Stars We Lost In 2015 [VIDEO]

George "Meadowlark" Lemon, 83, Harlem Globetrotter Legend

"Meadowlark" Lemon entertained millions of fans around the world with his antics as a longtime member of the Harlem Globetrotters, died Sunday December 29 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 83.

Lemon played 24 seasons and by his own estimate more than 16,000 games with the famous Globetrotters. He loved by adults and adored by children.  Lemon was immortalized in Harlem Globetrotters cartoons, appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," episodes of "Scooby Doo" and many national TV commercials.

Robert Loggia, 85, Actor

Oscar-nominated actor Robert Loggia, best known for his work in 'Scarface' and 'Big,' died of Alzheimer's disease Friday December 4 at his home in Los Angeles. Loggia’s most notable film credits included “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Prizzi’s Honor,” “Independence Day,” David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” and “Big,” in which he played a toy company owner and performed a memorable duet on a giant foot-operated piano with Tom Hanks. He played Miami drug lord Frank Lopez in “Scarface.”

B.B. King, 89, musician

The poor boy who lived in a sharecropper’s shack grew up to become a legendary guitarist and the true king of American blues. “The Thrill Is Gone” said a note on his website after he passed away; his countless fans agree. Arguably one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century, blues legend B.B. King died last May 14 in Las Vegas at the age of 89.

Kyle Jean-Baptiste, 21, Actor

Baptiste made history as the first African-American to play the lead role in a Broadway production of "Les Miserables," died Friday night on August 28 in New York.

Marc Thibodeau, a spokesman for the production, said Jean-Baptiste fell from a fire escape. The critically acclaimed "Les Miserables," was in its second year since returning to Broadway, was Jean-Baptiste's Broadway debut.

The 21-year-old played the roles of the constable and Courfeyrac and was also the understudy for the lead role of Jean Valjean -- what he called his "dream role."

Marque Lynche, 34, Actor
Former All New Mickey Mouse Clubstar Marque "Tate" Lynche died on Dec. 6 at the age of 34. According to law enforcement, Lynche's roommate discovered his body in his New York apartment. The medical examiner has yet to determine a cause of death. Lynche appeared as a Mousketeer from 1993 to 1995, alongside Britney Spears,Ryan Gosling, Justin TimberlakeandChristina Aguilera. He also made it to the semi-finals of American Idol's third season.

Ben E. King, 76, Singer

The legendary singer for the Drifters was most famous for his classic R&B song "Stand By Me." He also hit the charts in the 1960s with "Spanish Harlem," "This Magic Moment" and more.  King reportedly died April 30 at his home in New Jersey after suffering a heart ailment. He was 76 years old.

Percy Sledge, 74, Singer

The soulful singer will always be remembered for "When a Man Loves a Woman," his beloved 1966 ballad, which found a second round of fans after its inclusion in The Big Chill (1983) soundtrack. He was still performing as late as last year, and released his last album, The Gospel of Percy Sledge, in 2013. Sledge died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 14, 2015. He had been battling cancer in the months before his death, he was 74.

Lesley Gore, 68, Singer

Gore died February 16 at a New York City hospital following a bout with cancer at 68.  She was still just a teenager when she recorded hits such as “It’s My Party” and the feminist anthem “You Don’t Own Me” (“Just let me be myself/That's all I ask of you"). She later became an award-winning songwriter and spent more than 30 years with partner Lois Sasson.

Bob Simon, 73, TV Journalist

The Emmy-winning CBS correspondent spent 40 days being beaten and tortured as a prisoner in Bagdad in 1991 — a nightmare he described in his memoir Forty Days. Simon was working on a report about Ebola when he was killed in a car accident. On February 11, 2015, he died after suffering severe head trauma and a broken neck in a car crash on the West Side Highway of Manhattan, New York City.

