(AP) - They each turned a moment of violence into a call to action. For James Brady, that moment was when he was shot and wounded by a would-be presidential assassin. For Chung Eun-yong, it was the killings of his two children during a Korean War massacre.
Brady took up a personal campaign for increased gun control after surviving a head wound when a man tried unsuccessfully to kill President Ronald Reagan, for whom Brady was press secretary. Chung began a years-long quest for justice, which eventually prompted the U.S. Army to acknowledge having killed civilian refugees at No Gun Ri.
Brady and Chung, who died within days of each other in August, are among the notables who left the world in 2014.
A feeling of untimeliness defined several of the deaths in the entertainment arena in 2014.
The suicide of actor and comedian Robin Williams touched off a national conversation about depression. The overdose deaths of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, model Peaches Geldof and heavy metal frontman Dave Brockie were grim reminders of the scourge of drug use.
Other artists and entertainers included: actors Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney, Harold Ramis and Lauren Bacall; radio host Casey Kasem; and comedian Joan Rivers.
Here is a roll call of some of the people who died in 2014.
JANUARY
Juanita Moore, 99. Groundbreaking actress and an Academy Award nominee for her role as Lana Turner's black friend in the classic weeper "Imitation of Life." Jan. 1.
Pete Seeger, 94. Banjo-picking troubadour who sang for migrant workers, college students and star-struck presidents in a career that introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage. Jan. 27.
FEBRUARY
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46. He won a best actor Oscar in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote" and created a gallery of other vivid characters, many of them slovenly and slightly dissipated comic figures. Feb. 2. Apparent heroin overdose.
Joan Mondale, 83. She burnished a reputation as "Joan of Art" for her passionate advocacy for the arts while her husband, Walter, was vice president and a U.S. ambassador. Feb. 3.
Ralph Kiner, 91. He slugged his way to the baseball Hall of Fame and then enjoyed a half-century career as a popular broadcaster. Feb. 6.
Shirley Temple, 85. Dimpled, curly-haired child star who sang, danced, sobbed and grinned her way into the hearts of Depression-era moviegoers. Feb. 10.
Sid Caesar, 91. Prodigiously talented pioneer of TV comedy who paired with Imogene Coca in sketches that became classics and who inspired a generation of famous writers. Feb. 12.
Ralph Waite, 85. He played the kind-and-steady patriarch of a tight-knit rural Southern family on the TV series "The Waltons." Feb. 13.
Harold Ramis, 69. Comedy actor, director and writer best known for his roles in movies such as "Ghostbusters" and "Stripes." Feb. 24.
MARCH
William Clay Ford, 88. Owner of the Detroit Lions and last surviving grandchild of automotive pioneer Henry Ford. March 9.
L'Wren Scott, believed to be 49. She left her small-town Utah home as a teenager to become a model in Paris, then a top Hollywood stylist and finally a high-end fashion designer best known as the longtime girlfriend of Mick Jagger. March 17. Apparent suicide.
Fred Phelps Sr., 84. Fiery founder of a small Kansas church who led hate-filled protests that blamed almost everything, including the deaths of U.S. soldiers, on America's tolerance for gay people. March 19.
Jeremiah Denton, 89. Former Alabama senator who survived 7½ years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and alerted the U.S. military to conditions there when he blinked the word "torture" in Morse code during a television interview. March 28.
APRIL:
Anja Niedringhaus, 48. Courageous, Pulitzer prize-winning Associated Press photographer who covered everything from sports to war. April 4. Shot to death in Afghanistan.
Mickey Rooney, 93. Pint-size actor and all-around talent whose more than 80-year career spanned silent comedies, Shakespeare, Judy Garland musicals, Andy Hardy stardom, television and the Broadway theater. April 6.
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, 76. Boxer whose wrongful murder conviction became an international symbol of racial injustice. April 20.
Bob Hoskins, 71. British actor whose varied career ranged from noir drama "Mona Lisa" to animated fantasy "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." April 29.
Al Feldstein, 88. His 28 years at the helm of Mad magazine transformed the satirical publication into a pop culture institution. April 29.
Walter R. Walsh, 106. He captured gangsters as an FBI agent in the 1930s and went on to train Marine Corps snipers and become the longest-lived Olympian. April 29.
