2016's Most Notable Celebrity Deaths — Prince, Muhammad Ali & More

Nat King Cole's daughter, R&B legend Natalie Cole, 65, passed in a L.A. area hospital just minutes before the rest of the country rang in 2016 on New Year's Eve.

Craig Strickland, rising front man of the country group Backroad Anthem, went missing on a hunting trip in Oklahoma and was found dead from hypothermia on January 4. He was only 29 years old.

After hiding a liver cancer diagnosis from fans for months, rock legend and cultural icon David Bowie died on January 10 in his Manhattan apartment. The storied "Ziggy Stardust" singer released his last album, Blackstar, two days before his death.

Former child star and Disney veteran Michael Galeota refused doctors' requests to seek further treatment after admitting himself into a Calif. hospital for stomach pains. A friend discovered his body on January 10 at his Glendale, Calif. home.

Celine Dion's beloved husband and manager, Rene Angelil, 73, lost a long-fought battle with cancer on January 14. Adding to the Canadian songbird's heartache, Dion's brother, Daniel, died just two days later.

Alan Rickman died from cancer in London on January 14. The adored British actor was best known for playing Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series and villainous Hans Gruber in Die Hard.

Pneumonia and rheumatoid arthritis killed The Eagles cofounder and guitarist Glenn Frey on January 18 in New York at the age of 67. His band entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, with both The Eagles recordings and Frey's solo work grabbing 24 Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as six Grammys and five American Music Awards.

Screen legend Abe Vigoda died of natural causes at the old age of 94. The actor is credited with more than 94 roles throughout his career, most notably portraying Sal Tessio in 1972's The Godfather alongside Marlon Brando.

Days after having a heart attack, Paul Kantner, 74, died from multiple organ failure and septic shock in San Francisco on January 28. He founded the 60's group Jefferson Airplane and played guitar in the band.

Kantner's band mate, Signe Anderson, passed from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at her home in Oregon on January 28. Grace Slick replaced the original Jefferson Airplane singer, 74, in 1965 after Anderson quit the band to raise her child.

Founding member of the disco group Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White, succumbed to Parkinson's disease in L.A. on February 3 at 74.

Prince's protégé, Vanity, aka Denise Katrina Matthews, 57, died from kidney failure in Fremont, Calif. on February 15. The singer and actress found fame after she became romantically involved with the "Purple Rain" singer, who took her under his wing.

Flamboyant Angela "Big Ang" Raiola, known for Mob Wives, lost her battle with brain, throat and lung cancer on February 18 in a New York hospital at just 55 years old.

Famed and reclusive author of To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee, passed in her sleep on February 19 aged 89. Her work won her a Pulitzer Prize and critical acclaim in her lifetime.

Sonny James, 87, died of natural causes in his beloved Nashville on February 22. The singer was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 after a career beginning in 1933 when his family auditioned as a band for an Alabama radio station.

Known for playing boxer Apollo Creed's trainer in all six Rocky movies, Tony Burton, died at the age of 78 from pneumonia complications in Sun City Calif., on Feb 25.

Standing at a burly 6-foot-4, George Kennedy, was the man who knocked out Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke and won an Oscar for his portrayal of prison adversary Dragline in the 1967 flick. The actor died in an Idaho assisted living facility on February 28 at 91, five months after his wife, Joan.

Country star Joey Feek, 40, lost her battle with cervical cancer on March 4. She was first diagnosed months after giving birth to her daughter, Indiana, in 2014 and initially beat the disease. Doctors seemed optimistic, but it was short-lived when her remission reversed and the cancer returned.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan spent her final years alone after her husband of 52 years, President Ronald Reagan, died of Alzheimer's in 2004. The 94-year-old widow died of congestive heart failure at her L.A. home on March 6.

84-year-old Joe Santos died from a heart attack at his Santa Monica home on March 18. The actor was best known for his roles in The Sopranos and The Rockford Files.

Funnyman Garry Shandling told fans, "I hobbled today for the very first time," just nine days before he died from a heart attack at age 66 on March 24. The comedian called 911 from his L.A. apartment but passed out before medics arrived, forcing them to break down the door.

