Now that 2001 has drawn to a close and we are in another fresh New Year, it seems relevant to look back and reflect for a moment on those who have passed on to higher things and who by virtue of their presence on this sad old world for a short time, gave innumerable hours of pleasure and in many cases laughter, either because of their music, acting or other talents to a great number of people over the years. Many were world famous while others were less well known, but I salute them all.

Roll of Honour:

JANUARY:
Sandy Baron (Comedian); Luiz Bonfa (Composer and Guitarist); Les Brown (Musician and Band Leader); James Carr (Soul Singer); Gordon Dickson (Writer); Stan Freeman (Composer, Pianist, Comedian and Writer); Bryan Gregory (Guitarist); David Heneker (Songwriter); James Hill (Film Writer and Producer. Last husband of Rita Hayworth); Willie Johnson (Gospel Singer); Emma Kelly (Singer); Sonny Kenner (Guitarist); Stuart Lancaster (Actor); Eddie LeJeune (Musician); Lou Levy (Pianist); Roy "Tanglefoot" McCoy (Trumpet Player); Jack McDuff (Jazz Musician); Virginia O?Brien (Actress and Singer); Joseph O?Connor (Actor and Writer); Harry Oster (Musician); Nancy Parsons (Actress); Robert Robertson (Actor); Norris Turney (Jazz Saxophonist); Ray Walston (Actor); Auberon Waugh (Writer); Al Waxman (Actor); Jerry Wick (Singer and Guitarist); Michael Williams (Actor); Richard Woods (Actor); Gavin Young (Writer).

FEBRUARY:
Lewis Arquette (Actor); Jesse Arreola (Drummer); Rick Barse (Musician); Theophilus Beckford (Pianist and Singer); Rosemary DeCamp (Actress); Reid Diamond (Musician); Dale Evans (Actress); John Fahey (Musician); Joe Ferguson III (Musician); Ronnie Hilton (Singer); J.J. Johnson (Jazz Trombonist); Burt Kennedy (Screenwriter and Director); Howard Koch (Film Producer and Director); Stanley Kramer (Film Maker); Stan Margulies (Movie Producer); Moses Molelkwa (Musician); Vince Montgomery (Musician); Sonny Morris (Jazz Trumpeter); Eddie Parker (Pool Player and inspiration for "The Hustler"); Ray Scragg (Singer and Guitarist); George Simon (Jazz Critic); Buddy Tate (Saxophonist); Charles Trenet (Singer/Songwriter); Fadhli Williams (Singer); Guy Wood (Songwriter); Richard Woods (Actor); Iannis Xenakis (Computer Music Composer); Malcolm Yelvington (Country Music Singer).

MARCH:
Milton J. Batiste, Jr. (Trumpeter); Earl Beal (Singer and member of "The Silhouettes"); Frankie Carle (Musician and Band Leader); R. Chetwynd-Hayes (Author); Ninette de Valois (Prima Ballerina and Ballet Company Director); Elena Del Rubio (One of the Del Rubio Sisters' Singing Act); Anthony Dexter (Actor); Malcolm Disley (Musician); Robert Ealey (Musician and Band Leader) Lonnie Glosson (Harmonica Player); William Hammerstein (Broadway Producer and Son of Oscar Hammerstein); William Hanna (Animator); Glen Hughes (Member of "The Village People" Band); Randall Hylton (Bluegrass Singer/Songwriter); Herbie Jones (Jazz Trumpeter); Moe Koffman (Jazz Musician); Fred Laswell (Cartoonist); John Lewis (Jazz Pianist); Robert Ludlum (Writer); Ted McMichael (Songwriter); Norma MacMillan (Voice of "Casper the Friendly Ghost"); Benny Martin (Musician); Portia Nelson (Singer and Actress); John Phillips (Singer/Songwriter and member of "The Mamas and the Papas"); Lancelot Pinard (AKA Sir Lancelot) (Guitarist and Calypso Singer); Maude Rutherford (Singer and Dancer); Michael "Smitty" Smith (Musician); Ann Sothern (Actress); Anthony Steel (Actor); Davy Steele (Musician); Richard Stone (Cartoon Music Composer); Ralph Thomas (Film Director); Martha Wing (Actress); Edward Winter (Actor); Muriel Young (Television Presenter and Producer).

