Deaths in 2008
The following is a list of notable deaths in 2008. Names are listed by date of death, not the date it was announced. Names under each date are listed in alphabetical order by family name.
A typical entry appears in the following sequence:
- Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, established cause of death, reference.
- Paul Newman, 83, American Actor, Anorexia.
- Bob Humphrys, 56, British BBC sports presenter, cancer. [1]
- Levy Mwanawasa, 59, Zambian politician, President since 2002, stroke. [2]
- Genuine Risk, 31, American racehorse, 1980 Kentucky Derby winner. [3]
- Pervis Jackson, 70, American singer (The Spinners), cancer. [4]
- Manny Farber, 91, American film critic and painter. [5]
- Maudie Hopkins, 93, American last certified Civil War widow. [6]
- Vincent Kehoe, 86, American make-up artist, author and president of RCMA Professional Products. [7]
- Farooq al-Obeidi, 59, Iraqi politician, deputy leader of local Sunni Awakening Council, suicide attack. [8]
- Franco Sensi, 82, Italian businessman, president of A.S. Roma since 1993, respiratory failure. [9]
- Dorival Caymmi, 94, Brazilian songwriter and singer, multiple organ failure. [10]
- Ronnie Drew, 73, Irish singer, founding member of The Dubliners, after long illness. [11]
- Otto Leisner, 91, Danish television host. [12] (Danish)
- Elena Leuşteanu, 73, Romanian gymnast and three-time Olympic medalist, pancreatic cancer. [13] (Romanian)
- Fanny Mickey, 78, Argentine-born Colombian theatre actress, renal failure. [14] (Spanish)
- Johnny Moore, 70, Jamaican trumpeter, founding member of The Skatalites, cancer. [15]
- Alfred Rainer, 20, Austrian Nordic combined skier, paragliding accident. [16]
- James Orthwein, 84, American businessman, cancer. [17]
- Leroy Sievers, 53, American journalist, colon cancer. [18]
- Vic Toweel, 80, South African boxer, bantamweight world champion (1952-1954). [19]
- Jerry Wexler, 91, American record producer, heart failure. [20]
- Darrin Winston, 42, United States MLB pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies, 1997–1998), leukemia. [21]
- Seiji Aochi, 66 Japanese ski jumper, stomach cancer. [22]
- Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Baron Bruce-Lockhart, 66, British politician and local government leader, cancer. [23]
- Percy Irausquin, 39, Aruban fashion designer, cerebral hemorrhage. [24]
- Davy McCall, 46, British cyclist, car crash. [25]
- Michael Anthony Rodriguez, 45, American murderer, member of the Texas Seven, execution by lethal injection. [26]
- Lita Roza, 82, British singer, first British female to top the UK singles chart. [27]
- Sandy Allen, 53, American tallest woman in the world (according to Guinness World Records). [28]
- Henri Cartan, 104, French mathematician. [29] (French)
- Bill Gwatney, 48, American politician, Arkansas state senator (1992–2002), chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, shot. [30]
- John MacDougall, 60, British politician, MP for Glenrothes since 2005 and Central Fife (2001–2005), mesothelioma. [31]
- Nollaig Ó Gadhra, 64, Irish language activist, journalist and historian, co-founder of Teilifís na Gaeilge. [32]
- Dino Toso, 39, Italian automotive engineer, Renault F1 director of aerodynamics, cancer. [33] [34]
- Jack Weil, 107, American founder of Rockmount Ranch Wear, oldest working CEO. [35]
- Christie Allen, 53, Australian pop singer, pancreatic cancer. [36]
- Michael Baxandall, 74, British art historian, Parkinson's disease. [37]
- Mick Clough, 80, Australian politician, member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for Bathurst (1976–1988, 1995–1999). [38]
- Donald Erb, 81, American composer. [39]
- George Gick, 92, American Major League Baseball player (Chicago White Sox). [40]
- Rust Hills, 83, American fiction editor (Esquire), cardiac arrest. [41]
- Lester Hogan, 88, American physicist, complications of Alzheimer's disease. [42]
- Francis Lacassin, 76, French editor. [43] (France)
- Vilma Jamnická, 101, Czech-born Slovakian actress and astrologer. [44] (Slovak)
