Obituaries in the Performing Arts

The entertainment world lost several legendary stars and a host of other men and women involved in film, television, stage and music in 2007. Legendary I Love Lucy writer Bob Carroll died on January 27, followed three days later by I Dream of Jeannie creator Sidney Sheldon. Other notables who died include Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith, novelists Kurt Vonnegut and Madeleine L'Engle, television producer Ed Friendly (Little House on the Prairie, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In), film director Bob Clark (A Christmas Story, Porky's), and legendary singers Robert Goulet and Luciano Pavarotti. Obituaries of these and other performers and filmmakers, musicians and producers, dancers and composers, writers and others associated with the performing arts who died in 2007 can be found in this comprehensive reference work. For each, the date, place, and cause of death are provided, along with a recap of their career and citations from major newspaper and periodical stories reporting the death. Filmographies are given for film and television performers, and photographs of many of the individuals are included. Individual books in this annual series are available dating back to 1994. A subscription plan is available for future issues.