Newsweek has a roundup of famous people who died in 2008 — here are some of the ones we'll miss the most, along with a few additions from our archives.
Bernie Mac taught us the meaning of the word "motherfucker."
Dancer Cyd Charisse had the "world's most valuable legs," but ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya charmed Russia with her view that "ballet should be imbued with life, not artificiality."
Newsman Tim Russert's death made all of NBC choke up.
Heath Ledger left behind ex-fiancee Michelle Williams, daughter Matilda, and a terrifyingly adept performance as the Joker.
Singer Yma Sumac was the only Peruvian on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
A black woman married to a white man, Mildred Loving challenged Virginia's anti-miscegenation law and won, invalidating such laws in 15 other states as well.
Golden Girl Estelle Getty explained that "a whore, a slut, a tramp, it's all the same."
Odetta wowed Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and America with her "liberation songs."
George Carlin pointed out that "pro-life is anti-woman" and his ghost told a psychic "what a bunch of bullshit religion is."
Majel Roddenberry was the voice of Star Trek's USS Enterprise, and Trek fan Joan Winston was almost as popular as Kirk himself.
Isaac Hayes lent his genius to both Chef and Shaft.
Pinup Bettie Page (link NSFW) turned America on with "a pride in her body unusual for the times."
David Foster Wallace wrote about depression, September 11, and cruise ships with both gravity and humor.
Paul Newman was "the thinking woman's sex symbol."
Lesbian activist Del Martin wed her longtime partner in the first legal gay marriage in California; the battle she helped wage goes on in her absence.
Remember Them Well [Newsweek]