Year: 2012

Kyle Bennett (September 25, 1979 – October 14, 2012) was an American professional “New/Current School” Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer and Dirt Jumper. He competed for 2008 Summer Olympics.

Kyle Bennett cause of death
In the early hours of October 14, 2012, Bennett’s 2006 Toyota Tundra pickup truck went off the road while traveling at high speed. The truck smashed through a culvert pipe, a wrought-iron gate, and several other objects before coming to rest upside down. Responding EMTs extracted Bennett from the vehicle, and later pronounced him dead at the scene. Officials said he was not wearing a seat belt.

Kyle Bennett was 33 years old at the time of his death.

Kyle Bennett riding for USA in BMX World Championships 2012

Gary Ennis Collins (April 30, 1938 – October 13, 2012) was an American film and television actor.

He guest-starred on dozens of television shows since the 1960s, including Perry Mason, The Virginian, Hawaii Five-O, The Six Million Dollar Man, Alf, The Love Boat, Charlie’s Angels, Friends, and JAG. He had roles in the 1969 Andy Griffith film Angel in My Pocket, and in the 1970 film Airport. He played the heroic co-pilot in the 1977 film The Night They Took Miss Beautiful.

Collins hosted the television talk show Hour Magazine from 1980 to 1988, and co-hosted the ABC television series The Home Show from 1989 to 1994. He was the host of the Miss America Pageant from 1982 to 1990.

Collins was nominated for an Emmy Award six times and won in 1983 for Outstanding Talk Show Host. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Gary Collins cause of death
Gary Collins was found dead around 1:00 AM on October 13, 2012, at Biloxi Regional Medical Center in Biloxi, Mississippi. His death was said to be a result of natural causes.
Gary Collins was 74 years old at the time of his death.

Miss America 1986 – Crowning

BORN FREE opening credits NBC adventure series

Alexander George “Alex” Karras (July 15, 1935 – October 10, 2012), nicknamed “The Mad Duck”, was an American football player, professional wrestler, and actor. He played football with the Detroit Lions in the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964–1970. As an actor, Karras is noted for his role as the thuggish Mongo in the 1974 comedy film Blazing Saddles, and for starring in the ABC sitcom Webster (1983–89) alongside his wife Susan Clark, as the title character’s adoptive father.

Professional wrestling
Before his NFL career got under way, Karras signed a contract as a professional wrestler on December 13, 1957, earning $25,000 during the six-month off-season.

NFL player
Karras was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions in 1958. He quickly became one of the dominant defensive tackles in the NFL, playing for 12 seasons (1958-1962, 1964-1970) with the same team

He was known for his humorous endorsement of La-Z-Boy recliners.

Alex Karras cause of death
Alex Karras died in the morning hours of October 10 from complications caused by kidney failure.
Alex Karras was 77 years old at the time of his death.

In his later years, Karras suffered several serious health problems, including dementia, heart disease, and cancer.

Karras was among many former NFL players to have filed a lawsuit against the NFL in early 2012, over issues of head injuries during their career that had caused various ill effects later in their lives, including dementia.

On October 8, 2012, it was revealed by friend Tom McInerney that Karras had suffered from kidney failure; doctors gave him a few days to live. Karras was treated at the Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, before being released into hospice care. After returning to his Los Angeles home with family.

Blazing Saddles – Alex Karras as Mongo

Sammi Kane Kraft (April 2, 1992 – October 9, 2012) was an American recording artist, child actress and baseball player. Born in Livingston, New Jersey, she starred in the 2005 remake Bad News Bears as Amanda Whurlitzer, who was played by Tatum O’Neal in the original film. She was featured in an ESPN.com Page 2 story about her athletic skills, and competed in the Junior Olympics.

Sammi Kane Kraft cause of death
On October 9, 2012, Kraft was riding in the passenger seat of an Audi when the car rear-ended a semi trailer and was then struck by another vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Sammi Kane Kraft was 20 years old at the time of her death

Sahara Davenport, born Antoine Ashley, (December 17, 1984 – October 1, 2012) was an American drag queen and reality television personality and classically-trained dancer. He was best known as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Sahara Davenport cause of death
Davenport died of heart failure.
Sahara Davenport was 27 years old at the time of his death.

Davenport died on October 1, 2012. The cause of his death is yet to be determined.

Michael O’Hare (May 6, 1952 – September 28, 2012) was an American actor, best known for playing Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

He appeared on a range of television shows, including Kate & Allie, The Equalizer, Tales from the Darkside, The Cosby Mysteries, and Law & Order.

