DECEMBER
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Antony Sher, 72. One of the most acclaimed Shakespearean actors of his generation. Dec. 2.
Bob Dole, 98. He overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans. Dec. 5.
Lina Wertmueller, 93. Italy’s provocative filmmaker whose mix of sex and politics in “Swept Away” and “Seven Beauties” made her the first woman nominated for an Academy Award for directing. Dec. 9.
Al Unser, 82. One of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times. Dec. 9.
Michael Nesmith, 78. The singer-songwriter, author, actor-director and entrepreneur who will likely be best remembered as the wool-hatted, guitar-strumming member of the made-for-television rock band The Monkees. Dec. 10.
Anne Rice, 80. The novelist whose lush, best-selling gothic tales, including “Interview With the Vampire,” reinvented the blood-drinking immortals as tragic antiheroes. Dec. 11.
Vicente Fernández, 81. An iconic and beloved singer of regional Mexican music who was awarded three Grammys and nine Latin Grammys and inspired a new generation of performers, including his son, Alejandro Fernández. Dec. 12.
bell hooks, 69. The groundbreaking author, educator and activist whose explorations of how race, gender, economics and politics intertwined helped shape academic and popular debates over the past 40 years. Dec. 15.
Eve Babitz, 78. The Hollywood bard, muse and reveler who with warmth and candor chronicled the excesses of her native world in the 1960s and 1970s and became a cult figure to generations of readers. Dec. 17. Complications from Huntington’s disease.
Johnny Isakson, 76. An affable Georgia Republican politician who rose from the ranks of the state legislature to become a U.S. senator known as an effective behind-the-scenes consensus builder. Dec. 19.
Joan Didion, 87. The revered author and essayist whose social and personal commentary in such classics as “The White Album” and “The Year of Magical Thinking” made her a clear-eyed critic of turbulent times. Dec. 23.
Desmond Tutu, 90. South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning icon, an uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and LGBT rights. Dec. 26.
Sarah Weddington, 76. A Texas lawyer who as a 26-year-old successfully argued the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court. Dec. 26.
Edward O. Wilson, 92. The pioneering Harvard biologist who advanced the provocative theory that human behavior such as war and altruism has a genetic basis and warned against the decline of ecosystems. Dec. 26.
Sandra Jaffe, 83. The co-founder of Preservation Hall in New Orleans who introduced countless people to jazz music in the intimate French Quarter venue. Dec. 27.
John Madden, 85. The Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades. Dec. 28.
Harry Reid, 82. The former U.S. Senate majority leader from Nevada, widely acknowledged as one of toughest dealmakers in Congress. Dec. 28. Pancreatic cancer.
Betty White, 99. Her saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV host on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or the loopy housemate on “The Golden Girls.” Dec. 31.
