Deaths in 1997

The following is a list of notable deaths in 1997. Names are listed under the date of death and not the date it was announced. Names under each date are listed in alphabetical order by family name.

Deaths of notable animals (that is, those with their own Wikipedia articles) are also reported here.

A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:

• Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, established cause of death, reference (and language of reference, if not English).

January 1997

1

• Aenne Brauksiepe, German politician (b. 1912)
• Townes Van Zandt, American folk singer (b. 1944)

2

• Leighton Buckwell, Canadian politician (b. 1918)
• Randy California, American guitarist, singer and songwriter (b. 1951)
• Samuel Carlisi, Chicago gangster (b. 1914)
• Moshe Vilenski, Polish-born Israeli composer (b. 1910)

4

• Hédi Berkhissa, Tunisian footballer (b. 1972)
• Dwight Billings, American ecologist (b. 1910)
• Harry Helmsley, American real estate mogul (b. 1909)

5

• Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, Prince of Sweden (b. 1912)
• Peter Cain, American artist (b. 1959)
• André Franquin, 73, Belgian comics artist
• Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (b. 1912)
• Frans Piët, Dutch comics artist (Sjors en Sjimmie) (b. 1905).

6

• Herbert Blitzstein, Chicago Outfit mobster (b. 1934)
• Teiichi Matsumaru, Japanese footballer (b. 1909)
• Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (b. 1912)

8

• Sidney M. Aronovitz, American lawyer (b. 1920)
• Melvin Calvin, American chemist (b. 1911)

9

• Karol Borhy, Slovak football coach (b. 1912)
• Jesse White, American actor (b. 1917)

10

• Darrell A. Amyx, American classical archaeologist (b. 1911)
• Francisco Aramburu, Brazilian footballer (b. 1922)
• Robert Atwood, American newspaper publishers (b. 1907)
• Samuel Preston Bayard, American folklorist and musicologist (b. 1908)
• Sheldon Leonard, American producer, actor, director (b. 1907)
• Phil Marchildon, American baseball player (b. 1913)
• Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, 79, Scottish biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• Albert Wohlstetter, 83, American nuclear strategist

11

• Ian White-Thomson, English Anglican priest, Dean of Canterbury (b. 1904)

12

• Jean Hoerni, 72, Swiss-American engineer
• Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-born cancer researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1901)
• Jill Summers, English actress (b. 1910)

13

• Ernest Bayer, American rower (b. 1904)

14

• John Amdisen, 62, Danish footballer (b. 1934)
• King Hu, 64, Chinese film director (b. 1932)
• Ebba Lodden, 83, Norwegian civil servant and politician (b. 1913)

15

• Oscar Auerbach, American physician (b. 1905)
• Exuma, Bahamian musician (b. 1942)

17

• Andrei Bantaş, Romanian dictionary author, translator and teacher (b. 1930)
• Karel Benedík, Czech painter (b. 1923)
• W. A. Camps, British classical scholar (b. 1910)
• Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b. 1906)

18

• Herbert A. Allen Sr., American stock broker (b. 1908)
• Adriana Caselotti, American actress, singer and voice actress (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (b. 1916)
• Gerard Slevin, 77, Chief Herald of Ireland (1954–1981)
• Paul Tsongas, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and one-time candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination (b. 1941)

19

• James Dickey, American poet and novelist (b. 1923)

20

• Edith Brown, one of the last remaining and oldest survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912 (b. 1896)
• Albín Brunovský, Slovak painter, graphic artist, lithographer, illustrator and pedagogue (b. 1935)
• Curt Flood, American baseball player (b. 1938)

21

• Colonel Tom Parker, Dutch-born celebrity manager (b. 1909)

22

• Ênio Andrade, Brazilian football player and manager (b. 1928)
• Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican educator and historian (b. 1898)
• Billy Mackenzie, Scottish singer, frontman of The Associates (b. 1957)

23

• Richard Berry, African-American singer and composer (b. 1935)

24

• Lourdino Barreto, Indian musicologist and composer (b. 1938)

25

• Werner Aspenström, Swedish poet (b. 1918)
• Dan Barry, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
• Donald Beer, American rower (b. 1935)
• James Boyd, American boxer (b. 1930)
• José Luis Cabezas, Argentine news photographer (b. 1961)
• Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (b. 1904)

26

• Sufi Barkat Ali, Muslim Sufi saint (b. 1911)
• Sir Frank Hartley, British pharmacist and academic administrator (b. 1911)

27

• Kathryn Beare, 79, American baseball player (AAGPBL)
• Cecil Arthur Lewis MC, British fighter pilot who flew in World War I and last surviving World War I ace (b. 1898)

28

• John Morton-Finney, civil rights activist, lawyer and educator (b. 1889)
• Abdelhak Benhamouda, Algerian trade unionist (b. 1946)
• Antônio Callado, Brazilian journalist, playwright, and novelist (b. 1917)
• Geoffrey Rippon, British politician (b. 1924)

29

• Antal Benda, Hungarian field handball player (b. 1910)
• Floyd E. Breinholt, American painter and art professor (b. 1915)

30

• Charles Hargens, American painter (b. 1893)
• Henry Bentinck, 11th Earl of Portland, British earl and activist (b. 1919)
• Ulrich Kiesow, German role-playing game designer (b. 1949)
• Karoline Scheimpflug, Austrian luger (b. 1908)

31

• Harold Raymond Ballard, Canadian MP (b. 1918)
• Johnny Klein, American drummer (b. 1918)
• Eugenia Smith, 98, American Romanov impostor

February 1997

1

• Georg Ay, German politician (b. 1900)
• Allen J. Bartunek, American politician (b. 1928)
• Simion Bughici, Romanian communist politician (b. 1914)
• Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (b. 1916)
• Hugh Catchpole, British Educationalist (b. 1907)
• William Kintner, 81, American soldier, foreign policy analyst, and diplomat
• Marjorie Reynolds, American actress (b. 1917)

2

• Godfrey Baseley, British radio executive (b. 1904)
• Chico Science, Brazilian musician (b. 1967)

3

• Jerry Beit haLevi, Israeli football player and manager (b. 1912)
• John J. Buckley, American politician (b. 1916)
• Bohumil Hrabal, 82, Czech writer

4

• Henry H. Barschall, German-American physicist (b. 1915)
• Cyril Toumanoff, Russian-born American historian (b. 1913)

5

• Frederick J. Almgren, Jr., American mathematician (b. 1933)
• Bob Brown, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1938)
• Pamela Harriman, U.S. Ambassador to France (b. 1920)

6

• Ernie Anderson, American disc jockey, and television and radio announcer/voiceover artist (b. 1923)

7

• Owen Aspinall, American attorney and politician (b. 1927)
• John Baker, British musician and composer (b. 1937)
• Laarbi Batma, Moroccan singer and actor (b. 1948)
• Daniil Shafran, 74, Soviet Russian cellist

8

• Robert Ridgely, American actor and voice artist (b. 1931)
• Corey Scott, American motorcycle stunt rider (b. 1968)

9

• David Austick, British Liberal Party politician and bookshop owner (b. 1920)
• Brian Connolly, Scottish lead singer of the glam band Sweet (b. 1945)
• Barry Evans (actor), Actor best known for debuts in Mind Your Language and Doctor in the House (b. 1943)

10

• Harriet Andreassen, Norwegian labour activist and politician (b. 1925)
• Lou Bennett, American jazz organist (b. 1926)
• Jerome Namias, American meteorologist (b. 1910)