Michael O’Hare cause of death
Michael O’Hare died September 28, 2012, after suffering a heart attack on September 23, 2012.
Michael O’Hare was 60 years old at the time of his death.

Michael O’Hare as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair

Ronald Bertram Aloysius “R. B.” Greaves III (November 28, 1943 – September 27, 2012) was a singer who had chart success in 1969 with the pop single “Take a Letter Maria”. A #2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, this single sold one million copies and earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Greaves also had a Top 40 pop hit a year later with “Always Something There to Remind Me”

R. B. Greaves cause of death
Greaves passed away in Los Angeles.  Cause of death was not released.
R. B. Greaves was 68 years old at the time of his death.

R.B. Greaves -Take A Letter Maria

Jonathan Kendrick “Johnny” Lewis (October 29, 1983 – September 26, 2012), also credited as Johnny K. Lewis, was an American actor, best known for playing Kip “Half-Sack” Epps in the first two seasons of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy. Lewis also appeared in supporting roles in the films Underclassman, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem and The Runaways.

Psychopathy or Bipolar Disorder,” Says His Former Advisor

Johnny Lewis cause of death
Lewis and an 81-year-old woman were found dead at a home in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, California on September 26, 2012. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) found the body of Lewis on the home’s driveway. The elderly homeowner, identified as Catherine Davis was found dead inside the dwelling. The woman’s death is being investigated as a homicide, in which Lewis is a suspect. According to multiple reports, police were called to the scene after neighbors heard the 81-year-old woman screaming. Neighbors told police they saw a man jump the fence on the Davis property, assault a homeowner and painter next door, then jump back over the fence. According to the LAPD, Lewis then either fell or jumped from the home’s roof, garage, or patio.

Johnny Lewis was 28 years old at the time of his death.

Johnny Lewis legal troubles.
Johnny Lewis was arrested three times between 2011 and 2012. In January, 2012 he struck two men in the head with a bottle while engaged in a fight. He pleaded no contest to charges of assault with a deadly weapon in the case. The second arrest came about six weeks after the first, with Lewis accused of attempting to break into a woman’s home. He pleaded no contest in that case as well. Considering the cases, a probation official expressed that he was “very concerned for the well-being of not only the community but that of the defendant”, that he suffered from mental health issues as well as chemical dependency, and that Lewis would “continue to be a threat to any community he may reside” in. Lewis was released from a Los Angeles County, California jail in mid-September, 2012.

Howard Andrew “Andy” Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer who recorded eighteen Gold and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owned the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri, named after the song “Moon River”, with which he was closely identified.

During the 1960s, Williams became one of the most popular vocalists in the country and was signed to what was at that time the biggest recording contract in history. He was primarily an album artist, and at one time he had earned more gold albums than any solo performer except Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Elvis Presley. By 1973 he had earned as many as 18 gold album awards. Among his hit albums from this period were Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses (number one for 16 weeks in mid-1963), The Andy Williams Christmas Album, Dear Heart, The Shadow of Your Smile, Love, Andy, Get Together with Andy Williams, and Love Story. These recordings, along with his natural affinity for the music of the 1960s and early 1970s, combined to make him one of the premier easy listening singers of that era.

Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer’s song “Moon River” (1962 Oscar winning song) became Williams’ theme song. However, it was never released as a single.  “Moon River” was never actually a chart hit for Williams.

Andy Williams became the star of his own weekly television variety show, The Andy Williams Show (1962 to 1971). He won three Emmy Awards for outstanding variety program.

Williams hosted the most Grammy telecasts, from the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971 through the 19th Annual Grammy Awards in 1977, totaling seven consecutive shows.

Williams was an avid golfer, and hosted the PGA Tour golf tournament in San Diego from 1968–88 at Torrey Pines. Then known as the “Andy Williams San Diego Open”, the tournament continues as the Farmers Insurance Open, usually played in February.

Andy Williams cause of death
Andy Williams died at his home in Branson, Missouri after suffering from bladder cancer for a year. Andy Williams was 84 years old at the time of his death.

Andy Williams health history
On Friday, November 4, 2011, it was reported in the press that Williams had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. The singer confirmed the condition in a surprise appearance that weekend at his theater in Branson, as reported by the Branson Tri-Lakes News. He underwent chemotherapy treatments in Houston, Texas and then moved with his wife, Debbie, to a rented home in Malibu, California to be closer to cancer specialists in the Los Angeles area.

On July 19, 2012, Williams’s theater announced that Andy Williams had returned to Branson following cancer treatment and was “in good spirits and getting stronger every day” and had hoped to take the stage as scheduled in September.

Andy Williams – Moon River 1960’s performance

Andy Williams – It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year