We are officially on the break of a new year, on the precipice of new opportunities. We are busy making resolutions, preparing goals and envisioning dreams. But before we move on from 2017, let’s take a moment to remember some amazing people we’ve lost this year. Many role models – from astronauts to comedians, from singers to actors, and broadcasters to athletes, 2017 has come and gone, and with it, many talented people.
Best known for: being the last person to walk on the moon
Best known for: The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Best known for: Midnight Express and Elephant Man
Best known for: Battlestar Galactica
Best known for: Apollo 13, Twister, and Titanic
Best known for: presiding over The People’s Court
Best known for: “We are Family” performed with her sisters
Best known for: being the “father of rock and roll”
Best known for: being the “King of Daytime TV” and game shows like The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and The Gong Show
Best known for: playing Joanie Cunningham on Happy Days
Best known for: chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures
Best known for: playing James Bond
Best known for: The Allman Brothers Band
Best known for: sports reporting in Sports Illustrated and National Public Radio
Best known for: TV series Batman
Best known for: Animal House
Best known for: TV series Mission: Impossible and movie Ed Wood
Best known for: Singer for Linkin Park
Best known for: playing the father in Home Alone
Best known for: Frank Sinatra’s wife and advocacy for abused children
Best known for: the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel (and Natasha Fatale!) on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
Best known for: Country western singer
Best known for: Comedian who used humor to advocate for social justice
Best known for: The Nutty Professor and The Bellboy
Best known for: Cheers and Murphy Brown
Best known for: Co-founder of Steely Dan
Best known for: Country western singer
Best known for: Country western duo Montgomery Gentry
Best known for: The Sopranos and Goodfellas
Best known for: Middleweight champion, whose life was portrayed in Raging Bull
Best known for: Playboy magazine founder
Best known for: Let’s Make a Deal
Best known for: the Heartbreakers
Best known for: Hall of Fame Quarterback and NFL Most Valuable Player
Best known for: award-winning MLB pitcher
Best known for: Higgins on Magnum P.I.
Best known for: Co-founder of AC/DC
Best known for: Touched by an Angel
Best known for: grandfather Russell Huxtable on The Cosby Show
Best known for: The Partridge Family
Best known for: Sports broadcasting for Super Bowls, Olympics, NCAA Final Fours and baseball games
Best known for: Louisa von Trapp in The Sound of Music
Best known for: Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show