In Memoriam -- Sept. to Dec. 2005
Dec. 25, 2005
A look at some of the notable people who passed in 2005.
Shirley Chisholm, 80 -- First African-American Woman in Congress.
Johnny Carson, 79 -- Longtime host of "The Tonight Show."
Hunter S. Thompson, 67 -- "Gonzo" journalist.
Pope John Paul II, 85
Johnnie Cochran, 67 -- Attorney.
"If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
Saul Bellow, 89 -- Novelist and Nobel laureate.
Anne Bancroft, 73 -- Actress.
Luther Vandross, 54 -- Singer.
L. Patrick Gray, 88 -- FBI Director under President Nixon.
"And Mark Felt, who was my trusted No. 2 man, has come out identifying himself as Deep Throat. I could not have been more shocked and more disappointed in a man whom I had trusted."
John H. Johnson, 87 -- Founder, Ebony and Jet magazines.
Peter Jennings, 67, -- ABC News anchor.
"There is no one absolutely essential truth for all people, and that every time I look at a coin I instinctually want to look at the other side."
William Rehnquist, 80 -- Chief justice, U.S. Supreme Court.
Simon Wiesenthal, 96 -- Nazi hunter.
Rosa Parks, 92 -- Civil rights pioneer.
"People always say what I did, but it wasn't what I did, it was what the driver did when he had me arrested. But the only thing I was doing was trying to get home from work."
Peter Drucker, 95 -- Business innovator.
Eugene McCarthy, 89 -- Former Minnesota senator.
Richard Pryor, 65 -- Comedian.
Dec. 18, 2005
Jack Anderson, 83 -- Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist who investigated government corruption.
"We've got the Justice Department settling antitrust cases for cash on the barrelhead."
John Spencer, 58 -- Actor who was best known for his Emmy-winning role on "The West Wing."
William Proxmire, 90 -- Former Wisconsin senator who fought against big spending and government waste.
"I'd like to be remembered as somebody who tried, persisted, never gave up, and who occasionally succeeded. When I succeeded, it was in the national interest."
Dec. 11, 2005
Richard Pryor, 65 -- Comedian whose raunchy, race-based, stand-up comedy routines influenced a generation.
"I remember tricks used to come through our neighborhood. That's where I first met white people. They come down through our neighborhood to help the economy."
Eugene McCarthy, 89 -- Former Minnesota senator and presidential candidate whose anti-war message helped push Lyndon Johnson out of the 1968 presidential race.
"In this year, I sensed what this country needed -- namely that it needed and wanted a challenge to the president of the United States on the policies of Vietnam and the priorities for America."
Carroll Campbell, 65-- Former South Carolina governor.
Dec. 4, 2005
Stan Berenstain, 82 -- Created "The Berenstain Bears," a public television and book series, with his wife, Jan.
"People say, 'Is Papa Bear based on you?' And I say, 'Well, I'm not quite as dumb as Papa Bear often is. But yes, to a great extent he is based on me.' "
Michael Evans, 61 -- White House photographer for Ronald Reagan who was present during the assassination attempt on Reagan.
Wendie Jo Sperber, 47 -- Actress who became a breast cancer activist following her diagnosis with the disease.
"You have challenges and risks, and you just have to face what's right in front of you."
Nov. 27, 2005
Pat Morita, 73 -- Actor who earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Mr. Miyagi in "The Karate Kid."
Ruth Siems, 74 -- Inventor of Stove Top stuffing.
Hugh Sidey, 78 -- Journalist who covered nine presidencies for Time magazine.
"You look and you're struck with this thought that, you know, it's a dangerous world and a few people have it in their hands to make it work or destroy it."
Nov. 20, 2005
Ralph Edwards, 92 -- Creator and host of television's "This Is Your Life," who also produced "Truth or Consequences" and "Name That Tune."
P. Robert Tisch, 79 -- Chairman of the Loews Corporation and co-owner of the New York Giants football team.
Vine Deloria Jr., 72 -- Native-American author whose bestseller, "Custer Died for Your Sins," made him a spokesman for Indian issues.
"What I've tried to do is kind of get the flavor of being an Indian in the Indian community out to a larger audience."
Nov. 13, 2005
John Fowles, 79 -- Author whose novels "The Magus" and "The French Lieutenant's Woman" won critical praise and commercial success.
"A novel is always between two people -- it's the reader, the writer. And I like really reminding readers of that -- that I expect them to do some work too."
Peter Drucker, 95 -- Business innovator who was considered the father of modern management.
Moustapha Akkad, 75 -- The producer of the "Halloween" horror movies was killed in the Jordan hotel bombings alongside his daughter.
Nov. 6, 2005
Skitch Henderson, 87 -- Musician who led the band on "The Tonight Show" for more than a decade and later founded the New York Pops.
