2011 farewells

Amy Winehouse (14 September 1983 to 23 July 2011)

Singer Amy Winehouse had a short but incredibly successful career. Her two albums, ‘Frank’ and ‘Back to Black’, won critical praise as well as a plethora of awards. Famed for her unique voice and unrepentant attitude, Winehouse shot to stardom in 2003 after the release of debut album ‘Frank’, which went double platinum.

Critically as well as commercially successful, ‘Frank’ gained Winehouse an international following. Her second album ‘Back to Black’ proved to be even more successful – winning five Grammys. In particular the singles ‘Rehab’, ‘Back to Black’ and ‘You Know I’m No Good’ put Winehouse at the forefront of British music. Her cover of The Zutons song ‘Valerie’ was one of the biggest hits of 2007, spending 19 consecutive weeks in the UK top 20.

Despite her wildly successful music career, Winehouse had a troubled personal life. She suffered with drug and alcohol addiction for a number of years, as well as admitting problems with depression, self-harm and eating disorders. Her fractious relationship with ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil also served up a number of flash points as their divorce was made public and splashed across the tabloids in 2009.

Winehouse’s sudden death from alcohol poisoning in September shocked the nation, leaving thousands of fans mourning her loss.

Seve Ballesteros (9 April 1957 to 7 May 2011)

Spaniard Seve Ballesteros made an indelible mark on the golfing world during his long career, winning five major championships, becoming world number one and helping Europe to five Ryder Cup triumphs both as a player and captain.

Born into a sporting family, Seve was the youngest of five sons – four of whom went on to be professional golfers. His uncle, Ramon Sota, was also a four-time Spanish champion but this paled in comparison to Seve’s later achievements. Turning professional at the age of 16, Ballesteros broke through by coming second in the 1976 Open Championship – a tournament he led after the third round.
His first major success came three years later at the same tournament, becoming the youngest golfer in 100 years to win the Open. The achievement was made all the more impressive as it came during a round in which he hit a tee shot into the car park – and still managed to birdie the hole. Ballesteros went on to excel in the 1980s, becoming world number one and winning a further four major championships.

He also became a key member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team, playing in four winning sides before captaining it to a glorious success on home turf in Spain in 1997. The golfing world mourned his death as the result of a malignant brain tumour in May.

Sir Jimmy Savile (31 October 1926 to 29 July 2011)

As a renowned DJ, television presenter and charity fundraiser, Sir Jimmy Savile was one of the best-loved British media personalities of the last 50 years. First gaining fame as a DJ and radio host, in 1964 became the inaugural presenter of Top of the Pops. Savile went on to front a series of Public Information Films, including ‘Clunk Click Every Trip’, and later television series ‘Jim’ll Fix It’.

At the height of its popularity, ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ received 20,000 letters a week from children who wanted Savile to make their dreams come true. It was a far cry from his earlier life as a miner, hospital porter, professional wrestler and dance-hall promoter. He also claimed to have been the world’s first DJ to join two turntables together to play music continuously.

Aside from his work on television and radio, Savile was a prolific fundraiser – running more than 200 marathons and bringing in £42million for charities over the years. Savile was known for his eccentricity and fashion sense, frequently clad in tracksuits or shell suits with large gold jewellery. He was also a member of MENSA with an IQ of 149. Savile was found dead at his home in Roundhay, Leeds on 29 November three days before his 85th birthday.

Gary Speed (8 September 1969 to 27 November 2011)

Wales manager Gary Speed’s death at the age of 42 was a shock to millions of football fans across the globe.

As a player, Speed set the First Division and Premier League alight during a glittering 22 year career. Making his debut for Leeds United aged 19, Speed became a key part of the team that won the First Division in 1992. He starred in an all-British midfield which included the likes of Gary McAllister, David Batty and Gordon Strachan as Leeds clinched their third top division title. Speed moved on to Everton in 1996 after making 248 league appearances for Leeds, a time in which he also cemented his place in the national team.

After two years with Everton, Speed moved to Newcastle – reaching two successive FA Cup finals in 1998 and 1999. Speed made a then-record 535 Premier League appearances as he concluded his career with spells at Bolton and Sheffield United. During that time he also set the record for most outfield international appearances for Wales as he was capped 85 times.

Making the move into management, Gary Speed took charge at Sheffield United but was later given the reins for the Welsh national team who he managed to turn around with a series of impressive wins, he was still in charge at the time of his death.

Elizabeth Taylor (27 February 1932 to 23 March 2011)

Film stars don’t get much bigger than Elizabeth “Liz” Taylor, a true heavyweight on the silver screen over the last 60 years. Most known for her starring roles in ‘National Velvet’, ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, ‘Cleopatra’ and ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’, Taylor became an international sex symbol and was known for her glamorous lifestyle.

Born in London to American parents, Taylor moved to Los Angeles at an early age where she attracted attention from a number of film studios. Impressed with her looks, Universal signed Taylor up for a seven-year contract before she had even turned nine. This would last just one film, Taylor moved on to MGM who cast her in ‘Lassie Come Home’ and then ‘National Velvet’ – a film that propelled Taylor into the spotlight aged just 12.

