2010 Necrology - The Best of the Rest (Celebrities and other Notable Characters) PART 3 of 3

Elizabeth Edwards
Born: July 3, 1949, Jacksonville, FL
Died: Dec. 7, 2010, Chapel Hill, NC
Age: 51

Author, Attorney, Activist. Born Mary Elizabeth Anania she was the daughter of Vincent J. and Elizabeth Thweatt Anania. Author of "Saving Graces" and "Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities" Elizabeth Anania Edwards, became a national figure in her fight against cancer. She was also an accomplished lawyer and the mother of four children. A graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her goal was to obtain a doctorate in English literature and become a teacher. Job prospects for English graduates being limited she entered UNC's law school where she met her future husband John Edwards. The couple married after graduation and upon completion of the bar exam in 1977. She helped change the way political wives are viewed. She was the self-proclaimed "anti-Barbie". Estranged from her husband in early 2010, the one-time presidential hopeful Senator John Edwards, they remained close. She was preceded in death by one son Lucius "Wade" Edwards in 1996. Elizabeth's breast cancer was first diagnosed in 2004.


Leslie Nielsen
Born: Feb. 11, 1926, Regina Saskatchewan, Canada
Died: Nov. 28, 2010, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Age: 84

Actor. Born Leslie William Nielsen, he was a World War II-era Royal Canadian Air Force veteran. He attended the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts and Neighborhood Playhouse (New York City actor's training school) before beginning steady television work in the late 1940s.









Steve Landesberg
Born: Nov. 23, 1936, NYC
Died: Dec. 20, 2010, Los Angeles, CA

Actor, Comedian. Best remembered as Arthur P. Dietrich, the intellectual, unflappably deadpan detective from the long-running 1970s television series "Barney Miller". Born and raised in New York City, Landesberg began his career in the late 1960s as a stand-up comedian, alongside comics such as David Brenner and Jimmie Walker. He died of Cancer.
Age: 74


John Crawford
Born: September 13, 1920
Died: September 21, 2010
Age: 90

Crawford appeared in bit parts for many years before playing leads in several films in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s. When he returned to the US, he played supporting roles in several films but was more prolific on TV in character roles, in scores of series such as The Fugitive, The Dukes of Hazzard, Mission: Impossible, Hogans Heroes, and most notably as Sheriff Ep Bridges on The Waltons. He died from a stroke.

Janet MacLachlan
Born: Aug. 8, 1933 (New York City, NY)
Died: Oct. 11, 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)
Age: 77

She was an American character actress who had roles in such television series as "The Rockford Files", "Alias" and "The Golden Girls".






Belva Plain
Born: Oct. 9, 1915 (New York City, NY)
Died: Oct. 12, 2010 (Essex County, NJ)
Age: 95

She published more than 20 successful Jewish-themed novels, releasing the first at age 59. In 1978 she saw her debut novel "Evergreen", which centered-on a Polish immigrant girl in early 20th century New York, spend over a year on the "New York Times" best-seller list (in hardcover and paperback versions).


Denise Borino-Quinn
Born: Jan. 6, 1964 (Essex County, NJ)
Died: Oct. 27, 2010 (Morris County, NJ)
Age: 46

She portrayed overweight mob wife Ginny Sacramone in the hit HBO series "The Sopranos" from 2001 until its conclusion in 2007. She later lost 175 pounds via stomach stapling. She married Luke Quinn, Jr., in 2005 and they lived in Bordentown, New Jersey. He died in March 2010. They had no children. She died following an extended battle with liver cancer.

Charlie O'Donnell
Born: Aug. 12, 1932 (Philadelphia, PA)
Died: Oct. 31, 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)
Age 78

He was best known as the longtime announcer for the popular TV game show "Wheel of Fortune" (1975 to 1980, 1988 until his death). He was also the announcer for numerous game shows including "The Gong Show", "The Joker's Wild", "The Newlywed Game" and "To Tell The Truth".



Johnny Sheffield
Born: Apr. 11, 1931 (Los Angeles, CA)
Died: Oct. 15, 2010 (San Diego, CA)
Age: 79

He will be best remembered for his role as Boy in eight pictures of the "Tarzan" film series from the late 1930s and 1940s. He also played the title role in the "Bomba" film series. He died of a heart attack.



Art Gilmore
Born: Mar. 18, 1912
Died: Sep. 25, 2010
Age: 98

Best remembered as the 'voice' for such hit television shows as "The Red Skelton Show " and "Highway Patrol", he had a career that spanned over 60 years. He passed away from natural causes in Irvine, California.





Iva Ibbotson
Born: Jan. 21, 1925 (Vienna, Austria)
Died: Oct. 20, 2010 (Newcastle, England)
Age: 85

Begining at age 50 she published a number of ghost and witch themed children's fantasy novels which were always marked by a happy ending. Born Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner, she was initially raised in a Vienna orphanage after her parents broke-up in 1928, but joined her father when he moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, to escape the Nazis. Three of her books are being prepared for the silver screen.



Lisa Blount
Born: Jul. 1, 1957 (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Died: Oct. 25, 2010 (Pulaski, Arkansas)
Age: 53

She is best known for her role of Lynette Pomeroy in the hit 1982 picture "An Officer and a Gentleman", for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. She died after a 17-year battle with a rare blood disorder.





Alexander Anderson
Born: 1920 (Berkeley, CA)
Died: Oct. 22, 2010 (Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA)
Age 90

Best remembered as the creator of the cartoon characters "Rocky and Bullwinkle".


James MacAurthur
Born: Dec. 8, 1937 (Los Angeles, CA)
Died: Oct. 28, 2010 (Florida)
Age 72

Adopted as an infant by playwright Charles MacArthur and his wife, actress Helen Hayes, he grew up in Nyack, New York, and was educated at Allen Stevenson School in New York, and later at Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is most identified with the role of Detective Danny "Danno" Williams in the long-running police drama "Hawaii Five-O"