Mary Tyler Moore
By Valerie Harper
Mary, darling.Darling, thats what I called her.
I watched her onThe Dick Van Dyke Showand said, My God, this girl is wonderful.
I loved her as Laura Petrie.
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She was a brunette.
She wore tight pants.
And that smile and her wonderful way with her husband, Rob.
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That affected me as a person who didnt even know her.
That was my first thing, to kick her out.
Over time we became friends, on and off screen.
Redferns
Mary was so sweet and generous.
Everybodys hat was saying something different.
It took her time, and she made each one beautiful.
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When I got sick in 2013, she sent me a huge vintage poster for the 1933 French filmJeunesse.
And she was fabulous.
She sent that with a note, saying, Val, look at these two old broads.
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Theyre helping each other.
Theyre supporting each other.
Theyre loving each other.
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You cant get better than Mary.
And Im so sorry shes gone.
She left in January, and shes in heaven.
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I know she is.
Theres no place for her but there.
Mary, you doll.
Mick Hutson/Redferns
The rest was tears.
If you want me, Ill do it for nothing.
I said, Thats what I intended to pay you!
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He had a sense of humor.
We became rather good friends.
He was a good drinker, a great pub crawler, good natured, a little crazy.
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I said, Im looking for Jesus.
He said, Ill do Jesus!
I said, John, its just a little sketch.
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It doesnt require a great actor.
He said, Ill do it!
I didnt even fly him over first-class, Im so ashamed.
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But I bought him lunch every day.
He played it so beautifully.
My character says Jesus!
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[in frustration], and he says Yeesss in this heavenly voice.
I dont think anybody could have played Jesus as good as John Hurt played Jesus.
As told to Darren Franich
Hurt died in Norfolk, Englandon Jan. 25 at the age of 77.
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We were both coming from the jazz world.
And we both did a version of [Dave Brubecks] Take Five.
Als was genuine, it was well put together but highly improvisationalthats the part I liked.
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And they had never heard anything like that.
The shows we did together were exceptional.
But he turned it all into music.
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As told to Leah Greenblatt
Jarreau died in Los Angeleson Feb. 12 at the age of 76.
Bill was a very gregarious character.
He always had this kind of manic, crazy edge to him.
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He always brought 10 times what I could have possibly integrated into the film.
But there was never ego around that; it was just the way he approached it.
Full tilt, full afterburner was how he did everything.
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Then, of course, he died unexpectedly.
That denied us that next chance to work together.
Setting aside the work, its really that I miss him as a friend.
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He was a dear friend, and I just miss being able to call him and have some laughs.
As told to James Hibberd
Paxton died in Los Angeleson Feb. 25 at the age of 61.
Chuck Berry
By Robert Cray
He was an incredible lyricist.
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I guess you would call it teenage angst back in those days.
And he invented that rock & roll rhythm as the vehicle that carried those sentiments.
Thats what he created.
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Every band, whether its blues or rock & rollthey use it.
They use that same kind of way to deliver their message.
They might turn it up a little bit louder, but its the same thing.
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I, like everybody else who might think that weve come up with something newwe havent, really.
Were playing that same Chuck Berry rock & roll riff.
Hes one of the guys on the planet that made something, and its going to be around forever.
Don would just look disgusted and it made me laugh.
Some famous gangster would come in, so Don had a lot of stories.
But until the day he died, Don still wouldnt tell me their names.
I think he still lived in fear there would be some sort of retribution.
Id go, Don, whowasthat?
He might have kids, you know?
He really was a bridge between old-school and new-school for a lot of comics.
He just kept going.
As told to Lynette Rice
Rickles died in Los Angeleson April 6 at the age of 90.
Look at the kind of career this guy had.
I imagine those were just big fun-ass parties.
You werent getting a particular kind of genre.
There wasnt any such thing as a Jonathan Demme movie per se.
Without a doubt he was examining the concept of injustice inPhiladelphia.
Dont be afraid of gay people.Dont be afraid.
As told to Anthony Breznican
Demme died in New Yorkon April 26 at the age of 73.
Chris Cornell
By Serj Tankian
First of all, his voice was kick-ass.
Chris had that incredible emotion and this phenomenal range.
Along with Soundgardens music, it was just a perfect combination.
His lyrics were always challengingantiauthoritarian and anti-hypocrisy.
When the grunge movement started, I was definitely intrigued by them, and Chris vocal style specifically.
Years later, after I began touring with System of a Down, we ended up meeting through friends.
When you complimented him, hed always be surprised.
If you said, I love Temple of the Dog, bro!
hed be like, No way!
He was a perfect rock spokesperson and also a mild-mannered, gentle human being.
Last time I saw him was at Elton Johns birthday party.
We were talking about touring: Arent you tired of it?
He was like, Nah, man, Im going to go tour with Soundgarden.
Cornell died in Detroiton May 18 at the age of 52.
You would hear them yelling obscenities at each other when they won or lost.
Roger would make fun of himself.
You know: Eyebrow up, eyebrow down.
I think hes tremendously underrated.
It was very difficult to pull off what he did, particularly following Sean Connery.
MICHAEL G. WILSONHe did seven Bond films, and he made the character his own.
He didnt give a shot to imitate Sean.
He had a much more lighthearted touch, when I think the world was looking for that.
He is a person no one had a bad word for.
