We were in similar places.
My first marriage was falling apart, and he was in the middle of a divorce.
We both had young kids, both had recently canceled shows, so we needed this one to work.
Robert Gabriel/AP
We talked as we walked.
He made me laugh.
A little flirting was going on, as it always was with Alan… with everybody!
Santi Visalli/Getty Images
Alan was my biggest supporter, and we truly loved and trusted each other.
You’re opinionated, stubborn, strong, and you love telling everyone what to do.'
He was snarky but direct.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP Images
Outside of my husband, he was probably the most supportive guy I’ve ever known.
He knew so many people and touched so many lives.
You know the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?
Michael Ochs/Getty Images
With Alan, it was actually three.
Alan had this way about him.
He was handsome, cocky, and fiercely intelligent, but he was no saint.
Everett Collection
That was what made him so much fun.
He lived to connect with people, and even more important, he loved to make them laugh.
He was happiest when he could perform.
GAB Archive/Redferns
He was oddly humble because he did not really consider himself a great actor.
He often said, ‘I’m a master of B talent.
I can do a little bit of everything.’
Michael Putland/Getty Images
It didn’t matter where: cruise ships, shopping malls, used-car lots.
If you wanted an emcee, no one was better or worked harder at making the event fun.
I admired him for that.
Carlo Allegri/AP
Growing Painswas a gift.
It lifted us both out of insecurity and changed my life forever.
Best of all, it introduced me to Alan.
Everett Collection
He was my mentor and friend, and I loved him."
Thicke and Kerns played husband and wife for seven seasons ofGrowing Pains.
Thicke died in Burbank on Dec. 13 at the age of 69.
As told to Dan Snierson.
Henry Winkler on Garry Marshall
“Wisdom.
These are the words that frame his life.
Everett Collection
He carved his own avenue through the world.
He did it Garry’s way.
He was allergic to 132 things.
Lucasfilm Ltd./20th Century Fox/Photofest
He spent most of his life sneezing.
A watchword of his was zippy.
It’s too long!
Michael Putland/Getty Images
Comedy is not long!'
He was my teacher: ‘Instinct.’
‘There’s always a solution.’
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
‘Don’t take bad behavior as a given.’
I learned to be an executive producer from him.
He always said, ‘Doesn’t matter what show you’re doing.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
As long as we’re a nice bunch of people doing it.’
He was one of a kind.
He was always available.
Cambridge Jones/Getty Images
He was always loving.
He said, ‘You could do it without yelling!
You don’t have to yell.
Frank Mullen/WireImage
You don’t have to be a mean person.’
This sneezer had a brain that never turned off.
I will never get over missing him.
Everett Collection
Winkler played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on Marshall’sHappy Daysfrom 1974 to 1984.
Marshall died in Burbank on July 19 at the age of 81.
Do you know how you just feel comfortable with some people immediately?
Loona/Sipa USA
That’s how I felt with Pat.
I was greedy for any detail that would help me flesh out the characters and understand his world.
I simply love it.
Eamonn McCabe/Getty Images
The book has many flaws based on basic flaws of my character.
But the movie sings and soars.'”
Streisand directed, produced, and starred in the Oscar-nominated 1991 adaptation ofThe Prince of Tides.
Karl Walter/Getty Images
Conroy died in Beaufort, S.C., on March 4 at the age of 70.
As told to Tina Jordan.
Sheila E. on Prince
“With Prince, there were no limits and rules.
Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
It was basically, ‘Let’s just set up and play.
That’s how the [musical] gear should sound the way that we hear it.’
It was genius how he would work these things out.
He was very experimental in the studio.
Let’s just do something different.'
His sound was unique.
He wasn’t trying to be someone else.
But the way he used those melodies and sounds to create something, that was totally different.
And the things that he talked about were sometimes taboo sex, drugs, and women.
What did he just say?'
He was an amazing songwriter and, I think, one of the greatest guitar players ever.
ThePurple Raintour was like living a dream.
People went crazy and screamed.
That’s when everything changed.
It was like being a part of the Beatles.
He continued to do things like that, quietly.
We would turn the hospital auditorium into a concert hall for kids with severe illnesses.
He really admired the kids and wanted to encourage the youth in picking up an instrument and learning.
We would just set up and play.”
Musician Sheila E. first met Prince in 1978 and performed and toured with him for 1984’sPurple Rainalbum and film.
Prince died in Chanhassen, Minn., on April 21 at the age of 57.
As told to Eric Renner Brown.
I was just a comic who nobody had heard of.
I really didn’t believe the sitcom was going to happen.
There’s too much fruit in the house!'
But they adored her because she showed where it came from love.
That’s who she was in real life."
Romano starred on Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2005.
Roberts died in Los Angeles on April 17 at the age of 90.
As told to Lynette Rice.
