Year: 2012

Richard Dawson (November 20, 1932 – June 2, 2012) was an English-born American actor, comedian, game show panelist and host in America. He was best known for his role as Corporal Peter Newkirk on Hogan’s Heroes, being the original host of the Family Feud game show from 1976–1985 and 1994-1995, and for being a regular panelist on the 1970s version of Match Game on CBS from 1973 to 1978. He was also famous for his final film role, that of Damon Killian, host of “The Running Man” in the 1987 film, The Running Man.

Richard Dawson cause of death
Richard Dawson died from complications of esophageal cancer
Richard Dawson was 79 years old at the time of his death.

Family Feud- funny answers

Kathryn Joosten (December 20, 1939 – June 1, 2012) was an American television actress best known for her regular role as Karen McCluskey in Desperate Housewives, for which she won two Emmy Awards, and for her recurring role in The West Wing as Dolores Landingham.

In 2005 and 2008, Joosten won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress – Comedy Series for her portrayal of Karen McCluskey in Desperate Housewives.

In 2001, she quit her 45 year smoking habit when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. In September 2009, Joosten was diagnosed with lung cancer for a second time. She subsequently underwent surgery and four rounds of chemotherapy, and was officially declared cancer-free in January 2010.

Kathryn Joosten cause of death
Joosten subsequently died of lung cancer on June 1, 2012. Her death followed, by a few weeks, the on-screen death of her character Karen McCluskey on the final episode of Desperate Housewives.

Richard “Dick” Beals (March 16, 1927 – May 29, 2012) was an American voice actor. He performed many voices in his career, which spanned the period from the early 1950s into the 21st century. He specialized primarily in doing the voices of young boys.

Perhaps his most recognizable characterization was the voice of the stop-motion animation figure called “Speedy Alka-Seltzer”, featured in television commercials for more than 50 years.

His high voice and boyish appearance were due to a glandular problem; he did not go through puberty. Beals was 4 foot 7 inches (just under 140 cm) tall and weighed just under 70 pounds (about 31 kg).

During the late 1980s, Beals provided the voices for various characters on Garfield and Friends with the most major character he voiced being Jon’s cruel nephew Rosco.

Dick Beals cause of Death
Dick Bealspassed away on May 29, 2012, at the age of 85

Vintage Alka Seltzer Commercial – Funny Buster Keaton

Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson’s flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded. He performed with his son Merle for over 15 years until Merle’s death in 1985, in an accident on the family farm.

Doc Watson cause of death
In late May 2012, Watson was listed in critical condition but was responsive at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after undergoing colon surgery. Watson had fallen early in the week. Watson did not break any bones, but an underlying condition prompted the surgery. Doc Watson was 89 years old at the time of his death.

Doc Watson-Deep River Blues

All Awards: won as a Group Bee Gees

Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE (December 22, 1949 – May 20, 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice and older brother Barry. He had another younger brother, Andy Gibb, who was also a very popular singer.

Robin Gibb was the fraternal twin brother of Maurice Gibb, and the elder of the two, born 35 minutes before Maurice.  Maurice Gibb passed on January 12, 2002 of of complications resulting from a twisted intestine.  Currently, Barry Gibb is the only surviving original member of the Bee Gees.

The Bee Gees became one of the most successful pop groups of all time with record sales estimated in excess of 200 million units.

Robin Gibb cause of death.
Robin Gibb died after long battle with colorectal cancer.
Robin Gibb was 62 years old at the time of his death.

Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love

Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive

Donna Summer (LaDonna Adrian Gaines) (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), was an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She had a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and was a five-time Grammy Award winner. Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the US Billboard chart, and she also charted four number-one singles in the United States within a 13-month period.

Donna Summer cause of death
Donna Summer died after a battle with lung cancer and breast cancer.
Donna Summer was 63 years old at the time of her death

Donna Summer – Last Dance

Chuck Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was a guitarist and singer who is affectionately called “the Godfather of Go-go”. Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late-1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.

Chuck Brown cause of death
Chuck Brown died at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital of multiple organ failure including heart failure or heart problems.
Chuck Brown was 75 years old at the time of his death

Several weeks prior to his death, he had postponed and canceled shows due to hospitalization for pneumonia.

Bustin’ Loose – Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers (1978)

Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer and racing driver. He was most well known for making the AC Motors-based Shelby American Cobra and later the Mustang-based performance cars for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965. His company, Shelby American Inc., founded in 1962, currently sells modified Ford vehicles, as well as performance parts.

He was Sports Illustrated’s driver of the year in 1956 and 1957.

He competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1959, participating in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.

Carroll Shelby cause of death
Carroll Shelby’s cause of death was not disclosed.
Carroll Shelby was 89 years old at the time of his death.

Vidal Sassoon, CBE (January 17, 1928 – May 9, 2012) was a British hairdresser, credited with creating a simple geometric, “Bauhaus-inspired” hair style, also called the bob.

Vidal Sassoon cause of death
Sassoon died on 9 May 2012 at his home in Los Angeles. At the time of his death, the cause was as yet unspecified

In June 2011 it was reported that Sassoon had been diagnosed with leukaemia two years earlier, and was receiving treatment in Beverly Hills and London.

George Lindsey (December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012) was an American character actor, best known for his role as “Goober Pyle” on The Andy Griffith Show and his subsequent tenure on Hee-Haw.

In 1964, he got his big break as the slow-witted but kindly “Goober Beasley” on the now legendary The Andy Griffith Show. His character was eventually renamed “Goober Pyle” to retain the same name as his cousin Gomer Pyle, another slow-witted yokel played by Jim Nabors, another Alabamian. Goober’s antics frequently included his exaggerated “Goober Dance” and his comically bad Cary Grant impression (“Judy, Judy, Judy”).

As Lindsey started his portrayal as Goober, he also had a minor role in the Walter Brennan series The Tycoon on ABC. Lindsey also had a role in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea entitled Submarine Sunk Here. He played a blackmailing taxicab driver in the “Bed of Roses” episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

George Lindsey cause of death
George Lindsey died in Nashville after a brief illness.
George Lindsey was 83 years old at the time of his death

Goober takes off on Cary Grant