R.I.P. 2012
by dongding8087 | created - 09 Feb 2013 | updated - 09 Feb 2013 | PublicCelebrities that died in 2012.
1. Charles Durning
Actor | Dog Day Afternoon
WWII veteran, dance instructor and diversely talented stage & screen actor were all inclusions on the resume of this perpetually busy US actor who didn't get in front of the cameras until around the time of his fortieth birthday. The stockily built Charles Durning was one of Hollywood's most ...
Died 12/24/12 of unknown causes. He was 89.
2. Jack Klugman
Actor | 12 Angry Men
As a film character actor, Klugman was the epitome of the everyman. He was one of the pioneers of television acting in the 1950s, and is best remembered for his 1970s TV work as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple (1970) and as the medical examiner on Quincy M.E. (1976).
Died 12/24/12 of natural causes. He was 90.
3. Ravi Shankar
Composer | Gandhi
Ravi Shankar was a world-renowned musician, composer, performer, and scholar of classical Indian music. He was one of the leading cultural figures of the twentieth century whose accomplishments placed him as the leading figure of an important musical tradition. His long and distinguished musical ...
Died 12/11/12 of natural causes. He was 92.
4. Jenni Rivera
Actress | Filly Brown
Dolores Janney "Jenni" Rivera was a Mexican-American actress, singer-songwriter, T.V. producer, spokesperson, philanthropist & entrepreneur known for her work within the banda and norteña music genres. She began recording in 1992, and her recordings often have themes of social issues, infidelity & ...
Died 12/9/12 in a plane crash. She was 43.
5. Dave Brubeck
Soundtrack | Inland Empire
Dave Brubeck was born on December 6, 1920 in Concord, California, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Inland Empire (2006), Constantine (2005) and Baby Driver (2017). He was married to Iola Brubeck. He died on December 5, 2012 in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA.
Died 12/5/12 of heart failure. He was 92.
6. Larry Hagman
Actor | Dallas
The son of a legendary actress (Mary Martin) and a district attorney, Larry Martin Hagman was born on September 21, 1931 in Fort Worth, Texas. After his parents' divorce, he moved to Los Angeles, California to live with his grandmother. When he was 12, his grandmother died and he moved back to his ...
Died 11/23/12 of throat cancer. He was 81.
7. Arlen Specter
Self | Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren
Arlen Specter was born on February 12, 1930 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. He was married to Joan Levy. He died on October 14, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Former U.S. senator Arlen Specter died of non-Hodgkins Lymphona on 10/14/12. He was 82.
8. George McGovern
Actor | The Candidate
George McGovern, one of the leading liberals in U.S. politics, was born in a Republican household in a small South Dakota town. His family had some struggles during the Great Depression, but they were able to make ends meet. The young, idealistic man joined the Air Force during World War II and ...
Presidential nominee George McGovern died of natural causes on 10/21/12. He was 90.
9. Alex Karras
Actor | Blazing Saddles
Alex Karras was born on July 15, 1935 in Gary, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Blazing Saddles (1974), Victor/Victoria (1982) and Porky's (1981). He was married to Susan Clark and Ivalyn Joan Jurgensen. He died on October 10, 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Died 10/10/12 of kidney disease. He was 77.
10. Johnny Lewis
Actor | AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the middle of three siblings, Johnny began performing from the age of 5 at a small performing arts school, making his debut as a Chanukah candle.
Pursuing the acting profession, he appeared with success in many TV and film projects, handling both drama and...
Died 9/26/12 of falling or jumping from the roof. He was 28.
11. Andy Williams
Soundtrack | Nobody
The extraordinary, easy-listening crooning talents of Andy Williams were first unveiled when he was 8 years old and inducted into the Williams Brothers Quartet as its youngest member. Born in Wall Lake, Iowa on December 3, 1927, Andy started singing with his three older brothers (Bob Williams, Dick...
Died 9/25/12 of bladder cancer. He was 84.
12. Michael Clarke Duncan
Actor | The Green Mile
Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. Raised on Chicago's South Side by his single mother, Jean, a house cleaner, Duncan grew up resisting drugs and alcohol, instead concentrating on school. He wanted to play football in high school, but his mother wouldn't let ...
Died 9/3/12 of a heart attack. He was 54.
13. Neil Armstrong
Soundtrack | Forest 404
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 - August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer, and the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
Armstrong was born and raised in Wapakoneta, Ohio. A graduate of Purdue University...
Died 8/25/12 of blocked coronary arteries. He was 82.
