No doubt about it, it was a rough year when it came to losing stars to the hereafter. True, there were older actors, musicians, artists and Hollywood luminaries whose time had simply come -- not that we won't terribly miss the likes of Ricardo Montalban or Ed McMahon or Bea Arthur. But starting with Jett Travolta, who died Jan. 2 despite his dad's best efforts to revive him, and the freak skiing accident that took Natasha Richardson away in mid-March, it's been one blow after another. The summer kicked off with the bizarre passing of David Carradine in Bangkok, and was quickly followed by the deaths of two icons on June 25: Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. And it hasn't gotten much easier since.

As we flip over to a new year and go into reflecting mode, take a moment to remember all the stars we've said goodbye to in 2009: