Michael Crichton	Sydney Pollack
Harvey Korman	Eartha Kitt

In 2008 we bid farewell to many special artists who shaped our popular culture: from true giants and longtime performers. Let us remember and celebrate just a few who through their talent touched us:

Heath Ledger, Jan. 22, age 28: Ledger’s shocking accidental death, from a combination of prescription painkillers, sleeping aids and other medications, cut short a brilliant career -- of which we got glimpses in films like “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Patriot.” Ledger’s chilling, tormented portrayal of the Joker, in the posthumously released summer blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” reminded his fans all over again of the enormous loss of this true talent. Ledger’s contested estate was recently settled, with all of it going to his daughter with former fiancée Michelle Williams, Matilda. “To most of the world, Heath was an actor of immeasurable talent and promise,” Ledger’s father, Kim, said after his death. “We knew Heath as a loving father, as our devoted son, and as a loyal and generous brother and friend.”


Paul Newman, Sept. 26, age 83: Film fans — and just about everyone else — were in deep mourning upon hearing of the loss of screen great Paul Newman, who died of lung cancer. It wasn’t just Newman’s matinee idol looks, or his flinty, magnetic talent that earned him an Oscar plus nine nominations. It was the sense that he lived a live worth living, with a deeply loving marriage, to devoted wife Joanne Woodward, and strong family connections to all of his children. And his quiet determination to raise millions of dollars for charity and give away with little fanfare, especially to his beloved Hole in the Wall Gang camps (while making pretty darn great salad dressing in the meantime). Newman was a Hollywood giant, yet embraced a real, humor-laced, and grounded life. And while we will always be able to savor his performances in films like “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and many more, we know no one will ever be able to take his place in our hearts. How can we settle for hamburger when we’ve had steak?


Bernie Mac, Aug. 9, age 50: Hollywood and comedy fans worldwide were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Mac, who had suffered from the lung disease sarcoidosis. Mac left a broad body of work, as an actor in film (“Ocean’s Eleven,” “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”), TV (“The Bernie Mac Show”), and as stand-up comic, as one of the Kings of Comedy. He was also a devoted family man, husband to wife Rhonda since their marriage in 1977. His funeral in Chicago celebrated his life and laughs, with tributes from colleagues Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle and more. Mac once told Playboy, “I’m not a star, and I don’t want to be a star. ... I’m an ordinary guy with an extraordinary job.” We have to respectfully disagree — very few stars shine brighter than Bernie Mac.


Estelle Getty July 22, age 84: Getty, a talented actress and comedian, nonetheless struggled for decades to find her groove, until in her early 60s she was finally cast in her career-making role in “The Golden Girls” as Sophia, the crotchety octogenarian mom to Bea Arthur’s character. While she had notable film success in “Mask,” “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,” “Tootsie,” and other roles, it was as the oldest Golden Girl that she will be remembered. When Rue McClanahan’s randy Blanche once complained that her life was an open book, Sophia shot back, “Your life’s an open blouse.” After her death, her son, Carl Gettleman, said in a statement, “She was loved throughout the world in six continents, and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents. She was one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived.” Or in the words of Sophia: “Let me tell you girls the three most important things I learned about life: Number one: Hold fast to your friends; number two: There’s no such thing as security; and number three: Don’t go see ‘Ishtar.’”


Charlton Heston, April 5, age 84: The ruggedly handsome Heston was known for his heroic roles in films like 1959’s “Ben-Hur” (for which he won the best actor Oscar), “El Cid” and “The Ten Commandments,” in which he played a commanding Moses. Even his role in “Planet of the Apes” was transformative and heroic. He was also known for his offscreen activities, from his work in the early ‘60s in the civil rights movement and his presidency of the Screen Actors Guild, to his conservative politics in his later years, including his presidency of the National Rifle Association. He was married for 64 years to his college sweetheart, Lydia, who released this statement upon Heston’s death: “Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather with an infectious sense of humor. He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity.”


George Carlin, June 22, age 71: Carlin was flinty and fearless, and ushered in an unflinching era in stand-up comedy. He joked about drugs and the counterculture, and became a hero to them, even as he sent up hippiedom. Among his best-known bits were “The Hippy Dippy Weatherman,” who forecast “Tonight: Dark. Continued dark throughout most of the evening, with some widely scattered light towards morning.” He also had a (still-unprintable) memorable bit, the “Seven Dirty Words” that resulted in a landmark Supreme Court case, which unfortunately didn’t find for Carlin and his ability to say those words on public radio. He was a frequent host and guest on “The Tonight Show,” toured tirelessly and recorded frequent comedy specials, the last of which, “It’s Bad for Ya,” aired this past March on HBO. In November, Carlin was to become the first posthumous recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. And somehow, one thinks Twain would have loved most of Carlin’s material: “Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof ... and gets stuck.”


