A list of well-known people who have died recently:
- Elliott Carter, 1908-2012
American composer who was hailed as a modern great despite his famously inaccessbile music - Bryce Courtenay, 1933-2012
South African-born Australian novelist and one of Australia’s most commercially successful authors - Patrick Creagh, 1930-2012
Poet and masterly Italian translator who had Ginsberg arrested and bought a farm with Lady Chatterley - Clive Dunn, 1920-2012
Actor whose catchphrase ‘Don’t panic!’ was part of Dad’s Army appeal - Valerie Eliot, 1926-2012
Wife of T.S. Eliot who brought happiness to his final years and was a fierce custodian of his legacy - Jean Garner, 1948-2012
Christchurch historian and author - Larry Hagman, 1931-2012
Actor whose J R Ewing in Dallas became the most celebrated portrayal of villainy on television - Han, Suyin, 1917-2012
Prolific Eurasian author who generated controversy with her hagiographic view of China’s cultural revolution - Derek Hutchinson, 1933-3012
Author of The sea kayaker’s bible who, in 1976, became the first person to cross the North Sea in a canoe - Philip Ledger, 1937-2012
Church musician who produced magical settings of carols and worked with Benjamin Britten - Vincent Orange, 1935-2012
British-born NZ academic, historian, best known for military biographies, and actor - Richard Robbins, 1940-2012
Film composer who wrote more than two dozen scores for Merchant Ivory - R.W.H. (Bob) Scott, 1921-2012
Former All Black - Dinah Sheridan, 1920-2012
Graceful actress who charmed audiences for over 50 years, notably in Genevieve and The railway children - Bill Tarmey, 1941-2012
Actor who gave life to the work-shy, henpecked husband Jack Duckworth in Coronation Street - Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012
Motivational self-help guru who urged Americans to quit their ‘stinkin’ thinkin’
