In memoriam: From the King of Pop to an Iowa farm wife turned author and activist, we bid farewell

By Polly Anderson

Associated Press

It was only a rehearsal, and he was twice the age of the dancers accompanying him. But the video doesn't lie: Michael Jackson was looking ahead to a smash opening in London - and giving it his all.

And then he was gone.

With his thrilling music and dance, enigmatic personality and worldwide reach, Jackson led the list of notables in the worlds of art, entertainment and popular culture who died in 2009.

Some, like Jackson and actress Brittany Murphy, departed without warning. Some, like actor Patrick Swayze, waged a public struggle with illness.

Others were still active in their 80s and 90s. The great choreographer Merce Cunningham spent his last months on a work about his own aging, “Nearly Ninety.” Andrew Wyeth called his last work “Goodbye.”

Television journalism lost two founding fathers who remained at the top decades later: Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt. Musician-inventor Les Paul and radio broadcaster Paul Harvey both continued on the job past their 90th birthday.

We also said goodbye to writers John Updike, Horton Foote, Larry Gelbart, Dominick Dunne and former La Porte City farm wife Peg Mullen, whose fight to learn the truth about her son's death in Vietnam inspired the book and movie “Friendly Fire.” C.D.B. Bryan, who wrote the book “Friendly Fire” in 1976, died Dec. 15.

TV fans mourned Ed McMahon, the ultimate talk show sidekick; Bea Arthur, who created delightful sharp-tongued characters; “Kung Fu” star David Carradine; Billy Mays, known for his boisterous TV commercials; and the decorative Farrah Fawcett, who, when given the chance, showed she could act, too.

Here are more of the notable people in art, entertainment and popular culture who died in 2009. (Cause of death is cited for younger people if available.)

JANUARY

Jett Travolta, 16. John Travolta's son. Jan. 2. Seizure.

Pat Hingle, 84. Tony-nominated stage actor; Commissioner Gordon in “Batman” movies. Jan. 3.

Ron Asheton, 60. Guitarist for the Stooges, whose raw sound helped inspire punk rock. Jan. 6.

Cheryl Holdridge, 64. Mouseketeer on “The Mickey Mouse Club.” Jan. 6.

Jon Hager, 67. Half of Hager Twins on TV's “Hee-Haw.” Jan. 9.

Ricardo Montalban, 88. Actor in splashy MGM musicals; Mr. Roarke on “Fantasy Island.” Jan. 14.

Andrew Wyeth, 91. Acclaimed artist whose portraits and landscapes combined traditional realism, modern melancholy. Jan. 16.

James Brady, 80. Author, Parade magazine celebrity columnist. Jan. 26.

John Updike, 76. Pulitzer-winning novelist, essayist. Jan. 27.

Billy Powell, 56. Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboard player (“Sweet Home Alabama,” “Free Bird”). Jan. 28.

FEBRUARY

James Whitmore, 87. Many-faceted actor; did one-man shows on Harry Truman, Will Rogers. Feb. 6.

Philip Carey, 83. Played tycoon Asa Buchanan in “One Life to Live.” Feb. 6.

Estelle Bennett, 67. One of Ronnettes, '60s girl group (“Be My Baby”). Feb. 11.

Gerry Niewood, 64, and Coleman Mellett, 34. Members of Chuck Mangione's band. Feb. 12. Buffalo, N.Y., plane crash.

Alfred A. Knopf Jr., 90. Influential publisher; son of publishing legends. Feb. 14.

Philip Jose Farmer, 91. Celebrated science fiction and fantasy writer. Feb. 25.

Paul Harvey, 90. Radio news and talk pioneer; one of nation's most familiar voices. Feb. 28.

MARCH

Horton Foote, 92. Playwright (“The Trip to Bountiful”) and screenwriter (“To Kill a Mockingbird”). March 4.

Jimmy Boyd, 70. Child actor, singer (“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”). March 7.

Anne Wiggins Brown, 96. Soprano; the original Bess in Gershwin's “Porgy and Bess.” March 13.

Ron Silver, 62. Won Tony as tough Hollywood producer in David Mamet's “Speed-the-Plow.” March 15. Esophageal cancer.