APRIL:
Jean Anderson (Actress); Charlie Applewhite (Crooner); Sandy Bull (Musician and Composer); Ike Cole (Jazz Pianist and Brother of Nat King Cole); Paul Daneman (Actor); Pedro Depestre (Violinist); Danny Gaither (Singer); David Graf (Actor); Jack Haley, Jr. (Director and Producer); Eva Heinitz (Cellist); Al Hibbler (Singer); Kenneth Hughes (Screenwriter and Director); Nellie Hunter (Opera Singer); Herman "Rock" Johnston (Musician); Jeanette Kimball (Jazz Pianist); Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey (Bluesman); Evelyn Kuenneke (Singer and Cabaret Artist); Theodore McCarty (Former President of the Gibson Guitar Company); Jimmy Miller (Bandleader of "The Squadronaires"); Billy Mitchell (Saxophonist); Norman Mitchell (Actor); Rupert Nurse (Jazz Musician); Paul Peek (Singer and Guitarist); Nyree Dawn Porter (Actress); Joey Ramone (Rock Pioneer); Ken Rattenbury (Jazz Musician); Michael Ritchie (Film and Television Director); Harry Secombe (Singer, Actor and Comedian); Van Stephenson (Singer and Songwriter); John Stoneman (Singer and Musician); Beatrice Straight (Actress); Larry Tucker (Movie Writer and Producer); Joe Viola (Woodwind Player and Teacher).

MAY:
Douglas Adams (Writer); Lorez Alexandria (Singer); Tony Ashton (Singer and Musician); Joe Baker (Actor); Francis Bebey (Poet and Musician); Renato Carosone (Singer); Boozoo Chavis (Zydeco Accordeon Player); Perry Como (Singer); Bob Douglas (Fiddle Player); Tommy Eyre (Musician); Arlene Francis (Actress and TV Personality); Willie Foster (Harmonica Player); John Gielgud (Actor); Alex Glasgow (Singer/Songwriter); Joe Graydon (Singer); Anne Haney (Actress); P. J. Hayes (Founder Member of The Tulla Ceili Band); Billy Higgins (Drummer); Patricia Hilliard (Actress); Top Jimmy (Blues Singer); Norman Kay (Composer); Alberto Korda (Photographer); Susannah McCorkle (Singer); Whitman Mayo (Author); Jason Miller (Actor); James Myers (Music Entrepreneur); Maurice Noble (Animation Artist); Brian Pendleton (Musician); Ted Rogers (Comedian and Television Presenter); Mike Sammes (Vocalist); Leslie Sands (Actor); Sam Sherry (Singer and Clog Dancer); Frank G. Slaughter (Doctor and Writer); Harry Townes (Actor); Deborah Walley (Actress and Producer); John Warner (Actor); Jack Watling (Actor).

JUNE:
Chet Atkins; (Musician); Joseph Brady (Actor); Angela Browne (Actress); Corinne Calvet (Actress); Imogene Coca (Comedienne); Joe Darion (Lyricist); Dick Denny (Music Inventor); John Hartford (Musician and Songwriter); Joe Henderson (Jazz Saxophonist); John Lee Hooker (Bluesman); Hank Ketcham (Cartoonist ? Creator of "Dennis the Menace") Jack Lemmon (Actor); Makanda (Ken) McIntyre (Jazz Saxophonist); Amalia Mendoza (Singer); Yaltah Menuhin (Pianist and Sister of Yehudi Menuhin); Smokey Montgomery (Banjo Player); Carroll O'Connor (Actor); Chico O'Farrill (Composer and Trumpeter); Anthony Quinn (Actor); Rosemary Rapaport (Musician); Russell Saunders (Movie Stunt Man); Pilar Seurat (Actress and Dancer); James Simmons (Poet); Joan Sims (Actress); Malcolm Smith (Trumpeter).

JULY:
Maceo Anderson (Dancer); Poul Anderson (Science Fiction Writer); James Bernard (Music Composer); Jules Buck (Film Producer); Judy Clay (Soul Singer); Chuck Cuminale (AKA "Colorblind James" ? Singer/Songwriter and Guitarist); Delia Derbyshire (Electronic Music Pioneer); Mimi Farina (Singer/Songwriter and sister of Joan Baez); Ritchie Galvin (Drummer); Jack Gwillim (Actor); Mark Hannon (Harpist and Blues Singer); Ernie K-Doe (Singer); Harold Land (Jazz Musician); Fred Neil (Folk Singer); Roy Nicholls (Guitarist); Mordecai Richler (Author); Johnny Russell (Singer/Songwriter); Rod Shearman (Singer/Songwriter); Napoleon Strickland (Fife Player); Eleanor Sumerfield (Actress); Sidney Sutcliffe (Musician); Don Wherry (Composer); Leon Wilkeson (Bass Player); Arthur Worsley (Ventriloquist).

