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It's likely that you lost a cultural icon who meant something to you during 2021, whether from the world of politics, art or sports.
We lost, for instance, two great athletes whose efforts helped to transform two sports -- Hank Aaron and Lee Elder.
Aaron, who died Jan. 22 at the age of 86 and is remembered as one of baseball's greatest all-around players, maintained a stoic dignity in the face of racist threats while chasing down Babe Ruth's home run record. Elder, who became the first Black golfer to play in the Masters, died Nov. 28 at the age of 87, having broken barriers and opened the PGA Tour to all golfers.
Several people who changed the way we consume news and entertainment left us. Rush Limbaugh, whose attacks on liberals and political correctness transformed talk radio, was 70 when he died on Feb. 17. Larry King, meanwhile, whose interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary people set the standard for American conversation, was 87 when he died Jan. 23. And, Roger Mudd, who helped set the standard for broadcast journalists as a political correspondent and anchor at CBS and NBC, died March 9 at the age of 93.
The political world lost several of its giants, including Colin Powell, the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a four-star general who served as secretary of state, who was 84 when he died Oct. 18. Donald Rumsfeld, a two-time defense secretary, was 88 when he died June 29, and Walter Mondale, a liberal icon who served as vice president and mounted an unsuccessful campaign for president, was 93 when he died on April 19. G. Gordon Liddy, a mastermind of the Watergate break-in and talk show host, died March 30 at the age of 91.
Richard Trumka, who rose from the coal mines of Pennsylvania to lead the AFL-CIO, died Aug. 5 at the age of 72.
Also from the world of sports, we lost Bobby Bowden, who coached at West Virginia University before heading to Florida State, where he built a sports dynasty. Bowden was 91 when he died on Aug. 8. Tommy Lasorda, who led the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles before becoming an ambassador for the sport, died Jan. 7 at the age of 93. We also lost two IndyCar racing legends, Bobby Unser, a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, who died May 2 at the age of 87, and his brother, Al Unser Sr., a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, who died Dec. 9 at the age of 82. Marty Schottenheimer, who included a stint as head coach of the Cleveland Browns as part of his career in the National Football League, died Feb. 8 at the age of 77.
Michael Collins, who orbited the moon alone while his fellow Apollo 11 astronauts took man's first steps on the lunar surface, died April 28 at the age of 90. Bernie Madoff, who swindled thousands of investors, died April 14 at the age of 82, and celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey died June 3 at the age of 87.
As always, several of those who entertained us died during this past year. That list includes Phil Specter, Cloris Leachman, Cicely Tyson, Christopher Plummer, George Segal, Norman Lloyd, Charles Grodin, Gavin MacLeod, Olympia Dukakis, Clarence Williams III, Ned Beatty, Markie Post, Ed Asner, Charlie Watts, Willard Scott, Norm Macdonald, Mort Sahl, Dean Stockwell and Jerry Douglas.
And, the James Bond franchise lost several of its stars, including Tanya Roberts, who portrayed Stacey Sutton in "A View to a Kill," who was 65 when she died on Jan. 4; Yaphet Kotto, who portrayed Dr. Kananga and Mr. Big in "Live and Let Die," who was 81 when he died on March 15; Helen McCrory, who portrayed Clair Dowar in "Skyfall," who was 52 when she died on April 16; and Tommy Lane, who portrayed one of Kananga's henchmen in "Live and Let Die," who was 83 when he died on Nov. 30.
While all of those deaths had an impact on us, it's important to keep in mind that we've all been touched by personal losses during the past year, and have mourned the deaths of too many friends and relatives. Those are the people we must keep in mind as we move forward, because they are the ones who helped to shape our lives.