Celebrities with Cancer
Posted on December 15, 2009 with 1 comment
There are so many famous folks who have cancer, have had cancer, or have died of cancer.
I bet a number of them were very secretive about it, especially in the "old days" when cancer was generally not spoken about at all and referred to, if at all, as "the big 'C.""
But these days, celebrities seem to feel pretty comfortable talking about having cancer. Thank goodness they're providing some substance to the celeb mags, between the "which 2 divas wore the same dress?" column and the "Guess whose cellulite-ridden butt this is?" photos.
The point of my posting this list is this:
Notice the great variety of people on this list. If the Founder of the Peace Corps, Don Knotts, Mr. Wizard, and 2 serial killers get the same diagnosis, then I must conclude that cancer, and disease in general is not doled out on a "who deserves this most?" basis.
Ty Cobb - Baseball Player
Gary C. Comer - Founder of Lands End clothing company
Joseph Kauffman - Peace Corps Founder
June Pointer - Singer (Pointer Sisters)
Patsy Ramsey - Mother of JonBenet Ramsey
Rudolf Vrba - Auschwitz death camp escapee
Queen Hatshepsut - Ancient Egyptian Mummy (cancer is not a new invention!)
Don Herbert - TV Host ("Mr. Wizard")
Terry Jones - Actor ("Monty Python")
Lee Atwater - Chairman, Republican National Committee
George Gershwin - Composer
Bob Marley - Reggae Singer
Frank Edward "Tug" McGraw - Baseball Player
Bobby Murcer - New York Yankees' Announcer
Pat Paulsen - Comedian
Slim Pickens - Actor
Pete Rozelle - NFL Commissioner
Wilma Rudolph - Olympic Gold Medalist
Gene Siskel - Movie Critic
Deke Slayton - Astronaut
Robert Swanson - Founder of Genentech
Ingrid Bergman - Actress
Shirley Temple Black - Actress
Erma Bombeck - Journalist
Julia Child - Chef
Sheryl Crow - Singer-Songwriter
Bette Davis - Actress
Elizabeth Edwards - Wife of US Senator
Melissa Etheridge - Musician
Edie Falco - Actress
Peggy Fleming - Figure Skater
Betty Ford - First Lady
Kathryn Frost - Major General in US Army (Highest Ranking Woman in US Army)
Nanci Griffith (Breast Cancer, Thyroid Cancer) - Singer
Ruth Handler - Barbie Doll
Kate Jackson - Actress
Ann Jillian - Actress
Susan Komen (Her sister, Nancy Brinker, founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.)
Patti LaBelle - Singer
Juliette Gordon Low - Founder, Girl Scouts of the USA
Linda Eastman McCartney - Wife of Paul McCartney
Olivia Newton-John - Actress/Singer
Sandra Day O'Connor - Supreme Court Justice
Nancy Reagan - Former First Lady
Lynn Redgrave - Actress
Cokie Roberts - Journalist
Carly Simon - Singer
Jaclyn Smith - Actress
Suzanne Somers - Actress
Gloria Steinem - Founder, Ms. Magazine
Sharon Osbourne - Wife of Ozzie Osbourne
Ronald Reagan - US President
Charles Schultz - Peanuts
Tony Snow - White House Press Secretary
Darryl Strawberry - Baseball Player
Ann Richards - Texas Governor
Desi Arnez - Actor
Jack Benny (Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer) - Comedian
Leonard Bernstein - Composer
Yul Brynner - Actor
Nat "King" Cole - Musician
Gary Cooper - Actor
Joe DiMaggio - Baseball Player
Walt Disney - Animator
Jimmy Dorsey - Musician
Morton Downey, Jr. - Comedian
Duke Ellington - Musician
Susan Hayward - Actress
Nancy Gore Hunger - Al Gore's Sister
Peter Jennings - ABC Anchor
Don Knotts - Actor
Roger Maris - Baseball Player
Dean Martin - Actor
Wayne McLaren - Marlboro Man
David McLean - Marlboro Man
