Teena Marie

Teena Marie died at age 54. (credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Blake Edwards

(credit: Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

Director Blake Edwards died from complications of pneumonia in Santa Monica on Dec. 15. He was famous for directing "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Victor/Victoria" and the "Pink Panther" series.

Elizabeth Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards died of cancer at age 61. The estranged wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards died in North Carolina on Dec. 7, 2010. (credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Leslie Nielsen

Leslie Nielsen, the dramatic lead in "Forbidden Planet" and "The Poseidon Adventure" and the bumbling detective in "The Naked Gun" comedies, died November 28 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84. (credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Irvin Kershner

Irvin Kershner, who directed the Star Wars sequel "The Empire Strikes Back," died November 27 in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 87. (credit: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Dino De Laurentiis

Dino De Laurentiis (credit: Getty Images)

Dino De Laurentiis, an Academy Award-winning film impresario and producer of "Serpico" and "Barbarella," who helped revolutionize the way movies are bankrolled and sold, died Nov. 10. He was 91. (credit: Getty Images)

Bob Guccione

Bob Guccione (L), Penthouse magazine publisher, died Oct. 20 at the age of 79. (credit: MIKE NELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Stephen J. Cannell

Writer/Producer Stephen J. Cannell (shown accepting the Paddy Chayefsky Television Laurel onstage during the 2006 Writers Guild Awards) died September 30 due to complications associated with melanoma. He was the creative force behind a number of popular TV shows, like "The Rockford Files," "The A-Team" and "21 Jump Street." (credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

Tom Bosley

Actors Tom Bosley, who portrayed the patient, understanding father on television's long-running "Happy Days," died Oct. 19. He was 83.(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Barbara Billingsley

Barbara Billingsley, who gained supermom status for her gentle portrayal of June Cleaver, the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys in "Leave it to Beaver," died Oct. 16. She was 94. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Newsmakers)

Solomon Burke

American singer Solomon Burke (R) performs during the eighth edition of the Mawazine music festival in Rabat on May 20, 2009. AFP PHOTO / FADEL (Photo credit should read FADEL/AFP/Getty Images)

Michael Larsen Eyedea

Twin Cities rapper Eyedea (birth name: Michael Larsen) died unexpectedly at age 28. Larsen's mother said her son died in his sleep from unexplained causes at home in St. Paul on Oct. 16. (credit: the Current)

Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis, a tailor's son who became a 1950s movie heartthrob and then a respected actor with such films as "Sweet Smell of Success," ''The Defiant Ones" and "Some Like It Hot," died on Sept. 29. He was 85. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Joan Sutherland

Dame Joan Sutherland was hailed as 'La Stupenda' and 'voice of the century' on Oct. 12 after she died following an illness aged 83, leaving behind an extraordinary musical legacy. AFP PHOTO / SCANPIX SWEDEN / ROLF HOJER (Photo credit should read Rolf Hojer/AFP/Getty Images)

Greg Giraldo

Comedian Greg Giraldo died on Sept. 29, 2010 at age 44, days after being hospitalized following an accidental overdose of prescription medication. Giraldo was a judge on 'Last Comic Standing' and known for being a part of celebrity roasts.(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Arthur Penn

Director Arthur Penn, a myth-maker and myth-breaker who in such classics as "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Little Big Man" refashioned movie and American history and sealed a generation's affinity for outsiders, died Sept. 28, one day after his 88th birthday. (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Daniel Schorr

Veteran reporter and commentator Daniel Schorr, whose hard-hitting reporting for CBS got him on President Richard Nixon's notorious "enemies list" in the 1970s, died on July 23. He was 93. (Photo by Alex Wong/Newsmakers)

Gloria Stuart

Gloria Stuart, who was the oldest actress to earn an Oscar nomination for her role in "Titanic," died Sept. 26. She was 100. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Patricia Neal

Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal died August 8 at the age of 84. (Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

Ted Stevens

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was killed when his plane crashed into a remote mountainside in Alaska on August 9. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper, who brought counterculture to Hollywood with the movie "Easy Rider" and led an acting and directing career marked by successes, failures and comebacks, died May 29 at age 74. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Jimmy Dean

Jimmy Dean, a country music legend for his smash hit about a workingman hero, "Big Bad John," and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand, died on June 13. He was 81. (Credit:Jimmy Dean Publicity Photo)

