Gone, but never to be FORGOTTEN
British stage and TV actor Tim Pigott-Smith, aged 70, died in April. One of his last acting roles was playing the title role in TV movie Charles III. Peter Sallis, aged 96, was a Last Of The Summer Wine regular and also known to children everywhere as the voice of cheese-loving inventor Wallace in Wallace And Gromit. June also saw the passing of film reviewer Barry Norman, aged 83, Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond, aged 91, plus Coronation Street and comedy favourite Roy Barraclough, at 81.
Oscar winner and former Space 1999 actor Martin Landau died in July at the age of 89. Actor Hywel Bennett, aged 73, and former Doctor Who companion Deborah Watling, aged 69, also passed away the same month.
August marked the death of American comedy star Jerry Lewis at the age of 91. He first found fame as a comedy duo with Dean Martin before enjoying solo success in films such as The Nutty Professor and The King Of Comedy.
Harry Potter and All Creatures Great And Small actor Robert Hardy also passed away in November at the age of 91. He played British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill in six different films.
Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner died in September at the age of 91. He was laid to rest in the crypt next door to Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe’s, which he bought for £55,930 in 1992.
Coronation Street’s Liz Dawn died the same month at the age of 77. She played Vera Duckworth in the ITV soap and first appeared in 1974 with Bill Tarmey playing her husband Jack.
Comedian and former Never Mind The Buzzcocks team captain Sean Hughes died in October at the age of 51 and 81-year-old actress Rosemary Leach passed away the same month.
The music world also said goodbye to rock ‘n’ roll original Chuck Berry, aged 90, 89-year-old Blueberry Hill singer Fats Domino, 81-year-old country and western singer Glen Campbell, former teen idol David Cassidy at 66, 41-year-old Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, Tom Petty, aged 66, and French singing star Johnny Hallyday, aged 74.
November saw the death of comedy actors Rodney Bewes, aged 79, Keith Barron, aged 83, and TV chef and restaurant owner Antonio Carluccio, aged 80. Keith Chegwin, who became a household name hosting Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Cheggers Plays Pop and Saturday Superstore, passed away this month at the age of 60.
Known to millions as “Cheggers,” comedy performer Ricky Gervais, who cast him in his TV shows Extras, said he was a “national treasure”.