DECEMBER 27 ― An Oscar-winning improvisational comic with a quicksilver wit that made audiences marvel and whose death by suicide left them stunned. Another Academy Award-winner, acclaimed as among the most talented dramatic actors of his generation, succumbed to a drug overdose. One of America’s first females to flourish in the male-dominated field of stand-up comedy died from an out-patient procedure on her vocal chords.
The deaths of Robin Williams, 63, Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, and Joan Rivers, 81, were all unexpected.
Finance and investing-related deaths included Alan “Ace” Greenberg, 86, who took over Bear Stearns Cos. in 1978 when it was a small bond shop, and turned it into the fifth-largest U.S. securities firm by the time he stepped down in 1993; William “Billy” Salomon, 100, who turned Salomon Brothers from a bond trading house into a Wall Street force in stock trading and underwriting; and James Lebenthal, 86, who in the 1960s joined the brokerage firm his parents founded and became America’s best-known municipal-bond salesman before handing Lebenthal & Co. over to his daughter, Alexandra.
The business world lost William Clay Ford, 88, owner of the Detroit Lions football team and the last surviving grandchild of Ford Motor Co founder Henry Ford; John Akers, 79, former chief executive of International Business Machines Corp; Raymond Weil, 87, who created a Swiss watch company; Eileen Ford, 92, a former model who started her own agency; and Rollin King, 83, who co-founded Southwest Airlines.
The year also included the deaths of politicians Ariel Sharon, 85, Ian Paisley, 88, and Howard Baker Jr., 88; entertainers Mike Nichols, 83, Lauren Bacall, 89, Mickey Rooney, 93, and Shirley Temple, 85; and athletes Tony Gwynn, 54, Chuck Noll, 82, and Ralph Kiner, 91.
Here are the year’s notable deaths, with each name linked to a previously published obituary. A cause of death is provided when known.
January
George Goodman, 83. Best known by his pseudonym Adam Smith, he showed that exciting things happen on Wall Street in best-selling books such as The Money Game and as host of the US television series “Adam Smith’s Money World,” which started in 1984. Died January 3 of complications from acute myeloid leukemia.
Phil Everly, 74. Singer who, with brother Don, formed the Everly Brothers, an influential US pop duo whose hits in the 1950s and early 1960s included “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Bye Bye Love.” Died January 3 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Jerry Coleman, 89. Infielder for the New York Yankees in the 1950s who later spent more than four decades as a radio broadcaster with the San Diego Padres. Died January 5.
Run Run Shaw, 106. Founder of Hong Kong television company Television Broadcasts Ltd and Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Ltd, a movie studio that exported low-budget kung fu films to a global audience. Died January 7.
Dale Mortensen, 74. Nobel Prize-winning economist who was a professor at Northwestern University, winning the award in 2010 for his research into matching supply with demand in the labour market. Died January 9.
Larry Speakes, 74. Press spokesman for President Ronald Reagan, starting the job after his boss, James Brady, was gravely wounded by a gunman in 1981. Died January 10.
Ariel Sharon, 85. Israel’s prime minister from 2001 to 2006, he sent thousands of Israeli Jews to live on land claimed by Palestinians and also withdrew Jewish soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip, handing over the territory to Palestinian rule. Died January 11 of multiple organ failure after spending eight years in a coma caused by a stroke.
Ulrich Hartmann, 75. Chief executive officer who transformed the European energy market by overseeing a merger that turned EON SE into Germany’s largest utility. Died January 13.
Burton Lifland, 84. Bankruptcy judge in New York who helped draft rules to deal with multinational bankruptcies and later presided over the unwinding of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Died January 12 of pneumonia.
Claudio Abbado, 80. Italian conductor who directed the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. Died January 20.
H. Frederick Krimendahl II, 85. He joined Goldman, Sachs & Co in 1953, rose to managing partner, and later co-founded Petrus Partners Ltd, a New York-based real-estate investment firm. Died January 21 of pneumonia.
Raymond Weil, 87. Swiss watch maker who in 1976 started a company that bore his name and was a pioneer in celebrity endorsement advertising. Died January 26.
Pete Seeger, 94. Banjo-playing folk singer and social activist who introduced generations of Americans to folk music and inspired musicians from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen. Died January 27.
