Deaths in August 1988

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The following is a list of notable deaths in August 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.

August 1988

1

• Orville Carlisle, 71, American inventor of the model rocket motor.
• Red Coffey, 65, American voice actor and comedian ( Tom and Jerry ).
• John Dearden, 80, American Roman Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Detroit, pancreatic cancer. ^[1]
• Florence Eldridge, 86, American actress. ^[2]
• Sheldon Kinser, 45, American race car driver.
• Georges Wambst, 86, French cyclist. ^[3]
• Gertrude Welcker, 92, German stage and silent-screen actress. ^[4]

2

• Jack Breslin, 68, American university administrator (Michigan State University). ^[5]
• Joe Carcione, American consumer advocate, the "Green Grocer", intestinal cancer. ^[6]
• Raymond Carver, 50, American short-story writer and poet ( What We Talk About When We Talk About Love , Cathedral), lung cancer. ^[7]
• Nityanand Kanungo, 88, Indian politician, Governor of Bihar and Gujarat.
• Nada Klaić, 68, Croatian historian.

3

• Lillian Bilocca, 59, British fisheries worker, known for improving safety in the fishing industry, peritoneal cancer. ^[8]
• Campbell Copelin, 87, English-Australian actor.
• Tucker McGuire, 75, American-British film and television actress.
• Krishnaswami Ramiah, 96, Indian agricultural scientist, geneticist and parliamentarian.
• Paddy Walsh, 81, Australian rules footballer.
• Vic Watson, 90, English international footballer.

4

• Allan Adair, 90, British army Major General.
• Brian Brake, 61, New Zealand photographer, heart attack.
• Charles B. Brownson, 74, American World War II veteran, member of U.S. House of Representatives.
• Toshiwo Doko, 91, Japanese engineer. ^[9]
• Harry Lee Waterfield, 77, American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky.

5

• Red Davis, 80, American NFL footballer.
• James Devereux, 85, American general of the U.S. Marine Corps, member of U.S. House of Representatives, pneumonia.
• Colin Higgins, 47, French-Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director and producer, AIDS-related illness. ^[10]
• Arif Hussain Hussaini, 41, Indian-Pakistani revolutionary leader, assassinated.
• Ralph Meeker, 67, American film, stage and television actor, heart attack. ^[11]

6

• John Bingham, 79, English thriller, detective and spy novelist ( My Name Is Michael Sibley ), MI5 spy.
• Anatoly Levchenko, 47, Soviet cosmonaut, brain tumour. ^[12]
• Francis Ponge, 89, French essayist and poet. ^[13]
• J. Skelly Wright, 77, American circuit judge. ^[14]

7

• Wilfred Jackson, 82, American animator, arranger, composer and director.

8

• Alan Ameche, 55, American NFL player (Baltimore Colts), heart attack. ^[15]
• Kid Chocolate, 78, Cuban boxer.
• George Estregan, 49, Filipino film actor.
• Henri Frenay, 82, French military officer and member of the French Resistance.
• Félix Leclerc, 82, Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and political activist.
• Alan Napier, 85, English actor. ^[16]
• Dominic Serventy, 84, Australian ornithologist.

9

• Woodrow Adams, 71, American guitarist and harmonica player.
• Jimmie Fidler, 89, American columnist, journalist and radio and television personality. ^[17]
• Owen Jenkins, 82, Welsh Anglican priest.
• Giacinto Scelsi, 83, Italian composer, cerebral hemorrhage. ^[18]
• Ramón Valdés, 63, Mexican actor and comedian, stomach cancer. ^[19]

10

• Arnulfo Arias, 86, Panamanian politician, President of Panama, heart attack. ^[20]
• Antoine Blanchard, 77, French painter. ^[21]
• Jean Brachet, 79, Belgian biochemist (RNA). ^[22]
• Jan-Magnus Bruheim, 74, Norwegian poet and children's writer.
• Adela Rogers St. Johns, 94, American journalist, novelist and screenwriter.
• Paul Thek, 54, American painter and sculptor, AIDS. ^[23]

11

• Nellikode Bhaskaran, 64, Indian actor (Sarapancharam).
• Alfred Kelbassa, 63, German international footballer.
• K. Avukader Kutty Naha, 68, Indian politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala.
• Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, 56, French opera director, set and costume designer, pulmonary embolism following a fall.
• Anne Ramsey, 59, American actress, cancer. ^[24]
• Jack Regan, 75, Australian rules footballer.

