Celebrity Deaths - 2008

Eartha Kitt, Dec. 25: The sultry 'Santa Baby' songstress who went on to have a long career in music, movies and on stage died on Christmas day after a long battle with colon cancer.

Jamie McCarthy, WireImage.com

John Costelloe, Dec. 18: The character actor (right) who played Vito's lover on the sixth season of 'The Sopranos' was found dead in his home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

HBO

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Dec. 18: The widow of the late 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry died at the age of 76 from leukemia.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Sam Bottoms, Dec. 16: Following in the footsteps of his brother Timothy, Sam made his mark in Hollywood with memorable roles in 'The Last Picture Show' and most notably 'Apocalypse Now,' where he played a surfing patrol-boat gunner. The cause of death was a brain tumor. He was 53.

Evan Agostini, Getty Images

Davy Graham, Dec. 15: The folk singer known and respected across the music world for his nimble fingers and innovative use of tuning, died from a seizure in his London home. He was 68, and also had a long battle lung cancer.

Chris Mills, Redferns / Retna

Bettie Page, Dec. 11: Page became an icon in the 1950s thanks to her various pin-up style photo shoots and eventual spread in Playboy magazine. She died at the age of 85 after suffering a heart attack and then pneumonia.

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Paul Benedict, Dec. 1: Benedict played Harry Bentley, the English neighbor to George Jefferson, played by Sherman Helmsley, on the sitcom "The Jeffersons." He was found dead on Martha's Vineyard at age 70.

CBS / AP

Irving Brecher, Nov. 17: His talents ranged from conjuring jokes for legends (Milton Berle, The Marx Brothers) to writing classic musical screenplays ('Meet Me in St. Louis,' 'Bye Bye Birdie') to developing one of the most enduring radio and TV series ('Life of Riley'). Brecher died in Los Angeles at age 93.

Nam Y. Huh, AP

Mitch Mitchell, Nov. 12: The rock durmmer, left, and last surviving member of the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience, was found dead of apparent natural causes in a Portland hotel room at age 61. The leader of the band overdosed in 1970, while bassist Noel Redding, right, died in 2003.

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Michael Crichton, Nov. 4: The best-selling author of 'Jurassic Park,' 'The Andromeda Strain' and 'Disclosure' saw several of his titles become smash films. Crichton also tapped into his medical background to create TV smash 'ER.' He lost his battle to cancer at 66.

Jim Cooper, AP