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

Last updated: 2008 August 9.

1987 January 1 Gustav Knuth, actor (Heidi, Rats), dies at age 85. [1] January 4 F van Heek, Dutch sociologist, dies at age 79. [1] Jack Martin, cricketer (English pace bowler, 1-111 and 0-18 in Test), dies. [1] Peggy Bacon, author/illustrator (Off With Their Heads), dies at age 91. [1] January 5 Margaret Laurence, Canadian author, dies at age 60. [1] January 7 Larry Carr, pianist (Flight to Rhythm), dies at age 72. [1] January 8 P G Joshi, cricketer (12 Tests for India 1951-60, ct 18 stp 9), dies. [1] Peter Adams, actor (Alternative, Blowing Hot and Cold), dies at age 69. [1] January 9 Arthur Lake, actor (Dagwood - Blondie), dies at age 81. [1] January 13 E van Ruller, Dutch journalist/co-founder (Trouw, Loyal), dies. [1] January 14 Death of Douglas Sirk (original name, Claus Detlef Sierck) in Lugano, Switzerland (born in Hamburg, Germany), at age 86; film director with Universal Studios. His credits include Magnificent Obsession (1954), There's Always Tomorrow (1955), Written on the Wind (1956), The Tarnished Angels (1957), and Imitation of Life (1959). [1] [37] January 15 Dolores Hawkins, singer (Guy Mitchell Show), dies at age 58. [1] Gerrit Borgers, Dutch literary, dies at age 69. [1] Ray Bolger, American actor/singer/dancer (Wizard of Oz), dies at age 82 (born 1904). [1] [5] [83] January 16 Earl Wilson, Broadway columnist (Midnight Earl), dies in Yonkers at age 79. [1] Ilse Langen, writer, dies at age 87. [1] Joyce Jameson, comedienne (Spike Jones Show), dies at age 54. [1] January 19 Gerald Brenan, English writer, dies at age 92. [1] January 20 Tom Dollery, cricketer (4 Tests for England 1947-50), dies. [1] January 21 Pieter G Buckinx, Flemish writer (Seventh Day), dies at age 83. [1] Death of Charles Goodell, American politician (born 1926). [83] January 22 R Budd Dwyer, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, facing prison for conspiracy and perjury, shoots himself to death at a televised news conference. [1] [83] January 25 Emil Hlobil, composer, dies at age 85. [1] January 27 Death of Allan V. Cox, American geologist (born 1926). [83] January 29 Ivo Lhotka-Kalinski, composer, dies at age 73. [1] January 30 Angelo Rutherford, actor (Willie - Gentle Ben), dies at age 32. [1] Ken Drake, actor (Crime and Punishment USA), dies. [1] January 31 Yves Allégret, French director (Such a lovely tiny beach), dies at age 79. [1] February 1 Erin Westmore, makeup artist (Hollywood Backstage), dies at age 82. [1] February 2 Alfred Lion, record founder (Blue Note), dies at age 78. [1] Patrick "Spike" Hughes, British jazz musician (Cinderella), dies at age 78. [1] Death of Alistair MacLean, British writer (heart attack) (born 1922). [83] February 3 Death of Donald Aronow, creator of the Cigarette Boat (assassinated) (born 1927). [83] February 4 Liberace, American pianist (Liberace Show), actor (Evil Chandell - Batman), dies at age 67 (born 1919). [1] [83] February 7 David Savoy Jr, rock manager (Hüsker Du), commits suicide at age 24. [1] February 8 Bronislawa Wajs [Papuscha], writer, dies. [1] Harriet MacGibbon, actress (Mrs Drysdale - Beverly Hillbillies), dies. [1] Hendrik Koekoek, founder (Dutch Boer party), dies at age 74. [1] February 10 Death of Robert O'Brien, racing driver (born 1908). [83] February 12 Lang Jeffries, Canadian actor (Skip - Rescue 8), dies at age 55. [1] February 13 M L "Curly" Page, cricketer (New Zealand Test captain 1933), dies. [1] February 14 Bola Sete, guitarist, dies at age 63. [1] Death of Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky, Russian composer (born 1904). [83] February 15 Jimmy Holiday, US singer ("Baby I Love You"), dies at age 42. [1] Osmo Uolevi Lindeman, composer, dies at age 57. [1] February 16 Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky, composer, dies at age 82. [1] February 17 Hal K Dawson, actor (Another Language, Wells Fargo), dies. [1] Verree