Winnie T. Pooh

Winnie The Pooh, popular children's character and star of over 30 Disney movies, died June 31, 2006 in his home in Beverly Hills, California. Pooh, who rose to fame in 1966 following his first starring role in Disney's "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," endeared himself to generations of children, and launched his own line of infants' and children's clothing, toys, books and accessories.

Pooh was born in 1925 in East Sussex, England. He had an unremarkable childhood, was an indifferent student, and was known for referring to himself deprecatingly as the "Bear of Very Little Brain." He was discovered in a London haberdashery by a talent agent who was struck by Pooh's innocent sweetness and tubby fluffiness.

Following his meteoric rise to stardom, he became a favorite of gossip columnists and paparazzi. His first marriage in 1972 to Elizabeth Taylor ended in divorce in 1973. Despite their failed marriage, Pooh and Elizabeth Taylor remained close friends until his death.

In 1974, he married his publicist MaryEllen Dixon. Pooh and Dixon had one daughter, Winnifred Dixon, who died in 1990 of a drug overdose. Pooh and Dixon's divorce in 1979 was widely publicized. Dixon accused Pooh of extramarital affairs with both men and women (including Rock Hudson and Annette Funicello), and Pooh refused to deny her
allegations. In one of his last public appearances apart from his films, a 1979 interview on the Mike Douglas Show, Pooh remarked, "She knew what she was getting when she married me." Dixon was granted an exorbitant divorce settlement that forced Pooh to sell his trademark to Sears, Roebuck and Company.

According to Pooh's childhood friend Christopher Robin, Pooh was diagnosed with HIV in 1997. He would not confirm that Pooh died from complications of AIDS. Pooh left behind his long-time companion Piglet, with whom he had lived since 1985. Speaking through Pooh's agent, Piglet issued the following statement: "My dear friend Pooh
passed away peacefully today after a long illness. My heart is broken, along with the hearts of the children across the world who loved Pooh as the carefree 'Silly Old Bear' from the Hundred Acre Woods. We have lost a great bear today, but he will live on in all of us."