January •
January 1 –
Salvatore Bonanno, leader of organized crime (b.
1932) •
January 6 –
Ken Nelson, record producer and music executive (born
1911) •
January 7 •
Philip Agee, spy and writer, died in
Cuba (b.
1935) •
Buddy LeRoux, businessman and American baseball executive (b.
1930) •
January 10 •
Christopher Bowman, figure skater (b.
1967) •
Maila Nurmi, Finnish-born American actress and television personality (b.
1922) •
January 11 –
Carl Karcher, businessman (b.
1917) •
January 13 –
Johnny Podres, American baseball player (b.
1932) •
January 15 –
Brad Renfro, actor (b.
1982) •
January 17 •
Bobby Fischer, American-born Icelandic chess grandmaster (b.
1943) •
Ernie Holmes, American football player (b.
1948) •
Allan Melvin, actor (b.
1923) •
January 18 •
Georgia Frontiere, American football team owner, entertainer, and philanthropist (b.
1927) •
Lois Nettleton, actress (b.
1927) •
January 19 •
Frances Lewine, journalist (b.
1921) •
Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b.
1937) •
John Stewart, singer and songwriter (b.
1939) •
January 22 •
Roberto Gari, actor (b.
1920) •
Miles Lerman, Polish-born American activist and museum administrator (b.
1920) •
Heath Ledger, Australian actor and director, died in
New York City (b.
1979) •
January 24 –
Randy Salerno, television journalist (b.
1963) •
January 26 –
Christian Brando, actor and son of
Marlon Brando (b.
1958) •
January 27 –
Gordon B. Hinckley, minister and executive (b.
1910) •
January 28 –
Frances Dewey Wormser, actress, entertainer and vaudeville performer (b.
1903) •
January 29 •
Raymond Jacobs, marine, member of the
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (b.
1925) •
Margaret Truman, singer, writer, historian, and daughter of
Harry S. Truman (b.
1924)
February •
February 1 –
Shell Kepler, actress (b.
1958) •
February 2 •
Earl Butz, 18th United States Secretary of Agriculture (1971-1976) (b.
1909) •
Joshua Lederberg, Nobel molecular biologist and college administrator (b.
1925) •
February 4 •
Harry Richard Landis, World War I soldier (b.
1899) •
Sheldon Brown, bicycle mechanic and writer (b.
1944) •
February 6 –
John McWethy, journalist (b.
1947) •
February 8 –
Phyllis A. Whitney, Japanese-born American writer (b.
1903) •
February 10 –
Roy Scheider, American actor and boxer (b.
1932) •
February 11 –
Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American United States Representative from California (1981-2008) (b.
1928) •
February 12 •
Oscar Brodney, screenwriter and lawyer (b.
1907) •
David Groh, actor (b.
1939) •
February 13 –
Roger Voisin, French-born American musician (b.
1918) •
February 15 –
Johnny Weaver, wrestler and sportscaster (b.
1935) •
February 21 –
Ben Chapman, actor (b.
1928) •
February 24 –
Larry Norman, musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer (b.
1947) •
February 26 –
Buddy Miles, musician (b.
1947) •
February 27 •
William F. Buckley Jr., writer and commentator (b.
1925) •
Boyd Coddington, automobile producer and television host (b.
1944) •
Myron Cope, American football sportscaster (b.
1929) •
February 28 –
Joseph M. Juran, Romanian-born American management consultant and engineer (b.
1904)
March •
March 4 –
Gary Gygax, writer and game designer (b.
1938) •
March 5 –
Joseph Weizenbaum, German writer and computer scientist, died in
Ludwigsfelde-
Gröben (b.
1923) •
March 9 –
Gus Giordano, dancer (b.
1923) •
March 12 –
Howard Metzenbaum, United States Senator from Ohio (1974, 1976-1995) (b.
1917) •
March 15 –
Vicki Van Meter, aviator (b.
1982) •
March 16 •
Ivan Dixon, actor, director, and producer (b.
1931) •
Gary Hart, wrestler and wrestling manager (b.
1942) •
March 20 –
Abigail Rose Taylor, notable accident victim (b.
2001) •
March 22 –
Cachao López, Cuban musician, died in
Coral Gables, Florida (b.
