Notable Deaths 2016

Actress Debbie Reynolds, recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, poses in the press room during the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Carrie Fisher

Actress Carrie Fisher, who found enduring fame as Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars,'' died on Dec. 27, 2016. She was 60. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

George Michael

George Michael, the British pop superstar who reached early fame with WHAM! and went on to a solo career lined with controversies and chart-topping hits that blended soul and dance music with social commentary, died on Dec. 25, 2016. He was 53. (Photo credit LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

Zsa Zsa Gabor

Zsa Zsa Gabor, a Hungarian actress who made a career out of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the glamorous life, died on Dec. 18, 2016 of a heart attack. She was 99. (Photo by Baron/Getty Images)

The Comedy Central Roast Of Rob Lowe - Arrivals

Alan Thicke, who played the likable father on the sitcom "Growing Pains," died of a heart attack at age 69 on Dec. 13, 2016. The Canadian-born actor had a prolific career, including cameos in recent years on the comedy "How I Met Your Mother" and the Netflix series "Fuller House." (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

John Glenn

John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Dec. 8, 2016 at 95. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

Peter Vaughan

Veteran British character actor Peter Vaughan, who played the enigmatic blind scholar Maester Aemon in "Game of Thrones,'' died on Dec. 6, 2016 at age 93. (Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images)

Janet Reno

Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, died on Nov. 7, 2016. She was 78. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro, who led his bearded rebels to victorious revolution in 1959, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 U.S. presidents during his half-century of rule in Cuba, died at age 90 on November 25, 2016. (Photo: Getty Images)

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen, the baritone-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter who seamlessly blended spirituality and sexuality in songs like "Hallelujah," ''Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," died at age 82 on November 7, 2016. (Photo credit Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP/GettyImages)

Shimon Peres

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres, celebrated around the world as a Nobel Prize-winning visionary who pushed his country toward peace during a remarkable seven-decade career, died on September 28, 2016 from complications from a stroke. He was 93. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

Arnold Palmer

"The King" Arnold Palmer charged across the golf course and into America's living rooms with a go-for-broke style that made a country club sport popular for the everyman. He died on September 25, 2016 at age 87. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Gene Wilder

Gene Wilder, the star of such comedy classics as "Young Frankenstein'' and "Blazing Saddles,'' died on Aug. 28, 2016. He was 83. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

John McLaughlin

John McLaughlin, for 34 years the host of "The McLaughlin Group," passed away on Aug. 16, 2016. He was 89. (credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

James M. Nederlander

James M. Nederlander, who took over the fledgling Nederlander Organization from his father and built it into one of the largest producers of live entertainment and a dominant national theater chain that includes nine Broadway houses, has died. He was 94. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

Elie Wiesel

Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, the Romanian-born Holocaust survivor whose classic "Night" became a landmark testament to the Nazis' crimes and launched Wiesel's long career as one of the world's foremost witnesses and humanitarians, died on July 2, 2016 at age 87. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Pat Summitt

Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who helped boost the women's game to the big time in a 38-year career at Tennessee, died June 28, 2016. She was 64. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Bill Cunningham

Bill Cunningham, a longtime fashion photographer for The New York Times known for taking pictures of everyday people on the streets of New York, died June 25, 2016. He was 87. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)

Anton Yelchin

Anton Yelchin, a charismatic and rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, died at the age of 27 after he was pinned by his car on June 19, 2016. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Gordie Howe

Hockey great Gordie Howe, who spent the bulk of his career with the Detroit Red Wings, died June 10, 2016. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

Kimbo Slice

MMA Heavyweight Sensation Kimbo Slice died on June 6, 2016 after he was taken to a hospital near his home in Floria. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

The Greatest

World heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali died June 3, 2016 after being hospitalized for respiratory problems. He was 74. (Photo by Trevor Humphries/Getty Images)

Morley Safer

Legendary "60 Minutes" correspondent Morley Safer died at age 84, dies after retiring from the program. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

Prince

Pop music superstar Prince has died at his home in suburban Minneapolis. He was 57. (Photo credit Robert Sullivan/AFP/Getty Images)

Chyna

Former WWE wrestler Chyna, who in the 1990s became one of the most prominent female professional wrestlers in history, was found dead in her apartment on April 20, 2016. (Photo by George DeSota/Liaison)

Doris Roberts

Legendary actress Doris Roberts, well-known for her role in the CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” died on April 17, 2016. She was 90. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Merle Haggard

Country giant Merle Haggard, who celebrated outlaws, underdogs and an abiding sense of national pride in such hits as "Okie From Muskogee'' and "Sing Me Back Home,'' died April 6, 2016 at 79. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Patty Duke

Patty Duke, who won an Oscar as a teen for "The Miracle Worker'' and maintained a long and successful career throughout her life, died at the age of 69 on March 29, 2016. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Nicholas Scoppetta

Former New York City fire commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta has died. He was 83. (Photo by Rob Loud/Getty Images)

Phife Dawg

Phife Dawg, a masterful lyricist whose witty wordplay was a linchpin of the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, died March 22 from complications resulting from diabete. He was 45.(Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Remy Martin)

Rob Ford

Rob Ford, the pugnacious, populist former mayor of Toronto whose career crashed in a drug-driven, obscenity-laced debacle, died on March 22, 2016 after fighting cancer. He was 46. (Photo by Aaron Vincent Elkaim/Getty Images)

Frank Sinatra Jr.

Frank Sinatra Jr., who carried on his famous father’s legacy with his own music career, died of cardiac arrest on March 16, 2016. He was 72.(Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Night Vision)

Nancy Reagan

Former first lady Nancy Reagan passed away on March 6, 2016. She was 94. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Harper Lee

Pulitzer prize winning novelist Harper Lee, author of the American classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," has died. She was 89. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Angela “Big Ang” Raiola

Angela “Big Ang” Raiola from the reality TV series “Mob Wives” died Feb. 18, 2016 following a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. She was 55. (Photo by Rommel Demano/Getty Images)

Antonin Scalia

Antonin Scalia, the influential conservative and most provocative member of the Supreme Court, died Feb. 13, 2016. He was 79. (Photo credit Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)

Paul Kantner

Paul Kantner (L), an original member of the seminal 1960s rock band Jefferson Airplane and the eventual leader of successor group Jefferson Starship, died on Jan. 28, 2016. He was 74. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Abe Vigoda

Character actor Abe Vigoda, whose leathery, sunken-eyed face made him ideal for playing the over-the-hill detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV series "Barney Miller'' and the doomed Mafia soldier in "The Godfather,'' died Jan. 26, 2016 at age 94.(Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey, who co-founded the Eagles and with Don Henley became one of history’s most successful songwriting teams with such hits as “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane,” died on Jan. 18, 2016. He was 67. (Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images)

Dan Haggerty

Dan Haggerty, the rugged, bearded actor who starred in the film and TV series "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' about a mountain man and animal trainer, died on Jan. 15, 2016. He was 74 and had been battling cancer of the spine. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

Rene Angelil

Celine Dion's husband and manager Rene Angelil died on January 14, 2016 after battling throat cancer. He was 73. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Alan Rickman

British actor Alan Rickman, whose career ranged from Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company to the “Harry Potter” films, has died. He was 69. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

David Bowie

David Bowie, the innovative and iconic singer whose illustrious career lasted five decades, died Jan. 10, 2016 after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 69. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)