It was a catastrophic year for pop culture fans, with luminaries, iconoclasts, and beloved symbols of our childhoods passing on seemingly every other week. Here we remember the greats.
Alberto Aguilera Valadez, known professionally as Juan Gabriel, was an beloved Mexican singer and songwriter and the country’s bestselling artist of all time. He died August 28, 2016 at the age of 66—just a day after another show-stopping performance at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Canadian actor, songwriter, and game show host Alan Thicke was best known for his role as Alan Seaver on Growing Pains. He passed away December 13, 2016 at age 69 of a heart attack.
Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher Umberto Eco was known for his work in the field of semiotics and his best-selling novels, including The Name of the Rose. He died February 19, 2016 at age 84.
Hungarian actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was known for her glamorous jet-setting lifestyle, died just two months short of her 100th birthday on December 18, 2016.
Director, screenwriter, and author Michael Cimino was best-known as the Oscar-winning director of Vietnam War masterpiece The Deer Hunter. He died July 2, 2016 at age 77.
Actor Robert Vaugn was best known for his role as debonair international spy Napoleon Solo on the 1960s TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He died November 11, 2016 at age 83.
John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth, the first American in space, and a long-serving U.S. senator representing Ohio from 1974 until 1999. While serving in the Senate, Glenn became the oldest person to fly in space on Oct. 29, 1998, when he flew on Discovery mission STS-95. He died December 8, 2016 at age 95.
Playwright Edward Albee won three Pulitzer Prizes throughout his life, including one for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. He was considered one of the greatest living American playwrights at the time of his passing on September 16, 2016. He was 88.
British actor Kenny Baker was best known as the actor inside R2-D2, the iconic droid from Star Wars, for the first six films in the franchise. The 3-foot-8 actor also played roles in The Elephant Man and Flash Gordon, among many others in his five-decade career. He passed away August 13, 2016 at age 81.
Director, producer, and screenwriter Curtis Hanson was best known for directing the noir film L.A. Confidential. He passed away September 20, 2016 at age 71.
Prolific actor and World War II veteran George Kennedy had a career spanning over 50 years. He won an Oscar in 1968 for his role in Cool Hand Luke and also starred in the Airplane films, among others. He died February 28, 2016 at age 91.
Beloved character actor Abe Vigoda was best known as a mobster in The Godfather and as Detective Phil Fish on the sitcom Barney Miller--as well as for an erroneous report of his death, a goof that became a running joke both among his friends and colleagues and in pop culture at large. He died (for real) on January 26, 2016 at age 94.
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Do the Right Thing Actor Bill Nunn was best known for his role as Radio Raheem in the classic Spike Lee movie and as Robbie Robertson in the Sam Raimi Spider-man trilogy. He died September 24, 2016 at age 62.
Multi-award-winning Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami won the 1997 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his 1997 film Taste of Cherry. He died July 4, 2016 at age 76.
The iconic Purple One himself, Prince Rogers Nelson aka Prince, died April 21, 2016. The multiple Grammy-winning artist was renowned for his guitar chops, singular fashion sense and undeniable sex appeal. He was 57.
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Leon Russell was an American musician and songwriter known for his numerous bestselling pop music records. He died November 13, 2016 at age 74.
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Star Trek star Anton Yelchin tragically died in an accident at his Los Angeles home on June 19, 2016. He was only 27.
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Nelle Harper Lee, known professionally as Harper Lee, was an influential American fiction novelist known for her classic of modern literature, To Kill a Mockingbird, which won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize. Lee died February 19, 2016 at age 89.
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Gwendolyn L. "Gwen" Ifill was an award-winning political journalist and broadcast newscaster. She died of breast cancer on November 14, 2016 at age 61.
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Gordie Howe was a legendary professional ice hockey player, playing for 26 seasons over 34 years. He died at the age of 88 on June 10, 2016.
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Singer-songwriter Glenn Lewis Frey was a founding member of the Eagles and co-wrote hits "Hotel California" and "Desperado." He died January 18, 2016 at age 67.
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The actress Florence Agnes Henderson was best known for her role as America's favorite mom on the classic TV sitcom The Brady Bunch. She died November 24, 2016 at age 82.
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Jerome Silberman, known professionally as Gene Wilder, was known for his iconic comedic performances in movies like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Blazing Saddles He died August 29, 2016 of complications from Alzheimer's at age 83.
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Garry Kent Masciarelli, known as Garry Marshall, was an American, director, producer, and writer known as the creator of classic sitcoms Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, and Joanie Loves Chachi. He was also the force behind earnest, heartwarming films like Beaches, Pretty Woman, and The Princess Diaries. He died July 19, 2016 at age 81.
