Deaths 1 - 200 of 411
- Jan 1 Gustav Knuth, German actor (Sissi, Freddy Unter Fremden), dies at 85
- Jan 2 Jean de Gribaldy, French road cyclist & team director (Frimatic - Viva, Miko, Sem - France Loire), dies at 64
- Jan 4 Frederik van Heek, Dutch sociologist, dies at 79
- Jan 4 Jack Martin, cricketer (Eng pace bowler, 1-111 & 0-18 in Test), dies
- Jan 4 Peggy Bacon, American author and illustrator (Off With Their Heads), dies at 91
- Jan 5 Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-born Canadian cross-country skier (b. 1875)
- Jan 5 Margaret Laurence, Canadian author (The Stone Angel), dies at 60
- Jan 6 Domingo Santa Cruz Wilson, Chilean composer, dies at 87
- Jan 7 Larry Carr, American pianist (Flight to Rhythm), dies at 72
- Jan 8 Nana Joshi, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (12 tests, 27 dismissals, 1 x 50; Maharashtra CC), dies at 60
- Jan 8 Peter Adams [James H Adams II], American actor (Zorro, Kraft Mystery Theater, Alternative), dies of cancer at 69
- Jan 9 Arthur Lake [Arthur William Silverlake], American actor (Blondie, Topper), dies from a heart attack at 81
- Jan 10 Håkan Malmrot, Swedish swimmer (Olympic gold 200m & 400m breaststroke 1920), dies at 86
- Jan 10 Marion Hutton, American singer (Glenn Miller Orchestra, 1938-42), and actress (In Society), dies of cancer at 67
- Jan 10 Sir David Robinson, English philanthropist and entrepreneur (b. 1904)
- Jan 11 Albert Ferber, Swiss-English pianist (b. 1911)
- Jan 14 Alton Purnell, American Dixieland jazz pianist, and singer, dies at 75
- Jan 14 Douglas Sirk, German American film director (All That Heaven Allows), dies at 86
- Jan 15 Dolores Hawkins, American R&B singer ("Rocks in My Bed"; "A Kiss Before Dying"), dies at 58
- Jan 15 Gerrit Borgers, Dutch literary, dies at 69
- Jan 15 Ray Bolger, American dancer, actor, and singer (Wizard of Oz - "Scarecrow"; Partridge Family - "Grandpa Renfrew"), dies of bladder cancer at 83
- Jan 16 Bertram Wainer, Australian physician pro-abortion access campaigner, dies of a heart attack at 58
- Jan 16 Earl Wilson, American journalist and columnist (Midnight Earl), dies at 79
- Jan 16 Ilse Lagner, German antiwar writer, dies at 87
- Jan 16 Joyce Jameson, American comedienne and actress (Spike Jones Show, The Outlaw Josey Wales), commits suicide at 59
- Jan 16 Robert De Kers [Keersmaeker], Belgian jazz trumpeter and bandleaders, dies at 80
- Jan 17 Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (b. 1908)
- Jan 17 Raymond Scheyven, Belgian minister of Economic Affairs, dies at 75
- Jan 18 George Thalben-Ball, Australian-English organist (Birmingham City Organist, 1949-83), and composer (Elegy), dies at 90
- Jan 18 Renato Guttuso, Italian painter (Flight From Etna; Crucifixion), theater set designer, and politician, dies at 75
- Jan 19 Fred Lohse, German composer and educator, dies at 78
- Jan 19 Gerald Brenan, English writer, dies at 92
- Jan 20 Tom Dollery, cricketer (4 Tests for Eng 1947-50), dies
- Jan 21 Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
- Jan 21 Pieter G Buckinx, Flemish writer (7th Day), dies at 83
- Jan 22 R. Budd Dwyer, American Pennsylvania State Treasurer who shot himself at a televised news conference while facing prison for conspiracy and perjury, shoots himself to death, at 47
- Jan 25 Emil Hlobil, Czech composer, dies at 85
- Jan 27 Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian film animator and director, dies at 72
- Jan 29 Ivo Lhotka-Kalinski, Yugoslav composer, dies at 73
- Jan 30 Angelo Rutherford, actor (Willie-Gentle Ben), dies at 32
- Jan 30 Ken Drake, American actor (Crime & Punishment USA), dies at 65
- Jan 31 Yves Allégret, French film director, dies at 79
- Feb 1 Alessandro Blasetti, Italian film director, dies at 86
- Feb 1 Ernest "Ern" Westmore, American 3rd generation make-up artist (Westmore family) & actor, dies from a heart attack at 82
