Year: 2015

Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Milner is best known for his performances in two popular television series: Route 66, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and Adam-12, which aired on NBC from 1968 to 1975.

After Adam-12 Martin Milner starred as Karl Robinson in a television series version of The Swiss Family Robinson (1975–1976), produced by Irwin Allen. Most of his following work was as a television guest star, most notably in action-adventure series MacGyver (as James MacGyver, MacGyver’s father), Airwolf, Life Goes On , Murder, She Wrote and RoboCop: The Series. In 1983, Milner hosted a morning radio wake-up show on AM 600 KOGO, San Diego.

Milner also has the distinction of having portrayed the victim in the premiere episode of Columbo titled “Murder by the Book”.

Martin Milner cause of Death

On September 6, 2015, Milner died of heart failure at his home in Carlsbad, California, at the age of 83.  His memorial service was held by Law Enforcement and community members in Oceanside, California six days later.

Martin Milner on left

Wesley Earl “Wes” Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, writer, producer, and actor known for his work on horror films, particularly slasher films.

He was best known for creating the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise featuring the Freddy Krueger character, directing the first installment and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, and co-writing A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors with Bruce Wagner.

Craven also directed all four films in the Scream series, and co-created the Ghostface character. Some of his other films include The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The People Under The Stairs, Red Eye, The Serpent And The Rainbow and Vampire In Brooklyn.

Wes Craven cause of death.

On August 30, 2015, Craven died of brain cancer, at the age of 76, at his home in Los Angeles.

Melody Patterson (April 16, 1949 – August 20, 2015) was an American actress known for her role as Wrangler Jane in the 1960s television series F Troop. She was 16 years old when she first appeared on the show. After the 1967 cancellation of F Troop, Patterson worked in television, radio, and the theater and entertained troops in Vietnam.

Melody Patterson cause of death

Patterson died in a nursing home in Hollister, Missouri on August 20, 2015, at the age of 66. Multiple organ failure was the reported cause.

Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16, 1937 – August 17, 2015) was an American ballet dancer and actress best known for her role as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman, and as the Orion slave girl Marta in the Star Trek episode “Whom Gods Destroy” (1969). The Huffington Post called her “a pioneer of female superheroes” for television.

Yvonne Craig cause of death

Craig died at her home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on August 17, 2015, aged 78, from metastatic breast cancer that had spread to her liver. She was survived by her husband, Kenneth Aldrich, as well as by her sister, Meridel Carson.

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Yvonne Craig – Batman

Roderick George “Roddy” Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known by his ring name “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, actor, and podcast host.

In professional wrestling, Piper is best recalled for his work with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1984 and 2000. Although he was Canadian, because of his Scottish heritage he was billed as coming from Glasgow and was known for his signature kilt and bagpipe entrance music. He earned the nicknames “Rowdy” and “Hot Rod” by displaying his trademark “Scottish” rage, spontaneity, and quick wit. Industry veteran Ric Flair hailed Piper as “the most gifted entertainer in the history of professional wrestling”.

Roddy Piper cause of death

On July 31, 2015, Piper died in his sleep at the age of 61, in his home in Hollywood, California. His death certificate attributes this to cardiopulmonary arrest caused by hypertension, listing a pulmonary embolism as a contributing factor; TMZ reported this as a heart attack caused by the embolism. Piper is survived by his wife, Kitty, their four children and four grandchildren.

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Repo Man vs. Roddy Piper

Lynn Rene Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was a multi-award-winning American country music singer known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most notably her 1970 country-pop, worldwide megahit “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden”. Anderson’s crossover appeal and regular exposure on national television helped her to become one of the most popular and successful country singers of the 1970s.

Anderson charted 12 No. 1, 18 Top 10, and more than 50 Top 40 hits. In addition to being named “Top Female Vocalist” by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) twice and “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the Country Music Association (CMA), Anderson won a Grammy Award (earning seven nominations), People’s Choice Award and an American Music Award (AMA). She was named Billboard’s Female Artist of the Decade (1970–1980).

Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award (in 1974), as well as the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden that same year.

Anderson debuted in 1966, at the age of 19.

Lynn Anderson Cause of Death

Anderson died on July 30, 2015 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee from a heart attack at the age of 67. She had been hospitalized due to pneumonia after returning from a trip to Italy.

Lynn Anderson – Rose Garden

Omar Sharif (April 10, 1932 – July 10, 2015) was an Egyptian actor. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s, but is best known for his appearances in both British and American productions. His films included Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Funny Girl (1968). He was nominated for an Academy Award. He won three Golden Globe Awards and a César Award.

Omar Sharif Health problems and death

Sharif had a triple heart bypass in 1992 and suffered a mild heart attack in 1994. Until his bypass, Sharif smoked 100 cigarettes a day. He quit smoking after the operation.

In May 2015 it was reported that Sharif was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. His son Tarek Sharif said that his father was becoming confused when remembering some of the biggest films of his career; he would mix up the names of his best-known films, Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, often forgetting where they were filmed.

On 10 July 2015 Sharif died after suffering a heart attack at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt. He was 83.

Lawrence of Arabia – Original 1962 Trailer

James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator of film scores. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music.

Horner was an accomplished concert hall composer before he moved into writing film scores. His first major film score was for the 1979 film The Lady in Red, but did not establish himself as a mainstream composer until he worked on the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Horner’s score for Titanic is the best selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time while Titanic and Avatar, both directed by James Cameron, are the two highest-grossing films of all time.

Horner died at the age of 61 when his single-engine Tucano aircraft crashed in the Los Padres National Forest.

Titanic Suite (James Horner) – Hollywood in Vienna 2013

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known by his stage name B.B. King, was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked No. 3 in the 2003 edition of the same list), and he was ranked No. 17 in Gibson’s “Top 50 Guitarists of All Time”. According to Edward M. Komara, King “introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed.” King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname “The King of Blues”, and one of the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar” (along with Albert King and Freddie King). King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s. In 1956, he reportedly appeared at 342 shows.

In 1990, King was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George H.W. Bush. In 2006, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues rock guitarists.

Illness and death

After the cancellation of the remaining eight shows of his 2014 tour due to health problems, King announced on October 8, 2014 he was back at home to recuperate. On May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes, King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died there on May 14 at 9:40 P.M. PDT.  He died in his sleep.

BB King & Bobby Blue Bland – The thrill is gone – 1977

BB King with President Obama

Benjamin Earl King (September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015), professionally known by his pseudonym Ben E. King, was an American soul and R&B singer. He was perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of “Stand by Me”-a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name), a number one hit in the UK in 1987, and #25 on the RIAA’s list of Songs of the Century-and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group the Drifters.

Ben E. King cause of death

It was announced on May 1, 2015, that King had died at the Hackensack University Medical Center on April 30, 2015, at the age of 76. His agent said he suffered from “coronary problems” at the time of his death. King was survived by his wife of 51 years, Betty.

Stand By Me, Ben E King, 1961

Ben E. King and The Drifters – There Goes My Baby