February
John J. Cali, 95. Co-founder in 1949 of the New Jersey-based family business that became Mack-Cali Realty Corp, a real estate investment trust. Died February 1.
Maximilian Schell, 83. Vienna-born actor who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a defense attorney in “Judgment at Nuremberg.” Died February 1.
Alain Grisay, 59. Belgian-born former CEO of F&C Asset Management Plc, manager of the UK’s oldest investment fund, and previously a managing director at JPMorgan Chase, where he ran its European fixed-income division. Died on weekend of February 1-2.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46. Regarded as one of the most-gifted actors of his generation, he won an Academy Award for his performance in the 2005 movie “Capote” and received three Oscar nominations for best supporting actor. Died February 2 of a drug overdose.
Joan Mondale, 83. Known as “Joan of Art” for her cultural initiatives during her husband Walter Mondale’s term as US vice president under Jimmy Carter. Died February 3.
Ralph Kiner, 91. Hall of Fame slugger for Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates who became the original broadcaster of the New York Mets. Died February 6.
Shirley Temple Black, 85. Song-and-dance child star in Hollywood during the Great Depression who as an adult served in diplomatic posts under four Republican presidents. Died February 10.
Sid Caesar, 91. Hailed as the King of Comedy in the US for his rubber-faced antics on live television in “Your Show of Shows” and “Caesar’s Hour” in the 1950s. Died February 12.
Alberto Benavides de la Quintana, 93. Billionaire Peruvian who in 1953 founded Compania de Minas Buenaventura, Peru’s largest precious-metals producer. Died February 12.
Jim Fregosi, 71. Six-time All-Star shortstop who later managed Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies to a National League pennant in 1993, losing the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays. Died February 14.
James R. Young, 61. Union Pacific Corp’s CEO from 2005 to 2012 who rose from an entry-level finance position at the railroad company in 1978. Died February 15 of pancreatic cancer.
Richard Cabela, 77. Hunter from Nebraska who in 1961, with his wife and brother, co-founded Cabela’s Inc, a direct marketer and retailer of guns, camping gear and clothing. Died February 17.
Harold Ramis, 69. Writer, actor and director who made US movie comedies, including “Caddyshack,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and “Groundhog Day.” Died February 24.
Ralph Bahna, 71. Big Ten Conference championship wrestler who became Cunard Line Ltd’s CEO and was chairman of Priceline.com. Died February 24 of cardiac failure.
Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, 56. Died one day after stepping down as CEO of UEM Sunrise Bhd., Malaysia’s second-biggest property development company by market value. Died February 26 of cancer.
Francisco Sanchez Gomez, 66. Spanish guitarist better known as Paco de Lucia, won fans worldwide by blending his native flamenco music with jazz and other music genres. Died February 26 of a heart attack.
March
Frank Jobe, 88. Orthopedist who prolonged the careers of baseball pitchers by performing the first procedure now called Tommy John surgery to repair a ruptured elbow ligament, an injury that until then couldn’t be treated. Died March 6.
William Clay Ford, 88. Owner of the National Football League’s Detroit Lions team and last surviving grandchild of Ford Motor Co founder Henry Ford. Died March 9 of pneumonia.
Bob Crow, 52. Leader of the UK’s Rail, Maritime and Transport Union since 2002, who was denounced by commuters and praised by union members for calling strikes that crippled London’s subway system. Died March 11.
Edward Haughey, 70. Billionaire founder of Norbrook Laboratories Ltd, a veterinary drug maker in Northern Ireland. Died March 13 in a helicopter crash.
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, 82. Two-term president of Sierra Leone who helped end a decade-long civil war in 2002. Died March 13.
Tony Benn, 88. UK Labour Party politician who served in the governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan and was a writer whose diaries became bestsellers. Died March 14.
Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, 103. Granddaughter of Listerine mouthwash inventor and widow of financier Paul Mellon, she lived out of the public eye until ensnared in the scandal that resulted in John Edwards’s 2011 indictment for violating campaign-finance laws during his presidential bid. Died March 17.
James Stowers Jr., 90. Billionaire founder of American Century Investments, a Kansas City, Missouri-based mutual fund company, who donated most of his money to medical research. Died March 17.