1918) •
March 23 –
Al Copeland, entrepreneur, died in
Munich,
Germany (b.
1944) •
March 24 •
Hal Riney, businessman, founded
Publicis & Hal Riney (b. 1932) •
Richard Widmark, actor (b.
1914) •
March 28 •
Herb Rich, American football player (b.
1928) •
Ron Slinker, wrestler (b.
1945) •
Helen Yglesias, writer (b.
1915) •
March 30 •
Douglas Kent Hall, American writer and photographer (b. 1938) •
Sean Levert, American singer (b.
1968) •
Dith Pran, Cambodian-born American photojournalist (b.
1942) •
March 31 –
Jules Dassin, film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, and husband of
Melina Mercouri, died in
Athens, Greece (b.
1911)
April •
April 2 –
Ray Poole, American football player and coach (b.
1921) •
April 5 –
Charlton Heston, actor (b.
1923) •
April 8 –
Stanley Kamel, actor (b.
1943) •
April 11 –
Merlin German, soldier and charity founder. (b.
1985) •
April 12 –
Barbara McDermott, last American survivor of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania (b.
1912) •
April 13 –
John Archibald Wheeler, physicist (b.
1911) •
April 14 –
Ollie Johnston, animator (b.
1912) •
April 15 –
Hazel Court, English actress (b.
1926) •
April 16 •
Joe Feeney, tenor (b.
1931) •
Edward Norton Lorenz, mathematician and meteorologist (b.
1917) •
Joseph Solman, painter (b.
1909) •
April 17 •
Danny Federici, musician (b.
1950) •
Nicolette Goulet, Canadian-American actress (b.
1956) •
April 18 –
Joy Page, actress (b.
1924) •
April 21 –
Al Wilson, singer (b.
1939) •
April 22 –
Paul Davis, singer, songwriter, and musician (b.
1948)
May •
May 1 •
Buzzie Bavasi, American baseball executive (b.
1914) •
Elaine Dundy, American writer and actress (b.
1921) •
Jim Hager, American country music singer and television actor (
Hee Haw) (b.
1947) •
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American escort agency proprietor (b.
1955) •
May 2 –
Beverlee McKinsey, actress (b.
1935) •
May 4 –
Fredric J. Baur, chemist and inventor (b.
1918) •
May 5 •
Irv Robbins, Canadian-born American entrepreneur (b.
1917) •
Jerry Wallace, American country and pop singer (b. 1928) •
May 8 –
Eddy Arnold, American singer, songwriter, and musician (b.
1918) •
May 9 –
Judy Grable, American professional wrestler (b.
1935) •
May 11 –
Dottie Rambo, singer, songwriter, and musician (b.
1934) •
May 12 –
Robert Rauschenberg, artist (b.
1925) •
May 13 –
John Phillip Law, actor (b.
1937) •
May 15 •
Alexander Courage, composer (b.
1919) •
Willis Lamb, Nobel physicist (b.
1913) •
May 16 –
Robert Mondavi, winemaker (b.
1913) •
May 18 –
Joseph Pevney, film and television director (b.
1911) •
May 20 –
Hamilton Jordan, 8th White House Chief of Staff (1979-1980) (b.
1944) •
May 22 –
Robert Asprin, writer (b.
1946) •
May 23 –
Cornell Capa, Hungarian-American photographer (b. 1918) •
May 24 –
Dick Martin, comedian, television director, actor, and producer (b.
1922) •
May 25 –
J. R. Simplot, American businessman, founded the
Simplot Company (b.
1909) •
May 26 •
Earle Hagen, composer (b.
1919) •
Sydney Pollack, American actor, director, and producer (b.
1934) •
May 28 –
Robert Justman, television producer and director (b.
1926) •
May 29 –
Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (b.
1927)
June •
June 2 •
Bo Diddley, singer, songwriter and musician (b. 1928) •
Mel Ferrer, actor, director and producer, spouse of
Audrey Hepburn (b.
1917) •
June 6 –
Dwight White, American football player (b.
1949) •
June 7 –
Jim McKay, television sports journalist (b.
1921) •
June 9 –
Algis Budrys, science fiction writer (b.
1931 in Lithuania) •
June 10 –
John Rauch, American football player and coach (b.
