Mic Gillette, founding member of Tower of Power, dies at 64

Mic Gillette former horn player with Tower of Power, works with trombone players, Maya Schechter, 7th grader, left, and Michael Leamy, 6th grader. He is assisting in the music department at Stanley Middle School in Lafayette. Deanne Fitzmaurice/SFC

William Christopher, 1932-2016: William Christopher, the actor best known for his role as Father Francis Mulcahy on the hit 1970s-1980s sitcom "M.A.S.H," died on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, at his home in Pasadena, California. He was 84. In this photo, Christopher, left, Harry Morgan, Mike Farrell, Alan Alda, and Jamie Farr, take a break on the set during taping in Los Angeles. — **William Christopher, 1932-2016:**

William Christopher, the actor best known for his role as Father Francis Mulcahy on the hit 1970s-1980s sitcom "M.A.S.H," died on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, at his home in Pasadena, California. He was 84. In this photo, Christopher, left, Harry Morgan, Mike Farrell, Alan Alda, and Jamie Farr, take a break on the set during taping in Los Angeles.
WALLY FONG/Associated Press

Carrie Fisher, 1956-2016: Carrie Fisher, who earned a permanent place in film culture and modern mythology for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" films, died Tuesday, Dec. 27. Fisher experienced a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles, just 15 minutes before landing on Friday, Dec. 23. She was revived and rushed to the hospital, where she died four days later. She was 60 years old. — **Carrie Fisher, 1956-2016:**
Carrie Fisher, who earned a permanent place in film culture and modern mythology for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" films, died Tuesday, Dec. 27. Fisher experienced a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles, just 15 minutes before landing on Friday, Dec. 23. She was revived and rushed to the hospital, where she died four days later. She was 60 years old.
CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

Richard Adams, 1920-2016: British author Richard Adams, whose 1972 book "Watership Down" became a classic of children’s literature, died Dec. 24, 2016, in Oxfordshire, England. He was 96. Adams’ lyrical and poignant novel about the plight of rabbits whose home was under threat has sold millions of copies and was made into a film, with a remake scheduled for next year. — **Richard Adams, 1920-2016:**
British author Richard Adams, whose 1972 book "Watership Down" became a classic of children’s literature, died Dec. 24, 2016, in Oxfordshire, England. He was 96. Adams’ lyrical and poignant novel about the plight of rabbits whose home was under threat has sold millions of copies and was made into a film, with a remake scheduled for next year.
SUB

Bernard Fox, 1927-2016: Bernard Fox, at left, the mustachioed actor known to TV viewers as Dr. Bombay on "Bewitched" and Col. Crittendon on "Hogan’s Heroes," died Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016. He was 89. The Welsh-born actor’s extensive, wide-ranging film and TV credits included "The Mummy," "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "McHale’s Navy" and "Columbo." — **Bernard Fox, 1927-2016:**
Bernard Fox, at left, the mustachioed actor known to TV viewers as Dr. Bombay on "Bewitched" and Col. Crittendon on "Hogan’s Heroes," died Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016. He was 89. The Welsh-born actor’s extensive, wide-ranging film and TV credits included "The Mummy," "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "McHale’s Navy" and "Columbo."
MICHAEL DWYER/Associated Press

Alan Thicke, 1947-2016: Alan Thicke, a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor best remembered for his portrayal of a father who was the ultimate suburban middlebrow dispenser of advice to his children on the television sitcom "Growing Pains," died Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. He was 69. He died of a heart attack, a publicist for one of his sons, the singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, said. — **Alan Thicke, 1947-2016:**
Alan Thicke, a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor best remembered for his portrayal of a father who was the ultimate suburban middlebrow dispenser of advice to his children on the television sitcom "Growing Pains," died Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. He was 69. He died of a heart attack, a publicist for one of his sons, the singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, said.
Richard Shotwell/AP

Robert Vaughn, 1932-2016: The urbane actor who starred as the American spy Napoleon Solo on the slick 1960s NBC series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. died on Nov. 11, 2016. Vaughn, who received an Oscar nomination for playing Paul Newman's hard-drinking buddy Chet in the 1959 drama "The Young Philadelphians," died of acute leukemia in a hospital on the East Coast, his manager Matthew Sullivan told The Hollywood Reporter. A resident of Richfield, Conn., he had been undergoing treatment for his illness in New York and Connecticut. — **Robert Vaughn, 1932-2016:** The urbane actor who starred as the American spy Napoleon Solo on the slick 1960s NBC series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. died on Nov. 11, 2016. Vaughn, who received an Oscar nomination for playing Paul Newman's hard-drinking buddy Chet in the 1959 drama "The Young Philadelphians," died of acute leukemia in a hospital on the East Coast, his manager Matthew Sullivan told The Hollywood Reporter. A resident of Richfield, Conn., he had been undergoing treatment for his illness in New York and Connecticut.
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Edward Albee, 1928-2016: Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, who challenged theatrical convention in masterworks such as "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "A Delicate Balance," died Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, at his home in Montauk, east of New York. He was 88. With the deaths of Arthur Miller and August Wilson in 2005, he was arguably America’s greatest living playwright. — **Edward Albee, 1928-2016:**
Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, who challenged theatrical convention in masterworks such as "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "A Delicate Balance," died Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, at his home in Montauk, east of New York. He was 88. With the deaths of Arthur Miller and August Wilson in 2005, he was arguably America’s greatest living playwright.
SARA KRULWICH

