Deaths in December 2016 facts for kids

The following is a list of notable deaths in December 2016.

Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:

• Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.

December 2016

Sammy Lee
1920 – 2016

Gotlib
1934 – 2016

Jayalalithaa
1948 – 2016

Robert Sumner
1922 – 2016

Hildegard Hamm-Brücher
1921 – 2016

Greg Lake
1947 – 2016

John Glenn
1921 – 2016

Joseph Mascolo
1929 – 2016

Ken Hechler
1914 – 2016

William Usery
1923 – 2016

Thressa Stadtman
1920 – 2016

E. R. Braithwaite
1912 – 2016

Thomas Schelling
1921 – 2016

Alan Thicke
1947 – 2016

Bernard Fox
1927 – 2016

Craig Sager
1951 – 2016

Ben A. Gilman
1922 – 2016

Zsa Zsa Gabor
1917 – 2016

Andrei Karlov
1954 – 2016

Michèle Morgan
1920 – 2016

Franca Sozzani
1950 – 2016

Richard Adams
1920 – 2016

Rick Parfitt
1948 – 2016

George Michael
1963 – 2016

George S. Irving
1922 – 2016

Carrie Fisher
1956 – 2016

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
1933 – 2016

Debbie Reynolds
1932 – 2016

Tyrus Wong
1910 – 2016

William Christopher
1932 – 2016

1

• Don Calfa, 76, American actor (The Return of the Living Dead, Weekend at Bernie's, Me, Myself and I).
• Peter Corrigan, 75, Australian architect.
• Inkulab, 72, Indian poet and political activist.
• Joe McKnight, 28, American football player (New York Jets), shot.
• Ljubo Sirc, 96, Slovene economist.

2

• Coral Atkins, 80, English actress (A Family at War, Emmerdale), cancer.
• Lyle Bouck, 92, American military officer and war veteran (Battle of the Bulge), pneumonia.
• Billy Chapin, 72, American child actor (The Night of the Hunter).
• Cherushii, 33, American electronic musician and radio host (KALX), injuries from fire.
• Paul de Wispelaere, 88, Belgian writer.
• Sammy Lee, 96, American diver, Olympic champion (1948, 1952), pneumonia.
• Gisela May, 92, German actress and singer (Berliner Ensemble).

3

• Susan Cummings, 86, German-born American actress (Union Pacific), problems caused by a heart attack.
• Newman Darby, 88, American sailboard inventor.
• Herbert Hardesty, 91, American jazz musician.
• Brockway McMillan, 101, American government official and scientist, Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (1963–1965).
• Antonio Membrado, 81, Spanish classical guitarist.
• Rémy Pflimlin, 62, French businessman, CEO of France Télévisions, cancer.
• Bekal Utsahi, 92, Indian poet and politician, MP (1986–1992), brain haemorrhage.

4

• Hiroshi Arakawa, 86, Japanese baseball player (Mainichi Orions), batting coach (Yomiuri Giants) and manager (Yakult Swallows), cardiac arrest.
• Julia Gomelskaya, 52, Ukrainian composer, car crash.
• Gotlib, 82, French comics artist (Gai-Luron, Les Dingodossiers, La Rubrique-à-Brac).
• Ferreira Gullar, 86, Brazilian writer, essayist and art critic, pneumonia.
• Radim Hladík, 69, Czech musician (Blue Effect), pulmonary fibrosis.
• Stu Locklin, 88, American baseball player (Cleveland Indians).
• Patricia Robins, 95, British novelist, problems caused by a fall.
• Margaret Whitton, 67, American actress (Major League, The Secret of My Success, Steaming), cancer.

5

• Charles H. Belzile, 83, Canadian army general, Commander of the Canadian Army (1992–1996).
• Mogens Camre, 80, Danish politician, MP (1968–1987) and MEP (1999–2009).
• Geydar Dzhemal, 69, Russian Islamic revolutionist and activist.
• Jayalalithaa, 68, Indian actress (Sri Krishna Satya, Galatta Kalyanam, Deiva Magan), Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (1991–1996, 2001, 2002–2006, 2011–2014, since 2015), heart attack.
• Robert Sumner, 94, American Baptist pastor and author.

