Deaths in 2003
Famous individuals who have died recently.
Note: When updating this page, be sure to use the actual date of death, not the date it was announced.
- 8 Adam Faith, British singer and actor
- 3 Horst Buchholz, German actor
- 2 Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, Master of the Queen's Music
- 2 Hank Ballard, singer, composer, famous for his hit "The Twist"
- 28 Roger Needham, computer pioneer. [1]
- 28 Fidel Sanchez Hernandez, former President of El Salvador
- 28 Chris Brasher, athlete
- 27 Mr. Rogers children's tv personality
- 25 Tom O'Higgins, former Irish Chief Justice & twice defeated Irish presidential candidate
- 22 Jesica Santillan, heart and lung patient whose wrong transplant made headlines
- 20 Harry Jacunski, former NFL player, Green Bay Packers
- 20 Orville Freeman, former Governor of Minnesota and Secretary of Agriculture for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
- 19 Johnny PayCheck, country music singer
- 18 Jack Brodsky, movie producer and publicist
- 17 Steve Bechler, baseball pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
- 14 Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal
- 14 Johnny Longden, jockey
- 13 Kid Gavilan, world boxing champion and hall of famer
- 13 Walt Rostow, political advisor
- 10 Clark MacGregor, former United States Congressman
- 10 Al Ruffo, former mayor of San Jose, California who helped form the San Francisco 49ers football team in 1946
- 10 Ron Ziegler former press secetary for Richard Nixon during the Watergate Scandal.
- 9 Kerri Yascheshyn Canadian Cancer patient whose friendship with Madonna made headlines.
- 7 John Reading, Mayor of Oakland, California from 1966 to 1977 who supported the building of the Oakland Coliseum.
- 2 Dr. Harold S. Ginsberg, microbiologist
- 2 Lou Harrison, American composer, noted for his microtonal works.
- 1 Astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia
- 1 Mongo Santamaria, percussionist, band leader, Latin jazz musician
- 26 Lord Younger, (George Younger) British politician, Secretary of State for Scotland between 1979 and 1986
- 26 Lord Dacre (Hugh Trevor-Roper), British historian, authenticator of the hoaxed Hitler Diaries
- 26 Valeriy Brumel, track and field athlete
- 24 Gianni Agnelli, Italian entrepreneur and president of Fiat
- 23 Nell Carter, singer, actress
- 23 Aodhagán Brioscú, last surviving founder of Irish cultural organisation Gael Linn
- 22 Bill Mauldin, World War II cartoonist
- 21 Tony O'Malley, Irish artist and painter.
- 21 Seán Malone, retired university professor and pioneer of biological psychiatry in the Republic of Ireland.
- 20 Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player.
- 20 Al Hirschfeld, caricaturist
- 19 Françoise Giroud, French writer and politician.
- 18 Richard Crenna, actor
- 12 Maurice Gibb, of the Bee Gees
- 12 Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri, former dictator of Argentina
- 11 Mickey Finn, of T._Rex
- 11 Maurice Pialat, French movie director.
- 8 Ron Goodwin, British film music composer and conductor
- 6 Lila Mayoral, former first lady of Puerto Rico, wife of Rafael Hernandez Colon
- 5 Roy Jenkins, British Labour MP and co-founder, first leader of, then Peer for, the Social Democratic Party
- 4 Conrad Hall, Hollywood cinematographer. A two-time Academy Award-winner.
- 3 Sid Gillman, American football coach
- 2 Sydney Omarr, astrologer, newspaper columnist.
- 2 Bob Chalker, former United States diplomat.
- 1 Joe Foss, politician, fighter pilot, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor
- 30 Mary Wesley novelist, author of The Camomile Lawn
- 27 George Roy Hill, film director (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting)
- 26 Herb Ritts, celebrity photographer
- 26 Armand Zildjian, cymbals manufacturer
- 25 William T. Orr, Television executive (brought Maverick, F-Troop and 77 Sunset Strip to TV)
- 24 Tomas Henriquez, Venezuelan actor
- 23 Joe Strummer, former singer for The Clash.
