Notable Hollywood Deaths of 2012

Screenwriter Nora Ephron

Actor Michael Clarke Duncan

Hollywood lost a few stars in 2012. Nora Ephron died in New York City on June 26, 2012 at the age of 71 from leukemia. She was the screenwriter of award-winning films like When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless In Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail, and also directed. Sherman Henley of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” died this year at 74. Character actor Ernest Borgnine who won a Best Actor oscar for his performance in Marty died at 95 in July. On July 3, the famous Andy Griffith passed away at 86 years old. Tom Davis, a writer for Saturday Night Live who worked on famous sketches died from tonsil cancer in July at 59. Adam Yauch, founding member and songwriter of The Beastie Boys, succumbed to a battle with cancer on May 4. He had forayed into the film industry by becoming a film distributor with Oscilloscope, and distributed movies like Exit Through the Gift Shop. Bob Anderson, an Olympic fencer and swordsman, had usually anonymous but instantly recognizable roles in film. He did a lot of stunt work with the lightsabers in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in the Star Wars saga. He died at 89 on January 1. Bingham Ray, an independent film executive and executive director of the San Francisco Film Society at the time of his death, died on January 12. The Gotham Independent Film Awards honored him by creating the Bingham Ray award, which is given to “an emerging filmmaker whose work exemplifies a distinctive creative vision and stylistic adventurousness that stands apart from the mainstream and warrants championing. The goal is to bring additional attention to new artists whose work could be seen as conceivably joining the ranks of filmmakers championed by industry veteran Bingham Ray.”
Actor Michael Clarke Duncan, made famous by his role in The Green Mile, died on September 3 at only 54.