This year saw the deaths of people who shifted culture through prose, pragmatism and persistence. It also witnessed tragedy, in talent struck down in its prime. Here is a roll call of influential figures who died in 2019.
1 / 9YE DeathsFILE - In this Aug. 7, 2019, file photo, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington. Cummings died from complications of longtime health challenges, his office said in a statement on Oct. 17, 2019. A sharecropper's son who rose through the seats of power to become one of the nation's most influential voices. A Republican who went on to lead the U.S. Supreme Court's liberal wing.
Cummings, who died in October, was chairman of one of the U.S. House committees that led an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump and was a formidable advocate for the poor in his Maryland district. Hollywood lost '90s heartthrob Luke Perry, who played wealthy rebel Dylan McKay on “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Perry died of stroke in March. Actor Peter Mayhew who gave life to the towering Chewbacca in the original “Star Wars" films died in April.
Harold Brown, 91. As defense secretary in the Carter administration, he championed cutting-edge fighting technology during a tenure that included the failed rescue of hostages in Iran. Jan 4. Lamia al-Gailani, 80. An Iraqi archaeologist who lent her expertise to rebuilding the National Museum's collection after it was looted in 2003. Jan. 18.
Russell Baker, 93. The genial but sharp-witted writer who won Pulitzer Prizes for his humorous columns in The New York Times and a moving autobiography of his impoverished Baltimore childhood. He later hosted television's"Masterpiece Theatre" on PBS. Jan 21. Complications after a fall. Donald S. Smith, 94. He produced the controversial anti-abortion film"The Silent Scream" and, with help from Ronald Reagan's White House, distributed copies to every member of Congress and the Supreme Court. Jan. 30.
John Dingell, 92. The former congressman was the longest-serving member of Congress in American history at 59 years and a master of legislative deal-making who was fiercely protective of Detroit's auto industry. Feb. 7. Betty Ballantine, 99. She was half of a groundbreaking husband-and-wife publishing team that helped invent the modern paperback and vastly expand the market for science fiction and other genres through such blockbusters as"The Hobbit" and"Fahrenheit 451." Feb. 12.
Armando M. Rodriguez, 97. A Mexican immigrant and World War II veteran who served in the administrations of four U.S. presidents while pressing for civil rights and education reforms. Feb. 17. Peter Tork, 77. A talented singer-songwriter and instrumentalist whose musical skills were often overshadowed by his role as the goofy, lovable bass guitarist in the made-for-television rock band The Monkees. Feb. 21.
Charles McCarry, 88. An admired and prescient spy novelist who foresaw passenger jets as terrorist weapons in"The Better Angels" and devised a compelling theory for JFK's assassination in"The Tears of Autumn." Feb. 26. Luke Perry, 52. He gained instant heartthrob status as wealthy rebel Dylan McKay on"Beverly Hills, 90210." March 4. Stroke.
Dick Dale, 83. His pounding, blaringly loud power-chord instrumentals on songs like"Miserlou" and"Let's Go Trippin'" earned him the title King of the Surf Guitar. March 16. Larry Cohen, 77. The maverick B-movie director of cult horror films"It's Alive" and"God Told Me To." March 23. Ken Gibson, 86. He became the first black mayor of a major Northeast city when he ascended to power in riot-torn Newark, New Jersey, about five decades ago. March 29.
Marilynn Smith, 89. One of the 13 founders of the LPGA Tour whose 21 victories, two majors and endless support of her tour led to her induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. April 9. Georgia Engel, 70. She played the charmingly innocent, small-voiced Georgette on"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and amassed a string of other TV and stage credits. April 12.
Lorraine Warren, 92. A world-wide paranormal investigator and author whose decades of ghost-hunting cases with her late husband inspired such frightening films as"The Conjuring" series and"The Amityville Horror." April 18. Richard Lugar, 87. A former U.S. senator and foreign policy sage known for leading efforts to help the former Soviet states dismantle and secure much of their nuclear arsenal but whose reputation for working with Democrats cost him his final campaign. April 28.
Peggy Lipton, 72. A star of the groundbreaking late 1960s TV show"The Mod Squad" and the 1990s show"Twin Peaks." May 11. Cancer. Tim Conway, 85. The impish second banana to Carol Burnett who won four Emmy Awards on her TV variety show, starred in"McHale's Navy" and later voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for"Spongebob Squarepants." May 14.
Judith Kerr, 95. A refugee from Nazi Germany who wrote and illustrated the best-selling"The Tiger Who Came to Tea" and other beloved children's books. May 22. Richard Matsch, 88. A federal judge who ruled his courtroom with a firm gavel and a short temper and gained national respect in the 1990s for his handling of the Oklahoma City bombing trials. May 26.
