Some famous people just got lucky – but some worked super hard for years to be the
absolute best at what they did. In this video, we pay tribute to 9 celebrities we remember
for being truly great. I’m Linnea Crowther with Legacy.com, the
website where you can find any obituary, or publish one for someone you care about.
Dancer, actor and choreographer Gregory Hines was born this week in 1946. He died in 2003
of liver cancer at the age of 57. Hines is remembered as one of the greatest tap dancers
of the century. He starred on Broadway and in such films as
The Cotton Club, White Nights, and Running Scared. An entire generation of young dancers
were shaped by studying his incredible footwork. Hall of Fame NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt
died this week in 2001 at the age of 49. He was killed in a three-car crash in the final
lap of the Daytona 500. Earnhardt’s aggressive style earned him
the nickname “The Intimidator,” making him one of the most feared and successful
drivers in NASCAR history. In his 26-year career, he won 76 Winston Cup races and 24
exhibition events. Actress and singer Ethel Merman died this
week in 1984 after a bout with brain cancer. She was known as "the First Lady of the musical
comedy stage," thanks to her powerful voice and vivacious personality.
Merman is remembered for her roles in films such as Anything Goes and It’s a Mad Mad
Mad Mad World. She introduced the public to songs like “I Got Rhythm,” “Everything’s
Coming Up Roses,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
Songwriter Otis Blackwell was born this week in 1931. Music lovers might not know his face,
but everyone knows his songs: “Don’t Be Cruel.” “All Shook Up.” “Return to
Sender.” “Great Balls of Fire.” And a thousand others.
Decades after Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis became superstars singing his tunes,
Blackwell finally got his due, being honored in 1991 by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He
died of a heart attack in 2002. Cartoonist Charles Schulz, creator of the
long-running comic strip Peanuts, died 23 years ago this week at 77. Schulz’s characters
-- Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and others – have become some of the most recognizable
in modern history. Over the course of his life, Schulz drew over
17,000 comic strips. Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin & Hobbes, paid tribute by saying:
“In countless ways, Schulz blazed the wide trail that most every cartoonist since has
tried to follow." Singer and composer Lesley Gore died this
week in 2015 of lung cancer. She sang some of the most memorable pop songs of the 1960s,
like “It’s My Party,” “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” and “You Don’t Own Me,” all
recorded before she was 18. Gore’s songs of teenage sorrow are remembered
for speaking to a generation of young women. After her pop star career, Gore went on to
become an Academy Award-nominated composer. Singer and pianist Nat King Cole died 58 years
ago this week of lung cancer, at the age of 45. He spent his entire adult life making
incredible jazz and pop music that would live on for years into the future.
He is remembered for songs such as “Unforgettable,” “Stardust,” “For Sentimental Reasons,”
and “The Christmas Song.” In the decades after his death, his daughter, singer Natalie
Cole, carried on his legacy. Country music singer and songwriter Waylon
Jennings died 21 years ago from Diabetes-related complications. He would have turned 83 this
week. Jennings is remembered as one of the great
pioneers of the Outlaw Country movement, along with artists like Willie Nelson, David Allan
Coe, and Kris Kristofferson. Jazz Musician Thelonious Monk died this week
in 1982 at the age of 64. He is recognized as one of the most influential jazz pianists
of all time. Monk is remembered for his iconic sense of
fashion and his percussive, angular playing style. His contributions to the jazz canon
include “Round Midnight,” “Straight, No Chaser,” and “Blue Monk.”
This week also marks several other notable anniversaries.
Actress Florence Henderson was born in February 1934. She would have turned 89 this week.
She is remembered for her starring role as Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch, the highlight
of an acting career that spanned six decades. Henderson’s performance as the matriarch
of a blended household helped reshape how Americans saw the nuclear family.
