Recent necrology, January 2016

Some well-known people who have died recently:

• Paul Bley, 1932-2016
  Pianist who helped lead the 1960s ‘free jazz’ revolution

• Pierre Boulez, 1925-2016
  Outstanding composer and conductor who pushed contemporary music in radical new directions

• David Bowie, 1947-2016
  Giant of popular music who endlessly reinvented himself over more than four decades

• Melvin Day, 1923-2016
  Painter, author, and former Director of the National Art Gallery of New Zealand

• Denise Duval, 1921-2016
  Soprano, muse of Francis Poulenc, who went from the Folies Bergère to the operatic stage

• Frank Finlay, 1926-2016
  Former butcher’s boy who became an Oscar-nominated actor and a household name as Casanova

• Dan Haggerty, 1943-2016
  Actor who starred alongside Ben the bear in Grizzly Adams

• Alan Rickman, 1946-2016
  Actor who brought a languid charm to his depictions of contemptuous villains and complex heroes

• Colin Vearncombe, 1962-2016
  Singer known as Black who had a doleful hit with Wonderful Life

• Terry Wogan, 1938-2016
  Well-loved broadcaster whose effortless style made viewers and listeners feel better about themselves