Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion was 75.  He scored 371 goals in 14 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1950s and 1960s and another 22 goals in a two-year comeback with the New York Rangers from 1966 to 1968 before being named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

Jim "Shaky" Hunt was 79.  He was a fixture of Toronto's sports journalism scene for decades, writing for the Toronto Sun and appearing on the Fan 590 sports radio as a popular host.

Gordon Parks was 93.  He captured the struggles and triumphs of black America as a photographer for Life magazine and then became Hollywood's first major black director with "The Learning Tree" and the hit "Shaft."

Dana Reeve was 44.  She fought for better treatments and possible cures for paralysis through the Christopher Reeve Foundation, named for her late actor-husband.

Kirby Puckett was 45.  He carried the Minnesota Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He broke into the majors in 1984, had a career batting average of .318, won six Gold Gloves and was named an All-Star ten

Johnny Jackson was 54.  He was the drummer for the Jackson 5.

Jack Wild was 53.  He was best known for playing the Artful Dodger as a teenager in the 1968 film "Oliver!."

Dennis Weaver was 81.  He was the slow-witted deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western "Gunsmoke" and the New Mexico deputy solving New York crime in "McCloud."

Darren McGavin was 83.  He was "The Old Man," the narrator's father, in the classic Christmas movie "A Christmas Story".

Don Knotts was 81.  He was the the skinny, lovable nerd who kept generations of television audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show". I, like many others of my generation, first got to know Knotts as Ralph Furley, the landlord on "Three's Company".

Curt Gowdy was 86.  He was the smooth voice of sports history, a welcome companion who brought listeners Ted Williams' last home run, the first Super Bowl and dozens of other dramatic moments.

Billy Cowsill was 58.  He was the lead singer of the 1960s family band The Cowsills.

Peter Benchley was 65.  His novel Jaws terrorized millions of swimmers even as the author himself became an advocate for the conservation of sharks.

Franklin Cover was 77.  He became a familiar face as George and Louise Jefferson's white neighbor in the long-running TV sitcom "The Jeffersons."

Betty Friedan was 85.  Her manifesto "The Feminine Mystique" became a best seller in the 1960s and laid the groundwork for the modern feminist movement.

Al Lewis was 82.  He was the cigar-chomping patriarch of "The Munsters" whose work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate never eclipsed his role as Grandpa from the television sitcom.

Coretta Scott King was 78.  She turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality.

Len Carlson was 68.  He was the narrator in the popular Canadian cartoon Rocket Robin Hood, the voice of several Marvel cartoon characters including Captain America and Spider-Man's enemy The Green Goblin, and the voice of Bert Raccoon in CBC's The Raccoons.

Chris Penn was 43.  He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and starred in dozens of films. I'll always remember him as Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in "Reservoir Dogs".  "Larry, stop pointin' that fuckin' gun at my Dad!"

Anthony Franciosa was 77.  His strong portrayals of moody, troubled characters made him a Hollywood star in the 1950s and '60s.

Wilson Pickett was 64.  He was the soul pioneer best known for the fiery hits "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour."

Shelley Winters was 85.  She was the forceful, outspoken star who graduated from blond bombshell parts to dramas, winning Academy Awards as supporting actress in "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "A Patch of Blue."

Barry Cowsill was 50.  He achieved teen idol status in the late 1960s as a member of the Partridge Family-inspiring pop act the Cowsills.

Lou Rawls was 72.  He was the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to record such classic tunes as "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine."

Irving Layton was 93.  His gritty, satiric and erotic poems left an indelible mark on Canada's literary landscape.