Singer, actor, and politician Sonny Bono was born this week in 1935. As one half of the
singing duo Sonny & Cher, Bono is remembered for songs like “I Got You Babe” and “The
Beat Goes On.” After a series of successful variety shows
in the ‘70s, Bono went into politics, where he served as Mayor of Palm Springs and in
the U.S. House of Representatives. Anna Mae Hays was born this week in 1920.
She was the first woman general in the U.S. Armed Forces. Hays served in the Army Nurse
Corps during both World War II and the Korean War, and was promoted to Brigadier General
in 1970 by President Richard Nixon. Hays is remembered for helping change the
military’s treatment of enlisted woman. She died in 2018 at the age of 97.
Actress and 1959’s Miss America Mary Ann Mobley was born this week in 1937. She died
of breast cancer at the age of 77. Mobley is remembered for roles in films such as Girl
Happy and Harum Scarum, where she starred alongside Elvis Presley. She also appeared
in shows like Perry Mason, Diff’rent Strokes, and Falcon Crest.
Filmmaker John Hughes was born this week in 1950. He died in 2009 of a heart attack at
the age of 59. Hughes is remembered for a series of teen comedy films that helped define
Generation X pop culture. They include The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in
Pink, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Comedian Chris Farley was born this week in
1964. He died in 1997 of a drug overdose, at the age of 33. Farley, a longtime Saturday
Night Live performer, is remembered for his larger-than-life personality and energetic
physical comedy. Actress Lois Maxwell was born this week in
1927. She would have been 96. She is remembered for her role as “Miss Moneypenny” in the
James Bond series of films, a role she played 14 times between 1962 and 1985.
Actor Cesar Romero was born this week in 1907. He began a career as an actor after serving
in the Coast Guard during World War II. After appearances in films such as Ocean’s 11
and The Little Princess, Romero is best remembered for his role as the Joker in the 1966 Batman
television series. Poet and scholar Audre Lorde was born this
week in 1934. Lorde is remembered as one of the pioneers of the Black Arts Movement of
the 1960s and ‘70s. She wrote powerful poems, essays, and memoirs about life as a woman,
as a Black American, and as a breast cancer patient.
Actor Jack Palance was born this week in 1919. He died in 2006 at 87. Palance is remembered
for playing tough guys and villains in films such as Shane, Tango & Cash, and Batman. He
won an Academy Award for his role in 1991’s City Slickers.
Model and actress Margaux Hemingway died this week in 1996 at the age of 42. Hemingway was
one of the first modern supermodels, appearing on the cover of dozens of magazines before
moving on to a career in Hollywood. Longtime game show host Bill Cullen was born
this week in 1920. He died of lung cancer in 1990 at the age of 70. Cullen is remembered
as the host or panelist of Name That Tune, I’ve Got A Secret, To Tell the Truth, and
The Joker’s Wild, among others. Actor McLean Stevenson died of a heart attack
this week in 1996. He was 68. Stevenson is remembered for his role as Lieutenant Colonel
Henry Blake from the television series M.A.S.H. Actress and singer Kathryn Grayson died 13
years ago this week at 88. A soprano with a powerful voice, Grayson is remembered for
her roles in the films Anchors Aweigh, Show Boat, and Kiss Me Kate.
Singer-songwriter Gene Pitney was born this week in 1940. Pitney is remembered as the
singer or songwriter of sixteen top 40 hits in the United States, including “The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance” and Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou.”
Artist Keith Haring died this week in 1990 after a struggle with AIDS. He was 31. Haring
is remembered for his colorful pop art style, which often consisted of chalk outline figures
in a variety of poses and colors. Every Friday, our channel publishes a news
video paying tribute to the most recent celebrities and other public figures whose deaths have
made headlines. You can read more about the lives of the people
featured in this video on Legacy.com. At Legacy.com, ANY family can publish an obituary
in honor of a loved one’s memory, online and in local newspapers everywhere. Just visit Legacy.com
and select your local community. You can also follow Legacy.com on Facebook
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