Final goodbye: A roll call of 2010's more notable deaths
One helped drop an atomic bomb on Japan during World War II. The other survived that bombing and also the second bombing that came only days later.
Morris Jeppson was a weapons test officer aboard the Enola Gay and helped arm the atomic bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only person recognized as a survivor of that bombing and the bombing of Nagasaki that came three days after.
They are among the notables who died in 2010.
Plane crashes took the lives of some of the political figures the world said goodbye to this year. Lech Kaczynski, an anti-communist activist who became Polish president, and Anna Walentynowicz, a union activist whose dismissal from a shipyard touched off strikes that led to the eventual toppling of Polish communism, were killed with other officials in a plane crash in Russia. Longtime Republican Sen. Ted Stevens died in an Alaska plane crash.
The political world also lost Robert C. Byrd, Viktor Chernomyrdin, Richard Holbrooke, John Murtha, Francesco Cossiga, Menachgem Porush, Charlie Wilson, Sheik Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Alexander Haig, Elizabeth Edwards, Dov Shilansky, Dan Rostenkowski and Juan Mari Bras.
Among the inventors who died this year: a man who literally put more money in people's pockets. John Shepherd-Barron was credited with inventing the world's first automatic cash machine.
Other scientists and inventors who died this year include David Warren, Marshall Nirenberg, Samuel T. Cohen and Albert M. Kligman.
In arts and entertainment, the year saw the deaths of two members of the Redgrave acting dynasty: Lynn Redgrave and her brother Corin Redgrave. Another who died was author J.D. Salinger, who spent much of his life retreating from the fame garnered by his book “The Catcher in the Rye,” which shocked and inspired millions.
Other artists and entertainers who died this year: Lena Horne, Dennis Hopper, Jimmy Dean, Tom Bosley, Gary Coleman, Dixie Carter, Ronnie James Dio, Art Linkletter, Kazuo Ohno, Corey Haim, Robert Culp, Peter Graves, Joan Sutherland, Leslie Nielsen, Tony Curtis, Rue McClanahan, Johnny Maestro and Eddie Fisher.
Here is a roll call of some of the people who died in 2010. (Cause of death cited for younger people if available.)
January
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, 93. The only person recognized as a survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings at end of World War II. Jan. 4.
Jean Biden, 92. Mother of Vice President Joe Biden. Jan 8.
Eric Rohmer, 89. French New Wave director known for “Claire's Knee” and other films tracing the intracacies of romantic relationships. Jan. 11.
Miep Gies, 100. Dutch office secretary who defied Nazi occupiers to hide Anne Frank and her family for two years and saved the teenager's diary. Jan 11.
Teddy Pendergrass, 59. R&B singer who was one of the most successful figures in music until a car crash left him in a wheelchair. Jan. 13. Colon cancer.
Edgar Vos, 78. Designer known as the emperor of Dutch fashion who created clothing for all figures and most budgets. Jan 13.
Marshall Nirenberg, 82. Scientist whose work in untangling fundamental genetic processes earned him a Nobel Prize. Jan. 15.
Glenn W. Bell Jr., 86. Entrepreneur best known as the founder of the Taco Bell chain. Jan. 16.
Erich Segal, 72. Author of best-selling novel “Love Story” about a young couple dealing with love and bereavement. Jan. 17.
Jean Simmons, 80. Actress whose ethereal screen presence and starring roles with Hollywood's top actors made her widely admired. Jan 22.
J.D. Salinger, 91. Legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose “The Catcher in the Rye” shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned. Jan. 27.
February
Frances Reid, 95. Played matriarch Alice Horton on “Days of Our Lives” for four decades. Feb. 3.
U.S. Rep. John Murtha, 77. The tall, gruff-mannered former Marine who became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War. Feb. 8. Complications from gallbladder surgery.
U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, 76. Texan who worked tenaciously to funnel millions of dollars in weapons to Afghan rebels who fought off the Soviet Union. Feb. 10.
Frederick C. Weyand, 93. Former Army Chief of Staff and the last commander of U.S. military operations in the Vietnam War. Feb. 10.
Doug Fieger, 57. Leader of the power pop band The Knack who co-wrote and sang on the 1979 hit “My Sharona.” Feb. 14. Cancer.
Kathryn Grayson, 88. star of popular MGM musicals of the 1940s and ‘50s such as “Anchors Aweigh,” “Show Boat” and “Kiss Me Kate.” Feb. 17.
John Babcock, 109. The oldest Canadian veteran of World War I. Feb. 18.
Alexander Haig, 85. Soldier and statesman who held high posts in three Republican administrations and some of the U.S. military's top jobs. Feb. 20.
March
Doris “Granny D” Haddock, 100. New Hampshire woman who walked across the country at age 89 to promote campaign finance reform and later waged a quixotic campaign for U.S. Senate. March 9.
Corey Haim, 38. Teen talent who started working in TV commercials at 10 and was a big-screen heartthrob at 15. March 10. Pneumonia.
