Photos: Notable Deaths in 2021
Already, 2021 has seen the passing of several notable people in news, entertainment and sports. A look at those we've lost this year.
Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron, who endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record and gracefully left his mark as one of baseball’s greatest all-around players, died Jan. 22, 2021. He was 86. “Hammerin’ Hank” set a wide array of career hitting records during a 23-year career spent mostly with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, including RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases. But the Hall of Famer will be remembered for one swing above all others, the one that made him baseball’s home-run king.
Larry King
Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century, died Jan. 23, 2021. He was 87. A longtime nationally syndicated radio host, from 1985 through 2010 he was a nightly fixture on CNN, where he won many honors, including two Peabody awards. With his celebrity interviews, political debates and topical discussions, King wasn’t just an enduring on-air personality. He also set himself apart with the curiosity he brought to every interview, whether questioning the assault victim known as the Central Park jogger or billionaire industrialist Ross Perot, who in 1992 rocked the presidential contest by announcing his candidacy on King’s show.
Tanya Roberts
Tanya Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and appeared in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” died Jan. 4, 2021. She was 65. Roberts played geologist Stacey Sutton opposite Roger Moore in 1985′s “A View to a Kill." She also appeared in such fantasy adventure films as “The Beastmaster” and “Hearts and Armour.” She replaced Shelley Hack in “Charlie’s Angels,” and also played comic book heroine Sheena — a female version of the Tarzan story — in a 1984 film. A new generation of fans saw her on “That ’70s Show” from 1998 and 2004, playing Midge, mother to Laura Prepon’s character Donna.
Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda, the fiery Hall of Fame manager who guided the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles and later became an ambassador for the sport he loved during his 71 years with the franchise, died Jan. 7, 2021. He was 93. Lasorda worked as a player, scout, manager and front office executive with the Dodgers dating to their roots in Brooklyn. He compiled a 1,599-1,439 record, won World Series titles in 1981 and ’88, four National League pennants and eight division titles while serving as Dodgers manager from 1977-96. He was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1997 as a manager. He guided the U.S. to a baseball gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Adelson, who rose from a modest start as the son of an immigrant taxi driver to become a billionaire Republican powerbroker with a casino empire and influence on international politics, died Jan. 11, 2021. He was 87. In business, Adelson transformed a landmark Las Vegas casino that was once a hangout of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack into a towering Italian-inspired complex. In politics, Adelson was a record-breaking campaign donor who had the ear of domestic and international leaders, including President Donald Trump.
Joanne Rogers
Joanne Rogers, an an accomplished concert pianist who celebrated and protected the legacy of her husband, the beloved children's TV host Mister Rogers, died Jan. 14, 2021. She was 92. Joanne and Fred Rogers were married for more than 50 years, spanning the launch and end of the low-key, low-tech “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which presented Fred Rogers as one adult in a busy world who always had time to listen to children. His pull as America’s favorite neighbor never seemed to wane before his death in 2003.
Siegfried Fischbacher
Siegfried Fischbacher, the surviving member of the magic duo Siegfried & Roy who entertained millions with illusions using rare animals, died Jan. 13, 2021, in Las Vegas. He was 81. The duo astonished millions with their extraordinary magic tricks until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act’s famed white tigers. For years, Siegfried & Roy was an institution in Las Vegas, where Fischbacher and Horn's magic and artistry consistently attracted sellout crowds. The pair performed six shows a week, 44 weeks per year.
Phil Spector
Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who later was convicted of murder, died Jan. 16, 2021. He was 81. Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 at his castle-like mansion on the edge of Los Angeles. After a trial in 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years to life. Decades before, Spector had been hailed as a visionary for channeling Wagnerian ambition into the three-minute song, creating the “Wall of Sound” that merged spirited vocal harmonies with lavish orchestral arrangements to produce such pop monuments as “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Be My Baby” and “He’s a Rebel.”
Don Sutton
Don Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who was a stalwart of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela, died Jan. 19, 2021. He was 75. A four-time All-Star, Sutton had a career record of 324-256 and an ERA of 3.26 while pitching for the Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, California Angels and the Dodgers again in 1988, his final season. The durable Sutton never missed a turn in the rotation in 756 big league starts. Only Cy Young and Nolan Ryan made more starts than Sutton, who never landed on the injured list in his 23-year career.
