Front Row Dress Circle

Here’s a quick rundown from the last couple of months of 2008 of those in the industry who never made it to 2009.

November:

* William Gibson, 71. American playwright

* Richard Hickox, 60. British conductor

* Irving Brecher, 94.  Comedy writer (Marx Brothers, etc)

* Reg Varney, 92. British comedy star (On the Buses)

* Margaret Moncrieff, 87. British cellist

December:

* Donald Westlake, 75. American mystery writer

* Bernie Hamilton, 80. American actor (Starsky and Hutch tv series)

* Eartha Kitt, 82. American singer and actress

* Anne Savage, 87. American actress

* Harold Pinter, 78. British playwright. Nobel Prize for Literature

* Kathy Staff, 80. British actress (’Nora Batty’ - Last of the Summer Wine)

* Jack Douglas, 81. British actor (Carry On films)

* Horst Tappert, 85. German actor (Derrick)

* Beverly Garland, 82. American actress (My Three Sons)

January 2009:

* Edmund Purdom, 84. Italian-based British actor (The Student Prince)

Popularity: 19% [?]