11

• Don Porter, American actor (b. 1912)

12

• James Cossins, English actor (b. 1933)

13

• Bobby Adams, American Major League Baseball player (b. 1921)
• John Ries Bartels, United States federal judge (b. 1897)
• Otto Beckmann, Austrian sculptor and pioneer of media and computer art (b. 1908)

15

• Oscar Adams, African-American Alabama Supreme Court justice (b. 1925)
• Luras,(Giovanni Giua), Italian engineer and officer (b. 1895)
• Arne Berg, Swedish road racing cyclist (b. 1909)
• Georges Bergé, French Army general who served during World War II (b. 1909)

16

• Ethel Owen, American actress (b. 1893)
• Chien-Shiung Wu, 84, Chinese-American experimental physicist

17

• Henry Jacques Le Même, French architect (b. 1897)
• Nic Roeser, Luxembourgian gymnast who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics (b. 1896)
• Zein Isa, Palestinian militant imprisoned in the United States for the honor killing of his daughter

18

• Bozorg Alavi, Iranian writer, novelist, and political intellectual (b. 1904)
• Emily Hahn, 92, American journalist and author
• Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (b. 1928)

19

• David Ashkenazi, Russian pianist, concertmaster and composer (b. 1915)
• Jarmil Burghauser, Czech composer, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1921)
• Afonso Guimarães da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1914)
• Deng Xiaoping, leader of the People's Republic of China (b. 1904)
• Fernand Oury, 77, French pedagogue
• Leo Rosten, 78, American humorist

20

• Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist (b. 1960)
• Edmond Yu, 35, Hong Kong Canadian former medical student, gunshot wounds

21

• Ziya Bunyadov, Azerbaijani historian, academician, and Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (b. 1921)
• Choe Kwang, North Korean army general and politician (b. 1918)
• Eleanor Butler, Lady Wicklow, Irish Labour Party politician and architect (b. 1915)

22

• Joey Aiuppa, 89, American mobster

23

• Abdelkader Ben Bouali, French footballer (b. 1912)
• Tony Williams, American musician (b. 1945)

24

• Donald Hodge (veteran), last surviving veterans of the First World War (b. 1894)
• Raymond Lambert, 72, Swiss mountaineer

25

• Cal Abrams, American Major League Baseball player (b. 1924)
• Bill "Hoss" Allen, American radio disc jockey (b. 1922)
• Louis Auslander, American mathematician (b. 1928)

26

• Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer and constructor (b. 1914)
• David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
• W. A. Poucher, British mountain photographers (b. 1891)

27

• Helen Boyce, American film actress (b. 1918)

28

• Ivan Arkhipov, Soviet-Russian statesman (b. 1907)

March 1997

1

• Stanislaus Joseph Brzana, the tenth Roman Catholic Bishop of Ogdensburg (b. 1917)
• Miltiades Caridis, German-Greek conductor (b. 1923)

2

• Abdel Azim Ashry, Egyptian basketball player, referee and sports administrator (b. 1911)
• Gurgen Askaryan, Soviet physicist (b. 1928)
• Judi Bari, American environmentalist and labor leader (b. 1949)
• Trygve Bjørgo, Norwegian educator and lyricist (b. 1916)
• Douglas Blackwood, British publisher (b. 1909)
• Horace Cutler, 84, Leader of the Greater London Council (1977–1981)

3

• Bradford Angier, American wilderness survivalist and proponent of back to earth living (b. 1910)
• Jascha Brodsky, Russian-American violinist (b. 1907)

4

• Joe Baker-Cresswell, British Royal Navy officer (b. 1901)
• Roger Brown, American basketball player (b. 1942)
• Robert H. Dicke, American experimental physicist (b. 1916)
• Carey Loftin, American actor and stuntman (b. 1914)

5

• Zalman Abramov, Israeli politician (b. 1908)
• Josef Ackermann, German politician (b. 1905)
• Amjad Ali, Pakistani civil servant (b. 1907)
• Samm Sinclair Baker, American health and wellness writer (b. 1909)
• Ralph Bass, American musician (b. 1911)
• Frank Brennan, Scottish footballer (b. 1924)
• Edmund Brinsley Teesdale, British colonial officer, Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong (b. 1915)

6

• Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (b. 1918)
• Michael Manley, 72, Prime Minister of Jamaica (1972–1980; 1989–1992)

7

• Wilfred Conwell Bain, American music educator (b. 1908)
• Emanuel Bronner, the maker of Dr. Bronner's castile soap (b. 1908)
• Martin Kippenberger, German artist (b. 1953)
• Edward Mills Purcell, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)

8

• Gershon Liebman, French rabbi (b. 1905)

9

• Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist, author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE (b. 1952)
• John Boyd, American military strategist (b. 1927)
• The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (b. 1972)
• Terry Nation, Welsh screenwriter (b. 1930)
• Dame Veronica Wedgwood, English historian (b. 1910)

10

• Jimmy Airlie, Scottish trade unionist (b. 1936)
• LaVern Baker, 67, American rhythm-and-blues singer (b. 1929)
• Raymond Bass, American gymnast (b. 1910)
• Peter H. Behr, American politician (b. 1915)
• Yorozuya Kinnosuke, Japanese kabuki actor (b. 1932)
• Wilf Wooller, Welsh sportsman and sports administrator (b. 1912)

11

• Lars Ahlin, Swedish author and aesthetician (b. 1915)
• Hubert de Bèsche, Swedish Olympic fencer (b. 1911)
• Paul Archibald Brent, American musician, the first African American to attend the prestigious Peabody Conservatory (b. 1907)
• Robert Browning, Scottish Byzantinist (b. 1914)
• Bill Carlos, Irish Gaelic footballer (b. 1923)

12

• Shamsul-hasan Shams Barelvi, Pakistani Islamic scholar and a prolific translator of classical Islamic texts (b. 1917)
• Hendrik Brugmans, Dutch academic and linguist (b. 1906)

13

• Ronald Fraser, English actor (b. 1930)

14

• Jurek Becker, Polish-born German writer, film-author and GDR dissident (b. 1937)
• Charles Weldon Cannon, American rancher (b. 1915)
• Veerendra Patil, Indian politician (b. 1924)
• Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-born American film director (b. 1907)

15

• Boediardjo, Indonesian politician (b. 1921)
• Gail Davis, American actress (b. 1925)
• Star Stowe, Playboy centerfold (b. 1956)
• Victor Vasarely, Hungarian–French artist (b. 1906)

17

• Ferenc Sipos, Hungarian footballer (b. 1932)
• Jermaine Stewart, American singer (b. 1957)

19

• Umberto Branchini, Italian boxing promoter and manager (b. 1914)
• Johannes Bråten, Norwegian politician (b. 1920)
• Willem de Kooning, Dutch artist (b. 1904)
• Eugène Guillevic, French poet (b. 1907)

20

• Ronnie Barron, American musician (b. 1943)
• Carlo Fassi, 67, Italian figure skater
• Tony Zale, American boxer (b. 1913)

21

• Liv Andersen, Norwegian politician (b. 1919)
• Wilbert Awdry, British children's writer (b. 1911)
• Charles Booth, British diplomat (b. 1925)
• John Nemechek, NASCAR driver (b. 1970)

24

• Manuel Agustín, Spanish Olympic hockey player (b. 1912)
• Herbert Bauer, German pilot (b. 1919)
• Martin Caidin, American author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation (b. 1927)
• Roberto Sánchez Vilella, 84, Governor of Puerto Rico (1965–1969)

25

• Robert Arthur, American radio announcer (b. 1921)
• Baltazar, Brazilian footballer (b. 1926)

26

• Norman Alexander, New Zealand physicist (b. 1907)
• Marshall Applewhite, leader of the Heaven's Gate religious group (b. 1931)

27

• George Malcolm Brown, English geologist (b. 1925)
• Ella Maillart, 94, Swiss adventurer, travel writer and photographer
• Émile Stijnen, 89, Belgian international footballer.