Ernie Banks, 83, Baseball Player

Banks died of a heart attack at a Chicago hospital on January 23, 2015, shortly before his 84th birthday.
The first African American to join the Chicago Cubs, Banks (“Mr. Cub”) was beloved in the city, where he reigned from 1953 to 1971. The Sun-Times wrote, “No other player in franchise history — or in the club’s future — will ever be adored in the same way.”

Bobbi Kristina Brown, 22, Daughter of Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown

"Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away at 22, Sunday, July, 26 2015, surrounded by her family," the statement said. "She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months."

She was treated in a hospital and then a hospice facility six months after being found face down in the bathtub at her Roswell, Georgia, home on January 31. Sadly three years to the day, after her mother accidentally drowned in a bathtub in Beverly Hills February 11, 2012.

Phil "Flip" Saunders, 60, Basketball Coach

Beloved head coach of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, has died, the team announced Sunday October 25.  Saunders, who also served as the team's president of basketball operations and part owner, was 60. The veteran coach was being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma. Last September, the team announced that Saunders would sit out the upcoming basketball season.

Saunders is credited with leading the Timberwolves to some of the team's most successful seasons during his tenure as coach from 1995 to 2005. He returned to the Timberwolves in 2013 to the front office, and the following year became head coach once again.

Paul Prudhomme, 75, Louisiana Chef

Chef Prudhomme was credited with helping popularize Cajun and Creole cuisine, he died Thursday October 8, according to K-Paul's, the New Orleans restaurant he owned.

Prudhomme, who was 75, died in New Orleans after a brief illness, the restaurant said. Prudhomme was one of the nation's first celebrity chefs, and his restaurants attracted huge crowds and widespread acclaim. He hosted several cooking shows and authored nine cookbooks, some of them bestsellers.

Erik Roner, 38 ,extreme athlete

Erik Roner was seen regularly on MTV series "Nitro Circus" and in 2012's "Nitro Circus: The Movie" and Outside Television, died Monday September 28 in a parachuting accident.  Roner was participating in a group skydive at the Squaw Valley Institute's annual Celebrity Golf Tournament.  A native of northern California, cultivated a fan base with his breathtaking ski-BASE jump excursions.  One of his YouTube videos has nearly half a million views.

Leonard Nimoy, 83, Actor

Nimoy died on February 27, 2015, at the age of 83. Best known as Spock, the pointy eared human/Vulcan voice of reason, on the Starship Enterprise. Though in later years Nimoy hoped to be known for more than his 1960s Star Trek role — his first autobiography was called I Am Not Spock (1975) — the actor could hardly escape his iconic status. He titled his 1995 memoir I Am Spock.

Scott Weiland, 48, singer

The lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver was found dead at the age of 48 on Dec. 3 at a tour stop in Bloomington, Minn., with his band The Wildabouts. Weiland founded Stone Temple Pilots with Robert and Dean DeLeo in the mid-1980s. The band found mainstream success in the 1990s with hit singles including "Sex Type Thing," "Creep," and "Interstate Love Song."  Weiland, who struggled with addiction and substance abuse, including heroin use. He also released several solo albums as well as the 2011 autobiography, Not Dead & Not for Sale.

Charlie Sanders, 68, NFL Hall of Famer

Hall of Fame tight end Charlie Sanders died Thursday July 2, after being diagnosed with cancer eight months earlier. He was 68. He was initially diagnosed with cancer in November 2014, when doctors found a tumor behind his right knee.

Sanders spent all 10 of his NFL seasons with the Lions, emerging as one of the best tight ends of his era. He was selected to seven Pro Bowls, three All-Pro teams and the NFL's 1970s All-Decade Second Team. At the time of his retirement, he held Detroit's all-time record for receptions (336).

Julian Bond, 75, Civil Rights Leader

Bond died from complications of vascular disease on August 15, 2015, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, aged 75. The legendary activist spent decades working for equal rights, including as leader of the NAACP and a Georgia state senator. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which Bond co-founded, declared on its website that our country had lost “one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice.”

