Year in review: Some notable celebrities, local friends we lost in 2012

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Here's how you ranked the most notable deaths of the year in our online polls, from most to least important.

Neil Armstrong, 16

Whitney Houston, 15

Dick Clark, 9

Joe Paterno, 7

Trayvon Martin, 6

Larry Hagman, 2

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In 2012 we experienced the loss of many well-known individuals, but none more noticeable than from the music industry. Dick Clark and Don Cornelius revolutionized rock and roll and soul music, respectively, while Hal David's, Marvin Hamlisch's and Robert B. Sherman's songs will live forever in our hearts.

We now can enjoy Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Andy Williams, Kitty Wells, Etta James, Adam Yauch, Dave Brubeck and Davy Jones only by listening to their records and CDs.

In TV, we lost a couple of Sweathogs, and Mayberry will never be the same without Sheriff Taylor and Goober. Thanks to rerun heaven we can watch Larry Hagman, Ernest Borgnine, Steve Franken, Richard Dawson, Chad Everett and Peter Breck.

In movies, the behind-the-scenes talents of Nora Ephron, Tony Scott and Richard D. Zanuck will live on in their prior works.

Media lost Mike Wallace, Richard Threlkeld, Helen Gurley Brown and William Raspberry. The literary world lost Gore Vidal and Ray Bradbury, as well as creators of “The Berenstain Bears” and “Encyclopedia Brown.”

Astronauts Sally Ride and Neil Armstrong explored their final frontier; Thomas Kinkade imagined his final brushstroke; Phyllis Diller delivered her last joke at Fang's expense; Mr. Food's last recipe was “oh, so good;” and Vidal Sassoon created his last fashion statement.

In football, the suicides of Junior Seau and Jovan Belcher made the news, while the Penn State scandal overshadowed Joe Paterno's death and legacy.

We'll continue to appreciate the contributions of Carroll Shelby, Cotton Owens and Cecil Gordon to car design and racing; Don Carter to bowling; Hector Camacho to boxing; Kyle Bennett to BMX cycling; and Neil Reed and Rick Majerus to college basketball.

Here is a condensed list of the entertainers, athletes and public figures who have died in 2012:

Larry Reinhardt, 63, Jan. 2, rock guitarist

Don Carter, 85, Jan. 5, pro bowler

Natalee Holloway, 18, Jan. 13, American student declared legally dead

Richard Threlkeld, 74, Jan. 13, TV journalist

Sarah Burke, 29, Jan. 19, Canadian freestyle skier

Etta James, 73, Jan. 20, singer

Joe Paterno, 85, Jan. 22, Penn State football coach

James Farentino, 73, Jan. 24, actor

Robert Hegyes, 60, Jan. 26, actor

Leslie Carter, 25, Jan. 31, singer, reality star

Don Cornelius, 75, Feb. 1, “Soul Train” host

Ben Gazzara, 81, Feb. 3, actor

Peter Breck, 82, Feb. 6, actor

Janice Voss, 55, Feb. 7, astronaut

Whitney Houston, 48, Feb. 11, singer

Elyse Knox, 94, Feb. 15, actress and model, mother of Mark Harmon

Gary Carter, 57, Feb. 16, baseball Hall of Famer

Katie Hall, 73, Feb. 20, Indiana U.S. representative

Sharon Rossi, 52, Feb. 23, WXKE DJ

Jan Berenstain, 88, Feb. 24, Berenstain Bears co-creator

Terry Mathews, 47, Feb. 24, baseball player

Edna Milton Chadwell, 84, Feb. 25, madam of Chicken Ranch bordello

Trayvon Martin, 17, Feb. 26, shot by George Zimmerman

Davy Jones, 66, Feb. 29, “Monkees” singer and actor

Andrew Breitbart, 43, March 1, conservative activist

Jack Fouts, 86, March 1, football player and coach

Doug Furnas, 52, professional wrestler

Ronnie Montrose, 64, March 3, guitarist

Robert B. Sherman, 86, March 5, songwriter

Jimmy Ellis, 74, March 8, Trammps singer

Jay McMullen, 90, March 10, CBS News journalist

Michael Hossack, 65, March 12, Doobie Brothers drummer

Warren Stevens, 92, March 27, actor

Earl Scruggs, 88, March 28, blues musician

Micah True, 58, March, long-distance runner

Jimmy Little, 75, April 2, musician

Thomas Kinkade, 54, April 6, artist

John Suarez, 71, April 6, Fort Wayne Board of Public Works and former union leader