Teasdale, actress (Skyscraper Souls), dies. [1] February 20 Ivan Brkanovic, composer, dies at age 80. [1] February 22 Andy Warhol, American pop artist/director/writer, dies from complications following gall bladder surgery at age 58 (born 1928). [1] [5] [83] David Susskind, TV host (Open End, David Susskind Show), dies at age 66. [1] Glenway Wescott, US writer (Apartment in Athens), dies at age 85. [1] February 23 Esmond Knight, actor (Black Narcissus, Henry V), dies at age 80. [1] February 25 James Coco, actor (Joe - Dumplings), dies at age 58. [1] February 27 Joan Greenwood, English actress (Gentle Sex, Bad Sister), dies at age 65. [1] February 28 Anny Ondra, actress (Blackmail), dies at age 83. [1] Nora Kaye, US ballet dancer, dies at age 67. [1] March 2 Randolph Scott, American actor (Fort Worth, Gung Ho, Jesse James), dies at age 89 (born 1898). [1] [83] March 3 Danny Kaye, American singer/actor/comedian (Danny Kaye Show), part owner of the Seattle Mariners, dies of heart failure at age 74 (born 1918). [1] [56] March 11 [Wayne] Woody Hayes, football coach (Ohio State), dies at age 74 (born 1913). [1] [83] March 13 Bernhard Grzimek, West German zoologist, dies at age 77. [1] Finn Videro, composer, dies at age 80. [1] Gerald Moore, English pianist (Am I Too Loud), dies at age 87 (born 1899). [1] [83] March 15 Sterling W Cole (Representative-Republican-New York), dies at age 82. [1] March 16 Scott McKay, actor (Guest in House, 30 Seconds over Tokyo), dies at age 71. [1] March 18 Bil Baird, puppeteer (Jack Paar Show), dies at age 82. [1] March 19 Arch Oboler, radio writer (Lights Out), dies at age 77. [1] Emile Meyer, actor (Young Jesse James, Lineup), dies. [1] Louis-Victor de Broglie, French physicist (Nobel Prize 1929), dies at age 94 (born 1892). [1] [83] Tony Stratton-Smith, journalist/record company CEO (Charisma), dies at age 53. [1] March 20 Norman Harris, guitarist (O'Jays), dies at age 39 of heart failure. [1] March 21 Dean Paul Martin, American actor (Billy - Misfits of Science), dies at age 35 (born 1951). [1] [83] Robert Preston, American actor (Harold Hill - Music Man), dies from lung cancer in Montecito, California at age 68 (born 1918). [1] [83] March 22 Joan Shawlee, actress (Abbott and Costello Show), dies at age 58. [1] March 23 Dean Paul Martin, musician/tennis pro, killed in plane crash at age 29. [1] March 25 Henry R LaBouisse, headed UNICEF (1965-79), dies at age 83. [1] March 26 Walter Abel, actor (Suspicion), dies at age 88. [1] Death of Eugen Jochum, German conductor (born 1902). [83] March 27 Lloyd Goodrich, American Arts Museum director, dies at age 90. [1] March 28 Maria Augusta von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (Trapp Family Singers), dies at age 82 in Vermont (born 1905). Her story was made famous by the movie The Sound of Music. [1] [5] [37] [83] Patrick Troughton, British actor (Doctor Who), dies at age 56 (born 1920). [1] [83] April 2 Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer/orchestra leader (Away We Go), dies at age 69 (born 1917). [1] [83] Death of Trevor Hockey, Welsh footballer (born 1943). [83] April 3 Death of Tom Sestak, American football player (born 1936). [83] April 4 C[atherine] L[ucille] Moore, author (Judgment Night), dies at age 76 (born 1911). [1] [83] April 7 Maxine Sullivan [Williams], American actress (Going Places), dies at age 75. [1] April 8 Francis C Denebrink, US Naval officer (WWI, WWII, Korea) dies at age 90. [1] April 11 Erskine Caldwell, novelist (Tobacco Road), dies at age 83. [1] Kent Taylor, actor (Boston Blackie, Rough Riders), dies at age 79. [1] Primo Levi, Italian chemist/writer (Survival in Auschwitz), dies at age 67. [1] April 12 Ewan Calague, economist/statistician (Social Security) dies at age 90. [1] April 14 Karl Holler, composer, dies at age 79. [1] April 15 Death of Masatoshi Nakayama, Japanese Karate Master (born 1913). [83] April 16 Anthony Tudor, dancer/choreographer (American Ballet Theater) dies at age 