40s British films and helped her then-husband, David Lean, emerge as a director, on April 16. She was in her early 90s.

John Mills, 97, Oscar winner for Ryan's Daughter, on April 23.

Frank Gorshin, 72, impressionist Emmy-nominated as the Riddler in TV's Batman, on May 17.

J.D. Cannon, 83, TV regular who played the chief of detectives on McCloud, on May 20.

Thurl Ravenscroft, 91, voice of Tony the Tiger, on May 22.

Ismail Merchant, 68, who with James Ivory created the costume dramas A Room With a View and Howards End, on May 25.

Eddie Albert, 99, versatile actor who made Eva Gabor say "Goodbye, city life!" on the '60s TV staple Green Acres , on May 26.

George Rochberg, 86, a top composer of the '70s and '80s, on May 29.

Rudy Eastman, 60, founder of Fort Worth's Jubilee Theatre, which gave black actors the chance to play more varied roles, on May 30.

Peter Wolf, 86, designer and longtime Dallas theatrical veteran, on May 30.

Leon Askin, 97, who played Gen. Burkhalter on TV's Hogan's Heroes. His death was announced June 3; the date wasn't disclosed.

Anne Bancroft, 73, Oscar winner for The Miracle Worker and leggy senior seductress in The Graduate, on June 6.

Dana Elcar, 77, actor whose real-life struggle with blindness was written into his role on MacGyver, on June 6.

Ronald Winans, 48, Grammy-winning member of gospel's first family, the Winans, on June 17.

Al Loving, 69, innovative abstract artist whose work evolved from geometric paintings to colorful collages and murals, on June 21.

Paul Winchell, 82, voice of Tigger in Winnie the Pooh and a ventriloquist who became an early kids' TV fixture, on June 25.

John Fiedler, 80, voice of Tigger's pal Piglet in Winnie the Pooh and a longtime character actor, on June 26.

Shelby Foote, 88, voice of Ken Burns' The Civil War and writer whose storyteller's touch lured millions to his multiple-volume work on the war, on June 27.

Domino Harvey, 35, daughter of actor Laurence Harvey and model-turned-bounty-hunter whos life inspired the film Domino, on June 27.

Rowland B. Wilson, 74, Dallas-born cartoonist and Disney animator attended the University of Texas, on June 28.

Alexei Sultanov, 35, who won the 1989 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, on June 30.

Luther Vandross, 54, Grammy winner whose lush voice on "Here and Now" and "Any Love" sold 25 million albums, on July 1.

Ernest Lehman, 89, six-time Oscar nominee whose screenwriting and production credits include North by Northwest, The Sound of Music and West Side Story, on July 2.

June Haver, 79, sunny star of '40s musicals including Oh, You Beautiful Doll, on July 4.

Jim Haskins, 63, whose book The Cotton Club inspired the '84 movie, on July 6.

Evan Hunter, 78, who wrote the Ed McBain detective series and novels including The Blackboard Jungle, on July 6.

Freddy Soto, 35, up-and-coming comic from El Paso, on July 10.

Frances Langford, 92, singer in the '30s known for her warmth who traveled Bob Hope's WWII USO tours, on July 11.

Geraldine Fitzgerald, 91, who moved from the '30s films Dark Victory and Wuthering Heights to the New York stage, on July 17.

James Doohan, 85, burly Star Trek chief engineer who responded to the command "Beam me up, Scotty," on July 20.

Long John Baldry, 64, British blues legend who helped launch the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart, on July 21.

Eugene Record, 64, founder of the Chi-Lites and writer of "Have You Seen Her?" and "Oh Girl," on July 22. Myron Floren , 85, accordion virtuoso dubbed "the Happy Norwegian" who came to fame as a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show, on July 23.

Al Held, 76, American abstract painter known for his large-scale works, on July 27.

Al McKibbon, 86, whose acoustic bass anchored midcentury jazz recordings, on July 29.

Lucky Thompson, 81, tenor and soprano saxophonist, on July 30.

Little Milton Campbell, 70, bluesman who honed his gritty songs of lost love in the '50s, on Aug. 4.

Ibrahim Ferrer, 78, a leading voice in Cuba's Buena Vista Social Club, on Aug. 6.

Peter Jennings, 67, longtime anchor of ABC's World News Tonight , on Aug. 7.

Barbara Bel Geddes, 82, veteran actress whose greatest fame came as Miss Ellie Ewing in TV's Dallas, on Aug. 8.

Vassar Clements, 77, fiddle virtuoso and studio musician who played with Paul McCartney and others, on Aug. 16.

Tonino Delli Colli, 81, cinematographer whose work ranged from Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful, on Aug. 16.

Robert A. Moog, 71, electronic music pioneer whose self-named synthesizers helped revolutionize rock, on Aug. 21.

