Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003

The entertainment world lost several legendary stars and a host of other men and women involved in film, television, stage and music in 2003. Comedian and humanitarian extraordinaire Bob Hope died at 100, and Oscar winning icons Katharine Hepburn and Gregory Peck passed on during the year. Other notables who died include country music legend Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash, television funnyman John Ritter, The Honeymooners Ed Norton (Art Carney) and The Beverly Hillbillies Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen), veteran newsman David Brinkley, stage and screen star Hume Cronyn, The Untouchable Robert Stack, comedian Buddy Hackett, Hollywood tough-guy Charles Bronson and fellow Magnificent Seven Horst Buchholz. The 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 2003 can be found in this comprehensive reference work. For each, the date, place and cause of death are provided, along with a brief 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.

Harris M. Lentz III, independent scholar and prodigious researcher, is the author of numerous reference works. He lives in Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas.