Celebritydeaths.net

December 30, 2011: Ronald Searle, 91, British cartoonist behind the St Trinian's and Molesworth series. He was also lauded as a serious artist for his sketches made while a prisoner in the Changi POW camp in Singapore.
Link: Wikipedia; BBC

December 25, 2011: Israel Baker, 92, classical violinist who played and helped create the Bernard Hermann score on Alfred Hitchcock'a Psycho.
Link: Contact Music

December 24, Johannes Heesters, 108, Dutch entertainer who became a favourite in Germany but not in his homeland because of his association with the Nazis in the 1930s. His films included Die Leuchter des Kaisers and Das Hofkonzert.
Link: Variety

December 18, 2011: Václav Havel, 75, Czech poet and playwright who became president of the Czech Republic in 1993 after the separation of Czechoslovakia.
Link: Wikipedia

December 18, 2011: Ronnie Wolfe, 89, British writer best known for creating, with Ronald Chester, the sitcoms On the Buses and The Rag Trade.
Link: Guardian

December 17, 2011: Kim Jong-il, 69, North Korean leader born Yuri Irsenovich Kim. He reportedly died on a train of a heart attack. He led the nation since the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994.
Link: BBC; Wikipedia

December 17, 2011: Cesaria Evora, 70, Grammy Award-winning singer from Cape Verde, West Africa.
Link: BBC

December 16, 2011: Nicol Williamson, 75, British stage and screen actor whose roles included Hamlet, Sherlock Holmes, Merlin and Little John.
Link: LA Times

December 15, 2011: Christopher Hitchens, 62, Anglo-American writer, intellectual and outspoken atheist, of cancer.
Link: Vanity Fair

December 14, 2011: Billie Jo Spears, 74, US country singer whose biggest hit was Blanket on the Ground.
Link: Guardian

December 14, 2011: Joe Simon, 98, US comic book artist, writer and editor who co-created Captain America with Jack Kirby.
Link: NY Times

December 11, 2011: Harold Hokpins, 67, Australian stage and screen actor, of mesothelioma. He is best remembered for his roles in the films Don's Party, The Club and Gallipoli
Link: Herald Sun

December 8, 2011: Bob Burnett, 71, US folk musician with influential 1960s group the Highwaymen.
Link: LA Times

December 8, 2011: Sir Zelman Cowen, 92, Australian lawyer and academic who became the nation's Governor General.
Link: Brisbane Times

December 7, 2011: Jerry Robinson, 89, US comic-book artist whose creations included Batman's sidekick, Robin. He is also credited with creating arch villain The Joker, although Batman creator Bob Kane disputed that.
Link: BBC

December 7, 2011: Harry Morgan, 96, US screen actor, born Harry Bratsburg, best known for his role as Colonel Potter in the hit TV series M*A*S*H. He also starred in the 1960s series Dragnet.
Link: USA Today

December 6, 2011: Dobie Gray, 70, US pop ballad singer, of cancer. His hits included Drift Away, Loving Arms and In the Crowd.
Link: Variety

December 3, 2011: Dev Anand, 84, Bollywood actor once known as "the Adonis of Indian cinema". His films over a 65-career included Guide, Paying Guest,Jewel Thief and the recently released Chargesheet.
Link: BBC

December 2, 2011: Sam Loxton, 90, Australian cricketer who was a member of the famed "Invincibles" national team captained by Don Bradman.
Link: Australian

December 2, 2011: Bill Tapia, 103, American ukulele player who performed with the likes of s Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Elvis Presley.
Link: BBC

December 2, 2011: Leo Friedman, 92, US photographer who captured iconic images of Broadway theatre.
Link: NY Times

December 1, 2011: Alan Grigsby Sues, 85, US stage and screen actor and comedian best known for the TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His characters included Big Al the sportscaster and Uncle Al the Kiddies' Pal. He was also in the classic Twilight Zone episode "The Masks".
Link: Wikipedia

December 1, 2011: Arthur "Artie" Beetson, 66, Australian rugby league player and coach, born in Roma, Queensland, of a heart attack while cycling. He was the first indigenous player to captain Australia in any sport.
Link: Wikipedia; Brisbane Times

November 29, 2011: Patrice O'Neal, 41, US comedian, of complications from a stroke.
Link: Guardian

November 27, 2011: Ken Russell, 84, British film director known for Tommy, Gothic, Altered States and Women In Love.
Link: Wikipedia

November 25, 2011: Tom Wicker, 85, US journalist with the New York Times who came to prominence for his coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Link: Wikipedia

November 22, 2011: Lana Peters, 85, Russian-American daughter of former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Born Svetlana Stalina, she defected to the West in 1970.
Link: NY Times

November 21, 2011: Anne McCaffrey, 85, US author best known for her Dragonriders sci-fi/fantasy novels.
Link: Wikipedia

November 19, 2011: Basil D'Oliveira, 80, South African-born cricketer who was classified as "coloured" under the apathedi regims. His selection to play for England in South Africa in 1968 led to the cancellation of the tour and was a watershed moment in the sporting boycott of South Africa.
Link: Wikipedia

November 18, 2011: Mark Hall, British animator who, along with Brian Cosgrove, created the television shows Danger Mouse and Count Duckula.
Link: Guardian