28

• Arthur Arntzen, Norwegian politician (b. 1906)

31

• Ed Alberian, American stage and television actor (b. 1920)
• Eugenie Anderson, United States diplomat (b. 1909)
• Friedrich Hund, American physics (b. 1896)
• Lyman Spitzer, 82, American theoretical physicist, astronomer and mountaineer

April 1997

1

• Jolie Gabor, Hungarian socialite (b. 1896)

2

• Anthony Bushell, English film actor and director (b. 1904)
• Craig D. Button, United States Air Force pilot (b. 1964)

3

• Isaac Felipe Azofeifa, Costa Rican poet, politician and educator (b. 1909)
• Thomas Barthel, German ethnologist and epigrapher (b. 1923)
• Henriette Wyeth, 79, American artist

4

• Leo Picard, Israeli geologist and an expert in the field of hydrology (b. 1900)

5

• Paul de Bruyn, German athlete (b. 1907)
• Ignazio Buttitta, Sicilian dialectal poet (b. 1899)
• Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
• August Heckscher II, American public intellectual and author (b. 1913)

6

• Max Alvarado, Filipino film actor (b. 1929)
• Arturo de Ascanio, Spanish magician (b. 1929)
• Malvina Bolus, Canadian historian and art collector (b. 1906)
• William T. Brotherton Jr., Democratic President of the West Virginia Senate (b. 1926)

7

• Witto Aloma, Cuban baseball player (b. 1923)
• Georgy Shonin, 61, Russian cosmonaut

8

• Audrey Atterbury, British puppeteer (b. 1921)
• Bob Cain, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1924)
• Laura Nyro, American singer and composer (b. 1947)

9

• Mae Boren Axton, American songwriter and music promoter (b. 1914)

10

• Robert Aitken, New Zealand physician and university administrator (b. 1901)
• Fred Emery, 71, Australian psychologist
• Ben Gregory, American football player (b. 1946)

11

• Faith Burrows, nationally syndicated cartoonist during the Jazz Age (b. 1904)

12

• George Wald, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1903)

13

• Dorothy Frooks, American author, publisher, military figure and actress (b. 1896)
• Rodolfo Oroz, Chilean writer, professor, and philologist, won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1978 (b. 1895)

15

• Don Bexley, American actor and comedian (b. 1910)
• L. Brent Bozell, Jr., American conservative activist; Roman Catholic writer (b. 1926)
• Mildred Cleghorn, Chairwoman of the Fort Sill Apache tribe (b. 1910)
• Sam Moskowitz, 76, American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction

16

• Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
• Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian activist, politician and diplomat (b. 1921)
• Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, Mexican businessman, newspaper publisher, and television executive (b. 1930)
• Jan Bruins, Dutch motorcycle racer (b. 1940)
• Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)

17

• Dale Burnett, American football running back for the New York Giants (b. 1909)
• Chaim Herzog, 78, President of Israel (1983–1993)
• Biju Patnaik, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Odisha (b. 1916)

18

• Carlos Auyero, Argentine politician (b. 1936)
• Edward Barker, English cartoonist (b. 1950)
• Herbert Czaja, 82, Member of the Bundestag (1953–1990)ndestag

19

• El Duce, American singer and drummer (b. 1958)

20

• Jean Louis, American costume designer (b. 1907)
• Henry Mucci, American Colonel of the 98th Ranger Battalion (b. 1909)

21

• Alfred Bailey, Canadian educator, poet, anthropologist, ethno-historian, and academic administrator (b. 1905)
• Diosdado Macapagal, 9th President of the Philippines (b. 1910)
• Andrés Rodríguez, 73, President of Paraguay (1989–1993) (b. 1923)
• Aníbal Tarabini, Argentine footballer (b. 1941)

22

• Reg Gammon, English painter and illustrator (b. 1894)

23

• Brian Alderson, Scottish footballer (b. 1950)
• Denis Compton, 78, English cricketer

24

• Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov, Soviet historian and writer turned anti-communist (c. 1908/10)
• Assen Bossev, Bulgarian author of children's literature (b. 1913)
• John A. Brown, Jr., American murderer
• Pat Paulsen, American comedian (b. 1927)

25

• Aleksejs Auziņš, 86, Latvian football midfielder, manager and also an ice hockey player (b. 1910)
• Sir Nicholas Baker, 58, British politician (b. 1938)
• Kay Blumetta, 73, American baseball player (AAGPBL) (b. 1923).
• Brian May, 62, Australian film composer and conductor. (b. 1934)

26

• John Beal, American actor (b. 1909)
• Peng Zhen, 94, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (1983–1988)

28

• Peter Tali Coleman, 77, Governor of American Samoa (1956–1961; 1978–1985; 1989–1993)
• Steve Conte, 77, Italian actor
• Ashley Harvey-Walker, 52, English cricketer (Derbyshire County Cricket Club)
• Rostislav Holthoer, 59, Finnish Egyptologist
• Una Johnson, 91, American curator and art historian
• Jan Kielas, 80, Polish middle-distance runner
• Ann Petry, 88, American writer
• William Percy Rogers, 82, Australian zoologist
• John P. Snyder, 71, American cartographer
• Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth, 66, Lord Chief Justice of England (1930–1997)
• Doc Urich, 68, American football player and coach

29

• Kō Nishimura, Japanese actor (b. 1923)
• Mike Royko, 64, American newspaper columnist

30

• Heinz Bergmann, German military officer (b. 1914)
• Josiah Lincoln Lowe, American mycologist (b. 1905)
• Henry Picard, American golfer (b. 1906)

May 1997

1

• Elena Altieri, Italian actress (b. 1916)
• Tridib Chaudhuri, Indian politician (b. 1911)
• Bo Widerberg, Swedish film director (b. 1930)

2

• Kenneth Allen, British nuclear physicist (b. 1923)
• Diana Merriweather Ashby, American cancer activist and founder of the Melanoma Research Foundation (b. 1963)
• Sir John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1903)
• Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and educator (b. 1921)
• Keith R. Porter, Canadian-born American biologist (b. 1912)

3

• Bruce Beetham, New Zealand academic and politician (b. 1936)
• Gerrit den Braber, Dutch songwriter and lyricist (b. 1929)
• Hughie Green, 77, English presenter ad actor
• Sir John Junor, British journalist, editor of the Daily Express (b. 1919)

4

• Jerome Alden, American playwright and screenwriter for television and documentary films (b. 1921)
• Alvy Moore, American actor (b. 1921)

5

• Bob Briggs, American football player (b. 1945)
• Sir George Burns, British Army officer (b. 1911)
• Walter Gotell, German actor (b. 1924)

8

• Ralph Wendell Burhoe, American theologian (b. 1911)
• Sir Michael Shersby, British politician (b. 1933)

9

• Rawya Ateya, Egyptian woman who became the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world (b. 1926)