Leon Redbone, 69. The blues and jazz artist whose growly voice, Panama hat and cultivated air of mystery made him seem like a character out of the ragtime era or the Depression-era Mississippi Delta. May 30. Sylvia Miles, 94. An actress and Manhattan socialite whose brief, scene-stealing appearances in the films"Midnight Cowboy" and"Farewell, My Lovely" earned her two Academy Award nominations. June 12.
Gloria Vanderbilt, 95. The intrepid heiress, artist and romantic who began her extraordinary life as the"poor little rich girl" of the Great Depression, survived family tragedy and multiple marriages and reigned during the 1970s and '80s as a designer jeans pioneer. June 17. Beth Chapman, 51. The wife and co-star of"Dog the Bounty Hunter" reality TV star Duane"Dog" Chapman. June 26.Lee Iacocca, 94. The auto executive and master pitchman who put the Mustang in Ford's lineup in the 1960s and became a corporate folk hero when he resurrected Chrysler 20 years later. July 2.
Martin Charnin, 84. He made his Broadway debut playing a Jet in the original"West Side Story" and went on to become a Broadway director and a lyricist who won a Tony Award for the score of the eternal hit"Annie." July 6. Rip Torn, 88. The free-spirited Texan who overcame his quirky name to become a distinguished actor in television, theater and movies, such as"Men in Black," and win an Emmy in his 60s for"The Larry Sanders Show." July 9.
Jerry Lawson, 75. For four decades, he was the lead singer of the eclectic cult favorite a cappella group the Persuasions. July 10. John Paul Stevens, 99. The bow-tied, independent-thinking, Republican-nominated justice who unexpectedly emerged as the Supreme Court's leading liberal. July 16. Paul Krassner, 87. The publisher, author and radical political activist on the front lines of 1960s counterculture who helped tie together his loose-knit prankster group by naming them the Yippies. July 21.
Harold Prince, 91. A Broadway director and producer who pushed the boundaries of musical theater with such groundbreaking shows as"The Phantom of the Opera," “Cabaret," “Company" and"Sweeney Todd" and won a staggering 21 Tony Awards. July 31.D.A. Pennebaker, 94.
Sushma Swaraj, 67. She was India's former external affairs minister and a leader of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Aug. 6. David H. Koch, 79. A billionaire industrialist who, with his older brother Charles, was both celebrated and demonized for transforming American politics by pouring their riches into conservative causes. Aug. 23.
Valerie Harper, 80. She scored guffaws, stole hearts and busted TV taboos as the brash, self-deprecating Rhoda Morgenstern on back-to-back hit sitcoms in the 1970s. Aug. 30.Jimmy Johnson, 76. A founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and guitarist with the famed studio musicians"The Swampers." Sept. 5.
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, 83. A former Indonesian president who allowed democratic reforms and an independence referendum for East Timor following the ouster of the dictator Suharto. Sept. 11. Cokie Roberts, 75. The daughter of politicians and a pioneering journalist who chronicled Washington from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump for NPR and ABC News. Sept. 17. Complications from breast cancer.
Barron Hilton, 91. A hotel magnate who expanded his father's chain and became a founding owner in the American Football League. Sept. 19. Jacques Chirac, 86. A two-term French president who was the first leader to acknowledge France's role in the Holocaust and defiantly opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Sept. 26.
Samuel Mayerson, 97. The prosecutor who took newspaper heiress Patty Hearst to court for shooting up a Southern California sporting goods store in 1974 and then successfully argued for probation, not prison, for the kidnapping victim-turned terrorist. Sept. 30.Diogo Freitas do Amaral, 78. A conservative Portuguese politician who played a leading role in cementing the country’s democracy after its 1974 Carnation Revolution and later became president of the U.N. General Assembly. Oct. 3.
Robert Forster, 78. The handsome and omnipresent character actor who got a career resurgence and Oscar nomination for playing bail bondsman Max Cherry in"Jackie Brown." Oct. 11. Brain cancer. Harold Bloom, 89. The eminent critic and Yale professor whose seminal"The Anxiety of Influence" and melancholy regard for literature's old masters made him a popular author and standard-bearer of Western civilization amid modern trends. Oct. 14.
Marieke Vervoort, 40. A Paralympian who won gold and silver medals in 2012 at the London Paralympics in wheelchair racing and two more medals in Rio de Janeiro. Oct. 22. Took her own life after living with pain from a degenerative spinal disease. John Conyers, 90. The former congressman was one of the longest-serving members of Congress whose resolutely liberal stance on civil rights made him a political institution in Washington and back home in Detroit despite several scandals. Oct. 27.
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