Madeleine L'Engle was 88.  Her novel "A Wrinkle in Time" has been enjoyed by generations of schoolchildren and adults since the 1960s.

Luciano Pavarotti was 71.  He was opera's biggest superstar of the late 20th century who brought the genre to the musical mainstream.

Michael Jackson was 65.  He was a leading world beer critic who praised the brews of Belgium and was known as The Beer Hunter.

Richard Jewell was 44.  He was the former security guard who was wrongly linked to the 1996 Olympic bombing and then waged a decade-long battle with news organizations to defend his reputation.

Hilly Kristal was 75.  He was the founder and owner of the New York rock club CBGB, a launching pad for bands like the Ramones, Blondie and the Talking Heads.

Leona Helmsley was 87.  She helped her husband run a $5 billion hotel and real estate empire but sealed her reputation as the "queen of mean" during her 1989 trial for tax evasion.

Max Roach was 83.  He was the master percussionist whose rhythmic innovations and improvisations defined bebop jazz during a wide-ranging career where he collaborated with artists from Duke Ellington to rapper Fab Five Freddy.

Sam Pollock was 81.  He was the architect of the Montreal Canadiens dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s.

Phil "The Scooter" Rizzuto was 89.  He was the Hall of Fame shortstop during the New York Yankees' dynasty years and was beloved by a generation of fans who delighted in hearing him exclaim "Holy cow!" as a broadcaster. Non-sports fans know him best as the announcer who provides the

Merv Griffin was 82.  He was the host of the "Merv Griffin Show" who created "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune."

Lee Hazlewood was 77.  He was the singer-songwriter who wrote the Nancy Sinatra hit "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'".

Bill Walsh was 75.  He was the groundbreaking football coach who won three Super Bowls and perfected the ingenious schemes that became known as the West Coast offense during a Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers. During Walsh's tenure, Joe Montana hit Dwight Clark with The Catch.

Tom Snyder was 71.  He was a talk show host whose smoke-filled interviews were a staple of late night television.

Ingmar Bergman was 89.  He was an iconoclastic filmmaker widely regarded as one of the great masters of modern cinema.

Tammy Faye Messner was 65.  As Tammy Faye Bakker she helped her husband, Jim, build a multimillion-dollar evangelism empire and then watched it collapse in disgrace.

John Ferguson, Sr. was 68.  He won the Stanley Cup five times as a player with the Montreal Canadiens and was the assistant coach for Canada's 1972 Summit Series victory over the Soviet Union.

Lady Bird Johnson was 94.  She was the former first lady who championed conservation and worked tenaciously for the political career of her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson.

Honest Ed Mirvish was 92.  He was the Toronto businessman and philanthropist best known for his world-famous "Honest Ed's" bargain store on the corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets.

Bill Pinkney was 81.  He was the last survivor of the original members of the musical group The Drifters.

Beverly Sills was 78.  She was the world-renowned soprano who became the most popular opera singer in America in modern times.

Boots Randolph was 80.  His spirited saxophone playing on "Yakety Sax" endeared him to fans for years on Benny Hill's TV show.

Hy Zaret was 99.  He wrote the haunting words to "Unchained Melody," one of the most frequently recorded songs of the 20th century.

Joel Siegel was 63. He was best known as the resident movie critic on ABC's "Good Morning America" for 25 years.

Liz Claiborne was 78.  She was the fashion designer whose styles became a cornerstone of career women's wardrobes in the 1970s and 1980s.

Chris Benoit was 40.  He was a Canadian wrestling star  in the WWE known as the "Canadian Crippler".