11

• William Ragsdale Cannon, American theologian (b. 1916)
• Howard Morton, American actor (b. 1925)

12

• Louis Barbarin, New Orleans jazz drummer (b. 1902)

13

• Laurie Lee, English writer (b. 1914)

14

• Jambyn Batmönkh, Mongolian communist political leader (b. 1926)
• Mel Bay, American musician (b. 1913)
• Rouville Beaudry, Canadian politician (b. 1904)
• Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician (b. 1934)
• Thelma Carpenter, American singer and actress (b. 1922)

15

• Oscar Berger, American editorial cartoonist (b. 1901)

16

• Giuseppe De Santis, Italian film director (b. 1917)

17

• Mikhail Bychkov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1926)

18

• Bridgette Andersen, American actress (b. 1975)
• Mikhail Anikushin, Soviet Russian sculptor (b. 1917)
• Horst Lippmann, German concert promoter and jazz musician (b. 1927)

19

• John Browell, British radio producer (b. 1917)
• Sombhu Mitra, Indian actor and director (b. 1915)
• Troy Ruttman, American racecar driver (b. 1930)

20

• Virgilio Barco Vargas, Colombian Liberal Party politician (b. 1921)
• Don Parker, British racing driver (b. 1908)

21

• William Aston, Australian politician (b. 1916)
• Amasa Stone Bishop, American nuclear physicist (b. 1921)
• Noël Browne, Irish politician and doctor (b. 1915)

22

• Alziro Bergonzo, Italian architect and painter (b. 1906)
• Klaus von Bismarck, German broadcaster and cultural administrator (b. 1912)
• Stanisław Swianiewicz, Polish economist and historian (b. 1899)
• Alfred Hershey, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1908)

23

• Anne Anstine, American politician (b. 1924)
• James Lee Byars, American artist (b. 1932)

24

• Kinpei Azusa, Japanese voice actor (b. 1931)
• Robbie Branscum, American writer of children's books and young adult fiction (b. 1937)
• Alexandre Lippiani, Brazilian actor (b. 1964)
• Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (b. 1923)
• Peter Rangmar, Swedish actor, comedian and baritone (b. 1956)

26

• Manfred von Ardenne, German physicist and inventor (b. 1907)
• Ralph Horween, American football player and coach (b. 1896)

27

• Henry Barakat, Egyptian film director (b. 1912)
• Edilberto Campadese, Italian bobsledder (b. 1915)

28

• Lynn Archibald, American basketball coach (b. 1944)
• Conway Baker, American football offensive tackle (b. 1911)
• Ronald V. Book, American theoretical computer scientist (b. 1937)

29

• Jeff Buckley, American musician (b. 1966)
• George Fenneman, American radio and television announcer (b. 1919)
• Dixie Gilmore, Northern Irish politician.

30

• West Arkeen, American musician (b. 1960)
• Béla Barényi, Austro-Hungarian automotive engineer (b. 1907)

31

• Lionel Booth, Irish Fianna Fáil politician and businessman (b. 1914)
• James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b. 1905)
• Johnny Papalia, Canadian mobster (b. 1924)

June 1997

Main article: Deaths in June 1997

1

• Florence Wysinger Allen, African American artists' model (b. 1913)
• Ruth Atkinson, American cartoonist (b. 1918)
• Garland T. Byrd, United States Democratic politician from Georgia (b. 1924)
• George P. Livanos, Greek shipping magnate (b. 1926)

2

• Lukas Aurednik, Austrian footballer and football manager (b. 1918)
• Martin Bronfenbrenner, American economist (b. 1914)
• Helen Jacobs, American tennis champion (b. 1908)

3

• Pidge Browne, American professional baseball player (b. 1929)
• Dennis James, American game show host (b. 1917)
• Meenakshi Shirodkar, Indian actress (b. 1916)

4

• Ronnie Lane, 51, English musician, songwriter, and producer

6

• Eitel Cantoni, Uruguayan racecar driver (b. 1906)
• Dorothy Buffum Chandler, 96, American culture leader
• Magda Gabor, American actress (b. 1914)
• Richard Alvin Neilson, British diplomat (b. 1937)

7

• Diogenes Angelakos, American electrical engineer and academic (b. 1920)
• Lewis White Beck, American philosopher and scholar of German philosophy (b. 1913)
• Jacques Canetti, French talent manager (b. 1909)

8

• Betty Andujar, American politician (b. 1912)
• Reid Shelton, American actor (b. 1924)

9

• Thornton Lee, American baseball player (b. 1906)
• Witness Lee, 91/92, Chinese Christian preacher and hymnist
• Li Shuxian, 72, wife of Puyi

10

• Kim Ki-soo, South Korea's first world champion boxer, liver cancer (b. 1938)

11

• Robert Bates, Ulster loyalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland (b. 1948)
• Ben Dunkelman, Canadian soldier. (b. 1913)

12

• Rick Baldwin, American racing driver (b. 1955)
• Bulat Okudzhava, Soviet non-mainstream singer of Georgian descent (b. 1924)

13

• Al Berto, Portuguese poet (b. 1948)

14

• Marjorie Best, American Hollywood costume designer (b. 1903)
• Richard Jaeckel, American actor (b. 1926)

15

• Desmond Banks, Baron Banks, British Liberal Party politician (b. 1918)

18

• Waldo Don Carlos, American football center (b. 1909)
• Lev Kopelev, 85, Soviet author and dissident

19

• Basu Bhattacharya, Hindi film director (b. 1934)

20

• John Akii-Bua, Ugandan hurdler and the first Olympic champion from his country (b. 1949)
• Paul Carell, German Nazi politician (b. 1911)

22

• Lars Bergendahl, Norwegian cross country skier (b. 1909)
• William Slater Brown, American novelist, biographer and translator of French literature (b. 1895)
• Larry Grossman, Canadian politician (Legislative Assembly of Ontario) (b. 1943)
• Don Henderson, British actor (b. 1932)
• Gérard Pelletier, Canadian journalist, politician and diplomat (b. 1919)

23

• Len Bailey, British automobile designer (b. 1926)
• Harry Botterell, Canadian neurosurgeon (b. 1906)
• Betty Shabazz, American widow of Malcolm X (b. 1936)

24

• Marion Jones Callister, United States federal judge (b. 1921)
• Brian Keith, American actor (b. 1921)

25

• Elmer Batters, German erotic photographer (b. 1919)
• Bobby Blackwood, Scottish footballer (b. 1934)
• Jacques Cousteau, 87, French explorer and oceanographer

26

• George Bassman, American composer and arranger (b. 1914)
• Don Bradley, English footballer (b. 1924)
• Charlie Chester, 83, English comedian, radio and television presenter and writer
• Don Hutson, American football player (Green Bay Packers) and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (b. 1913)
• Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, 38, Hawaiian singer-songwriter
• Thomas Joseph Murphy, 64, American Roman Catholic bishop.

