Deaths in May 1988

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The following is a list of notable deaths in May 1988.

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.

May 1988

1

• Claude Demetrius, 71, American songwriter.
• Ben Lexcen, 52, Australian yachtsman and marine architect, designed winged keel which won America's Cup, heart attack. ^[1]
• Louis Maurer, 84, Swiss footballer and manager.
• Erwin Nyc, 73, Polish international footballer.
• Paolo Stoppa, 81, Italian actor, leukemia.

2

• John Weir Foote, 83, Canadian military chaplain and politician.
• Pavel Kadochnikov, 72, Soviet actor, film director and screenwriter.

3

• Julia Butler Hansen, 80, American politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives.
• José María Jáuregui, 92, Spanish footballer and Olympian.
• Takeshi Kimura, 76, Japanese screenwriter, throat obstruction.
• Premendra Mitra, 83, Indian poet, writer and film director. ^[2]
• Lev Pontryagin, 79, Soviet mathematician. ^[3]
• Bill Speidel, 76, American newspaper columnist.
• Paul Vario, 73, American mobster from the Lucchese crime family, respiratory failure from lung cancer.

4

• Stanley William Hayter, 86, English painter. ^[4]
• Jan Mazurkiewicz, 91, Polish military leader and politician.
• Oleg Zhakov, 83, Soviet film actor.

5

• Norm Betson, 73, Australian rules footballer.
• Jack Daly, 72, Irish politician.
• Billo Frómeta, 72, Dominican orchestra conductor, arranger and composer.
• Katharine DuPre Lumpkin, 90, American writer.
• Hamid Mirza, 70, Iranian heir presumptive of former ruling dynasty of Iran, son of last Qajar Crown Prince of Iran.
• George Rose, 68, English actor and singer in theatre and film, murdered. ^[5]
• Michael Shaara, 59, American author of science fiction, sports fiction and historical fiction, heart attack. ^[6]

6

• Joep Brandes, 67, Dutch international footballer.
• Richard Caliguiri, 56, American politician, mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• Costantino Nivola, 76, Italian-American sculptor, heart attack. ^[7]
• Austin Robertson Sr., 79, Australian rules footballer.

7

• Alberto de Zavalía, 77, Argentine film director and film producer. ^[8]

8

• Robert A. Heinlein, 80, American science fiction author, emphysema and heart failure. ^[9]
• Charles Pollock, 85, American abstract painter, brother of artist Jackson Pollock. ^[10]
• Abdel Moneim Wahby, 76, Egyptian international basketballer, referee and Olympian.

9

• Willie Moir, 66, Scottish international footballer.
• Moses Scott, 76, Archbishop of the Province of West Africa.

10

• Ciarán Bourke, 53, Irish musician.
• Shen Congwen, 85, Chinese writer, heart attack. ^[11]
• Richard B. Ogilvie, 65, American attorney and law enforcement officer, Governor of Illinois. ^[12]

11

• Isabella Gordon, 86, Scottish marine biologist.
• Kim Philby, 76, British intelligence officer and spy, heart failure. ^[13]

12

• Paul Osborn, 86, American playwright and screenwriter.
• Hank Schenz, 69, American Major League baseballer.

13

• Chet Baker, 58, American jazz trumpeter and vocalist, fall from building. ^[14]
• Sergey Gorshkov, 78, Soviet Admiral of the Fleet.
• Friedrich Guggenberger, 73, German admiral and Nazi U-boat commander.
• Irene Manton, 84, British botanist, Professor of Botany at University of Leeds.
• Albertine Winner, 81, British physician and medical administrator.

14

• Fred Atkins, 77–78, New Zealand—born Canadian professional wrestler.
• Ernesto Giménez Caballero, 88, Spanish writer, diplomat and pioneer of Fascism.
• Willem Drees, 101, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands. ^[15]
• Zhuang Xiquan, 99, Chinese politician.

15

• Andrew Duggan, 64, American actor, throat cancer. ^[16]
• Fulvia Franco, 56, Italian actress and model.
• Greta Nissen, 82, Norwegian-American film and stage actress, Parkinson's disease. ^[17]
• R. B. Nunnery, 54, American NFL footballer.
• Thomas E. Stephens, 84, Irish-American politician. ^[18]

16

• Charles Keeping, 63, English illustrator and children's book author, brain tumour.
• Jules Levin, 66, American politician.
• Anatoli Maslyonkin, 57, Soviet international footballer and Olympic gold medalist.
• Peter J. Ortiz, 74, United States Marine Corps colonel, cancer. ^[19]
• Bruce Watson, 78, Scottish organic chemist and politician.