Robert Strauss, 95. Washington power broker and Democratic Party leader, he also co-founded Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, now one of the largest US law firms. Died March 19.
Patrick J. McGovern, 76. Billionaire founder of Boston-based International Data Group, publisher of technology-focused magazines and websites. Died March 19.
Lawrence Walsh, 102. Prosecutor and federal judge best known for spending seven years investigating officials in President Ronald Reagan’s administration for their roles in the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s. Died March 19.
Willard S. Boothby Jr., 92. CEO in 1972 merger that created Blyth Eastman Dillon & Co, then Wall Street’s third-largest investment firm, who helped oversee the transition when it was purchased by Paine Webber Inc in 1979. Died March 22 of injuries caused by a fall.
Adolfo Suarez, 81. Led Spain to democracy as the first prime minister elected after the 1975 death of dictator Francisco Franco. Died March 23 following treatment for a neurological disease.
Richard Cunniff, 91. Co-founder in 1970 of New York-based Sequoia Fund, which often beat market benchmarks by taking large stakes in a few companies and holding onto them for many years. Died March 23 of complications from congestive heart failure.
Ralph C. Wilson Jr., 95. Last surviving founder of the American Football League and owner of the Buffalo Bills franchise, he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 as its oldest inductee. Died March 25.
James Schlesinger, 85. US defence secretary under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford before becoming the nation’s first energy chief in Jimmy Carter’s administration. Died March 27 of complications from pneumonia.
Willard Boothby Jr., 92. CEO in 1972 merger that created Blyth Eastman Dillon & Co, then Wall Street’s third-largest investment firm, who helped oversee the transition when it was purchased by Paine Webber Inc in 1979. Died March 22 of injuries caused by a fall.
Hobart “Hobie” Alter, 80. California-based designer of Hobie surfboards in the 1950s and Hobie Cat fiberglass catamarans a decade later, both top-selling products. Died March 29.
Jeremiah Denton, 89. Survived captivity as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam to become, in 1980, the first Republican since Reconstruction to represent Alabama in the US Senate. Died March 28 of complications from a heart ailment.
Charles Keating, 90. Phoenix-based land developer imprisoned for looting California’s Lincoln Savings & Loan Association, costing taxpayers more than US$3 billion (RM10.5 billion) and making him the face of the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. Died March 31.
April
Margo MacDonald, 70. Influential figure in Scotland’s independence movement who served in both the Scottish and UK parliaments during four decades in politics. Died April 4 of Parkinson’s disease.
Mickey Rooney, 93. Pint-sized Oscar-winning actor who was the top US box-office draw in the late 1930s and early 1940s in the “Andy Hardy” series, often starring opposite Judy Garland. Died April 6.
Jim Flaherty, 64. Canada’s finance minister for eight years. Died April 10 of a heart attack, one month after resigning to work in the private sector.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 87. Nobel Prize-winning author whose novels, including One Hundred Years of Solitude, depicted the political and social struggles of Latin Americans. Died April 17.
Jacques Servier, 92. Billionaire founder of Les Laboratoires Servier, France’s second-largest drugmaker. Died April 17.
John Stafford, 76. CEO of American Home Products Corp. from 1986 to 2001 who almost tripled annual revenue to US$14.6 billion by investing in its drugs such as Anacin aspirin, spinning off unrelated units, including Brach’s candy and, in 2002, changing the company’s name to Wyeth. Died April 18 of prostate cancer.
George Heilmeier, 77. Led scientists at Radio Corp. of America who discovered the first commercial uses for liquid crystal displays in 1968. Died April 21 of a stroke.
Edmund Abel, 92. Self-trained US engineer who, in 1972, introduced Mr. Coffee, the automatic drip appliance that yielded a better-tasting brew than percolators. Died April 21.
Earl Morrall, 79. Quarterback who played 21 seasons in the NFL and led the Baltimore Colts to the 1968 Super Bowl, losing to Joe Namath and the New York Jets. Died April 25.
Jack Ramsay, 89. Coach who led the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 National Basketball Association title and retired with the second-most wins in the league, behind only Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach. Died April 28 of cancer.
Emilio Riva, 87. Italian billionaire who co-founded Milan-based Riva Group, the nation’s largest steelmaker, in 1954. Died April 29.