Dick Van Patten, 86, Actor

Van Patten later took comic roles in films such as Spaceballs (1987), and wrote a 2009 memoir called Eighty Is Not Enough.

Dusty Rhodes, 69, WWE Wrestler

The big, boisterous, bionic elbow-throwing professional wrestler who billed himself as "The American Dream," died Thursday June 11.  On June 10, 2015, paramedics responded to Rhodes' home in Orlando, Florida, after getting a call reporting that he had fallen. They drove him to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day. He was a good-guy wrestler, often battling heels like Superstar Billy Graham, Blackjack Mulligan, Harley Race and The Four Horsemen, who were led by Ric Flair.

Ornette Coleman, 85, Musician

Coleman died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 85 in New York City on June 11, 2015. He was one of the most influential and mercurial figures in jazz, this alto saxophonist and composer wrote a bevy of compositions such as “Lonely Woman,” “Una Bonita,” and “Ramblin,” which are now jazz standards.

Christopher Lee, 93, Actor

Lee died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on 7 June 2015, after being admitted for respiratory problems and heart failure.  He passed shortly after celebrating his 93rd birthday there. The aristocratic British actor is known among modern moviegoers as Count Dooku and Saruman in the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films, but he made his name playing a formidable Count Dracula in numerous productions. He aced that role, by all accounts — including Lee’s. He once said the character "had never been played properly” before he took it on.

Stuart Scott, 49, Sportscaster

Stuart Scott passed away after a long battle with rare form of cance on January 4 at the age of 49. The longtime ESPN anchor was one of the most popular faces behind the sports desk, known for his humor and signature catchphrases (“Boo-yah!” was big). A fellow sports anchor called him “the man who made sportscasting cool.”

Samuel Sarpong Jr., 40, Actor

Former co-host of MTV's "Yo Momma" and model, died Monday October 26, after jumping off the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, California, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said. He was 40.

Allen Toussaint, 77, Songwriter/musician/producer

Influential New Orleans songwriter, musician and producer died Monday November 9 of a heart attack, his son said in a statement. Toussaint, 77, had been touring in Madrid.

His music, often by way of his house band The Meters, was also widely sampled by hip-hop artists such as Amerie, Public Enemy and N.W.A. "I don't want y'all thinkin' 'this is just some old legend that passed away' naw," Questlove, founding member of the hip-hop group The Roots, wrote on Instagram. "This dude wrote some of your favorite music & you just didn't know it."

Al Molinaro, 96, Actor

died Friday October 30 in Glendale, California, his son, Michael Molinaro, said. He was 96. Al Molinaro, best known for his role as Big Al Delvecchio in the long-running sitcom "Happy Days," suffered from complications of a gallstone ailment and was at Verdugo Hills Hospital when he died. Due to his age, he could not have his gallbladder removed.

Donna Douglas, 82, Actress

Douglas died January 1 at 83.  She was best known as the sweet blond Elly May Clampett of the 1960s hit show The Beverly Hillbillies. She later became a gospel singer and in 2013 released a cookbook, Southern Favorites With a Taste of Hollywood.

Omar Sharif, 83, Actor

The Egyptian-born star is known for his memorable, mustachioed roles in two classic films: the lead in Doctor Zhivago (1965) and tribal chief Sherif Ali, opposite Peter O'Toole, in 1962's Lawrence of Arabia. He died at 83, July 10 after suffering a heart attack in Cairo. His later acting career was less stellar — though he became a champion bridge player.

Cynthia Robinson, 71, Musician
Robinson, co-founded Sly and the Family Stone and was the group's trumpeter. She died at the age of 71 on Nov. 23 after battling cancer. Born in Sacramento, Calif., Robinson's first taste of music came through playing in her high school marching band and singing in her church's choir. Robinson met Sly in high school and first collaborated with him after joining The Stoners in 1966. After they disbanded, she and her cousin Larry Graham became members of The Family Stone. Their hits included "Everyday People," "Dance to the Music," "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "I Want to Take You Higher." In 1993, the group was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Nathaniel Marston, 40, Actor

The One Life to Live star died on Nov. 11 at the age of 40 after being involved in a car accident in which he was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from his car during the crash. He had been on life-support after sustaining serious injuries to his neck and back. Marston is best known for playing Michael McBain on One Life to Live and has also appeared on As the World Turns.

