THE BUTCHER'S BILL 2013

EVERY DECEMBER, AS THE YEAR DRAWS TO A CLOSE, IT IS MY SAD DUTY TO LIST THE NOTABLES WHO LEFT US THIS YEAR. 

Take a moment to read the names and remember.

• PATTI PAGE, singer  "Tennessee Waltz", "Doggie in the Window"
• CHARLES CHILTON,  BBC radio writer/producer/presenter "Journey Into Space"
• SAMMY JOHNS, singer  "Chevy Van"
• NED WERTIMER, actor  "The Jeffersons"
• MARIANGELA MELATO, actress  "Swept Away", "Flash Gordon"
• NAGISA OSHIMA, director  "In the Realm of the Senses"
• CONRAD BAIN, actor  "Maude", "Diff'rent Strokes"
• PAULINE PHILLIPS, columnist  "Dear Abby"
• MICHAEL WINNER, director  "Burke and Hare", "Death Wish"
• SALLY STARR, TV host
• RALPH COLLIER, radio host  "Collier at Large"
• BERNARD HORSFALL, actor  "Dr. Who: The War Games", "Dr. Who: The Deadly Assassin"
• LEROY "SUGARFOOT" BONNER, singer  "Ohio Players"
• PATTY ANDREWS, singer  "The Andrews Sisters"
• ED KOCH, politician  "Former Mayor of New York"
• JOHN KERR, actor  "Pit and the Pendulum", "South Pacific"
• REG PRESLEY, singer  "The Troggs"
• TONY SHERIDAN, singer  "My Bonnie"
• RICHARD BRIERS, actor  "The Good Life"
• ELSPET GRAY, actress  "Solo", "The Black Adder"
• OTIS "DAMON" HARRIS, singer  "The Temptations"
• DAN TOLER, guitarist  "Allman Brothers Band"
• C. EVERETT KOOP, former U.S. Surgeon General
• RICHARD STREET, singer  "The Temptations"
• ADAM STRANGE, director
• VAN CLIBURN, pianist
• RAY CUSICK, designer  "Doctor Who", "The Daleks"
• BONNIE FRANKLIN, actress  "One Day at a Time"
• BOBBY ROGERS, singer  "The Miracles"
• ALVIN LEE, guitarist  "Ten Years After"
• DEL TENNEY, director  "I Eat Your Skin",  "Horror at Party Beach"
• CLAUDE KING, singer  "Wolverton Mountain"
• CLIVE BURR, drummer  "Iron Maiden"
• MALACHI THRONE, actor  "Star Trek"
• BOBBY SMITH, singer  "The Spinners"
• FRANK THORNTON, actor  "Are You Being Served?"
• JAMES HERBERT, author  "The Rats"
• RISE STEVENS, soprano
• RICK HAUTALA, author  "Night Stone", "The Mountain King"
• CHINUA ACHEBE, author  "Things Fall Apart"
• RICHARD GRIFFITHS, actor  "Harry Potter series", "Gormenghast"
• PHIL RAMONE, record producer
• BOB CLARKE, artist  "Mad Magazine"
• MILO O'SHEA, actor  "Theatre of Blood", "Barbarella"
• JESUS FRANCO, director  "Count Dracula", "Dracula vs. Frankenstein"
• ROGER EBERT, film critic
• CARMINE INFANTINO, artist  "The Flash", "Batman"
• BASIL COPPER, author  "Dark Things", "Necropolis"
• MARGARET THATCHER, politician  "Former British Prime Minister"
• ANNETTE FUNICELLO, actress/singer  "Beach Blanket Bingo"
• JONATHAN WINTERS, comedian
• SIR COLIN DAVIS, conductor
• RICHARD LEPARMENTIER, actor  "Star Wars"
• PAT SUMMERALL, TV sportscaster
• ALLAN ARBUS, actor  "M*A*S*H*", "Coffy"
• RICHIE HAVENS, singer
• GEORGE JONES, singer  "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
• DEANNA DURBIN, singer/actress
• RAY HARRYHAUSEN, filmmaker/special effects  "Jason and the Argonauts"
• BRYAN FORBES, actor/director  "League of Gentlemen", "The Stepford Wives"
• DR. JOYCE BROTHERS, psychologist/TV personality
• DICK TRICKLE, NASCAR driver
• ALAN O'DAY, singer/songwriter  "Undercover Angel"
• RAY MANZAREK, musician  "The Doors"
• STEVE FORREST, actor  "S.W.A.T."
• MARVIN JUNIOR, singer  "The Dells"
• JEAN STAPLETON, actress  "All In the Family"
• MANDAWUY YUNUPINGU, singer  "Yothu Yindi"
• FRANK LAUTENBERG, New Jersey Senator
• DEACON JONES, football player  "Los Angeles Rams"
• JOEY COVINGTON, drummer  "Jefferson Airplane"
• ESTHER WILLIAMS, actress  "Neptune's Daughter", "Bathing Beauty"
• MAXINE STUART, actress  "Twilight Zone - Eye of the Beholder"
• RICHARD RAMIREZ, serial killer
• HARRY LEWIS, actor  "Key Largo", "Gun Crazy"
• IAIN BANKS, author  "The Wasp Factory"
• SLIM WHITMAN, singer  "Indian Love Call"
• KIM THOMPSON, editor/publisher  "Fantagraphics", "The Comics Journal"