"I'm really a square. And it was such an incredible education for me when I became part of the NBC music department."
R.C. Gorman, 74 -- Navajo artist who was dubbed "the Picasso of American Indian artists."
Oct. 30, 2005
Rosa Parks, 92 -- Civil rights pioneer who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man. She was considered the catalyst of the civil rights movement.
"People always say what I did. But it wasn't what I did. It was what the driver did when he had me arrested. The only thing I was doing was trying to get home from work. If we were living in a democracy as we should have, we wouldn't, should not have had, been struggling for our equality that was already promised us."
Len Dresslar, 80 -- Voice of the Jolly Green Giant.
Wellington Mara, 89 -- New York Giants football team owner who led the team his father founded to two Super Bowl titles.
"I've had a successful stewardship of what was handed down to me and I take pride in that."
Oct. 23, 2005
Baker Knight, 72 -- Songwriter who penned songs for Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, and Ricky Nelson.
Edmund Bacon, 95 -- Philadelphia city planner whose visionary design transformed post-war Philadelphia. He's also the father of six children, including actor Kevin Bacon.
"You can create a vision so powerful, that it will penetrate the collective unconsciousness of the whole gol-darn city and it will get built."
Shirley Horn, 71 -- Jazz musician revered for her distinctive vocal style
Oct. 16, 2005
Vivian Malone Jones, 63 -- Integrated the University of Alabama and became the first African-American to graduate from the school.
"I felt that I had a right to be here. There was really a revolution going on in the country, and of course you feel that you want to be a part of it."
"We had opened a door. I think the door has opened even a little bit more. But it's still not open fully to black people."
Louis Nye, 92 -- Comic actor who was part of the ensemble cast of "The Steve Allen Show."
C. Delores Tucker, 78 -- Civil rights activist who led a campaign against gangsta rap.
"The moguls of the record industry must be made to understand the harm they are inflicting on our children. It's a poison that's affecting all of us. And we can stop it."
Oct. 9, 2005
Nipsey Russell, 80 -- Comedian who appeared in "Car 54, Where Are You?" and "The Wiz."
Jerry Juhl, 67 -- Head writer for "The Muppet Show," who also wrote for "Fraggle Rock" and "Sesame Street."
"We've had total freedom. You can sit down and type almost any insane fantasy you can think of on paper and there are people standing by to do it."
August Wilson, 60 -- Playwright who chronicled the African-American experience is a series of 10 award-winning plays.
"Writing is like walking through this landscape of the self: You discover your demons aren't as big as they used to be."
Oct. 2, 2005
Don Adams, 82 -- Actor who starred in "Get Smart."
"I was the character. I became the character."
M. Scott Peck, 69 -- Self-help author whose book "The Road Less Traveled" spent more than 13 years on the best-seller list.
"The current message of our culture is that we're here to be happy and fulfilled. I think that the meaning of life is that we're here to learn."
Constance Baker Motley, 84 -- Civil rights lawyer who was the first African-American woman appointed as a federal judge.
"We plan to, in all pending cases, ask the court for orders immediately desegregating all of the schools."
Sept. 25, 2005
Simon Wiesenthal, 96 -- Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals.
"Who was involved in the Holocaust has not the right to die in peace. Then, we cannot give this message for the future -- that the millions died for nothing."
Molly Yard, 93 -- Feminist who led the National Organization for Women during the fight over Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork.
"He [Bork] is a Neanderthal. He's a total extremist and doesn't deserve to be on the court."
Sandra Feldman, 65 -- Educator and union leader who advocated for better public schools as president of the American Federation of Teachers.
"It's the problem of poor children in America going to a very different school system from middle-class children. It's the problem of urban systems not having the same resources as suburban systems."
Sept. 18, 2005
Robert Wise, 91 -- Filmmaker who won four Academy Awards for his work as a producer and director.
Joseph Smitherman, 75 -- Former mayor of Selma, Ala., who advocated segregation, but later supported civil rights.
"I opposed the march. I opposed all their marches. I opposed their right to vote. But I was wrong."
Chris Schenkel, 82 -- Sportscaster who spent 30 years broadcasting for ABC Sports.
Sept. 11, 2005
Eugenia Charles, 86 -- Former prime minister of Dominica who was criticized for supporting the U.S. invasion of Grenada.
"I think we are all very horrified by the events that took place recently in Grenada."
Bob Denver, 70 -- Actor who starred as the bearded beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs, in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" and as the hapless castaway Gilligan on "Gilligan's Island."
Daniel Ruge, 88 -- Former White House physician who directed the medical team that treated President Reagan after he was shot in 1981.
"I think the public should know that the president is in good health, that he is able to govern."