14. Jerry Nelson
Actor | The Muppet Show
Puppeteer, actor, musician, and master of voices, Jerry Nelson originally joined Henson & Company as a temporary replacement for Frank Oz, who had been drafted into the armed services in the 60's. He later re-joined the crew as a full-time performer in the 70's, and has since been heavily involved ...
Died 8/24/12 of unspecified causes. He was 78.
15. Phyllis Diller
Actress | A Bug's Life
Diller put out an autobiography in 2005 in her late 80s, and entitled it "Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse", which pretty much says it all when recalling the misfit life and career of the fabulous, one-of-a-kind Phyllis Diller. It may inspire all those bored, discouraged and/or directionless ...
Died 8/20/12 in her sleep. She was 95.
16. Tony Scott
Producer | Domino
Tony Scott was a British-born film director and producer. He was the youngest of three brothers, one of whom is fellow film director Ridley Scott. He was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England to parents Jean and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. As a result of his father's career in the British...
Died 8/19/12 of suicidal causes. He was 68.
17. Joey Kovar
Actor | Alone: Without a Friend in the World
Joseph Eugene Kovar, aka "Joey Kovar", is a very courageous, optimistic and positive man. Joey Kovar is a very well-known young talented Chicago actor, model and wrestler, who is extremely popular with today's youth. Joey made his first debut on MTV's The Real World (1992) Hollywood and moved on to...
Died 8/17/12 of drug overdose. He was 29.
18. Ron Palillo
Actor | Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI
At 14, Ron Palillo (born Ronald Gabriel Paolillo) started his own summer theater in Cheshire, Connecticut. His parents, Gabriel and Carmel Paolillo, were surprised when the summer theater actually made money. After graduating from high school, Ron went to the University of Connecticut at Storrs, ...
Died 8/14/12 of an apparent heart attack. He was 63.
19. Helen Gurley Brown
Writer | Sex and the Single Girl
Helen Gurley Brown was born on February 18, 1922 in Green Forest, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Sex and the Single Girl (1964), Stoney Burke (1962) and A View from Cosmo (1982). She was married to David Brown. She died on August 13, 2012 in New York City, New York, USA.
Died 8/13/12 of undisclosed causes. She was 90.
20. Johnny Pesky
Self | Prime 9
Johnny Pesky was born on September 27, 1919 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He is known for Prime 9 (2009), The Way It Was (1974) and The Golden Greek: The Harry Agganis Story (2010). He was married to Ruth Pesky. He died on August 13, 2012 in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA.
Died 8/13/12 of natural causes. He was 92.
21. Joe Kubert
Writer | They Spoke Out: American Voices Against the Holocaust
Joe Kubert was born on September 18, 1926 in Jezierzany, Tarnopolskie, Poland [now Ozeryany, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine]. He was a writer, known for They Spoke Out: American Voices Against the Holocaust (2010), G.I. Joe: Sgt. Savage and His Screaming Eagles: Old Soldiers Never Die (1994) and The ...
Died 8/12/12 of multiple myeloma. He was 85.
22. Carlo Rambaldi
Special_effects | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Carlo Rambaldi was born on September 15, 1925 in Vigarano Mainarda, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is known for E.T. (1982), King Kong (1976) and Alien (1979). He was married to Bruna Basso. He died on August 10, 2012 in Lamezia Terme, Calabria, Italy.
Died 8/10/12 after a long illness. He was 86.
23. David Rakoff
Actor | Capote
David Rakoff was born on November 27, 1964 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for Capote (2005), The Watermelon Woman (1996) and Strangers with Candy (2005). He died on August 9, 2012 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
Died 8/9/12 of cancer. He was 47.
24. Mel Stuart
Producer | Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135
Mel Stuart was born on September 2, 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135 (2000), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and The Making of the President 1960 (1963). He was married to Roberta Frances Silberman ...
Died 8/9/12 of cancer. He was 83.
25. Marvin Hamlisch
Composer | The Spy Who Loved Me
Musical talent ran in Marvin Hamlisch's family - his father was an accordionist, and at seven Hamlisch was the youngest student ever accepted by Manhattan's Julliard School of Music. Hamlich furthered his education by taking night classes at Queens College and working during the day as a rehearsal ...
Died 8/7/12 of a brief bout of illness. He was 68.
26. Tony Sly
Soundtrack | Mad Dash Racing
Tony Sly was born on November 4, 1970 in Santa Clara, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Mad Dash Racing (2001), Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (1999) and Warped Tour 2002 (2003). He was married to Brigitte. He died on July 31, 2012 in San Jose, California, USA.
Died 8/1/12 of undisclosed causes. He was 41.
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