Juan Gabriel, 1950-2016: Gabriel, a superstar Mexican songwriter and singer who was an icon in the Latin music world, died August 28, 2016 at his home in Southern California at age 66. Mr. Gabriel was Mexico’s leading singer-songwriter and top-selling artist. His ballads about love and heartbreak and bouncy mariachi tunes became hymns throughout Latin America and Spain and with Spanish speakers in the United States. — **Juan Gabriel, 1950-2016:**
Gabriel, a superstar Mexican songwriter and singer who was an icon in the Latin music world, died August 28, 2016 at his home in Southern California at age 66. Mr. Gabriel was Mexico’s leading singer-songwriter and top-selling artist. His ballads about love and heartbreak and bouncy mariachi tunes became hymns throughout Latin America and Spain and with Spanish speakers in the United States.
Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press

Garry Marshall, 1934-2016: Writer-director Garry Marshall, whose deft touch with comedy and romance led to a string of TV hits that included "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" and the box-office successes “Pretty Woman” and "Runaway Bride," died Tuesday, July 19, 2016. He was 81. Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, California, of complications from pneumonia after having a stroke. Marshall was the brother of actress-director Penny Marshall. — **Garry Marshall, 1934-2016:**
Writer-director Garry Marshall, whose deft touch with comedy and romance led to a string of TV hits that included "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" and the box-office successes “Pretty Woman” and "Runaway Bride," died Tuesday, July 19, 2016. He was 81. Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, California, of complications from pneumonia after having a stroke. Marshall was the brother of actress-director Penny Marshall.
Rich Fury/AP

Sydney Schanberg, 1934-2016: Sydney H. Schanberg, a former correspondent for The New York Times awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the genocide in Cambodia in 1975 — and whose story of the survival of his assistant inspired the film "The Killing Fields" — died Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He was 82. Above, Schanberg, left, talks with his former assistant Dith Pran at the New York Times office in New York. Dith died in 2008. — **Sydney Schanberg, 1934-2016:**
Sydney H. Schanberg, a former correspondent for The New York Times awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the genocide in Cambodia in 1975 — and whose story of the survival of his assistant inspired the film "The Killing Fields" — died Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He was 82. Above, Schanberg, left, talks with his former assistant Dith Pran at the New York Times office in New York. Dith died in 2008.
AP

Pat Summitt, 1952-2016: Pat Summitt, who was at the forefront of a broad ascendance of women’s sports, winning eight national basketball championships at the University of Tennessee and more games than any other Division I college coach, male or female, died Tuesday, June 28, 2016. She was 64. Summitt stepped down after 38 seasons and 1,098 victories at Tennessee in April 2012, at 59, less than a year after she learned she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. — **Pat Summitt, 1952-2016:**
Pat Summitt, who was at the forefront of a broad ascendance of women’s sports, winning eight national basketball championships at the University of Tennessee and more games than any other Division I college coach, male or female, died Tuesday, June 28, 2016. She was 64. Summitt stepped down after 38 seasons and 1,098 victories at Tennessee in April 2012, at 59, less than a year after she learned she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Stephan Savoia/AP

Morley Safer, 1931-2016: Morley Safer, the veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent who was equally at home reporting on social injustices, the Orient Express and abstract art, and who exposed a military atrocity in Vietnam that played an early role in changing Americans’ view of the war, died Thursday, May 19, 2016. He was 84. Safer, who had been in declining health, died at his home in Manhattan. He announced his retirement last week. — **Morley Safer, 1931-2016:**
Morley Safer, the veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent who was equally at home reporting on social injustices, the Orient Express and abstract art, and who exposed a military atrocity in Vietnam that played an early role in changing Americans’ view of the war, died Thursday, May 19, 2016. He was 84. Safer, who had been in declining health, died at his home in Manhattan. He announced his retirement last week.
John Paul Filo/AP

Chyna, 1970-2016: Chyna, the tall, muscle-bound, raven-haired pro-wrestler who rocketed to popularity in the 1990s after taking on both women and men in the ring and later revealed her struggles with addiction on reality TV, dies Wednesåay, April 20, 2016. She was 46. The former World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler was found her dead in her Redondo Beach, Calif., apartment. — **Chyna, 1970-2016:**
Chyna, the tall, muscle-bound, raven-haired pro-wrestler who rocketed to popularity in the 1990s after taking on both women and men in the ring and later revealed her struggles with addiction on reality TV, dies Wednesåay, April 20, 2016. She was 46. The former World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler was found her dead in her Redondo Beach, Calif., apartment.
Kevork Djansezian/AP

