As begin a new year we remember those we lost last year. We celebrate their legacy as they continue to influence and inspire us!
Sue Atkinson
was a powerhouse pioneering public relations professional. A former math and Latin teacher at John Overton High School, she started her career in public relations at Holder Kennedy, eventually becoming the firm’s president. She launched Atkinson Public Relations in 1986. Her clients included Nissan, First American, the Nashville Predators (original owners), HCA Heathcare, Tri-Star Heath and was one of the founding directors at Pinnacle Financial Partners. She has supported numerous non-profits, organizations and fundraisers including Nashville Opera and the YMCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee.
Connie Bradley
was a country music industry trailblazer. She worked at Famous Music/ Dot Records and RCA Records before working her way up through ASCAP, starting as a membership representative and eventually becoming a senior vice president and Nashville head. She served on Country Music Association’s board of directors from 1983 until 2012, acting as board president and chairperson in 1989 and 1990. She also served on the board of directors for St. Thomas Health Foundation and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Patricia Champion Frist
was a longtime Nashville advocate and philanthropist. She worked with her husband Thomas Frist, Jr. and father-in-law, Dr. Thomas Frist Sr., to found HCA in 1968 and helped create the HCA Foundation in 1982. She served as the president of Frist Capital, on the Board of Directors for SunTrust Bank from 2000 to 2010 and the Board of Trustees of the Frist Foundation. Additionally, she served on the Boards of Directors of the Friends of Warner Park, she also served as an honorary trustee of the Harpeth Hall School. The Patricia Champion Frist Hall on the campus of Vanderbilt University was renamed in her honor in 1998 where it houses the School of Nursing.
Thelma Harper
was a Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate for the 19th District. She was the first African-American woman state senator in Tennessee and the longest-serving female state senator in Tennessee history, having been first elected in 1989. She was instrumental in some of Nashville’s historical moments, like the development of the Music City Center, the Downtown Nashville Library and the facilitation to bringing the NFL Titans Football team to Nashville. She served as the chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee, vice chair of the Senate State and Local Government Committee and chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus.
Ben Retcher
was president of Rogers Group Investments Inc. and was one of the original founders and was a previous board chair at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. He served on numerous boards and organizations throughout Nashville including Fisk University, United Way of Middle Tennessee, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, WLPN Education Foundation, Cumberland Museum & Science Center, Nashville Symphony, Nashville Public Television and The National Museum of African American Music.
Hank Aaron
was a baseball legend and Hall of Famer. He was a right fielder that played for 23 seasons. 21 of those seasons were spent with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League and 2 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League.
Virgil Abloh
was a fashion visionary who founded the label Off-White was the creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton. He bridged the hypebeast culture with the world of luxury, transforming what people wants and how they looked at fashion.
Adolfo
was a leading milliner and fashion designer known for his knits and Chanel-like cardigan dresses. First lady Nancy Ragan was a huge fan and customer.
Michael Apted
was an acclaimed British film director of such films as Loretta Lynn biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough” as well as the documentary “Up”.
Ed Asner
was an actor, he portrayed Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore and it’s successful spin-off, Lou Grant. The role won him 5 Emmy awards. He was a former president of the Screen Actors Guild.
Ned Beatty
Often described as the “busiest actor in Hollywood”, he appeared in more than 160 films which include Deliverance, Network, All the President’s Men, Superman, Back to School and Toy Story. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award.
Jean-Paul Belmondo
was heralded as a magnetic star of the French New Wave in the 1960’s and remained a matinee idol in French Cinema for the remainder of his career with such films as Breathless, The Man from Rio, Pierrot le Fou, Borsalino and The Professional.
Joan Didion
was a prolific writer who’s career began at Vogue Magazine after winning an essay contest they sponsored. At the magazine she became a features editor and went to becoming a journalist, author, and anthropologist of contemporary American politics and culture.
DMX (Earl Simmons)
was a Grammy nominated rapper and actor. He was the first recording artist to debut an album at number 1 five times in a row on the Billboard 200 charts. He sold over 74 million records worldwide. He appeared in the films, Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave and Last Hour.
Bob Dole
was an attorney and Republican politician who serve in the United States House of Representatives from 1961 until 1969 and the United States Senate from 1969 until 1996, representing Kansas. At the end of his tenure, he was the Republican Leader of the Senate which included three non-consecutive years as Senate Majority Leader.
Olympia Dukakis
was an Academy Award, Obie Award and Golden Globe Award winning actress having appeared on stage in Man Equals Man, Orpheus Descending and Mouther Courage and Her Children, on film in Moonstruck and Steel Magnolias and on television in Tales of the City.
Alber Elbaz
reinvented to the House of Lanvin, bringing it to prominance after working for Guy Laroche and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Before passing he launched his own brand, AZ Factory.
Don Everley
was one half of The Everly Brothers, a pioneering country rock duo that incorporated elements of rock and roll, country and pop. Hits include Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have to Do Is Dream and Problems.
Siegfried Fischbacher
He was one half of Siegfried and Roy, a duo of illusionists and entertainers that were known for the use of white tigers and and white lions in their act. Their show, Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage Resort and Casino was said to be the most visited show in Las Vegas during it’s long run.
Larry Flynt
was a publisher and president of Larry Flynt Publications which specialized in pornographic magazines. Their most popular was Hustler. He fought several high-profile legal battles that involved the First Amendment.