12

• Jean-Michel Basquiat, 27, American artist ( Hollywood Africans ), heroin overdose. ^[25]
• Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar, 92, Indian guru, writer and spiritual leader.

13

• Mel Almada, 75, Mexican Major League baseballer (Boston Red Sox). ^[26]
• Fred Below, 61, American blues drummer, liver cancer.
• Per Digerud, 55, Norwegian cyclist and Olympian.
• Keith Hancock, 90, Australian historian and academic.
• James Heaslip, 87, Australian politician, member of South Australian Parliament.
• Sydney Jacobson, 79, British journalist, editor and political commentator.
• Gajanan Jagirdar, 81, Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, heart attack.
• Otto Passman, 88, American politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives. ^[27]
• William H. Phelps Jr., 85, Venezuelan ornithologist and businessman. ^[28]
• Tenor Saw, 21, Jamaican dancehall singjay, hit and run accident.
• Gordon H. Scherer, 81, American lawyer and politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives. ^[29]
• Edward Bennett Williams, 68, American lawyer and businessman, colon cancer. ^[30]

14

• Roy Buchanan, 48, American guitarist and blues musician, suicide. ^[31]
• Robert Calvert, 43, South African–born British writer, poet and musician, heart attack. ^[32]
• Michael Crowder, 54, British historian and author. ^[33]
• Enzo Ferrari, 90, Italian motor racing driver and car maker, leukemia. ^[34]
• Hollis Dow Hedberg, 84, American geologist. ^[35]

15

• Barry Bingham Sr., 82, American media patriarch in Louisville, Kentucky. ^[36]
• Rudy Collins, 54, American jazz drummer.
• Ronald Stein, 58, American film composer, pancreatic cancer.
• Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt, 86, German composer, musicologist and music historian and critic.
• Hartman Turnbow, 83, Mississippi farmer, orator and activist during the Civil Rights Movement.

16

• Rashad Barmada, 74–75, Syrian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Syria.
• Fred Butters, 84, English international rugby league footballer.
• Ron McAuliffe, 70, Australian politician and rugby league administrator, Australian senator, stroke.
• Rick Newsom, 38, American NASCAR Winston Cup driver, plane crash.

17

• Jack Cutting, 80, American international content supervisor and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. ^[37]
• Akhtar Abdur Rahman, 64, Pakistani Army general, plane crash.
• Arnold Lewis Raphel, 45, American diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, plane crash.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., 74, American lawyer and politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives, lung cancer.
• Siddique Salik, 52, Pakistani army officer, plane crash.
• Victoria Shaw, 53, Australian film and television actress, emphysema.
• Samuel Silkin, 70, British politician, Attorney General for England and Wales.
• Jack Straus, 58, American professional poker player, aortic aneurysm.
• Bob Troughton, 84, Australian rules footballer.
• Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, 64, Pakistani military officer, President of Pakistan, plane crash. ^[38]

18

• Sir Frederick Ashton, 83, British ballet dancer and choreographer ( Symphonic Variations , Ondine ). ^[39]
• Felix Maria Davídek, 67, Czechoslovakian Roman Catholic bishop. ^[40]
• Don Hummel, 80, American businessman and politician, mayor of Tucson.
• Michael Perrin, 82, Canadian-British scientist.
• Jessica Powers, 83, American poet and nun, stroke.
• Ernst Simon, 88, German educator and religious philosopher.

19

• Patrick Donner, 83, British Member of Parliament.
• Don Haggerty, 74, American actor of film and television.
• Russ Hathaway, 92, American NFL football player.

