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Died August 20

by Legacy Staff

We remember legendary comedian Jerry Lewis, whose rubber-faced antics propelled a career in movies, television, and stand-up that spanned eight decades, as well as the lives of other notable people who died this day in history.

We remember legendary comedian Jerry Lewis, whose rubber-faced antics propelled a career in movies, television, and stand-up that spanned eight decades, as well as the lives of other notable people who died this day in history.

Click to discover notable people who were born this day in history including rocker Phil Lynott.

2017: Jerry Lewis, the superstar comedian and actor who gained fame as one-half of the Martin & Lewis comedy duo alongside crooner Dean Martin, dies at 91.

2014: B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga instructor who founded the popular “Iyengar yoga” style, dies at 95.

B.K.S. Iyengar (Hindustan Times via Getty Images)The popularity of Iyengar yoga spurred him to write a book called “Light on Yoga,” explaining the 216 yoga postures that formed what he called the science and art of yoga. The book became a global best-seller with more than 3 million copies sold and has since been translated into 17 languages. Iyengar, easily recognizable by his bushy eyebrows and silvery locks of shoulder-length hair, practiced yoga until two months before his death and even did headstands in his 90s. Read more

 

 

 

2013: Marian McPartland, English jazz pianist and composer who was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and hosted a long-running NPR show, dies of natural causes at 95.

Marian McPartland (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)In one essay, included in McPartland’s collected works, “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” (1975), she wrote about her experiences as a woman trying to break into the jazz scene in the ’50s, striving to be taken seriously by male musicians unaccustomed to playing with women, according to her obituary by The Associated Press. “Once a man stood at the bar watching me intently, and when the set was finished he came over and said with a smile, ‘You know, you can’t be a respectable woman the way you play piano,'” she wrote. “For some reason or another, this struck me as a great compliment.” Read more

 

 

2013: Elmore Leonard, U.S. author and screenwriter who had many books adapted for film, including Get Shorty,” “Rum Punch” (adapted for the film “Jackie Brown”), and “Out of Sight,” dies at 87.

Elmore Leonard (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)His more than 40 novels were populated by pathetic schemers, clever conmen, and casual killers. Each was characterized by moral ambivalence about crime, black humor, and wickedly acute depictions of human nature: the greedy dreams of Armand Degas in “Killshot,” the wisecracking cool of Chili Palmer in “Get Shorty,” Jack Belmont’s lust for notoriety in “The Hot Kid.” Read more

 

 

 

 

2013: Ted Post, U.S. director whose movies included “Magnum Force” and “Beneath the Planet of the Apes,” who also directed episodes of many TV series, including “Gunsmoke,” dies at 95.

2012: Virginia Dwyer, U.S. actress known best for playing matriarch Mary Matthews on the TV soap opera “Another World,” dies at 92.

2012: Phyllis Diller, U.S. comedian, actress, and voice artist known for her stand-up comedy act, who also appeared in movies and television shows and voiced animated characters, dies at 95.

As a housewife and mother of five, Diller found fodder for comedy in family life – and as an ad copywriter, she possessed the skills to craft a good joke. Many of her jokes and gags featured the husband she referred to as “Fang,” whom she later admitted bore little resemblance to her real-life mates: “Fang is permanent in the act, of course. Don’t confuse him with my real husbands. They’re temporary.” Read more

 

 

 

2009: Larry Knechtel, U.S. keyboardist and bass player who was a member of the band Bread as well as a prolific session musician who worked with Simon & Garfunkel, the Doors, and the Mamas & the Papas, dies at 69.

2008: Gene Upshaw, U.S. Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders who later served as executive director of the NFL Players Association, dies at 63.

In 1983, he became executive director of the players association and guided it through the 1987 strike that led to replacement football. By 1989, the players had a limited form of freedom, called Plan B, and in 1993, free agency and a salary cap were instituted. Since then, the players have prospered so much that NFL owners in 2008 opted out of the labor contract that was negotiated in 2006 by Upshaw and then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Read more

 

 

 

2007: Leona Helmsley, U.S. businesswoman who owned prestigious New York real estate with her husband, Harry, including the Empire State Building and the Helmsley Palace Hotel, dies of heart failure at 87.

2001: Kim Stanley, U.S. actress who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for her performances in “Seance on a Wet Afternoon” and “Frances,” dies at 76.

1986: Walter Brooke, U.S. actor known for his regular role as District Attorney Frank Scanlon on the television series “The Green Hornet,” who also played Mr. McGuire in the movie “The Graduate,” dies at 71.

1974: Ilona Massey, Hungarian-born U.S. actress who starred in “Love Happy” with the Marx Brothers, dies at 64.

Click to discover notable people who were born this day in history including rocker Phil Lynott.

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