.cnn_html_media_utility before color red content '>>' font size 9px line height 12px padding right 1px .cnnstrylccimg640 margin 0 27px 14px 0 .captionText filter alpha(opacity 100) opacity 1 .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a visited .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a link .captionText a .captionText a visited .captiontext a link color 004276 outline medium none .cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto margin 0 auto padding right 68px width 270px > A look back at those we have lost in 2013. Jeff Hanneman guitarist and founding member of Slayer died May 2 of liver failure. Chris Kelly one half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross died on May 1 at an Atlanta hospital after being found unresponsive at his home the Fulton County medical examiner's office told CNN. Kelly right and Chris Smith shot to stardom in 1992 with the hit Jump. George Jones the country music legend whose graceful evocative voice gave depth to some of the greatest songs in country music including She Thinks I Still Care The Grand Tour and He Stopped Loving Her Today died on April 26 at age 81 according to his public relations firm. Actor Allan Arbus poses for a portrait with his daughter photographer Amy Arbus in 2007. Allan Arbus who played psychiatrist Maj. Sidney Freedman in the M A S H television series died at age 95 his daughter's representative said April 23. Folk singer Richie Havens the opening act at the 1969 Woodstock music festival died on April 22 of a heart attack his publicist said. He was 72. Australian rocker Chrissy Amphlett the Divinyls lead singer whose group scored an international hit with the sexually charged I Touch Myself in the early 1990s died on April 21 from breast cancer and multiple sclerosis her husband said. She was 53. Pat Summerall the NFL football player turned legendary play by play announcer was best known as a broadcaster who teamed up with former NFL coach John Madden. Summerall died April 16 at the age of 82. Comedian Jonathan Winters died on April 11 at age 87. Known for his comic irreverence he had a major influence on a generation of comedians. Here he appears on The Jonathan Winters Show in 1956. Sir Robert Edwards a co pioneer of the in vitro fertilization technique and Nobel Prize winner died April 10 in his sleep after a long illness the University of Cambridge said. He was 87. He is pictured on July 25 1978 holding the world's first test tube baby Louise Joy Brown alongside the midwife and Dr. Patrick Steptoe who helped develop the fertility treatment. Annette Funicello one of the best known members of the original 1950s Mickey Mouse Club and a star of 1960s beach party movies died at age 70 on April 8. Pictured Funicello performs with Jimmie Dodd on The Mickey Mouse Club in1957. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher a towering figure in postwar British and world politics and the only woman to become British prime minister died at the age of 87 on Monday April 8. Designer Lilly Pulitzer right died on April 7 at age 81 according to her company's Facebook page. The Palm Beach socialite was known for making sleeveless dresses from bright floral prints that became known as the Lilly design. Film critic Roger Ebert died on April 4 according to his employer the Chicago Sun Times. He was 70. Ebert had taken a leave of absence on April 2 after a hip fracture was revealed to be cancer. Jane Nebel Henson wife of the late Muppets creator Jim Henson and instrumental in the development of the world famous puppets died April 2 after a long battle with cancer. She was 78. Shain Gandee one of the stars of the MTV reality show Buckwild was found dead with two other people in Kanawha County West Virginia on April 1. He was 21. Music producer and innovator Phil Ramone right with Paul Shaffer left and Billy Joel at the Song Writers Hall of Fame Awards in New York in 2001. Ramone died March 30 at the age of 72. Writer/producer Don Payne one of the creative minds behind The Simpsons died March 26 at his home in Los Angeles after losing a battle with bone cancer reports say. He was 48. Gordon Stoker left who as part of the vocal group the Jordanaires sang backup on hits by Elvis Presley died March 27 at 88. Deke Richards center died March 24 at age 68. Richards was a producer and songwriter who was part of the team responsible for Motown hits such as I Want You Back and Maybe Tomorrow. He had been battling esophageal cancer. Legendary publisher promoter and weightlifter Joe Weider who created the Mr. Olympia contest and brought California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the United States died at age 93 on March 23. Playboy magazine's 1962 Playmate of the Year Christa Speck Krofft died March 22 of natural causes at the age of 70. Rena Golden who held top positions at CNN died at age 51 after battling lymphoma for two years on March 21. Harry Reems the porn star best known for playing Dr. Young in the 1972 adult film classic Deep Throat died March 19 according to a spokeswoman at a Salt Lake City hospital. Reems whose real name is Herbert Streicher was 65. Bobbie Smith who as a member of the Spinners sang lead on such hits as I'll Be Around and Could It Be I'm Falling in Love died on March 16 at age 76. Pictured clockwise from left Spinners band member Pervis Jackson Billy Henderson Jonathan Edwards Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambrough 1977. Sweden's Princess Lilian the Welsh born model who lived with her lover Prince Bertil for 30 years before they were married has died at the age of 97 the Swedish Royal Court said in a statement. Alvin Lee the speed fingered British guitarist who lit up Woodstock with a monumental 11 minute version of his song I'm Going Home died on March 6 according to his website. He was 68. Hugo Chavez the polarizing president of Venezuela who cast himself as a 21st century socialist and foe of the United States died March 5 said Vice President Nicolas Maduro. Bobby Rogers one of the original members of Motown staple The Miracles died on Sunday March 3 at 73. From left Bobby Rogers Ronald White Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore circa 1965. Actress Bonnie Franklin star of the TV show One Day at a Time died at the age of 69 on March 1 of complications from pancreatic cancer. Actor Dale Robertson who was popular for his western TV shows and movies died at age 89 on Thursday February 28. Richard Street former member of the Temptations died at age 70 on February 27. Street second from the left poses for a portrait with fellow members of the Temptations circa 1973. Van Cliburn the legendary pianist honored with a New York ticker tape parade for winning a major Moscow competition in 1958 died on February 27 after a battle with bone cancer his publicist said. He was 78. Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop died on February 25. He was 96. Koop served as surgeon general from 1982 to 1989 under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Damon Harris former member of the Motown group the Temptations died at age 62 on February 18. Harris center on the stool poses for a portrait with fellow members of The Temptations circa 1974. Lou Myers a stage film and TV actor who memorably portrayed Mr. Gaines on the comedy A Different World died on February 19 at the age of 75. Los Angeles Laker owner Jerry Buss died February 18 at age 80. Buss who had owned the Lakers since 1979 was credited with procuring the likes of Earvin Magic Johnson James Worthy Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers won 10 NBA championships and 16 Western Conference titles under Buss' ownership. Country singer Mindy McCready was found dead on February 17 of a self inflicted gunshot wound authorities said. She was 37. During her career McCready landed 14 songs and six albums on the Billboard country charts. Ed Koch the brash former New York mayor died February 1 of congestive heart failure at 88 his spokesman said. Patty Andrews center the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters died at her Northridge California home on January 30 her publicist Alan Eichler said. She was 94. Patty is seen in this 1948 photograph with her sisters Maxene left and Laverne. Baseball Hall of Famer and St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial died on January 19 according to his former team. He was 92. Baseball Hall of Fame manager Earl Sidney Weaver who led the Baltimore Orioles to four pennants and a World Series title with a pugnacity toward umpires died January 19 of an apparent heart attack at age 82 Major League Baseball said. Pauline Phillips better known to millions of newspaper readers as the original Dear Abby advice columnist has died after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She died January 16 in Minneapolis Minnesota at age 94. Aaron Swartz the Internet activist who co wrote the initial specification for RSS committed suicide a relative told CNN on January 12. He was 26. Swartz also co founded Demand Progress a political action group that campaigns against Internet censorship. Claude Nobs the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival died aged 76 following a skiing accident. Richard Ben Cramer the Pulitzer Prize winning writer whose 1992 book What It Takes remains one of the most detailed and passionate of all presidential campaign chronicles died January 7 according to his longtime agent. He was 62. Director and stuntman David R. Ellis died on January 7. He directed Snakes on a Plane. Tony Lip who played mob figures in the hit cable show The Sopranos and several critically acclaimed movies died January 4 a funeral home official said. Lip whose real name was Frank Vallelonga was 82. Character actor Ned Wertimer known to fans of The Jeffersons as the doorman Ralph Hart died on January 2. He was 89. Pop country singer Patti Page died on January 1 in Encinitas California. She was 85. Born Clara Ann Fowler Page was the best selling female artist of the 1950s and had 19 gold and 14 platinum singles. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
(CNN) Grammy winning guitarist Jeff Hanneman a founding member of the heavy metal band Slayer died Thursday of liver failure in Southern California the band said in a statement.
He was 49.
Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother Jeff Hanneman passed away at about 11 a.m. this morning near his Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure the band said in a statement posted on its website and Facebook page.
Hanneman leaves behind his wife Kathy a sister and two brothers.
He ... will be sorely missed the band said.
The guitarist was with Slayer from its founding in 1981. Its breakthrough came five years later with the release of Reign in Blood an album that included two songs Angel of Death and Raining Blood co written by Hanneman.
That was one of 10 studio albums that the band put out over three decades together during which they performed thousands of shows.
On Slayer's official website Hanneman said that the last one World Painted Blood came together quickly because the band's members worked seamlessly.
The interaction between all of us on this record was really something special he said. ... The chemistry was just good.
In 2006 and 2007 Slayer won Grammy awards for best metal performance.
The metal world in tweets from among many others the bands Rancid Hatebreed In Flames and Testament reacted to Hanneman's death with sadness and appreciation referring to him as a true heavy metal legend and a brother in thrash.
Jeff Hanneman will always be a metal god wrote rocker Andrew WK. A true master he gave energy and excitement to millions and will continue to. PartyForSlayer.
The news also spurred thousands of diehard fans to comment about Hanneman on Slayer's Facebook page.
Wrote one One of the best shredders ever to walk Earth. RIP good sir.
CNN's Denise Quan Amanda Watts and Chelsea Carter contributed to this report.