Harvey Pekar

Cult comic book artist Harvey Pekar, whose "American Splendor" works were turned into the movie of the same title, died on July 12. He was 70 years old. (credit: Getty)

Rue McClanahan

Actress Rue McClanahan, best known for her role as "Blanche Devereaux" on the hit series "Golden Girls," died June 3, 2010 after suffering a massive stroke. She was 76. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

George Steinbrenner

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died July 13 after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 80 years old. The Yankees have won several World Series trophies under Steinbrenner since he took ownership in 1973. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)

Sen. Robert Byrd

Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died on June 28. He was 92. (Credit:Getty)

Gary Coleman

Former child TV star Gary Coleman died after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage at his home. The star of TV's "Diff'rent Strokes" died on May 28 at age 42.(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

Art Linkletter

Art Linkletter, whose "People Are Funny" and "House Party" shows entertained millions of TV viewers in the 1950s and '60, died May 26. He was 97.(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Ronnie James Dio

Black Sabbath's Ronnie James Dio, whose soaring vocals, poetic lyrics and mythic tales of a never-ending struggle between good and evil broke new ground in heavy metal, died May 16. He was 67.(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Doris Eaton Travis

Doris Eaton Travis, the last surviving Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl, who wore elaborate costumes for the series of lavish Broadway theatrical productions in the early 1900s, died at age 106. (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Lena Horne, Singer

Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to Broadway superstardom, died May 9. She was 92. (Credit:CBS)

Lynn Redgrave

Lynn Redgrave, an introspective and independent player in her family's acting dynasty who became a 1960s sensation as the freethinking title character of "Georgy Girl," died May 2 following a long battle with breast cancer. She was 67. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Bon Appetit)

Keli McGregor

Keli McGregor, the president of the Colorado Rockies, was found dead in his hotel room on April 20. He was 48. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Dorothy Height

Dorothy Irene Heigh (C), who as longtime president of the National Council of Negro Women was the leading female voice of the 1960s civil rights movement, died on April 20. She was 98. (Photo by Manny Ceneta/Getty Images)

Rapper Guru

Rapper Guru died April 19 at the age of 43 after battling cancer. Born Keith Elam, Guru was a member of the popular hip-hop group Gang Starr. (Credit: Getty)

Edwin Valero

Former boxing champ Edwin Valero committed suicide in his jail cell on April 19 just hours after he was arrested in his wife's killing. He was 28. (Photo credit should read OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

Dede Allen

Dede Allen, who revolutionized film editing with her work on "Bonnie & Clyde" (pictured), died of a stroke on April 17 at age 86. She was nominated for three Academy Awards. (Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

Benjamin L. Hooks

Benjamin L. Hooks, a champion of minorities and the poor whose longtime tenure as executive director of the NAACP included leading his organization through a deadly firebombing campaign that targeted his group died April 15. He was 85 (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Peter Steele

Peter Steele, frontman for the goth rock band Type O Negative, died of heart failure on April 14 at the age of 48. (Photo credit should read MICHAEL GOTTSCHALK/AFP/Getty Images)

Lech Kaczynski

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and others from the upper echelons of the Polish establishment were killed in the crash of the Polish Air Force Tu-154 plane on April 10.(Photo credit should read JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Dixie Carter

Dixie Carter, a Broadway and television veteran famous for her role in "Designing Women," died April 10 in Houston of complications of endometrial cancer. She was 70. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Meinhardt Raabe

Meinhardt Raabe (L), who played the Munchkin coroner in "The Wizard of Oz" and proclaimed in the movie that the Wicked Witch of the East was "really most sincerely dead," died April 9. He was 94. (Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

Wilma Mankiller

Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller, one of the nation's most visible American Indian leaders and one of the few women to lead a major tribe, died April 6 after suffering from cancer and other health problems. She was 64. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

John Forsythe

Actor John Forsythe, who played a scheming oil tycoon in "Dynasty," died on April 1. Forsythe was also the voice of Charlie in the TV series "Charlie's Angels." He was at 92. (Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Robert Culp

Robert Culp, who teamed with Bill Cosby in the racially groundbreaking TV series "I Spy," died March 24 after collapsing outside his Hollywood home. Culp was 79. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Fess Parker

Actor Fess Parker, famous for playing "Davy Crockett" in the 1950s, died March 18 at the age of 85 of natural causes. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Fess Parker