Mike Wallace, 93, April 7, journalist

Jonathan Frid, 87, April 14, Canadian actor

Dick Clark, 82, April 18, entertainment mogul

Greg Ham, 58, April 19, Men at Work musician

Charles Colson, 80, April 21, Watergate figure, ministry founder

George Murdock, 81, April 30, actor

Junior Seau, 43, May 2, San Diego Chargers linebacker

Adam Yauch, 47, May 4, Beastie Boys singer

George Lindsey, 83, May 6, actor

Jerry McMorris, 71, May 8, baseball executive

Maurice Sendak, 83, May 8, author and illustrator

Vidal Sassoon, 84, May 9, hair stylist

Carl Beane, 59, May 9, Boston Red Sox announcer

Horst Faas, 79, May 10, war photographer

Carroll Shelby, 89, May 10, auto racer and designer

Frank Wills, 53, May 11, baseball player

Mary Kennedy, 50, May 17, Robert Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife

Donna Summer, 63, May 17, disco singer

Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, 60, May 20, Lockerbie bomber

Robin Gibb, 62, May 20, singer

Johnny Tapia, 45, May 27, boxing champion

Harry Parker, 64, May 28, baseball player

Doc Watson, 89, May 29, musician

LeRoy Ellis, 72, June 2, basketball player

Richard Dawson, 79, June 2, actor, game-show host

Herb Reed, 83, June 4, singer

Ray Bradbury, 91, June 5, science fiction writer

Hal Keller, 83, June 5, baseball player and executive

Jay Walker (Herbert W. Brabander), 74, June 6, Fort Wayne weatherman

Bob Welch, 66, June 7, musician, songwriter

Cotton Owens, 88, June 7, Hall of Fame NASCAR driver and owner

Chuck Share, 85, June 7, basketball player (Fort Wayne Pistons)

