Artists who died in 2017

2017 was another year where we had to say goodbye to some of the cultural world's great personalities. The death of actor Sir John Hurt at age 77 caused an outpouring of grief in January. One of those shocked persons was the comedian, actor and director Mel Brooks, who wrote on Twitter: "It was terribly sad today to learn of John Hurt's passing. He was a truly magnificent talent." 

The pioneering rock 'n' roll guitarist Chuck Berry died in February at age 90. Berry was a known quantity ever since 1955, when his piece "Maybellene" helped to usher in a new era of music. His musical colleague Bruce Springsteen honored Berry on Twitter as "rock's greatest practitioner, guitarist, and the greatest pure rock 'n' roll writer who ever lived.

In the gallery above we recall others who have departed this past year, including Tom Petty, Chester Bennington and Johnny Hallyday.