Franco Zeffirelli

popular name: Nelson Eddy

date_of_death: March 6, 1967

age: 66

cause_of_death: Suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage while on stage at the Sans Souci Hotel

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Nelson Eddy was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world.

popular name: Paul Lynde

date_of_death: January 10, 1982

age: 55

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: “I'll take Paul Lynde.” Not so long ago (actually a lifetime ago) if that sentence was uttered by a contestant on Hollywood Squares, lights would flash around the center cube in a grid of B-level celebrities and settle on a genuine star - Paul Lynde. He was tanned, rested and ready with a whinnying snigger (which he stole from actress Alice Ghostley) and bawdy, thinly veiled reference to his sexual orientation. Sadly his wealth and fame never made Lynde happy. He drifted from one relationship to another, often with paid escorts, and longed to be taken seriously as an actor. He died in his sleep of a heart attack at the age of 55 with, as the coroner reported, the heart of an 80-year-old.

popular name: Richard Blackwell

date_of_death: October 19, 2008

age: 86

cause_of_death: Complications from an intestinal infection

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Mr. Blackwell, whose first name was Richard, was a little-known dress designer when he issued his first tongue-in-cheek criticism of Hollywood fashion disasters for 1960 – long before Joan Rivers and others turned such ridicule into a daily affair. He was the creator of the "Ten Worst Dressed Women List", an annual awards presentation he unveiled in January of each year. He published the "Fabulous Fashion Independents" list and an annual Academy Awards fashion review, both of which receive somewhat less media attention. Prior to his Worst Dressed list, Blackwell designer dresses sold for between $800 to $1,000 and were very successful. During the nearly two decade existence of the "House of Blackwell", he was designer to Yvonne De Carlo, Jayne Mansfield, Dorothy Lamour, and Jane Russell. During the 1980s, the emerging drift toward casual wear brought an end to The House of Blackwell. As he pivoted as a fashion critic, overtime Mr. Blackwell's somewhat mean spirited list began to wear thin. His take on Wynonna Judd ("She looks like Hulk Hogan in sequins"), on Martha Stewart ("Dresses like the centerfold for Farmers' Almanac") and the Dixie Chicks ("They look like a trio of truck stop fashion tragedies/ trapped in a typhoon") was losing it's audience appeal over time. Despite the waning audience he continued up until his death at age 86.