- 22 Kenneth Tobey, Prolific character actor (appeared in about 100 films including: 12 OClock High, Gunfight at OK Corral, The Thing From Another World and Airplane!)
- 22 Desmond Hoyte, President of Guyana from 1985 to 1992
- 19 Tony Barr, actor and TV executive
- 19 Asif Ramzi, Pakistani militant wanted for the murder of reporter Daniel Pearl, blew himself up while making explosives.
- 18 Ramon John Hnatyshyn, former Governor-General of Canada
- 17 Hank Luisetti, basketball star and innovator
- 13 Zal Yanofsky member of Lovin' Spoonful music group.
- 12 Dee Brown, author (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee)
- 10 Ian MacNaughton, director of most episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
- 9 Stan Rice, painter, educator, poet, husband of author Anne Rice
- 6 Charles Rosen, Pioneer in artificial intelligence
- 6 Father Philip Berrigan, priest, political activist
- 5 Roone Arledge, creator of Monday Night Football and Nightline dies at age 71
- 5 Ne Win, Burmese dictator
- 3 Glenn Quinn, actor
- 26 Verne Winchell, founder of Winchell's Donuts and nicknamed "The Donut King"
- 25 Rosa Carrillo, Univision news anchor
- 24 John Rawls, political theorist
- 21 Hadda Brooks, U.S. jazz singer, pianist and composer, aged 86
- 19 Prince Alexandre de Merode, International Olympic Committee member
- 18 James Coburn, actor
- 17 Pedro Cabrera, Cuban actor and director who was a star in Puerto Rico's television for many years.
- 17 Abba Eban, Israeli foreign affair minister
- 17 Milivi Adams, young cancer victim who became the symbol of the fight of many Vieques citizens to have the military out of there.
- 15 Myra Hindley, the Moors murderess
- 15 Eddie Bracken, actor
- 7 Rudolf Augstein, founder and chief editorialist of the German newsweekly Der Spiegel
- 6 Sid Sackson, board game designer
- 3 Jonathan Harris, TV's "Dr. Smith" on Lost in Space
- 3 Lonnie Donegan, skiffle musician
- 2 Charles Sheffield, science fiction author and physicist
- 2 Brian Behan, Irish writer, younger brother of Brendan Behan
- 30 Jam Master Jay, DJ of Run DMC
- 29 Chang-lin Tien, Educator
- 25 Richard Harris, Actor
- 25 Paul Wellstone, United States Senator
- 24 Harry Hay, US gay rights activist and Mattachine Society founder
- 24 Adolph Green, American lyricist and playwright
- 22 Richard Helms, former CIA director
- 18 Roman Tam, canto-pop singer
- 13 Stephen Ambrose, historian
- 10 Christine Stevens, founder of the Animal Welfare Institute
- 6 Claus von Amsberg, diplomat and husband of the Dutch Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
- 4 Alphonse Chapanis, a founder of ergonomics
- 3 Bruce Paltrow, television and film producer
- 2 Heinz von Foerster, physicist and philosopher, one of the founders of constructivism
- 1 Walter Annenberg, publisher and philanthropist
- ?? Brian Williams, Basketball star in the NBA.
- 22 Jan de Hartog, novelist and playwright
- 21 Angelo Buono, Jr., the "Hillside Strangler"
- 21 Robert L. Forward, physicist and science fiction author
- 19 Sergei Bodrov Jr., Russian movie star
- 18 Bob Hayes National Football League Dallas Cowboys star, and Olympic games Hall of Fame member.
- 12 Kim Hunter, actress
- 11 Johnny Unitas National Football League Hall of fame quarterback.
- 8 Alfonso Ramirez Famous Mexican Bullfighter
- 7 John P. Frank Lawyer whose representation of Ernesto Miranda in 1966 helped create the Miranda Rights reading requirement.
