Levon Helm was 71.  He was a singer and drummer for the Band, singing such classics as "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "Up on Cripple Creek," "Rag Mama Rag," and "The Weight".

Dick Clark was 82.  He was the music industry maverick, longtime TV host and powerhouse producer who changed the way we listened to pop music with American Bandstand, and whose trademark Rockin' Eve became a fixture of New Year's celebrations.

Randy Starkman was 51. He covered premier amateur athletics for the Toronto Star, exposing sprinter Ben Johnson’s second positive steroid test in 1993, and covering 12 Olympic Games.

Mike Wallace was 93.  He was the grand inquisitor of CBS’s 60 Minutes who once declared there was “no such thing as an indiscreet question.”

Jim Marshall was 88. He was dubbed "the Father of Loud" for creating kit used by some of the biggest names in rock.

Earl Scruggs was 88. He was a bluegrass legend and banjo pioneer who helped profoundly change country music with Bill Monroe and later with guitarist Lester Flatt.

Bert Randolph Sugar was 74. He was a legendary boxing writer and historian, and one of the sport's most iconic characters. I always loved his appearances on Prime Time Sports.  The man knew boxing and knew how to tell a story like no other.

Davy Jones was 66. He was the singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.  Along with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork they churned out a bunch of hits including, "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer." He's also the reason young

Jan Berenstain was 88. She co-created the beloved Berenstain Bears book series with her husband Stan Berenstain.  Stan passed away in 2005. When my son was two, we spent many an evening watching The Berenstain Bears.  James loved bears.

Gary Carter was 57. The Kid was an 11-time All-Star catcher for the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Neil Hope was 35. He played Derek “Wheels” Wheeler on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Degrassi Junior High and The Kids of Degrassi Street. Neil actually passed away on November 25, 2007, but this was only made public today January 12.  I was a big Degrassi fan, and just last year

Whitney Houston was 48. She reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown. She is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits with "Saving All

Ben Gazzara was 81. He was an intense actor best known for starring in the John Cassavetes films "Husbands", "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" and "Opening Night".  I remember him best as Jackie Treehorn, the pornography mogul and loan shark in the Coen brother's cult classic, The Big Lewbowski.

Angelo Dundee was 90. He was the brilliant motivator who worked the corner for Muhammad Ali in his greatest fights and willed Sugar Ray Leonard to victory in his biggest bout.

Don Cornelius was 75. He created "Soul Train," a show  instrumental in bringing acts like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson to a larger audience.

Robert Hegyes was 69. He portrayed Epstein in the 1970s television series Welcome Back, Kotter.

Joe Paterno was 85. He was head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011, accumulated 409 wins, the most in NCAA Division 1 history.

Etta James was 73. Her powerful, versatile and emotionally direct voice could enliven the raunchiest blues as well as the subtlest love songs, most indelibly in her signature hit, “At Last.” For my money, nothing beats "I'd Rather Go Blind."

Sarah Burke was 29. She was a Canadian freestyle skier and four-time Winter X Games champion who was the first woman to land a 1080 in competition.

Jim Huber was 67. He was an Emmy Award winning journalist and essayist with Turner Sports and PGA.com.  I remember him co-anchoring CNN Sports Tonight with Nick Charles, Fred Hickman, Vince Cellini and others in the 90s.  His work was always top notch. His tweets the last few days

Joe Bodolai was 63. He was best known for producing and writing such television shows as Comics!, The Kids in the Hall and Saturday Night Live. He also co-wrote the first draft of the film Wayne's World with Mike Myers. Before he took his own life, Joe Bodolai published his

Kim Jong Il was 69. He has been the leader of North Korea, an impoverished communist country if ever there was one, since the death of his father Kim Il-sung in 1994.

Christopher Hitchens was 62. He was a contrarian writer and public intellectual, whose targets ranged from God and Mother Teresa to Henry Kissinger.

Harry Morgan was 96. He was the the prolific character actor best known for playing the acerbic but kindly Colonel Sherman T. Potter, commander of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit in Korea, in the long-running television series "M*A*S*H." Check out this great rant by Col.

Dobie Gray was 71. He was the singer and songwriter who had a top 5 hit in 1973 with the song “Drift Away.” I always liked that song...