Gregory Sierra
Gregory Sierra, best known for his roles in "Sanford and Son" and "Barney Miller," died on Jan. 4, 2021, from cancer. He was 83. Sierra's most prominent roles were in sitcoms from the 1970s. In NBC's "Sanford and Son," he was a series regular as the Sanfords' neighbor Julio Fuentes. Later, he portrayed Miguel "Chano" Amanguale, a detective on ABC's "Barney Miller." Sierra also had supporting or guest roles in "All in the Family," "Hill Street Blues," "Miami Vice," and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
Floyd Little
Floyd Little, the versatile running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, died Jan. 1, 2021, after a long bout with cancer. He was 78. Little was a three-time All-American at Syracuse, where he wore No. 44 like Jim Brown and Ernie Davis before him. From 1964-66, he ran for 2,704 yards and 46 touchdowns. Little was the sixth overall pick in the 1967 AFL-NFL draft. He played nine seasons in Denver, where he earned the nickname “The Franchise” because his signing was credited with keeping the team from relocating.
Paul Westphal
Paul Westphal, a Hall of Fame player who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and later coached in the league and in college, died Jan. 2, 2021. He was 70. A five-time All-Star guard, Westphal played in the NBA from 1972-84. After winning a championship with the Celtics, he made the finals in 1976 with Phoenix, where he was a key part of one of the most riveting games in league history. After his playing career ended, Westphal moved into coaching. He led the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993, and also was head coach of Seattle and Sacramento.
Gerry Marsden
Gerry Marsden, lead singer of the 1960s British group Gerry and the Pacemakers that had such hits as “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and the song that became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” died Jan. 3, 2021. He was 78.
Neil Sheehan
Neil Sheehan, a reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who broke the story of the Pentagon Papers for The New York Times and who chronicled the deception at the heart of the Vietnam War in his epic book about the conflict, died Jan. 7, 2021. He was 84. His account of the Vietnam War, “A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam,” took him 15 years to write. The 1988 book won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction.
Nancy Bush Ellis
Nancy Bush Ellis, a longtime Democrat who helped her Republican brother and nephew get elected president, died Jan. 10, 2021, of complications of the coronavirus. She was 94. She supported and campaigned not only for her brother George H.W. Bush, and her nephew George W. Bush, but for other family members running for public office, including nephew Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida.
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman, a character actor whose depth of talent brought her an Oscar for the “The Last Picture Show” and Emmys for her comedic work in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and other TV series, has died. She was 94. Millions of viewers knew the actor as the self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She also appeared as the mother of Timmy on the “Lassie” series. She played a frontier prostitute in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” a crime spree family member in “Crazy Mama,” and the infamous Frau Bucher in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein.”
Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actor who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” won a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” died Jan. 28, 2021, at 96. Besides her Oscar nomination, she won two Emmys for playing the 110-year-old former slave in the 1974 television drama “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” A new generation of moviegoers saw her in the 2011 hit “The Help.”
John Chaney
John Chaney, one of the nation’s leading Black coaches and a commanding figure during a Hall of Fame basketball career at Temple, died Jan. 29, 2021. He was 89. Chaney led Temple to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances over 24 seasons, including five NCAA regional finals. Chaney had 741 wins as a college coach. He was twice named national coach of the year and his teams at Temple won six Atlantic 10 conference titles.
Dustin Diamond
Dustin Diamond, who played the role of Screech on the popular 1990s high school comedy "Saved by the Bell," died Feb. 1, 2021, after a recent cancer diagnosis. He was 44.
Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook, the award-winning character actor who toured the world for more than 50 years as Mark Twain in a one-man show and uttered the immortal advice “Follow the money” in the classic political thriller “All the President’s Men,” died Jan. 23, 2021. He was 95.
Tom Moore
Capt. Tom Moore, the World War II veteran who walked into the hearts of a nation in lockdown as he shuffled up and down his garden to raise money for health care workers, died Feb. 2, 2021, after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 100.
Dianne Durham
Dianne Durham, the first Black woman to win a USA Gymnastics national championship, died Feb. 4, 2021. She was 52. Durham was a pioneer in American gymnastics. Her victory in the all-around at the 1983 national championships as a teenager was the first by a Black woman in the organization's history.
Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film “The Sound of Music” and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award acting winner in history, died Feb. 5, 2021. He was 91. Over more than 50 years in the industry, Plummer enjoyed varied roles ranging from the film “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” to the voice of the villain in 2009′s “Up” and as a canny lawyer in Broadway’s “Inherit the Wind.” But it was opposite Julie Andrews as von Trapp that made him a star.