- 4 Frankie Albert, National Football League star
- 1 Brandon Hall, College American football University of Minnesota defensive lineman
- 31 Lionel Hampton, jazz musician
- 27 Richard Ricci, Utah, Handyman, suspected of the kidnapping of 14 year old Elizabeth Smart
- 25 Dorothy Hewett, Australian poet, playwright and novelist
- 24 Wayne Simmons, American Football Ex Lions NFL player
- 24 Hoyt Wilhelm, Baseball Hall of Fame member
- 19 Abu Nidal, terrorist
- 19 Sunday Silence, thoroughbred race horse, winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes
- 15 Jesse Brown, former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- 14 Larry Rivers, American painter
- 12 Enos Slaughter, baseball Hall of Famer
- 10 Doris Wishman, cult movie director
- 6 Edsger Dijkstra, computer scientist
- 5 Josh Ryan Evans, Actor, played Timmy on Passions
- 5 Chick Hearn, television and radio announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team since 1960
- 3 Carmen Silvera, UK television and theatre actress. Played Fiona Gray in Dad's Army, Captain Manwaring's secret love, and Edith in Allo Allo
- 23 Leo McKern, actor best known for playing Rumpole of the Bailey and one of the Number Twos in The Prisoner
- 23 William Pierce, rocket scientist, neo-Nazi, author of "The Turner Diaries"
- 23 Chaim Potok, author
- 22 Prince Ahmed bin Salman, member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, owner of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner War Emblem
- 19 Alexander Ginzburg, leading Soviet dissident (alternatively Aleksandr Ginzburg)
- 19 Alan Lomax, documenter of blues and folk songs
- 16 John Cocke, key figure in the development of RISC architecture
- 16 Jack Olsen, "True crime" writer
- 14 Joaquin Balaguer, former President of the Dominican Republic
- 13 Yousuf Karsh, celebrity portrait photographer
- 10 John Wallach, journalist
- 9 Rod Steiger, actor
- 9 Laurence Janifer, Science Fiction writer
- 8 Anthony Swithin, fantasy writer, paleontologist
- 8 Ward Kimball, Disney animator
- 6 John Frankenheimer, film director
- 5 Ted Williams, Baseball Hall of Fame member
- 5 Katy Jurado, actress
- 4 Benjamin O. Davis Jr., African-American General
- 29 Rosemary Clooney, singer
- 28 Arthur "Spud" Melin, responsible for marketting hula-hoop and frisbee.
- 27 John Entwistle, bassist for The Who
- 26 Jay Berwanger, college football player, first winner of the Heisman Trophy
- 24 Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk
- 24 Pierre Werner, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, "father of the Euro"
- 23 Pedro 'El Rockero' Alcazar, Panama boxer died after losing his world Flyweight championship to Fernando Montiel in Las Vegas the night before
- 22 Esther Pauline Friedman, author of the Ann Landers column
- 22 Darryl Kile, Major League Baseball player, age 33
- 18 Jack Buck, Major League Baseball announcer
- 17 Fritz Walter, footballer, captain of 1954 World Cup winners.
- 17 Willie Davenport, Olympic Games champion
- 12 Bill Blass, fashion designer.
- 10 John Gotti, imprisoned mobster.
- 11 Robin Crosby, guitarist of rock band Ratt.
- 06 Hans Janmaat, controversial far-right politician in the Netherlands.
- 05 Dee Dee Ramone, founding member of The Ramones
- 04 Fernando Belaunde Terry, democratic president of Peru, 1963-1968 and 1980-1985.
- 01 Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer
- 26 Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian marathon runner
- 23 Sam Snead, golfer
- 22 (remains discovered; actual death probably took place sometime in 2001), Chandra Levy, U.S. Congressional intern
- 21 Niki de Saint Phalle, french artist
- 20 Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist and popular science author
- 19 John Gorton, 19th Prime Minister of Australia
- 17 Joe Black, Baseball first Black pitcher to win a World Series game.
- 16 Edwin Alonzo Boyd noted Canadian bank-robber and prison escaper of the 1950's.
- 16 Alec Campbell, Australia's last surviving ANZAC died in a nursing home, aged 103.
