1995 Passages
The world lost talented people from all walks of life in 1995. CNN Interactive's Passages takes a look back at the lives, contributions, and legacies of many of them.
Jerome John Garcia was the reluctant leader of The Grateful Dead. He shied away from the spotlight, stepping out of the shadows only to step up to the microphone. The eclectic rock group blended blues, rock, country and folk music with a dash of the psychedelic sound of the '60s counter-culture that grew out of their home base of San Francisco. Over three decades, the Dead became one of the most popular concert draws in the world. The long strange trip of Jerry Garcia ended on August 9, when he died of an apparent heart attack at a Northern California residential drug treatment center. Garcia was 53.
Alexander Godunov was famous both as a ballet dancer and as an actor. He began taking ballet lessons when he was nine years old, and went on to win a gold medal at the 1973 Moscow International Competition. Godunov danced for the Bolshoi Ballet for 13 years before defecting to the United States in 1979. His wife, another Bolshoi dancer, returned home, and they divorced in 1982. Godunov spent three years with the American Ballet Theater, and danced with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and in various other productions. In 1983, Godunov had his own TV show, and two years later made his film debut in "Witness," with Harrison Ford. Godunov's other movies include "The Money Pit" and "Die Hard." According to his publicist, Godunov died of "acute alcoholism" on May 18. He was 45.
Pancho Gonzalez was a tennis legend, winning the U.S. pro singles title a record eight times and the U.S. national singles title in 1948 and 1949. He stayed in the game for another two decades. In 1969, Gonzalez became the oldest seeded singles player in Wimbledon history at age 41. He died of stomach cancer in Las Vegas on July 3. Gonzalez was 67.
Sergei Grinkov and his wife, Ekaterina Gordeyeva, were a champion figure skating team. Their achievements included two Olympic gold medals, four world championships and two European titles. They began their partnership in 1982, when he was 15 and she was 11. They married in 1991 and had a daughter. On November 20, Grinkov collapsed while practicing with his wife in Lake Placid, New York, and soon died. Doctors said Grinkov had an enlarged heart and a blocked artery that triggered a massive heart attack. He was 28.
Phyllis Hyman's talent as a singer was widely recognized, but the fame many said she deserved eluded her. She sang jazz, soul, and rhythm and blues, beginning her career in 1971. Hyman's hits included the songs "Somewhere in My Lifetime," "You Know How to Love Me" and "Living All Alone." Hyman appeared in the Duke Ellington musical "Sophisticated Ladies" for two and a half years, earning a Tony Award nomination. She was also in several movies, including Spike Lee's "School Daze." Hyman committed suicide in New York on June 30. She was 44.
Burl Ives was an actor and folk singer, making 32 movies, more than 100 records, and appearing on Broadway and in television specials. Ives played Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on both stage and screen, and won an Academy Award for best performance in a supporting role for the 1958 movie "The Big Country." Ives also narrated the Christmas TV classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." He released his last recording, "The Magic Balladeer," in 1993 when he was almost 84. Ives died April 14 in Anacortes, Washington. He was 85.
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy's life was marked by triumph and tragedy. She was a public figure all her life, first as the daughter of Boston's mayor and later as the matriarch of one of America's most famous families. In 1914, she married Joseph Kennedy, a young businessman who became a multi-millionaire and served as U.S. ambassador to Britain in the 1930s. Rose and Joseph had nine children: Joseph Jr., John, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Edward. John, Edward, and Robert all became U.S. senators and campaigned for Democratic presidential nominations; John won his bid and was elected the 35th president of the United States. In 1951, the Vatican gave Rose the title of "papal countess" for her "exemplary motherhood and many charitable works." But along with success came brutal loss. She outlived four of her children: John and Robert were assassinated, Joseph Jr. was killed in action during World War II, and Kathleen died in a plane crash. Rose's husband suffered a disabling stroke in 1961, and died in 1969 after a second stroke. There were scandals, too, such as the drowning death of Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts, after the car she was in, driven by Edward Kennedy, went into a canal. Through it all, her children wrote in a 1992 editorial in The New York Times, Rose was "a powerful and loving presence in our lives ... a constant friend ... an inspiring and gifted teacher." She died of complications from pneumonia on January 22 at the age of 104.
Join the world's news leader for an in-depth multimedia look at the top news stories of 1995.
CNN Time Capsule: The Defining Moments of 1995 is a new multimedia CD-ROM which chronicles the year's top stories through video, photos, text, audio clips and editorial cartoons. Click here to find out more!
Copyright © 1995 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.