Isaac Hayes, Aug. 10, age 65: The king of “Hot Buttered Soul” created the grooving soundtrack to the ‘70s and beyond. A gifted songwriter, he wrote hits like “Soul Man” for Sam & Dave, and also had his own prolific recording career, often reinventing pop songs (like Burt Bacharach tunes) with his own Southern R&B take. In 1971, his soundtrack, and theme song, for the film “Shaft” gave him worldwide fame. In the ‘90s he earned a whole new generation of fans when he appeared on “South Park,” as Chef, a gig that lasted several seasons, until 2006. Hayes reportedly quit the show after it lampooned Scientology, to which Hayes had converted in the mid-’90s, although later Hayes said that that had not been the reason he left. Happily, his gorgeous, golden music will live on. Can ya dig it?


Roy Scheider, Feb. 10, age 75: The talented actor turned out role after crackling role, especially in the ‘70s, when his body of work included intense films like “Klute,” “The French Connection,” “Jaws” and his Oscar-nominated, manic performance in Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz.” Scheider worked again with his “Jaws” director, Steven Spielberg, in the 1993 TV series “SeaQuest DSV,” and he appeared on shows ranging from “The Family Guy” to “Third Watch.” He also worked in his later years for educational philanthropic endeavors, including for schools in the Hamptons in New York, and in Italy. His last role was in “Iron Cross,” a feature film to be released in 2009. “The important thing,” he once said, “is to do good work, no matter what medium you do it in.”


Betty Page, Dec. 11, age 85: The quintessential ‘50s pinup girl, Page perfected the “naughty-but-nice” that made her an enduring icon for decades. Men lusted after her; women liked her saucy style and copied her signature sleek black bangs. Page’s early photo shoots were prized by bondage fetishists and mainstream consumers of “nudie” photos alike. She appeared as a Playboy centerfold in 1955 and her photos quickly became collectors’ items. She converted to Christianity in the ‘60s, tried to serve as a missionary in Africa (but was rejected for having been divorced) and worked for a time for the Rev. Billy Graham. Yet her cult and fans continued to flourish. Page is widely credited for influencing the recent explosion in the popularity of burlesque, and has been emulated by contemporary performers like Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry and Madonna. She told Playboy in 1998 of her career as a pinup: “I never thought it was shameful — I felt normal. It’s just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous.” Being the “ultimate sex goddess,” as a TVGuide.com poll recently voted her, is far more interesting.


Michael Crichton, Nov. 4, age 66: Michael Crichton was one of the most successful writers in contemporary American fiction. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Crichton found his biggest successes in stories and books that used his medical and scientific background, and many of his thrillers were made into films. His books include “The Andromeda Strain,” “Disclosure,” “Rising Sun, “Congo,” and perhaps most famously, “Jurassic Park,” which spawned a successful film franchise. He was also co-creator of the NBC hit “ER,” the last season of which began this fall. In 2002, a newly discovered small species of dinosaur was named for him: Crichtonsaurus bohlini. After his sudden death from throat cancer, his family released a statement, remembering Crichton as “a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes.” Same goes for the rest of us.


Bo Diddly, June 2, age 79: Born Ellas Otha Bates, Diddley came up with his catchy moniker while working on the South Side of Chicago in the ‘50s, inspired by blues masters like John Lee Hooker, but adding his own deft rock edge to his sound. His first 45 had “Bo Diddley” on one side and the bluesy “I’m a Man” on the other — tunes which would influence rockers from the Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix to Buddy Holly to the Grateful Dead, who incorporated Diddley’s signature “shave and a haircut, two bits” guitar beat into their songs. He was also a prolific songwriter, co-writing songs like “Love Is Strange,” the Mickey & Sylvia hit. As for his own influences, he once said, “I don’t like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it ... I don’t have any idols I copied after.” About rock ‘n’ roll, Bo knows.