AUGUST:
Larry Adler (Mouth-Organ Virtuoso); Eric Allandale (Bandleader and Trombonist); Bill Bonyon (Folklorist and Singer); Billy Byrd (Guitarist); John Chambers (Make-Up Artist); Cal Collins (Jazz Guitarist); Joseph Cooper (Pianist and Broadcaster); Troy Donahue (Actor); Betty Everett (Singer); Kathleen Freeman (Actress); Sally Gracie (Actress); Jane Greer (Actress); Aaliyah Haughton (Singer and Actress); Christopher Hewett (Actor and Director); Sir Fred Hoyle (Astronomer and Science Fiction Writer); Jeanne Loriod (Musician); Joe Lynch (Actor, Singer and Comedian); John Nelson (Jazz Pianist and father of "Prince"); Flip Phillips (Saxophonist); Steve Runkle (Singer/Songwriter); Too Poetic (Anthony Berkeley) Member of "The Gravediggaz"); Kim Stanley (Actress); Binkie Stuart (Former Child Actress); Ron Towson (Singer and Co-Founder of the "Fifth Dimension"); Dorothy Tutin (Actress).

SEPTEMBER:
Samuel Z. Arkoff (Film Producer); David Angell (TV Comedy Writer); Gil Austin (Saxophonist); Berry Berenson (Photographer & Actress); Julie Bishop (Actress); Helen Cherry (Actress); Frederick De Cordova (Film Director & Producer); George Gately (Creator of cartoon cat "Heathcliff"); Tommy Hollis (Actor); Pauline Kael (Film Critic); Stelios Kazantzidis (Singer); Brian Knight (Guitarist); Simon Knight (Melodeon Player); Hank Levy (Jazz Musician); Dorothy McGuire (Actress); Dolores Michaels (Actress); Jay Migliori (Jazz Saxophinist); Leno Nygaard (Conductor); Lani O'Grady (Actress); Isaac Stern (Violinist); Eddie Stoneman (Guitarist); Victor Wong (Actor).

OCTOBER:
Charles Ables (Bass Player); Cliff Adams (Musician and Composer); Manny Albam (Jazz Musician & Composer); Herbert Block (Cartoonist); Paul Bridge (Jazz Musician); John Collins (Jazz Guitarist); George Feyer (Pianist); Howard Finster (Folk Artist and Musician); Tommy Gunn (Musician and early member of "Boys of the Lough"); Eugene Jackson (Actor and Jazz Musician); Aldo Jones (Musician and Singer); Etta Jones (Jazz Singer); Eamon Kelly (Actor and Seanachie);"Rusty" Kershaw (Guitarist); Jenny Laird (Actress); Bill Le Sage (Jazz Musician and Composer); Jay Livingstone (Songwriter); Jimmy Logsdon (Singer); Derek Moffatt (Member of The McCalmans); Spike Robinson (Jazz Saxophonist); Herbert Ross (Choreographer and Director); Janet Shaw (Actress); Linden Travers (Actress) Roy Ullyet (Cartoonist).

NOVEMBER:
Oscar "Budd" Boetticher (Film Director); Roy Boulting (Film Producer and Director); Ralph Burns (Arranger and Pianist); Charlotte Coleman (Actress); William "Smoky" Dacus (Drummer); Dorothy Dunnett (Historical Novelist); Tommy Flanagan (Jazz Pianist); David "Panama" Francis (Drummer); Rachel Gurney (Actress); Albert Hague (Composer); George Harrison (guitarist, Singer/Songwriter and former "Beatle"); Carroll "Champ" Hood (Musician); Jerry Jerome (Tenor Saxophonist); Michael Karoli (Guitarist, Violinist and Singer); Ken Kesey (Novelist); Josh Kirby (Artist and Illustrator); Norman Lumsden (Actor and Singer); Kal Mann (Songwriter); Peggy Mount (Actress); Babik Reinhardt (Jazz Guitarist and Son of Django Reinhardt); Seymour Reit (Co-Creator of "Casper the Friendly Ghost"); Spike Robinson (Jazz Saxophonist); Anthony Shaffer (Writer and Playwright); Pappy Sherrill (Bluegrass Fiddler); O. C. Smith (Singer); Ralph Sommer (Musician); Buddy Starcher (Singer/Songwriter); Melanie Thornton (Singer); Gene Wooten (Musician).

DECEMBER:
Gilbert Bécaud (Singer/Songwriter); Foster Brooks (Actor and TV Personality); Tony Cuffe (Musician and Founder Member of "Ossian"); Conte Candoli (Jazz Trumpeter); José Fajardo (Flutist and Bandleader); Carol Goodner (Actress); Sir Nigel Hawthorne (Actor); Valerie Jones (Singer ? Member of "The Jones Girls"); Grady Martin (Guitarist); Pauline Moore (Actress); Lee Robinson (Singer): Chuck Schuldinger (Musician); Rufus Thomas (Musician); Clifford T. Ward (Singer/Songwriter); Vaughn Ward (Folklorist and Musician); Jane Welsh (Actress); Minnie White (Accordionist).