References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1979 January 3 Conrad Hilton, US founder (Hilton Hotels), dies at age 91. [1] January 5 Charles Mingus, US jazz bassist/composer/orchestra leader, dies of heart attack at age 56. [1] January 7 Zbigniew Turski, composer, dies at age 70. [1] January 9 Avery Claflin, composer, dies at age 80. [1] Sara Carter, vocalist/guitarist (Carter Family), dies at age 80. [1] January 11 Jack Soo, actor (Nick Yemana - Barney Miller, Green Berets), dies at age 63. [1] January 13 Donny Hathaway, of Chicago, Illinois, rocker (Ghetto), commits suicide at age 33. [1] January 16 Fred Elizalde, composer, dies at age 71. [1] Ted Cassidy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, actor (Lurch - Addams Family), dies at age 46. [1] January 18 Cyril Mockridge, composer, dies at age 82. [1] January 19 Paul Meurisse, actor (Diabolique, Truth, Suspects, Monocle), dies. [1] January 22 Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes. [1] January 24 Jerry Damon, comedian (That Was The Week That Was), dies at age 51. [1] Mabel Taliaferro, actress (My Love Come Back), dies at age 91. [1] January 25 J Robertson Hare, actor (Fighting Stock), dies at age 87. [1] January 26 Nelson Rockefeller, former Vice President and four time Governor of New York, dies at age 70. [1] February 1 Mort Marshall, actor (Cully-Dumplings), dies at age 60. [1] February 2 Jim Burke, cricketer (Australian opener), commits suicide. [1] Sid Vicious [John Simon Ritchie], bassist (Sex Pistols), dies of a heroin overdose at age 31. [1] February 3 Jody Gilbert, actress (Willard, Shaggy, Blonde Dynamite), dies. [1] February 5 Eddie Paynter, cricketer (20 Tests for England, average 59.23), dies. [1] February 6 Alain Teister, Dutch sculptor/writer, dies at age 47. [1] Arthur van Schendel, Dutch art historian, dies at age 68. [1] February 7 Josef Mengele, concentration camp doctor, drowns. [1] February 8 Nikolay Semyonovich Tikhonov, Russian poet, dies at age 82. [1] February 9 C I J Smith, cricket all-rounder (5 Tests for England 1935-37), dies. [1] February 12 Jean Renoir, French writer/director (Human Beast), dies at age 84. [1] February 13 Jean Renoir, actor/director (Rules of the Game), dies at age 84. [1] February 14 Adolph Dubs, US ambassador to Afghanistan, murdered. [1] February 15 Alex Bradford, actor/composer (Your Arms too Short...), dies at age 51. [1] Mehdi Rahimi, Iran General/military Governor of Tehran, executed. [1] February 16 Louise Allbritton, actress (Celia - Stage Door), dies at age 58. [1] Nematullah Nassiri, Iran General/head of Savak, executed. [1] William Gargan, actor (New Adventures of Martin Kane), dies at age 73. [1] February 17 William Gargan, actor (Rain, Bells of Saint Mary), dies at age 73. [1] February 21 Glendon Gibbs, cricketer (Test Cricket West Indies vs Australia 1955), dies. [1] Ray Whitley, composer, dies. [1] February 28 Jane Hylton, English actress (Adventures of Sir Lancelot), dies at age 52. [1] Mr Ed, TV show talking horse, dies. [1] March 1 Dolores Costello, actress (Noah's Ark, Expensive Women), dies at age 73. [1] Molla Mustafa Barzani, Iranian Kurd leader (KDP), dies at age 75. [1] March 2 Edith Craig, actress (Harmony Lane, Smashing Rackets), dies at age 71. [1] Sir Richard Sykes, British ambassador, is assassinated in Holland. [1] March 5 Vicente Ascone, composer, dies at age 81. [1] March 6 Charles Wagenheim, actor (Halligan - Gunsmoke), dies at age 83. [1] March 7 Guiomar Novaes, pianist (Brazilian Order of Merit), dies at age 84. [1] Klaus Egge, Norwegian composer (Fanitullen), dies at age 72. [1] March 8 Gérard Blitz, Dutch 400 metre swimmer (world record), dies at age 78. [1] March 9 Barbara Mullen, actress (Talk of a Million), dies at age 64. [1] March 11 Victor Kilian, actor (Gentleman's Agreement), dies at age 88. [1] March 16 Jean Monnet, French economist/CEO (ECSC), dies at age 90. [1] March 17 Merv Inverarity, cricketer (father of John WA player 1925-40), dies. [1] March 19 Al Hodge, actor (Captain Video), dies at age 65. [1] Richard