Today is a day of looking back at the past year. For me personally, it sucked but with good outcomes. I was hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I lost a very dear friend and we had our share of financial issues. So I look at 2011 with tons of hope and look forward to turning 45 next week.
With that said, we lost many public figures – many of whom I grew up with. MSNBC took a look at some of these well-known celebrities, politicians and gay icons like Lena Horne and Rue Maclanahan.
Video includes Lena Horne, Tony Curtis, Joan Sutherland, Jean Simmons, Patricia Neal, Gloria Stuart, Lynn Redgrave, Jill Clayburgh, Rue McClanahan, Dixie Carter, Mitch Miller, Eddie Fisher, Art Linkletter, Gary Coleman, Tom Bosley, Barbara Billingsley, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Robert Culp, James MacArthur, John Forsythe, Pernell Roberts, Fess Parker, Jimmy Dean, Merlin Olsen, George Blanda, Don Meredith, John Wooden, Manute Bol, Bobby Thomson, Bob Feller, Ron Santo, Sparky Anderson, Ernie Harwell, Bob Sheppard, George Steinbrenner, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Dennis Hopper, Arthur Penn, Blake Edwards, Solomon Burke, Teddy Pendergrass, Teena Marie, Alexander McQueen, Elizabeth Edwards, Dorothy Height, Benjamin Hooks, Wilma Mankiller, Jaime Escalante, Miep Gies, Richard Holbrooke, Theodore Sorensen, Alexander Haig, Ted Stevens, Robert Byrd, Dan Rostenkowski, John Murtha, Charlie Wilson, James Kilpatrick, Daniel Schorr, Edwin Newman, J.D. Salinger.
