Country music icon Dolly Parton was the rare celebrity whose popularity transcended generations and politics. Writing hundreds of songs including classics “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” she was one of music's most beloved personalities when she died last month. In addition to her musical success, she was also known for her philanthropy and business ventures that included the Dollywood theme park.
August also saw the death of actor Hayden Panettiere, a onetime child star who found fame on the TV shows “Heroes” and “Nashville.” Other noteworthy people who died in August include former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, actor Tim Curry, ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, Canadian TV news anchor Lloyd Robertson and Norwegian King Harald V. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who have died this year (the cause of death is cited, if available): Diane Crump, 77. In 1969, she became the first woman to ride professionally in a horse race and a year later became the first female jockey in the Kentucky Derby.
He was one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.” Jan. 5. The CIA turncoat who betrayed Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in U.S. history died in prison. The celebrated Hungarian filmmaker directed such works as “Sátántangó” and “The Turin Horse” and was the recipient of numerous awards for his long and often darkly comic films.
Goalie,” he was a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goalkeeper remains an NHL record. The guitarist and singer was an essential member of the Grateful Dead who helped found the sound of the San Francisco counterculture of the 1960s and kept it alive through decades of endless tours and marathon jams. The Grammy-nominated musician was known for his work with the Fugees and the Refugee Camp All-Stars, among others.
His popular comic strip “Dilbert” captured the frustration of beleaguered, white-collar cubicle workers and satirized the ridiculousness of modern office culture until he was abruptly dropped from syndication in 2023 for racist remarks. Her 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern Civil Rights Movement. At age 15, she was arrested nine months before Rosa Parks gained international fame for also refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus.
He was the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns — often in his trademark shade of “Valentino red” — were fashion show staples for nearly half a century. He won a weightlifting gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics before admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs under a secret program run by the totalitarian regime in the former Czechoslovakia. As a doctor, he was a leader of one of humanity’s greatest public health victories — the global eradication of smallpox.
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