Paul McCartney on George Martin
“George was unflappable, the master in control.
He was clever and very scientific, which I always admired.
He knew all the stuff the band didn’t.
George was there as the professional, the perfect guy to translate our ideas.
That was a big part of Beatles music.
He’d talk to the musicians in their own language.
We all hit the roof: ‘We have to use it!’
Other people would have turned it off, but George was really cool: ‘What a great idea.’
He let us experiment like nutty professors.
McCartney worked with Martin, often called the fifth Beatle, consistently for more than three decades.
Martin died in Wiltshire, England, on March 8 at the age of 90.
As told to Kevin O’Donnell.
His androgyny scared the hell out of me, but it also graced me with a vision of escape.
Yet I never loved Bowie, much less trusted him.
You are possessed by Bowie.
He lies to you, pulls you close, and injects the poison that cures you.
I could certainly relate it was only behind the drag mask of Hedwig that I could express certain feelings.
But his mask remained in place to the end.
Who else would have the audacity to use his dying body as a medium for his work?
I think of the mortally wounded samurai who used their own blood to paint until they bled out.
Let’s send a twilight prayer up to the Trickster God though he’d probably prefer a sacrifice.”
Mitchell wrote and starred in the 1998 award-winning transgender musicalHedwig and the Angry Inchand its movie adaptation.
Bowie died in New York City on Jan. 10 at the age of 69.
As told to Leah Greenblatt.
That was in large part because of what Anton brought to it.
He had an incredibly wonderful and specific laugh that you heard all the time.
He never was on autopilot.
He was always curious and determined and searching, always maximizing his weekends and free time.
He was a photographer; he was a poet.
Anton was made to be a storyteller and was about to direct his own film.
He was just a wildly promising artist who was taken away too early.
It’s not like there’s some kind of wisdom or normalcy in regards to Anton’s passing.
It still is as surreal and shocking as it was the day we heard."
Abrams directed the first twoStar Trekreboots starring Yelchin as navigator (and later chief engineer) Pavel Chekov.
Yelchin died in Studio City, Calif., on June 19 at the age of 27.
As told to Anthony Breznican.
Grant came out, and we went home to work on another idea that we liked better.
There is no way you might exaggerate how great he was.
He was enormously attractive, elegant, and with extraordinary manners.
At the company softball game, he would hit the home run.
He bought a Rolls-Royce one day and returned it two days later.
It was, like, revulsion.
He couldn’t bear to ride in it."
Brooks co-createdThe Mary Tyler Moore Show.Tinker died in Los Angeles on Nov. 28 at the age of 90.
Leon Gast on Muhammad Ali
“Ali was on 90 percent of the time.
He was always playful.
Ali had a kindness about him.
That was the one he would pick and hug.
He just had that sense: ‘This kid needs my arm around him.’
He was the kindest human being I have ever been around in my life.
I can’t even come up with a second person.
Ali, Ali, Ali.”
Gast directed the Oscar-winning documentaryWhen We Were Kings.
Ali died in Scottsdale, Ariz., on June 3 at the age of 74.
As told to Jeff Labrecque.
It never felt like he was winking at the audience or asking for laughs.
And that is what’s so valuable in his work.
It’s always connected to the heart, and that really is not an easy thing to execute.
Certainly not all comedians connect in that way to their inner selfall while being hysterical."
Kane costarred with Wilder in 1977’sThe World’s Greatest Lover.
Wilder died in Stamford, Conn., on Aug. 29 at the age of 83.
As told to Devan Coggan.
But I fondly remember one evening in Yuma.
We had been shooting exteriors for Jabba’s sail barge inReturn of the Jedi.
It was very touching.
Daniels costarred alongside Baker as C-3PO in sixStar Warsfilms.
Baker died in Preston, England, on Aug. 13 at the age of 81.
Bob Seger on Glenn Frey
“I met Glenn when he was 17 or 18.
He was very charismatic, very likable, whip-smart.
Then he sang on my first hit, which was called ‘Ramblin’ Gamblin' Man.'
Around ‘79, Glenn and I started writing ‘Heartache Tonight’ together.
Glenn had the verse: ‘Somebody’s gonna hurt someone before the night is through.’
His eyes lit up huge.
Because he knew, ‘Oh my God, Seger and I, we finally wrote a hit together!’
Later, he worked out the rest with Don Henley and JD Souther.
So that was the song that I sang at the memorial.
It’s still really hard to imagine he’s gone.
For me, that’s the way it was.
He was always a positive force in my life, never a negative one.
It’s hard to replace 49 years of that.”
Singer-songwriter Seger was Frey’s friend and occasional collaborator for almost five decades.
Frey died in Manhattan on Jan. 18 at the age of 67.
As told to Clark Collis.
Anna was sitting behind me on the plane and asked, ‘Do you want some helpful hints?’
