Saturday, January 3, 2015

THOSE WE LOST IN 2014


As with all years, 2014 saw the loss of many famous people from various areas of the entertainment industry, literary world, and political life.

Perhaps the most shocking death of 2014 was the suicide of Robin Williams, Comedian and Oscar-winning actor, on August 11th at the age of 63.

We lost authors Maya Angelou (86) and P.D. James (94).  Folk singer Pete Seeger (94) and rock singer Joe Cocker (70). And Maria von Trapp (99), the last surviving member of the original von Trapp Family Singers whose life story inspired the Broadway production and movie The Sound Of Music.

From the political arena, we lost James Brady (73)—the White House Press Secretary seriously wounded in the assassination attempt on President Reagan.

Here's a cross-section of the numerous people lost from the entertainment industry, shown here in chronological order.

February 10: Shirley Temple (85), child actress who starred in several very successful musical movies. As an adult, she left the entertainment industry and was active in politics as a delegate to the United Nations General Assemble under President Nixon, U.S. Ambassador to Ghana under President Ford, and U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia under President (George H.W.) Bush.

February 13: Ralph Waite, television and film actor. Probably best known for his role on The Waltons and his recurring role as Gibbs' father on NCIS.

April 6: Mickey Rooney (93), actor. Started his career as a child star. He made several musical movies, many with Judy Garland. He starred in the Andy Hardy series of movies. He also did serious acting such as his role in Boy's Town with Spencer Tracy. In later years he continued a successful career on stage and in television.

July 19: James Garner (86), television and film actor. He was the first television actor to make a successful (difficult at that time) transition into movies. Probably best known for his starring roles in the television series Maverick and The Rockford Files.

August 12: Lauren Bacall, 89. Legendary film actress who was married to Humphrey Bogart with whom she made several movies.

September 4: Joan Rivers (81), comedienne with a long career in television.

November 19: Mike Nichols (83) award winning film and stage director who started his career and half of the comedy duo of Nichols and May with his partner Elaine May. He was honored with 1 Oscar, 9 Tony, 2 Emmy, and 1 Grammy.

December 9: Mary Ann Mobley, (77), actress. The former Miss America of 1959 went on to a successful acting career.

And we certainly need to acknowledge the loss of all the men and women from various nations serving in the military of their country who were stationed around the world and especially those deployed in war zones.

2 comments:

Cheryl Pierson said...

WOW. That was a LOT of stars. So sorry to see them go--there are so few left now. Thanks for your post letting us remember them and their careers. And yes, we need to remember the service men and women, and the police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty as well. Great post!
Cheryl

Shawna Delacorte said...

Cheryl: The full list I saw had over 100 names on it of those in the public light. I had a difficult time deciding on a handful of names to include in my blog.

Thanks for your comment.