THE BUTCHER'S BILL 2009. Every year at about this time, I take a moment to remember those persons of note who died during the current year; just as the year itself is about to come to an end. Lord Nelson asked each morning for the "butcher's bill" of casualties who lost their lives in the war against Napoleon. My own butcher's bill is not, however, a celebration of death but a memorial to the many lives that made a difference in our lives. Most of these names did some good while they were here or provided enjoyment to us all through their talent. As you read through, I hope you'll take a moment to remember their contributions towards the endless, cockeyed parade of human endeavor.

• Pat Hingle, actor "Batman", "Batman Returns"
• John Scott Martin, actor "Doctor Who"
• Kathleen Byron, actress "Black Narcissus"
• Ray Dennis Steckler, director "Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies", "Rat Pfink a Boo Boo"
• Bob Wilkins, TV horror host "Creature Features"
• Harry Endo, actor "Hawaii Five-O"
• Kim Manners, director "Supernatural"
• Dave Dee, musician "Beaky, Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick & Tich"
• Patrick McGoohan, actor "The Prisoner", "Braveheart"
• Ricardo Montalban, actor "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", "Fantasy Island"
• Angela Morley (nee Wally Stott), composer "The Goon Show", "Watership Down"
• John Mortimer, writer "Rumpole of the Bailey"
• Andrew Wyeth, artist
• Jake, best friend
• Susanna Foster, actress "Phantom of the Opera", "The Climax"
• Bob May, actor "Lost in Space"
• Charles H. Schneer, producer "Jason & the Argonauts", "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers"
• Arthur A. Jacobs, producer "Giant From the Unknown", "She Demons"
• John Updike, author "The Witches of Eastwick"
• John Martyn, singer "Solid Air"
• Billy Powell, musician "Lynyrd Skynyrd"
• Lux Interior, singer "The Cramps"
• Philip Carey, actor "Mr. Roberts", "One Life To Live"
• James Whitmore, actor "Them!"
• Blossom Dearie, singer "Manhattan"
• Robert Quarry, actor "Count Yorga, Vampire", "Madhouse", "Sugar Hill"
• Howard Zieff, director "My Girl"
• Laurence Payne, actor "The Crawling Eye", "Vampire Circus"
• Edward Judd, actor "The Day the Earth Caught Fire"
• Philip Jose Farmer, author "The Riverworld novels"
• Wendy Richard, actress "Are You Being Served?", "EastEnders"
• Paul Harvey, radio announcer
• Theresa Joan Burkett, beloved partner
• Horton Foote, screenwriter "To Kill A Mockingbird"
• Jimmy Boyd, singer "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
• Millard Kaufman, screenwriter "Bad Day at Black Rock"
• Sydney Chaplin, actor "Limelight"
• Ron Silver, actor "Ali", "Reversal of Fortune"
• Natasha Richardson, actress "Gothic"
• John Cater, actor "The Duchess of Duke Street", "Doctor Who"
• England Dan, singer "England Dan & John Ford Coley"
• Maurice Jarre, composer "Dr. Zhivago", "Ghost", "Fatal Attraction"
• Frank Springer, comic book artist "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
• Jody McCrea, actor "The Monster That Challenged the World", "Beach Blanket Bingo"
• Marilyn Chambers, actress "Behind the Green Door"
• Harry Kalas, sports announcer "Philadelphia Phillies", "NFL Films"
• Jack Cardiff, cinematographer "A Matter of Life and Death", "The African Queen"
• Beatrice Arthur, actress "Maude", "The Golden Girls"
• Peter Rogers, producer "Carry On series"
• Hans Holzer, ghost hunter
• Jack Kemp, US Congressman
• Ric Estrada, comic book artist "Power Girl", "Karate Kid"
• Dom DeLuise, actor "Fatso", "Hot Stuff"
• Richard Bojarksi, author "The Films of Boris Karloff", "The Films of Bela Lugosi"
• Jane Randolph, actress "Cat People", "Curse of the Cat People", "T-Men", "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein"
• Danny LaRue, comedian/female impersonator
• Terence Alexander, actor "The League of Gentlemen"
• Carole Cole, actress "The Silencers", "Sanford and Son"
• David Carradine, actor "Kill Bill", "Kung Fu"
• Dave Simons, comic book artist "Ghost Rider"
• Huey Long, singer "The Ink Spots"
• KoKo Taylor, blues singer
• Ken Roberts, radio announcer
• Gary Papa, TV Sportscaster
• Colin Bean, actor "Dad's Army"
• Ed McMahon, TV announcer "The Tonight Show"
• Sky Saxon, musician "The Seeds"
• Farrah Fawcett, actress "Charlie's Angels", "The Burning Bed"
• Michael Jackson, singer "Thriller"
• Billy Mays, TV pitchman "Oxy Clean"
• Gale Storm, actress "My Little Margie"
• Fred Travalena, comedian
• Jan Rubes, actor "Dead of Winter"
• Karl Malden, actor "A Streetcar Named Desire", "On the Waterfront"
• Mollie Sugden, actress "Are You Being Served?"