Peter Graves

Peter Graves died March 14 outside his home in Los Angeles of an apparent heart attack. It was just a few days before the actor's 84th birthday. Graves was born and raised in Minnesota.(Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Corey Haim

1980s teen sensation Corey Haim was found dead on March 10. Haim starred in the films "The Lost Boys" with Corey Feldman, as well as "Lucas." He was 38 years old.(Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Darcy Pohland

WCCO-TV reporter Darcy Pohland died in her sleep on March 5. She started as an intern at WCCO in 1983 and later worked as a dispatcher, assignment desk editor, planning editor and reporter. She was 48. (Credit:CBS)

Andrew Koenig, Actor

Former "Growing Pains" actor Andrew Koenig was found dead Feb. 25 in a wooded area of a sprawling Vancouver park where he enjoyed spending time, apparently after committing suicide. He was 41.(Credit: CBS)

Charles Stenvig

Former Minneapolis mayor Charles Stenvig, who previously served the city as a police officer, died Feb. 22 at age 82. He served as mayor for three non-consecutive terms between 1969 and 1978. (Credit:Getty)

Doug Fieger

Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Feb. 14 after a long battle with cancer. He was 57. (Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

Nodar Kumaritashvili

Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia died Feb. 12 after a crash during a training run for the 2010 Winter Olympics competition. He was 21. (Credit: Getty)

Alexander McQueen

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead at his London home on Thursday, Feb. 11. He was 40 years old. (Credit: Getty)

Rep. Charlie Wilson

Charlie Wilson, the former U.S. congressman from Texas whose funding of Afghanistan's resistance to the Soviet Union was chronicled in the movie "Charlie Wilson's War," has died. He was 76.(Photo by Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images)

Rep. John Murtha

Rep. John Murtha, a retired Marine Corps officer who became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Feb. 8. He was 77. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Justin Mentell

Actor Justin Mentell, 27, of Waukegan, Ill., was killed on Feb. 1 when his Jeep went down a steep embankment off Highway 39 near Blanchardville and hit two trees. Mentell appeared on the television series "Boston Legal." (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

J.D. Salinger

Reclusive author J.D. Salinger wrote "The Catcher in the Rye" in 1951. The novel became one of the touchstone works for an entire generation. He passed away on Jan. 27. (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Zelda Rubenstein

Actress Zelda Rubenstein, who famously declared "This house is clean" in the 1982 horror film "Poltergeist," died Jan. 27 of natural causes. She was 76. (Credit:PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty Images)

Howard Zinn

Author Howard Zinn, whose leftist "A People's History of the United States" sold millions of copies and became an alternative to mainstream texts, died Jan. 27. He was 87.(Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

Ali Hassan al-Majid

Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin "Chemical Ali" was executed Jan. 25 after being sentenced to death for the poison gas attacks that killed more than 5,000 Kurds in 1988.(Photo credit should read JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images)

Jean Simmons

Jean Simmons, whose ethereal screen presence and starring roles with Hollywood's top actors made her a mid-century film icon, died Jan. 22 at age 80. She had lung cancer. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Erich Segal

"Love Story" author Erich Segal, shown here in 1971, died at his home in London of a heart attack at the age of 72, on Jan. 17. (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr.

Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., who went by the stage name Jay Reatard, was found dead in his bed in Memphis on Jan. 13. The cause of his death was not immediately determined. He was 29 years old. (Credit: Getty)

Teddy Pendergrass

R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass, who had been one of the most electric and successful figures in music until a car crash 28 years ago left him in a wheelchair, died of colon cancer on Jan. 13. He was 59. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Miep Gies

Miep Gies, the office secretary who defied the Nazi occupiers to hide Anne Frank and her family for two years and saved the teenager's diary, died Jan. 11 at age 100. She died from a neck injury sustained in a fall at her home shortly before Christmas. (Credit: CBS)

Eric Rohmer

French filmmaker -- internationally known for movies tracing the intricacies of romantic relationships -- died Jan. 11. He was 89 years old. Rohmer's best-known films included "My Night at Maud's" and "Claire's Knee." (Credit: AFP PHOTO MARIE RIVIERE)

Yvonne Zanos

Yvonne Zanos, a reporter at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, died of ovarian cancer Jan. 8. She was a consumer reporter. She had just turned 60. (Credit:KDKA)

Deborah Howell

Former Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell died Jan. 1 when she was struck by a car in Blenheim. She was 68. She was also an editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Minneapolis Star. (Credit: Star Tribune)