Al Feldstein, 88. Satirist who as Mad magazine’s editor for almost three decades skewered politics and popular cultural and made the publication’s gap-toothed mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, a hero to American adolescents. Died April 29.
Bob Hoskins, 71. British actor best known for working with animated co-stars in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and earned an Oscar nomination for his role in “Mona Lisa.” Died April 30 of pneumonia after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
May
Gary Becker, 83. Nobel Prize-winning professor of economics and sociology at the University of Chicago, who applied economic analysis to areas such as crime, education and marriage. Died May 3.
Jimmy Ellis, 74. Muhammad Ali’s former sparring partner was the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion in 1968 when he won a 15-round decision over Jerry Quarry. Died May 6 after suffering from a form of dementia common to boxers.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr., 95. He always got his man in the popular TV series “The F.B.I.,” which ran from 1965 to 1974 and made the actor a household name in the US Died May 2.
Farley Mowat, 92. Canadian author whose books sold more than 17 million copies while “Snow Walker” and “Never Cry Wolf” were made into feature films. Died May 6.
Herb Lotman, 80. Philadelphia businessman who founded Keystone Foods, which developed a system for mass-producing the frozen hamburgers sold by McDonald’s Corp. Died May 8 of complications from heart disease.
Jeb Stuart Magruder, 79. Imprisoned in the mid-1970s for his role in the Watergate scandal, which resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Died May 11 of complications from a stroke.
Lorenzo Zambrano, 70. CEO of Mexico’s Cemex SAB since 1985, who guided the company to become the largest cement maker in the Americas. Died May 12 of heart failure.
Robert D. Stuart Jr., 98. CEO of Chicago-based Quaker Oats Co from 1966 to 1981, who introduced instant oatmeal and Quaker Chewy Granola bars. Died May 8 of heart failure.
Frank Woods, 81. Co-founded Clos du Bois vineyard, which helped establish Sonoma County, in Northern California, as a centre for world-class winemaking. Died May 8 at a gym.
Malik Bendjelloul, 36. Swedish director of “Searching for Sugar Man,” the Oscar-winning documentary about a forgotten musician who was a day labourer in Detroit with no idea he was a superstar in South Africa. Died May 13.
Jean-Luc Dehaene, 73. Known as “the plumber” and “the minesweeper” for his coalition-building and arm-twisting skills, the two-term prime minister of Belgium led his country to adopt Europe’s common currency in 1999. Died May 15 of injuries causes by a fall.
Wojciech Jaruzelski, 90. Poland’s last communist leader, who imposed martial law to suppress the Solidarity movement in 1981. Died May 25.
Maya Angelou, 86. Black American writer whose memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” which chronicled growing up as a black female in the segregated South and sold more than 1 million copies, turned her into an international literary celebrity. Died May 28.
Malcolm Glazer, 85. US billionaire who bought the NFL’s lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 and won the Super Bowl in 2003, and then took over the UK’s Manchester United football club. Died May 28.
Lewis Katz, 72. Former owner of New Jersey Nets basketball team and New Jersey Devils hockey club who died four days after winning control of the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper. Died May 31 with six others in a plane crash.
June
Ann B. Davis, 88. Emmy-winning actress best known for playing Alice, the housekeeper, on “The Brady Bunch” TV series from 1969 to 1974. Died June 1 after falling at her home.
Don Zimmer, 83. He spent about 60 years in Major League Baseball, including 10 seasons as a coach with the New York Yankees. Died June 4 after heart surgery in April.
Yasuo Masumoto, 67. Chairman and president of Osaka, Japan-based Kubota Corp., a maker of farm and industrial machinery. Died June 4.
Bob Welch, 57. American League Cy Young Award winner in 1990 and the last Major League Baseball pitcher to win more than 25 games in a season. Died June 9 of a heart attack.
Ruby Dee, 91. Oscar-nominated US actress and civil-rights activist, who was married to actor Ossie Davis. Died June 11.
John McKinley, 94. CEO of White Plains, New York-based Texaco Inc. from 1980 to 1986, a year after a court ordered the company to pay a then-record US$10.5 billion in damages as part of a lawsuit filed by Pennzoil Co over the acquisition of Getty Oil Co. Died June 12.
