Georgia Engel

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.

popular name: Suzanne Somers

date_of_death: October 15, 2023

age: 76

cause_of_death: Breast cancer

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Suzanne Somers was a talented actress who first became famous for playing, as she put it, “one of the best dumb blondes that’s ever been done,” on the TV sitcom Three's Company. Holding her own playing opposite veteran actors John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt, Suzanne made the headlines when, after four years co-starring on the hit show, by getting fired when she demanded an increase in pay well over the leading star of the show (John Ritter). In the years after “Three’s Company,” Ms. Somers remained in the public eye through frequent appearances in movies and on television, including the 1990s sitcom “Step by Step,” a stint co-hosting the television series “Candid Camera” and a wide variety of talk shows. But her earnings from television were greatly eclipsed by the health and diet business empire (most notably with the ThighMaster) she built with her long-time husband Alan Hamal. Upon her passing from breast cancer with metastasis to the brain, her net worth exceeded $105 million. Upon her death she was laid to rest at Desert Memorial Park.

popular name: Francine York

date_of_death: January 6, 2017

age: 78

cause_of_death: Cancer

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Francine York was an American actress and model. York worked as a showgirl in her early career at Bimbo's nightclub in San Francisco. York's first screen role was in Robert Clarke's Hollywood exploitation film Secret File Hollywood shot in 1960 but not distributed until 1962. Her big break came when Jerry Lewis cast her in It's Only Money, in which she played a tantalizing sexpot, a role which brought her much publicity. York's television roles included portraying Amanda Agnew on It Takes a Thief, Wendy Wendkoski in Slattery's People, and Kate Landis in The Courtship of Eddie's Father. York was memorable as the willowy Lydia Limpet, the henchwoman of The Bookworm (Roddy McDowall), in a first-season installment of ABC’s Batman in 1966. She uses a boring book to lure Robin to sleep and gets to ride in the Batmobile.