Beckinsale, actor (Doing Time, Porridge, Lovers), dies at age 31. [1] March 22 Ben Lyon, actor (I Cover the Waterfront, Indiscreet), dies at age 78. [1] March 23 Philip Bourneuf, actor (Big Night, Frankenstein), dies at age 71. [1] March 24 Yvonne Mitchell, writer, dies at age 53. [1] March 25 Anton Heiller, composer, dies at age 55. [1] March 26 Jean Stafford, US author (Boston Adventure), dies at age 63. [1] March 27 Ronald Adam, actor (Phantom Shot), dies at age 82. [1] March 28 Emmett Kelly, circus clown (Weary Willy), dies at age 80. [1] March 29 Melville Cooper, TV panelist (I Got a Secret), dies at age 82. [1] March 30 Airey Neave, British Member of Parliament (Conservatives), killed by terrorist bomb. [1] April 1 Marinus Peijnenburg, Dutch politician, dies at age 51. [1] April 2 Carroll D Rosenbloom, Los Angeles Rams' president, dies at age 72. [1] Ivan Barrow, cricketer (11 Tests for West Indies 1930-39), dies. [1] April 4 Edgar Buchanan, actor (Uncle Joe - Petticoat Junction), dies at age 77. [1] Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, former Pakistani President, hanged in Pakistan at age 51. [1] April 6 M Marie Widlow, softball pitcher (Hall of Fame 1957), dies at age 61. [1] Milton Ager, US composer, dies at age 85. [1] April 7 Bruno Apitz, writer, dies at age 78. [1] April 9 Staats Cotsworth dies at age 71. [1] April 10 Henriëtte P "Hetty" Beck, actress (Dodendans), dies at age 91. [1] Nino Rota, Italian composer (Torquemada), dies at age 67. [1] April 20 Peter Donald, host (Masquerade Party), dies at age 60. [1] April 24 John Carroll, actor (Hired Wife, Fiesta, Geraldine), dies at age 72. [1] April 28 Feliks Roderyk Labunski, composer, dies at age 86. [1] April 29 Julia A Perry, US composer/conductor (Soul Symphony), dies at age 55. [1] May 1 Berkeley Bertram McGarrell Gaskin, cricketer (two Tests for West Indies), dies. [1] May 3 Erin O'Brien-Moore, actress (Nurse Choate - Peyton Place), dies at age 76. [1] May 5 Shirley O'Hara, actress (Wild Party), dies at age 68. [1] May 8 Talcott Parsons, US sociologist, dies at age 76. [1] May 9 Cyrus S Eaton, Canada/US multi-millionaire, dies at age 95. [1] Lan Adomian, composer, dies at age 73. [1] May 10 John Cameron Andrieu Bingham Morton, satirist (Beachcomber), dies. [1] Louis Paul Boon, Flemish writer (Eros and the Lonely Man), dies at age 67. [1] May 11 Joan Chandler dies at age 55. [1] Lester Raymond Flatt, musician (Flatt and Scruggs - "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), dies at age 64. [1] May 13 Nelly Aenders, actress (In Pyama), dies at age 65. [1] May 14 Paul van 't Veeer, Dutch journalist/writer (Vrije Volk), dies at age 57. [1] May 16 Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and civil rights pioneer, dies at age 90. [1] May 23 Hubert van Doorne, auto manufacturer (DAF), dies at age 79. [1] May 24 Jan Arvan, actor (Red Skelton Show, Zorro), dies. [1] May 26 George Brent, actor (Baby Face, Dark Victory, 42nd St), dies at age 75. [1] May 29 Mary Pickford, actress (Coquette, Suds, Secrets), dies at age 86. [1] May 30 Jack Raine, actor (Quartet), dies at age 82. [1] May 31 Nigel Howard, cricketer (England captain 1951-52 tour of India), dies. [1] June 2 Jim Hutton, actor (Ellery Queen), dies at age 45. [1] June 8 Herb Polesie, producer/playwright (20 Questions), dies at age 79. [1] June 11 John Wayne, American film actor starring in over 250 films, dies at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a decade. Notable films: Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962). He produced, directed and starred in The Alamo (1960) and The Green Berets (1968), an won an Oscar for playing Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. [1] [129] June 13 Darla Hood, actress (Little Rascals), dies. [1] June 17 Lou Frizzel, actor (Dusty Rhoades - Bonanza), dies at age 58. [1] June 22 Emory Parnell, actor (Life of Riley), dies at age 85 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. [1] Julius Sommer dies of heart failure, buried in Dayton Ohio. [1] June 29 Lowell