27

• Cesar Y. Alzona, Filipino songwriter (b. 1926)
• Ray Benge, American baseball pitcher (b. 1907)

28

• Mrs. Miller, American singer (b. 1907)
• Roland Surrugue, French Olympic cyclist (b. 1938)

29

• William Hickey, American actor (b. 1927)

30

• Bill Bradley, English cyclist (b. 1933)
• Su Bingqi, Chinese archaeologist (b. 1909)

July 1997

Main article: Deaths in July 1997

1

• Lester Asheim, American librarian and scholar of library science (b. 1914)
• Robert Mitchum, American actor (b. 1917)
• Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi, Iranian mathematician and academic administrator (b. 1908)

2

• George Antonio, 82, English professional footballer (b. 1914)
• Stan Barker, 71, English jazz pianist (b. 1926)
• Jean Pierre Capron, French painter (b. 1921)
• Jimmy Stewart, 89, American actor (b. 1908)

3

• Natalia Dumitresco, Romanian abstract painter (b. 1915)
• Michael James MacDonald, Canadian politician (b. 1909)

4

• William Cadogan, 7th Earl Cadogan, British peer and professional soldier (b. 1914)
• Charles Kuralt, American television reporter (b. 1934)
• John Zachary Young, British biologist (b. 1907)

5

• A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil politician (b. 1936)

6

• Chetan Anand, Hindi film producer, screenwriter and director (b. 1915)
• Gabriel Asaad, Assyrian composer and musician (b. 1907)
• Ajaib Singh, Sant of Surat Shabd Yoga (b. 1926)

7

• Raghu Raj Bahadur, Indian mathematician (b. 1924)
• Mate Boban, Bosnian Croat politician and the only president of the short lived Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia (b. 1940)
• Leonid Bykovets, Soviet airman (b. 1921)
• Royston Tickner, English actor (b. 1922)

9

• Sir David Pitblado, British civil servant, Principal Private Secretary to successive Prime Ministers (b. 1912)

10

• Ivor Allchurch, Welsh international footballer (b. 1929)

11

• Felix Barker, British drama critic and historian (b. 1917)
• Fred Beavis, Canadian politician (b. 1914)

12

• Pietro Buscaglia, Italian professional football player (b. 1911)

13

• Sir Garfield Barwick, Australian politician, lawyer, and Chief Justice of Australia (b. 1903)
• Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician and ETA victim (b. 1968)
• Alexandra Danilova, Russian dancer (b. 1903)

15

• Sennen Andriamirado, Malagasy journalist (b. 1945)
• Gordie Bruce, Canadian professional ice hockey forward (b. 1919)
• Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (b. 1946)
• Alan Charig, British Palaeontologist (b. 1927)

16

• Ron Berry, Welsh author of novels and short stories (b. 1920)

18

• James Goldsmith, 64, Anglo-French financier, tycoon, and politician
• Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American astronomer (b. 1928)
• Gregorio Weber, Argentinian scientist (b. 1916)

20

• Drummond Matthews, British marine geologist (b. 1931)

21

• Tony Alvarez, Spanish actor (b. 1956)
• Roger Bowman, pitcher in Major League Baseball (b. 1927)

22

• Khalil Ahmed, Pakistani composer (b. 1936)
• Marilyn Brown, American actress (b. 1953)
• Ephraim John Burford, English historian and author (b. 1905)
• Vincent Hanna, 57, Northern Irish television journalist

23

• Walter Behrendt, German politician of the Social Democratic Party and president of the European parliament (b. 1914)
• Norman William Black, American federal judge (b. 1931)
• Barney Bright, American sculptor (b. 1927)
• Andrew Cunanan, 27, American serial killer
• Chūhei Nambu, 93, Japanese track and field athlete

24

• William J. Brennan Jr., 91, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1956–1990)
• Brian Glover, 63, English character actor, writer and wrestler
• Frank Parker, American tennis champion (b. 1916)

25

• Jack Bickham, American novelist (b. 1930)
• Ben Hogan, American golf champion (b. 1912)

26

• Jaime Milans del Bosch, Spanish lieutenant general and co-leader of 1981 coup d'état (b. 1915)

27

• Isabel Dean, British actress (b. 1918)
• K'tut Tantri, broadcaster/hotelier (b. 1898)

28

• Gordon McMaster, 37, Scottish politician

29

• Jack Archer, English sprinter (b. 1921)

30

• Robert Bryce, Canadian civil servant (b. 1910)

August 1997

Main article: Deaths in August 1997

1

• Berta Alves de Sousa, Portuguese pianist and composer (b. 1906)
• Kenneth W. Bilby, executive vice president of RCA (b. 1918)
• Charles Brady, American artist (b. 1926)
• Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist (b. 1915)
• Janet G. Travell, 95, American physician and medical researcher

2

• William S. Burroughs, American author (b. 1914)
• John Churcher, British army general (b. 1905)
• Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and political activist (b. 1938)

4

• Ján Brezina, Slovak poet, literally historian and theoretician (b. 1917)
• Horace Bristol, American photographer (b. 1908)
• Dick Bush, English cinematographer (b. 1931)
• Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian and the oldest person ever documented in history (b. 1875)

6

• Lance Barnard, Australian politician (b. 1919)
• Sandy Beadle, Canadian ice hockey left winger (b. 1960)
• Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, Indian writer (b. 1924)

7

• Kay Halle, American journalist and heiress (b. 1904)

8

• Joseph Aquilina, Maltese author and linguist (b. 1911)

9

• Maria Antonietta Beluzzi, Italian actress (b. 1930)
• Max Blösch, Olympic Swiss field handball player (b. 1908)

10

• Peter Braestrup, American journalist (b. 1929)
• Conlon Nancarrow, American-born composer (b. 1912)

12

• Luther Allison, American musician (b. 1939)
• Rex Barney, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (b. 1924)
• Gösta Bohman, Swedish politician (b. 1911)
• Sir Henry Calley, English pilot, owner and manager of a stud farm, and Conservative politician (b. 1914)

13

• Harlow Rothert, American Olympic shot putter (b. 1908)

14

• Charlie Fleming, Scottish footballer (b. 1927)

16

• Mercedes Alison Bates, American magazine editor, businessperson, and director of the Betty Crocker division of General Mills (b. 1915)
• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خان (Shahmukhi)), Pakistani Qawwali musician (b. 1948)
• Hendrik van den Bergh, South African police official who founded the Bureau of State Security (b. 1914)

17

• Geoffrey Burnand, English painter, theatrical designer and mural artist (b. 1912)
• Jorge Cañas, Salvadoran football player (b. 1942)
• Doug Carl, American politician from Michigan (b. 1951)

18

• Harry R. Wellman, University of California president (b. 1899)

19

• Lawrence Morgan, Australian Olympic gold medal-winning equestrian, and footballer. (b. 1915)
• Mario Velarde, Mexican football player and manager (b. 1940)

20

• Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)

22

• Infante Alvaro, Duke of Galliera, Prince of the Royal House of France and the 6th Duke of Galliera (b. 1910)
• Brendan Smyth, 70, Irish Catholic priest and convicted sex offender

23

• Eric Gairy, 75, Prime Minister of Grenada (1974–1979)
• Sir John Kendrew, British molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1917)

24

• Werner Abrolat, German actor (b. 1924)
• Hardial Bains, founder of the Communist Party of Canada (b. 1939)
• Louis Essen, English physicist (b. 1908)
• Tete Montoliu, 64, Spanish jazz pianist

25

• Clodomiro Almeyda, Chilean politician (b. 1923)
• Peter Dews, British stage director (b. 1929)
• Carl Richard Jacobi, 89, American journalist and author

26

• Brendan McCarthy, American football player (b. 1945)

27

• Sally Blane, American actress (b. 1910)
• Sotiria Bellou, Greek singer (b. 1921)
• Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (b. 1949)

28

• Masaru Takumi, Japanese yakuza lord (b. 1936)