I said, ‘Yes, thank God!’
We talked the whole rest of the flight.
It made a world of difference.
She forded the waters before I got there.
She was like a second mother to me throughout my entire life."
Gilbert costarred with Duke in the 1979 TV-movie adaptation ofThe Miracle Worker.
Duke died in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on March 29 at the age of 69.
When I was teaching that novel, those characters just began to seep into my bones.
In some ways, sadly, we’re kind of taking backwards steps in terms of racial equality.
She didn’t want to become a brand.
Her work is the teacher.
She led a private life in her hometown and still had a global influence on writers and readers."
Lamb wrote the best-selling 1992 coming-of-age novelShe’s Come Undone.
Lee died in Monroeville, Ala., on Feb. 19 at the age of 89.
As told to Isabella Biedenharn.
And that was Alan.
When we made that movie together, I was 19 and absolutely terrified of everything.
And he was terrifying.
It actually felt like I was standing underneath this vast architectural structure.
But really, he was always a great big softy.
If there was one word I could use to really describe Al, it would be kind.
He was so kind. '
But she couldn’t do it.
He’d just say, ‘I’ve got two words for you: Harry Potter.’
And he became known for doing that.
What can you say but ‘thank you’?"
Winslet starred opposite Rickman in 1995’sSense and Sensibilityand 2015’sA Little Chaos.
Rickman died in London on Jan. 14 at the age of 69.
As told to Chris Nashawaty.
And how great he sang!
He was a total package.
He had just gotten out of the pen, and his track “Mama Tried” was out.
When I’d first heard it, I said, ‘Who is that guy?!’
We saw each other many times over the years and we was finally going to record together.
I recorded [it] the week that he passed away.
That broke my heart.
But I think he will be remembered as great as he was.
Everybody loved Merle Haggard.
Lynn was friends with Haggard and performed with him often throughout their long careers.
Haggard died in Palo Cedro, Calif., on April 6 at the age of 79.
As told to Madison Vain.
Eve Plumb on Florence Henderson
“Everybody wanted her to be their mother.
She had her own real children.
I’ve always felt very aware that she was their mom.
In a way, it was unfair to her kids to have this other [TV] family.
We would have sleepovers and play on the swing set in the backyard.
She had this glamorous house.
All of her memorabilia was beautifully and tastefully displayed, the awards and letters and stuff.
Florence was a teacher on how to be a good celebrity.
She always kept up with sending thank-you notes, birthday and Christmas cards, handwritten throughout the years.
I don’t know how she ever learned all of that. "
Plumb starred as middle daughter Jan Brady onThe Brady Bunchfrom 1969 to 1974.
Henderson died in Los Angeles on Nov. 24 at the age of 82.
She taught me so much about life, about power, about being positive, about strength.
She found a way to push on, even when the news of her health was not good.
She was steady in the face of fear.
Her positive motion forward resonates with anybody who has fought cancer.
Sharon loved to dance.
They would try so hard, looking directly into her eyes.
You just felt totally honored to be in her presence.
She changed me forever.”
Mercedes Ruehl on Edward Albee
“Edward was fearless.
He had a brilliant and blistering command of language.
He came in in the ’60s and excavated a whole new area of drama.
There was no one writing in the unique and disturbing style ofThe Zoo Story.
And he was it.
He broke new ground and stimulated a whole new wave of fierce American playwriting.
Make them look at their preconceptions, at their prejudices, and at their fears.
And the well of great writers that he sprang will continue to remind us of his legacy.
He was an innovator, and we talked a lot about doing things that hadn’t been done before.
What was the point of rehashing something that had been done?
People might forget that he was a frequent guest host onThe Tonight Showin the era of Johnny Carson.
Johnny took a lot of days off.
Letterman, Leno, and Garry Shandling were three of the young comedians who filled in.
I remember doing a number ofTonight Showswith Garry as the host.
He was Larry Sanders before he did the fictionalized version.
He was a friend for a very long time.
He was a great connoisseur of the art of structure.
He was a structure person.
He designed his own house!
It was a very long process, but it was all him.
Most people just buy a house.
He bought a piece of land.”
Maher and Shandling co-created a Fox sitcom pilot that never aired,Bill Gets a Life.
Shandling died in Los Angeles on March 24 at the age of 66.
As told to Darren Franich.
Suzanne Vega on Leonard Cohen
“I was 14 when I got Leonard’s first album.
This wasn’t like either of those things it was darker and more complicated, edgier.
But I still have it, and that was the beginning of a kind of friendship.
He was very, very funny in a dry way, flirtatious, and so charming.
He was still rock & roll in his soul.
Singer-songwriter Vega recorded Cohen’s “Story of Isaac.”
Cohen died in Los Angeles on Nov. 7 at the age of 82.
