Gore Vidal, the seminal wordsmith, jack of all things witty, provocative, and erudite in the many writings he authored, who always seemed to have his finger firmly entrenched on the pulse of the national culture politically and socially throughout much of the mid-20th century, died of complications from pneumonia on July 31, 2012, in Hollywood at his home, reports The New York Times. The news was confirmed by his nephew, the filmmaker Burr Steers, who said his uncle had been sick for some time. Vidal was 86 years old.

He spread himself eclectically in the arts, mainly in the literary circuits and was responsible for penning over 20 books in his lifetime. One of them, his third, entitled The City and the Pillar, published in 1948, was one of the first major tomes to explore themes of homosexuality (Vidal himself was bisexual), something that was all but taboo during that post-World War II, post-President Roosevelt America. Vidal’s penchant for syntax and printed word ran at fever pitch; he penned essays on sundry hotbed topics as sexuality, religion, politics, and literature, the results of which equally divided the followers and haters of his works and eventually earned him National Book Award honors in the early 1990s for a voluminous anthology of those essays, which spanned 40 years in the book, and was entitled United States Essays, 1952-1992. Vidal is also well known for his historical assessments on the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Aaron Burr, as well as the satiric novel Myra Beckinridge, which was adapted into a cult campy arguably awful film in 1970 starring Raquel Welch as a transsexual and also starring the inimitable Mae West.

Sherman Hemsley, best remembered for his dimunitive in size but gargantuan in moxie TV character George Jefferson on The Jeffersons, died today in El Paso, Texas. It is unclear at this moment the cause of death, though initial reports are citing natural causes. Hemsley was 74 years old.

Born on February 1, 1938, in Philadelphia, Hemsley acted in local summer theater before landing the role that made him famous, successful dry cleaning tycoon George Jefferson. First appearing in 1973 on the sitcom All in the Family as the African-American neighbors of controversial character Archie Bunker, the Jefferson family eventually got their own spin-off show in 1975 called The Jeffersons, which showed how they were “movin’ on up” in life. The show went become one of TV’s all-time greatest and most successful sitcoms.

Jon Lord, the original and ear-boggling keyboardist from the British rock band Deep Purple, died today, July 16, 2012, after suffering from a pulmonary embolism. He was 71. Lord, who had been battling pancreatic cancer, was surrounded by his family at the London Clinic when he passed away. Lord’s official website had reported the news, with the statement, “Jon passes from Darkness to Light.”

Lord was one of the unsung titans of hard rock and roll indeed, as his keyboard and organ sounds were an integral part to the amplified bluesy swagger of Deep Purple. On songs like “Lazy,” “Highway Star,” “Bloodsucker,” “Smoke on the Water,” “Woman From Tokyo,” “Child in Time,” and so many others, Jon Lord laid down sounds in the band that made it instantly recognizable that one was listening to Deep Purple as soon as they heard his grooves. He also incorporated many baroque and classic styles in his playing, and it stretched out into the band’s sounds as well, helping make Deep Purple one of rock and roll’s all time greatest and most unique bands.

Right on the heels of The Expendables 2 panel, one of this year’s highlights from the San Diego Comic-Con, in which Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzengger traded barbs, fun anecdotes, and an absolute mutual respect for one another, comes the most tragic and distressing news. Sage Stallone, the 36-year-old son of Sly, was found dead on July 13, 2012 in the afternoon in his apartment in Los Angeles, California. Details surrounding his death are still unknown, but police note that Stallone was alone when found and a toxicology report will be pending.

Stallone was born May 5, 1976 to Sly and his then wife Sasha Czack. He was the oldest of Sylvester Stallone’s children and was brother to Seargeoh Stallone and half brother to Sistine, Sophia, and Scarlet Stallone. His stepmother was Stallone’s current wife, Jennifer Flavin. His uncle was sometime actor and musician Frank Stallone and his grandmother was astrologist Jackie Stallone. Reports state that Sylvester Stallone is devastated and grief-stricken, and his compassion and thoughts are with Sasha. The report went on to note that Sage was a very talented and wonderful young man, whose loss will be felt forever.

The past month has brought us the loss of many acting heavyweights, some of whom went unappreciated during their final years. Now comes the saddest loss in quite some time.

Ernest Borgnine, the avuncular and omnipresent acting legend with a film and television career spanning more than six decades, passed away on Sunday, July 8 at the age of 95. The cause of death was renal failure, or kidney failure, according a statement the actor’s longtime spokesman Harry Flynn gave to the Associated Press. Borgnine died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and children.

Born to Italian immigrant parents in Hamden, Connecticut, on January 24, 1917, Ermes Effron Borgnino spent most of his younger years in New Haven, Connecticut before joining the U.S. Navy in 1935. He served in the Navy for six years before being discharged, only to re-enlist in 1941 when America entered World War II. During his service Ernest received the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. In 2004 he was granted the honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer from the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy for his support of the Navy and naval families worldwide.