31

• Will Hare, 81, American actor, heart attack.
• Nana Meskhidze, 71, Georgian painter
• Lotus Weinstock, 54, American stand-up comedian, author, musician, and actress, brain tumor.
• People killed in the 1997 Pont de l'Alma car crash:
  • Diana, Princess of Wales, 36
  • Dodi Fayed, 42, Egyptian businessman

September 1997

Main article: Deaths in September 1997

1

• Gordon Blake, U.S. Air Force lieutenant general (b. 1910)
• Zoltán Czibor, 68, Hungarian Olympic football player (1952 gold medal).
• Joseph Abel Francis, American Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1923)

2

• George E. Allen, American football player and coach of football and basketball (b. 1911)
• Rudolf Bing, Austrian opera manager (b. 1902)
• Boris Brunov, Soviet actor and entertainer (b. 1922)
• Karl Buckel, German military officer (b. 1920)
• Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (b. 1905)

3

• George Henry Andrews, Liberian sports journalist and minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs of Liberia (b. 1926)
• Harold G. Dick, 90, American mechanical engineer

4

• Khaled Abdul-Wahab, 86, Tunisian rescuer of Jews
• Chuck Arnold, 71, American racecar driver
• Jeffrey Bernard, British journalist (b. 1932)
• Dharamvir Bharati, Hindi poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India (b. 1926)
• Fabio di Celmo, 32, Italian entrepreneur, homicide
• Pierre Chatenet, 80, French politician
• Natko Devčić, 83, Croatian composer
• Hans Eysenck, 81, German-born British psychologist
• Alfred Kałuziński, 44, Polish handball player
• Ivan Nenov, 95, Bulgarian painter
• Lobo Nocho, 78, African-American émigré jazz singer and painter
• Jan Opperman, 58, American racecar driver
• Ken Otremba, 48, American politician, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (1995–1997), liver cancer
• Ester Paredes Jimenez, 81, Filipina activist
• Florence Engel Randall, 79, American author
• Aldo Rossi, 66, Italian architect and designer
• Belle Stewart, 91, Scottish traditional singer
• Bill Whatley, British trade unionist (b. 1922)

5

• Sir George Solti, Hungarian conductor (b. 1912)
• Mother Teresa, Albanian missionary and humanitarian, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1910)

6

• Salvador Artigas, Spanish former footballer and manager (b. 1913)
• Mary Lawson, 73, American baseball player (AAGPBL).

7

• Mukul S. Anand, Indian film director and producer (b. 1951)
• Elisabeth Brooks, Canadian actress (The Howling) (b. 1951)
• Edwin Brock, British poet (b. 1927)
• Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire (b. 1930)

8

• Helen Shaw (actress), American actress (b. 1897)
• Derek Taylor, 65, English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer

9

• Richie Ashburn, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1927)
• Sir John Hackett, British army general (b. 1910)
• Burgess Meredith, American actor (b. 1907)

10

• Satish Chandra Agarwal, Bharatiya Janata Party politician (b. 1927)
• Abraham Akaka, American clergyman (b. 1917)
• Richard Brandt, American philosopher (b. 1910)
• Bakeer Markar, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1917)
• Fritz Von Erich, American wrestler (b. 1929)

11

• Fernando Ayala, Argentine film producer, film director, screenwriter and film producer (b. 1920)
• Raymond 'Raybeez' Barbieri, American singer for New York hardcore band Warzone (b. 1961)
• Cay-Lorenz Baron von Brockdorff, German military officer (b. 1923)
• Camille Henry, 64, Canadian ice hockey player
• Hannah Weiner, 68, American poet

12

• Stig Anderson, Swedish talent manager (b. 1931)
• Constantin Andronikof, French theologian (b. 1916)
• Julien Binford, American painter (b. 1909)
• Leslie E. Brown, United States Marine Corps aviator (b. 1920)
• Leonard Maguire, Scottish actor (b. 1924)
• Judith Merril, 74, American-Canadian science fiction writer

13

• Paul Brechler, American athletic director (University of Iowa) (b. 1911)
• Robert Cant, British Labour politician (b. 1915)
• Roger Frey, French politician (b. 1913)
• Victor Szebehely, 76, Hungarian-American physicist

14

• Andrew Fountaine, 78, British far right activist.

15

• Aleksanteri Ahola-Valo, Finnish artist and architect (b. 1900)
• Angel Balevski, Bulgarian inventor and engineer (b. 1910)
• Georges Bergé, French army general (b. 1909)
• Bulldog Brower, American professional wrestler (b. 1933)
• Thomas J. Parmley, American physicist (b. 1897)

16

• Bill Burns, American journalist and news anchor (b. 1913)
• Terence Cooper, 64, British film actor.

17

• Benjamin Atkins, American serial killer (b. 1968)
• Brian Hall, English actor (Fawlty Towers) (b. 1937)
• Red Skelton, American comedian (b. 1913)
• Jan P. Syse, 66, Prime Minister of Norway (1989–1990)
• Aida Yūji, Japanese historian (b. 1916)

18

• Jimmy Witherspoon, American blues singer (b. 1920)

19

• Józef Bielawski, Polish arabist and Muslim scholar (b. 1910)
• Louis Bisson, Canadian aviator (b. 1909)
• Bill Butland, American baseball pitcher (Boston Red Sox) (b. 1918)
• Cao Jianyou, Chinese electrical engineer (b. 1917)
• Jack May, English actor (b. 1922)
• Rich Mullins, American musician (b. 1955)

20

• Sir Derek Empson, British admiral (b. 1918)

21

• Maurice Kaufmann, 70, British actor

22

• Deolindo Bittel, Argentine politician (b. 1922)
• Chiang Wei-kuo, 80, Secretary-General of the National Security Council of the Republic of China (1986–1993)
• George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy, British politician (b. 1909)
• Shoichi Yokoi, 82, Japanese soldier

23

• Darko Bratina, Italian sociologist, film theorist and politician (b. 1942)
• Shirley Clarke, American filmmaker (b. 1919)
• Wilbur R. Ingalls, Jr., American architect (b. 1923)

25

• Hélène Baillargeon, Canadian singer, actor and folklorist (b. 1916)
• Paul Bernard, British television director (b. 1929)
• Sir Anthony Dawson, British gastroenterologist (b. 1928)
• Jean Françaix, French composer (b. 1912)
• Maria Mordasova, Russian singer (b. 1915)
• Kamil Yashin, Uzbekistani poet and screenwriter (b. 1909)

27

• Walter Trampler, American violist (b. 1915)

28

• Munir Bashir, Iraqi musician (b. 1930)

29

• Roy Lichtenstein, American artist (b. 1923)

30

• Pierre Granche, 49, Canadian sculptor
• Milner Gray, British industrial design (b. 1899)

October 1997

Main article: Deaths in October 1997

1

• Jerome H. Lemelson, American inventor (b. 1923)
• Gul Mohammed, former world's shortest human (b. 1957)

2

• Sir Reginald Murley, British surgeon (b. 1916)

3

• Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Nigerian politician (b. 1908)
• John Ashley, American actor (b. 1934)
• Richard Gilkey, American painter (b. 1925)
• A. L. Rowse, British historian (b. 1903)

4

• Romano Amerio, Roman Catholic theologian (b. 1905)
• Otto Ernst Remer, German military personnel (b. 1912)
• Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese video game franchise creator (b. 1941)