6

• Adolf Burger, 99, Slovak-born Czech typographer, memoirist and Holocaust survivor.
• Brittany CoxXx, 38, American trans woman and performer.
• Charles B. Reed, 75, American educator, Chancellor of State University System of Florida (1985–1998) and California State University (1998–2012).
• Peter Vaughan, 93, British actor (Game of Thrones, Brazil, The Remains of the Day), epilepsy.

7

• Warren Allmand, 84, Canadian politician, member of the House of Commons of Canada (1965–1997) and Cabinet minister (1972–1979).
• Paul Elvstrøm, 88, Danish yachtsman, Olympic champion (1948, 1952, 1956, 1960).
• Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, 95, German politician, 1994 presidential candidate.
• Junaid Jamshed, 52, Pakistani musician, television personality and preacher, plane crash.
• Alex Johnstone, 55, Scottish politician, MSP for North East Scotland (since 1999), cancer.
• Mike Kelly, 74, American politician, member of the Alaska House of Representatives (2005–2011), plane crash.
• Greg Lake, 69, English singer and musician (King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer), cancer.
• İsmet Sezgin, 88, Turkish politician, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence (1997–1999), multiple organ failure.
• Benny Woit, 88, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings).

8

• Joop Braakhekke, 75, Dutch restaurateur and television presenter, pancreatic cancer.
• Putsy Caballero, 89, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies).
• John Glenn, 95, American astronaut (Mercury-Atlas 6) and politician, U.S. Senator from Ohio (1974–1999).
• Joseph Mascolo, 87, American actor (Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, Jaws 2), problems caused by Alzheimer's disease.
• Dame Sheila Quinn, 96, British nurse, President of the Royal College of Nursing (1982–1986).
• Peter van Straaten, 81, Dutch comics artist and political cartoonist (Vader & Zoon).
• Palani Vaughan, 72, American Hawaiian music singer.

9

• Élcio Álvares, 84, Brazilian politician, Senator (1991–1994, 1995–1999), Minister of Defence (1999–2000), and Governor of Espírito Santo (1975–1979).
• Nola Ochs, 105, American centenarian, world's oldest college graduate.
• Rob Sherman, 63, American political activist, plane crash.
• William N. Small, 89, American admiral.

10

• Peter Brabrook, 79, English footballer (Chelsea, West Ham United).
• Felix Browder, 89, American mathematician.
• Bill Dineen, 84, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings) and coach.
• Wolfgang Eisenmenger, 86, German physicist.
• Damião Experiença, 81, Brazilian outsider musician.
• Étienne Fabre, 20, French racing cyclist, fall.
• A. A. Gill, 62, British writer and restaurant critic (The Sunday Times), lung cancer.
• Ken Hechler, 102, American politician, U. S. Representative from West Virginia's 4th congressional district (1959–1977) and Secretary of State of West Virginia (1985–2001), stroke.
• Hans-Eric Hellberg, 89, Swedish author (Kram) and journalist.
• George Klein, 91, Hungarian-Swedish biologist.
• Miles Lord, 97, American federal judge, U. S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (1966–1985) and Attorney General of Minnesota (1955–1960).
• John Montague, 87, Irish poet.
• William Usery, Jr., 92, American politician, Secretary of Labor (1976–1977), heart failure.

11

• Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, 82, Syrian philosopher and academician.
• João Castelo, 79, Brazilian politician, Governor of Maranhão (1979–1982), complications from surgery.
• Marie Muhammad, 77, Indonesian politician, Finance Minister (1993–1998), brain cancer.
• Marion Pritchard, 96, Dutch-born American social worker and Righteous Among the Nations, brain disease.
• Esma Redžepova, 73, Macedonian Romani singer.
• Thressa Stadtman, 96, American biochemist, member of the National Academy of Sciences (since 1981).