Jim Weatherly
Hall of Fame songwriter Jim Weatherly, who wrote “Midnight Train to Georgia" and other hits for Gladys Knight, Glen Campbell and Ray Price, died Feb. 3, 2021. He was 77. Weatherly, who was also a star quarterback for Ole Miss in the 1960s, wrote a number of hits for Gladys Knight & The Pips, including “(You’re the) Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me,” “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” and “Where Peaceful Waters Flow."
Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight, died Feb. 5, 2021. He was 67. A lovable heavyweight with a drinking problem, Spinks beat Ali by decision in a 15-round fight in 1978 to win the title. He was unranked at the time, and picked as an opponent because Ali was looking for an easy fight.
George P. Shultz
Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, a titan of American academia, business and diplomacy who spent most of the 1980s trying to improve Cold War relations with the Soviet Union and forging a course for peace in the Middle East, died Feb. 6, 2021. He was 100. Shultz was labor secretary, treasury secretary and director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Richard M. Nixon before spending more than six years as President Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state.
Pedro Gomez
Pedro Gomez (left in photo), a longtime baseball correspondent for ESPN who covered more than 25 World Series, died Feb. 7, 2021. He was 58. Gomez joined ESPN as a Phoenix-based reporter in 2003 after being a sports columnist and national baseball writer at The Arizona Republic since 1997. He was best known at the network for his coverage of Barry Bonds and his pursuit of the home-run record during the steroid controversy.
Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson, the longest-reigning original Supreme, died Feb. 8, 2021. She was 76. Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard made up the first successful configuration of The Supremes. Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1967, and Wilson stayed with the group until it was officially disbanded by Motown in 1977.
Marty Schottenheimer
Marty Schottenheimer, who won 200 regular-season games with four NFL teams thanks to his “Martyball” brand of smash-mouth football but regularly fell short in the playoffs, died Feb. 8, 2021. He was 77. Schottenheimer was the eighth-winningest coach in NFL history. He went 200-126-1 in 21 seasons with Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and San Diego.
Larry Flynt
Larry Flynt, who turned his raunchy Hustler magazine into an empire while fighting numerous First Amendment court battles and flaying politicians with stunts such as a Donald Trump assassination Christmas card, died Feb. 10, 2021. He was 78. Flynt was shot in a 1978 assassination attempt and left paralyzed from the waist down but refused to slow down, building a flamboyant reputation along with a fortune estimated at $100 million.
Chick Corea
Chick Corea, a towering jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy Awards who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, died Feb. 9, 2021. He was 79. A prolific artist with dozens of albums, Corea in 1968 replaced Herbie Hancock in Miles Davis’ group, playing on the landmark albums “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew.”
Johnny Pacheco
Salsa idol Johnny Pacheco, who was a co-founder of Fania Records, Eddie Palmieri’s bandmate and backer of music stars such as Rubén Bladés, Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, died Feb. 15, 2021. He was 85.
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh, the conservative media icon who for decades used his perch as the king of talk-radio to shape the politics of both the Republican Party and nation, died Feb. 17, 2021, after a battle with cancer. He was 70. A pioneer of AM talk-radio, Limbaugh for 32 years hosted "The Rush Limbaugh Show," a nationally syndicated program with millions of loyal listeners that transfigured him into a partisan force and polarizing figure in American politics. In many ways, his radio show was like the big bang of the conservative media universe. "The Rush Limbaugh Show" helped popularize the political talk-radio format and usher in a generation of conservative infotainment. - CNN
Prince Markie Dee
Prince Markie Dee, a member of the Fat Boys hip-hop trio who later formed his own band and became a well-known radio host, died Feb. 18, 2021. He was 52. Born Mark Morales in Brooklyn, Prince Markie Dee was a prolific songwriter and founding member of the Fat Boys, a group known for beatboxing that released several popular albums in the 1980s such as the platinum record “Crushin'.”
Arturo Di Modica
Arturo Di Modica, the artist who sculpted Charging Bull, the bronze statue in New York which became an iconic symbol of Wall Street, died Feb. 19, 2021, in his hometown in Sicily at age 80. The sculptor lived in New York for more than 40 years in New York. He arrived in 1973 and opened an art studio in the city's SoHo neighborhood. With the help of a truck and crane, Di Modica installed the bronze bull sculpture in New York’s financial district without permission on the night of Dec. 16, 1989.
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