R.L. Burnside, 78, one of the last Mississippi bluesmen who was discovered late in life by record label Fat Possum, on Sept. 1.

Bob Denver, 70, whoseTV voyage launched with The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and cruised into immortality with Gilligan's Island , on Sept. 2.

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, 81, Grammy winner who built a 50-year career playing blues, Cajun, country and jazz, on Sept. 10.

Robert Wise, 91, Oscar-winning director of West Side Story and The Sound of Music, on Sept. 14.

Sid Luft, 89, producer who revived the career of then-wife Judy Garland in the '50s, on Sept. 15.

Constance Moore, 84, Dallas-raised actress '30s and '40s films Earl Carroll Vanities, Show Business and Las Vegas Nights, on Sept. 16.

Willie Hutchison, 60, Dallas-raised R&B musician, songwriter and producer who co-wrote the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There," on Sept. 19.

Austin Leslie, 71, New Orleans chef whose soul food restaurant Chez Helene inspired TV's Frank's Place in the '80s, on Sept. 29.

Nipsey Russell, 80, comic-actor and guest star of '70s game shows such as To Tell the Truth and Match Game, on Oct. 2.

August Wilson, 60, Pulitzer and Tony winner whose 10-play cycle, including The Piano Lesson and Fences, chronicled the black experience in 20th-century America, on Oct. 2.

Charles Rocket, 56, comic-actor who briefly gained notoriety for uttering an obscenity on Saturday Night Live, on Oct. 7.

Simon Molina Garza IV, 51, Dallas concert promoter, club owner and radio DJ known in Tejano music circles as "Simon the Diamond," on Oct. 15.

Gordon Lee, 71, who played "Porky" in the Little Rascals, on Oct. 16.

Shirley Horn, 71, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist known for intimate, whispery vocals and stellar piano playing, on Oct. 20.

William Hootkins, 57, Dallas native who was a familiar face to film (Star Wars) and theater audiences, on Oct. 23.

Skitch Henderson, 87, Grammy-winning conductor who founded the New York Pops and was the first Tonight Show bandleader, on Oct. 31.

Talmadge Davis, 43, Cherokee artist noted for military-themed paintings, on Nov. 3.

R.C. Gorman, 74, Navajo artist dubbed "the Picasso of American art" by The New York Times, on Nov. 3.

Sheree North, 72, Lou Grant's sultry girlfriend on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Kramer's mom, Babs, on Seinfeld, on Nov. 4.

John Fowles, 79, British author known for his novels The French Lieutenant's Woman and The Collector, on Nov. 5.

Link Wray, 76, father of the rock power chord, on Nov. 5.

Fernando Bujones, 50, one of the 20th century's top ballet dancers and choreographer-in-residence at Texas Christian University, on Nov. 10.

Lord Lichfield, 66, photographer of the 1981 Charles and Diana wedding who was best known for his "Swinging London" images of the '60s, on Nov. 11.

Eduardo Gory Guerrero, 38, pro wrestling star and subject of Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story, on Nov. 13.

Peggy Lucile Hill Taylor, 84, founded Dallas first major talent agency, on Nov. 15.

Ralph Edwards, 92, broadcast pioneer who created TV's Truth or Consequences and This Is Your Life, on Nov. 16.

Glenn Mitchell, 55, mainstay at KERA-FM (90.1) since the station signed on in 1974, on Nov. 20.

Chris Whitley, 45, singer-songwriter who bounced between roots rock, blues and alt-rock, on Nov. 20.

Pat Morita, 73, Oscar-nominated as the dry-witted Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid, on Nov. 24.

Stan Berenstain, 82, who wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears kids books, on Nov. 26.

Wendie Jo Sperber, about 47, who starred opposite Tom Hanks on TV's Bosom Buddies, on Nov. 29.

Richard Pryor, 65, comic who turned confessional profanity into poetry and brought the humor of black America to generations of fans, on Dec. 10.

John Spencer, 58, Emmy winner as chief of staff Leo McGarry on NBC's The West Wing, on Dec. 16.

Rodney Whitaker, 74, writer and ex-chairman of the University of Texas' radio, TV and film department who was best known by one of his many pseudonyms, Trevanian, on Dec. 14.

Rene E. Herrera, 70, pop-Tejano musician with hits "Angelito" and "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero" as half of the duo Rene and Rene, on Dec. 20.

Michael Vale, 83, who uttered the trademark line "Time to make the doughnuts" in Dunkin' Donuts commercials, on Dec. 24.

Vincent Schiavelli, 57, character actor from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, on Dec. 26.

Patrick Cranshaw, 86, character actor famous for playing Blue in Old School, on Dec. 28.

E-mail tmaurstad@dallasnews.com