1927) •
June 12 –
Charlie Jones, television sportscaster and actor (b.
1930) •
June 13 –
Tim Russert, television journalist and lawyer (b.
1950) •
June 15 •
Johnathan Goddard, American football player (b.
1981) •
Stan Winston, film and television special effects and makeup artist (b.
1946) •
June 16 –
Caylee Anthony, alleged murder victim (b.
2005) •
June 17 –
Cyd Charisse, actress and dancer, spouse of
Tony Martin (b.
1922) •
June 19 –
Bennie Swain, basketball player and coach (b.
1930) •
June 21 •
Scott Kalitta, race car driver (b.
1962) •
Kermit Love, puppeteer and costume designer (b.
1916) •
June 22 •
George Carlin, writer, actor, comedian and obscenity law central figure (b.
1937) •
Dody Goodman, actress (b.
1914) •
June 24 –
Leonid Hurwicz, Nobel economist and mathematician (b.
1917 in Russia) •
June 26 –
Katherine Loker, philanthropist (b.
1915) •
June 27 •
Polk Robison, basketball coach (b.
1912) •
Michael Turner, comic book artist (b.
1971) •
June 29 –
Don S. Davis, actor and soldier, died in
Gibsons, British Columbia,
Canada (b.
1942)
July •
July 1 •
John Pont, American football coach (b.
1927) •
Mark Dean Schwab, murderer (b.
1968) •
July 3 –
Larry Harmon, clown (b.
1925) •
July 4 •
Jesse Helms, United States Senator from North Carolina (1973-2003) (b.
1921) •
Evelyn Keyes, American actress and wife of
John Huston and
Artie Shaw (b.
1916) •
Terrence Kiel, American football player (b.
1980) •
July 6 –
Bobby Durham, jazz drummer (b.
1937) •
July 11 –
Michael E. DeBakey, surgeon and inventor (b.
1908) •
July 12 •
Bobby Murcer, baseball player and broadcaster (b.
1946) •
Tony Snow, journalist and 25th White House Press Secretary (2006-2007) (b.
1955) •
July 16 –
Jo Stafford, American singer (b. 1917) •
July 21 –
K-Swift, American disc jockey and MC (b.
1978) •
July 22 –
Estelle Getty, actress (b.
1923) •
July 25 •
Johnny Griffin, American saxophonist (b. 1928) •
Randy Pausch, writer and computer scientist (b.
1960)
August •
August 9 –
Bernie Mac, American actor and comedian (b.
1957) •
August 10 •
Fred Crane, American actor and announcer (b.
1918) •
Isaac Hayes, American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor (b.
1942) •
August 11 –
George Furth, American librettist, playwright, and actor (b.
1932) •
August 12 –
Patricia W. Malone, American naval officer (b.
1924) •
August 13 •
Sandy Allen, American tallest woman in the world (according to
Guinness World Records) (b.
1955) •
Jack Weil, American entrepreneur (b.
1901) •
August 15 •
James Orthwein, American businessman (b.
1924) •
Leroy Sievers, American journalist (b.
1955) •
Jerry Wexler, American music producer and journalist (b.
1917) •
August 16 –
Roberta Collins, American actress (b.
1944) •
August 17 –
Philip Saffman, English-American mathematician (b.
1931) •
August 18 –
Pervis Jackson, R&B singer (b.
1938) •
August 19 •
Julius Carry, American actor (b.
1952) •
LeRoi Moore, American musician (b.
1961) •
August 20 –
Phil Guy, American blues guitarist (b.
1940) •
August 23 –
Thomas Huckle Weller, American Nobel virologist (b.
1915) •
August 25 –
Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (b.
1964) •
August 28 •
Phil Hill, American race car driver (b.
1927) •
Wonderful Smith, American comedian (b.
1911) •
August 29 –
Bela E. Kennedy, American politician (b.
1918) •
August 30 –
Killer Kowalski, Polish-Canadian wrestler (b.
1926)
September •
September 1 •
Don LaFontaine, American television show and advertisement announcer (b.
1940) •
Jerry Reed, American singer, songwriter, actor, and guitarist (b. 1937) •
September 2 –
Bill Melendez, Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer (b.
1916) •
September 6 –
Anita Page, American actress (b.