Sydney Pollack, May 26, age 73: “Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act,” said actor George Clooney, who acted with Pollack in last year’s “Michael Clayton.” Truer words were never spoken. Pollack was comfortable as an actor, and continued performing until he was diagnosed with cancer about nine months before his death. But it was as a director that he made his biggest impression, from “This Property Is Condemned,” starring his friend and frequent star Robert Redford, in 1966, to the magnificent romance “The Way We Were” and “Out of Africa” (the latter of which won Pollack his two Oscars), to the gender-bending comedy “Tootsie,” which Pollack directed and in which he co-starred with Dustin Hoffman. He was well-liked in Hollywood, and was married to his wife, Claire, for nearly 50 years. A tip of the hat, indeed, to a class act.


Richard Widmark, March 24, age 93: Widmark, who had been a talented and busy radio actor for years, created such a sensation in his first major film role — as a sadistic, ghoulish thug in 1947’s “Kiss of Death” — that he became a film star overnight, and for that role was nominated for his first and only Oscar. But it was just the beginning of a brilliant career that included such films as “The Alamo,” “Judgment at Nuremberg,” “Cheyenne Autumn” and “Madigan,” which spawned the 1972 NBC series of the same name. Tough on screen, Widmark was a sweet, mild man in real life, married to his college sweetheart, the playwright Jean Hazelton, for 55 years, until her death in 1997 (he married Susan Blanchard in 1999, and she survives him). The New York Times reported that he once said, “The older you get, the less you know about acting, but the more you know about what makes the really good actors.” Amen.


Mr. Blackwell, Oct. 19, age 86: The self-appointed arbiter of global style became known for his annual “best-dressed” and, more importantly, “worst-dressed” celebrities lists. No one was safe from his entertainingly fearless descriptions, including such so-called fashion icons as Victoria Beckham, who topped his list this year. Over the years, he savaged Elizabeth Taylor (“the rebirth of the zeppelin”), Elke Sommer (“Do-it-yourself kit with the wrong instructions”) and Queen Elizabeth of England (“from Her Majesty to Her Travesty”). Born Richard Seltzer, Blackwell actually did start his own fashion business, in the 1950s, and had moderate success. But as he wrote in his memoir, “From Rags to Bitches” (1995), design was never his first love; critiquing celebrities was. He once said the whole endeavor was tongue-in-cheek: “The list has whimsy,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s camp.” With claws.


Yves Saint Laurent, June 1, age 71: The legendary fashion designer was one of the most influential couturiers of the 20th century, helping elevate Paris to the center of the fashion world and creating new classic shapes, including tuxedoes and sleek pantsuits for women, that remain stylish decades later. As a young man in the ‘50s, he apprenticed at the House of Dior, and when Christian Dior died suddenly in 1957, Saint Laurent was named head of the design house — at the age of 21. Laurent once said that “fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves.” Et très, très belle — n’est-ce pas?


Harvey Korman, May 29, age 81: Korman was beloved as a longtime member of Carol Burnett’s sketch comedy troupe on “The Carol Burnett Show” in the ‘60s and ‘70s, as well as for his fearless, shticky performance as Hedley Lamarr in Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles.” Korman paired with Burnett memorably in send-ups of “Gone With the Wind,” where he played an unctuously clueless Rhett Butler, and the soap “As the World Turns” (called “As the Stomach Turns”). Brooks paid the ultimate tribute to him, telling The Associated Press upon hearing of Korman’s death, “A world without Harvey Korman — it’s a more serious world. It was very dangerous for me to work with him, because if our eyes met we’d crash to floor in comic ecstasy. It was comedy heaven to make Harvey Korman laugh.”


Eartha Kitt, Dec. 25, age 81: The sultry, ever-elegant Kitt, who recorded the only known sexy Christmas carol, 1954’s “Santa Baby,” died, fittingly but sadly, on Christmas, after being treated for colon cancer. Kitt was a talented actress who was nominated for several Tonys, two Grammys, and three Emmys (of which she won two). In the ‘50s she sang and danced on Broadway and earned the attention of the glitterati; Orson Welles once called her “the most exciting woman in the world.” She appeared in several movies, and is perhaps best remembered for her role as Catwoman on the TV series “Batman” in the ‘60s. She was fearless in her politics, and once lectured Lady Bird Johnson at a White House luncheon about the Vietnam War; after that for several years she largely performed overseas. She also wrote several books, including a fitness-lifestyle guide, “Rejuvenation! It’s Never Too Late,” featuring a sleek septuagenarian Kitt on the cover. Her later years won her generations of new fans, enthralled by her wit and talent and charm, not to mention a life well lived. C’est Si Bon!