Making the move to adult roles, Taylor became a Hollywood star. She hit her peak in the late 1950s – with four consecutive Oscar nominations from 1958 to 1961. Taylor picked up an Oscar for her performance in ‘Butterfield 8’ and a second for ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ in 1966 , though was perhaps best known for playing Cleopatra in the blockbuster film of the same name.

Taylor’s personal life also dominated the headlines, she married eight times over the 79 years of her life including to ‘Cleopatra’ co-star Richard Burton.

From the 1980s onward Taylor took to campaigning – championing, founding and promoting HIV and AIDS programmes.

Peter Falk (16 September 1927 to 23 June 2011)

Best known for playing an indomitable detective as the star of ‘Columbo’, Peter Falk became one of the world’s recognisable TV stars. His performance wrote the character into detective history alongside Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple – picking up four Emmys along the way.

Falk also saw success in films – nominated for Oscars for his roles in ‘Pocketful of Miracles’ and ‘Murder, Inc’. These roles kickstarted Falk’s film career, which had not shown promise in the late 1950s. Despite making an impression on Broadway, the New York born-actor found the transition to Hollywood tough going as directors were put off by the glass eye he’d had since the age of three. “For the same price I can get an actor with two eyes,” Columbia Pictures studio boss, Harry Cohn, reportedly said of Falk.

‘Murder Inc’ became the watershed moment for Falk. Playing killer Abe Reles he gained critical acclaim, securing future work in film and television. Small screen roles in ‘The Twilight Zone’, ‘The Alfred Hitchcock Hour’ and ‘The Trials of O’Brien’ led Falk to ‘Columbo’, a true television classic. Lt Columbo has repeatedly been listed as one of the best television characters of all time, mostly in part down to Falk’s memorable performance as the seemingly bumbling detective.

Dan Wheldon (22 June 1978 to 16 October 2011)

Despite rising to become one of the world’s leading racing drivers, Dan Wheldon never really registered with the British public until his untimely death at the age of 33.

Developing his prodigious skills in karting and open-wheel racing, Buckinghamshire-born Wheldon was forced to chase a career in the US as he could not secure the required funding in Britain. Wheldon, who counted Jenson Button as an early rival, was dubbed the “Michael Schumacher” of the karting world by former F1 driver Anthony Davidson.

On moving to the US, Wheldon initially drove for Panther Racing in the IRL IndyCar Series before being named “Rookie of the Year” in 2003 with Andretti Green Racing. He was miraculously unscathed following a horrific high-speed crash in the 2003 Indianapolis500 – an event he went on to win twice in later years. Wheldon was the first Briton since Graham Hill 39 years before to win the Indy500.

He also claimed the overall IndyCar Series championship in 2005, arguably the highlight of a career cut short. Wheldon clinched his second Indy500 title in May this year, just four months before his death. Racing in his adopted home of Las Vegas, Wheldon was fatally injured in a 15-car crash which sent shockwaves across the motoring world.

Pete Postlethwaite (16 February 1946 to 2 January 2011)

Stephen Spielberg doesn’t refer to someone as the “best actor in the world” too often, but for Pete Postlethwaite it was fitting praise. Making a name for himself in both film and television he starred in an endless succession of hits including ‘The Last of the Mohicans’, ‘The Usual Suspects’, ‘Inception’, ‘Brassed Off’ and ‘The Constant Gardener’.

Born in Warrington in 1946, Postlethwaite spent a short period of time as a teacher before moving onto acting at the age of 24. His early career lay in the theatre, appearing alongside Bill Nighy and Julie Walters over the years.

Postlethwaite joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and stepped up his work, moving onto the small screen in the early 1980s – a switch which earned him small parts in ‘Last of the Summer Wine’, ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Minder’.

Postlethwaite shot to fame in the early nineties, gaining an Oscar nomination for his role ‘In the Name of the Father’, playing the father of a man implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub in Guildford. He went from success to success from there onwards.

Aside from acting he was also an activist, appearing in a Labour Party political broadcast in 1997. Postlethwaite was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1990 and died of pancreatic cancer in January at the age of 64.

Tim Hetherington (5 December 1970 to 20 April 2011)

Widely respected as a photojournalist, filmmaker and broadcaster, Tim Hetherington became known for going places no other reporter would dare tread. His brutally realistic documentary film, ‘Restrepo’ (co-directed with Sebastian Junger) followed the daily lives of American troops in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, at the time regarded as the deadliest place on earth. Hetherington followed the unit into intense conflict which tragically claimed the life of the film’s namesake, soldier Juan Restrepo.

The award-winning film gained many plaudits but it was merely one many projects Hetherington worked on during his life. After starting out as a trainee photographer at the ‘Big Issue’ he moved on to work extensively in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia. He then went on to be a cameraman on ‘Liberia: An Uncivilized War’, work which earned Hetherington and television journalist James Brabazon execution orders from Liberian president Charles Taylor.

Hetherington then moved onto Afghanistan, working extensively there for ‘Vanity Fair’ before shooting ‘Restrepo’. The documentary earned an Oscar nomination and won the Grand Jury prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. He was also heralded as a photographer, winning first prize at the World Press Photo awards in 2007.

Hetherington died at the hands of mortar fire in Misrata, Libya, while covering intense conflict in the besieged city.