• JAMES GANDOLFINI, actor  "The Sopranos", "In the Loop"
• MICHAEL BAIGENT, author  "Holy Blood, Holy Grail"
• ELLIOT REID, actor  "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "CBS Radio Mystery Theater"
• GARY DAVID GOLDBERG, writer/producer  "Family Ties"
• RICHARD MATHESON, author  "The Shrinking Man", "I Am Legend", "Twilight Zone"
• BOBBY "BLUE" BLAND, singer
• ALAN MYERS, drummer  "Devo"
• LAU KAR-LEUNG, director  "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin"
• JIM KELLY, actor  "Enter the Dragon", "Black Belt Jones"
• BOB CARTER, TV horror host  "Sammy Terry"
• ANNA WING, actress  "EastEnders"
• ALAN WHICKER, TV host  "Whicker's World"
• MEL SMITH, actor/comedian  "Not the 9 O'clock News", "Brain Donors"
• HELEN THOMAS, journalist "White House press corps"
• J.J. CALE, songwriter/musician  "After Midnight", "Call Me the Breeze", "Cocaine"
• EILEEN BRENNAN, actress  "Private Benjamin", "Murder By Death"
• MICHAEL ANSARA, actor  "Star Trek"
• GEORGE DUKE, jazz musician
• JACK CLEMENT, singer/songwriter/producer  "Sun Records"
• KAREN BLACK, actress  "Trilogy of Terror"
• HAJI, actress  "Faster Pussycat!  Kill!  Kill!"
• EYDIE GORME, singer
• LOUIS KILLEN, folk singer
• AMY WALLACE, author  "The People's Almanac", "The Book of Lists"
• HENRY POLIC II, actor  "When Things Were Rotten", "Batman: The Animated Series"
• BERT LANCE, politician
• ELMORE LEONARD, author  "Jackie Brown", "3:10 To Yuma", "Get Shorty"
• MARIAN MCPARTLAND, jazz musician
• TED POST, director  "Hang 'Em High", "Magnum Force"
• DENNIS FARINA, actor  "Snatch"
• JULIE HARRIS, actress  "The Haunting", "East of Eden"
• GERARD MURPHY, actor  "Dr. Who: Silver Nemesis", "Father Ted", "Batman Begins"
• DAVID FROST, TV broadcaster  "That Was the Week That Was", "The Frost Report"
• FREDERICK POHL, author
• LOUISE CURRIE, actress  "You'll Find Out", "Voodoo Man", "Adventures of Captain Marvel", "Citizen Kane"
• OTTO SANDER, actor  "Wings of Desire", "Das Boot"
• JERRY G. BISHOP, TV horror host  "Svengoolie"
• RICHARD C. SARAFIAN, director  "Vanishing Point", "Bound"
• JAY ROBINSON, actor  "Dr. Shrinker", "Star Trek - Elaan of Troyius"
• TOM CLANCY, author  "Patriot Games", "The Hunt for Red October"
• PHIL CHEVRON, musician  "The Pogues"
• CAL SMITH, singer  "Country Bumpkin"
• KUMAR PALLANA, actor  "The Royal Tenenbaums"
• SCOTT CARPENTER, astronaut
• DAPHNE CALDER, actress  "The Overlanders"
• LOU SCHEIMER, TV producer  "Filmation"
• MARCIA WALLACE, actress  "The Bob Newhart Show"
• LOU REED, musician  "Walk On the Wild Side"
• NIGEL DAVENPORT, actor  "A Man For All Seasons", "Dracula (1973)", "Peeping Tom"
• NICK CARDY, comic book artist  "Aquaman", "Teen Titans"
• MANFRED ROMMEL, German politician
• SIR JOHN TAVENER, composer
• PAUL MANTEE, actor  "Robinson Crusoe on Mars"
• AL PLASTINO, comic book artist  "Superman"
• CHICO HAMILTON, jazz drummer
• TONY MUSANTE, actor  "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage"
• OLIVER CHEATHAM, singer  "Get Down Saturday Night"
• JEAN KENT, actress  "The Prince and the Showgirl", "The Haunted Strangler"
• PAUL WALKER, actor  "The Fast and the Furious", "Pleasantville"
• TABU LEY ROCHEREAU, singer
• JUNIOR MURVIN, singer  "Police and Thieves"
• BARRY JACKSON, actor  "Dr. Who - The Armageddon Factor", "Dr. Who - The Romans"
• NELSON MANDELA, activist/politician
• COLIN WILSON, author  "Unsolved Mysteries"
• ELEANOR PARKER, actress  "The Naked Jungle"
• AUDREY TOTTER, actress  "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Medical Center"
• TOM LAUGHLIN, actor  "Billy Jack"
• PETER O'TOOLE, actor  "The Lion In Winter", "Becket", "Lawrence of Arabia"
• JOAN FONTAINE, actress  "Rebecca", "Suspicion"
• RAY PRICE, singer  "For the Good Times", "Heartaches By the Number"
• JOHN EISENHOWER, historian/ambassador
• JOHN FORTUNE, comedian  "Bird and Fortune"

Portrait of the Grim Reaper by Steve Ring.