Annette Funicello was 70.  She was a Mouseketeer at 12, a successful singer and actor as a teen and super popular as Frankie Avalon's co-star in a series of "Beach Party" movies in the mid-1960s. Everything I know about Annette Funicello I learned from "Back to the Beach", an under-rated

Margaret Thatcher was 87.  She was the first woman to become U.K. prime minister and Britain's only prime minister of the 20th century to win three consecutive terms.

Johnny Esaw was 87.  He was a pioneer of sports broadcasting in Canada, best known for his involvement with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, CFL games, figure skating, golf, tennis, auto racing and international hockey.

Roger Ebert was 70.  He was the Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic for the Chicago Sun-Times for more than 45 years and for more than three decades the co-host of one of the most powerful programs in television history. I was always a very big fan.  Here's something I wrote about

Peter Kormos was 60.  He was the Ontario NDP MPP first elected to the legislature in 1988 who joined the NDP cabinet when the party came to power under Bob Rae in 1990.

Ralph Klein was 70.  He was Mayor of Calgary for nine years and then Premier of Alberta for fourteen, presiding over four consecutive majority governments.

Richard Griffiths was 65.  He was the versatile British actor who played the boy wizard's unsympathetic Uncle Vernon in the "Harry Potter" movies. Older folks will know him best as Monty in Withnail & I, Brits will know him as Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky, and I remember

Stompin' Tom Connors was 77.  He was one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers best known for "Bud the Spud", "Big Joe Mufferaw", "The Black Donnellys", "The Martin Hartwell Story", "Reesor Crossing Tragedy", "Sudbury Saturday Night" and "The Hockey Song". I was lucky enough to see

Paul Bearer was 58.  He was a professional wrestling manager and former wrestler best known for his time in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—later WWE). Although I was no longer following the WWF when Paul Bearer and The Undertaker were huge, I did

Hugo Chávez  was 58.  He's been President of Venezuela since 1999 and focused on implementing socialist reforms in the country as a part of a social project known as the Bolivarian Revolution.

Bonnie Franklin  was 69.  She was the actress best known for her portrayal of divorced mother Ms. Ann Romano on One Day at a Time.

Jerry Buss  was 79.  He was the Los Angeles Lakers’ playboy owner who shepherded the NBA franchise to 10 championships from the ‘80s Showtime dynasty to the Kobe Bryant era.

Mindy McCready  was 37.  She was the country music singer who reached #1 in 1996 with her single "Guys Do It All the Time".

Tim Dog was 46.  He was the the rapper who reached fame in 1991 with "Fuck Compton," a diss track toward Dr. Dre and N.W.A.

Reg Presley was 71.  He was the singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer with prominent 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs, whose best known hit was "Wild Thing".

Stan Musial was 92.  He was one of baseball's greatest hitters and a Hall of Famer with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than two decades. He won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s. My

Earl Weaver was 82.  He was the fiery Hall of Fame manager who won 1,480 games with the Baltimore Orioles. On September 15, 1977, in Toronto, Weaver asked umpire Marty Springstead to have a tarpaulin covering the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen area removed; the tarp was weighed down by

Pauline Phillips was 94.  She was an advice columnist and radio show host who began the "Dear Abby" column in 1956. Pauline Phillips' identical twin sister, Eppie Lederer, started Ann Landers.

Conrad Bain was 89.  He was the actor best known as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and Dr. Arthur Harmon on Maude. He reprised the role of Phillip Drummond for the series finale of Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Fontella Bass was 72.  She was the St. Louis-born soul singer who hit the top of the R&B charts with "Rescue Me" in 1965.

Jack Klugman was 90.  He was the prolific, craggy-faced character actor and regular guy who was loved by millions as the messy one in TV's The Odd Couple and the crime-fighting coroner in Quincy, M.E.. He was also Juror #5 in Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men.

Daniel Inouye passed away today at the age of 88.  Daniel Inouye, a long-time United States senator,  was a real hero.  The following is from his Wikipedia page. Inouye was at the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 as a medical volunteer.In 1943, when the U.S. Army dropped its

Ravi Shankar was 92.  He was India’s most famous interpreter and innovator of Indian classical music in general and sitar music in particular.

Dave Brubeck was 91.  He was a jazz musician who attained pop-star acclaim with recordings such as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk."

Héctor "Macho" Camacho was 50.  He was a three time world champion boxer who awed fans with his quick hands and ring antics, developing a reputation for flamboyance.