Steve McQueen - Actor
Tammy Faye Messner - Televangelist
Robert Mitchum - Actor
Claude Monet - Painter
Edward R. Murrow - Journalist
Vincent Price - Actor
Lou Rawls - Soul Singer
Dana Reeve - Actress
Cal Ripkin, Sr. - Baseball Player
Ed Sullivan - Entertainer
Will Thornbury - Actor (Camel TV Ads)
Spencer Tracy - Actor
John Wayne - Actor
Carl Wilson - Musician
Warren Zevon (Mesothelioma) - Musician
Paul Allen - Cofounder of Microsoft
Gene Autry - Singer/Actor
Ed Bradley - CBS News Anchor (60 Minutes)
Robin Bush (Leukemia, age 3) - Daughter of President George H.W. Bush
King Hussein - Jordanian King
Arte Johnson - Actor
Charles A. Lindbergh - Aviator
Mickey Mantle, Jr. - Baseball Player
Roger Maris - Baseball Player
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Nobel Laureate
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - First Lady
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - Shah of Iran
Joey Ramone - Musician/Singer
Fred Thompson - US Senator
Paul Tsongas - US Senator
Mr. T (Laurence Tureaud) - Actor
Gene Wilder - Comedian
Coretta Scott King - widow of Martin Luther King Jr.
Count Basie - Jazz Musician
Jack Benny - Comedian
Former president Jimmy Carter lost four family members to pancreatic cancer.
Joan Crawford - Actress
Dizzy Gillespie - Jazz Musician
Steve Jobs (Islet Cell Neuroendocrine Tumor) - Apple Corp. CEO
Michael Landon - Actor
Henry Mancini - Musician
Margaret Mead - Anthropologist
Luciano Pavarotti - Singer
Mel Sachs - Attorney to the Stars
Harry Belafonte - Musician/Actor
James Brown - Singer, Godfather of Soul
Bob Dole - US Senator
Louis Farrakhan - Leader of Nation of Islam
Rudolph Giuliani - Former NYC Mayor
Andy Grove - Intel Corp.
Bob Hayes - Olympic Gold Medalist
Charlton Heston - Actor
John Kerry - US Senator
Timothy Leary - LSD
Nelson Mandela - Former President of South Africa
Roger Moore - Actor
Rupert Murdoch - Media Magnate
Jerry Orbach - Actor
Arnold Palmer - Golfer
Floyd Patterson - Heavyweight Champion of the World
Linus Pauling - Nobel Laureate
Colin Powel - US Secretary of State
Norman Schwarzkopf - Retired General
Joe Torre - NY Yankees
Frank Zappa - Musician
Wayne Boden - Serial Killer (Vampire Rapist)
Fitz Dixon Jr. - Owner of Philadelphia 76ers
Stuart Entwistle - Surfer
John McCain - US Senator
Elizabeth Taylor - Actress
Napolean Bonaparte - French Emperor
Lance Armstrong - Tour de France Winner
Richard Belzer - Actor/Comedian
Tom Green - Comedian
Scott Hamilton - Figure Skater
Dean Martin - Actor
Humphrey Bogart - Actor
Sean Connery - Actor
Sammey Davis, Jr. - Entertainer
Ulysses S. Grant - US President
George Harrison - Musician
Babe Ruth - Baseball Player
Lana Turner - Actress
Mary Wells - Singer
Isaac Asimov - Author
Rudy Bladel - Serial Killer (1978 Railroad Murders)
Gail Devers - Athlete
Roger Ebert - Movie Critic
Nanci Griffith - Singer
Joe Piscopo - Actor/Comedian
William Rehnquist - Supreme Court Justice
Rod Stewart - Musician
Fran Drescher - Actress
Archbishop Christodoulos - Leader of Greek Orthodox Church
Farrah Fawcett - Actress
Sigmund Freud - Psychologist
Francis George - Roman Catholic Cardinal
Bobby Hamilton - NASCAR driver
Aaron Spelling - TV Producer
source:
http://www.kantrowitz.com/cancerpoints/celebrities.html
I bet a number of them were very secretive about it, especially in the "old days" when cancer was generally not spoken about at all and referred to, if at all, as "the big 'C.""