George, rocker (Mothers of Invention. Little Feat), dies at age 34. [1] July 1 Richard Ward, actor (Beacon Hill), dies at age 64. [1] July 5 Judson Laire, actor/singer (Papa-Mama), dies at age 76. [1] July 8 John Reed King, TV host (Why?, Let's See), dies at age 64. [1] July 10 Arthur Fiedler, orchestra leader (Boston Pops), dies at age 84. [1] July 12 Minnie Ripperton, singer (Lovin' You), dies of cancer at age 30. [1] July 14 George De Witt, TV host (Name that Tune), dies at age 56. [1] July 22 Hope Summers, actress (Clara - Andy Griffith Show), dies at age 78. [1] July 23 Keith Godchaux, rocker (Grateful Dead), dies in a car accident at age 32. [1] July 24 Archie Duncan, actor (Sherlock Holmes), dies at age 65. [1] August 2 Thurmon Munson is killed in a plane crash at Akron, Ohio at age 32. [1] August 6 Kurt Kaszner, actor (Commander Fitzhugh - Land of the Giants), dies at age 65. [1] August 9 Allan Frank, actor (Charade Quiz), dies at age 64. [1] August 10 Dick Foran, actor (OK Crackerby), dies at age 69. [1] August 17 Vivian Vance, actress (Ethel Mertz - I Love Lucy), dies at age 72. [1] [5] August 25 Stan Kenton, orchestra leader (Music 55), dies at age 67. [1] August 27 Earl Mountbatten, British Admiral of the Fleet, is assassinated by Irish Republican Army. [1] September 8 Jean Seberg, actress, dies at age 40. [1] September 15 Tommy Leonetti, singer/actor (Gomer Pyle USMC), dies at age 50. [1] September 18 Gene Kelly, sportscaster (Sportsreel), dies at age 60. [1] September 21 John McQuade, actor (Charlie Wild Private Detective), dies at age 73. [1] September 27 Jimmy McCullough, musician (Wings), dies of a drug overdose at age 26. [1] October 3 Charles White, artist, dies at age 61 in Los Angeles, California. [1] Claudia Jennings, Playboy playmate (November 1969)/actress, dies at age 29. [1] October 13 Clarence Muse, actor (Sam - Casablanca), dies at age 90. [1] October 22 Jesse Bishop, murderer, dies in Nevada gas chamber. [1] October 26 Park Chung-hee, South Korean President, is assassinated. [1] November 5 Al Capp, cartoonist (Lil' Abner), dies at age 70. [1] November 9 Lewis Charles, actor (Feather and Father Gang), dies at age 59. [1] November 17 John Grascock, of rock group Jethro Tull, dies at age 27 following heart surgery. [1] November 23 Merle Oberon, actress (Assignment Foreign Legion), dies at age 68. [1] November 30 Zeppo Marx dies at age 78. [1] December 2 Vasily Pavlovich Solov'yov-Sedoy, composer, dies at age 72. [1] December 4 Robert Karnes, actor (Max - The Lawless Years), dies at age 62. [1] December 7 Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, first woman full professor at Harvard University, dies. [1] Mari Andriessen, sculptor (Docker), Amsterdam, dies at age 82. [1] Nicolas Born, writer, dies at age 41. [1] Prince Chahryar Shafik, Shah of Iran's nephew, murdered in Paris, France. [1] December 10 Ann Dvorak, actress (G Men, Life of Her Own, Scarface), dies at age 67. [1] Fulton J Sheen, archbishop/religious broadcaster (Life is Worth Living), dies from a heart attack in New York City, New York at age 84. [1] December 11 Claire Carleton, actress (Alice - Cimarron City), dies at age 66 in New York City. [1] December 13 Jon Hall, actor (Ramor of the Jungle), dies at age 66. [1] December 14 Nirode Ranjan Chowdhury, cricketer (two Tests for India, average 205), dies. [1] December 15 Bern Hoffman, actor (Major Dell Conway), dies at age 66. [1] December 21 Bill Anderson, cricketer (Test for New Zealand 1946, scored five and one), dies. [1] December 22 Darryl F Zanuck, film producer (20th Century Fox), dies at age 77. [1] December 24 Dirk Uipko Stikker, Dutch CEO (Heineken)/Secretary-General NATO, dies at age 82. [1] Rudi [Rudolf] Dutschke, German student leader, dies at age 39. [1] December 25 Joan Blondell, actress (Real McCoys), dies at age 70. [1] Lee Bowman, actor (Ellery Queen, Miami Undercover), dies at age 64. [1] December 27 Hafizullah Amin, President of Afghanistan, is murdered. [1] December 30 Richard Rodgers, composer (Rogers and Hammerstein), dies at age 77. [1]