1910) •
September 9 –
Warith Deen Mohammed, American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher and revivalist (b.
1933) •
September 12 –
David Foster Wallace, American writer and columnist (b.
1962) •
September 14 –
Hyman Golden, American businessman (b.
1923) •
September 19 –
Earl Palmer, American R&B Drummer (b.
1924) •
September 26 –
Paul Newman, American actor, film director, entrepreneur and philanthropist (b.
1925)
October •
October 1 •
Robert Arthur, American actor (b.
1925) •
Nick Reynolds, American musician (b.
1933) •
October 5 –
Kim Chan, Chinese-American actor (b.
1917) •
October 11 –
Neal Hefti, American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger (b.
1922) •
October 15 –
Edie Adams, American actress, singer, comedian, businesswoman (b. 1927) •
October 17 –
Levi Stubbs, American singer and actor (b.
1936) •
October 19 •
Mr. Blackwell, American actor, fashion designer and critic (b.
1922) •
Rudy Ray Moore, American actor, musician, and comedian (b.
1927) •
October 18 –
Dee Dee Warwick, American singer, sister of
Dionne Warwick (b.
1942) •
October 19 –
Richard Blackwell, American journalist and fashion critic (b.
1922) •
October 24 –
Merl Saunders, American musician, pianist, and keyboardist (b.
1934) •
October 25 •
Anne Pressly, American news anchor (b.
1982) •
Estelle Reiner, American actress and singer (b.
1914) •
October 26 –
Tony Hillerman, American writer (b.
1925) •
October 29 –
William Wharton, American author (b. 1925) •
October 31 –
Studs Terkel, American writer, broadcaster, and historian (b.
1912)
November •
November 1 –
Tiffany Sloan, American model (b.
1973) •
November 4 •
Michael Crichton, American physician, writer, screenwriter, film and television director and producer (b.
1942) •
November 10 –
Arthur Shawcross, American serial killer (b.
1945) •
November 12 •
Catherine Baker Knoll, American educator and politician, 30th
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania (b.
1930) •
Mitch Mitchell, British musician, died in
Portland, Oregon (b.
1947) •
November 13 –
Jules Archer, American historian and author (b.
1915) •
November 21 –
Brenden Foster, notable cancer patient (b.
1997) •
November 22 –
MC Breed, American rapper (b.
1971)
December •
December 1 –
Paul Benedict, American actor (b.
1938) •
December 2 •
Kathleen Baskin-Ball, American minister (b.
1958) •
Odetta, American singer, American songwriter, musician, actress, and civil rights activist (b.
1930) •
December 4 –
Forrest J. Ackerman, American writer, columnist, actor, and science-fiction collector (b.
1916) •
December 5 •
Nina Foch, Dutch-born American actress (b. 1924) •
Beverly Garland, American actress and businesswoman (b.
1926) •
December 6 –
Sunny von Bülow, socialite and alleged murder victim, wife of
Claus von Bülow (b.
1931) •
December 8 •
Robert Prosky, American actor (b.
1930) •
William S. Stevens, American lawyer (b.
1948) •
December 11 •
Maddie Blaustein, American actress (b.
1960) •
Bettie Page, American model and actress (b.
1923) •
December 12 –
Van Johnson, American actor (b. 1916) •
December 14 –
Mike Bell, American professional wrestler (b.
1971) •
December 15 –
John W. Powell, Chinese-American journalist (b.
1919) •
December 16 –
Sam Bottoms, American actor (b.
1955) •
December 17 –
Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (b.
1914) •
December 18 •
Majel Barrett, American actress, producer (b. 1932) •
Mark Felt, American FBI agent also known as "
Deep Throat" from the Watergate scandal (b.
1913) •
December 19 –
James Bevel, American minister and civil rights activist (b.
1936) •
December 20 –
Robert Mulligan, American film and television director (b.
1925) •
December 24 –
Harold Pinter, British Nobel writer, screenwriter, director, and actor, died in
London,
United Kingdom (b.
1930) •
December 25 •
Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer (b. 1927) •
Ann Savage, American actress (b.
1921) •
December 29 –
Freddie Hubbard, musician (b.
1938) •
December 31 –
Donald E. Westlake, American writer and screenwriter (b.
1933) == See also ==