2008 will be remembered for the deaths of noteworthy individuals from Heath Ledger to Paul Newman, Bo Diddley to Bobby Fisher, Estelle Getty to Bernie Mac, as well as the tragic shooting at NIU. We look back at the newsmaking deaths of 2008…
January
January’s Most Visited Guest Books
Christopher Bowman – Former U.S. figure skating champion was dubbed “Bowman the Showman”…
Margaret Truman Daniel – The only child of former President Truman…
Frances Lewine – White House correspondent for The Associated Press…
Brad Renfro – Young actor’s film career began at age 12…
Shu Uemura – Legendary Japanese makeup artist built an international cosmetics brand…
Bobby Fischer
Reclusive chess master was a Cold War icon…
Obituary | Guest Book
Sir Edmund Hillary
Who conquered Mount Everest to win renown as one of the 20th century’s greatest adventurers…
Obituary | Guest Book
Heath Ledger
Australian-born actor was an Oscar nominee for his role in “Brokeback Mountain”…
Obituary | Guest Book
Suzanne Pleshette
Beautiful, husky-voiced star played Bob Newhart’s wife on “The Bob Newhart Show”…
Obituary | Guest Book
Johnny Podres
Who pitched the Brooklyn Dodgers to their only World Series title in 1955…
Obituary | Guest Book
February
February’s Most Visited Guest Books
Gus Arriola – Ground-breaking cartoonist and animator…
David Groh – Actor known for his role in 1970s sitcom “Rhoda”…
Genoa Keawe – One of the most beloved voices in Hawaiian music…
Tom Lantos – Only Holocaust survivor to serve in U.S. Congress…
Katoucha Niane – One of the first African models to attain international stardom…
William F. Buckley
Erudite Ivy Leaguer and conservative commentator…
Obituary | Guest Book
Steve Fossett
Millionaire adventurer risked his life seeking to set records…
Obituary | Guest Book
Shell Kepler
Played the gossipy nurse Amy Vining on the TV soap opera “General Hospital”…
Obituary | Guest Book
Roy Scheider
Actor best known for his role as a police chief in the blockbuster movie “Jaws”…
Obituary | Guest Book
Mahesh Yogi
Guru to the Beatles introduced the West to transcendental meditation…
Obituary | Guest Book
March
March’s Most Visited Guest Books
Gary Gygax – Co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons…
Jeff Healey – Blind musician and the leader of the Jeff Healey Band…
Sean Levert – Singer was a member of the R&B group LeVert with his late brother Gerald…
Abby Mann – Writer of socially conscious scripts for TV and movies…
Paul Scofield – British actor won an Oscar for “A Man for All Seasons”…
Art Aragon
Boxing’s original “Golden Boy” was one of the sports’ biggest stars of the 1940s and 1950s…
Obituary | Guest Book
Arthur C. Clarke
Visionary science fiction writer won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books…
Obituary | Guest Book
Jules Dassin
American director whose Greek wife Melina Mercouri starred in his movie “Never on Sunday”…
Obituary | Guest Book
Anthony Minghella
Oscar-winning director of “The English Patient”…
Obituary | Guest Book
Dith Pran
Cambodian-born journalist’s harrowing tale was the subject of the film “The Killing Fields”…
Obituary | Guest Book
April
April’s Most Visited
Guest Books
Hazel Court – English actress starred in popular ’60s horror movies…
Danny Federici – Longtime keyboardist for the E Street Band…
Ollie Johnston – Last of the “Nine Old Men” who animated “Snow White”…
Joe Feeney
Tenor crooned “Danny Boy” and other standards for 25 years on “The Lawrence Welk Show”…
Obituary | Guest Book
Charlton Heston
Hollywood legend and conservative activist…
Obituary | Guest Book
Jerry Zucker
Self-made billionaire turned a small holding company into an empire…
Obituary | Guest Book
May
May’s Most Visited
Guest Books
Eddy Arnold – Country superstar’s hits included “Make the World Go Away”…
Willis E. Lamb, Jr. – Nobel-Prize-winning physicist revolutionized quantum theory…
Irena Sendler – Social worker helped save 2,500 Jewish children from Nazis…
Morgan Sparks – Inventor of revolutionary semiconductor device…
Harvey Korman
Known for his roles in “The Carol Burnett Show” and “Blazing Saddles”…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Dick Martin
Zany half of U.S. comedy team whose “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” took TV by storm…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Robert Mondavi
California winemaking patriarch…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Sydney Pollack
Academy Award-winning director often dabbled as a TV and movie actor…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
June
June’s Most Visited
Guest Books
Mel Ferrer – Actor was once married to Audrey Hepburn…
Yves Saint Laurent – Legendary designer reworked the rules of fashion…
Ira Tucker, Sr. – Longtime lead singer of the Dixie Hummingbirds…
Tasha Tudor – Children’s book illustrator led picturesque lifestyle…
Stan Winston – Hollywood special-effects maestro won Oscars…
George Carlin
Dean of counterculture comedians was known for his biting insights on life…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Cyd Charisse
Dancer starred in movies with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Bo Diddley
Founding father of rock ‘n’ roll created “shave and a haircut, two bits” rhythm…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Jim McKay
Host of ABC’s influential “Wide World of Sports” for decades…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Tim Russert
Host of NBC’s “Meet the Press” was also an author…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
July
July’s Most Visited
Guest Books
Rocky Aoki – Founder of Benihana steakhouses was an Olympian…
Anne Armstrong – Former Republican Party leader…
Randy Pausch – Professor’s “last lecture” about facing terminal cancer became a best-selling book…
Tony Snow – Conservative writer was President Bush’s press secretary…
Estelle Getty
Diminutive actress played sarcastic Sophia on “The Golden Girls”…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Larry Harmon
Known to fans as Bozo the Clown…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Jesse Helms
Served as North Carolina’s Republican Senator for five terms…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Jerome Holtzman
Major League Baseball’s official historian made the Hall of Fame…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Bobby Murcer
Five-time All Star outfielder spent almost 40 years with the Yankees…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
August
August’s Most Visited
Guest Books
Sandy Allen – World’s tallest woman used her height to teach children to accept those who are different…
Ronnie Drew – Founding member of the Irish folk group The Dubliners…
Del Martin – Lesbian rights activist was half of the first same-sex couple to marry in San Francisco…
LeRoi Moore – Dave Matthews Band saxophone player…
Alexander Solzhenitsyn – Russian author chronicled the horrors of gulags…
Kevin Duckworth
Former Portland Trail Blazers center played in two All-Star games…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Isaac Hayes
Pioneering singer, songwriter and musician…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Bernie Mac
Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor and comedian…
Obituary | Guest Book | Memorial Website
Gene Upshaw
Hall of Fame guard led the NFL Players Association for 25 years…
Obituary | Guest Book |
