Donald Patrick "Pat" Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016)

(AP) – Pat Conroy, the author of "The Great Santini" and "The Prince of Tides"
and other best-sellers who drew upon his bruising childhood and the vistas 
of South Carolina and became one of the country’s most compelling and
popular storytellers, died Friday evening.

According to his publisher Conroy, who announced last month that he had
pancreatic cancer, died at home among family and loved ones in Beaufort,
South Carolina. The heavy-set author had battled other health problems
in recent years, including diabetes, high blood pressure and a failing liver.

Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016)

(FOXNEWS) – Alabama-born author Harper Lee, whose book
"To Kill a Mockingbird" became one of the most beloved, widely-
read and best-selling novels of the 20th century, has died.

Hank Conner, Lee oldest nephew and the family spokesperson
said: “This is a sad day for our family. America and the world
knew Harper Lee as one of the last century’s most beloved
authors. We knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member
of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who
touched her life, and a generous soul in our community and
our state. We will miss her dearly.”

Lee, who won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for "Mockingbird,
" published just two novels in her lifetime. She released “Go Set
a Watchman” in July 2015, more than 50 years after “To Kill a
Mockingbird” hit bookshelves.

Lee, who never married, did her best to stay well out of the
spotlight for many years after “Mockingbird,” turning down
interview requests and leading a reclusive, intensely private
life in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama.

Harper Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at
the White House in 2007. In 2010, President Barack Obama
awarded Lee the National Medal of Arts, the highest award
given by the U.S. government for "outstanding contributions
to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts".

Lee being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George
W. Bush. 

Camille Bohannon

Richard Augustus Wagstaff "Dick" Clark Jr.
(November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012)

Clark, who began his career in the mailroom of WRUN radio in Rome, New York
in 1945, won a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994 for hosting
American Bandstand. He was known as America’s Oldest Teenager.

 
Tim Maguire

Michael Kirk Douglas is 71 today.

1979

Camille Bohannon

James Maury "Jim" Henson  (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990)

Henson created puppets for a children’s show on local TV called The Junior
Morning Show. Another early show was Sam and Friends, which featured
prototypes of The Muppets. He was honored on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame as both himself and Kermit the Frog.