It’s been a while since my last Celebrity Meat Locker entry - 783 days, to be exact. Why the big gap? Did the miracles of modern science suddenly prevent the rich and interesting among us from meeting their previously-assured demise? Was 2007 a statistical anomaly in that nobody of note shuffled this mortal coil? Nah. I’ve just been busy and lazy… but mostly lazy. The number of celebrity deaths in 2008, though, is mounting and looks to be a banner year in celebrity death-watching. Therefore, below is a long and yet somehow still abbreviated list of people who have died so far this year.

Charlton Heston (84), actor - pneumonia

Heston, best known for iconic roles in Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes, and Wayne’s World 2, passed away on April 5^th. Offscreen, He (I capitalize only because Heston would have wanted it that way) was a staunch conservative, campaigning for Reagan and both of “them thar Bush boys”, and a big-time gun advocate serving as the president of the NRA from 1998 - 2003. In a speech on gun control, he is quoted as having said that “God blessed us with guns” - a fact he no doubt learned while playing Adam the never-released “Natural Born Sinners - Escape from Eden”.

Heath Ledger (28), actor - accidental overdose

Ledger was an award-nominated actor (he never actually won anything), best known for playing a tough-skinned gay cowboy alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in “Brokeback Mountain”, which is a brutal thing to have etched on your tombstone for all of eternity. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a tough-skinned gay cowboy. In fact, many people have made a good living doing just that. But Jake Gyllenhaal? Isn’t that a little… obvious?

Ledger’s untimely death has provided more publicity than Warner Bros. could ever have dreamed for this summer’s new Batman Movie “The Dark Knight”, in which he plays a very tormented Joker character made famous by Jack Nicholson.

Herb Peterson (89), inventor of the Egg McMuffin

The fast food executive owned a chain of McDonald’s franchises in California and in 1972 came up with the signature breakfast food known the world over as a miracle cure for hangovers. Protestors lined the streets outside Peterson’s memorial service claiming he was solely responsible for America’s obesity problem while they force-fed their fat-ass kids Whoppers and French fries.

George Carlin (71), comedian / actor - heart failure

Carlin is best known for his routine entitled “The 7 Words You Can’t Say on Television”, in which he utters all sorts of words and phrases that would get my article flagged for indecency. Carlin was arrested for performing the bit and his case eventually went in front of the Supreme Court, who in a 5-4 ruling decided Carlin was “indecent” but not “obscene”, and therefore protected under the First Amendment. When asked about the verdict in an interview, Carlin said, “F*#k yeah! Suck on that m*$&!r f#$%&ers!”

Sydney Pollack (73), director/producer, actor - cancer

The award-winning (suck on that, Ledger) director helmed several classics, including “The Way We Were”, “Tootsie” and “Out of Africa”. While directing “Tootsie”, Pollack’s arguments with the film’s star Dustin Hoffman were legendary. Hoffman eventually persuaded Pollack to star alongside him in the film, playing his character’s agent. This jump-started the director’s second career as an actor. He went on to star as a character actor in several films, many of which he also directed and/or produced.

Tim Russert (58), political journalist - heart failure

One of the more shocking deaths of the year so far, Russert collapsed while rehearsing for an airing of “Meet the Press”, for which he had served as moderator since 1991. Russert was NBC’s Washington bureau chief and was a regular on almost every NBC political program. He also served as moderator for several Presidential debates. Born in Buffalo, NY, Russert was an avid sports fan and would often make guests on his shows uncomfortable by asking them about Buffalo sports teams to which the guests would inevitably respond with nervous smiles and generic answers. Russert was fond of using a hand-held dry erase board to outline his points, including calculating the possible electoral college outcomes during the 2000 Presidential election. That dry erase board now sits in the Smithsonian, leading CNN to seriously question the millions of dollars they spent on their fancy interactive maps that nobody understands anyway.