- Feb 1 Sala Burton, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1983-87), dies of cancer at 61
- Feb 2 Alfred Lion, record founder (Blue Note), dies at 78
- Feb 2 Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (The Guns of Navarone), dies at 64
- Feb 2 Carlos Castilho, Brazilian soccer goalkeeper (25 caps; Fluminense FC 697 games) and manager (Santos FC, SE Palmeiras), dies by suicide at 59
- Feb 2 Patrick "Spike" Hughes, British jazz musician (Cinderella), dies at 78
Liberace (1919-1987)
Feb 4 American Emmy Award-winning pianist, showman (The Liberace Show), and actor (Batman -"Evil Chandell"), dies of AIDS-related pneumonia at 67
- Feb 4 Carl Rogers, American psychologist (Client-Centered Therapy), dies at 85
- Feb 5 E. Michael Burke, sports executive (President New York Yankees, New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden), dies at 70
- Feb 5 William Collier [Charles F Gall Jr], American stage and film actor and producer, dies at 84
- Feb 8 Bronislawa Wajs [Papuscha], Polish-Romani writer, dies at 78
- Feb 8 Harriet MacGibbon, American actress, dies of a pulmonary & cardiac failure at 81
- Feb 9 Larry French, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1940; Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs; Brooklyn Dodgers), dies at 79
- Feb 10 Raymond “Coco” Colignon, Belgian jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader, dies at 80
- Feb 10 Sadequain, Pakistani artist, painter, calligrapher and artist, dies at 56
- Feb 12 Lang Jeffries, Canadian actor (Skip-Rescue 8), dies at 55
- Feb 13 Milford "Curly" Page, New Zealand cricket batsman & captain (14 Tests, 1 x 100, 2x 50, 5 wickets) and rugby union halfback (Canterbury RU), dies at 84
- Feb 14 Bola Sete, Brazilian guitarist, dies at 63
- Feb 14 Karolos Koun, Greek theater director (b. 1908)
- Feb 15 Jimmy Holiday, American soul singer ("How Can I Forget"; Baby I Love You"), and songwriter ("Put A Little Love In Your Heart"), dies of heart failure at 42
- Feb 15 Osmo Lindeman, Finnish jazz pianist, film score composer, pedagogue, and electronic music pioneer, dies at 57
- Feb 16 Dmitri Kabalevsky, Russian pianist and composer (In the Fire), dies at 82
- Feb 17 Hal K. Dawson, American actor (Another Language, Wells Fargo), dies at 90
- Feb 17 Verree Teasdale, American actress (Skyscraper Souls), dies at 83
- Feb 20 Adrian Cruft, British composer, dies at 66
- Feb 20 Ivan Brkanović, Croatian composer (Triptych - Funeral Folk Rite), dies at 80
Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
Feb 22 American pop artist and film producer (Frankenstein, Bad), dies of a heart attack at 58
- Feb 22 David Susskind, TV host (Open End, David Susskind Show), dies at 66
- Feb 22 Glenway Wescott, American writer (Apartment in Athens), dies at 85
- Feb 23 Esmond Knight, British actor (Hamlet, Sleeping Murder), dies from a heart attack at 80
- Feb 24 Jim Connors, American Legendary Radio personality, dies in a car crash at 46
- Feb 25 James Coco, American character actor (Only When I Laugh; Murder by Death), and singer (Man of La Mancha), dies of a heart attack at 56
- Feb 27 Joan Greenwood, British actress and director (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Amorous Mr Prawn), dies of a heart attack at 65
- Feb 28 Anny Ondra, actress (Blackmail), dies at 83
- Feb 28 Nora Kaye, American ballet dancer, and Broadway and film choreographer, dies of cancer at 67
- Mar 2 Randolph Scott, American actor (Ride the High Country, Last of the Mohicans, Western Union), dies at 89
- Mar 3 Danny Kaye [David Daniel Kaminski], American comedian and actor (Danny Kaye Show, White Christmas), dies of heart failure at 76
- Mar 4 Siro Cisilino, Italian composer and musicologist, dies at 83
- Mar 6 Eddie Durham, American pioneering jazz electric guitarist, trombonist (Count Basie; Jimmie Luceford), composer ("Topsy"; "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire"), and bandleader (All-Star Girl Orchestra), dies at 80
- Mar 6 Edward Zorinsky, American (Sen-D-NB, 1976-88), dies at 58
- Mar 9 Bobby Locke, South African golfer (British Open 1949-50, 52, 57), dies of meningitis at 69
- Mar 11 Joe Gladwin, British actor (Nearest and Dearest, No Hard Feelings), dies at 81
- Mar 12 Woody Hayes, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (National C'ship 1954, 57, 61, 68, 70; Ohio State), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Mar 13 Bernhard Grzimek, German zoologist (West Germany), dies at 77
- Mar 13 Fela Sowande, Nigerian musician and composer, dies at 81
- Mar 13 Finn Videro, Danish organist and composer, dies at 80
- Mar 13 Gerald Moore, English pianist (Am I Too Loud), dies at 87
- Mar 15 Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player (Calgary Tigers) and coach, dies at 89
- Mar 15 W. Sterling Cole, American politician (Rep-R-NY, Director International Atomic Energy Agency), dies at 82
- Mar 16 Scott McKay [Carl Chester Gose], American actor (Stage Door, Guest in House, 30 Seconds over Tokyo), dies of kidney failuyre at 71
- Mar 17 Santo Trafficante Jr., American gangster (head of the Trafficante crime family in Florida and Cuba), dies at 71
- Mar 18 Bil Baird, puppeteer (Jack Paar Show), dies at 82
- Mar 19 Arch Oboler, American director, screen and radio writer, and producer (Lights Out, Bwana Devil), dies at 77
- Mar 19 Emile Meyer, actor (Young Jesse James, Lineup), dies
- Mar 19 Louis Broglie, French physicist (Nobel 1929), dies at 94
- Mar 19 Louis Victor de Broglie, French quantum physicist (studied electrons, Nobel Prize for Physics, 1929), dies at 94
- Mar 19 Tony Stratton-Smith, journalist/record co CEO (Charisma), dies at 53
- Mar 20 Norman Harris, American soul, R&B, and disco session guitarist (Philadelphia International; O'Jays; Salsoul Orchestra), dies of cardiovascular disease at 39
- Mar 20 Rita Streich, Russian-German soprano, dies at 66
- Mar 21 Dean Paul Martin, Jr, American singer (Dino, Desi & Billy), and actor (Misfits of Science), dies in a military aircraft crash at 35
- Mar 21 Robert Preston [Meservey], American stage and screen actor and singer (The Music Man; Mame; The Last Starfighter), dies of lung cancer at 68
- Mar 22 Joan Shawlee [Fulton], American actress (Some Like It Hot, Prehistoric Women, The Abbott & Costello Show), dies of cancer at 61
- Mar 23 Adriaan Pitlo, Dutch lawyer, dies at 85
- Mar 25 Henry R LaBouisse, headed UNICEF (1965-79), dies at 83
- Mar 26 Eugen Jochum, German conductor (Hamburg Orchestra), dies at 84
- Mar 26 Walter Abel, American actor (Fury; Suspicion; Dream Girl), dies at 88
- Mar 27 Bruno Kiefer, German-born Brazilian composer, dies at 63
- Mar 27 Lloyd Goodrich, American Arts Museum director, dies at 90
- Mar 28 Maria Augusta von Trapp, Austrian singer who inspired the "Sound of Music" (Trapp Family Singers), dies of heart failure at 82
- Mar 28 Patrick Troughton, English actor (second Doctor in Doctor Who), dies of a heart attack at 67
- Mar 30 Efrain Jonckheer, Premier of the Dutch Antilles, dies at 69
Henri Cochet (1901-1987)
Apr 1 French tennis player (French Open 1926, 28, 30, 32; Wimbledon 1927, 29; US Open 1928), dies at 85
Buddy Rich (1917-1987)
Apr 2 American jazz drummer and band leader (Buddy Rich Band - "Away We Go"), dies at 69
- Apr 3 Hans Gál, Austrian-British composer (Die heilige Ente (The Sacred Duck)), dies at 97
- Apr 3 Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- Apr 4 C. L. Moore, American science fiction and fantasy writer (Judgment Night), dies at 76
- Apr 7 Maxine Sullivan [Marietta Williams], American jazz vocalist and performer ("Going Places"), dies following a seizure at 75
- Apr 8 Francis C. Denebrink, US Naval officer (WW I, WW II, Korea), dies at 90
- Apr 11 Erskine Caldwell, American novelist (Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre), dies at 83
- Apr 11 Kent Taylor [Louis Weiss], American actor (Boston Blackie, Rough Riders), dies at 79
- Apr 11 Primo Levi, Italian chemist and writer (Survival in Auschwitz), dies at 67
- Apr 12 Mike Von Erich, American wrestler
- Apr 14 Karl Höller, German composer, dies at 79
- Apr 17 Carlton "Carly" Barrett, Jamaican reggae drummer (The Upsetters; Bob Marley & Wailers), murdered at 36
- Apr 17 Cecil Harmsworth King, owner of Mirror Group Newspapers (b. 1901)
- Apr 17 Cornelius Van Til, Dutch philosopher and Christian apologist, dies at 91
- Apr 17 Dick Shawn [Richard Schulefand], American character actor and comedian (The Producers - "L.S.D."; Maid to Order), suffers a fatal heart attack on stage in San Diego on stage at 57
- Apr 17 Willie Donnell Smith, American fashion designer (WilliWear), dies of pneumonia at 39
- Apr 19 Hugh Brannum, American actor and singer (Captain Kangaroo - "Mr. Green Jeans"; The Fred Waring Show - "Lumpy"), dies of cancer at 77
- Apr 19 Maxwell D. Taylor, American army general, (WWII Commander 101st airborne), Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff 1962-64), dies at 85
- Apr 20 Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (American Ballet Theater), dies at 78
- Apr 21 Edith Green, American politician (Rep-D-Oregon 1955-74), dies at 77
- Apr 22 Irving Ashby, American jazz and session guitarist (Lionel Hampton - "Flying Home"; Nat King Cole Trio; Oscar Peterson Trio), dies at 66
- Apr 26 John Ernest Silkin, British politician, dies at 64
- Apr 28 Åke Olof Sebastian Uddén, Swedish violist, composer and educator (Royal College Of Music, 1934-70), dies at 84
- Apr 28 Ben Linder, American engineer, murdered by Contras in Nicaragua at 27
- Apr 30 Hugh Dempster, actor (Anna Karenina, Candles at Nine), dies
- May 1 Bobo Holloman, American baseball pitcher (no-hitter on MLB debut 1953; St. Louis Browns), dies of a heart attack at 64
- May 3 Dalida [Yolande Christina Gigliotti], French-Italian actress (The Sixth Day), singer (Bambino), and Miss Egypt 1954, commits suicide at 54
- May 3 Dicky Fuller, cricketer (one Test for WI 1935, one run, 0-12), dies
- May 4 Cathryn Damon, American actress (Mary-Soap, She's Having a Baby), dies of cancer at 56
- May 4 Dick Hillenius, Dutch biologist and writer, dies at 59
- May 4 Paul Butterfield, American blues singer and harmonica player (Paul Butterfield Blues Band; Better Days), dies of drug abuse at 44
William J. Casey (1913-1987)
May 6 American head of the CIA during the Iran-contra scandal (1981-87), dies of aspiration pneumonia at 73
- May 7 Colin Blakely, Northern-Irish character actor (Shattered, Equus, King Lear), dies of leukemia at 56
- May 7 Stewart McKinney, American politician (Rep-R-CT, 1971-87), dies of AIDS at 56
- May 8 Doris Stokes, British psychic medium (b. 1920)
- May 8 Pam Ewing (Victoria Principal) character on Dallas, is killed off
- May 9 Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian statesman & nationalist, dies at 78
- May 11 James Jesus Angleton, American intelligence officer & head of counterintelligence for the CIA (1954-75), dies at 69
- May 12 Victor Feldman, British jazz pianist and drummer, dies of a heart attack at 53
- May 13 Phil Moore, American jazz pianist, arranger, and bandleader, dies at 70
- May 13 Ron Saggers, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (effective NSW & Aussie late 40's), dies at 69
Rita Hayworth (1918-1987)
May 14 American actress (Gilda; Cover Girl; The Lady from Shanghai), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 68
- May 15 John Baur, American museum director and author (American Paintings in 19th Century), dies at 78
- May 15 Wynne Gibson, actor (Night After Night, Aggie Appleby), dies
- May 17 Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist and economist (Nobel 1974), dies at 88
