Deaths in January 1987

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The following is a list of notable deaths in January 1987.

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.

January 1987

1

• Velma Abbott, 57, American baseballer in the American Girls Professional Baseball League.
• Avard Fairbanks, 89, American sculptor.
• Maurice Mandelbaum, 78, American philosopher and phenomenologist.

2

• Ramón Castroviejo, 82, Spanish and American eye surgeon and corneal transplantation pioneer.
• Hazel Daly, 91, American film actress.
• Lovat Dickson, 84, Canadian publisher and writer.
• Arthur Gould-Porter, 81, English film, television and stage actor.
• Jean de Gribaldy, 64, French road cyclist and directeur sportif.
• Harekrushna Mahatab, 87, Indian politician, leader of the Indian National Congress, Chief Minister of Odisha.
• Alfred Schindler, 92, American industrialist, acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

3

• Mustafa Bouyali, 46–47, leader of the Algerian Islamic Armed Movement, killed in an ambush.
• Alex "Big Daddy" Campbell, 55, Scottish folk singer, tuberculosis.
• Arvind Deshpande, 54, Indian film, theatre and television actor and theatre director.
• Sunder Lal, Indian independence activist and politician, Member of Parliament.
• John Bartlow Martin, 71, American diplomat, author, ambassador and speechwriter, throat cancer. ^[1]
• William R. Poage, 87, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, heart failure.
• Franck Sylvain, 77, Haitian politician, acting President of Haiti.

4

• Peggy Bacon, 91, American artist, known for satirical caricatures. ^[2]
• Lauretta Bender, 89, American child neuropsychiatrist, developed the Bender-Gestalt Test. ^[3]
• Aubert C. Dunn, 90, American attorney and politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• John A. Seitz, 78, American general of the U.S. Army.

5

• Margaret Laurence, 60, Canadian novelist and short story writer, suicide. ^[4]
• Dale Mitchell, 65, American Major League baseballer, heart attack. ^[5]
• Helenka Pantaleoni, 86, American silent-screen actress. ^[6]
• Herman Smith-Johannsen, 111, Norwegian skier and supercentenarian, pneumonia.

6

• Taddy Aycock, 71, American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana.
• Daniel Carney, 42, Rhodesian novelist, cancer.
• Sir Robert Cooke, 56, British politician, Member of Parliament, motor neuron disease.
• Margaret Danhauser, 65, American baseballer in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
• Jaidev, 68, Kenyan-Indian music composer.
• N. N. Kakkad, 59, Indian poet, cancer.
• Jack Schwarz, 90, American independent producer of low-budget feature films.

7

• Martha George, 94, native American tribal leader, chairperson of the Suquamish tribe.
• Lakshmi, 65, Indian writer.
• Avner Less, 71, German-Israeli police officer, interrogated Adolf Eichmann after he was captured.
• Jackie Mitchell, 73, American female baseballer, struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.

8

• Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt, 85, English art teacher, writer, artist and curator of Watts Gallery.
• Leo Callaghan, 62, Welsh football referee in the English Football League.
• Nana Joshi, 60, Indian Test cricketer, liver cancer.
• Mary Lindell, 91, English woman, front-line nurse in World War I, member of the French Resistance in World War II.
• Walter R. Mansfield, 75, American judge, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, stroke.
• Myron Prinzmetal, 78, American cardiologist.
• Christian F. Schilt, 91, American general in the U.S. Marine Corps.
• Phil Seghi, 77, American front-office executive in Major League Baseball, cancer. ^[7]

9

• Carl Gunnar Engström, 74, Swedish physician and inventor.
• Arthur Lake, 81, American actor, heart attack.
• Jack Lathrop, 73, American vocalist and guitarist.
• Bill Noël, 72, American oilman, industrialist, banker, philanthropist and civic leader, cancer.
• Alex B. Novikoff, 73, Russian Empire–born American biologist. ^[8]

10

• Steve Casey, 78, Irish sport rower and world champion wrestler.
• Ian Harvey, 72, British businessman and politician, Member of Parliament.
• Marion Hutton, 67, American singer and actress, cancer. ^[9]
• Dominick Labino, 76, American scientist, inventor, artist and master craftsman in glass. ^[10]
• Handsome Ned, 29, Canadian country singer and songwriter, overdose.
• David Robinson, 82, British entrepreneur and philanthropist.
• Ferdinand Maria von Senger und Etterlin, 63, German soldier in the Nazi Wehrmacht, general in the post-war Bundeswehr.

11

• Albert Ferber, 75, Swiss pianist.
• Hugo Fregonese, 78, Argentine film director and screenwriter, heart attack.
• Betty von Fürer-Haimendorf, 75–76, British ethnologist in India and Nepal.
• Jacques Hérold, 76, Romanian surrealist painter.