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Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel was a Nobel Peace Prize-winning Holocaust survivor best known for his memoir Night, which detailed his time in the Auschwitz concentration camp while a teenager. He died July 2, 2016. He was 87.
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Garry Shandling was a comedian known for his immensely influential 1990s sitcom The Larry Sanders Show. He died March 24, 2016 at age 66.
Joan Marie Laurer, aka Chyna, was a professional wrestler, actress, and bodybuilder. She died April 20, 2016 of an accidental drug overdose. She was 46.
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David Robert Jones, aka David Bowie, was an English performer, provocateur, and all-around musical genius. He left us for the stars on January 10, 2016 at age 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer.
Actress Doris Roberts was best known as a five-time Emmy-winning actress, four won for her role on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. She died April 17, 2016 at age 90.
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William John "Bill" Cunningham Jr. was an iconic street style fashion photographer and former hat designer. He was known for parading the streets in a vibrant royal blue jacket while finding fashion's latest trends. He died June 25, 2016 at age 87.
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Beloved character actor Alan Rickman was a famous English actor known for his sensuous screen presence and unmistakable baritone, put to scene-stealing use in films like Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility, Galaxy Quest, and Harry Potter. He died January 14, 2016 at age 69.
Alexis Arquette was a transgender actress who appeared in films like Last Exit to Brooklyn, Of Mice and Men, Pulp Fiction, and the Wedding Singer. She died September 11, 2016 at age 47.
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Famed liberal activist Tom Hayden led progressive anti-war and civil rights movements throughout his life. He was also known for his time as director of the Peace and Justice Resource Center in Los Angeles and as the ex-husband of Jane Fonda. Hayden was 76 when he died on October 23, 2016.
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Sir George Henry Martin was an English composer and producer best known for his work on each of the Beatles' original albums. His contributions earned him the nickname "The Fifth Beatle." He died March 8, 2016 at age 90.
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Sharon Jones was a powerhouse singer known as the frontwoman of her soul and funk band Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. She died November 18, 2016 at age 60 after battling pancreatic cancer.
Morley Safer was an award-winning broadcast journalist and correspondent for CBS News. He was known for his interviews on 60 Minutes. He died May 19, 2016 ay age 84.
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Oscar-winning actress Anna Marie "Patty" Duke was an actress, known for her long-running show The Patty Duke Show, her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, and her three year-long stint as president of the Screen Actors Guild in the late 1980s. She died March 29, 2016 at age 69.
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Shimon Peres was the ninth President of Israel, serving twice from 2007 to 2014. He is known as one of the nation's founding fathers. He died September 28, 2016 at age 93.
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Patricia Sue "Pat" Summitt was a record-setting American basketball coach, best known for her time as head coach for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team. Her exceptional leadership won her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to her by President Barack Obama. She died June 28, 2016 at age 64.
Malik Izaak Taylor, known as Phife Dawg, was a rapper from the group A Tribe Called Quest. He died March 22, 2016 at age 45.
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Legendary singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen died November 7, 2016 at age 82, just three weeks after releasing one of the best albums of his career.
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan died March 6, 2016 at age 94.
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Janet Reno was an esteemed Attorney General of the United States who served under Bill Clinton from 1993 until 2001. During her tenure, she oversaw the conviction of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who bombed for the World Trade Center in 1993. She also oversaw the prosecutions of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for their parts in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing in 1995. She died November 7, 2016 at the age of 78.
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Country music legend Guy Clark was a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who authored 13 studio albums and wrote for Johnny Cash, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Buffett. He died May 17, 2016 at the age of 74.
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Merle Haggard was a music quadruple threat as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. He was best known for creating the unique Bakersfield sound with his band the Strangers. Throughout his career, he earned several prestigious music awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He died April 6, 2017 at the age of 79.
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Arnold Palmer was a trailblazing professional golfer, businessman, and philanthropist whose accessible public persona and dominance of the sport during the early days of the television era led to him being known as the “King of Golf.” He died September 25, 2016 at age 87.
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Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was as well-known for his championship-dominating physical power and agility as his spirituality and political outspokenness. He died June 3, 2016 at age 74.
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Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, known professionally as George Michael, was an English pop singer and one half of the duo Wham! His best-known hits include "Last Christmas" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." He died December 25th, 2016 at age 53.
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Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress most known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, for her work as a writer and script doctor, and her work toward normalizing mental illness and its treatment. She passed away at age 60, December 27, 2016.
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Singer and actress Debbie Reynolds, best known for her roles in Old Hollywood musicals like Singin' in the Rain and the Unsinkable Molly Brown, passed away just a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher, on December 28, 2016. She was 84.
