Gone but not forgotten: paying tribute to the stars we lost in 2016

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Has 2016 been a particularly bad year for celebrity deaths? It certainly feels that way. A BBC study found that the number of pre-prepared obituaries used by its website experienced a huge increase in the first three months of the year compared with previous years.

Closer investigation, however, suggests that the 2016 celebrity death toll is probably more or less in line with most other years at least in terms of numbers alone. However, this year does seem to have claimed a lot more high-profile, and relatively young, lives – from David Bowie in January to George Michael and Carrie Fisher.

Here is our In Memoriam tribute some of the best-known international celebrities we lost this year.

January

The year started on a the lowest of low notes for many with the loss of the Starman, when rock legend David Bowie (pictured) died of cancer on January 10 at the age of 69, three days after releasing his 25th studio album, Blackstar, a haunting and self-aware reflection on mortality.

Four days later, British actor Alan Rickman (also 69), star of the Harry Potter movies and Die Hard also succumbed to cancer.

The disease also claimed the life of popular UK TV and radio broadcaster Terry Wogan (77) on the very last day of the month.

In between, on January 18, Eagles frontman Glenn Frey (67) died of complications after surgery, and Scottish rocker Jimmy Bain (68), who played bass guitar with heavy-metal bands Rainbow and Dio, died on January 23 of lung cancer.

February

Lovers of literature were saddened by the death on February 19 of author Harper Lee (89), pictured, a few months after the publication of Go Set A Watchman, the only other book she published other than the landmark To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960.

Another literary great, Umberto Eco (88), the Italian author of The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum, died the same day.

Irish actor Frank Kelly (77), who played priest Father Jack Hackett in acclaimed British sitcom Father Ted, died on February 28, the same day as George Kennedy (91), the American star of films such as Airport, Cool Hand Luke and The Naked Gun.

March

The UK's light entertainment scene suffered several notable losses in March, including 85-year-old Scottish comedian Ronnie Corbett (pictured)– half of the ever-popular The Two Ronnies team with Ronnie Barker (who died in 2005), TV magician Paul Daniels (77), Coronation Street creator Tony Warren (79) and the much-loved TV agony aunt Denise Robertson (83).

We also lost the famed "fifth Beatle", producer George Martin (90), and legendary Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff (68). And we said goodbye to groundbreaking American comedian, actor and writer Garry Shandling (66), star of It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show.

April

While the death of Bowie in January hit many people hard, Prince's (pictured) demise in April was perhaps even more shocking. The diminutive pop superstar, famed for hits such as Purple Rain and Raspberry Beret, died on April 21 at the age of 57, from what appears to have been an accidental overdose of painkillers.

We also lost BAFTA-winning British comedienne Victoria Wood (62), and country singer Merle Haggard (79).

May

Madeleine LeBeau might not be the most familiar name on this list, but the French actress' place in movie history is assured, thanks to her role as Yvonne, Humphrey Bogart's jilted lover in Casablanca. She died in May after an accident, at the age of 92.

Burt Kwouk (85), pictured, who starred as Cato in the Pink Panther films, as well as appearing in several Bond movies, also died this month – another victim of cancer – as did Carla Lane (right, 87), creator of some of the UK's best-loved sitcoms, including Bread, Butterflies and The Liver Birds.

June

Muhammad Ali (pictured) was another of the truly legendary figures to succumb to the curse of 2016. The legendary boxer died at the age of 72 following a long battle with Parkinson's disease and associated complications.

Actor Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek movies, was another unexpected loss, at the tragically young age of 27, when he was run over by his own car just days before the release of his final Star Trek appearance in Star Trek: Beyond.

July

Abdul Sattar Edhi – a philanthropist and founder of the Edhi foundation, which runs hospitals, homeless shelters and orphanages throughout Pakistan – died following kidney failure at the age of 88.

British writer and comedy actress Caroline Aherne (pictured) passed away following a long struggle with various illnesses, including depression, substance misuse and cancer. The Mrs Merton, Fast Show and Royle Family star was just 52.

Author and film director Robin Hardy, best known as director of the 1973 cult classic The Wicker Man, died at the age of 86.

August

US actor Gene Wilder (pictured), star of a host of classics including Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and a regular collaborator with both Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks, died at the age of 83 following complications arising from Alzheimer's.

Star Wars fans had cause to mourn with the passing of Kenny Baker (81), who was the human at the heart of R2-D2 from 1977's Star Wars to last year's The Force Awakens, and also appeared in movies including Willow, Time Bandits and Flash Gordon.

September

The world of literature suffered another loss with the death of playwright Edward Albee (88), pictured. He was a prolific writer, but will be best remembered for the 1962 classic Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He was widely credited with successfully adapting the tenets of European absurdist theatre for US audiences.

Golfer Arnold Palmer, fondly remembered by a generation not only as an Open and Masters-winning sportsman but the name behind the popular Arnold Palmer franchise of crazy golf courses, as well as a drink that mixes iced tea with lemonade, also passed away, at the age of 87, while awaiting heart surgery.

October

Pete Burns (57), lead singer of 1980s British band Dead or Alive, of You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) fame, died of cardiac arrest. His pop career was relatively short lived, but he was even more well known for his ever-changing appearance, thanks to repeated plastic surgery, and regular outbursts as a guest on TV shows, including Celebrity Big Brother.

Much-loved Coronation Street star Jean Alexander (pictured), best known as Hilda Ogden in the long-running UK soap opera – a role she played for 23 years following her 1964 debut – died at the age of 90.

And Jimmy Perry (93), the British TV screenwriter who co-created Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi.

November

Leonard Cohen (82), pictured, became the latest musical legend taken from this world. He might not have received the same levels of popular adulation as Bowie or Prince, but his work is every bit as seminal – his classic Hallelujah, as well as the many cover versions it inspired, must surely be among the most-played tunes in modern music history.

There was more bad news for comedy lovers, too, with the death of Andrew Sachs (86), a mainstay of British TV, radio and film but forever known as Manuel, the accident-prone Spanish waiter in the comedy classic Fawlty Towers.

Man from UNCLE star Robert Vaughan (83) was a further loss, along with Jimmy Young (95), a British radio presenter and singer.

December

Earlier this month, we lost iconic Hungarian-American actress Zsa Zsa Gábor (99), Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt (right, 68), musician Greg Lake (69), veteran British Game of Thrones actor Peter Vaughan (93), astronaut John Glenn (95), Scottish BBC weather forecaster Ian McCaskill and journalist AA Gill (62).

On Christmas Eve, veteran British actress Liz Smith, star of sitcoms The Royle Family and The Vicar of Dibley, died at the age of 95. On Christmas Day, pop superstar George Michael become the latest loss to the music world, at the age of 53.

And on December 27, American actress Carrie Fisher (pictured), best-known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars films, died following a heart attack. She was 60.