5

• Chitta Basu, Indian politician and a leader of the All India Forward Bloc (b. 1926)
• Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (b. 1962)
• Arthur Tracy, American singer (b. 1899)

6

• George T. Barclay, American football player and coach (b. 1910)
• Warren Louis Boudreaux, American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (b. 1918)
• Adrienne Hill, British actress (b. 1937)
• Johnny Vander Meer, baseball player (b. 1914)

7

• Orlando Ramón Agosti, Argentine general (b. 1924)

8

• William H. Amoss, American politician (b. 1936)
• Henryk Bista, Polish actor (b. 1934)
• Albert Blumberg, American philosopher and political activist (b. 1906)

9

• Mário Brasini, Brazilian actor (b. 1921)

10

• Stella Bonheur, British actress (b. 1904)

11

• Udo Anneken, German military officer (b. 1917)
• Paul Doughty Bartlett, American chemist (b. 1907)

12

• Rodrigue Bourdages, Canadian politician (b. 1923)
• John Denver, American musician (b. 1943)

13

• Ian Stuart Black, British novelist, playwright and screenwriter (b. 1915)
• Adil Çarçani, Albanian politician (b. 1922)
• Richard Mason, British novelist (b. 1919)
• Sir William Staveley, British First Sea Lord (b. 1928)

14

• Hy Averback, American radio, television, and film actor who eventually became a producer and director (b. 1920)
• Harold Robbins, American writer (b. 1916)

16

• A. H. Armstrong, English educator and author (b. 1909)
• Noel Ferrier, Australian actor and comedian (b. 1930)
• Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, 94
• Audra Lindley, American actress (b. 1918)
• Sir Gilbert Longden, British politician (b. 1902)
• James A. Michener, American writer (b. 1907)

17

• Larry Jennings, American magician (b. 1933)

18

• Leonard Andrzejewski, Polish actor (b. 1924)

19

• Donald R. Bensen, American book editor and science fiction writer (b. 1927)
• Glen Buxton, American guitarist (b. 1947)

20

• John Jacobs, American student and anti-war activist (b. 1947)
• Ron Tarr, English actor (b. 1936)
• Robin Woods, British Anglican bishop (b. 1914)

21

• Dolph Camilli, American first baseman in Major League Baseball (b. 1907)

22

• Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator (b. 1905)
• Stratton Hammon, American architect (b. 1904)
• Reinhard Lauck, German footballer (b. 1946)
• André Sanglier, French politician (b. 1911)

23

• Wilhelm Berkenbusch, German military officer (b. 1918)
• Scrappy Blumer, American pilot (b. 1917)
• Hedley Bunton, missionary in China and a Minister in the Congregational Church in Australia (b. 1906)
• Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (b. 1916)
• Georges Pianta, French politician (b. 1912)

24

• Skip Alexander, American golfer (b. 1918)
• Don Messick, American voice actor (b. 1926)

25

• Tina Lattanzi, Italian actress and voice actress (b. 1897)
• Mina Rees, America mathematician (b. 1902)
• Firudin Shushinski, Azerbaijani musicologist and scholar (b. 1925)

26

• Georg Adelly, Swedish film actor (b. 1919)
• Donald Ray Matthews, American politician (b. 1907)

27

• Achim Gercke, 95, German politician

28

• Walter Capps, American politician (b. 1934)
• Paul Jarrico, American screenwriter (b. 1915)
• Klaus Wunderlich, 66, German musician

29

• Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos, Greek-American NASA astrophysicist (b. 1947)
• Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten (1899–1997), German Junker, soldier, business man and author (b. 1899)
• Anton LaVey, 67, American author, musician, and occultist

30

• Samuel Fuller, American screenwriter and director (b. 1912)
• Sydney Newman, 80, Canadian film and television producer

31

• Zubeida Agha, Pakistani artist (b. 1922)
• Bram Appel, Dutch footballer (b. 1921)
• Hans Bauer, German footballer (b. 1927)
• Sidney Darlington, American electrical engineer (b. 1906)

November 1997

Main article: Deaths in November 1997

1

• Victor Mills, chemical engineer for the Procter & Gamble company (b. 1897)

2

• Ayya Khema, 74, German-American Buddhist teacher

3

• Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (b. 1931)
• Satyapramoda Tīrtha, Indian philosopher (b. 1918)

4

• Morton Fetterolf, American politician (b. 1912)
• Richard Hooker, 73, American writer and surgeon

5

• James Robert Baker, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1946)
• Yemane Baria, Eritrean singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
• Sir Isaiah Berlin, British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian (b. 1909)

6

• Lillian Rogers Parks, American housemaid and seamstress in the White House (b. 1897)
• Luigi Cantone, Italian fencer and Olympic champion (b. 1917)

7

• Sheila Bellush, American woman whose murder created a media frenzy and inspired several books

8

• Lam Ching Ying, Hong Kong actor and stuntman (b. 1952)
• Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh, Iranian author (b. 1892)

9

• William Browning, American concert pianist, vocal coach and piano pedagogue (b. 1924)
• Leonard Matthews, British publisher and editor (b. 1914)

10

• Lloyd Cardwell, American football player and coach (b. 1913)

11

• William Alland, American actor, producer, writer and director of science fiction and western films (b. 1916)
• Rod Milburn, American athlete (b. 1950)
• Gintaras Ramonas, Lithuanian politician (b. 1962)

12

• Luke Brown, American professional wrestler (b. 1935)
• Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (b. 1915)

13

• André Boucourechliev, French composer (b. 1925)

14

• Eddie Arcaro, American jockey (b. 1916)
• Ann Bishop, American broadcast journalist (b. 1931)
• Paul Brown, Welsh journalist and news presenter (b. 1950)
• N. V. N. Somu, Indian politician (b. 1937)

15

• Aaron Brown, American football defensive lineman (b. 1943)
• Saul Chaplin, American composer (b. 1912)
• Douglas MacArthur II, nephew of World War II General Douglas MacArthur (b. 1909)

16

• Georges Marchais, French politician (b. 1920)

17

• Milič Čapek, Czech-born American philosopher (b. 1909)
• David Ignatow, American poet (b. 1914)
• John Wimber, American leader of the Vineyard Movement (b. 1934)

18

• Un'ichi Hiratsuka, a Japanese print-maker (b. 1895)

19

• Mary Bernheim, British biochemist (b. 1902)

20

• Asbjørn Aavik, Norwegian Lutheran missionary to China and writer (b. 1902)

21

• George Araujo, American lightweight professional boxer (b. 1931)
• Bill Boyd, American poker player (b. 1906)
• Julian Jaynes, 77, American psychologist
• Robert Simpson, English composer (b. 1921)

22

• Roger Brown, American artist (b. 1941)
• Michael Hutchence, Australian musician (b. 1960)

23

• Hulda Crooks, American mountaineer (b. 1896)
• Henry Wilson, Baron Wilson of Langside, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1916)

24

• Barbara, French singer (b. 1930)
• Bonnie HeavyRunner, founder of the Native American Studies program at the University of Montana
• Czeslaw Brzozowicz, Canadian engineer (b. 1911)

25

• Hastings Banda, 99, President of Malawi (1966–1994)
• Charles Hallahan, American film, television and stage actor, and U.S. naval armed forces veteran (b. 1943)

26

• Rudolf Buhse, Bundeswehr general (b. 1905)
• Werner Höfer, 84, German journalist