Patty Duke, 1946-2016: Patty Duke, who as a teen won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker," then maintained a long career while battling personal demons, died Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the age of 69 of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. She died in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, where she had lived for the past quarter-century. Duke starred in her own sitcom, The Patty Duke Show," which aired for three seasons. She played dual roles as identical cousins. — **Patty Duke, 1946-2016:**
Patty Duke, who as a teen won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker," then maintained a long career while battling personal demons, died Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the age of 69 of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. She died in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, where she had lived for the past quarter-century. Duke starred in her own sitcom, The Patty Duke Show," which aired for three seasons. She played dual roles as identical cousins.
ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images

Mother Angelica, 1923-2016: Mother Mary Angelica, a folksy Roman Catholic nun who used a monastery garage to begin a television ministry that grew into a global religious media empire, has died. She was 92. Known to millions of viewers simply as "Mother Angelica," the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network died Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, at the rural Alabama monastery where she lived about 45 miles north of Birmingham. — **Mother Angelica, 1923-2016:**
Mother Mary Angelica, a folksy Roman Catholic nun who used a monastery garage to begin a television ministry that grew into a global religious media empire, has died. She was 92. Known to millions of viewers simply as "Mother Angelica," the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network died Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, at the rural Alabama monastery where she lived about 45 miles north of Birmingham.
PHILIP HOLMAN/AP

Keith Emerson, 1944-2016: Keith Emerson, founder and keyboardist of the progressive-rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, died Thursday, March 10, 2016. He was 71. The cause appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Emerson, drummer Carl Palmer and vocalist guitarist Greg Lake were giants of progressive rock in the 1970s, recording six platinum-selling albums. — **Keith Emerson, 1944-2016:**
Keith Emerson, founder and keyboardist of the progressive-rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, died Thursday, March 10, 2016. He was 71. The cause appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Emerson, drummer Carl Palmer and vocalist guitarist Greg Lake were giants of progressive rock in the 1970s, recording six platinum-selling albums.
Michael Putland/Getty Images

David Bowie, 1947-2016: David Bowie, the chameleon-like star who transformed the sound — and the look — of rock with his audacious creativity and his sexually ambiguous makeup and costumes, died of cancer Sunday. Bowie, whose hits included "Space Oddity," ''Fame," ''Heroes" and "Let's Dance," died surrounded by family on Jan. 11, 2016. The singer, who was 69, had fought cancer for 18 months. — **David Bowie, 1947-2016:**
David Bowie, the chameleon-like star who transformed the sound — and the look — of rock with his audacious creativity and his sexually ambiguous makeup and costumes, died of cancer Sunday. Bowie, whose hits included "Space Oddity," ''Fame," ''Heroes" and "Let's Dance," died surrounded by family on Jan. 11, 2016. The singer, who was 69, had fought cancer for 18 months.

Evening Standard/Getty Images

Mic Gillette, renowned trumpet and trombone player and founding member of the legendary Oakland funky soul band Tower of Power, died suddenly of a heart attack over the weekend. He was 64.

Gillette started playing with members of seminal funk outfit back in 1966 and as first trumpet, he was a powerful sonic force behind Tower of Power’s rise to prominence in the 1970s.

“The Tower of Power family was stunned today by the news that Mic Gillette, our dear friend and bandmate going back to 1966, passed away,” bandleader Emilio Castillo announced on the group’s website Sunday night.

Article continues below this ad

“Mic was without a doubt the greatest brass player I've ever known,” he said. “Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Julia and his daughter Megan and their entire family."

While bands like the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead were shaping the rock scene at the height of the 1960s psychedelic movement in San Francisco, Tower of Power carved out its own funky niche across the Bay in Oakland.

The group had several top 40 radio hits through the 1970s, including “You Are Still a Young Man” and the 1973 grooving classic “What is Hip?”

During his more than four-decade-long music career, Gillette played with huge names in the business, including Santana, the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Elton John and dozens of others.

Article continues below this ad

But after years of touring with Tower of Power, Gillette decided to call it quits in the mid-1980s and settled down with his family.

Gillette, though, never quit music. He continued to do session work and played around Northern California with the Mic Gillette Band that included his daughter, Megan McCarthy.

“My father was a pillar of strength, the brightest light in any room and most genuine soul of anyone I will ever meet, and I am lucky enough to be his one and only child,” McCarthy wrote on the band’s Facebook page.

Gillette briefly rejoined Tower of Power in 2009 where he played and toured full-time for two years.

Article continues below this ad

He was also passionate about teaching music and worked with students at East Bay middle and high schools up until his death.

“My heart will never be as full,” McCarthy said, “and the music will never be as lively.”

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky