Category: Famous Deaths

1839 – Hester Stanhope, English aristocrat, traveller and archaeologist, dies at 63
1893 – Sir Theophilus Shepstone, British-born South African statesman (b. 1817)
1910 – John McGraw, 2nd Governor of Washington (1893-97), dies at 59
1924 – Cecil Sharp, British collector of English folk music and dance, dies at 64
1996 – Pasqualino de Santis, Italian cinematographer, dies at 69
1997 – “Wino” Willie Forkner, American biker (Wild One), dies of a heart attack at 77
2007 – Rod Beck, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1993, 94, 97; San Francisco Giants), dies from a drug overdose at 38
2010 – Allyn Ferguson, American orchestra leader (The Andy Williams Show), and TV theme composer (Barney Miller; Charlie’s Angels), dies at 85
2012 – Alan McDonald, Northern Irish soccer defender (52 caps; QPR 476 games), dies from a heart attack at 48
2024 – Hugo Villanueva, Chilean soccer defender (21 caps; Universidad de Chile 133 games), dies at 85

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1634 – Johann von Aldringen, Austrian field marshal (b. 1588)
1915 – James Murray Spangler, American inventor of portable vacuum cleaner (Hoover), dies at 66
1922 – Henry H Wilson, Field Marshal, murdered in London
1928 – George Siegmann, American actor (Birth of Nation, Queen of Sheba, Oliver Twist), dies from pernicious anemia at 46
1966 – Roger Blunt, New Zealand cricket all-rounder and broadcaster (9 Tests; BBC), dies at 65
1988 – Dennis Day [Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty], Irish-American tenor (“Danny Boy”), radio and television comic actor (Jack Benny Program; A Day in the Life of Dennis Day), dies of ALS at 72
1994 – L. V. Prasad, Indian pioneering filmmaker, dies at 87
2007 – Guy Vander Jagt, American politician (Rep-R-MI, 1966-93), dies at 75
2020 – Carlos Luis Morales, Ecuadorian soccer goalkeeper (40 caps; Independiente, Palestino, ESPOLI), dies from cardiocirculatory arrest at 55
2022 – Alec Head, French horse trainer and breeder (6 x champion trainer France; 4 x Arc de Triomphe; owner Haras du Quesnay), dies at 97

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1040 – Fulk the Black, French Count of Anjou, one of the great medieval castle builders (Langeais, Loches)), dies at 69 or 70
1887 – Adolf Schimon, Austrian German composer, dies at 67
1976 – Margaret Herrick, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences director (b. 1902)
1983 – Anton van de Velde, Belgian writer and director (Tijl), dies at 87
1986 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer, with his lyricist brother, Mansour (Biya el-Khawatim – The Ring Seller), dies at 63
1997 – Arthur Prysock, American jazz and RandB singer (“I Didn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night”; “In The Rain”), dies at 68 or 73 [birth year disputed]
2005 – Jaime Cardinal Sin, Filipino Catholic Archbishop of Manila (b. 1928)
2012 – Richard Adler, American musical theater composer and songwriter (ThePajama Game; Damn Yankees)), dies at 90
2021 – Tom Kurvers, American ice hockey defenseman (Hobey Baker Award 1984; Stanley Cup 1986 Montreal Canadiens), dies from adenocarcinoma at 58
2023 – Winnie Ewing, Scottish lawyer and politician (Member of Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003; President of the Scottish National Party, 1987-2005; Member of the European Parliament, 1979-99), dies at 93

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1842 – Michael Umlauf, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (premiere of Beethoven’s 9th), dies at 60
1925 – Wilhelm Posse, German composer, dies at 72
1948 – George Frederick Boyle, Australian-American composer, dies at 61
1958 – Kurt Alder, German chemist (Nobel 1950), dies at 55
1975 – Daniel Ayala Pérez, Mexican violinist, conductor, and composer, dies at 68
1984 – Hans Studer, Swiss composer, dies at 73
1998 – Conrad Schumann, East German border guard, committed suicide at 56
2011 – [Anna] Ottilie Patterson, Irish blues and jazz singer (Chris Barber Jazz Band), dies at 79
2017 – Prodigy [Albert Johnson], American rapper (Mobb Deep), dies at 42
2024 – Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor (The Dirty Dozen; M*A*S*H (film): Ordinary People; The Hunger Games films), dies from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 88

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1312 – Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall and favourite of Edward II of England beheaded at 27 or 28
1799 – Joseph Bologne, French violinist, conductor, composer, and champion fencer, dies at 51
1947 – Willem H. Fly, Dutch typographer/co-founder (SDAP), dies at 84
1984 – Wladimir Rudolfovich Vogel, composer, dies at 88
1988 – Gladys Spellman, American. Congresswoman (b. 1918)
1993 – William Golding, English author (Lord of the Flies, Nobel Prize for Literature 1983), dies at 81
2010 – Ursula Thiess [Schmidt], German actress (Monsoon, Bengal Brigade, Americano), dies at 86
2017 – Tony DiCicco, American soccer coach (US women 1994-99; FIFA Women’s World Cup gold 1999; FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup gold 2008), dies from cancer at 68
2022 – Brett Tuggle, American session and touring rock keyboard player (David Lee Roth, 1986-94; Fleetwood Mac, 1997-2017), dies of cancer at 70
2023 – Karolis Chvedukas, Lithuanian soccer midfielder (20 caps; FK Sūduva 163 games, Waterford FC), dies at 32