Peter Graves, 83. Tall, stalwart actor whose calm and intelligent demeanor was a good fit to the intrigue of “Mission Impossible” as well as the satire of the “Airplane” films. March 14.
Robert Culp, 79. Actor who teamed with Bill Cosby in the racially groundbreaking TV series “I Spy” and was Bob in the critically acclaimed sex comedy “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.” March 24.
Johnny Maestro, 70. Performed the 1958 doo-wop hit “16 Candles” with The Crests and enjoyed a decades-long career with The Brooklyn Bridge. March 24.
Jaime Escalante, 79. Transformed a tough east Los Angeles high school by motivating students to master advanced math, became one of the most famous teachers in the U.S. and inspired the movie “Stand and Deliver.” March 30.
Morris Jeppson, 87. Weapons test officer aboard the Enola Gay who helped arm the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. March 30.
April
Corin Redgrave, 70. Actor in dozens of plays, television shows and movies including “A Man for all Seasons” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” Brother of Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave. April 6.
Wilma Mankiller, 64. First female leader of the Cherokee Nation, from 1985 to 1995. April 6.
Meinhardt Raabe, 94. 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.” April 9.
Lech Kaczynski, 60. An anti-communist activist who became Polish president. He died with other officials in a plane crash in Russia. April 10.
Anna Walentynowicz, 80. A union activist whose 1980 dismissal from a Gdansk shipyard touched off strikes that led to the founding of the Solidarity movement and the eventual toppling of Polish communism. April 10. Plane crash.
Dixie Carter, 70. Star of the television series “Designing Women” who had roles in a host of other television shows. April 10.
Benjamin L. Hooks, 85. An attorney and pastor who became the South's first black state trial court judge since Reconstruction and then led the flagging NAACP in a strong rebound. April 15.
Dorothy Height, 98. The leading female voice of the 1960s civil rights movement and a key participant in historic marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. April 20.
Juan Antonio Samaranch, 89. A former Spanish diplomat and shrewd dealmaker whose 21-year term as president of the International Olympic Committee was marked by unprecedented growth of the games. April 21.
Elizabeth Post, 89. Etiquette expert and author of books and magazine columns. April 24.
May
Lynn Redgrave, 67. Actress who became a 1960s sensation as the free-thinking title character in “Georgy Girl.” May 2. Breast cancer.
Dave Fisher, 69. Lead singer of the Highwaymen, the popular 1960s folk group. May 7. Bone marrow disease.
Lena Horne, 92. Jazz singer known for signature song “Stormy Weather” and for her triumph over bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them. May 9.
John Shepherd-Barron, 89. Scotsman credited with inventing the world's first automatic cash machine. May 15.
Art Linkletter, 97. Known on American television for his interviews with children and ordinary people. May 26.
Gary Coleman, 42. Adorable, pint-sized child star of the 1970s TV sitcom “Diff'rent Strokes” who spent the rest of his life struggling on Hollywood's D-list. May 28. Brain hemorrhage.
Dennis Hopper, 74. Hollywood actor whose memorable career included “Rebel without a Cause” and “Easy Rider.” May 29. Prostate cancer.
June
Rue McClanahan, 76. Emmy-winning actress who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series “The Golden Girls.” June 3.
John Wooden, 99. Built college basketball's greatest dynasty at UCLA and became one of the most revered coaches ever. June 4.
Jack Harrison, 97. Survivor of the Great Escape plot by Allied prisoners in a German prison in World War II. June 4.
Jimmy Dean, 81. Country music legend for his smash hit about a workingman hero, “Big Bad John,” and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand. June 13.
Garry Shider, 56. Longtime musical director of Parliament-Funkadelic whose funky guitar work, songwriting skills and musical arrangements thrilled fans and earned him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. June 16.
Edith Shain, 91. Claimed to be the nurse who was smooched by a sailor in Times Square in the famous Life magazine photograph marking the end of World War II. June 20.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, 92. Rose from an impoverished childhood in West Virginia's coal country to become the longest-serving senator in U.S. history. June 28.
July
Tuli Kupferberg, 86. Founding member of the 1960s underground rock group the Fugs. July 12.
Harvey Pekar, 70. Author of the autobiographical comic book series “American Splendor.” July 12.
George Steinbrenner, 80. Rebuilt New York Yankees dynasty over more than three decades of owning the franchise. July 13.
Vernon Baker, 90. Belatedly received Medal of Honor for World War II valor after being denied the award because he was black. July 13.
Daniel Schorr, 93. Journalist who covered the Cold War and found himself on President Richard Nixon's “enemies list.” July 23.
Theo Albrecht, 88. Secretive co-founder of Germany's worldwide discount supermarket chain Aldi, co-owner of Trader Joe's in the U.S. July 24.
August
Lolita Lebron, 90. Puerto Rican independence activist who spent 25 years in prison for participating in a gun attack on the U.S. Congress a half century ago. Aug. 1.