12

• E. R. Braithwaite, 104, Guyanese novelist (To Sir, With Love) and diplomat, heart failure.
• Myron H. Bright, 97, American judge, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1968–2016).
• Jean-Claude Deret, 95, French screenwriter (Thierry la Fronde).
• Anne Deveson, 86, Australian writer and broadcaster, Alzheimer's disease.
• Jean Fisher, 74, British art critic and writer.
• Shirley Hazzard, 85, Australian-born American writer (The Bay of Noon, The Great Fire).
• Ratan Kumar, 75, Pakistani actor (Boot Polish, Jagriti, Do Bigha Zamin).
• Jim Lowe, 93, American singer-songwriter ("Green Door").
• Jim Prior, Baron Prior, 89, British politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1981–1984) and Employment (1979–1981).
• Konrad Reuland, 29, American football player (Baltimore Ravens), brain aneurysm.
• Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, 84, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate, head of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (since 1994).
• Leo Sharp, 92, American drug dealer.
• Charles Mwando Simba, 80, Congolese politician, First Vice-President of the National Assembly (since 2012).

13

• Roy Harrover, 88, American architect, emphysema.
• Betsy Pecanins, 62, American-born Mexican singer, songwriter and record producer, stroke.
• Thomas Schelling, 95, American economist and professor, Nobel Prize winner (2005), problems caused by a hip fracture.
• David Strangway, 82, Canadian geophysicist.
• Alan Thicke, 69, Canadian actor (Growing Pains, Not Quite Human), talk show host (The Alan Thicke Show), and songwriter, ruptured aorta.

14

• Paulo Evaristo Arns, 95, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Cardinal (since 1973) and Archbishop of São Paulo (1970–1998), pneumonia.
• Bernard Fox, 89, Welsh actor (Titanic, Bewitched, The Mummy), heart failure.
• Garrett K. Gomez, 44, American jockey.
• Hurricane Run, 14, Irish racehorse, euthanized.
• Karel Husa, 95, Czech-born American composer.
• Halfdan T. Mahler, 93, Danish physician, Director-General of the World Health Organization (1973–1988).
• Sadatoshi Ozato, 86, Japanese politician, member of the House of Representatives (1979–2005) and Minister of Labour (1990–91).
• Päivi Paunu, 70, Finnish singer, cancer.
• Bunny Walters, 63, New Zealand singer ("Brandy").

15

• Howard Bingham, 77, American photographer and biographer (Muhammad Ali).
• Leanna Brown, 81, American politician, member of the New Jersey General Assembly (1980–1984) and State Senate (1984–1993).
• Shep Houghton, 102, American actor (The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Perry Mason).
• Osiride Pevarello, 96, Italian actor (Caligula, Ator 2 - L'invincibile Orion).
• Craig Sager, 65, American sportscaster (NBA on TNT), leukemia.
• Bohdan Smoleń, 69, Polish comedian, singer and actor, lung infection.
• Ron Ziel, 77, American railway historian.

16

• Faina Melnik, 71, Ukrainian-born Russian discus thrower, Olympic champion (1972).
• Jim Williams, 90, American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Florida (1975–1979).

17

• Eric Defoort, 73, Belgian politician, President of the European Free Alliance (since 2010).
• Benjamin A. Gilman, 94, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 20th, 22nd and 26th congressional districts (1973–2003), problems caused by hip surgery.
• Bill Hanna, 86, American politician, Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana (1978–1982).
• Henry Heimlich, 96, American physician, inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, problems caused by a heart attack.
• Gordon Hunt, 87, American voice director (The Jetsons, Uncharted) and voice actor (Dilbert), Parkinson's disease.
• Leanid Marakou, 58, Belarusian journalist, writer and historian, brain cancer.

18

• Zsa Zsa Gabor, 99, Hungarian-born American actress (Moulin Rouge, Touch of Evil, Lili) and socialite, heart attack.
• William H. Hudnut III, 84, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 11th congressional district (1973–1975), Mayor of Indianapolis (1976–1992) and Mayor of Chevy Chase, Maryland (2004–2006).
• Gustavo Quintero, 76, Colombian singer-songwriter, stomach cancer.
• Gordie Tapp, 94, Canadian country singer and entertainer (Hee Haw).

19

• Ger Blok, 77, Dutch football manager (Honduras and Myanmar national teams).
• Lionel Blue, 86, British rabbi, journalist and broadcaster, complications from Parkinson's disease.
• Anne Borg, 80, Norwegian ballet dancer.
• Phil Gagliano, 74, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox).
• Hugh Iltis, 91, Czechoslovakian-born American botanist, complications of a vascular disease.
• Andrei Karlov, 62, Russian politician, Ambassador to Turkey (since 2013), shot.
• Dick Latessa, 87, American actor (Hairspray, Promises, Promises, Stigmata), heart failure.
• Anupam Mishra, 68, Indian author, journalist and environmentalist.
• Anique Poitras, 55, Canadian writer.
• Kishori Sinha, 91, Indian politician, MP for Vaishali (1980–1989).
• Fidel Uriarte, 71, Spanish footballer (Athletic Bilbao, national team).

