10. Jane Russell
There's a line that runs from Lady Gaga to Madonna to Marilyn Monroe, and it goes all the way back to the 1940s, The Outlaw and its buxom star. Russell, who died Feb. 28 at age 89, might not have invented sex, but she paved the way for the sexpot.
9. Gil Cates
If the veteran director/producer, who died Oct. 31 at age 77, hadn't been hired to save the Oscars from the Rob Lowe-Snow White debacle, then the show might not have ever hired Billy Crystal, who, in February, will be back to rescue the telecast from the back-to-back James Franco-Brett Ratner messes. Fortunately, it all worked out. For the Oscars. For Cates. For movie fans.
8. Tim Hetherington
The British-born photojournalist told stories that were tough to tell, but important to hear. With Sebastian Junger, Hetherington codirected the Afghan war documentary, Restrepo. Less than two months after the film competed at the 2011 Oscars, Hetherington was back telling stories, and covering the unrest in Libya, where he was killed April 20. He was just 40.
7. Nick Ashford & Jerry Lieber
Between the two of them, Ashford and Lieber had a hand in just about every hit song ever: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need to Get By," and "I'm Every Woman" were among Ashford's credits; "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock" and "Stand By Me," were among Lieber's. Sadly, if appropriately, the songwriting legends died the same day: Aug. 22. Ashford was 70; Lieber, 78.
6. Sherwood Schwartz
The Brady Bunch wasn't Shakespeare, but it was at the forefront of putting children at the forefront. Every kid-driven Disney Channel and Nickelodeon comedy owes a nod to Schwartz's blended-family fantasy. (Just as everyone who's ever paused before taking a pleasure cruise, can blame—or is it thank?—Gilligan's Island.) Schwartz died July 12 at age 94.
5. Jack LaLanne
When LaLanne launched his first TV fitness show, soda pop was being pitched to babies, cigarettes were being touted as soothing to your throat and girdles were holding everything together. In the end, LaLanne not only outlasted wrongheaded notions—he was 96 when he died Jan. 23—he helped inspire right-headed ones.
4. Clarence Clemons
There could be only one shoulder that Bruce Springsteen leaned on for his iconic Born to Run cover: It had to be the Big Man's. The saxophonist, who died June 18 at age 69, was there at the beginning of Springsteen's rise, and, according to the Boss, he's still there. "Clarence doesn't leave the E Street Band when he dies," Springsteen eulogized. "He leaves when we die."
3. Amy Winehouse
She released only two albums during her too-brief 27 years. But her modern-retro soul influence is heard in every Adele hit, every Lily Allen track, every Duffy song.
2. Elizabeth Taylor
The Oscars, the health scares, the marriages, the divorces, the causes. The child star turned icon, who died March 23 at age 79, was the world's original long-running reality series. And she was the best.
1. Steve Jobs
"Everything I've ever written," Oscar-winner Aaron Sorkin once said, "I've written on a Mac." He wasn't alone. Jobs' touch touched just about everyone. The Apple guru died Oct. 5 at age 56. His legacy goes on. And on.