Fred Thompson, 73, Actor/ US Senator

Thompson died of lymphoma n November 1, he was 73. Yes, he was a towering (6-foot-five) senator from Tennessee, but he was also (briefly) a GOP presidential candidate in 2008 and an actor — appearing on Law and Order and in movies such as In the Line of Fire and Die Hard 2. His family said in a statement upon his passing, "He enjoyed a hearty laugh, a strong handshake, a good cigar, and a healthy dose of humility."

Dave Henerson, 57, Baseball 

Former Major League Baseball star passed away Sunday December 27 from a massive heart attack at Harborview Hospital in Seattle. He was 57.

Known as "Hendu," Henderson hit one of the most dramatic home runs in Boston Red Sox history in 1986. With the Red Sox down 5-4 in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, Henderson connected on a two-strike, two-out, two-run homer that gave Boston a 6-5 lead. The Red Sox would win game 5 as well as Games 6 and 7 to advance to the World Series where they lost to the New York Mets.

Yogi Berra, 90, Baseball Player

Berra died at age 90 of natural causes in his sleep in West Caldwell, New Jersey, on September 22, 2015.  The beloved Yankees catcher was a powerhouse player in the 1950's, an 18-time All-Star, and later a successful manager. Yet he was almost as famous for his quirky wit, coining Yogi-isms such as “It's like déjà vu all over again.”

Moses Malone, 60, Basketball Star

The 6-foot-10 NBA legend, nicknamed "Chairman of the Boards," set the single-game record for offensive rebounds (21). Moses Malone, one of pro basketball's most renowned players, died on Sunday September 13 at 60.  The NBA suggested his death was unexpected and the cause has not been released.

"We are stunned and deeply saddened by the passing of Hall of Famer Moses Malone, an NBA legend gone far too soon," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Malone one of its 50 best players of all time in 1996, and NBA enshrined him in the Hall of Fame five years later.  In a TV interview last year, Malone said "being humble" was the key to his success in the sport.

Darryl Dawkins, 58, Basketball Star

Longtime NBA center, perhaps best known for his emphatic slam dunks, died Thursday August 27 at the age of 58. The former Philadelphia 76ers star's died, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. The cause of death is unknown.

Amelia Boynton Robinson, 104, Civil Rights Activist

Robinson was a matriarch of the civil rights movement immortalized in a photograph taken on Bloody Sunday, has died. She turned 104 on August 18, though some in her closest circles insist she was 110. She suffered a stroke last July and had been hospitalized in Montgomery, Alabama. She died early Wednesday August 26.

Wayne Rogers, 82, Actor

The actor who portrayed wisecracking Army surgeon "Trapper John" McIntyre in the first three seasons of TV's "M*A*S*H," died Thursday December 31. Rogers died of complications from pneumonia in Los Angeles, he was 82.

Sean Price, 43, rapper

The Brooklyn rapper was a member of hip-hop groups Heltah Skeltah, Boot Camp Clik and Random Axe, died Saturday August 8, he was 43. "It is with beyond a heavy heart that Duck Down Music is sadly confirming that Sean Price passed away early this morning in his Brooklyn apartment," a statement on Duck Down Music's website said.

The group released its debut album, Nocturnal, in 1996. The two were members of hip-hop collective Boot Camp Clik, which included Black Moon's Buckshot, Smif-N-Wessun's Tek and Steele and the trio O.G.C., according to Billboard. Boot Camp Clik released its first album, For the People, in 1997.

The cause of his death is not known. He is survived by his wife and three children.