Patricia Neal, 84, the willowy, husky-voiced actress who won an Academy Award in 1963 for “Hud” and then survived several strokes to continue acting. Aug. 8.
Ted Stevens, 86. The longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate; funneled billions of dollars to his remote state of Alaska. Aug. 9. Plane crash.
David L. Wolper, 82. Hollywood impressario whose landmark 1987 television miniseries “Roots” engrossed the U.S. with its saga of an American family descended from an African slave. Aug. 10.
Dan Rostenkowski, 82. Former Illinois congressman who wielded enormous power on Capitol Hill for more than 30 years. Aug. 11.
Edwin Newman, 91. NBC News correspondent for more than three decades who battled linguistic pretense and clutter in his best-sellers “Strictly Speaking” and “A Civil Tongue.” Aug. 13.
September
Paul Conrad, 86. Political cartoonist who won the Pulitzer Prize three times for his stark, powerful visuals that poked fun at politicians and presidents. Sept. 4.
Jefferson Thomas, 67. One of nine black students to integrate a Little Rock high school in American's first major battle over school segregation. Sept. 5. Pancreatic cancer.
Kevin McCarthy, 96. Actor who played the frantic doctor trying to save his friends and neighbors in the science-fiction movie classic “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Sept. 11.
John “Jack” Goeken, 80. Founder of telecommunications giant MCI and father of air-to-ground telephone communications. Sept. 16.
Eddie Fisher, 82. Pop singer who crooned love tunes in the 1950s but whose life was overshadowed by drug use, gambling and failed marriages to actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds. Sept. 22.
Gloria Stuart, 100. The 1930s Hollywood beauty who gave up acting for 30 years and later became the oldest Academy Award acting nominee as the spunky survivor in “Titanic.” Sept. 26.
Arthur Penn, 88. A myth-maker and myth-breaker who, in directing such film classics as “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Little Big Man,” refashioned movies. Sept. 28.
Tony Curtis, 85. Defiantly worked to mold himself from a 1950s heartthrob to a respected actor in such films as “Some Like It Hot.” Sept. 29.
October
Albertina Walker, 81. Grammy-winning singer from Chicago known as the “Queen of Gospel.” Oct. 8.
Joan Sutherland, 83. Acclaimed opera singer whose voice stretched more than three octaves. Oct. 10.
Barbara Billingsley, 94. Played the mother of Beaver and Wally in “Leave it to Beaver.” Oct. 16.
Tom Bosley, 83. Actor best known for his role on “Happy Days.” Oct. 19. Lung cancer.
Bob Guccione, 79. Publisher of the adult magazine Penthouse. Oct. 20. Lung cancer.
Alexander Anderson Jr., 90. TV cartoon artist who created Rocky the flying squirrel, Bullwinkle the moose and Dudley Do-Right the Canadian mountie. Oct. 22.
Joseph Stein, 98. Turned a Yiddish short story into “Fiddler on the Roof.” Oct. 24.
November
Viktor Chernomyrdin, 72. Served as Russia's prime minister in the turbulent 1990s as the country was throwing off communism. Nov. 3.
Eugenie Blanchard, 114. Nun considered the world's oldest person. Nov. 4.
Sparky Anderson, 76. Legendary baseball manager who led the Cincinnati Reds to back-to-back World Series championships. Nov. 4.
Ingrid Pitt, 73. Survived a Nazi concentration camp to become an acclaimed British movie actress. Nov. 23.
Leslie Nielsen, 84. Actor who starred in comedies such as “Airplane” and “The Naked Gun.” Nov. 28.
David F. Nolan, 66. Co-founder of the Libertarian Party. Nov. 28.
John D'Agostino Sr., 81. His work in comic books ranged from Archie and Jughead to the Incredible Hulk and G.I. Joe. Nov. 28.
Samuel T. Cohen, 89. Neutron bomb inventor. Nov. 28.
December
Ron Santo, 70. Former Chicago Cubs third baseman and broadcaster. Dec. 2. Complications of bladder cancer.
Elizabeth Edwards, 61. Closely advised her husband John Edwards in two bids for the presidency and advocated for health care even as her marriage publicly crumbled. Dec. 7. Cancer.
John du Pont, 72. Chemical fortune heir who killed an Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler at his palatial estate. Dec. 9.
James Moody, 85. Jazz saxophonist who recorded more than 50 solo albums as well as songs with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Lionel Hampton and B.B. King. Dec. 9. Pancreatic cancer.
Mark Madoff, 46. Son of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. Dec. 11. Suicide.
Richard Holbrooke, 69. U.S. diplomat who wrote part of the Pentagon Papers and was the architect of the 1995 Bosnia peace plan. Dec. 13.
Bob Feller, 92. Teenage pitching sensation, World War II hero and outspoken Hall of Famer. Dec. 15.
Blake Edwards, 88. Director and writer known for clever dialogue, poignance and occasional belly-laugh sight gags in “Breakfast at Tiffany's,” “10” and the “Pink Panther” farces. Dec. 15.