- 13 Ruth Cracknell, redoubtable Australian actress most famous for the long-running role of Maggie Beare in the series "Mother and Son", aged 76.
- 12 Joseph Bonanno, Sicilian, former boss of a Mafia crime family.
- 07 Seattle Slew last triple crown winner on 25th anniversary of winning Kentucky Derby
- 06 Pim Fortuyn, controversial politician in the Netherlands, shot.
- 05 Hugo Banzer Suárez, president of Bolivia, as dictator 1971-1978 and democratic president 1997-2001.
- 03 Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal, current president of Somaliland and former prime minister of Somalia and British Somaliland.
- 28 Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician
- Ruth Handler, inventor of the Barbie doll
- 27 Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Industrialist and art collector.
- 25 Lisa Lopes, Singer with band TLC
- 23 Linda Boreman better known as Linda Lovelace, porn star turned political activist
- 19 (Body discovered), Layne Staley, Singer with band Alice In Chains
- 18 Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian anthropologist
- 16 Franz Krienbühl, Swiss speed skater
- 16 Robert Urich, Actor cancer
- 15 Byron White, US athlete and Supreme Court justice
- 8 Maria Felix, superstar Mexican actress.
- 7 John Agar, actor in monster movies
- 5 Layne Staley, Singer with band Alice In Chains
- 31 Barry Took, UK comedian and writer, also wrote in the US
- 30 Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen mother, member of the British Royal Family.
- 27 Milton Berle, Mr. Television, US comedian
- 27 Dudley Moore, UK actor and writer
- 25 Kenneth Wolstenholme, British football commentator
- 20 Ivan Novikoff, Russian premier ballet master
- 27 Spike Milligan, UK comedian, writer and actor
- 22 Chuck Jones, US animator
- 21 John Thaw, British actor, most famous for the detective series,Morse and The Sweeney.
- 15 Mike Daar Baseball San Diego Padres prospect
- 15 Howard K. Smith, TV journalist
- 15 Kevin Smith (actor), played Ares on Xena series
- 11 Barry Foster, British actor.
- 9 Princess Margaret, British royal family (sister of Queen Elizabeth II)
- 6 Max Perutz, founder of molecular biology
- 28 Dick 'Night Train' Lane American Football,NFL Hall of Famer
- 28 Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's book author
- 23 Robert Nozick, philosopher
- 22 Peggy Lee, US Singer, Actress
- 16 Carl Bobo Olson, boxer, world Middleweight champion in 1953 and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
- 14 Ted Demme, film and television director
- 12 Stanley Unwin, comedian
- 11 Cyrus Vance, former US Secretary of State, international peacemaker.
- 8 Dave Thomas, US entrepreneur, founder of Wendy's hamburger restaurants.
- 3 Freddy Heineken, beer magnate.
- 30 Eileen Heckart, US actor, Oscar winner
- 8 Don Tennant, US advertising executive, invented Tony the Tiger for Kellogg's and the Marlboro Man
- 5 Sir Peter Blake, British sailor and environmentalist, shot by pirates on the Amazon River.
- 29 John Knowles, author, "A Separate Peace"
- 29 George Harrison, British musician
- 28 William Kienzle, writer, murder mysters with Catholic priest detective
- 24 Melanie Thornton, aged 34, singer, (plane crash near Zurich)
- 22 Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics.
- 11 Ken Kesey, author, counter-cultural figure.
- 15 Zhang Xue-liang, aged 101 -- important figure in recent Chinese history
- 12 Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone (Quintin Hogg), aged 94 -- British lawyer and politician
- 22 Isaac Stern, aged 81 -- violinist
- 13 Victor Wong, aged 74 --American Movie Actor/Artist,
- 11 Barbara K. Olson, US television commentator
- 9 Ahmed Shah Massoud, Afghani Northern Alliance military commander.
- 3 Pauline Kael, aged 82 -- American movie critic
- 2 Christiaan Barnard, aged 78 -- South African heart surgeon, first to perform a human-to-human heart transplant
External Link
For earlier deaths see 20th century, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, ...