MAY
Jerry Vale, 83. Beloved crooner known for his high-tenor voice and romantic songs in the 1950s and early '60s. May 18.
Don Meyer, 69. One of the winningest coaches in college basketball who came back from a near-fatal car accident and liver cancer before closing out his career. May 18.
Gordon Willis, 82. One of Hollywood's most celebrated and influential cinematographers, nicknamed "The Prince of Darkness" for his subtle but indelible touch on such releases as "The Godfather," ''Annie Hall" and "All the President's Men." May 18.
Jack Brabham, 88. Three-time Formula One champion who famously pushed his car to the finish line to claim his first season title. May 19.
Manuel Uribe, 48. Mexican man once listed as the world's heaviest human at 1,230 pounds (560 kilograms). May 26.
Maya Angelou, 86. Author and poet who rose from poverty, segregation and violence to become a force on stage, screen and the printed page. May 28.
Lewis Katz, 72. He built his fortune in New York parking lots, billboards and cable TV, and went on to buy the NBA's New Jersey Nets, NHL's New Jersey Devils and The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 31. Plane crash.
JUNE
Ann B. Davis, 88. Emmy-winning actress who became America's best-known housekeeper as the devoted Alice Nelson of TV's "Brady Bunch." June 1.
Alexander Shulgin, 88. Respected chemist famed for dusting off a decades-old recipe for the psychedelic drug ecstasy. June 2.
Chuck Noll, 82. Hall of Fame coach who won a record four Super Bowl titles with the Pittsburgh Steelers. June 13.
Casey Kasem, 82. Radio broadcaster with a cheerful manner and gentle voice who became the king of the top 40 countdown with a syndicated show that ran for decades. June 15.
Daniel Keyes, 86. Author whose novel "Flowers for Algernon" became a classroom staple that explored the treatment of the mentally disabled and the ethics of manipulating human intelligence. June 15.
Tony Gwynn, 54. Hall of Famer whose sweet left-handed swing made him one of San Diego's best-loved athletes and earned him the nickname "Mr. Padre." June 16. Cancer.
Eli Wallach, 98. Raspy-voiced character actor who starred in dozens of movies and Broadway plays and earned film immortality as a quick-on-the-draw bandit in the classic Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." June 24.
Howard H. Baker Jr., 88. Moderate Republican ex-senator who, during the 1973 Watergate hearings, sought to learn Richard Nixon's role by asking what the president knew and when he knew it. June 26.
JULY
Stephen Gaskin, 79. Counterculture visionary who led a caravan of hippies from California to establish one of the longest lasting U.S. communes in rural Middle Tennessee and later sought the Green Party nomination for president. July 1.
David Greenglass, 92. He served 10 years in prison for his role in the most explosive atomic spying case of the Cold War and gave testimony that sent his brother-in-law and sister, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, to the electric chair. July 1.
Louis Zamperini, 97. Olympic distance runner who, during World War II, survived 47 days on a raft in the Pacific after his bomber crashed, then endured two years in Japanese prison camps and hero of the book and movie "Unbroken." July 2.
John Seigenthaler, 86. He edited The Tennessean newspaper, helped shape USA Today and worked for civil rights during the Kennedy administration. July 11.
Tommy Ramone, 65. Co-founder of the seminal punk band the Ramones and last surviving member of the original group. July 11.
Alice Coachman Davis, 90. First black woman to win an Olympic gold medal. July 14.
James Garner, 86. Actor whose whimsical style in the 1950s TV Western "Maverick" led to a career in TV and films such as "The Rockford Files" and his Oscar-nominated "Murphy's Romance." July 19.
Theodore "Dutch" VanKirk, 93. Last surviving member of the crew that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, hastening the end of World War II and forcing the world into the atomic age. July 28.
AUGUST
Chung Eun-yong, 91. Ex-policeman whose half-century quest for justice for his two slain children led the U.S. Army in 2001 to acknowledge the Korean War refugee massacre at No Gun Ri. Aug. 1.
James Brady, 73. Affable, witty press secretary who survived a devastating head wound in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, then undertook a personal crusade for gun control. Aug. 4.
Jesse Steinfeld, 87. Doctor who became the first surgeon general ever forced out of office by the president after he campaigned hard against the dangers of smoking during the Richard Nixon era. Aug. 5.
Robin Williams, 63. Academy Award winner and comic supernova whose explosions of pop culture riffs and impressions dazzled audiences for decades. Aug. 11. Apparent suicide.
