Spring Break
Memorial: A look at those we lost in 2005
Mishael Devlin
Issue date: 1/13/06 Section: Entertainment
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Johnny Carson
10/23/25-1/23/05
Carson is best known as the long-time host of "The Tonight Show." He had some other interests as a performer. At 14, he was an amateur magician, calling himself "The Great Carsoni." He was also an amateur drummer. He died from emphysema. He was 79 years old.
Ossie Davis
12/18/17-2/4/05
Davis, who was born Raiford Chatman Davis, was an actor and one of the earliest African American film directors. He was also a civil rights activist and delivered the eulogies for both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. He died at age 87 of natural causes.
Arthur Miller
10/17/15-2/10/05
Miller was a playwright, famous for such work as The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. He was originally rejected by his future alma mater, the University of Michigan, but after becoming an accomplished alumnus, the school that initially turned him down bestowed many honors upon him. He died of congestive heart failure. He was 89.
Hunter S. Thompson
7/18/37-2/20/05
Thompson is best known for being an author and journalist, specifically for developing a creative style for factual information called "gonzo journalism." He lived with, rode with - and unfortunately, was beaten up by - the Hells Angels, an experience that led to his 1966 book, "Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs". He committed suicide at age 67.
Mitch Hedberg
2/24/68-3/30/05
Hedberg is known for his unique style of stand-up comedy, marked by one-liners and a low-key delivery. He had been born with a heart defect, which may have been a contributing factor to his death. Officially, the cause of death has been labeled as multiple drug toxicity. He died at age 37.
Johnnie Johnson
7/8/24-4/13/05
Johnson is best known as a pianist, specifically as the sideman to rock pioneer Chuck Berry and as the partial inspiration for the enduring hit "Johnny B. Goode." In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work as a sideman. The cause of death is unknown, although he had suffered from pneumonia and kidney trouble. He was 80 years old.
Thurl Ravenscroft
2/6/14-5/22/05
Ravenscroft is best known as the voice of Tony the Tiger from the Frosted Flakes ads and as the accidentally-uncredited, booming voice performing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from the television special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In 1970, he used his distinctive voice to release a gospel album called "Great Hymns in Story and Song." He died of prostate cancer. He was 91.
Anne Bancroft
9/17/31-6/6/05
The woman born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano is best known as a stage and screen actress. She was not the first choice for what came to be her most well-known role, Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. Instead, Doris Day was the first choice, followed by French actress Jeanne Moreau. Bancroft died at age 73 of uterine cancer.
Renaldo Benson
6/14/36-7/1/05
Called "Obie," Benson is best known as the bass singer in the Motown group The Four Tops. He was also a songwriter, co-writing Marvin Gaye's hit "What's Going On." He died of lung cancer. He was 69.
Luther Vandross
4/20/51-7/1/05
Vandross is best known as a singer, songwriter and producer of rhythm and blues. In his youth, he was involved in theater workshops and appeared on the first episode of Sesame Street in October 1969. Although officially unknown, the cause of death was most likely related to his stroke in 2003. He was 54.
Peter Jennings
7/29/38-8/7/05
Canadian-born Jennings is best known as the news anchor for ABC World News Tonight. He began broadcasting when he was 9 years old as the host of a weekly children's radio show. In his teens and early 20s, he took a slight detour, performing in amateur musical theater. He died at age 67 of lung cancer.
Bob Denver
1/9/35-9/2/05
Denver is the comic actor best known for his starring role on the series Gilligan's Island. Before appearing in the show The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis in the late-1950s, Denver worked as a mail carrier and a high school teacher. He died from complications related to treatments for his throat cancer. He was 70.
Don Adams
4/13/23-9/25/05
Born Donald Yarmy, Adams is best known as two inept detectives, Maxwell "Agent 86" Smart on the sitcom Get Smart and as the title character in the cartoon Inspector Gadget. In real life, he was a quite capable human being. A Marine Corps drill instructor in World War II, he was the sole survivor from his platoon at the Battle of Guadalcanal. He died of a lung infection. He was 82.
August Wilson
4/27/45-10/2/05
Born Frederick August Kittel, Wilson was a playwright who focused on 20th century African American life, as shown in Fences and The Piano Lesson. The future well-known playwright dropped out of high school in the 10th grade following a teacher's accusation, which may have been racially-motivated, as Wilson was half-black, that he had plagiarized an assignment. He died from liver cancer. He was 60.
Pat Morita
6/28/32-11/24/05
Born Noriyuki Morita, he is best known for his performances in the Karate Kid movies and also on the show Happy Days as the restaurateur Arnold. Morita almost did not engage in any kind of action. As a toddler, Morita had spinal tuberculosis, for which he was often in a body cast. After having spinal surgery at age 11, he finally learned to walk fully. He died of natural causes. He was 73.
Stan Berenstain
9/29/23-11/26/05
The Philadelphia-born writer, along with his wife, created the Berenstain Bears series of books for children. He built the furry characters into a franchise with the help of a friend involved in publishing, Dr. Seuss. He died from cancer-related complications at age 82.
Richard Pryor
12/1/40-12/10/05
Pryor rewrote the rules of comedy with his concerts and albums. In one of his least censor-worrying moments, he played the title character in the film The Wiz. He died of cardiac arrest at 65.
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