Reinfried Pohl, 86. Founder and CEO of Frankfurt-based Deutsche Vermoegensberatung AG, known as DVAG, Germany’s biggest financial-services broker. Died June 12 of heart failure.
Chuck Noll, 82. Hall of Fame coach who won a record four Super Bowls over six seasons in the 1970s with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. Died June 13.
Moise Safra, 80. Billionaire who, in 2006, sold his 50 per cent stake in the family’s financial empire, which includes Sao Paulo-based Banco Safra SA, Brazil’s eighth-largest bank. Died June 14 after suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Casey Kasem, 82. Radio personality who spent about 40 years counting down the top singles in the US on a syndicated weekly program originally called “American Top 40.” Died June 15.
Tony Gwynn, 54. Hall of Fame baseball player who won eight National League batting titles during a two-decade career with the San Diego Padres, ending in 2001. Died June 16 of salivary gland cancer.
Stephanie Kwolek, 90. E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co. chemist whose research on polymers in the 1960s led to the creation of Kevlar, the synthetic fabric used in bulletproof vests. Died June 18.
Paula Kent Meehan, 82. Television actress and Hollywood socialite who, in 1960, co-founded Redken Laboratories Inc, the maker of shampoo and conditioner. Died June 23.
Eli Wallach, 98. Tony Award-winning New York-born actor who appeared in more than 100 movies, including “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “The Magnificent Seven,” during his six decades in show business. Died June 24.
Howard Baker Jr., 88. Republican three-term senator from Tennessee who gained national fame during the Watergate hearings when he asked: “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” Died June 26 of complications from a stroke.
Rollin King, 83. Texas businessman who in 1967 co-founded Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, which started as a no-frills, low-fare carrier. Died June 26.
Frank Cashen, 88. New York Mets’ general manager from 1980 to 1991, he assembled the team that won the World Series championship in 1986. Died June 30.
July
David Greenglass, 92. His trial testimony helped send his sister, Ethel Rosenberg, and her husband, Julius Rosenberg, to the electric chair in 1953 by accusing them of delivering nuclear-research secrets to the Soviet Union, admitting later that he had lied in court to protect his own wife from prosecution. Died July 1.
Eduard Shevardnadze, 86. Soviet foreign minister who helped Mikhail Gorbachev shape policies that led to the end of the Cold War and later headed the newly independent state of Georgia from 1992 to 2003. Died July 7.
Eileen Ford, 92. US model started her own agency with her husband, in 1946, and represented superstars Christie Brinkley, Margaux Hemingway and Cheryl Tiegs. Died July 9 of complications from meningioma, a tumour that can affect the brain or spinal cord.
Alfredo Di Stefano, 88. Argentinian-Spanish soccer star who helped Real Madrid win five European titles from 1956 to 1960. Died July 7 of a heart attack.
Tommy Ramone, 62. Last surviving original member of the Ramones, an influential New York punk band that emerged in the mid-1970s from the city’s underground music scene. Died July 11 of bile- duct cancer.
Nadine Gordimer, 90. First South African writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1991, for novels that captured the pain and injustice caused by her country’s apartheid laws. Died July 13.
Elaine Stritch, 89. Tony Award-winning US actress who appeared in plays and musicals and was best known for her rendition of the Stephen Sondheim song “The Ladies Who Lunch,” from his show “Company.” Died July 17.
Lorin Maazel, 84. Born in France and raised in the US, he was a child prodigy who performed with the New York Philharmonic at age 12 and served as its music director from 2002 to 2009. Died July 13 of complications from pneumonia.
Johnny Winter, 70. Blues guitarist from Texas who gained fame in the 1960s and 1970s for his collaborations with masters of the genre, including Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Died July 16.
Karl Albrecht, 94. German billionaire who co-founded the Aldi discount supermarket chain in the 1960s. Died July 16.
James Garner, 86. American actor best known for his roles in US television shows playing an Old West gambler in “Maverick” and a private detective in “The Rockford Files.” Died July 19.
Norberto Odebrecht, 93. Brazilian engineer who, in 1944, started Odebrecht SA, now Latin America’s biggest construction company. Died July 19 of heart disease.
Dan Borislow, 52. US entrepreneur who founded MagicJack Vocaltec Ltd, the maker of MagicJack, a device that helped pioneer free phone calls through the Internet. Died July 21 after playing in a football game.
