MUHAMMAD ALI, 74
From Prince and David Bowie to Florence Henderson and Alan Thicke, we pay tribute to those no longer with us.
MUHAMMAD ALI, 74
Ali, an Olympic gold medalist who won 56 of 61 total fights in his esteemed professional boxing career, called himself the greatest, and no one disagreed. But he made his mark outside the ring as much as he did in it. Ali was a civil rights advocate and made it his mission to help others in need.
CHYNA - WWE wrestling legend found dead, in her home, at age 46
“He was the voice of defiance. He was the voice of calm. To me, he was a hero,” said friend Lionel Richie.
PEARL WASHINGTON - Syracuse basketball legend known for the "shake and bake" moves, died at the age of 52
CHYNA - WWE wrestling legend found dead, in her home, at age 46
DAVID BOWIE- Legendary British Rocker passed of cancer at age 69
PEARL WASHINGTON - Syracuse basketball legend known for the "shake and bake" moves, died at the age of 52
MAURICE WHITE - Legendary lead singer of "Earth, Wind, & Fire" passed after a long battle with Parkinson's at the age of 74
DAVID BOWIE- Legendary British Rocker passed of cancer at age 69
GLENN FREY -Founding member & guitarist of the "Eagles" band, died at age 67
MAURICE WHITE - Legendary lead singer of "Earth, Wind, & Fire" passed after a long battle with Parkinson's at the age of 74
JOEY FEEK - Formed the band "Jory + Rory", passed of cancer at age 40
GLENN FREY -Founding member & guitarist of the "Eagles" band, died at age 67
DENISE MATTHEWS - Singer & actress who fronted the group "Vanity 6", passed of kidney failure at age 57
JOEY FEEK - Formed the band "Jory + Rory", passed of cancer at age 40
RENÉ ANGÉLIL, 73
DENISE MATTHEWS - Singer & actress who fronted the group "Vanity 6", passed of kidney failure at age 57
The singer turned manager discovered a then-unknown Céline Dion in 1980 — and made her into a superstar. They wed in 1994.
CHRISTINA GRIMMIE, 22
“I lost the love of my life,” Dion told PEOPLE.
The Voice alum was tragically shot following a concert in Orlando.
ALAN RICKMAN, 69
“If your purpose in life was to make people’s hearts lighter with your voice and spirit, then mission accomplished, my friend,” said singer Andy Grammer in tribute.
He played the villain in everything from Die Hard to Harry Potter, but in real life calling the British star a baddie couldn’t have been further from the truth. “He had such a powerful and commanding presence,” said Kate Winslet, his Sense and Sensibility costar. “And that voice!
GARRY MARSHALL, 81
Oh, that voice. But the reality, of course, was that he was the kindest and best of men.”
Marshall was the man behind dozens of classics, from Pretty Woman to Happy Days, and was also the man who created some of America’s biggest stars.
BOBBY VEE, 73
“I was luckier than most to have loved him for my entire adult life and luckier still to have been loved by him,” said Julia Roberts.
The 1960s pop idol landed 38 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 list between 1959 and 1970.
PHIFE DAWG, 45
He was “the most meaningful person I’ve ever been on the stage with,” Bob Dylan once said
The founding member of A Tribe Called Quest died after a 25-year battle with diabetes.
GENE WILDER, 83
“The fight for his joy and happiness gave him everything he needed,” his fellow members of the hiphop group said in a statement.
“He was the most talented — and sneaky — actor,” said longtime friend and fellow actor Carl Reiner of the Willy Wonka star. “He would emote, and it sort of slipped out of him.
KEVIN MEANEY, 60
You were always amazed about how good he was — and fell in love with him.”
ALEXIS ARQUETTE, 47
The Uncle Buck and Big star performed on several late-night shows during his 25-year career, “He was the funniest and sweetest,” says fellow comic Kathy Griffin.
The transgender actress died with her family, including siblings David and Patricia, by her side.
MORLEY SAFER, 84
“She was a vanguard in the fight for understanding and acceptance for all trans people,” the family said in a statement.
The longtime news anchor died just one week after retiring from 60 Minutes. “He set the standard for what we all want to be as journalists,” Anderson Cooper told CNN.
ANTON YELCHIN, 27
“His kind shall not pass this way again.”
The Star Trek actor died after accidentally being pinned between his car and the gate of his home in June.
JANET RENO, 78
He was “kind, present, old-souled, curious, brilliant, funny, humble, honest and undeniably talented,” said his costar Zoë Saldana.
The first woman to serve as Attorney General was “an inspiration and a trailblazer for so many women serving in law enforcement and government, including me,” said Attorney General Loretta E.
JOSE FERNÁNDEZ, 24
Lynch.
A boat crash in South Florida on Sept. 25 ended the hopes of the all-star pitcher for the Miami Marlins.
ROBERT VAUGHN, 83
Fernández was posthumously given the National League Comeback Player of the Year award by his peers, and the Marlins will retire his number.
Viewers watched Vaughn save the world each week as the dashing international spy Napoleon Solo in the hit 1960s series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Said his costar David McCallum: “I am utterly devastated ...
DAVID GEST, 62
Losing him is like losing a part of me.”
The famed music producer worked with everyone from Al Green to ZZ Top in his long career. After a shortlived marriage to Liza Minnelli, Gest dabbled in reality TV, most recently appearing on Celebrity Big Brother U.K.
GWEN IFILL, 61
before his death in April.