• Allen Klein, manager "The Beatles", "The Rolling Stones"
• Robert McNamara, politician
• Walter Cronkite, TV anchorman
• Frank McCort, author "Angela's Ashes"
• Gordon Waller, singer "Peter and Gordon"
• Peg Loiacono, beloved friend
• Harry Alan Towers, producer "Face of Fu Manchu", "Count Dracula"
• Corazon Aquino, Philipino president
• Budd Schulberg, screenwriter "On the Waterfront"
• John Hughes, director "The Breakfast Club", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
• Les Paul, musician
• Don Hewitt, producer "60 Minutes"
• Sammy Petrillo, actor "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla"
• Dominick Dunne, author
• Edward Kennedy, US Senator
• Ellie Greenwich, songwriter "Be My Baby", "Out In the Streets", "Leader of the Pack"
• Erich Kunzel, conductor
• Army Archerd, columnist
• Larry Gelbart, writer/producer "M*A*S*H*"
• Zakes Mokae, actor "The Serpent and the Rainbow"
• Patrick Swayze, actor "Ghost", "Dirty Dancing"
• Keith Floyd, TV chef
• Henry Gibson, comedian "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"
• Mary Travers, singer "Peter, Paul & Mary"
• Art Ferrante, musician "Ferrante & Teicher"
• Paul Burke, actor "The Thomas Crown Affair", "Shaft", "Thriller - An Echo of Theresa"
• Susan Atkins, murderer/member of Manson family
• Alicia de Larrochia, pianist
• Dick Durock, actor "Swamp Thing"
• William Safire, author
• Barry Letts, producer/director "Doctor Who"
• Al Martino, singer
• Daniel Melnick, producer "That's Entertainment", "Roxanne"
• Captain Lou Albano, wrestler
• George Tuska, comic book artist "Iron Man"
• Elizabeth Clare Prophet, new age cult leader
• Howard Unruh, murderer
• Vic Mizzy, composer "The Addams Family", "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken"
• Joseph Wiseman, actor "Dr. No"
• Ludovic Kennedy, author
• Steve Friedman, radio host "Mr. Movie"
• Soupy Sales, comedian
• Collin Wilcox, actress "To Kill A Mockingbird"
• Clinton Ford, singer
• Robert Kirby, arranger "Five Leaves Left", "Bryter Later"
• Claude Levi-Strauss, anthropologist
• David Lloyd, writer "Mary Tyler Moore", "The Bob Newhart Show"
• Paul Wendkos, director "The Legend of Lizzie Borden"
• Ken Ober, comedian/TV host "Remote Control"
• Edward Woodward, actor "The Wicker Man", "Breaker Morant", "Callan"
• Paul Naschy, actor "Assignment: Terror", "Werewolf Vs. the Vampire Woman", "Count Dracula's Great Love"
• Al Alberts, singer "The Four Aces", "Al Alberts' Showcase"
• Eric Woolfson, musician "The Alan Parsons Project"
• Richard Todd, actor "The Dam Busters", "Asylum"
• Thomas Hoving, art correspondent "20/20"
• Gene Barry, actor "War of the Worlds"
• Oral Roberts, televangelist
• Roy Disney, executive "The Walt Disney Company"
• Robin Wood, film critic
• Jennifer Jones, actress "Portrait of Jennie", "Duel in the Sun"
• Dan O'Bannon, writer/director "Alien", "The Resurrected", "Return of the Living Dead", "Dark Star"
• Brittany Murphy, actress "Sin City", "Freeway"
• Vic Chesnutt, singer