The Most Notable Celebrity Deaths of 2012

The entertainment industry said goodbye to several notable names including Whitney Houston, Robin Gibb and Ravi Shankar. Lindsay Claiborn reports.

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6 months ago

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Entertainment

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Celebrity

People

Whitney Houston, Clive Davis, Robin Gibb, Lindsay Claiborn, George Harrison, Tony Scott, Larry Hagman, Ravi Shankar

Transcript

2012 was a year of surprising deaths and sad goodbyes in the entertainment world. Whitney Houston stunned the industry with her sudden death the night before the Grammys. The 48 year old superstar was found dead on February 12 in her hotel room in Beverly Hills just hours before her mentor Clive Davis hosted his annual pre-Grammy party. An autopsy revealed she died of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine and heart disease. Disco icon Robin Gibb lost his battle with cancer in May. The Bee Gees singer, who with brothers Barry and Maurice helped define the disco era was 62. Another music legend that died in 2012 was sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar. The 92 year old is credited with introducing sitar and Indian music to the western world. He partnered with The Beatles in the late 1960s, inspiring George Harrison to learn the sitar and the British band to record songs like "Norwegian Wood" (1965) and "Within You, Without You" (1967). Another shocking loss was the death of Tony Scott. The British born director of "Top Gun," "Crimson Tide," and "Enemy of the State," jumped to his death on August 19 from a bridge over the Los Angeles Harbor. Frequently seen behind the camera in his signature faded red baseball cap, he is credited with directing more than two dozen movies and television shows and producing nearly 50 titles. Television fans said goodbye to one of TVs biggest villians, Larry Hagman's amoral oilman J.R. Ewing of "Dallas." Hagman, who had been battling cancer, died in November at age 81. He had recently returned to the small screen as Ewing in a 2012 revamp of the oringal drama series. And finally, rhythm and blues powerhouse Etta James passed away in January from complications of leukemia. The singer, famous for her emotional song "At Last" had been battling leukemia since 2010 and had suffered a range of other medical problems over the years. She won her first Grammy in 1995 and went on the win more in 2003 and 2005. She was 73.