I’ve heard it said that celebrities die in threes. In the last two weeks, we’ve lost three of the best.

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh, 77, best known for playing Marion Crane, whose run from the law ends with a fateful trip to the Bates Motel in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” passed away Oct. 4.

Leigh had been battling vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels for the past year.

Born Jeanette Helen Morrison on July 6, 1927, her first appearance was in the MGM film “The Romance of Rosy Ridge” in 1947.

She also appeared in the original “Manchurian Candidate” alongside Frank Sinatra.

Rodney Dangerfield

Heaven just became a funnier venue as comedian Rodney Dangerfield has taken center stage at the eternal nightclub.

Dangerfield fell into a coma after undergoing heart surgery on Aug. 25.

The bug-eyed comic whose self-deprecating one-liners such as “when I was born the doctor slapped my mother,” explained in a 1986 interview the origins of his famous catchphrase, “I had this joke: ‘I played hide and seek; they wouldn’t even look for me.’ To make it work better, you look for something to put in front of it: I was so poor, I was so dumb, so this, so that. I thought, ‘Now what fits that joke?’ Well, ‘No one liked me’ was all right. But then I thought, a more profound thing would be, ‘I get no respect.'”

Dangerfield became a film favorite in 1980 when he starred alongside Chevy Chase and Bill Murray in “Caddyshack”.

Dangerfield went on to make other comedies such as “Easy Money” and “Back to School.”

Despite the good reviews, Dangerfield made the claim that he did not like movies or television series.

“Too much waiting around, too much memorizing; I need that immediate feedback of people laughing.”

In 1995, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rejected Dangerfield’s application for membership saying he failed to execute “enough of the kinds of roles that allow a performer to demonstrate the mastery of his craft.”

In retaliation Dangerfield created his own Web Site (“I went out and bought an apple computer; it had a worm in it”). His fans used the site to express their disgust over the academy’s rejection. Based on the public reaction, the academy reversed itself and offered membership. Dangerfield declined, and for that he has this reporter’s everlasting respect.

Christopher Reeve

As the man of steel, he was able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. But sadly, actor Christopher Reeve past away on Oct. 11 from complications of a systemic infection a common problem for people living with paralysis.

Reeve was paralyzed when he broke his neck in a 1995 horse-riding accident.

Best known for playing “Superman” in four movies about the superhero, most recently he has been the center of the debate on stem cell research.

Earlier this year, Reeve and Harvard bioethicist Felton Earls squared off over the cloning breakthrough in South Korea. Professor Earls pointed out that “therapeutic cloning would essentially create a new class of humans, whose sole purpose is to be killed for the benefits of others.”

In response, Reeve emphasized the potential application of stem cell research toward regenerating neurons by using rather strong words not to be used in this publication, but basically he said that he wants to walk and wouldn’t mind being able to have sex with his wife.

The controversy will continue and Reeve’s contribution will remain at the forefront of the debate.

The memories of Janet Leigh, Rodney Dangerfield and Christopher Reeve will remain for generations to come as long as audiences long for suspense, a good laugh or the hope that humanity will not fall to the power of Kryptonite.

-Information for this article came from CNN.com.