Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2020

In a year defined by a devastating pandemic, the world lost iconic defenders of civil rights, great athletes and entertainers who helped define their genres.

Many of their names hold a prominent place in the collective consciousness — RBG, Kobe, Maradona, Eddie Van Halen, Little Richard, Sean Connery, Alex Trebek, Christo — but pandemic restrictions often limited the public’s ability to mourn their loss in a year that saw more than a million people die from the coronavirus.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — known as the Notorious RBG to her many admirers — was one of the many noteworthy figures who died in 2020.

In a court known for solemn legal proceedings, Ginsburg became a cultural and social media icon whose fierce defense of women’s rights earned her a devoted following. She died in September after 27 years on the country’s highest court. Making few concessions to age and health problems, she showed a steely resilience and became the leader of liberal justices on the court.

The world also said goodbye to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement who died in July.

Other former political figures who died this year include Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, New York Mayor David Dinkins, Arizona Gov. Jane Hull, Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, U.N. Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and FBI Director William S. Sessions.

Some of the year’s deaths struck down relatively young people, leaving mourners with the heartbreak of a life gone too soon.

Basketball great Kobe Bryant died along with several others in a January helicopter crash at age 41. And in a shock to fans, actor Chadwick Boseman, who inspired audiences with his portrayal of comic book superhero Black Panther, died of cancer in August at age 43.

Others in the world of arts and entertainment who died in 2020 include actors Olivia de Havilland, Kirk Douglas, Irrfan Khan, Max von Sydow, Diana Rigg, Ian Holm, Rishi Kapoor and Franca Valeri; musicians Ellis Marsalis Jr., John Prine, Bonnie Pointer, Kenny Rogers, Juliette Greco and Toots Hibbert; filmmakers Nobuhiko Obayashi, Joel Schumacher and Ivan Passer; authors Mary Higgins Clark and Clive Cussler; TV hosts Regis Philbin and Jim Lehrer; magician Roy Horn; and fashion designer Kenzo Takada.

Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2020 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):

JANUARY

David Stern, 77. Nick Gordon, 30. Don Larsen, 90. Neil Peart, 67. Elizabeth Wurtzel, 52. Buck Henry, 89. Ivan Passer, 86. Sultan Qaboos bin Said, 79. Jimmy Heath, 93. Thomas Railsback, 87. Terry Jones, 77. Jim Lehrer, 85. Kobe Bryant, 41. John Andretti, 56. Mary Higgins Clark, 92. Anne Cox Chambers, 100.

FEBRUARY

Andy Gill, 64. The guitarist who supplied the scratching, seething sound that fueled the highly influential British punk band Gang of Four. Feb. 1.

Bernard Ebbers, 78. George Steiner, 90. Daniel arap Moi, 95. Kirk Douglas, 103. Beverly Pepper, 97. Roger Kahn, 92. Orson Bean, 91. Robert Conrad, 84. Mirella Freni, 84. Joseph Shabalala, 78. Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien, 86. Zoe Caldwell, 86. Charles Portis, 86. Mickey Wright, 85. Sy Sperling, 78. Barbara “B.” Smith, 70. Thich Quang Do, 91. Katherine Johnson, 101. Clive Cussler, 88. Hosni Mubarak, 91.

MARCH

Jack Welch, 84. Ernesto Cardenal, 95. James Lipton, 93. Bobbie Battista, 67. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, 100. Amory Houghton Jr., 93. Max von Sydow, 90. Rev. Darius L. Swann, 95. Charles Wuorinen, 81. Lyle Waggoner, 84. Kenny Rogers, 81. Terrence McNally, 81. Manu Dibango, 86. Floyd Cardoz, 59. Fred “Curly” Neal, 77. Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, 98. Tom Coburn, 72. Krzysztof Penderecki, 86. Joe Diffie, 61. Bill Withers, 81.

APRIL

Ellis Marsalis Jr., 85. Adam Schlesinger, 52. Tom Dempsey, 73. Honor Blackman, 94. Earl Graves Sr., 85. John Prine, 73. Herbert Stempel, 93. Linda Tripp, 70. Mort Drucker, 91. Phyllis Lyon, 95. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 82. Stirling Moss, 90. Brian Dennehy, 81. Jane Hull, 84. Paul O’Neill, 84. Irrfan Khan, 54. Denis Goldberg, 87. Rishi Kapoor, 67.