Charles Grodin
was an actor, comedian, author and television talk show host. He starred in the films, Catch-22, The Heartbreak Kid, King Kong and Heaven Can Wait. After retiring from acting he hosted The Charles Grodin Show on CNBC.
Hal Holbrook
was an iconic and versatile actor who was a Tony winner, five time Emmy winner and an Oscar nominee. He was known for his work in All The President’s Men, Wall Street and Into The Wild.
Larry King
was a television and radio host. He hosted Larry King Live on CNN from 1985 until 2010. From 2012 until 2020 he hosted Larry King Now and Politicking with Larry King from 2013 until 2020, both airing on Hulu, Ora TV and RT America.
Cloris Leachman
was an Oscar, Golden Globe and an amazing nine time Emmy award winning actress who was one of the original members of the famed Actors Studio in New York City, starred in the 1971 feature film The Last Picture Show and in television’s The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
G. Gordon Liddy
was an attorney, FBI agent, talk show host, actor, and prominent figure in the Watergate scandal as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the Nixon administration.
Rush Limbaugh
was a radio personality, conservative political commentator, author and television show host. He hosted the nationally syndicated The Rush Limbaugh Show from 1988 until 2021.
Gavin MacLeod
was an actor probably best known for portraying Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubbing on The Love Boat. He was also a Christian television host and author.
Grace Mirabella
was a fashion journalist who was editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine from 1971 until 1988. She founded Mirabella magazine in 1989 where she worked until 1996. Later she wrote a style column for Quest magazine and founded the online magazine, The Aesthete.
Larry McMurtry
was a prolific novelist and screenwriter. His novels included Horseman, Pass By, The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment and Lonesome Dove. He co-wrote the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain.
Walter Mondale
was an attorney and politician. He served as the 42nd vice-president of the United States from 1977 until 1981. From 1964 until 1976 he served in the United States Senate representing Minnesota.
Elsa Peretti
was a jewelry designer revolutionized the industry with her biomorphic designs inspired by bone fragments and pebbles. She worked extensively with Tiffany & Co. Vogue described her work as “carved, pure—irresistibly touchable—it has been called jewelry as sculpture, sculpture as jewelry, and the most sensuous jewelry in the world.”
Colin Powell
was a politician, diplomat, stateman and United States Army officer. He served as the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 until 2005, the first African-American. He served as the 16th United States national security advisor from 1987 until 1989 and the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 until 1993.
Christopher Plummer
was an actor with a career that spanned seven decades with recognition for roles on the stage and screen. He appeared in The Sound of Music. He won the Academy Award for Beginners and was nominated for The Last Station and All the Money in the World. He won Emmy awards for Arthur Hailey’s The Moneychangers and Madeline. He won Tony awards for Cyrano and Barrymmore.
Prince Phillip
was the Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth II of England. Born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, he was the consort of the British monarch from Elizabeth ascension on February 6, 1952 until his death making him the longest-serving royal consort in history.
Anne Rice
was an author of gothic fiction, erotic fiction (writing under the pseudonyms A.N. Roqeuelaure and Anne Rampling) and Christian historical fiction. Her most famous work is The Interview with the Vampire which spawned The Vampire Chronicles.
Tanya Roberts
was actress who was an Angel and a Bond Girl. She portrayed Julie Rogers in Charlie’s Angels‘ final season and Stacy Sutton in the James Bond film, A View to A Kill. She also starred in That 70’s Show.
Joanne Rogers
was an accomplished pianist who was Fred Rogers aka Mister Rogers’ widow. She performed publicly with college roommate Jeannine Morrison from 1976 until 2008.
Willard Scott
was a weather presenter, television and radio personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian and author. His career spanned 65 years, he was best known or the many years he spent reporting the weather on the Today show.
Fred Segal
was a legendary retailer based in Los Angeles. Often credited for creating the laid-back California look he was early to focus on the experiential aspect of shopping.
George Segal
was an Academy Award nominated actor for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf as well as a two time Golden Globe winner. Most recently starred in sitcoms Just Shoot Me and The Goldbergs.
Frank Shankwitz
He co-founded Make-A-Wish Foundation in 1980. He was the foundation’s first president and stepped down in 1984. He wrote his memoir, Wise Man, in 2018.
Stephen Sondheim
was a composer and lyricist. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater. Some of his best known work includes A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods.
Phil Spector
was a revolutionary music producer who was behind some of rock and pop music’s most enduring songs. His “Wall of Sound” style revolutionized the way rock music was recorded in the early 1960s.
Desmond Tutu
was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian. He was known worldwide for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. From 1985 until 1986 he was Bishop of Johannesburg and from 1986 until 1996 he was Archbishop of Cape Town. In 1984 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Cicely Tyson
was an actress who’s career spanned several decades portraying powerful African American women. She received three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Tony Award, one Peabody Award and one honorary Academy Award.
Jessica Walter
was an Emmy award winning actress Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, Play Misty For Me.
Charlie Watts
was the drummer for the Rolling Stones. He was often introduced as “The Wembley Whammer” by Jagger during concerts. He was inducted into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame in 1989. He is regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.
Betty White
was an actress and comedian who’s career spanned seven decades. She was an early pioneer of television where her biggest roles were on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland. She received eight Emmy awards, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and one Grammy Award.
Mary Wilson
was the legendary co-founder of The Supremes, the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history. In addition to her career as a singer she was also a motivational speaker and best-selling author having written the record breaking, New York Times best-seller, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme and Supreme Faith: Someday We’ll Be Together.
