The past 12 months have revealed surprising results. Musicians , athletes and politicians have entertained audiences. For the populus, the year was memorable.
During 2007, seasons of change caused people everywhere to shed tears. The entertainment industry was silenced with the passing of Walter Turnbull, founder of the acclaimed Boys Choir of Harlem, on March 23.
Yolanda King, the eldest daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, passed away on May 15 at the age of 51. King, the founder of Higher Ground Productions, was an actress and activist who traveled the nation appearing in plays and one-person presentations about non-violence and promoting peace-inspired resolution initiatives.
On the other side of the world,
Sembene Ousmane, a pioneer who introduced movies as an artform within Africa and became known as "The Father of Senegalese Cinema" died on June 9 at the age of 84.
PepsiCo. advertisement creator Alan Pottasch, who dubbed baby boomers "The Pepsi Generation" during the '60s passed away on July 27 at the age of 82.
Game Show host and creator Merv Griffin, who was a singer-turned-TV-host-turned-impresario, parlayed game shows into a multimillion-dollar empire. Griffin died on August 12 at 82.
Making a lasting contribution to music, Max Roach, became known as a Jazz drummer whose rhythmic innovations defined bebop. Roach died on August 15 at 83.
Opera superstar hailed as “King of the High C's,” Luciano Pavoratti passed away on Sept. 6 at 71.
Joe Zawinul, a Jazz keyboardist and one of the creators of jazz-rock fusion with Weather Report (“Birdland”) died September 11 at 75.
French master of pantomime who transformed silence into poetry, Marcel Marceau, died on September 22 at 84.
Joey Bishop became known as a stone-faced TV and nightclub comedian along with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. They often performed on "The Strip" in Las Vegas and other venues. Bishop, The last member of the Rat Pack died on October 17 at the age of 89.
Ike Turner, who introduced the nation and artists to a new type of music and became known as an innovative Rock 'n' Roll performer, passed away on December 13 at age 76.
In the Civil Rights arena, on August 10, the nation witnessed the death of 90-year-old Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, a black woman whose refusal to give up her bus seat led to a landmark 1940s U.S. Supreme
Court decision.
Three months later, Augustus Hawkins, California's first black congressman, elected in 1962, passed away on November 10 at the age of 100. The following day, November 11, Charlie Brady "C.B.'" Hauser, a college professor who took a stand against segregation in 1947 by refusing to give up a bus seat to a white, died at age 90.
The pastor of a Birmingham, Ala. church where four girls died in a 1963 racist bombing, Rev. John H. Cross Jr., died on November 15 at age 82.
Losses filled the sports arena during the year.
On April 3, Eddie Robinson, longtime Grambling coach, who transformed a small college into a football power, died at 88.
San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, who won three Super Bowls, died at the age of 75 on July 30.
In Columbus, Ohio, Football Pioneer Bill Willis laid down tracks for generations of young players. Willis, a Hall of Fame guard with the Cleveland Browns and Ohio State's first black football All-American, passed away on November 27 at the age of 86.
Washington Redskins' star safety, who was known as one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, Sean Taylor, was shot and killed in his home on November 27. He was 24.
One of the first sports daredevils known to America, Evel Knievel, a motorcyclist who was known for spectacular jumps and bone-crushing crashes, passed away at the age of 69 on November 30.
Within the regional political arena, Donald Clancy, an eight-term Ohio congressman and Cincinnati mayor, died at the age of 85 on June 12.
Virginia congresswoman Rep. Jo Ann Davis, who made servicemen's needs a key issue, died as the result of breast cancer at the age of 56 on October 6.

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