20

• Raymond Heacock, 88, American engineer.
• El Hortelano, 62, Spanish painter.
• Patrick Jenkin, Baron Jenkin of Roding, 90, British politician, Secretary of State for Social Services (1979–1981), Industry (1981–1983), and Environment (1983–1985).
• Andrew Karpati Kennedy, 85, Hungarian-born British author and literary critic.
• Michèle Morgan, 96, French actress (Port of Shadows, Passage to Marseille, La Symphonie pastorale).
• Archie Norman, 104, British paediatrician.

21

• Welington de Melo, 70, Brazilian mathematician.
• Sidney Drell, 90, American physicist.
• Abdul Gafur Hali, 87, Bangladeshi singer, composer and lyricist.
• John Gwilliam, 93, Welsh rugby union player (national team).
• Robert Leo Hulseman, 84, American entrepreneur, inventor of the red solo cup.
• Jaan Klõšeiko, 77, Estonian printmaker and photographer.

22

• Mocho Cota, 62, Mexican professional wrestler (CMLL).
• Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, 80, Russian-Georgian activist and politician.
• Solomon Levy, 80, Gibraltarian politician, Mayor of Gibraltar (2008–2009).
• Philip Saville, 86, British television director (A Night Out, Madhouse on Castle Street) and screenwriter.
• Franca Sozzani, 66, Italian journalist, Editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia (since 1988).
• Sir Dwight Venner, 70, Vincentian banker.
• Lella Vignelli, 82, Italian designer, dementia.
• Lillian Walker, 93, American politician.
• Miruts Yifter, 72, Ethiopian long distance runner, Olympic champion (1980), respiratory failure.

23

• John Aitchison, 90, Scottish statistician.
• Robert Hinde, 93, British zoologist, Master of St John's College, Cambridge (1989–1994).
• Andrés Rivera, 88, Argentine writer.
• Piers Sellers, 61, British astronaut and meteorologist, pancreatic cancer.
• Luba Skořepová, 93, Czech actress (Arabela).
• Vesna Vulović, 66, Serbian flight attendant, world record holder for longest fall and sole survivor of JAT Flight 367.

24

• Edith Ackermann, 70, Swiss-born American psychologist.
• Richard Adams, 96, British author (Watership Down, The Plague Dogs, Shardik), complications from a blood disorder.
• Pape Badiane, 36, French basketball player (Chorale Roanne, Poitiers Basket 86, national team), car crash.
• Jeffrey Hayden, 90, American television director and producer (Peyton Place, The Donna Reed Show).
• Ted Meines, 95, Dutch military officer and veteran affairs activist.
• Rick Parfitt, 68, British singer, songwriter and guitarist (Status Quo), sepsis caused by an infection.
• Edwin Reinecke, 92, American politician, member of the U.S House of Representatives from California's 27th congressional district (1965–1969) and Lieutenant Governor of California (1969–1974).
• Liz Smith, 95, English actress (The Royle Family, I Didn't Know You Cared, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

25

• Karl Golser, 73, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Bolzano-Bressanone (2008–2011).
• George Michael, 53, British singer (Wham!) and songwriter ("Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper", "Faith"), Grammy winner (1987, 1989), cardiomyopathy.
• Alphonse Mouzon, 68, American jazz drummer (Weather Report, The Eleventh House) and record label owner, neuroendocrine cancer.
• Miriam Pirazzini, 98, Italian opera singer.
• Vera Rubin, 88, American astronomer, innovator of dark matter theory, dementia.
• Notable Russian people killed in the Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash:
  • Elizaveta Glinka, 54, humanitarian worker and charity activist.
  • Anton Gubankov, 51, scholar and journalist, Director of the Department of Culture (since 2013).
  • Valery Khalilov, 64, military band conductor.