Robert Newhouse, 64. Running back for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys who played in three Super Bowls, winning one in 1978. Died July 22 of complications from heart disease.
Alan “Ace” Greenberg, 86. CEO of Bear Stearns Cos. who transformed a small bond firm into the fifth-largest US securities company before its forced sale to JPMorgan Chase in 2008, one of the key events of the global credit crisis. Died July 25 of cancer.
Theodore Van Kirk, 93. Last surviving crew member of the “Enola Gay,” the US military airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. Died July 28.
August
James S. Brady, 73. President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, shot on March 30, 1981, by John Hinckley, who was trying to assassinate Reagan. Died August 4 of complications from health issues caused by his wounds.
Robin Williams, 63. Stand-up comic who gained fame with the 1970s U.S. TV series “Mork & Mindy” and won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a therapist in “Good Will Hunting.” Died August 11 of suicide.
Lauren Bacall, 89. Tony Award-winning actress whose beauty, sultry voice and charm in movies such as “To Have and Have Not” and “The Big Sleep” won over audiences and her co-star, Humphrey Bogart, whom she married. Died August 12.
Don Pardo, 96. Off-camera announcer on the NBC television network for six decades, working on “The Price Is Right,” “Jeopardy!” and “Saturday Night Live.” Died August 18.
Albert Reynolds, 81. Irish prime minister from 1992 to 1994, who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland by signing the Downing Street Declaration with U.K. Prime Minister John Major, affirming the right of Irish people to self-determination. Died August 21 of Alzheimer’s disease.
John Akers, 79. CEO of Armonk, New York-based International Business Machines Corp. from 1985 to 1993, when the company struggled to shift to personal computers from mainframe models. Died August 22 of a stroke.
John Sperling, 93. Founder of the University of Phoenix, a for-profit college, whose ownership stake in Phoenix-based Apollo Education Group Inc made him a billionaire until 2013, following heightened scrutiny of the school’s finances and efficacy. Died August 22.
Richard Attenborough, 90. British actor and director who appeared in more than 50 movies during his six-decade career and was best known for making “Gandhi,” which won eight Academy Awards, including ones for best director and best picture. Died August 24.
Antonio Ermirio de Moraes, 86. Became a billionaire after taking over the leadership of his family’s company, Votorantim Group, now Brazil’s largest cement maker. Died August 24 of heart failure.
Yves Carcelle, 66. CEO from 1990 to 2012 of Louis Vuitton, owned by Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. Died August 31.
September
Andrew Madoff, 48. Last surviving son of convicted con man Bernard Madoff, he ran the trading desk at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and insisted he knew nothing about his father’s Ponzi scheme. Died September 3 of mantle cell lymphoma.
Joan Rivers, 81. Brooklyn-born comedian and TV personality best known for hurling humorous, unflattering zingers at celebrities, including herself, and for snarky commentary on the red-carpet wardrobes of Hollywood stars. Died September 4 after going into cardiac arrest during an out-patient throat procedure a week earlier.
S. Truett Cathy, 93. Billionaire founder of Atlanta-based Chick- fil-A Inc., a closely held restaurant chain known for reflecting Cathy’s Southern Baptist faith by closing on Sundays and supporting groups opposed to gay marriage. Died September 8.
Emilio Botin, 79. Chairman of Banco Santander SA since 1986, he transformed a Spanish regional lender into Europe’s second-largest bank by market value after spending more than $70 billion on acquisitions. Died September 9 of a heart attack.
Richard Kiel, 74. US actor who played Jaws, the steel-toothed villain in the James Bond films “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker.” Died September 10.
Ian Paisley, 88. Northern Ireland’s Protestant leader during three decades of sectarian strife with Roman Catholics, he reversed course in 2007 by agreeing to lead a coalition government with the Irish Republican Army’s political wing, Sinn Fein. Died September 12.
Michael D. Robbins, 80. Prominent floor trader at the New York Stock Exchange for more than four decades and a walking archive of its history and traditions, who served on its governing board from 1992 to 1998. Died September 13 of a brain tumour.
Isidoro Alvarez, 79. Succeeded his uncle in 1989 as chairman of Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles SA, Europe’s biggest department-store chain, and expanded into insurance and travel- agency services. Died September 14 of heart failure.