20

• Jean-Paul Aron, 63, French writer and journalist, AIDS. ^[41]
• Leon McAuliffe, 71, American Western swing guitarist.
• Joan G. Robinson, 78, British author and illustrator of children's books.
• Lazarus Salii, 51, Palau politician, President of Palau, suicide by shooting. ^[42]

21

• H. G. Adler, 78, Czechoslovakian-English poet and novelist, Holocaust survivor.
• Teddy Diaz, 25, Filipino musician and composer (The Dawn), murdered.
• Ray Eames, 78, American artist and designer. ^[43]
• Eino Kirjonen, 55, Finnish ski jumper and Olympian.
• Stuart Leary, 55, South African footballer and first-class cricketer, suicide.
• Jerry Warren, 63, American film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer and actor, lung cancer.

22

• James Ryng, 75, Irish hurler.

23

• Gerald Drayson Adams, 88, Canadian-American business executive and film writer ( Dead Reckoning , The Big Steal ).
• José Manuel de Sousa e Faro Nobre de Carvalho, 76, Portuguese army brigadier-general, Governor of Macau.
• C. Desmond Greaves, 74, English Marxist activist and historian.
• Laud Humphreys, 57, American sociologist and Episcopal priest, lung cancer.
• Josef Klehr, 83, German Nazi SS-Oberscharführer, Nazi concentration camp supervisor.
• Hans Lewy, 83, Prussian-American mathematician. ^[44]
• Alf Martinsen, 76, Norwegian international footballer and Olympic medalist.
• Menotti Del Picchia, 96, Brazilian poet, journalist and painter.
• Jack Sher, 75, American newspaper columnist, songwriter, film director, film writer and producer. ^[45]

24

• C. Chhunga, 72, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Mizoram.
• Leonard Frey, 49, American actor, complications from AIDS. ^[46]
• Kenneth Leighton, 58, British composer and pianist, oesophageal cancer.
• Nat Stuckey, 54, American country singer, lung cancer.

25

• Caziel, 82, Polish-born artist.
• Price Daniel, 77, American jurist and politician, Governor of Texas, stroke. ^[47]
• Françoise Dolto, 79, French pediatrician and psychoanalyst, pulmonary fibrosis. ^[48]
• Gilbert Gil, 74, French film actor.
• Art Rooney, 87, American founding owner of Pittsburgh Steelers NFL football team, complications of a stroke. ^[49]

26

• Donald De Lue, 90, American sculptor (Harvey S. Firestone Memorial). ^[50]
• Carlos Paião, 30, Portuguese singer and songwriter, car accident.
• Fred Peart, 74, British politician, leader of the Houses of Lords and Commons.
• Milton Sperling, 76, American film producer and screenwriter, cancer.

27

• Lala Aragami, 65, Indian poet.
• Jinavajiralongkorn, 91, Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.
• Max Black, 79, Azerbaijani-British-American philosopher of language, mathematics, science and art. ^[51]
• Charles Farrell, 88, Irish stage, film and television actor.
• Irene Higginbotham, 70, American songwriter and concert pianist.
• Jack Kane, 80, Australian senator.
• Mario Montenegro, 60, Filipino film actor, heart attack.
• William Sargant, 81, British psychiatrist.

28

• Hazel Dawn, 98, American actress (The Pink Lady). ^[52]
• Paul Grice, 75, British philosopher of language. ^[53]
• Guy Hocquenghem, 41, French writer and philosopher, AIDS-related complications.
• Jean Marchand, 69, Canadian trade unionist and politician.
• Max Shulman, 69, American writer and humorist, bone cancer. ^[54]

29

• David A. Hargrave, 42, American game designer and writer of fantasy and science fiction role-playing games.
• Horace Henderson, 83, American jazz pianist, organist, arranger and bandleader.
• Wilfred Johnson, 52, American mobster, murdered.
• Algirdas Klimaitis, 77–78, Lithuanian paramilitary commander.

30

• James N. Black, 48, American jazz drummer. ^[55]
• Yan Kelun, 75, Chinese politician, diabetes.
• Jack Marshall, 76, New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand. ^[56]

31

• Grace Eldering, 87, American public health scientist.
• Vasil Mzhavanadze, 85, Georgian Soviet politician, First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party.