78. [1] April 17 Carlton Barrett, Jamaican reggae drummer (No woman no cry), dies at age 36 (born 1950). [1] [83] Dick Shawn, American actor/comedian (Producers), dies on stage from a heart attack at age 63 (born 1924). [1] [83] April 19 Milt Kahl dies of cancer (born 1909). He worked on Walt Disney Company animation for 22 short films, and 24 feature films. [36.37] [83] Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum, American actor (Mr Green Jeans), dies at age 77 (born 1910). [1] [83] Maxwell D Taylor, US commander of 101st airborne (WWII), dies at age 85. [1] April 21 Edith S Green (Representative-Democrat-Oregon), dies at age 77. [1] April 26 Death of John Ernest Silkin, British politician (born 1923). [83] April 28 Ben Linder, American development worker, murdered by Contras in Nicaragua (born 1959). [1] [83] April 30 Hugh Dempster, actor (Anna Karenina, Candles at Nine), dies. [1] May 3 Dicky Fuller, cricketer (one Test for West Indies 1935, one run, 0-12), dies. [1] Yolande Christina Dalida dies at age 54. [1] Death of Dalida, French singer (born 1933). [83] May 4 Cathryn Damon, American actress (Mary Campbell - Soap), dies at age 56 (born 1930). [1] [83] Dick Hillenius, Dutch biologist/writer, dies at age 59. [1] Paul Butterfield, American singer/harmonica player, dies of drug abuse at age 44 (born 1942). [1] [83] May 6 William J Casey, director of US Central Intelligence Agency (1981-87), dies at age 73 (born 1913). [1] [83] May 7 Colin Blakely dies at age 56. [1] May 9 Obafemi Awolowo, President of Nigeria (1979-83), dies at age 78. [1] May 12 Victor Feldman, pianist/drummer, dies at age 53. [1] May 14 Rita Hayworth, American actress (Gilda), dies of Alzheimer's disease at age 68 (born 1918). [1] [83] May 15 John Baur, museum director, dies at age 78. [1] Wynne Gibson, actor (Night After Night, Aggie Appleby), dies. [1] May 17 Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist (Nobel Prize 1974), dies at age 88 (born 1898). [1] [83] May 18 Wilbur J Cohen, first employee of US Social Security System, dies at age 73. [1] May 19 Alice B[radley] Sheldon, science-fiction author (Byte Beautiful), dies at age 71. [1] Death of James Tiptree, Jr, American author (born 1915). [83] May 21 Alejandro Rey, actor (Carlos - Flying Nun), dies at age 57. [1] May 22 Mario Zafred, composer, dies at age 65. [1] May 23 Karel Albert, Flemish composer (Marieken van Nymeghen), dies at age 86. [1] May 24 Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold, actress (Gigi, Music Man), dies at age 89. [1] May 27 Death of John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1891). [83] May 28 Charles Ludlam, actor (Big Easy), dies at age 44. [1] May 29 Alain Vincx, Belgian stuntman, dies in an accident at age 40. [1] May 30 Frank Carlson (Governor/Representative/Senator-Republican-Kansas), dies at age 94. [1] Turk Murphy, jazz trombonist, dies at age 71. [1] May 31 Dorothy Patrick, actress (Torch Song, New Orleans, High Wall), dies. [1] June 1 Errol W Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados (1961-76), dies at age 67. [1] Rashid Karami Lebanon, ten-time Prime Minister of Lebanon, dies at age 65. [1] June 2 Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist, dies at age 94 (born 1893). [1] [83] Sammy Kaye, orchestra leader (Sammy Kaye Show), dies at age 77. [1] June 3 Will Sampson, actor (From Here to Eternity, Yellow Rose), dies at age 54. [1] June 6 Death of Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor (born 1922). [83] June 10 Death of Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (suicide) (born 1943). [83] June 13 Geraldine Page, American actress (Blue and Gray), dies at age 62 (born 1924). [1] [83] June 17 With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct. [5] [83] Dick Howser, New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals manager, dies at age 51 of brain cancer. [1] June 19 Death of Teresa Cormack, New Zealand murder victim (born 1981). [83] June 