- Ivonice Satie, 57, Brazilian dancer and choreographer, cancer. [45] (Portuguese)
- Stan Storimans, 39, Dutch photojournalist and cameraman, mortar fire. [46]
- Bill Stulla, 97, American children's television show host. [47]
- Dottie Wiltse Collins, 84, American AAGPBL baseball pitcher (Fort Wayne Daisies). [48]
- Agneta Bolme Börjefors, 67, Swedish television presenter and royal reporter. [49] (Swedish)
- Henry B. R. Brown, 82, American investment banker, aneurysm. [50]
- Sir Bill Cotton, 80, British television executive. [51]
- George Furth, 75, American playwright, actor and librettist, collaborator with Stephen Sondheim. [52]
- Don Helms, 81, American steel guitarist. [53]
- James Hoyt, 83, American soldier, member of the Buchenwald liberation team. [54]
- Anatoly Khrapaty, 45, Kazakhstani Olympic weightlifter (USSR and Kazakhstan), motorcycle accident. [55]
- Günther Schifter, 84, Austrian journalist and radio presenter. [56] (German)
- Fred Sinowatz, 79, Austrian politician, chancellor of Austria (1983–1986). [57]
- Darren Taylor, 42, American gang member turned peacemaker, cancer. [58]
- Roshii Wells, 31, American boxer, Olympic medallist, shot. [59]
- Lee Clark, 71, Canadian politician, MP for Brandon—Souris (1983–1993). [60]
- John Esmonde, 71, British television writer, half of Esmonde and Larbey (Please Sir!, The Good Life). [61]
- Isaac Hayes, 65, American soul and funk musician ("Theme from Shaft"), actor (South Park), stroke. [62]
- William A. Knowlton, 88, American general. [63]
- Howard G. Minsky, 94, American film producer (Love Story). [64]
- Terence Rigby, 71, British actor, lung cancer. [65]
- Alexander Slobodyanik, 65, Ukrainian pianist, meningitis. [66]
- František Tikal, 75, Czech ice hockey player. [67] (German)
- David Nigel de Lorentz Young, 76, British Bishop of Ripon (1977–1999). [68]
- Todd Bachman, 62, American CEO of Bachman, father of Elisabeth Bachman, stabbed. [69]
- Sir Stanley Bailey, 81, British chief constable of Northumbria Police (1975–1991). [70]
- Peter Coe, 88, British athletics coach, father of Sebastian Coe. [71]
- Bob Cunis, 67, New Zealand cricketer. [72]
- Mahmoud Darwish, 67, Palestinian poet, complications from open heart surgery. [73]
- Jacob Landau, 74, American journalist, attorney, co-founder of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, after long illness. [74]
- Bernie Mac, 50, American comedian and actor (The Bernie Mac Show, Bad Santa), complications from pneumonia. [75]
- Denis Vetchinov, 32, Russian army major, recipient of Hero of the Russian Federation award, killed in action. [76]
- Vivian Shun-wen Wu, 95, Taiwanese entrepreneur, chairwoman of Yulon Motor, heart failure. [77]
- Antonio Gava, 78, Italian politician, minister of the interior (1988–1990), after long illness. [78]
- Orville Moody, 74, American professional golfer, winner of 1969 U.S. Open. [79]
- Eleo Pomare, 70, Colombian modern dance choreographer, cancer. [80]
- Irma Mae Weule, 109, American, oldest survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. [81]
- Bernie Brillstein, 77, American film producer, chronic pulmonary disease. [82]
- Juan Bustos, 72, Chilean politician, liver cancer. [83]
- Simon Gray, 71, British playwright, prostate cancer. [84]
- Ralph Klein, 77, Israeli basketball player and coach, intestinal cancer. [85]
- Andrea Pininfarina, 51, Italian businessman, CEO of Pininfarina, motorcycle accident. [86]
- Nicole von Ruden, 40, American television producer (Dr. Phil), brain cancer. [87]
- Robert Nason Beck, 80, American scientist, myelodysplasia. [88]
- Princess Francine of Montenegro, 58, Montenegrin fashion designer, wife of Prince Nicholas of Montenegro. [89]
- Jennifer Hilary, 65, British actress. [90]
- Karl Kuehl, 70, American baseball scout, coach and manager (Montreal Expos), pulmonary fibrosis. [91]
- Anthony Russo, 71, American whistleblower (Pentagon Papers). [92]
- Jud Taylor, 68, American television director and actor, kidney failure. [93]
- Bruno Dallansky, 79, Austrian actor. [94] (German)