Thomas H. Boggs Jr., 73. Lobbyist and fundraiser who led Patton Boggs, now known as Squire Patton Boggs, and was one of Washington’s most high-profile legal and political advisers. Died September 15 of an apparent heart attack.
Rob Bironas, 36. Kicker for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans from 2005 to 2013 who set a record in 2007 with eight field goals in one game. Died September 20 of injuries from a car crash.
Mike Harari, 87. Israeli intelligence agent who led the effort to assassinate Palestinian terrorists responsible for killing 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Died September 21.
James Traficant, 73. Democratic representative from Ohio who was convicted of accepting bribes and became only the second person to be expelled from Congress since the Civil War. Died September 27 after a tractor accident at his family’s farm.
Warren M. Anderson, 92. Union Carbide’s CEO in 1984, when a toxic gas leak at the company’s pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killed 3,787 people while unofficial estimates put the death count at more than 10,000. Died September 29.
October
Ronald McKinnon, 79. Stanford University economist from 1961 to 2005, who focused on international finance and monetary policy. Died October 1 of head trauma following a fall about two weeks earlier.
Heinz-Horst Deichmann, 88. German billionaire who turned Deichmann SE into Europe’s largest shoe retailer. Died October 2.
Jean-Claude Duvalier, 63. Known as Baby Doc, he ruled Haiti as a dictator from 1971 until 1986, when a popular uprising forced him into exile for 25 years. Died October 4 of a heart attack.
Tsai Wan-tsai, 86. Second-wealthiest person in Taiwan with a net worth of $7.9 billion, he founded Taipei-based Fubon Financial Holding Co, the island-nation’s second-largest financial services company. Died October 5.
Geoffrey Holder, 84. Tony Award-winning native of Trinidad and Tobago, best known as a TV pitchman for 7Up soda in the 1970s and 1980s. Died October 5 complications of pneumonia.
Andrew Melton Jr., 94. Led Dean Witter Reynolds Organization Inc, the fifth-largest US brokerage in 1981, when it was acquired by Sears Roebuck & Co, then the nation’s biggest retailer, as part of the growth of one-stop financial-services supermarkets. Died October 15.
Oscar de la Renta, 82. Dominican-born US fashion designer who spent more than five decades dressing royalty, celebrities and first ladies including Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan and Hillary Clinton. Died October 20 of complications from cancer.
Christophe de Margerie, 63. CEO of Paris-based oil producer Total SA since 2007. Died October 20 in an airplane crash.
Nelson Bunker Hunt, 88. Heir to his father’s Texas oil fortune, who lost most of his wealth when he tried to corner the world’s silver market in the late 1970s and the metal’s price plunged in the first quarter of 1980. Died October 21.
Ben Bradlee, 93. Editor who transformed the Washington Post from a local daily with modest influence into a leading US newspaper by publishing the Pentagon Papers and directing the coverage of the Watergate break-in scandal that resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Died October 21.
Gough Whitlam, 98. Prime minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975, whose government abolished university fees, granted land rights to Aborigines and introduced universal health care yet he was the nation’s only leader dismissed from office due to a series of scandals. Died October 21.
Michael Sata, 77. Zambian labor-union activist who in 2011 became the country’s president, and was known as “King Cobra” for his sharp tongue and abrasive manner. Died October 28.
H. Gary Morse, 77. Billionaire builder of one of the world’s largest retirement communities, the Villages in central Florida, a 33-square-mile (85-square-kilometre) development with 110,000 residents. Died October 29.
Roderick M. Hills, 83. Led the US Securities and Exchange Commission under President Gerald Ford, serving from 1975 to 1977. Died October 29 of surgical complications related to heart problems.
Thomas M. Menino, 71. Democratic mayor of Boston for 20 years, starting in 1993, who oversaw the city’s resurgence by addressing necessities, like pothole repairs, and encouraging luxury development projects, such as the Seaport district. Died October 30 of cancer.
November
Bernard Spitzer, 90. Real estate developer in Manhattan and donor to the Democratic Party, particularly the campaigns of his son Eliot, who was elected governor of New York State in 2006. Died November 1 of Parkinson’s disease.
