List of Famous people who died in 2012

Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Bal Keshav Thackeray was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra.

Andrew James Breitbart was an American conservative journalist, writer, and commentator who was the founder of Breitbart News and a co-founder of HuffPost.

Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya was a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. She was the wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and mother to their two daughters, Olga and Elena Rostropovich.

Andy Samuel Griffith was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, and his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles, and gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock (1986–1995).

Gary Edmund Carter was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets.

Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.

Emanuel "Manny" Steward was an American boxer, trainer, and commentator for HBO Boxing. Steward trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his career, most notably Thomas Hearns, through the famous Kronk Gym and later heavyweights Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko. His heavyweight fighters had a record of 34-2-1 combined in title fights. He was an inductee of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Steward was also known for his charity work in Detroit, Michigan, helping the youth to attain an education.

Jean-Luc Delarue was a French television presenter and producer specialising in televised discussion programmes.

María Santos Gorrostieta Salazar was a Mexican physician and politician of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). From 2008 to 2011, she served as mayor of Tiquicheo, a small town in the Mexican state of Michoacán. In spite of three failed assassination attempts during her tenure as mayor, Gorrostieta Salazar continued to be outspoken in the fight against organized crime. In a fourth attack, Gorrostieta Salazar was kidnapped and assassinated by suspected drug traffickers on 15 November 2012. Michoacán is home to several violent drug trafficking organizations such as La Familia Michoacana and the Knights Templar Cartel.