But these days, celebrities seem to feel pretty comfortable talking about having cancer. Thank goodness they're providing some substance to the celeb mags, between the "which 2 divas wore the same dress?" column and the "Guess whose cellulite-ridden butt this is?" photos.
The point of my posting this list is this:
Notice the great variety of people on this list. If the Founder of the Peace Corps, Don Knotts, Mr. Wizard, and 2 serial killers get the same diagnosis, then I must conclude that cancer, and disease in general is not doled out on a "who deserves this most?" basis.
Ty Cobb - Baseball Player
Gary C. Comer - Founder of Lands End clothing company
Joseph Kauffman - Peace Corps Founder
June Pointer - Singer (Pointer Sisters)
Patsy Ramsey - Mother of JonBenet Ramsey
Rudolf Vrba - Auschwitz death camp escapee
Queen Hatshepsut - Ancient Egyptian Mummy (cancer is not a new invention!)
Don Herbert - TV Host ("Mr. Wizard")
Terry Jones - Actor ("Monty Python")
Lee Atwater - Chairman, Republican National Committee
George Gershwin - Composer
Bob Marley - Reggae Singer
Frank Edward "Tug" McGraw - Baseball Player
Bobby Murcer - New York Yankees' Announcer
Pat Paulsen - Comedian
Slim Pickens - Actor
Pete Rozelle - NFL Commissioner
Wilma Rudolph - Olympic Gold Medalist
Gene Siskel - Movie Critic
Deke Slayton - Astronaut
Robert Swanson - Founder of Genentech
Ingrid Bergman - Actress
Shirley Temple Black - Actress
Erma Bombeck - Journalist
Julia Child - Chef
Sheryl Crow - Singer-Songwriter
Bette Davis - Actress
Elizabeth Edwards - Wife of US Senator
Melissa Etheridge - Musician
Edie Falco - Actress
Peggy Fleming - Figure Skater
Betty Ford - First Lady
Kathryn Frost - Major General in US Army (Highest Ranking Woman in US Army)
Nanci Griffith (Breast Cancer, Thyroid Cancer) - Singer
Ruth Handler - Barbie Doll
Kate Jackson - Actress
Ann Jillian - Actress
Susan Komen (Her sister, Nancy Brinker, founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.)
Patti LaBelle - Singer
Juliette Gordon Low - Founder, Girl Scouts of the USA
Linda Eastman McCartney - Wife of Paul McCartney
Olivia Newton-John - Actress/Singer
Sandra Day O'Connor - Supreme Court Justice
Nancy Reagan - Former First Lady
Lynn Redgrave - Actress
Cokie Roberts - Journalist
Carly Simon - Singer
Jaclyn Smith - Actress
Suzanne Somers - Actress
Gloria Steinem - Founder, Ms. Magazine
Sharon Osbourne - Wife of Ozzie Osbourne
Ronald Reagan - US President
Charles Schultz - Peanuts
Tony Snow - White House Press Secretary
Darryl Strawberry - Baseball Player
Ann Richards - Texas Governor
Desi Arnez - Actor
Jack Benny (Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer) - Comedian
Leonard Bernstein - Composer
Yul Brynner - Actor
Nat "King" Cole - Musician
Gary Cooper - Actor
Joe DiMaggio - Baseball Player
Walt Disney - Animator
Jimmy Dorsey - Musician
Morton Downey, Jr. - Comedian
Duke Ellington - Musician
Susan Hayward - Actress
Nancy Gore Hunger - Al Gore's Sister
Peter Jennings - ABC Anchor
Don Knotts - Actor
Roger Maris - Baseball Player
Dean Martin - Actor
Wayne McLaren - Marlboro Man
David McLean - Marlboro Man
Steve McQueen - Actor
Tammy Faye Messner - Televangelist