Roy Scheider (75), actor - cause of death not released

Scheider was a veteran film actor, best known for his role as Chief Brody in the “Jaws” franchise. Scheider appeared in more than 50 films. His famous line in “Jaws” - “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” - was actually ad-libbed. While the cause of Scheider’s death was not released to the press, it is widely believed that the shark that inexplicably returned to hunt his family down despite being killed in each of the four “Jaws” films, and being fictional, finally gunned him down with a semi-automatic rifle at his home in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Allan Melvin (84), Sam the Butcher from The Brady Bunch - cancer

Melvin appeared in several popular programs in the 60s, 70s and 80s, but really does anyone remember him as anything other than Sam the Butcher? He probably really only appeared in about 3 episodes, but Alice talked about him so freakin’ often we feel like we knew him way too intimately. Personally, I think Alice’s obsession with the butcher was totally one-sided. Dude was tapping every maid in town. Way to go, Sam. Way to go.

Sir Edmund Hillary (88), beekeeper, adventurer - heart failure

Hillary was the first man to reach the top of Mount Everest. He was knighted immediately upon his return, proving once again (along with Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones) that just about anybody can get people to call them “Sir”. Hillary led some incredible philanthropic pursuits in his life in addition to his mountaineering, but I include him in this list just so I can include this picture in which I think he looks remarkably like the mountain-climbing uncle in “Mr. Deeds”.

Celebrity Meat Locker attempts to poke fun at death by highlighting some of the more notable deaths of our time. I realize some of the more self-righteous among you will be offended. Just remember, some day you’re going to die too and you’re going to wish someone like me was around to write about it. But I won’t, because you’re just not that interesting.

Leaving their hotel room in Italy ahead of his wife and son to go back to Washington, D.C., so he could tape that Sunday’s Meet the Press, Tim Russert was grabbed by his wife, PEOPLE reports in its latest issue, on sale Friday.

“I said to him, ‘I want to give you a hug; maybe I’ll never see you again,’ ” says journalist Maureen Orth, 65, speaking publicly about her husband for the first time since his June 13 passing – the day after he left Italy. “I don’t know why I said that to him. I just had a feeling.”

Russert was under extra stress at the time of his death: covering this year’s presidential election, flying to Buffalo to visit his widowed father, Tim Sr., 84, in an assisted living facility – which Orth calls “a huge psychological strain for him.”
Then there were his three days in Europe, part of the graduation present for the Russerts’ son, Luke. “It was very hot and humid in Rome,” says Orth. “I was so tired. I told him, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ ”

Russert was especially energetic when it came to his son, 22. “When it came to Luke, there was no detail too small,” says Betsy Fischer, executive producer of Meet the Press.

On the morning of the day he died, she recalled, Russert took a chunk of time off from work to go to his son’s new apartment in D.C. and wait for the cable man. “He could have hired someone to do it, but that wasn’t Tim.”

“Family and faith,” Russert’s colleague and friend Tom Brokaw writes in his own words for PEOPLE, “were the foundations of his life.”

For more on Tim Russert – his life, work and his strong faith, as recalled by Maureen Orth, Luke Russert, Tom Brokaw and others – pick up this week’s PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

Newsman Tim Russert was plain-spoken and always determined to get to the truth – qualities, he often said, he inherited from his father, a Buffalo sanitation worker affectionately known as Big Russ.

In 2004, Russert, the longtime host of NBC’s Meet the Press, wrote the bestselling book Big Russ & Me, about the life lessons he learned from his dad, and how he passed those lessons on to his own son, Luke.

The journalist, who died from a heart attack at the age of 58, two days before Father’s Day, shared these poignant family stories in Big Russ & Me, and a follow-up book, Wisdom of Our Fathers:

All through my childhood, and well beyond it, my father held down two demanding jobs. But as hard as he labored and as long as he toiled, we never heard a single complaint about his heavy workload or the sacrifice he was making. He didn’t talk about it, he just got it done. And if he had to take a third job to support his wife and four kids, he would have done that, too … like so many members of the strong, silent generation who grew up during the Great Depression and went off to war, he had learned long ago that life was hard and nothing was handed to you. In fact, Dad considered it a sign of success, and even a blessing, that he was able to hold down two jobs. He could remember a time when a man considered himself fortunate to have even one.