22 Fred Astaire, American actor/dancer, dies at Century City Hospital in Los Angeles, California at age 88 (born 1899). [1] [83] Death of John Harold Hewitt, Northern Irish poet (born 1907). [83] June 24 Jackie Gleason, American actor/comedian (The Honeymooners), dies at age 71 in Fort Lauderdale (born 1916). [1] [5] [83] July 2 Karl Linnas, accused Nazi, dies of heart failure in Russia. [1] Michael Bennet, Chorus Line director, dies of AIDS at age 44. [1] July 10 Death of John Hammond, American record producer (born 1910). [83] July 11 Thomas F Waddell, founder of Gay Olympics, dies of AIDS at age 50. [1] July 17 Death of Kristjan Palusalu, Estonian wrestler (born 1908). [83] Death of Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (born 1934). [83] July 22 Death of Jack Lescoulie, American actor (born 1917). [83] July 25 Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce, dies of internal injuries. [1] July 28 James Burnham, philosopher (Coming Defeat of Communism), dies at age 81. [1] August 10 Clara Peller, actress (Where's the Beef), dies at age 86. [1] August 11 Death of Clara Peller, American actress (born 1902). [83] August 16 Death of Nick Vanos, American basketball player (born 1963). [83] August 17 Rudolf Hess is found dead in his cell in Spandau Prison in Berlin, Germany, where he served 46 years. Hess, age 93, is believed to have committed suicide by hanging himself with an electrical flex. He was the last remaining prisoner at the complex. Hess served the Nazi Party as deputy Führer; he flew to England in 1941 hoping to convince Winston Churchill to join with Germany in the war. [1] [10] [37] [83] August 26 Death of Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1897). [83] August 28 Death of John Huston, American actor (born 1906). [83] August 29 Lee Marvin, American actor, dies in Tucson, Arizona at age 63 (born 1924). [1] [83] September 4 Death of Bill Bowes, British cricketer (born 1908). [83] September 11 Death of Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer and musician (born 1944). [5] [83] Lorne Greene, Canadian actor (Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica), dies at age 72 (born 1915). [1] [5] [83] September 16 Death of Howard Moss, American poet, dramatist, and critic (born 1922). [83] September 17 Death of Harry Locke, British character actor (born 1913). [83] September 21 Death of Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (born 1951). [83] September 23 Death of Bob Fosse, American theater choreographer and director (born 1927). [83] September 25 Death of Mary Astor, Academy Award-winning American actress (born 1906). [83] Death of Harry Holtzman, American abstract artist (born 1912). [83] September 29 Henry Ford II, president of Ford Motor Company, dies in Detroit, Michigan at age 70 (born 1917). [1] [83] October 2 Death of Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1915). [83] October 3 Death of Jean Anouilh, French dramatist (born 1910). [83] Death of Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (born 1947). [83] October 9 Death of William Parry Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1892). [83] October 12 Alfred M Landon, former Kansas Governor, dies at his Topeka home at 100. [1] Philleo Nash, US Bureau of Indian Affairs (1961-67), dies at age 77. [1] October 13 Death of Walter Brattain, American physicist (co-inventor of transistor), Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902). [83] October 16 Dana Suesse, songwriter ("You Ought to be in Pictures"), dies at age 75. [1] October 18 Theodore Brameld, author (Use of Explosive Ideas), dies at age 83. [1] October 19 Death of Jacqueline du Pré, British cellist (born 1945). [83] October 20 Death of Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (born 1903). [83] October 21 Ying-Chin Ho, Taiwan government official, dies at age 88. [1] October 22 Death of Lino Ventura, Italian actor (born 1919). [83] October 24 Constantin Alajalov, Russian