17

• Frank Gallop, 87, American radio and television personality.
• Guy Glover, 77, Canadian producer and administrator.

18

• Daws Butler, 71, American voice actor, heart attack.
• Anthony Forwood, 72, English actor, liver cancer and Parkinson's disease.
• Brandon Rhys-Williams, 60, British politician, Member of Parliament, pneumonia as complication of leukemia.
• F. Elizabeth Richey, 75, American field hockey and squash coach.
• Enzo Tortora, 59, Italian television presenter, cancer.

19

• Dave McCleave, 76, English boxer and Olympian.
• Lloyd Vaughan, 79, American animator.

20

• Ana Aslan, 91, Romanian biologist and physician. ^[20]
• Nick Corwin, 8, American murder victim.
• Dick Jacobs, 70, American musician, conductor, arranger and orchestrator.
• Mike Reinbach, 39, American Major League baseballer, car accident.
• Marion G. Romney, 90, American Mormon leader. ^[21]
• Victorio Unamuno, 78, Spanish footballer.

21

• Harry Babasin, 67, American jazz bassist.
• Richard J. Daronco, 56, American lawyer and judge, assassinated.
• Sammy Davis Sr., 87, American dancer, father of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. ^[22]
• Dino Grandi, 92, Italian Fascist politician. ^[23]
• Barbara Laage, 67, French film actress.
• Guillermo Marín, 82, Spanish film and theatre actor.

22

• Giorgio Almirante, 73, Italian politician, founder and leader of neo-fascist Italian Social Movement. ^[24]

23

• Roberto Succo, 26, Italian serial killer, suicide. ^[25]

24

• Tom Adair, 74, American songwriter, composer and screenwriter.
• Tom Burtt, 73, New Zealand test cricketer and international hockey player.
• Freddie Frith, 79, British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion.
• Ernest Labrousse, 93, French historian.
• Aleksei Losev, 94, Soviet philosopher.

25

• Ruth Malcomson, 82, Miss America 1924.
• Karl August Wittfogel, 91, German-American playwright and historian, pneumonia. ^[26]

26

• Jules Gales, 63, Luxembourgian international footballer and Olympian.
• Juan Orol, 90, Spanish-Mexican actor, film producer, director and screenwriter, liver disease. ^[27]
• Nicolò Vittori, 79, Italian rower and Olympic gold medalist.

27

• John DiGilio, 55, American mobster with the Genovese crime family, murdered.
• Florida Friebus, 78, American writer and actress of stage, film and television.
• Hjördis Petterson, 79, Swedish actress.
• Ernst Ruska, 81, German physicist, Nobel laureate in Physics. ^[28]
• Alwyn Warren, 87, New Zealand Anglican Bishop of Christchurch.

28

• Adolfo Contoli, 90, Italian pentathlete, decathlete, hurdler, pole vaulter, long jumper and high jumper, Olympian.
• Felix Morrow, 81, American communist political activist and newspaper editor.
• Sy Oliver, 77, American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader.
• Evelyn Page, 89, New Zealand artist.
• Alfredo Volpi, 92, Brazilian painter.
• S. B. Yalegama, 62, Sri Lankan politician, member of Parliament, assassinated.

29

• Henry Johansen, 83, Norwegian international footballer.
• Vladimír Menšík, 59, Czechoslovakian actor and entertainer, asthma.
• Siaka Stevens, 82, Sierra Leone politician, Prime Minister and President of Sierra Leone. ^[29]
• Elaine Black Yoneda, 81, American labour and civil rights activist, member of Communist Party, heart attack. ^[30]

30

• Iseline Crivelli, 85, Italian alpine skier and Olympian.
• Elton Plummer, 73, Australian rules footballer.
• Ella Raines, 67, American film and television actress, throat cancer. ^[31]

31

• Edward Meagher, 79, Australian politician, member of Victorian Legislative Assembly.
• Dwarka Prasad Mishra, 86, Indian politician, writer and journalist.
• Arthur Olliver, 71, Australian rules footballer.
• Eduardo de Robertis, 74, Argentine physician and biologist.
• Tursun Uljabayev, 72, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan.

Unknown date

• Rosa Collazo, 83–84, Puerto Rican political activist.
• Ted Ward, 70–71, Welsh international rugby union and rugby league footballer.