He was always very good-natured on set, making others feel comfortable.
He was just a wonderful fellow.
Moore died in Switzerlandon May 23 at the age of 89.
They seemed sort of statuesque to me, Gregg and his brother.
There was a slow grace about them that was uniquely Southern.
I was a little taken by that, I think.
Gregg was a real storyteller.
When he was playing the blues, he was the real thing.
You were getting the straight deal.
It wasnt some interpretation.
He had pretty much one mode of expression and that was that he roared.
Even when he was being quiet, there was that sort of intensity behind it.
Allman died in Savannah, Ga., on May 27 at the age of 69.
George A. Romero
By Greg Nicotero
Zombies wouldnt exist if it hadnt been for George Romero.
The social commentary that he used in his films made him a trailblazer.
He rewrote the rules to fit his vision.
As told to Dalton Ross
Romero died in Torontoon July 16 at the age of 77.
He was true to himself.
He shredded the veil of convention.
He spoke in an American voice, more so than any other playwright I can think of.
The same was true of his acting on screen.
Theres no bulls—.
After 120 performances, youre still discovering stuff.
As told to Chris Nashawaty
Shepard died in Kentuckyon July 27 at the age of 73.
Jeanne Moreau
By Sharon Stone
Her work is just so pure, so absolute.
Shes just walking.The Bride Who Wore Black?Jules and Jim?
There are very few actresses in the world of her caliberever.
She invited me to lunch years ago, and we became really close.
She became so dear to me.
She was a really, really good broad.
As told to Jeff Labrecque
Moreau died in Parison July 31 at the age of 89.
So I had him play on some of my recording sessions onPet Sounds.
He sang the falsetto parts.
So Glen toured with them, and he enjoyed it very much.
I wrote Guess Im Dumb, and I didnt write it for anyone in particular.
Then I played it for Glen and he said, Hey, Id like to record that.
So we recorded it.
I thought it was fantastic.
Glen was a great singer.
I loved Wichita Lineman.
People loved Glen, they loved him.
As told to Clark Collis
Campbell died in Nashvilleon Aug. 8 at the age of 81.
Gregory died in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 19 at the age of 84.
Afterwards I got a call from him.
It was a wonderful pat on the back he gave me, saying I did him well.
When you are playing someone that famous, your worst fear is that theyll hate it.
After that, we had a friendly relationship.
That included him recording our conversations, which he was known to do.
He sent me a CD of it, which was flattering and odd at the same time.
We also tried to remakeCinderfellafor me years and years ago, but for whatever reason it didnt happen.
He was a very unique individual.
He knew I grew up without a father.
Its a photo framed in my office.
That was him saying, you’re able to always count on me.
Lewis died in Las Vegason Aug. 20 at the age of 91.
Which is not to say that he was unhappy.
He was always breaking into song, always serenading in Spanish.
There was nobody else that was like him.
And he had that rock-star swagger.
He was just cool.
As told to Devan Coggan
Stanton died in Los Angeleson Sept. 15 at the age of 91.
Tom Petty
By Norah Jones
Tom Petty had a way of embedding songs in your DNA.
He just cranked out musical masterpieces that went completely into the heart of everybody in this country.
You could hear his rock & roll anthems at the bar and everyone would sing along.
I started doing Tom Petty tribute shows around 15 years ago.
Paying tribute to a living person is a testament to how beloved his music is.
It tickled him that people loved his music.
I told him, We should jam sometime!
And he said, Sure!
I cant believe I said that to Tom Petty.
But he was super sweet.
He just did whatever he wanted to do, and thats the kind of artist you aspire to be.
When you follow your heart, it shows.
As told to Nolan Feeney
Petty died in Santa Monicaon Oct. 2 at the age of 66.
Benson was a snarky characterbefore I think snark was invented.
But you just loved the guy.
Robert brought the best of himself to the role.
He left a real legacy, and the truth is he wouldve been a great Jed Bartlet.
He wouldve been fantastic.
Guillaume died in Los Angeleson Oct. 24 at the age of 89.
Fats Domino
By Aaron Neville
Fats was one of the main characters in my musical life.
I met him when I was 20, and I was just in awe.
He was the father.
And he was just such a nice guy.
We played together a bunch.
It was something to see; he must have hurt himself doing it.
But he always had a smile.
Youd never know if he was ever going through anything bad or nothing like that.
He never shared that.
Every time I saw him, it was just a smile.
Everybody was following and cheering, giving him the honor.
I never lost my awe of him, really.
I always looked up to him.
As a little girl, my mother passed away.
She was my mom ever since.
Our relationship was essential to the show.
Thats why it worked, I thinkwe really loved each other.
Della didnt just tap gently on those doors, either.
She kicked those doors down.
And I would say I have no idea because I was 10 and he was 18.
I didnt get to know David well until the early 1990s, when I got fired from my job.
I had problems with the law, drugs and alcohol.
But nowyouare the joke.
Dont be the joke!
He was yelling at me.
He said, Heres what is going to happen.
There will be no drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and women.
Thats the worst offer Ive ever had!
I ended up going, and what David said was right.
This guy was my hero in every sense of the word.
You know the fights kids get into over how my big brother can beat up your big brother?
My big brother was David Cassidy.
Cassidy died in Fort Lauderdaleon Nov. 21 at the age of 67.
