Colleen Howe was 73. She was the wife of hockey great Gordie Howe and one of the first female sports agents. Known as "Mrs. Hockey," Colleen Howe promoted the sport in her own right and stood outside her husband's shadow through her charitable work and success as a businesswoman and author.

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Paul Harvey was 90. He was a broadcaster who captivated millions of radio listeners daily with his staccato delivery, firmly set opinions and old-fashioned outlook.

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James Whitmore was 87. He was the many-faceted character actor who delivered strong performances in movies, television and especially the theater with his popular one-man shows about Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt.

I knew him best as inmate Brooks Hatlen in The Shawshank Redemption.

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Lux Interior was 62. He was lead singer of influential garage-punk act the Cramps.

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Russ Germain was 62. He was the former host of flagship CBC radio news programs World Report and The World at Six.

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John Updike was 76. He was the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, prolific man of letters and erudite chronicler of sex, divorce and other adventures in the postwar prime of the American empire.

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Ricardo Montalban was 88. He was the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's "Fantasy Island."

I remember him well as Vincent Ludwig in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!.

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Patrick McGoohan was 80. He was an Emmy Award-winning actor who starred as a British spy in the 1960s TV series "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" and was known for playing various villainous roles in films and on television.

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Donald Westlake was 75. He was the prolific mystery writer who wrote more than 100 books, using his own name and several pseudonyms, including Richard Stark, Tucker Coe, Samuel Holt and Edwin West.

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Eartha Kitt was 81. She was the sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality.

It's fitting she passed on a day many of us were playing her best known tune, "Santa Baby."

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