Roundup: The Saddest Celeb Deaths of '09

1. Michael Jackson: The King of Pop. The Gloved One. Whatever you called him, he was one of the most prolific entertainers of our time. He gave us the moonwalk, and he made it ok to grab your crotch while dancing. His milky smooth voice and indelible songs will live on forever.

Cause of death: Homicide

Check out: This Is It, Jackson's tour rehearsal movie. It shows Jackson in his element on stage and in a way we've never seen him before.

2. Patrick Swayze: Swayze was the only man who could dance like a graceful 12-year-old girl and still look like a badass. Even though he made quite a few sappy romantic movies, most of them were awesome (Dirty Dancing, Ghost) and he made quite a few sweet action flicks too (Red Dawn, Point Break.)

Cause of death: Pancreatic Cancer

Check out: Road House, the quintissential bar-fight movie. Swayze has a philosphy degree from NYU, and uses ballet-style roundhouse kicks to clean up the fictional town of Jasper, MO.

3. Bea Arthur: The Golden Girls is a timeless classic. The lightning in the bottle chemistry between the cast of the show leads to some of the most memorabe sitcom plots in history.

Cause of death: Cancer

Check out: Nick at Nite, they re-run the show all the time.

4. Billy Mays: So, he wasn't an actor or anything, but those Oxyclean commercials were like a lighthouse on a stormy night when you're lost at sea. You could always count on seeing him on late night TV, and that was comforting.

Cause of death: Heart Disease

Check out: Pitchmen, a show where you get to meet the man behind the magic (of Oxyclean).

5. David Carradine: He was in Kung Fu, a 70's show about martial arts. In Kill Bill he had what is probably the coolest death scene ever filmed.

Cause of death: Autoerotic Fatality

Check out: Kill Bill: Vol. 2, where the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique makes its unforgettable debut.

--Jon Silman