She was a groundbreaking PBS anchor and author who covered seven presidential campaigns.
ARNOLD PALMER, 87
“Gwen was an extraordinary journalist—asking tough questions, holding people in power accountable and defending a strong and free press that makes our democracy work,” said President Obama.
Nicknamed “the King” of the golfing world, the winner of seven major championships revitalized the game when he came on the scene in 1954. “Arnold transcended the game of golf,” his longtime rival Jack Nicklaus wrote in tribute.
ANTONIN SCALIA, 79
“He was a legend.”
In 1986 the conservative became the first Italian-American to serve on the Supreme Court.
AGNES NIXON, 93
He also had a close friendship with liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who said, “It was my great good fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend.”
The Emmy-winning Nixon created One Life to Live and All My Children, tackling taboo topics like abortion, racism and AIDS.
ALAN THICKE, 69
“May this liveliest and loveliest of women rest in peace,” said AMC star Susan Lucci.
The TV icon, best known for his work as Dr. Jason Seaver on Growing Pains, suffered a heart attack while playing hockey with his youngest son in December.
ANGELA 'BIG ANG' RAIOLA, 55
Countless costars and friends paid tribute to the actor following his death, including son Robin Thicke, who wrote on Instagram, "He was the best man I ever knew. The best friend I ever had."
With her energetic, larger-than-life persona, the Mob Wives star quickly earned her own spinoffs.
MERLE HAGGARD, 79
“Even before there was any television show, everyone knew and loved Big Ang,” said the show’s executive producer Jennifer Graziano.
Locked up at 20, he was inspired to turn his life around by a prison performance by Johnny Cash. “He sang about cheating and drinking and his mama.
HARPER LEE, 89
That’s what country music is about,” Miranda Lambert told PEOPLE.
Her 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird still sells nearly 1 million copies each year.
LEONARD COHEN, 82
The classic story “proved literature’s power to change the moral stance of a nation,” author Ethan Canin told Entertainment Weekly.
“I think it’s a good song, but I think too many people sing it,” the legendary musician told The Guardian of his haunting hit “Hallelujah.” In a touching post on social media, his son Adam honored his father, saying, “There’s so much I wish I could thank him, for, just one last time.
RON GLASS, 71
I’d thank him for the comfort he always provided, for the wisdom he dispensed, for the marathon conversations, for his dazzling wit and humor.”
The Emmy nominee found fame as the affable detective Ron Harris on the TV show Barney Miller and later starred on the cult series Firefly.
JOHN GLENN, 95
“His laugh was beyond infectious, and his generosity was ever present,” tweeted costar Alan Tudyk.
The first American to orbit the Earth passed away in December after a brief hospitalization. After his time as an astronaut, the Ohio native became a U.S. senator before returning to space at 77 years old in 1998.
TAMMY GRIMES, 82
In 2012, President Barack Obama honored Glenn with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is survived by his longtime wife Annie and their children, John David Glenn and Carolyn Ann Glenn.
ZSA ZSA GABOR, 99
She shot to fame as the title character in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and her gritty voice and energetic presence earned her two Tony Awards.
Famously married nine times — and the first star to receive credit for being famous simply for being famous — Gabor died on Dec. 19. Recent health setbacks, beginning with a 2002 car accident and 2005 stroke, kept her out of the spotlight in her later years, with dementia ultimately taking her life.
GEORGE MICHAEL, 53
Gabor starred in a handful of movies and released several books, though it might be her presence on TV talk shows — on which she'd often call hosts and guests "dahlink" — for which she'll be most remembered. She was survived by her husband, Frederic von Anhalt, whom she married in 1986, and was preceded in death by her sister, actress Eva Gabor, in 1995.
Fans everywhere were saddened to hear of the '80s icon's passing, reportedly from heart failure, on Christmas Day. First a member of the pop duo Wham!
RICKY HARRIS, 54
and later finding fame on his own, the openly gay singer sold 100 million albums worldwide and garnered three American Music Awards, three Brit Awards and two Grammy Awards out of eight total nominations. At the time of his death he was working on a new album to be released in 2017.
The comedian-turned-actor passed away on Dec. 26. Most recently known for his work on Everybody Hates Chris, he got his start collaborating with Snoop Dogg before joining Ice Cube and Dr.
CARRIE FISHER, 60
Dre on tracks and appearing on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and in 1993's Poetic Justice. He is survived by his mother, ex-wife and two daughters.
After suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to L.A. on Dec. 23, the Star Wars actress died on Dec. 27.
DEBBIE REYNOLDS, 84
Born into a showbiz family — her parents are Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher — the actress found the spotlight early, and in time, racked up more than 90 film and television credits. Her love life was almost as interesting as the characters she played; she recently revealed that she had an affair with Harrison Ford on the Star Wars set, and was married to singer Paul Simon in the early '80s. She also battled drug and alcohol abuse, as well as bipolar disorder, and became an advocate for mental health causes. She is survived by Reynolds, her daughter Billie Lourd and her beloved dog, Gary.
One day after her daughter Carrie Fisher's passing, the screen legend died following a stroke. Known for her iconic roles in films like Singin' in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, among many others, she was also known for her love life, famously divorcing singer Eddie Fisher after he left her for Elizabeth Taylor, then going on to marry and divorce twice more.
The actresses eventually reconciled, and even starred together in the 2001 TV movie These Old Broads, which was written by Carrie.