Death is the great equalizer, as relentless in its pursuit of celebrities as it is common folk. So it should come as no surprise that there were quite a few celebrities among the roughly 100 million souls who met the reaper in 2010.

We've selected six whose deaths this year made us stop what we were doing to reflect upon what they had done and how they had affected us. Now we want to know which of these deaths had the biggest impact on you. If we neglected to mention your favorite celeb who died in 2010, let us know in the comments.

Read on to learn a bit about each of our nominees. (We hope nobody important dies before Saturday and screws up our poll. Looking at you, Aretha.)

Who was the most important celebrity who died in 2010?
Gary Coleman -- little fella never really stood a chance in the big world136 (8.2%)
Corey Haim -- yet Leif Garrett still lives38 (2.3%)
Leslie Nielsen -- don't call him Shirley960 (58.1%)
Rue McClanahan -- thank you for being a friend55 (3.3%)
Dennis Hopper -- we'll never think of Sicilians or PBR the same way321 (19.4%)
JD Salinger -- took it to the grave141 (8.5%)



Gary Coleman
It rarely ends well for wide-eyed, precocious child stars. Sadly, Coleman's drawn-out fall from grace was documented for all to see.

Corey Haim
That, plus a lot more narcotics.

Leslie Nielsen
Dramatic actor with leading-man looks realizes his real talent is spoofing dramatic actors with leading-man looks ... you know the story. We're pretty sure folks won't be laughing as hard at "The Hangover" in 20 years as we do at Nielsen's most famous efforts these days.

Rue McClanahan
 In the year of Betty White, it's important to remember the "Golden Girls" co-stars who helped make it all possible.

Dennis Hopper
The scene-stealing actor and deft director always commanded your attention.

J.D. Salinger
He wrote the seminal book on adolescent alienation and then let it stand for itself by becoming the world's leading recluse.