Celebrity deaths in 2014 include Robin Williams, James Garner, Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple and Joan Rivers

Among the sad rites at the end of a year is to recall celebrities who passed away during the preceding 12 months.

This year, they included some of television history’s brightest lights, making the sting of the losses greater. Here are recollections of some who left us in 2014.

Robin Williams: Simply, there never will be another. And how could there be, given the uniquely manic energy of the comedian who brought Mork to Earth — and to home screens?

James Garner: The easygoing yet roguish style of this talent from the Midwest made Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford two forever-beloved characters.

Joan Rivers: There was no middle ground for how people felt about this brazen staple of talk shows and “Fashion Police” … and no question that she did it her way.

Sid Caesar: Aptly credited as one of the inventors of television comedy, this humorist kept going strong well into his twilight years.

Ann B. Davis: “Alice.” That would be all that needed saying, if not for the two Emmys she won as Schultzy on “The Bob Cummings Show” before she tended to “The Brady Bunch.”

Russell Johnson: As brainy as he was, the “Professor” never figured out how to get the castaways off “Gilligan’s Island.”

Shirley Temple: Legendary for her movies, the former child star also serviced TV by hosting “Shirley Temple’s Storybook.”

Mickey Rooney: “Andy Hardy” and musicals were his movie calling cards, but this lifelong entertainer also made television marks in projects such as his Emmy-winning “Bill.”

Casey Kasem: The man who played the hits on radio’s “American Top 40” also gave Scooby-Doo’s pal Shaggy his voice.

Harold Ramis: “SCTV” might not have been what it became without the gifts of this actor-writer-director who also gave the world “Ghostbusters.”

Meshach Taylor: The former “Designing Women” co-star will be remembered for his recurring “Criminal Minds” role in a January episode directed by friend Joe Mantegna.

David Brenner: This lanky comic was one of the most frequent guest hosts during Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” era.

Elaine Stritch: Long a bawdy stage presence, Stritch also deployed her sass as Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) mother on “30 Rock.”

Ruby Dee: Both with husband Ossie Davis and on her own, this superlative actress worked often in television (“The Stand,” “The Feast of All Saints”).

Lauren Bacall: With her films shown so often by Turner Classic Movies, this essential star is a frequent TV presence — and her voice boosted cat-food commercials.

Eli Wallach: Another performer who just kept on going, this skillful talent touched such shows as “ER” and “Nurse Jackie.”

Mike Nichols: The masterful stage and screen director also worked his magic on HBO’s “Angels in America” … and on his wife, Diane Sawyer.

Glen A. Larson: “Magnum, P.I.,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Knight Rider” and numerous other shows … all thanks to this producer.

Mary Ann Mobley: Though Stefanie Powers would be “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” in the spinoff series, 1959’s Miss America gave the part of April Dancer a test drive in a “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” episode.

Ryan Knight and Diem Brown: Known from MTV reality shows, both sadly passed far too young.

Roy Garber: Fans of “Shipping Wars” were quite familiar with this expert on shipping anything, however impossible it seemed.