Fidel passed

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Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Fidel passed

May he reap his just reward...

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Andrew Sachs, 86, ( Manuel in Fawlty Towers)

Peter Vaughan 93 Actor

Greg Lake 69 Musician (Emerson Lake & Palmer)

John Glenn 95 Astronaut

Walter Swinburn 55 Jockey (3x Derby winner)

Ian McCaskill 78 BBC Weatherman

Via The L.A. Times: Alan Thicke, actor and dad on '80s sitcom 'Growing Pains,' dies at 69

Alan Thicke, an actor best known for helping set a template for parenting ideals in the ’80s sitcom “Growing Pains,” has died. He was 69.

His death was confirmed with The Times on Tuesday evening by the publicist of his son, pop-soul singer Robin Thicke.

The Times spoke with Robin Thicke on Tuesday evening, and he called his father “the greatest man I ever met” and “always a gentleman.” He confirmed that Thicke suffered a heart attack while playing hockey with his son Carter, and that one of the last things he said was a compliment to his son on a nice shot.

“The good thing was that he was beloved and he had closure,” said Robin Thicke, who credited his dad, an accomplished musician himself, with being an inspiration and very supportive of his music career. “I saw him a few days ago and told him how much I loved and respected him.”

From the BBC: Have more famous people died in 2016?

It's been held up as a particularly gloomy year for celebrity deaths. But has the grim reaper really claimed the souls of more notable people than usual in 2016?
...
So 2016 has seen the largest number of famous people die, but it was that bump at the beginning of the year that made it so unusual.
Although there does seem to have been an inexorable rise, Serpell says there hasn't been any change in the BBC's policy on what sort of person qualifies for an obituary.

He thinks that the increase isn't particularly surprising, because we're now half a century on from the flourishing of both TV and pop culture in the 1960s, which massively expanded the overall pool of public figures.
You're going to have to get used to hearing the celebrity obituary.

Michael Nicholson 79 War Correspondent

Dr. Henry Heimlich, 96, "Heimlich maneuver".

Zsa Zsa Gabor- Actress, 99

Vesna Vulović, 66, Serbian flight attendant, world record holder for surviving the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 metres (33,333 ft).

Yes Chris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRCzXk3LAQk

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Pluto will always be a planet to me.

George Michael 53 Singer

Vera Rubin, 88, astronomer, whose pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates led to the theory of dark matter.

And it has just been reported that Carrie Fisher has passed at the age of 60....

And Richard Adams author of Watership Down aged 96

This year is ending with great losses.