- Robert Hazard, 59, American musician and songwriter ("Girls Just Want to Have Fun"), pancreatic cancer. [95]
- Jack Kamen, 88, American comic book artist (Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror), cancer. [96]
- Reg Lindsay, 79, Australian country music singer and songwriter, pneumonia. [97]
- José Medellín, 33, Mexican convicted murderer, execution in Texas by lethal injection. [98]
- Daniel L. Norris, 73, Canadian commissioner of the Northwest Territories (1989–1994), heart failure. [99]
- Eva Pflug, 79, German actress (Raumpatrouille Orion). [100] (German)
- Alberto Achacaz Walakial, 79, Chilean craftsman, one of the last full-blooded Alacaluf, blood poisoning. [101]
- Sally Insul, 92, American actress, heart failure. [102]
- Craig Jones, 23, British motorcycle racer, head injuries from a race crash. [103]
- Peter Kass, 85, American actor, director and teacher. [104]
- Eri Kawai, 43, Japanese pop and classical singer, liver cancer. [105]
- Robert Maheu, 90, American businessman, aide to Howard Hughes. [106]
- Nicola Rescigno, 92, American opera conductor, complications from broken femur. [107]
- Johnny Thio, 63, Belgian football player and coach, myocardial rupture. [108]
- Greg Weld, 64, American racing driver and businessman, heart attack. [109]
- Joe Yonto, 83, American football assistant coach (Notre Dame). [110]
- Anton Allemann, 72, Swiss international footballer (PSV Eindhoven, 1.FC Nürnberg, Grasshopper Zürich), heart attack. [111] (French)
- Skip Caray, 68, American broadcaster for baseball (Atlanta Braves) and basketball (Hawks), son of Harry Caray, bronchitis. [112]
- Erik Darling, 74, American songwriter, folk musician, lymphoma. [113]
- Jeffrey S. Medkeff, 60, American astronomer and science writer, liver cancer. [114]
- Robert Montgomery, 78, American lawyer. [115]
- Aurelius H. Piper Sr., 92, American hereditary chief of the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation since 1959, natural causes. [116]
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 89, Russian novelist and historian, Nobel Prize winner (1970), heart failure. [117]
- Louis Teicher, 83, American classical pianist (Ferrante & Teicher), heart failure. [118]
- Thomas John Ashton, 3rd Baron Ashton of Hyde, 81, British aristocrat and banker. [119]
- Fujio Akatsuka, 72, Japanese manga artist, pneumonia. [120]
- Rolf Bae, 33, Norwegian mountaineer, fall from K2. [121]
- Geoffrey Ballard, 76, Canadian businessman and fuel cell scientist, founder of Ballard Power Systems. [122]
- Pérez Celis, 69, Argentine plastic artist, leukaemia. [123]
- Helga Gitmark, 78, Norwegian politician. [124] (Norwegian)
- Christopher Gonzalez, 65, Jamaican sculptor and painter, cancer. [125]
- Allen Kolstad, 76, American politician, lieutenant governor of Montana (1988–1991), cancer. [126]
- Ger McDonnell, 37, Irish mountaineer, first Irishman to reach K2 summit, climbing accident. [127] [128]
- Peter Rodman, 64, American foreign policy expert, leukemia. [129]
- John F. Seiberling, 89, American politician, representative from Ohio (1971–1987), respiratory failure. [130] [131]
- Pauline Baynes, 85, British illustrator (Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings). [132]
- Peter Jackson, 80, Australian fashion designer, prostate cancer. [133]
- Ashok Mankad, 61, Indian cricketer. [134]
- Jerome Staller, 62, American economist, founder of the Center for Forensic Economic Studies, kidney disease. [135]
- Harkishan Singh Surjeet, 92, Indian politician, cardiac arrest. [136]
- Butch White, 72, British cricketer (Hampshire, Glamorgan, England). [137]
See Deaths in July 2008.
See Deaths in June 2008.
See Deaths in May 2008.
See Deaths in April 2008.
See Deaths in March 2008.
External links
- English language obituaries on the Web
- General
- US
- South Africa
- UK
- Australia
- Specialized websites
For earlier deaths, see Deaths in 2007, Deaths in 2006, Deaths in 2005, Deaths in 2004, Deaths in 2003, Deaths in 2002, Deaths in 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, ...