Final Curtain Calls For 2006

1. Final Curtain Calls For 2006 The past year was a time to say goodbye to an array of people in the entertainment world.

2. Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in ;Shane; Sudden Fear and other films who turned successfully to comedy in his 70s with his Oscar-winning self-parody in City Slickers, died Friday, Nov. 10, at 87. When Palance accepted his Oscar for best supporting actor he delighted viewers of the 1992 Academy Awards by dropping to the stage and performing one-armed push-ups to demonstrate his physical prowess.

3. Jane Wyatt, the lovely, serene actress who for six years on Father Knows Best was one of TV's favorite moms, died Friday, Oct. 20, at age 96. Wyatt had a successful film career in the 1930s and '40s, notably as Ronald Colman's lover in 1937's Lost Horizon. But it was her years as Robert Young's TV wife, Margaret Anderson, on Father Knows Best that brought the actress her lasting fame. She won three Emmys as best actress in a dramatic series in the years 1958 to 1960.

4. Steve Irwin, who dedicated his life to protecting animals with an irrepressible, effervescent personality that propelled him to global fame as television's Crocodile Hunter, died Monday, Sept. 4. The 44-year-old Irwin's heart was pierced by the serrated, poisonous spine of a stingray as he swam with the creature while shooting a new show on the Great Barrier Reef.

5. Glenn Ford, who played strong, thoughtful protagonists in films such as The Blackboard Jungle, Gilda and The Big Heat, died Wednesday, Aug. 30, at age 90. Ford appeared in scores of films during his 53-year Hollywood career and was usually cast as the handsome tough guy, but his acting talents ranged from romance to comedy.

6. Mike Douglas interviews Tiny Tim, holding daughter, Tulip, in 1972. Douglas, who drew on his affable personality and singing talent during 21 years as a talk show host, died Friday, Aug. 11, on his 81st birthday. Considered by many to be the pioneer of daytime talk TV, Douglas got his start in Cleveland in 1961 hosting the Mike Douglas Show, an afternoon program that brought viewers information, entertainment and celebrity interviews. It aired every weekday for two decades.

7. Jack Warden, shown in character as Washington Post metro editor Harry M. Rosenfeld in All the President's Men, died Wednesday, July 19, at age 85. Warden, an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated actor played gruff cops, coaches and soldiers in a career that spanned five decades. With his white hair, weathered face and gravelly voice, Warden was in demand for character parts for decades. He was nominated twice for supporting-actor Oscars in two Warren Beatty movies: His role as a businessman in 1975's Shampoo and the good-hearted football trainer in 1978's Heaven Can Wait.

8. Mickey Spillane, the macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers with the shoot-'em-up sex and violence of gumshoe Mike Hammer, died Monday, July 17. He was 88. After starting out in comic books, Spillane wrote his first Hammer novel, I, the Jury, which was published in 1947. Twelve more followed, with sales topping 100 million. Notable titles included The Killing Man, The Girl Hunters and One Lonely Night.

9. Red Buttons, the carrot-topped burlesque comedian who became a top star in early television, then went dramatic to win the 1957 Oscar as supporting actor in Sayonara, died Thursday, July 13. He was 87. With his eager manner and rapid-fire wit, Buttons excelled in every phase of show business, from the Borscht Belt of the 1930s to celebrity roasts in the 1990s. His greatest achievement came with his Sayonara role as Sgt. Joe Kelly, the soldier in the occupation forces in Japan whose romance with a Japanese woman ends in tragedy.

10. June Allyson, the sunny, cracked-voiced perfect wife of James Stewart, Van Johnson and other movie heroes, died Saturday, July 8. She was 88. During World War II, American GIs pinned up photos of Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable, but Allyson was the girl they wanted to come home to. Petite, blond and alive with fresh-faced optimism, she seemed the ideal sweetheart and wife, supportive and unthreatening. She's pictured with Jimmy Durante in a scene from 1953's Music For Millions.

11. Maureen Stapleton, an Oscar-winning character actress whose subtle vulnerability and down-to-earth toughness earned her dramatic and comedic roles on stage, screen and TV, died Monday, March 13, at age 80. Stapleton, whose unremarkable, matronly appearance belied her star personality and talent, won an Oscar for her supporting role as anarchist-writer Emma Goldman in Warren Beatty's 1981 film Reds. Stapleton was nominated several times for a supporting actress Oscar.

12. Don Knotts, the skinny, lovable nerd who kept generations of TV audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, died Friday, Feb. 24. He was 81. The West Virginia-born actor's half-century career included seven TV series and more than 25 films, but it was the Griffith show that brought him immortality and five Emmys. Knotts appeared on six other television shows.

13. Actor Peter Boyle, the veteran character actor who portrayed the monster in Young Frankenstein and Ray Barone's father in Everybody Loves Raymond, died on Dec. 12 at 71. Boyle was a member of the Christian Brothers before turning to acting.

14. Al Lewis, the cigar-chomping patriarch of The Munster's whose work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate never eclipsed his role as Grandpa Munster from the sitcom, died Friday, Feb. 3. He was 82. Sporting a somewhat cheesy Dracula outfit, Lewis played the irascible father-in-law to Fred Gwynne's ever-bumbling Herman Munster on the 1960s series. He also was one of the stars of another classic TV comedy, playing Officer Leo Schnauzer on Car 54, Where Are You?

15. Lou Rawls, whose mellifluous baritone was featured on hits ranging from his own You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine to Sam Cooke's Bring It on Home to Me, died Friday, Jan. 6. He was 72. The singer was as well known for his charitable activities as he was for his smooth four-octave range. He founded the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon, which raised millions of dollars for the United Negro College Fund. Rawls won three Grammy's and is reported to have sold more than 40 million albums.

16. Dennis Weaver, an actor with a Midwestern twang who played stiff-legged Chester the deputy on Gunsmoke and the cowboy cop hero in McCloud, died Friday, Feb. 24, at age 81. Weaver's 50-year career included stage plays and movies. But his real success was on television, where in addition to his cowboy roles he shared the screen with a 600-pound black bear on Gentle Ben and faced down a murderous big-rig in the early Steven Spielberg movie Duel.

17. Robert Altman, a five-time Academy Award nominee for best director whose vast, eclectic filmography ranged from the dark war comedy M*A*S*H to the Hollywood farce The Player to the British murder mystery Gosford Park, died Monday, Nov. 20. He was 81. While he was famous for his outspokenness, which caused him to fall in and out of favor in Hollywood over his nearly six decades in the industry.

18. Shelley Winters, the forceful, outspoken star who graduated from blond bombshell parts to dramas, winning Academy Awards as supporting actress in The Diary of Anne Frank and A Patch of Blue, died Saturday, Jan. 14. She was 85. The actress sustained her long career by repeatedly reinventing herself.

19. Spelling, whose prime-time hits, including Charlie's Angels ,Dynasty, Beverly Hills, 90210and Melrose Place were often dismissed by critics, but more often embraced by audiences, died on June 23,five days after suffering a stroke. The one-time movie bit players other hit series included Love Boat, Fantasy Island ,Burke's Law, The Mod Squad, Starsky and Hutch ,T.J. Hooker, Matt Houston, Hart to Hart and 7th Heaven. He is pictured here in 1989.

20. Legendary singer James Brown, the dynamic, pompadour Godfather of Soul, whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk and disco as well, died on Christmas morning at age 73. One of the major musical influences of the past 50 years, Brown was to rhythm and dance music what Bob Dylan was to lyrics.

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