Oscar winner Patty Duke, star of the 1960's hit The Patty Duke Show, died on March 29 at age 69 after an infection in her intestines ruptured. The 69-year-old admitted she tried to commit suicide in 1977 but was stopped by her two children, Sean and Mackenzie Astin, then 6 and 4.

Country star Merle Haggard survived three years worth of brutal beatings in California's notorious San Quentin State Prison, after an attempted café robbery landed him in the slammer. The singer, married five times, succumbed to pneumonia on April 6 – his 79th birthday.

Doris Roberts, who played matriarch Marie Barone on the show Everybody Loves Raymond, passed in her sleep after suffering a stroke at the age of 90 on April 17. The actress lived alone in L.A. for over thirty years following the death of her second husband, William Goyen, in 1983.

Wrestler Joanie "Chyna" Lauerer, 46, was caught up in drugs and porn following the end of her career in the ring in 2001. The troubled bruiser battled mental illness, drug addiction and attempted suicide. Her family donated her brain to help study the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after her body was discovered on April 20 in her Redondo Beach, Calif., home.

Prince Rogers Nelson, known to millions of fans as simply Prince, overdosed on the powerful opioid fentanyl in his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota on April 21 at the age of 57. The Jehovah's Witness convert released 39 studio albums and was listed at 27 on Billboard's 100 Greatest Artists.

Pneumonia claimed the life of celebrated CBS News correspondent Morley Safer, 84, in New York on May 19. He had retired his post on 60 Minutes only days before his death.

The Greatest Mohammad Ali, 74, died ravaged from Parkinson's disease at an Arizona hospital on June 3. The boxing legend was more than just a sports icon; he famously refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War in 1966, which cost him 4 years in the ring due to a suspension, and stripped him of his titles. His actions as a conscientious objector paved the way for other civil rights and anti-war activists in the late 60's and early 70's.

Theresa Saldana, 61, died of pneumonia on June 6 in L.A. The Raging Bull actress was stabbed by a deranged stalker in 1982, and afterwards became an advocate for stalking victims.

Singer Christina Grimmie, who finished third on the sixth season of The Voice, was tragically shot down after a Florida show on June. The 22-year-old was just beginning her career and her murder prompted cries of outrage and consolations from celebrities on social media.

Star Trek star Anton Yelchin was crushed by his own SUV in the driveway of his Studio City, Calif., home on June 18 after the vehicle malfunctioned. His parents announced their plans to file a wrongful death suit against the vehicle's manufacturer, Fiat Chrysler. He was just 27.

After suffering from a long illness, Noel Niell, 95, died in Tuscon, Ariz., on July 3. She played the original Lois Lane in The Adventures of Superman.

After suffering a stroke, Garry Marshall, died of pneumonia on July 19 in Burbank Calif. The legendary writer, director and actor was 81.

Comedy legend Gene Wilder ordered his family to keep his Alzheimer's diagnosis a secret for three years before it claimed his life on Aug. 29, because he didn't want to upset fans. Wilder is best known for playing wily chocolate factory owner Willy Wonka in the 1971 movie.

Alexis Arquette, the transgender activist and The Wedding Singer actress, died of cardiac arrest in LA. on September 11. The 47-year-old, whose siblings include Patricia, Rosanna and David Arquette, was also battling HIV.

The Sound of Music actress Charmain Carr succumbed to complications from dementia in Woodland Hills, Calif. on September 17. She was 73.

Jean Shepard died from Parkinson's in Nashville on Sept. 25. The 82-year-old was inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011 and was the first woman to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 consecutive years.

After suffering a fall in his L.A. home, Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen passed peacefully in his sleep on November 7 at age 82.

Wild Florence Henderson, 82, who played Carol on The Brady Bunch, died from congestive heart failure on November 24 in L.A. She lived alone until her death, vowing never to remarry after her hypnotherapist husband John Kappas died of cancer in 2002.

Alice Drummond enjoyed a long career on stage, but is best known for portraying the library lady in Ghostbusters. The Tony Award nominee died at her home in New York on Nov. 30 at age 88.

We pay for juicy info! Do you have a story for RadarOnline.com? Email us at tips@radaronline.com, or call us at (866) ON-RADAR (667-2327) any time, day or night.