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1669 – Abraham Crijnssen, Swiss admiral, conquered Suriname, dies
1921 – Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, Uruguayan writer (Nativa, Lanza y Sable), dies at 70
1948 – Edward Brooker, British politician (interim Premier of Tasmania, Dec 1947-Feb 1948), dies of a pulmonary edema at 57
1980 – Terence Fisher, English film director (Hammer Films), dies at 76
1995 – Arthur John Howard, British actor (Frieda, Last Holiday, Paradiso, Glass Cage), dies at 85
2005 – J.J. Pickle, American politician (Rep-D-Texas, 1963-95), dies at 91
2006 – Richard Stahl, American actor (Howard-It’s a Living), dies at 74
2018 – Walter Bahr, American soccer midfielder (19 caps) and coach (Penn State), dies of complications broken hip at 91
2018 – Barry McDaniel, American lyric baritone (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 1962-99), dies at 87
2024 – Anouk Aimée [Nicole Dreyfus], French actress (La Dolce Vita; 8 1/2; A Man and A Woman), dies at 92

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1734 – Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, Marshal of France, dies at 81
1963 – Alain F B Alanbrooke, 1st viscount of Brookeborough, dies at 79
1983 – Eelco van Kleffens, Dutch diplomat and politician (Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1939-46; UN Representative, 1946-56), dies at 88
1988 – Elizabeth Lane, 1st female British supreme court justice, dies at 82
1995 – Claire Sterling, American journalist and writer (The Terror Network), dies at 75
2000 – Ismail Mahomed, South African and Namibian Chief Justice, 1st permanent black judge on South African Supreme Court, dies at 68
2001 – Donald J. Cram, American biochemist (development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity – Nobel 1987), dies at 82
2004 – Jackie Paris, American jazz singer and guitarist (“Skylark”), dies at 79
2007 – Gianfranco Ferrè, Italian fashion designer (b. 1944)
2022 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor (A Man and A Woman; Z; Amour), dies at 91

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1777 – Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and dramatist (b. 1709)
1778 – Konrad Ekhof [Hans Konrad Dieterich Eckhof], German actor and director, dies at 57
1779 – Sir Francis Bernard, Governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts (b. 1712)
1850 – William Lawson British-Australian surveyor who explored New South Wales (first route across Blue Mountains), dies at 76
1858 – John Snow, English physician who studied cholera and is considered the ‘Father of modern epidemiology’, dies of a stroke at 45
1955 – Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter, dies at 90
1979 – Nicholas Ray, American film director (Rebel Without a Cause), dies at 67
1999 – (David) “Screaming Lord” Sutch, English rocker (“Jack The Ripper”), and politician (founder of Official Monster Raving Loony Party), commits suicide at 58
2021 – Frank Bonner [Boers], American actor (WKRP in Cincinnati – “Herb Tarlek”; The Hoax; Just The Ten Of Us), and television director, dies of complications from Lewy body dementia at 79
2023 – Manabu Kitabeppu, Japanese Baseball HOF pitcher (Hiroshima Toyo Carp; 7 x NPB All-Star; Central League MVP 1986), dies from leukemia at 65

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1828 – Brizio Petrucci, Italian composer, dies at 91
1858 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French Romantic painter, etcher and sculptor, dies at 63
1943 – Cecil Parkin, English cricket spin bowler (10 Tests, 32 wickets, BB 5/38; Durham CCC) and author (Cricket Reminiscences: Humorous and Otherwise), dies at 57
1961 – Tommy Scott, West Indian cricket spin bowler (8 Tests, 22 wickets; Jamaica), dies at 68
1981 – Philip Toynbee, British journalist and writer (Savage Days, Barricade), dies at 64
2007 – Richard Bell, Canadian musician (Full Tilt Boogie Band), dies of multiple myeloma at 61
2010 – Bekim Fehmiu, Yugoslavian actor (Black Sunday, Permission to Kill, Cagliostro), dies of suspected suicide at 74
2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio personality (creator of American Top 40) and the voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo, dies from Lewy body dementia at 82
2014 – Jacques Bergerac, French actor (Gigi, Les Girls, Thunder in Sun) and business executive (Revlon), dies at 87
2017 – Aleksey Batalov, Russian actor named a People’s Artist of the USSR (1976) and a Hero of Socialist Labour (1989), dies at 88

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1349 – Günther von Schwarzburg, German anti-king 1349 who gave up his claim to the throne for 20,000 marks of silver, dies at about 44
1916 – João Simões Lopes Neto, Brazilian writer (b. 1865)
1951 – Hendrik Baels, Belgian politician, dies at 73
1988 – Johnny Farrell, American golfer (US Open 1928), dies of a stroke at 87
1994 – Lionel Grigson, British jazz musician, dies at 52
1995 – Els Aarne, Estonian composer, dies at 78
1995 – Rory Gallagher, Irish rock guitarist (See Here), dies at 47
1999 – Bernie Faloney, American-Canadian professional football player (Hamilton Tiger-Cats), dies at 66
2016 – Henry McCullough, Irish guitarist (Wings), dies at 72
2023 – Charles L. Blockson, American historian, author, bibliophile, and curator (co-founder of the African American Museum in Philadelphia), dies at 89

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