MAY

Bobby Lee Verdugo, 69. Shady Habash, 22. Rosalind Elias, 90. Don Shula, 90. Roy Horn, 75. Little Richard, 87. Betty Wright, 66. Jerry Stiller, 92. Astrid Kirchherr, 81. Phyllis George, 70. Fred Willard, 86. Ken Osmond, 76. Saleh Abdullah Kamel, 79. Jerry Sloan, 78. Eddie Sutton, 84. Stanley Ho, 98. Larry Kramer, 84. Christo, 84.

JUNE

Wes Unseld, 74. Shigeru Yokota, 87. Bonnie Pointer, 69. Pierre Nkurunziza, 56. William S. Sessions, 90. Charles Webb, 81. Edén Pastora, 83. Jean Kennedy Smith, 92. Vera Lynn, 103. Ian Holm, 88. Joel Schumacher, 80. Milton Glaser, 91. Thomas Edwin Rudolfo Anaya, 82. Carl Reiner, 98. Johnny Mandel, 94.

JULY

Hugh Downs, 99. Nick Cordero, 41. Ennio Morricone, 91. Charlie Daniels, 83. Mary Kay Letourneau, 58. Naya Rivera, 33. Kelly Preston, 57. Joanna Cole, 75. John Lewis, 80. Rev. C.T. Vivian, 95. Regis Philbin, 88. Peter Green, 73. John Saxon, 83. Olivia de Havilland, 104. Connie Culp, 57. Lee Teng-hui, 97. Herman Cain, 74. Alan Parker, 76.

AUGUST

Wilford Brimley, 85. John Hume, 83. Shirley Ann Grau, 91. Brent Scowcroft, 95. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, 83. Franca Valeri, 100. Robert Trump, 71. Slade Gorton, 92. Gail Sheehy, 83. Lute Olson, 85. Osamu Masuko, 71. Chadwick Boseman, 43. John Thompson, 78. Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, 98. Tom Seaver, 75.

SEPTEMBER

Kaing Guek Eav, 77. Diana Rigg, 82. Toots Hibbert, 77. Terence Conran, 88. Florence Howe, 91. Winston Groom, 77. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87. Rev. Robert Graetz, 92. Michael Lonsdale, 89. Ang Rita, 72. Gale Sayers, 77. Juliette Greco, 93. Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, 91. Helen Reddy, 78. Timothy Ray Brown, 54. Mac Davis, 78. Sister Ardeth Platte, 84.

OCTOBER

Bob Gibson, 84. Kenzo Takada, 81. Eddie Van Halen, 65. Johnny Nash, 80. Mohammad Reza Shajarian, 80. Whitey Ford, 91. Joe Morgan, 77. Bernard S. Cohen, 86. Mahmoud Yassin, 79. Christopher Pendergast, 71. Rhonda Fleming, 97. Sid Hartman, 100. Spencer Davis, 81. A British guitarist and bandleader whose eponymous rock group had 1960s hits including “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m a Man.” Oct. 19. James Randi, 92. Lee Kun-Hee, 78. Diane di Prima, 86. Billy Joe Shaver, 81. Sean Connery, 90.

NOVEMBER

Robert Fisk, 74. Tom Metzger, 82. Norm Crosby, 93. Alex Trebek, 80. Saeb Erekat, 65. Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, 84. Paul Hornung, 84. Soumitra Chatterjee, 85. Walid al-Moallem, 79. Jan Morris, 94. David Dinkins, 93. Bruce Carver Boynton, 83. Diego Maradona, 60. Dave Prowse, 85. Eddie Benton-Banai, 89.

DECEMBER

Thomas M. Reavley, 99. Valery Giscard d’Estaing, 94. Rafer Johnson, 86. Alison Lurie, 94. David L. Lander, 73. Tabaré Vázquez, 80. Paul Sarbanes, 87.