Natasha Richardson, 45. Gifted heiress to British acting royalty (“Patty Hearst”). March 18. Skiing accident.

Dan Seals, 61. Half of duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, later top country singer (“You Still Move Me”). March 25.

Maurice Jarre, 84. Oscar-winning film composer (“Lawrence of Arabia,” “Doctor Zhivago”). March 28.

Andy Hallett, 33. Good-guy demon Lorne in TV series “Angel.” March 29. Heart disease.

APRIL

Tom Braden, 92. Helped launch CNN's “Crossfire”; his memoir “Eight is Enough” inspired a TV show. April 3.

Dave Arneson, 61. Co-creator of groundbreaking Dungeons & Dragons fantasy game. April 7.

David “Pop” Winans Sr., 76. Grammy-nominated patriarch of gospel music family. April 8.

Marilyn Chambers, 56. She helped bring adult films into mainstream with “Behind the Green Door.” April 12. Heart disease.

Tharon Musser, 84. Tony-winning lighting designer (“A Chorus Line,” “Follies”). April 19.

Bea Arthur, 86. Her sharp delivery propelled “Maude,” “The Golden Girls”; won Tony for “Mame.” April 25.

MAY

Dom DeLuise, 75. Portly actor with offbeat style (“The Cannonball Run”). May 4.

Sam Cohn, 79. Powerful agent for top actors (Paul Newman, Meryl Streep), directors and writers. May 6.

Mickey Carroll, 89. One of last surviving Munchkins from “The Wizard of Oz.” May 7.

Jay Bennett, 45. Ex-member of rock band Wilco (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”). May 24. Painkiller overdose.

JUNE

Koko Taylor, 80. Regal, powerful singer known as “Queen of the Blues.” June 3.

David Carradine, 72. Actor (“Kung Fu,” “Kill Bill”). June 4.

Fleur Cowles, 101. Author, founded legendary magazine “Flair.” June 5.

Kenny Rankin, 69. Pop vocalist, musician, songwriter. June 7

Ed McMahon, 86. Ebullient “Tonight” show sidekick who bolstered Johnny Carson. June 23.

Farrah Fawcett, 62. 1970s sex symbol, star of “Charlie's Angels.” June 25.

Michael Jackson, 50. The “King of Pop.” June 25.

Gale Storm, 87. Perky actress; one of early television's biggest stars (“My Little Margie”). June 27.

Billy Mays, 50. Burly, bearded television pitchman. June 28. Heart disease.

JULY

Karl Malden, 97. Oscar-winning actor; a star despite his plain looks (“A Streetcar Named Desire”). July 1.

Walter Cronkite, 92. Premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age. July 17.

Gordon Waller, 64. Half of the British Invasion pop duo Peter and Gordon (“A World Without Love”). July 17.

Frank McCourt, 78. Former schoolteacher who enjoyed post-retirement fame, and a Pulitzer, for memoir “Angela's Ashes.” July 19.

John “Marmaduke” Dawson, 64. Co-founded psychedelic country band New Riders of the Purple Sage. July 21.

E. Lynn Harris, 54. Best-selling author who pioneered gay black fiction (“Love of My Own”). July 23. Heart disease.

Merce Cunningham, 90. The avant-garde dancer and choreographer who revolutionized modern dance. July 26.

George Russell, 86. Jazz composer; theories influenced greats like Miles Davis. July 27.

AUGUST

Naomi Sims, 61. Pioneering black model of the 1960s. Aug. 1.

John Hughes, 59. Writer-director of smash youth-oriented comedies (“Ferris Bueller's Day Off,” “Home Alone”). Aug. 6. Heart attack.

Willy DeVille, 58. Singer, songwriter; founded punk group Mink DeVille. Aug. 6. Pancreatic cancer.

Les Paul, 94. Guitar virtuoso; invented solid-body electric guitar, multitrack recording. Aug. 13.

Don Hewitt, 86. TV news pioneer who created “60 Minutes,” produced it for 36 years. Aug. 19.

Dominick Dunne, 83. Best-selling author who told stories of shocking crimes among the rich and famous. Aug. 26.

Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein, 36. Celebrity disc jockey; also a reality TV figure who attempted to help fellow drug addicts. Aug. 28. Overdose.

SEPTEMBER

Wycliffe Johnson, 47. Keyboardist and producer; major figure in Jamaica music. Sept. 1. Heart attack.

Jim Carroll, 60. Poet, punk rocker; wrote “The Basketball Diaries.” Sept. 11. Heart attack.

Larry Gelbart, 81. Slyly witty writer for stage and screen (“Tootsie,” “M*A*S*H”). Sept. 11.

Crystal Lee Sutton, 68. Her fight to unionize Southern textile plants became the film “Norma Rae.” Sept. 11.

Patrick Swayze, 57. Dancer turned movie superstar for “Dirty Dancing,” “Ghost.” Sept. 14. Pancreatic cancer.

Henry Gibson, 73. Comic character actor; recited offbeat poetry on “Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.” Sept. 14.

Mary Travers, 72. One-third of the hugely popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary (“If I Had a Hammer”). Sept. 16.

Art Ferrante, 88. Half of the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher (“Exodus”). Sept. 19.

OCTOBER

Peg Mullen, 92, of La Porte City. Her fight to learn the truth about her son's death in Vietnam inspired book, movie “Friendly Fire,” starring Carol Burnett. Oct. 2.

Irving Penn, 92. Photographer famed for stark simplicity in portraits, fashion shots. Oct. 7.

Stephen Gately, 33. Singer with Irish boy band Boyzone (“All That I Need”). Oct. 10. Fluid in the lungs.

Lou Albano, 76. Pro wrestler; appeared in Cyndi Lauper's “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” video. Oct. 14.

Soupy Sales, 83. Rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on thousands of pies to the face. Oct. 22.

Ray Browne, 87. Bowling Green State professor credited with coining the phrase “popular culture.” Oct. 22.

Lou Jacobi, 95. Actor who excelled in comic, dramatic roles (“Arthur”). Oct. 23.

Michelle Triola Marvin, 76. She fought a landmark “palimony” case in the 1970s against former lover Lee Marvin. Oct. 30.

NOVEMBER

Francisco Ayala, 103. Spanish novelist, sociologist; went into exile during the country's Franco dictatorship. Nov. 3.

Jeanne-Claude, 74. With her husband, Christo, she created large-scale, highly publicized art projects. Nov. 18.

Al Alberts, 87. Member of singing Four Aces (“Love is a Many Splendored Thing”). Nov. 27.

DECEMBER

Richard Todd, 90. Acclaimed British actor (“The Longest Day”). Dec. 3.

Liam Clancy, 74. Last of Clancy Brothers Irish folk song troupe. Dec. 4.

Gene Barry, 90. Dapper actor, star of TV's “Bat Masterson,” “Burke's Law.” Dec. 9.

Thomas Hoving, 78. Controversial former director of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dec. 10.

Yvonne King Burch, 89. One of the singing King Sisters and matriarch of the King Family show business dynasty. Dec. 13.

C.D.B. Bryan, 73. Author of the 1976 book “Friendly Fire,” about the accidental death of Iowa soldier Michael Eugene Mullen in Vietnam. Dec. 15

Jennifer Jones, 90. Academy Award-winning actress, 1943 for “The Song of Bernadette.” Dec. 17.

Dan O'Bannon, 63. Science fiction/horror film screenwriter best known for “Alien” and “The Return of the Living Dead.” Dec. 17.

Alaina Reed-Amini, 63. Played Olivia on “Sesame Street,” also starred in “227.” Dec. 17. Breast cancer.

Connie Hines, 72. Played Wilbur's wife on the 1960s television show “Mister Ed.” Dec. 17.

Brittany Murphy, 32. Actress, “Clueless,” “Just Married,” co-starring with Eastern Iowa native Ashton Kutcher, and “8 Mile.” Dec. 20.

Arnold Stang, 91. Radio, television actor alongside Milton Berle, starred as Frank Sinatra's sidekick in “The Man with the Golden Arm.” Dec. 20.