Robert Mitchum - Actor
Claude Monet - Painter
Edward R. Murrow - Journalist
Vincent Price - Actor
Lou Rawls - Soul Singer
Dana Reeve - Actress
Cal Ripkin, Sr. - Baseball Player
Ed Sullivan - Entertainer
Will Thornbury - Actor (Camel TV Ads)
Spencer Tracy - Actor
John Wayne - Actor
Carl Wilson - Musician
Warren Zevon (Mesothelioma) - Musician
Paul Allen - Cofounder of Microsoft
Gene Autry - Singer/Actor
Ed Bradley - CBS News Anchor (60 Minutes)
Robin Bush (Leukemia, age 3) - Daughter of President George H.W. Bush
King Hussein - Jordanian King
Arte Johnson - Actor
Charles A. Lindbergh - Aviator
Mickey Mantle, Jr. - Baseball Player
Roger Maris - Baseball Player
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Nobel Laureate
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - First Lady
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - Shah of Iran
Joey Ramone - Musician/Singer
Fred Thompson - US Senator
Paul Tsongas - US Senator
Mr. T (Laurence Tureaud) - Actor
Gene Wilder - Comedian
Coretta Scott King - widow of Martin Luther King Jr.
Count Basie - Jazz Musician
Jack Benny - Comedian
Former president Jimmy Carter lost four family members to pancreatic cancer.
Joan Crawford - Actress
Dizzy Gillespie - Jazz Musician
Steve Jobs (Islet Cell Neuroendocrine Tumor) - Apple Corp. CEO
Michael Landon - Actor
Henry Mancini - Musician
Margaret Mead - Anthropologist
Luciano Pavarotti - Singer
Mel Sachs - Attorney to the Stars
Harry Belafonte - Musician/Actor
James Brown - Singer, Godfather of Soul
Bob Dole - US Senator
Louis Farrakhan - Leader of Nation of Islam
Rudolph Giuliani - Former NYC Mayor
Andy Grove - Intel Corp.
Bob Hayes - Olympic Gold Medalist
Charlton Heston - Actor
John Kerry - US Senator
Timothy Leary - LSD
Nelson Mandela - Former President of South Africa
Roger Moore - Actor
Rupert Murdoch - Media Magnate
Jerry Orbach - Actor
Arnold Palmer - Golfer
Floyd Patterson - Heavyweight Champion of the World
Linus Pauling - Nobel Laureate
Colin Powel - US Secretary of State
Norman Schwarzkopf - Retired General
Joe Torre - NY Yankees
Frank Zappa - Musician
Wayne Boden - Serial Killer (Vampire Rapist)
Fitz Dixon Jr. - Owner of Philadelphia 76ers
Stuart Entwistle - Surfer
John McCain - US Senator
Elizabeth Taylor - Actress
Napolean Bonaparte - French Emperor
Lance Armstrong - Tour de France Winner
Richard Belzer - Actor/Comedian
Tom Green - Comedian
Scott Hamilton - Figure Skater
Dean Martin - Actor
Humphrey Bogart - Actor
Sean Connery - Actor
Sammey Davis, Jr. - Entertainer
Ulysses S. Grant - US President
George Harrison - Musician
Babe Ruth - Baseball Player
Lana Turner - Actress
Mary Wells - Singer
Isaac Asimov - Author
Rudy Bladel - Serial Killer (1978 Railroad Murders)
Gail Devers - Athlete
Roger Ebert - Movie Critic
Nanci Griffith - Singer
Joe Piscopo - Actor/Comedian
William Rehnquist - Supreme Court Justice
Rod Stewart - Musician
Fran Drescher - Actress
Archbishop Christodoulos - Leader of Greek Orthodox Church
Farrah Fawcett - Actress
Sigmund Freud - Psychologist
Francis George - Roman Catholic Cardinal
Bobby Hamilton - NASCAR driver
Aaron Spelling - TV Producer
source:
http://www.kantrowitz.com/cancerpoints/celebrities.html