celebrity deaths

For 33 years, the CBS Sunday night newsmagazine ’60 Minutes’ ended with Andy Rooney providing his wry and sometimes cantankerous observations on topics ranging from religion to his messy office. And now, just a month after retiring from the show, Rooney has died at the age of 92 after failing to recover from “serious complications” following minor surgery two weeks ago.

John Lennon‘s creativity and work ethic didn’t just help ensure the Beatles‘ music was legendary, it also inspired Apple’s recently deceased co-founder Steve Jobs to strive for perfection within his company, according to an authorized biography of the visionary by Walter Isaacson.

The self-proclaimed “King of Infomercials” Don Lapre, 47, was found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide on Sunday, although an investigation is still underway. Lapre was jailed in an Arizona federal jail without bond on charges of defrauding at least 220,000 people out of nearly $52 million.

Michael Jackson had millions of fans and supporters during his lifetime, but arguably the most ardent and vocal defender of the superstar since his death in 2009 has been older sibling Jermaine Jackson. He continues to uphold the late King of Pop’s legacy and paint a favorable picture of him, both verbally and in his recently released book, ‘You Are Not Alone, Michael: Through a Brother’s Eyes.’ R

Tom Wilson, who created the comic strip ‘Ziggy,’ has died at the age of 80, due to complications from pneumonia.

The toxicology report from Amy Winehouse’s autopsy is in. Chris Goodman, the Winehouse family spokesman, released a statement saying, “Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy’s system at the time of her death. Results indicate that alcohol was present, but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in he

Lyricist Jerry Leiber, who with composer and longtime collaborator Mike Stoller wrote songs recorded by Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones and many others, died Monday in Los Angeles. Leiber, 78, had been battling cardiopulmonary disease.

British pop singer Amy Winehouse, 27, who died on Saturday from causes that have yet to be determined, was mourned today as 200 of her family members and famous friends gathered for a private funeral in London. In a tribute to her close friend, reality star and ‘Fashion Police’ panel member Kelly Osbourne wore her blonde hair in Winehouse’s trademark beehive. Producer Mark Ronson, who worked with

Veteran stage and screen actor Roberts Blossom has died of natural causes in Santa Monica, California. He was 87. Blossom’s 40-year career included films like ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘Christine,’ and TV series such as ‘Northern Exposure’ and ‘Chicago Hope.’ But he’s perhaps best known for playing “Old Man Marley” in the classic holiday movie ‘Home Alone,’ in which he stole the hea

Sherwood Schwartz, the man who created or contributed to several iconic television shows, died Tuesday at 4AM of natural causes. He was 94. Schwartz worked in radio for Bob Hope before transitioning to television, where he won a 1961 Emmy as part of the writing team for 'The Red Skelton Show.' He also worked on series such as 'My Favorite Martian' and 'Harper Valley PTA.'

An autopsy released Thursday revealed that ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage’s death was caused by heart disease before he crashed his car in May. According to the autopsy, the 58-year-old wrestler, whose real name was Randy Poffo, “had an enlarged heart with severe blocking of his coronary arteries.”