References

1. "Ben Lexcen, Designer Of Innovative Yacht" . The New York Times . May 2, 1988. p. D 14. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
2. Biswajit Sinha; Ashok Kumar Choudhury (1996). Encyclopaedia of Indian Writers: Bengali. Eastern Book Linkers. p. 100. ISBN   978-81-86339-31-2.
3. Yakov Sinai (October 8, 2003). Russian Mathematicians In The 20th Century. World Scientific. p. 345. ISBN   978-981-4492-55-3.
4. Michael Brenson (May 6, 1988). "Stanley William Hayter, 86, Dies; Painter Taught Miro and Pollack" . The New York Times . p. A 32. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
5. Andrew L. Yarrow (May 6, 1988). "George Rose, 68, Broadway Star And Winner of 2 Tonys, Is Dead; A Versatile Perennial" . The New York Times . p. A 32. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
6. "Michael J. Shaara, 58; Pulitzer Prize Winner" . The New York Times . May 9, 1988. p. D 11. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
7. Grace Glueck (May 7, 1988). "Costantino Nivola, 76, A Sculptor Of Public and Small-Scale Works" . The New York Times . p. 1 33. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
8. "Alberto de Zavalía - Social Networks and Archival Context". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
9. Harold Bloom (1995). Science Fiction Writers of the Golden Age. Chelsea House. p. 111. ISBN   978-0-7910-2199-6.
10. Michael Brenson (May 10, 1988). "Charles Pollock, Abstract Painter And Brother of Jackson, Dies at 86" . The New York Times . p. D 26. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
11. "Obituaries: Shen Congwen; Chinese Author Provided Vivid Picture of Rural Life in Chaotic Era". Los Angeles Times. Times Wire Services. May 14, 1988. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
12. John T. McQuiston (May 11, 1988). "Richard B. Ogilvie Is Dead at 65; Illinois Governor From '68 to '72" . The New York Times . p. D 19. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
13. Andrew Graham-Yooll (1992). Point of Arrival: Observations Made on an Extended Visit. Pluto. p. 28. ISBN   978-0-7453-0671-1.
14. Jeroen de Valk (2000). Chet Baker: His Life and Music. Berkeley Hills Books. p. 2. ISBN   978-1-893163-13-3.
15. Christopher Riches; Dennis Kavanagh (September 19, 2013). A Dictionary of Political Biography. OUP Oxford. p. 290. ISBN   978-0-19-251843-9.
16. Andrew L. Yarrow (May 18, 1988). "Andrew Duggan, an Actor on TV, Stage and the Screen, Dies at 64" . The New York Times . p. B 8. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
17. Eugene Michael Vazzana (May 1995). Silent film necrology: births and deaths of over 9000 performers, directors, producers, and other filmmakers of the silent era, through 1993. McFarland. p. 245. ISBN   9780786401321 . Retrieved July 31, 2010.
18. Alfonso A. Narvaez (May 17, 1988). "T. E. Stephens, Eisenhower Aide And G.O.P. Strategist, Dies at 84" . The New York Times . p. D 25. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
19. Alfonso A. Narvaez (May 21, 1988). "Col. Peter J. Ortiz, 75, Legendary Marine Officer" . The New York Times . p. 1 10. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
20. Glenn Fowler (May 29, 1988). "Ana Aslan, Rumanian Specialist On the Aging Process, Dies in 90's" . The New York Times . p. 1 28. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
21. Glenn Fowler (May 21, 1988). "Marion G. Romney, 90, President Of the Mormon Council of Twelve" . The New York Times . p. 1 10. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
22. "Sammy Davis Sr. Dies; Vaudeville Star Was 87" . The New York Times . May 24, 1988. p. D 24. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
23. Glenn Fowler (May 24, 1988). "Count Dino Grandi, 92, Early Ally of Mussolini" . The New York Times . p. D 25. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
24. "Giorgio Almirante, Italian Neo-Fascist, Dies at 73" . The New York Times . May 23, 1988. p. D 11. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
25. "Roberto Succo". data.bnf.fr (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
26. Alfonso A. Narvaez (May 26, 1988). "Karl A. Wittfogel, Social Scientist Who Turned on Communists, 91" . The New York Times . p. B 14. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
27. "Juan Orol, Film Director, 90" . The New York Times . May 28, 1988. p. 1 10. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
28. George Thomas Kurian (2002). The Nobel Scientists: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Prometheus Books. p. 230. ISBN   978-1-57392-927-1.
29. White Paper on the Report of the Justice Beccles Davies Commission of Inquiry Into the Assets and Other Related Matters of All Persons who Were Presidents, Vice-presidents, Ministers, Ministers of State, and Deputy Ministers, Within the Period from the 1st Day of June, 1986 to the 22nd Day of September, 1991... Sierra Leone Government. 1993. p. 1.
30. Katherine Bishop, Special To the New York Times (May 30, 1988). "Elaine Black Yoneda, 81, Radical Labor Activist" . The New York Times . p. 1 28. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
31. Newsweek. Newsweek. 1988. p. 72.