Frank Cady, 96, June 8, actor

Ann Rutherford, 94, June 11, actress

Henry Hill, 69, June 12, mobster

Susan Tyrrell, 67, June 16, actress

Rodney King, 47, June 17, victim of police beating

Richard Lynch, 72, June 19, actor

Judy Agnew, 91, June 20, widow of former vice president Spiro T. Agnew

Dede Hall, 62, June 25, city councilwoman and Hall's Restaurants

George Randolph Hearst Jr., 84, June 25, businessman

Doris Singleton, 92, June 26, actress

Nora Ephron, 71, June 26, filmmaker and screenwriter

Richard Davis aka Buzz Maxwell, 52, June 27, WXKE DJ

Don Grady, 68, June 27, actor

Mike Hershberger, 72, July 1, baseball player

Evelyn Lear, 86, July 1, opera singer

Alan G. Poindexter, 50, NASA astronaut

Andy Griffith, 86, July 3, actor

Ernest Borgnine, 95, July 8, actor

Patty Martone, 81, July 9, Fort Wayne educator, community activist

Donald J. Sobol, 87, July 11, “Encyclopedia Brown” author

Ginny Tyler, 86, July 12, Mouseketeer and voice actress

Sage Stallone, 36, July 13, actor/filmmaker

Richard D. Zanuck, 77, July 13, film producer

Celeste Holm, 95, July 15, actress

Grant Feasel, 52, July 15, Seattle Seahawks center

Stephen Covey, 79, July 16, motivational author/speaker

Kitty Wells, 92, July 16, country singer

Bill Asher, 90, July 16, director/producer

William Raspberry, 76, July 17, Washington Post columnist

Tom Davis, 59, July 19, “Saturday Night Live” writer/comedian

Sally Ride, 61, July 23, astronaut

Frank Pierson, 87, July 23, Oscar-winning screenwriter

Sherman Hemsley, 74, July 24, actor

Chad Everett, 75, July 24, actor

Neil Reed, 36, July 26, former IU basketball player

Norman Alden, 87, July 27, actor

Tony Martin, 98, July 30, actor and singer

Gore Vidal, 86, Aug. 1, author

Stuart Swanlund, 54, Aug. 4, Marshall Tucker Band guitarist

Fred Matua, 28, Aug. 5, football player

Kirk Urso, 22, Aug. 5, soccer player

Marvin Hamlisch, 68, Aug. 6, composer

Judith Christ, 90, Aug. 7, film critic

Al Freeman Jr., 78, Aug. 9, actor

Helen Gurley Brown, 90, Aug. 13, Cosmo editor and author

Ron Palillo, 63, Aug. 14, actor

Jimmy Carr, 79, Aug. 15, NFL football player and assistant coach

Bob Birch, 56, Aug. 15, bassist for Elton John

William Windom, 88, Aug. 16, actor

Scott McKenzie, 73, Aug. 18, singer

Tony Scott, 68, Aug. 19, director

Phyllis Diller, 95, Aug. 20, comedienne

Steve Franken, 80, Aug. 24, actor

Neil Armstrong, 82, Aug. 25, astronaut, first person to walk on the moon

Chris Lighty, 44, Aug. 30, hip-hop mogul

Hal David, 91, Sept. 1, lyricist

Mark Abrahamian, 46, Sept. 2, Starship guitarist

Michael Clarke Duncan, 54, Sept. 3, actor

Sun Myung Moon, 92, Sept. 3, founder of Unification Church

Joe South, 72, Sept. 5, songwriter

Dorothy McGuire, 84, Sept. 7, singer

Joan Uebelhoer, 83, Sept. 8, Fort Wayne feminist

Lance LeGault, 75, Sept. 10, actor

Christopher Stevens, 52, Sept. 11, U.S. ambassador

Stephen Dunham, 48, Sept. 14, actor

John Ingle, 84, Sept. 16, actor

Cecil Gordon, 71, Sept. 19, NASCAR driver and team owner

Andy Williams, 84, Sept. 25, singer

Johnny Lewis, 28, Sept. 26, actor

Herbert Lom, 95, Sept. 27, actor

R.B. Greaves, 68, Sept. 27, singer

Alex Karras, 77, Oct. 10, NFL player, actor

Gary Collins, 74, Oct. 13, actor, TV show host

Arlen Specter, 82, Oct. 14, U.S. senator

Kyle Bennett, 33, Oct. 14, Olympic BMX cyclist

John Clive, 79, Oct. 14, English actor

Eddie Yost, 86, Oct. 16, MLB player

Sylvia Kristel, 60, Oct. 17, actress

George Mattos, 83, Oct. 18, Olympic pole vaulter

George McGovern, 90, Oct. 21, U.S. U.S. senator and presidential nominee

Natina Reed, 32, Oct. 26, singer/actress

Richard Current, 100, Oct. 26, Lincoln scholar

Bill Dees, 73, Oct. 24, songwriter

Pascual Perez, 55, Nov. 1, MLB player

Mitchell Lucker, 28, Nov. 1, musician

Milt Campbell, 78, Nov. 2, Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete

Jim Durham, 65, Nov. 4, ESPN announcer

Mike Fry, 51, Nov. 4, Happy the Hobo

Elliott Carter, 103, Nov. 5, classical composer and Pulitzer Prize winner

Clive Dunn, 92, Nov. 6, British actor

Ernest Mateen, 46, Nov. 6, boxer

Ellen Douglas, 91, Nov. 7, author

Yao Defen, 39, Nov. 13, world's tallest woman

David Oliver, 49, Nov. 14, author

Bonnie Lynn Fields, 68, Nov. 17, actress, Mouseketeer

Billy Scott, 70, Nov. 17, singer

Warren B. Rudman, 82, Nov. 19, former U.S. senator

Art Ginsburg, 81, Nov. 21, Mr. Food

Deborah Raffin, 59, Nov. 21, actress

Bryce Courtenay, 79, Nov. 22, author

Larry Hagman, 81, Nov. 23, actor

Lawrence Guyot, 73, Nov. 23, civil rights leader

Hector Camacho, 50, Nov. 24, boxer

Jimmy Stewart, 73, Nov. 24, pro baseball player

Sol Weinstein, 84, Nov. 25, television writer

Martin Richards, 80, Nov. 26, Broadway producer

Jim Davis, 84, Nov. 27, Indiana House of Representatives member (1982-98)

Zig Ziglar, 86, Nov. 28, motivational speaker

Susan Luckey, 74, Nov. 29, actress

Jovan Belcher, 25, Dec. 1, NFL football player

Rick Majerus, 64, Dec. 1, college basketball coach

Besse Cooper, 116, Dec. 4, world's oldest person

Dave Brubeck, 91, Dec. 5, jazz musician

Jerry Brown, 25, Dec. 8, NFL football player

Jenni Rivera, 43, Dec. 9, singer

Ravi Shankar, 92, Dec. 11, sitar virtuoso

Jack Hanlon, 96, Dec. 13, actor

Dina Manfredini, 115, Dec. 17, world's oldest person

Daniel Inouye, 88, Dec. 17, U.S. senator

Robert Bork, 85, Dec. 19, politician

Lee Dorman, 70, Dec. 21, Iron Butterfly bassist

Ryan Freel, 36, Dec. 22, MLB player

Jack Klugman, 90, Dec. 24, actor

Charles Durning, 89, Dec. 24, actor

Brad Corbett, 75, Dec. 24, Texas Rangers owner

Ray Collins, 75, Dec. 24, Mothers of Invention guitarist

Terry Glover, 57, Dec. 24, Ebony managing editor

Frank Calabrese Sr., 75, Dec. 25, Chicago mobster

Fontella Bass, 72, Dec. 26, singer

H. Norman Schwarzkopf, 78, Dec. 27, retired general

skrieg@news-sentinel.com