artist, dies at age 86. [1] October 25 Cecil Brown, news correspondant (CBS), dies at age 80. [1] October 26 Head of Salvadoran Human Rights Commission assassinated by death squads. [1] October 27 Jean Hélion, artist/author, dies at age 83. [1] October 28 André Masson, French surrealist artist (Labyrinth), dies at age 91 (born 1896). [1] [83] October 29 Kamal El Mallakh dies at age 57. [1] Woody Herman, American bandleader/composer (Thundering Herds), dies at age 74 (born 1913). [1] [83] October 31 Joseph Campbell, American mythologist/writer (Mythic Image), dies at age 83 (born 1904). [1] [83] November 1 René Lévesque, Canadian politician and premier of Quebec (1976-85), dies at age 65 (born 1922). [1] [83] November 4 Raphael Soyer, artist (Depression scenes in New York City), dies at age 87. [1] November 5 Death of Eamonn Andrews, television and radio presenter. [83] November 6 Ross R Barnett, lawyer/Governor-Democrat-Mississippi, dies at age 89. [1] William C Pahlmann, interior decorator (Four Seasons, New York City), dies at age 80. [1] November 11 L T Coggeshall, medical scientist (Secretary of HEW 1956-58), dies at age 86. [1] November 12 Roger Lewis, aviation executive (Lockheed, C Wright, Pan Am), dies at age 75. [1] November 16 Death of Zubir Said, Singaporean composer who composed Singapore's national anthem (born 1907). [83] November 17 Irene Wicker, singer/actress (Singing Lady), dies at age 81. [1] November 21 James E Folsom (Alabama-Governor, 1947-51, 1955-59) dies at age 79. [1] November 25 Harold Washington, mayor of Chicago (Democrat, 1983-87), dies at age 65. [1] Death of Zohar Argov, Israeli singer (born 1955). [83] November 28 Choh Hao Li, bio-chemist professor (isolated growth hormones), dies at age 74. [1] November 29 Howard Pyle (Governor-Republican-Arizona, 1951-55), dies at age 81. [1] November 30 Arthur H Dean, lawyer/advisor to US President Franklin Roosevelt, dies at age 89. [1] Death of James Baldwin, American writer (Another Country), dies at age 63 (born 1924). [83] (December 1 [1]) December 1 Donn Fulton Eisele, Colonel USAF/astronaut, dies of a heart attack at age 57. [1] Death of Punch Imlach, Canadian NHL coach (born 1918). [83] December 2 Death of Luis Federico Leloir, French-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906). [83] Death of Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (born 1914). [83] December 4 Rouben Mamoulian, director (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), dies at age 90. [1] December 5 "Fat" Larry James, US drummer (Fat Larry's Band-Zoom), dies at age 38. [1] December 6 James Dobson, actor (Impulse, Jet Attack, Okinawa), dies. [1] December 10 Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born violinist, dies at age 86 (born 1901). [1] [83] December 12 Louis de Meester, composer, dies at age 83. [1] December 14 Paul Clinton Sundberg, actor (Belle of New York, Easter Parade), dies. [1] December 16 Albert P Morano (Representative-Republican-Connecticut, 1951-59), dies at age 79. [1] December 17 Bernard Cardinal Alfrink, archbishop of Ultrecht, Netherlands, dies at age 87. [1] Marguerite Yourcenard, author (Memoirs of Hadrien), dies at age 84. [1] Death of Linda Wong, porn star (born 1951). [83] December 21 Robert Paige, actor (Son of Dracula, Pardon My Sarong), dies. [1] December 22 Alice Terry [Taaffe], actress (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), dies. [1] Leonidas Zoras, composer, dies at age 82. [1] Mötley Crue's Nikki Sixx overdoses from heroin. [1] December 24 John M "Joop" de Uyl, Dutch social-democratic premier (1973-77), dies at age 68. [1] December 27 Priscilla Dean, actress (Outside the Law), dies of injuries at age 91. [1] Rewi Alley, New Zealand author, pro-Chinese communist, dies at age 90 in Beijing. [1] December 28 Charles Malik, Lebanon's first delegate to the United Nations, dies at age 81. [1] December 31 [Gordon] Randall [P D] Garrett, author (Lord Darcy), dies at age 60. [1]