- May 18 Wilbur J. Cohen, American pioneer of social security, worked on the New Deal, dies at 73
- May 19 James Tiptree Jr. [Alice Sheldon], American sci-fi author (Byte Beautiful), dies at 71
- May 21 Alejandro Rey, Argentine-American actor and director (Carlos-Flying Nun), dies lung cancer at 57
- May 21 Archie Carr, American ecologist and zoologist (advocated for conservation of sea turtles), dies at 77
- May 22 Mario Zafred, Italian composer, and opera director dies at 65
- May 23 Karel Albert, Flemish composer (Marieken van Nymeghen), dies at 86
- May 24 Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold, British actress (Gigi; The Music Man), dies at 89
- May 26 Emiliana de Zubeldía, Spanish-Mexican concert pianist, composer - chiefly for guitar (Landscape Basko),and educator (Academy of Music at the University of Sonora, 1947-87), dies at 98
- May 27 John H. Northrop, American biochemist (crystallized enzymes (Nobel 1946)), dies at 95
- May 28 Charles Ludlam, American playwright and actor (Big Easy), dies at 44
- May 29 Alain Vincx, Belgian stuntman, dies in an accident at 40
- May 29 Charan Singh, Indian politician, 5th Prime Minister of India (1979-80), dies at 84
- May 29 Phyllis Tate, English composer, dies at 76
- May 30 Frank Carlson, American politician (Gov/Rep/Sen-R-Ks), dies at 94
- May 30 Melvin "Turk" Murphy, American Dixieland jazz trombonist, dies at 71
- May 31 Dorothy Patrick, Canadian-American actress (Torch Song, New Orleans, High Wall), dies at 65
- May 31 Roy Winsor, American producer (Search for Tomorrow, Love of Life), dies at 75
- Jun 1 Errol W Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados (1961-76), dies at 67
- Jun 1 Rashid Karami, 10 time premier of Lebanon, dies in bomb attack at 65
- Jun 2 Andres Segovia, Spanish classical guitarist and composer, dies at 94
- Jun 2 Sammy Kaye, American orchestra leader (Swing and Sway With Sammy Kaye)), dies of cancer at 77
- Jun 3 Roel Houwink, Dutch writer and poet (1 Man Without Character), dies at 88
- Jun 3 Will Sampson, American Muscogee actor (From Here to Eternity, Yellow Rose), dies at 54
- Jun 6 Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor and playwright (Porridge), dies of stomach cancer at 64
- Jun 7 John Blofeld, writer/translator/Zen practitioner, dies at 73
- Jun 8 Yogi Horton, American R&B and funk drummer (Luther Vandross), commits suicide at 33
- Jun 9 Grandon Rhodes, actor (Gentleman From Nowhere), dies
- Jun 9 Madge Kennedy, actress (Marrying Kind, 3 Bad Sisters), dies
- Jun 10 Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (A Patch of Blue, Beguilled), commits suicide by jumping from the window of her fifth floor Pittsburgh apartment, at 43
- Jun 11 Ralph Guldahl, American golfer (US Masters 1939, US Open 1937-38), dies at 75
Geraldine Page (1924-1987)
Jun 13 American actress (Blue & Gray, Trip to Bountiful), dies at 62
- Jun 14 Les Favell, cricketer (757 runs for Australia), dies
- Jun 15 J A K Cochrane, cricketer (Test for South Africa 1931), dies
- Jun 15 Walter Heller, American economist (Old Myths & New Realities), dies at 71
- Jun 16 John Mikaelsson, Swedish race walker (Olympic gold 10k 1948, 52), dies at 73
- Jun 17 Dick Howser, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star All-Star 1961, 61²; KC A's) and manager (World Series 1977, 78 NY Yankees; KC Royals 1985), dies of brain cancer at 51
- Jun 18 Bruce Marshall, Scottish writer, dies at 87
- Jun 19 Teresa Cormack, New Zealand murder victim (b. 1981)
- Jun 21 Madman Muntz, American entrepreneur, businessman, electrical engineer, TV commercial actor (b. 1914)
Fred Astaire (1899-1987)
Jun 22 American stage and screen tap dancer, singer ("Night And Day"; "Cheek To Cheek"; "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off"), and actor (Royal Wedding; Easter Parade; Swingtime), dies of pneumonia at 88