27

• David "D" Barron, Mexican Gang member (b. 1963)
• Eric Laithwaite, 76, British electrical engineer
• Buck Leonard, American baseball player (b. 1907)
• Yves Prévost, 89, Quebecois politician

28

• Qemal Butka, Albanian architect, painter, politician, and postage stamps engraver (b. 1907)
• Henry Charnock, British meteorologist (b. 1920)

29

• Thomas E. Autzen, American philanthropist (b. 1918)
• George Sodeinde Sowemimo, Nigerian jurist, Chief Justice (b. 1920)
• Coleman Young, Detroit mayor (b. 1918)

30

• Kathy Acker, American author (b. 1947)
• Shamo Quaye, Ghanaian footballer (b. 1971)

December 1997

Main article: Deaths in December 1997

1

• Julius Barnathan, American broadcast engineer (b. 1927)
• Michel Bélanger, Canadian businessman and banker (b. 1929)
• Stéphane Grappelli, 89, French-Italian jazz violinist
• Khan Ataur Rahman, Bangladeshi film director and actor (b. 1928)
• Edwin Rosario, 34, Puerto Rican boxer

2

• Shirley Crabtree, British wrestler best known as Big Daddy (b. 1930)
• Michael Hedges, American composer and guitarist (b. 1953)

3

• Stan Anderson, Scottish footballer (b. 1939)

4

• Leo August, American philatelist (b. 1914)
• Morton Bard, American psychologist and author of The Crime Victim's Book (b. 1924)
• Buck Barry, American actor and radio and television personality (b. 1917)
• Joe Brown, American boxer (b. 1925)
• Joseph Wolpe, South African psychiatrist (b. 1915)

5

• Rudolf Bahro, German politician (b. 1935)

6

• Bob Adkins, American National Football League player (b. 1917)
• Mario Benazzi, Italian zoologist (b. 1902)
• Gilbert Delahaye, 74, Belgian author (Martine)

7

• Billy Bremner, British footballer (b. 1942)
• Barry S. Brook, American musicologist (b. 1918)
• Félix Candela, Spanish architect (b. 1910)

8

• Bob Bell, American actor famous for his alter-ego, Bozo the Clown (b. 1922)
• Geoff Campion, 81, British comics artist (b. 1916)
• Sir Peter Hunt, British businessman (b. 1933)
• Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian army general and politician, Vice President (b. 1943)

9

• Lucy Jane Askew, British oldest living person (b. 1883)

10

• Anatoliy Banishevskiy, Azerbaijani footballer (b. 1946)

11

• Roger Brown, American social psychologist (b. 1925)
• Eddie Chapman, 83, English criminal and wartime spy

12

• R. Stanton Avery, American inventor (b. 1907)

14

• John Adair, American anthropologist (b. 1913)
• Owen Barfield, British philosopher, author, poet, and critic (b. 1898)
• Frank Baumholtz, American outfielder for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (b. 1918)
• Leola Brody, 75, American baseball player (AAGPBL) (b. 1922)
• Stubby Kaye, American actor (b. 1918)
• Torsten Nilsson, Swedish politician (b. 1905)

15

• Karsten Andersen, Norwegian conductor (b. 1920)
• Cosmo Campoli, American sculptor (b. 1923)

16

• Lillian Disney, the wife of Walt Disney (b. 1899)
• David L. McDonald, American admiral, Chief of Naval Operations (b. 1906)

17

• Juan Francisco Barraza, Salvadoran footballer (b. 1935)
• Ernest Bromley, American minister and civil rights and peace activist (b. 1912)
• Katharine Fowler-Billings, American writer, naturalist, and geologist (b. 1902)
• Reginald Victor Jones, 86, British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert
• Karl Kainberger, Austrian Olympic footballer (b. 1912)

18

• Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (b. 1964)

19

• Surendra Sheodas Barlingay, Indian philosopher (b. 1919)
• David Bradley, American motion picture director, actor, film collector, and university instructor (b. 1920)
• Jimmy Rogers, 73, American blues musician
• David Schramm, American astrophysicist (b. 1945)

20

• Jim Gibbons, 73, Irish TD (1957–1981; 1982)
• Juzo Itami, Japanese film director (b. 1933)
• Denise Levertov, English-born American poet (b. 1923)
• Esther Peterson, 91, Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs (1977–1981)
• Dick Spooner, English cricketer (b. 1919)

21

• Joseph Ahrens, German composer and organist (b. 1904)
• Roger Barkley, American radio personality (b. 1936)
• Amie Comeaux, American country singer (b. 1976)

22

• Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Cuban human rights activist (b. 1931)

23

• Felix Bwalya, Olympic boxer from Zambia (b. 1970)
• Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (b. 1908)

24

• Toshiro Mifune, 77, Japanese actor

25

• Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakhstani (USSR/Kazakhstan) climber (b. 1958)
• Anita Conti, French explorer and photographer (b. 1899)
• Myriam Marbe, Romanian composer and pianist (b. 1931)

26

• Cahit Arf, Turkish mathematician (b. 1910)
• Sergei Mamchur, Ukrainian-born Russian footballer (b. 1972)
• Kenneth Pitzer, 83, President of Rice University (1961–1968)

27

• Ewart Abner, American record company executive (b. 1923)
• Said Brahimi, Algerian-born French international football player (b. 1931)
• Billy Wright, Northern Irish paramilitary leader (b. 1960)

28

• Heikki A. Alikoski, Finnish astronomer (b. 1912)
• Shaikh Ayaz, Sindhi poet (b. 1923)
• Corneliu Baba, Romanian painter (b. 1906)
• Henry Barraud, French composer (b. 1900)

29

• Richard Lindsey Batten, English orthopaedic surgeon (b. 1920)
• Ignácz Berecz, Hungarian cross country skier (b. 1912)
• Robert Walter Steel, British geographer (b. 1915)

31

• Billie Dove, American actress (b. 1903)
• Michael L. Kennedy, American lawyer, son of Robert F. Kennedy (b. 1958)

Date unknown

• William Allsop, English footballer (b. 1912)
• Giacomo Amari, American mobster
• Bernard Anderson, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1919)
• Ken Arensbak, Danish lithographer and artist (b. 1923)
• Phyllis Arkle, English children's writer (b. 1910)
• George Assang, American singer and actor (b. 1927)
• Frances Baard, South African trade unionist, organiser for the African National Congress Women's League and a Patron of the United Democratic Front (b. 1909)
• Anthony Baines, English organologist (b. 1912)
• Peter Baines, Australian footballer (b. 1918)
• Durga Das Basu, Indian jurist (b. 1910)
• Evgenia Baykova, Russian Soviet realist painter and graphic artist (b. 1907)
• Braaq, English painter (b. 1951)
• Eugen Buktenica, Croatian painter (b. 1914)
• Tim Byrne, Canadian university administrator (b. 1907)
• Piero Camporesi, Italian historian (b. 1926)
• Ricardo Caputo, Argentine serial killer (b. 1949)
• Jacques Carayon, French entomologist (b. 1916)
• Chen Bochui, Chinese writer and translator (b. 1906)
• Peet Coombes, British guitarist, vocalist and songwriter (b. 1952)
• Elizabeth Fair, English writer (b. 1908)
• Laurence Henry Hicks, Australian composer (b. 1912)
• Some Muge, Kenyan long-distance runner (b. 1959)
• Jampa Tsering, 30s, Tibetan singer and dancer
• Robert B. Watson, Canadian Hall of fame jockey. b. 1913)