Lauren Bacall, 89. Slinky, sultry-voiced actress who created on-screen magic with Humphrey Bogart in "To Have and Have Not" and "The Big Sleep" and off-screen magic in one of Hollywood's most storied marriages. Aug. 12.
James Jeffords, 80. Former Vermont senator, who in 2001 tipped control of the Senate when he quit the Republican Party to become an independent. Aug. 18.
B.K.S. Iyengar, 95. Indian yoga guru who helped popularize yoga around the world and wrote 14 books on the subject. Aug. 20.
SEPTEMBER
Andrew Madoff, 48. Bernard Madoff's last surviving son, he turned his father in and insisted he had been duped into believing history's most notorious Ponzi king was an honest financier. Sept. 3. Cancer.
Joan Rivers, 81. Raucous, acid-tongued comedian who crashed the male-dominated realm of late-night talk shows and turned Hollywood red carpets into danger zones for badly dressed celebrities. Sept. 4. Fatal complication during a medical procedure.
S. Truett Cathy, 93. Billionaire founder of the privately held Chick-fil-A restaurant chain. Sept. 8.
Bob Suter, 57. Member of the "Miracle On Ice" team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1980 and the father of Minnesota Wild star Ryan Suter. Sept. 9.
Richard Kiel, 74. Towering actor best known for portraying steel-toothed villain Jaws in a pair of James Bond films. Sept. 10.
Will Radcliff, 74. He built a multimillion-dollar global business from flavored, icy Slush Puppie drinks. Sept. 18.
James Traficant, 73. Colorful Ohio politician whose conviction for taking bribes and kickbacks made him only the second person to be expelled from Congress since the Civil War. Sept. 27.
Floyd "Creeky" Creekmore, 98. Former Montana rancher who held the record as the world's oldest performing clown. Sept. 27.
Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock, 88. First female pilot to fly solo around the world. Sept. 30.
OCTOBER
Tim Hauser, 72. Founder and singer of the Grammy-winning vocal troupe The Manhattan Transfer. Oct. 16.
Oscar de la Renta, 82. Worldly gentleman designer who shaped the wardrobe of socialites, first ladies and Hollywood stars for more than four decades. Oct. 20.
Ben Bradlee, 93. Hard-charging editor who guided The Washington Post through its Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Watergate scandal and invigorated its newsroom for more than two decades. Oct. 21.
Marcia Strassman, 66. She played Gabe Kaplan's wife, Julie, on the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter." Oct. 24.
Jack Bruce, 71. British musician best known as the bass player and vocalist of the power blues trio Cream. Oct. 25.
NOVEMBER
Tom Sneddon, 73. Former district attorney who sought twice to try Michael Jackson on child molestation charges. Nov. 1.
Tom Magliozzi, 77. He was one half of the brother duo who hosted National Public Radio's "Car Talk," where they bantered with callers and commiserated over their car problems. Nov. 3.
S. Donald Stookey, 99. He was the scientist who forever changed cooking with the invention of CorningWare, a versatile glass found in millions of American kitchens. Nov. 4.
Raymond Almiran Montgomery, 78. Author of the popular children's book series "Choose Your Own Adventure." Nov. 9.
John T. Downey, 84. Former CIA agent who survived more than 20 years in Chinese prisons during the Cold War before becoming a Connecticut judge. Nov. 17.
Mike Nichols, 83. Director of matchless versatility who brought fierce wit, caustic social commentary and wicked absurdity to such film, TV and stage hits as "The Graduate," ''Angels in America" and "Monty Python's Spamalot." Nov. 19.
Marion Barry, 78. Former District of Columbia mayor whose four terms were overshadowed by his 1990 arrest after being caught on videotape smoking crack cocaine. Nov. 23.
DECEMBER
Ralph Baer, 92. Video game pioneer who created both the precursor to "Pong" and the electronic memory game Simon and led the team that developed the first home video game console. Dec. 6.
Norman Bridwell, 86. Illustrator whose story about a girl and her puppy marked the birth of the supersized franchise Clifford the Big Red Dog. Dec. 12.
Joe Cocker, 70. Raspy-voiced British singer with a contorted performing style, known for his frenzied cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends" and the teary ballad "You Are So Beautiful." Dec. 22.