12

• Harold Krents, 42, blind American lawyer, author and activist, brain tumour.
• Ralph Maxwell Lewis, 82, American mystic, Imperator of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis.
• Norah Michener, 84–85, Canadian wife of Roland Michener, Governor General of Canada, Alzheimer's disease.
• Glenn Odekirk, 81, American aerospace engineer. ^[11]
• Herbert Tiede, 71, German actor.

13

• Vladimir Alatortsev, 77, Soviet chess player, author and administrator.
• Alfred Young Allee, 81, American Texas ranger, sheriff and game warden.
• Anatoly Efros, 61, Soviet theatre and film director. ^[12]
• Charlotte Friend, 65, American virologist, noted for her discovery of the Friend leukemia virus. ^[13]
• Matt Hazeltine, American NFL footballer, Lou Gehrig's disease. ^[14]
• Igor Ilyinsky, 85, Soviet stage and film actor, director and comedian.
• Elvira Ríos, 73, Mexican singer and actress, kidney failure and bladder cancer.
• Tony Sansone, 81, Italian-American bodybuilder and model, colon cancer.
• Geoffrey Tiarks, 77, British Anglican bishop.

14

• Warwick Oswald Fairfax, 85, Australian businessman, philanthropist, journalist and playwright.
• Desmond FitzGerald, 75, Irish architect, designer of original Dublin Airport terminal building.
• Park Jong-chul, 21, South Korean democracy movement activist, death by torture.
• Gerald C. MacCallum Jr., 61, American philosopher.
• Douglas Sirk, 89, German film director. ^[15]
• Rauli Somerjoki, 39, Finnish rock singer, alcohol-related ailments.
• Jai Ram Varma, 82, Indian freedom fighter and politician, Member of Parliament.
• Sam Wagstaff, 65, American art curator and collector, pneumonia arising from AIDS. ^[16]

15

• Carl-Fredrik Algernon, 61, Swedish Navy officer, hit by train.
• Harald Bode, 77, German engineer, pioneer in the development of electronic musical instruments.
• Ray Bolger, 83, American actor, singer and dancer, the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, bladder cancer. ^[17]
• Rudolf Carl, 87, Austrian actor.
• José Antonio Gallardo, 25, Spanish footballer, complications from an injury during a game.
• Dolores Hawkins, 57, American rhythm and blues singer.
• John Alexander Fraser Roberts, 87, Welsh geneticist and psychiatrist.
• Heather Thatcher, 90, English actress in theatre and films.
• Philip Young, 76, American government official and diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands. ^[18]

16

• Achankunju, 56, Indian actor.
• Arthur Drexler, 61, American museum curator and director of the Museum of Modern Art. ^[19]
• Joyce Jameson, 59, American television actress, suicide.
• Lita McClinton, 35, American socialite and murder victim.
• Colin Scrimgeour, 83, New Zealand Methodist Minister and broadcaster.
• V. Viswanathan, 77, Indian ICS officer, Governor of Kerala, Lieutenant Governor of Himachal Pradesh.
• Bertram Wainer, 58, Australian doctor, campaigned for legal access to abortion in Victoria, heart attack.
• Earl Wilson, 79, American journalist, gossip columnist and author, stroke. ^[20]

17

• Aram Avakian, 60, American film editor and director. ^[21]
• Harry Darby, 91, American politician, U.S. Senator. ^[22]
• Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, 82, Tibetan Buddhist leader.
• Lawrence Kohlberg, 59, American psychologist, suicide.
• Jozo Penava, 77, Bosnian-Herzegovinian music producer, composer, arranger, musician and vocalist.
• Fazil Rahu, 52–53, Pakistani political leader, assassinated.
• Gu Zhutong, 94, Chinese military general, Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of China Armed Forces.

18

• Sergio Blažić, 35, Croatian hard rock musician, Hodgkin's disease.
• Esmail Daghayeghi, 32–33, Iranian military commander, hit by missile.
• Renato Guttuso, 75, Italian painter and politician, member of the Senate, lung cancer.
• Helen Block Lewis, 73, American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, cancer. ^[23]
• Lauro Salas, 58, Mexican lightweight boxer and world champion.
• George Thalben-Ball, 90, Australian-English organist and composer.

19

• Gerald Brenan, 92, Maltese-writer of British decent who lived mostly in Spain.
• Harry Keller, 73, American film editor, producer and director.
• Ira C. Kepford, 67, American pilot with the U.S. Navy, flying ace in World War II.
• Dick Milford, 91, English clergyman, educator and philanthropist.
• George Selkirk, 79, Canadian Major League baseballer. ^[24]
• Hermann Voss, 92, German anatomist, unpunished war criminal.

