Celebrities Lost in 2008

Photo from source, PopEater

I've covered some of the celebrity deaths of the last year, and wasn't sure if I wanted to post this piece. But year-end lists are one of the few interesting things going on this past week, and this stuff always interests me, so it might interest you too. For me, I'd say that Paul Newman is the most famous, Majel Barrett and George Carlin were the most personally affecting, and Tim Russert the most surprising. See if there are any you didn't know about.

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In Memoriam ... Celebs Lost in 2008

It's time to look back at the familiar faces we lost in 2008. In Hollywood, there was the passing of icons forever linked to characters named 'Luke' and 'Moses' ... and the heartbreaking, early exit of a movie joker. In music, a guitar icon who marched to his very own beat and another, a funk-soul man, who was one of the baddest mother-- (shut your mouth!). And in TV, a king of comedy and one wisecracking golden girl.

Read more at: Popeater

Majel Barrett Roddenberry of Star Trek Dies

Photo from Editor's Collection, Star Trek Convention in the 90s

This makes me sad. I've been a Star Trek fan since I was old enough to form sentences, and Majel Barrett has been there from the beginning. She was "Number One" in the original pilot, "Nurse Christine Chapel" on Star Trek: The Original Series, and "Lwaxana Troi" on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Beyond that, she was the voice for nearly every Federation computer on each incarnation of the series and movies, and she was married to Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the whole shebang.

I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Majel on a couple of occasions (yes, I've been to Star Trek conventions), and she was gracious and outwardly friendly to her fans. Any future incarnation of the series will be missing something without her.

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Majel Roddenberry, 'First Lady of Star Trek,' dies

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, has died. She was 76. Roddenberry, an actress who appeared in numerous "Star Trek" TV shows and movies, died Thursday of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air, Calif., her representative said. . .

Read more at: The Detroit News