26

• Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, Greek diplomat, Ambassador to Brazil, murdered.
• Jaume Camprodon i Rovira, 90, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Girona (1973–2001).
• George S. Irving, 94, American actor (Underdog, Me and My Girl, The Year Without a Santa Claus), heart failure.
• József Katona, 75, Hungarian swimmer.
• Seth J. McKee, 100, American military officer.
• Peter Nowell, 88, American cancer researcher.
• Luciano Panetti, 87, Italian football player and manager.
• Elvio Porta, 71, Italian screenwriter and film director (What if Gargiulo Finds Out?).
• Martin Reagan, 92, English football player and manager (women's national team).
• Barbara Tarbuck, 74, American actress (General Hospital, Short Circuit, American Horror Story), Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.

27

• Maurice Failevic, 83, French film director.
• Carrie Fisher, 60, American actress (Star Wars, When Harry Met Sally...), novelist and screenwriter (Postcards from the Edge), cardiac arrest.
• Claude Gensac, 89, French actress (Scènes de ménages).
• Hans Tietmeyer, 85, German economist, President of Deutsche Bundesbank (1993–1999).
• Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, 83, Sri Lankan politician, Prime Minister (2000–2001, 2005–2010).
• Chuck Wright, 97, American politician, Mayor of Topeka (1965–1969).

28

• Gregorio Conrado Álvarez, 91, Uruguayan politician, President (1981–1985).
• Pierre Barouh, 82, French actor (A Man and a Woman), writer and musician, heart attack.
• Gilles Borrie, 91, Dutch politician and historian, Mayor of Sleen (1960–1968), Tiel (1968–1973), Rheden (1973–1979), and Eindhoven (1979–1987).
• Michel Déon, 97, French novelist and literary columnist, pulmonary embolism.
• Donya Fannizadeh, 49, Iranian puppeteer (Kolah Ghermezi), cancer.
• Debbie Reynolds, 84, American actress (Singin' in the Rain, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Irene), dancer and singer ("Tammy"), stroke.
• Edgar Robles, 39, Paraguayan footballer (Libertad).
• Jean-Christophe Victor, 69, French political scientist, heart attack.

29

• Raymond Burki, 67, Swiss cartoonist, cancer.
• Kamal Mani Dixit, 87, Nepalese writer.
• LaVell Edwards, 86, American football coach (BYU Cougars), problems caused by a broken hip.
• Néstor Gonçalves, 80, Uruguayan footballer (Peñarol).
• Santi Ibáñez, 58, Spanish actor (El Cor de la Ciutat), lung cancer.
• Aleksander Koj, 81, Polish biochemist.
• Ferdinand Kübler, 97, Swiss racing cyclist, Tour de France winner (1950).
• Maurice M. Paul, 84, American judge.
• William Salice, 83, Italian businessman and inventor (Kinder Surprise), stroke.
• Peter Tamm, 88, German publishing manager (Axel Springer Verlag).
• Olga Ulianova, 53, Russian-Chilean historian, cancer.
• Philip Wolfe, 89, American mathematician.

30

• Thomas Ludger Dupré, 83, American Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts (1995–2004).
• Judith Ortiz Cofer, 64, Puerto Rican-American writer, liver cancer.
• Gopal Rath, 71, Indian poet.
• Glen L. Rudd, 98, American general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Huston Smith, 97, American religious scholar and author (The World's Religions).
• Sutter Brown, 13, American Welsh Corgi belonging to Governor of California Jerry Brown.
• Allan Williams, 86, English businessman and promoter (The Beatles).
• Tyrus Wong, 106, Chinese-born American artist and movie production illustrator (Bambi, Around the World in 80 Days).

31

• William Christopher, 84, American actor (M*A*S*H, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Smurfs), small-cell carcinoma.
• Henning Christophersen, 77, Danish politician, Foreign Minister (1978–1979), Finance Minister (1982–1984), Vice-President of the European Commission (1985–1995).
• Henk Koning, 83, Dutch politician, MP (1967–1977, 1981–1982, 1986, 1989–1991).
• David Meltzer, 79, American poet and musician, stroke.
• Shirley Neil Pettis, 92, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 37th congressional district (1975–1979).
• Prince Dimitri Romanov, 90, Russian prince, banker, philanthropist, and author, claimant to the headship of the Imperial House of Russia.