20

• Tom Dollery, 72, English Test cricketer.
• Annie Fox, 93, Canadian-American, first woman to receive the Purple Heart for combat.
• Hermann Giesler, 88, Nazi German architect.
• Charles Pasquale Greco, 92, American Roman Catholic Church bishop.
• Donald W. MacKinnon, 84, American psychologist and University of California professor.
• Thomas "Ta" Power, 33, Irish politician and paramilitary, shot.
• James L. Richardson, 77, American lieutenant general in the U.S. Army.
• Periyasaamy Thooran, 78, Indian Tamil poet, teacher and composer of Carnatic music.

21

• Jenny Aubry, 83, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
• Nina Byron, 86, New Zealand-American silent-screen actress and showgirl.
• Victor Goddard, 89, British senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
• Charles Goodell, 60, American politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, heart attack.
• Ikki Kajiwara, 50, Japanese author, manga writer and film producer.

22

• Barbro Alving, 78, Swedish journalist, writer, pacifist and feminist.
• Ann Parker Bowles, 68, British aristocrat and Girl Guides leader, mother of Queen Camilla.
• R. Budd Dwyer, 47, American politician, suicide.
• Stan Keon, 71, Australian politician, member of the Federal House of Representatives.
• Patrick du Val, 83, British mathematician.

23

• Ben-Zion, 89, Russian-American painter, printmaker, sculptor, educator and poet.
• E. Nelson Bridwell, 55, American writer for Mad magazine, lung cancer.
• Sergei Chernikov, 74, Russian mathematician.
• Asim Ferhatović, 53, Yugoslav international footballer, heart attack.
• Gregor Strniša, 56, Slovenian poet, playwright and songwriter.

24

• Norman Dodd, 87, American banker and bank manager.
• Tetsuji Murakami, 59, Japanese karate representative to Europe.
• Clara Thalmann, 78, Swiss journalist, athlete and militia woman who fought during the Spanish Civil War.

25

• William Devlin, 75, Scottish film and television actor.
• Julian Hoke Harris, 80, American artist.
• Emil Hlobil, 85, Czech composer and music professor.
• Henry Krips, 74, Austrian-Australian conductor and composer.
• Nahuel Moreno, 62, Argentinian Trotskyist leader.
• Mihrişah Sultan, 70, Ottoman princess, daughter of heir to the throne Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin.
• Piero Vida, 48, Italian film actor.

26

• Adolf Ciborowski, 67, Polish architect, urban planner and politician.
• Mollie Maureen, 82, Irish actress.
• Charles Wolcott, 80, American music composer.

27

• Allan V. Cox, 60, American geophysicist, suicide. ^[25]
• Allison Danzig, 88, American sportswriter. ^[26]
• Geoffrey Charles Evans, 86, English lieutenant general in the British Army.
• Samuel G. Fuqua, 87, American rear admiral of the U.S. Navy.
• Antanas Maceina, 79, Lithuanian philosopher, educator, theologian and poet.
• Norman McLaren, 72, Scottish Canadian animator and director.
• Ralph G. Neppel, 63, American doldier in the U.S. Army.
• Richard Sapir, 50, American author, best known for The Destroyer series of novels, heart attack.

28

• Gangadhar V. Chittal, 63, Indian Kannada poet, Parkinson's disease.
• George Dow, 79, British railway employee and author.
• Ralph Faulkner, 95, American fencer, film actor and Olympian.
• Galo Plaza, 80, Ecuadorian statesman, President of Ecuador, heart attack.
• Valerian Trifa, 72, Romanian Orthodox cleric and fascist political activist, heart attack. ^[27]

29

• Carlo Cassola, 69, Italian novelist and essayist. ^[28]
• Emvin Cremona, 67, Maltese artist and stamp designer.
• Mounir Abou Fadel, 74, Lebanese politician, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon.
• Josep Vicenç Foix, 94, Spanish Catalan poet, writer and essayist.
• Vincent R. Impellitteri, 86, Italian-American politician and judge, Mayor of New York City, Parkinson's disease.
• Gerhard Klopfer, 81, German Nazi Party official and chief deputy of Martin Bormann. ^[29]
• Princess Pilar of Bavaria, 95, German Royal, only daughter of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria.
• Eva Primrose, 94, English daughter of Henry Bruce, 2nd Baron Aberdare.

30

• Dionysios Arbouzis, appr. 74, Greek Hellenic Army general.
• Johnnie Cradock, 82, English cook, writer and broadcaster.
• Ken Drake, 65, American film and television actor.
• Harold Loeffelmacher, 81, American musician and bandleader.
• Ante Topić Mimara, 88, Croatian art collector.
• Héctor Varela, 73, Argentinian tango bandoneónist, bandleader and composer.

