Gill Scott-Heron, 62, author, songwriter and poet famous for his “The Revolution Will not be Televised” composition

Butch Lewis, 65, boxing promoter whose fighters included Joe Frazier, Bernard Hopkins and Michael Spinks

Bubba Smith, 66, actor and former professional football player; He played nine years in the NFL; after his football career he acted in such films as films and TV shows Married…with Children and the Police Academy films

Hannibal Afrik, 77, former Chicago school teacher who went on to found the African education-centered “School for Children,” the Shule Ya Watoto

Dave Duerson, 50, retired NFL safety who played for the Chicago Bears from 1983 to 1989, including on the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl champions

Betty Ford, 93, former First Lady to President Gerald Ford; she also founded the renowned Betty Ford Center to help substance abusers

Clarence Clemons, 69, saxophonist and member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band

Esther Gordy-Edwards, 91, sister of Berry Gordy Jr., founder of Motown Records; was a former CEO for Motown

Gladys Horton, 66, co-founder and lead singer of The Marvelettes, a popular 1960s girl group; their big hit was “Please Mr. Postman”

Carl Gardner, 73, founder and singer with The Coasters, whose hits include the 1958 song “Yakety Yak

Robert Sargent Shriver, 95, husband of Eunice Kennedy; also a businessman and statesman; helped to create the Peace Corps and Headstart

Clarice Taylor, 93, American film, television and stage actress; probably best known for playing the mother of Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show

Ron Springs, 54, former NFL running back who played eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Robert “Tractor” Traylor, 36, former NBA player and college star with the University of Michigan Wolverines

Eugene Edward “Snooky” Young, 92, longtime trumpeter with The Tonight Show Band from 1967 to 1992; prior to that he played with such greats as Count Basie

Geraldine Ferraro, 75, selected by Democratic presidential hopeful Walter Mondale as the first woman chosen as vice president on a major political ticket in 1984

Loleatta Holloway, 64, singer who rose to fame with the 1980s disco hit “Love Sensation”

Marvin Sease, 64, soul singer known for his song 1987 single “Candy Licker”

Jack Lalanne, 96, fitness and exercise machine pioneer; came to fame in the early days of television in 1950s

Nick Ashford, 70, husband and songwriting partner of wife Valerie Simpson; the duo wrote such hits as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”; their biggest hit as performers was the 1984 song “Solid”

Jessy Dixon, 73, gospel singer and recording artist who played with such greats as the Rev. James Cleveland

Vesta Williams, 53, R&B singer whose career spanned from 1980s into the 2000s

Joe Frazier, 67, boxing champion who fought Muhammad Ali in three epic fights in the 1970s, including the famed “Thrilla in Manila”

Heavy D, 44 (born Dwight Myers), a pioneering rapper who crossed over onto the pop music scene in the 1990s performing with such stars as Michael Jackson; he also acted in such films as Life (1999)

Fred Shuttlesworth, 89, civil rights activist and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

-Terry Dean