In memoriam: Notable deaths in 2017

From little screen to big screen, from baseball diamond to football turf, from teeny-bop pop to nu metal rock, from saints to sinners, 2017 saw the passing of numerous notables. Here are 25 of them.

Moore starred in the 1960s and '70s sitcoms "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." The latter was a groundbreaking take on the role of women in the workforce. The actress died in Greenwich, Connecticut, at age 80 of cardiopulmonary arrest due to pneumonia.

Unmarried, addicted and impoverished at age 22, McCorvey filed a lawsuit in 1970 to be allowed to end her unwanted pregnancy in her home state, Texas. Although the child was born and put up for adoption, McCorvey's case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which in its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling established a constitutional right to abortion. McCorvey, who later shed her Jane Roe pseudonym and renounced her approval of abortion, died in Katy, Texas, at age 69 of a heart ailment.

Paxton appeared in a number of blockbuster movies, including "The Terminator," "Aliens," "True Lies," and "Titanic." The actor also was a vocalist for the band Martini Ranch. He died in Los Angeles at age 61 from complications after heart surgery, two months before the release of his final film, "The Circle."

The hyperkinetic rock pioneer's hits included "Roll Over Beethoven," "Rock and Roll Music," and "Johnny B. Goode." Berry died at age 90 after being found unresponsive at his house in St. Charles, Missouri.

The youngest son of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the billionaire was the longtime head of Chase Bank and gave millions of dollars to charitable and nonprofit organizations. Rockefeller died of congestive heart failure at age 101 at his home in Pocantico Hills, New York.

The cutting comedian earned the nicknames "The Merchant of Venom" and "Mr. Warmth" for his insult shtick. Rickles died of kidney failure at age 90 at his home in Beverly Hills, California.

The filmmaker won an Oscar for directing "The Silence of the Lambs." His directing credits also included "Philadelphia" and "Rachel Getting Married." Demme died in New York at age 73 of esophageal cancer and heart disease.

Ailes was a media consultant to Republicans, including former presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and was an advisor to candidate Donald Trump while serving as chairman and CEO of Fox News. He was forced out at Fox in July 2016 as sexual harassment scandals swamped some of the network's conservative stars, including Ailes himself. He died 10 months after agreeing to a $40 million exit package, falling and hitting his head at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 77.

Lead vocalist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, Seattle-born Cornell was one of the founders of the grunge genre. Cornell was found dead in the bathroom of his Detroit hotel room after performing with Soundgarden. The medical examiner ruled his death suicide by hanging. He was 52.

The suave British actor was the longest-reigning James Bond, starring as 007 in six films, from 1973 to 1985. In the 1960s, Moore starred as Simon Templar in the thriller TV series "The Saint." Moore died of cancer in Switzerland at age 89.

Two years after being indicted in Florida on drug-smuggling charges, the Panamanian dictator surrendered in January 1990 to U.S. troops who had been ordered into the country by President George H.W. Bush. Noriega was subsequently brought back to the U.S. and convicted of drug and racketeering charges. He was later extradited to France and eventually returned to Panama to face additional charges. He died at age 83 in Panama City from complications of a brain tumor.

West became a pop-culture hero after he starred as the Caped Crusader in the campy 1960s TV series "Batman." He died in Los Angeles of leukemia at age 88.

The frontman of hard-rocking Linkin Park was a close friend of Chris Cornell. "I can't imagine a world without you in it," Bennington tweeted after Cornell's suicide by hanging. On what would have been Cornell's 53rd birthday, Bennington was found dead in his Los Angeles-area home. It was determined he committed suicide by hanging. He was 41.

The standup comedian turned his cutting satire into a weapon in the struggle for civil rights and anti-Vietnam War activism. Gregory, who often resorted to hunger strikes, died of heart failure in a Washington hospital. He was 84.

Lewis appeared in more than 15 films with Dean Martin. After a falling out with his co-star, Lewis embarked on a solo career in such zany comedies as "The Geisha Boy," "Cinderfella" and "The Nutty Professor." For more than four decades, he hosted Labor Day telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, raising some $2 billion. He died at his Las Vegas home at age 91 of cardiac disease.

As the lead plaintiff in United States vs. Windsor, she prevailed in the 2013 Supreme Court battle against the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned same-sex marriages. Three years later, at age 87, Windsor married Judith Kasen at New York City Hall. Two weeks before the first anniversary of their marriage, Windsor died in a New York hospital at age 88.

The pajama-clad, pipe-smoking playboy built a publishing and entertainment empire that helped usher in the sexual revolution. Hefner died at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles' Holmby Hills at age 91. He was laid to rest in a crypt next to Marilyn Monroe. "Spending eternity next to Marilyn is too sweet to pass up," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2009 about the crypt he purchased for a reported $75,000.

The lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles. He was 66. Petty sold millions of albums with hits including "Refugee," "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Free Fallin.'" He was also co-founder of the Traveling Wilburys, whose other members were George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne.

After being traded by the San Francisco 49ers at age 34, the quarterback led the New York Giants to conference titles in 1961, 1962 and 1963. Though the team lost the NFL championships all three years, Yelberton Abraham "Y.A." Tittle was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He died in Stanford, California, at age 90.

Canada's beloved rock troubadour and poet was the frontman for the band The Tragically Hip. Downie was also active in environmental causes and efforts to promote reconciliation between "First Nation" peoples and nonindigenous Canadians. After being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Downie embarked on a farewell tour of Canada, relying on teleprompters for lyrics because of memory lapses. He died two months after his final show at age 53.

Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino Jr., the trailblazing singer and pianist, sold more than 65 million records, including "Blueberry Hill," "I'm Walkin,'" and "Ain't It a Shame." Elvis Presley credited Domino for his groundbreaking role in rock 'n' roll. Domino died at age 89 in his home in Harvey, Louisiana, across the Mississippi from his native New Orleans.

The retired two-time Cy Young Award winner, who pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, was killed when the plane he was flying solo crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. He was 40.

The California cult leader, who orchestrated the 1969 "Helter Skelter" murders of actress Sharon Tate and eight other people, died of natural causes at age 83 while serving a life sentence. His death sentence had been commuted.

Playing shag-haired singer/guitarist Keith Partridge in the 1970s sitcom "The Partridge Family," Cassidy became a teen heartthrob. The role of his mother in the traveling pop-band family was portrayed by his stepmother, Shirley Jones, who married his father, actor Jack Cassidy, in 1956. In later years, David Cassidy struggled with substance abuse and revealed earlier this year that he suffered from dementia. He died of liver failure in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at age 67.

The Alabama native got his big break as the country bumpkin gas-station attendant in the 1960s sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show." In one episode, Nabors shocked audiences by revealing his operatic baritone voice, opening up a second career as a singer. Nabors was so popular that the producers created a spinoff for his character, "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." He had undergone a liver transplant in 1994 and had been in declining health. Nabors died in Hawaii at age 87.