31

• Yves Allégret, 81, French film director.
• Julian Antonisz, 55, Polish filmmaker, artist, film animator, screenwriter, composer and inventor.
• Idris Barzani, 42–43, Kurdish politician, heart attack.
• Edmund J. Pendleton, 87, American composer and musician.

Unknown date

• Delano Ames, 80–81, American writer of detective stories.
• Pierre Chapo, 59, French furniture designer and craftsman, Lou Gehrig's disease.
• Don Levy, 54–55, Australian-artist and filmmaker, suicide.
• Atholl Oakeley, 86, British wrestler and wrestling promoter.
• Saul Tepper, 87, American illustrator and songwriter.

References

1. Robert O. Boorstin (January 5, 1987). "JOHN BARTLOW MARTIN, 71, AUTHOR AND ENVOY, DIES" . The New York Times . p. B 4. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
2. John T. McQuiston (January 7, 1987). "PEGGY BACON, 91, ILLUSTRATOR AND AUTHOR OF GENTLE SATIRES" . The New York Times . p. A 20. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
3. Joan Cook (January 17, 1987). "LAURETTA BENDER A PSYCHIATRIST, 88" . The New York Times . p. 1 15. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
4. "Margaret Laurence, Canadian Novelist" . The New York Times . January 6, 1987. p. D 22. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
5. "Dale Mitchell Is Dead; Played for 11 Seasons" . The New York Times . January 6, 1987. p. D 22. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
6. "HELENKA A. PANTALEONI" . The New York Times . January 7, 1987. p. A 20. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
7. "PHIL SEGHI" . The New York Times . January 9, 1987. p. D 16. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
8. "Alex B. Novikoff Dies; Professor and Biologist" . The New York Times . January 11, 1987. p. 1 22. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
9. "Marion Hutton, 67, Vocalist With Glenn Miller Orchestra" . The New York Times . January 12, 1987. p. B 6. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
10. "Dominick Labino, 76, Artist And Inventor of Glass Works" . The New York Times . January 13, 1987. p. D 26. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
11. "Glenn Odekirk Dead; Builder of Flying Boat" . The New York Times . January 15, 1987. p. B 8. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
12. Felicity Barringer, Special To the New York Times (January 14, 1987). "DIRECTOR OF MOSCOW THEATER" . The New York Times . p. D 23. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
13. Harold M. Schmeck Jr. (January 16, 1987). "RESEARCHED CANER VIRUSES" . The New York Times . p. D 18. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
14. "Matt Hazeltine, 53, Is Dead; Former Linebacker for 49ers" . The New York Times . January 17, 1987. p. 1 15. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
15. "DOUGLAS SIRK, MADE 'MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION'" . The New York Times . January 16, 1987. p. D 19. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
16. Grace Glueck (January 16, 1987). "SAM WAGSTAFF, 65, A CURATOR AND PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTOR" . The New York Times . p. D 19. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
17. Glenn Fowler (January 16, 1987). "RAY BOLGER, SCARECROW IN 'OZ,' DIES" . The New York Times . p. D 19. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
18. Wolfgang Saxon (January 19, 1987). "EISENHOWER'S PERSONNEL CHIEF" . The New York Times . p. D 8. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
19. Joseph Giovannini (January 17, 1987). "ARTHUR DREXLER, 61, AUTHORITY ON ARCHITECTURE" . The New York Times . p. 1 15. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
20. Glenn Fowler (January 17, 1987). "CHRONICLER OF SHOW BUSINESS" . The New York Times . p. 1 15. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
21. Jeremy Gerard (January 22, 1987). "ARAM AVAKIAN, 60, DIRECTOR AND EDITOR OF FILMS AND TV" . The New York Times . p. B 20. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
22. "HARRY DARBY" . The New York Times . January 18, 1987. p. 1 28. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
23. "Helen Lewis, 73, Dies; Psychoanalysis Expert" . The New York Times . January 23, 1987. p. B 4. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
24. "GEORGE SELKIRK" . The New York Times . January 20, 1987. p. B 7. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
25. "Dr. Allan V. Cox Dies at 60; Geologist and Stanford Dean" . The New York Times . February 1, 1987. p. 1 36. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
26. Peter B. Flint (January 28, 1987). "ALLISON DANZIG, 88, TIMES WRITER, DIES" . The New York Times . p. D 26. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
27. Ari L. Goldman (January 29, 1987). "VALERIAN TRIFA, AN ARCHBISHOP WITH A FASCIST PAST, DIES AT 72" . The New York Times . p. B 6. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
28. "Carlo Cassola, Author Of Novels and Stories" . The New York Times . January 30, 1987. p. B 8. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
29. "GERHARD KLOPFER, GENERAL IN TH SS" . The New York Times . February 5, 1987. p. B 6. Retrieved May 4, 2024.