So many great names have crossed the final frontier into the undiscovered country in 2012. Thank you one and all for your massive contributions to science fiction and fantasy. You’ll be sorely missed but your work will live on, to be appreciated by – an inspiration for – countless generations to come…
Compiled by: Steve O’Brien
JANUARY
Richard Alf
Died: 4 January, aged 59
Co-founder, San Diego Comic Con
Dick Tufeld
Died: 22 January, aged 85
Voice artist, Robot on Lost In Space
February on the next page…
FEBRUARY
Sam Youd, aka John Christopher
Died: 3 February, aged 89
Author, The Tripods
Bill Hinzman
Died: 5 February, aged 75
Actor, Night Of The Living Dead
John Severin
Died: 12 February, aged 90
Silver Age comic book artist, Hulk , The Punisher
Richard Carpenter
Died: 26 February, aged 82
TV writer, creator of Catweazle and Robin Of Sherwood
Sheldon Moldoff
Died: 29 February, aged 91
Golden Age comic book artist, Batman , Action Comics
March on the next page…
MARCH
Ralph McQuarrie
Died: 3 March, aged 82
Conceptual designer and illustrator, Star Wars , Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Philip Madoc
Died: 5 March, aged 77
British character actor with multiple appearances in Doctor Who (including the second Dalek film), multiple appearances in The Avengers , plus roles in Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) , UFO , Survivors and Space: 1999. For all that, he’s probably best known for a one-off non-SF role, as a German U-boat captain in an episode of Dad’s Army .
Jean Giraud, aka Moebius
Died: 10 March, aged 73
French comic book artist and film production designer, Tron , Alien
Warren Stevens
Died: 27 March, aged 92
Actor, Forbidden Planet , Star Trek
April on the next page…
APRIL
Jonathan Frid
Died: 14 April, aged 87
Actor, Barnabas Collins in the original Dark Shadows
KD Wentworth
Died: 18 April, aged 61
Author, Moonspeaker , House Of Moons
Joel Goldsmith
Died: 29 April, aged 54
Composer (son of Jerry), Stargate SG-1 and spin-offs
May on the next page…
MAY
Tony DeZuniga
Died: 11 May, aged 79
Comic book artist, co-creator of Jonah Hex and Black Orchid
Ernie Chan
Died: 16 May, aged 71
Comic artist, Conan the Barbarian , Batman , Detective Comics
Matthew Yuricich
Died: 28 May, aged 89
Special effects artist, Field Of Dreams , Close Encounters Of The Third Kind , Blade Runner
June on the next page…
JUNE
Ray Bradbury
Died: 5 June, aged 91
Author, The Martian Chronicles , The Illustrated Man , Fahrenheit 451
Caroline John
Died: 5 June, aged 71
Actress, Doctor Who (Liz Shaw)
Robert L Washington
Died: 7 June, aged 47
Comic book writer, co-creator of Static
July on the next page…
JULY
Ernest Borgnine
Died: 8 July, aged 95
Actor, The Black Hole , Escape from New York , Gattaca
Richard D Zanuck
Died: 13 July, aged 77
Producer, Dark Shadows , Alice in Wonderland , Clash Of The Titans
Morgan Paull
Died: 17 July aged 67
Actor, Blade Runner
Mary Tamm
Died: 26 July, aged 62
Actress, Doctor Who (first Romana)
August on the next page…
AUGUST
Carlo Rambaldi
Died: 10 August, aged 86
Special effects artist, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial , Alien
Harry Harrison
Died: 15 August, aged 87
Author, The Stainless Steel Rat books
Josepha Sherman
Died: 23 August, aged 65
Author, The Shining Falcon , The Invisibility Factor
Neil Armstrong
Died: 25 August, aged 82
Astronaut
September on the next page…
SEPTEMBER
Winrich Kolbe
Died: September, aged 71
TV director, Star Trek: The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , Voyager , Enterprise
Michael Clarke Duncan
Died: 3 September, aged 54
Actor, The Green Mile , Daredevil, Armageddon, Sin City
John Coates
Died: 16 September, aged 84
Film producer, The Snowman
Michael O’Hare
Died: 28 September, aged 60
Actor, Babylon 5
October on the next page…
OCTOBER
Marc Swayze
Died: 14 October, aged 99
Golden Age comic book artist, Captain Marvel , etc
November on the next page…
NOVEMBER
Kevin O’Donnell Jr
Died: 7, November, aged 61
Author and former chairman, Nebula Awards
December on the next page…
DECEMBER
Sir Patrick Moore
Died: 9 December, aged 89
Astronomer and Doctor Who guest star
Gerry Anderson
Died: 26 December, aged 83
TV producer, creator of Thunderbirds , Stingray , Captain Scarlet , UFO , Dick Spanner , Space: 1999 and loads of others.