Tom Magliozzi, 77. Co-host with his brother Ray of NPR’s “Car Talk,” a weekly call-in radio show in which the Bostonians doled out humorous advice about how to fix misbehaving vehicles. Died November 3 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Nikolaus Senn, 88. CEO of Union Bank of Switzerland from 1980 to 1988, who guided an acquisition-based growth strategy. Died November 2.
Heinrich Treichl, 101. Viennese banker led Creditanstalt- Bankverein AG from 1970 to 1981, when it was Austria’s biggest bank. Died November 2.
Ernie Vandeweghe, 86. Played guard for the New York Knicks from 1949 to 1956, then had a second career as a pediatric physician after retiring from basketball. Died November 8.
Orlando Thomas, 42. Played safety for the Minnesota Vikings for seven seasons, starting in 1995, when the rookie led the NFL with nine interceptions. Died November 9 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Ken Takakura, 83. Japanese movie star who appeared in more than 200 movies and was best known for his performance in Ridley Scott’s film “Black Rain.” Died November 10 of lymphoma.
Alvin Dark, 92. Won a World Series title in 1954 as an All-Star shortstop on the New York Giants, then two decades later managed the Oakland Athletics to a MLB title. Died November 13.
James Lebenthal, 86. Ran Lebenthal & Co., the brokerage firm his parents started, using TV and radio ads to sell municipal bonds to ordinary investors until he retired in 1995. Died November 14 of a heart attack.
Jane Byrne, 81. Only woman to serve as mayor of Chicago, she was a protege of the city’s longtime political boss, former Mayor Richard J. Daley. Died November 14.
William Spoor, 91. Pillsbury Co. CEO from 1973 to 1985, who increased profits by acquiring Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Green Giant frozen vegetables and Godfather’s Pizza. Died November 14.
Nancy Teeters, 84. First woman on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, who later became chief economist at International Business Machines Corp. Died November 17 of complications from strokes.
Mike Nichols, 83. Won an Oscar for directing “The Graduate,” Tony Awards for his stage productions and Emmys for his TV versions of the plays “Wit” and “Angels in America.” Died November 19.
Duchess of Alba, 88. Spaniard who held more nobility titles than anyone in the world and whose family’s wealth was estimated at almost US$4 billion. Died November 20.
Marion Barry Jr., 78. His two terms as mayor of Washington, DC, were separated by a prison term for drug use. Died November 23.
P.D. James, 94. British writer best known for mystery novels featuring Scotland Yard detective Adam Dalgliesh. Died November 27.
Ronald Saypol, 85. CEO who attempted to transform Lionel Corp., the biggest US maker of electric model trains, into a toy retailer, resulting in its 1982 bankruptcy filing. Died November 28.
Anthony Marshall, 90. Former ambassador and Brooke Astor’s son went to prison at 89 for stealing millions of dollars from his mother, who was 105 when she died in 2007. Died November 30.
December
Bobby Keys, 70. Texas-born saxophone player, who since the 1960s, performed with the Rolling Stones and contributed a memorable solo on the song “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” Died December 2 from cirrhosis of the liver.
Luc Oursel, 55. CEO of Areva SA, a French maker of nuclear reactors, who since 2011 was cutting costs to counter losses at the state-controlled company. Died December 3.
Herman Badillo, 85. First US congressman born in Puerto Rico, who was active in New York City politics for four decades. Died December 3.
Ralph H. Baer, 92. Invented and patented the first video game system, which was called Odyssey and went on sale in 1972. Died December 6.
William “Billy” Salomon, 100. Transformed Salomon Brothers, the bond trading firm co-founded by his father, into an international investment bank while he was managing partner from 1963 to 1978. Died December 7.
Karl Otto Poehl, 85. President of Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, from 1980 to 1991, who helped define the objectives for a European common currency. Died December 9.
David L. Luke III, 91. CEO of Westvaco Corp. who was one of six generations of Lukes to run the paper and chemicals company founded in 1888 by William Luke and now called MeadWestvaco Corp. Died December 13.
David Garth, 84. Pioneer of political television advertising who helped elect New York City Mayors John Lindsay, Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani, and Michael Bloomberg. Died December 15.
Joe Cocker, 70. British rock singer whose soulful cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” at the Woodstock music festival in 1969 made him an international star. Died December 22 of lung cancer. ― Bloomberg View
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