Russert’s father, a war hero who rarely talked about his experiences during World War II, agreed to share one battle story with his son:

When I was in high school, the two of us were in the basement one day when Dad walked over to his desk, opened a drawer and took out a manila folder. He handed me a yellowed clipping from the October 27, 1944 edition of the Southport Weekly, an English newspaper. The headline read: US BOMBER CRASHES IN FLAMES IN AINSDALE, and the article described the crash of a B-24 Liberator at an Air Force Base in England. I read it quickly and zeroed in on the key lines: “When the plane crashed it broke up, and some of the airmen were thrown clear.” Dad, I realized, had been one of them.

“This is amazing”, I said.

He looked at me and said, “It was a lot tougher for the guys who died.” Then he took back the clipping and put it away without another word. The conversation was over.

Russert’s father never took a single sick day from his main job as a foreman for the sanitation department. Russert tried to pass that work ethic onto his own son, Luke:

On September 7, 1995, I took Luke, who was ten, to a baseball game at Camden Yards in Baltimore. [That was the night] Cal Ripken, Jr. was going to break Lou Gehrig’s Iron Man record just by showing up and playing in his 2,131st consecutive game. This wasn’t about something glitzy, like home runs … I explained to my son that Cal Ripken’s record was different from all the other records because this one was about loyalty, dedication, discipline, diligence and persistence.

I told Luke that night, and I meant it with all my heart, that Cal Ripken had done for baseball what my Dad had done for our family.

In Wisdom of Our Fathers, Russert wrote about his father’s reaction to Big Russ & Me:

I always go to [my father's home] for Thanksgiving, and in 2004, a few months after the book came out, we were loading up the car to drive to the airport when Big Russ came over to me to say goodbye. For as long as I can remember, Dad and I had always parted with a handshake and a half hug. But this time he gave me a huge bear hug and he said softly, “I love you” – something I had never heard him say before. I was fifty four years old, and all I could think was, Boy, I wish I had written this book thirty years earlier.

Following the news that NBC journalist and political heavyweight Tim Russert died of a sudden heart attack on Friday, those who knew him best react to the loss of their friend…

“Tim’s passing is a loss not only to his family and many friends, it is a loss to good journalism and to our country. Tim, first and foremost, was devout in his faith and deeply devoted to his family. He loved his country with a passion and became a classic example of the ideal American journalist. Tim had become an important part of our political process. He will be especially missed in this historic presidential election year. Tim Russert was a beacon of quality journalism. At a time when quality journalism is in increasingly short supply, Tim Russert was a leader for what is best in American journalism. He was tough but fair, pulled no punches, played no favorites. As an interviewer, he had few, if any, peers.” – Dan Rather

*****

“We are heartbroken at the sudden passing of Tim Russert. We have lost a beloved member of our NBC Universal family and the news world has lost one of its finest. The enormity of this loss cannot be overstated. More than a journalist, Tim was a remarkable family man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Maureen, their son, Luke, and Tim’s entire extended family.” – NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker

*****

“Tim was the best of our profession. He asked the best questions and then he listened for the answer. We became very close friends over the years. He delighted in scooping me and I felt the same way when I scooped him. When you slipped one past ol’ Russert, you felt as though you had hit a home run off the best pitcher in the league. I just loved Tim and I will miss him more than I can say, and my heart goes out to his son, Luke, and his wife, Maureen.” – CBS Washington News Chief and “Face The Nation” anchor Bob Schieffer

*****

“We were stunned and deeply saddened to hear of the passing today of Tim Russert. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Maureen, his son Luke, his father who we all have come to know as Big Russ, his extended family and all of his many friends and colleagues at NBC who have suffered a tremendous loss. Always true to his proud Buffalo roots, Tim had a love of public service and a dedication to journalism that rightfully earned him the respect and admiration of not only his colleagues but also those of us who had the privilege to go toe to toe with him. In seeking answers to tough questions, he helped inform the American people and make our democracy stronger. We join his friends, fans and loved ones in mourning his loss and celebrating his remarkable contribution to our nation.” – Sen. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton

*****

“I am very saddened by Tim Russert’s sudden death. Cindy and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the Russert family as they cope with this shocking loss and remember the life and legacy of a loving father, husband and the preeminent political journalist of his generation. He was truly a great American who loved his family, his friends, his Buffalo Bills, and everything about politics and America. He was just a terrific guy. I was proud to call him a friend, and in the coming days, we will pay tribute to a life whose contributions to us all will long endure.” – Sen. John McCain

*****

“Laura and I are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Tim Russert. Those of us who knew and worked with Tim, his many friends, and the millions of Americans who loyally followed his career on the air will all miss him.

As the longest-serving host of the longest-running program in the history of television, he was an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades. Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it.

Most important, Tim was a proud son and father, and Laura and I offer our deepest sympathies to his wife Maureen, his son Luke, and the entire Russert family. We will keep them in our prayers.” – President George W. Bush

*****

“The US and the world have a lost a great journalist, interviewer and author. He was an original and will be greatly missed.” – former Vice President Al Gore

*****

“We all I think have heard the news about Tim Russert. I’ve known Tim Russert since I first spoke at the convention in 2004. He’s somebody who overtime I came to consider not only a journalist but a friend. There wasn’t a better interviewer in TV, not a more thoughtful analyst of our politics and he was also one of the finest men I knew. Somebody who cared about America, cared about the issues, cared about family. I am grief-stricken with the loss and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. And I hope that even though Tim is irreplaceable that the standard that he set in his professional life and his family life are standards that we all carry with us in our own lives.” – Sen. Barack Obama

*****

“No one could see Tim in a room and not smile. He brought so much joy and curiosity and sheer vitality to all our lives. As a journalist, he would set out like a great explorer. You couldn’t wait to see what he discovered every day in the new world. He was a defining American newsman. Love of country, love of family poured through him–onto the screen, into the work, into stories at dinner, into the little chuckle that reminded us —aren’t we lucky to be here in this big life.” – ABC’s Diane Sawyer

*****

“Today’s awful news about Tim Russert’s sudden passing is a swift kick for everyone who knew, respected, and loved Tim and had the honor of sharing his company. It’s hard to describe the shock.

Tim was the best political newsman of his generation, and he was a trailblazer in the unique way he brought his personal love of politics, honed by Moynihan and Cuomo, right into our living rooms every Sunday.

Tim was at once brilliant and insightful while always approachable, always accessible, and always your next door neighbor and your friend who was there to referee the debates of the big issues of our time. He relished that role and he excelled at it, as any one would who believed in the tenets of Jesuit education. He loved to hold the big guys accountable and in the original, intelligent, studied way he did it he emerged as the biggest guy of all. It is impossible to overstate how much Tim was inseparable from American politics.

When I decided to announce for President, the only place to do it was on ‘Meet the Press.’ It is impossible to imagine political life without him as our guide every Sunday. But it is even more difficult to find the words to express our sympathy for Maureen, Luke, his father Big Russ, and Tim’s family at NBC. Tim, Maureen, and their family will remain in our thoughts and prayers a long, long time.” – Sen. John Kerry

*****

“Tim Russert was a great newsman who helped set the standard for political reporting and public affairs programming. His fine work made all of us better and benefited the Nation as a result. Tim was also a great friend to so many of us. But above all, Tim was a man devoted to his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and everyone at NBC News at this devastating time.” – David Westin, president of ABC News

*****

“Tim projected vitality — always excited about the stories he covered and intrigued by the people he interviewed. That’s what made him so good, and his passing so hard to absorb. His competitors — just like his co-workers — held Tim in the highest of regard.” – ABC “World News” anchor Charlie Gibson

*****

“Tim Russert Was a great competitor and a good friend. I am obviously shocked and dismayed by this news and extend my thoughts and prayers to his son Luke — he was so proud of you — to his wife Maureen and to the rest of his family; especially his beloved father. Tim and I worked together on Catholic causes, and I will greatly miss him.” – ABC political commentator Cokie Roberts

*****

“He was without any question the most important, the most influential reporter, print or broadcast, in Washington. If he said something, it had resonance.” -- Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace

*****

“Maria and I were deeply saddened to learn about the death of Tim Russert. Tim was an American icon in the world of political journalism who could relate to everybody. His insightful commentary and tough but fair interviews helped millions of Americans better understand our political system. It is hard to imagine a presidential election without Tim and his trademark graphics and questions on “Meet the Press.” American politics and journalism will never be the same without him.

But Tim was not only one of the top journalists of his generation; he was a close friend, a warm and generous person and a wonderful family man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Maureen, his son, Luke and his entire family.” – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

*****

“Tim loved everything about politics and journalism — because he believed in it. Every day he brought Washington home to his viewers and made all of us better. My thoughts and prayers are with his family — especially Maureen, Luke and his father Russ.” – ABC Chief Washington Correspondent George Stephanopoulos

*****

“Tim Russert was a remarkable journalist and an extraordinarily decent human being. He was relentless in his search for truth, and his death is a terrible loss. My heart goes out to his family and friends.” – Anderson Cooper

*****

“A giant of political coverage. A tremendous loss for the country, which needs the Russert brand of asking tough questions to the powerful.” – Bill Maher

*****

“There is no one who knew Tim, and that includes millions of Americans who felt they knew him too, who isn’t deeply shocked and saddened by his death. Tim was everyone’s idea of what a journalist should be and he made us proud. He interviewed me just one month ago for his weekly television show and much of our conversation had to do with his love for his father, Russ, and his son, Luke. My heart goes out to his wife, Maureen, and to Luke and Russ.” – Barbara Walters

*****

“Broadcast journalism lost one of its greats today. Tim Russert was a giant in our field – a standard-bearer of journalistic integrity and ethics. His masterful interviews and round-table discussions are legendary. This is a tragic loss for journalism and for all who were privileged to know him.” – Walter Cronkite

*****

“Tim Russert was a gentleman and giant, not just in politics and journalism, but in life. And through that life, he gave us all a model worth emulating. With a reasoned voice, a sharp mind and a fair hand, Tim took the measure of every Washington official and all those that sought to be one. He was a great journalist and an even better friend. His passing is a tragic loss for us all, but especially for the family he loved so much. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tim’s wife Maureen and his son Luke.” – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

*****

“Tim Russert was so many different things. Tim was a big teddy bear of a guy, but he was also a pit bull of an interviewer. He always held people’s feet to the fire, often using their past words with great effect to reveal flip-flops or hypocrisy. While Tim was incredibly tenacious, he always did his job with great humanity and respect.

Tim was passionate about the political process and was, in many ways, the navigator-in-chief for so many people. Because he was so knowledgeable, he was able to make politics accessible to millions.

Tim gave me my first network break. I was a local reporter at WRC in Washington which shares a building with the NBC Washington bureau. Tim asked me to come to his office one day and told me he admired my work, particularly my coverage of Marion Barry, who was then the mayor of DC. He liked my ‘scrappiness’ and asked if I was interested in becoming the deputy Pentagon correspondent.

He was one of the nicest, most generous colleagues I ever had the pleasure of working with.

I remember when Tim arranged a visit with the Pope when the Today show was in Rome—and Tim was the one behind the scenes making it happen. And I remember he was so full of pride.

He never forgot where he came from. In his heart, he was a kid from Buffalo who made it to the big time—but never got ‘too big for his britches,’ as my mother would say.
I think he used his Dad, Big Russ, to take the temperature of the country. And I remember how he used to call him to ask questions and get feedback.

But Tim really didn’t have to do that because he was the consummate everyman who loved his family - who was so proud of his wife Maureen and his son Luke - and loved the Buffalo Bills, and this country.” – Katie Couric

*****

“I was stunned and saddened today to hear of the death of Tim Russert. Tim was a force of nature on the airwaves, and it’s hard to believe that great voice has been silenced. His integrity, intelligence, and fairness will be greatly missed, and Sunday mornings will never be the same.” — Nancy Reagan

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