Unknown date

• Surat Alley, 82–83, Indian trade unionist and political activist in Britain.
• Albert Büchi, 81, Swiss road bicycle racer.
• John Willie Parker, 63, English footballer.
• Sammy Thompson, 55, British trade unionist, cancer.

References

1. Wolfgang Saxon (August 2, 1988). "John Cardinal Dearden, 80, Dies; Leading Liberal Voice in Church" . The New York Times . p. A 17. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
2. The Annual Obituary. St. Martin's. 1988. p. 365. ISBN   978-1-55862-050-6.
3. "Ciclismo - Georges Wambst" (in Spanish). LosDeportes.info. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
4. Gertrude Welcker
5. Obit Jacweir Breslin. Newspapers.com (Battle Creek Enquirer). Retrieved 30 May 2024.
6. Joe Carcione, TV's 'Green Grocer,' 73. New York Times. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
7. Carol Sklenicka (November 24, 2009). Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life. Simon and Schuster. p. 478. ISBN   978-1-4391-6058-9.
8. Quest for change penned in memoir. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
9. "Toshiwo Doko Is Dead; Industry Chief Was 91" . The New York Times . August 5, 1988. p. B 6. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
10. Sarah Lyall (August 7, 1988). "Colin Higgins, Film Director, 47, Creator of 'Harold and Maude'" . The New York Times . p. 1 34. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
11. Mervyn Rothstein (August 6, 1988). "Ralph Meeker, 67, Star of 'Picnic' And Featured Actor in Films, Dies" . The New York Times . p. 1 32. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
12. "Levchenko". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on October 20, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
13. "Francis Ponge, Writer Of 'Thing-Poetry,' 89" . The New York Times . August 9, 1988. p. D 20. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
14. Marjorie Hunter (August 8, 1988). "JUDGE J. SKELLY WRIGHT, SEGREGATION FOE, DIES AT 77" . The New York Times . p. D 10. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
15. "Alan Ameche, 55, Football Star in 1950's" . The New York Times . August 9, 1988. p. D 20. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
16. "Alan Napier, Actor, Dies at 85" . The New York Times . August 9, 1988. p. D 20. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
17. "Jimmie Fidler, 89, Hollywood Columnist" . The New York Times . August 12, 1988. p. D 18. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
18. "Giacinto Scelsi, Composer, 83" . The New York Times . August 12, 1988. p. D 18. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
19. "Se cumplen 33 años de la muerte de Ramón Valdés, Don Ramón" (in Spanish). ADN Sureste. August 9, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
20. ARNULFO ARIAS, 87, PANAMANIAN WHO WAS PRESIDENT 3 TIMES. New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
21. BIOGRAPHY - Antoine Blanchard (1910 - 1988). Rehs Galleries. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
22. Jean Brachet. 19 March 1909-10 August 1988. Jstor (Royal Society). Retrieved 29 May 2024.
23. "Paul Thek Dead at 54; An Artist of the Surreal" . The New York Times . August 11, 1988. p. D 20. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
24. "Anne Ramsey, 59, Best Known in Role Of Ogreish 'Momma'" . The New York Times . August 13, 1988. p. 1 10. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
25. Basquiat, Jean-Michel (June 4, 2019). Basquiat-isms. Princeton University Press. pp. 112–113. ISBN   978-0-691-19283-3.
26. Mel Almada #21. mlb.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
27. Thomas J. Lueck (August 14, 1988). "Otto Passman, 88, Louisiana Congressman Who Fought Spending" . The New York Times . p. 1 41. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
28. Glenn Fowler (August 19, 1988). "William H. Phelps Jr. Dies at 85; Ornithologist and Conservationist" . The New York Times . p. D 15. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
29. "Gordon Scherer, 81; Served in the House And United Nations" . The New York Times . August 17, 1988. p. D 23. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
30. Albin Krebs (August 15, 1988). "Edward Bennett Williams, Trial Lawyer, Dead at 68; A Brilliant 'Superlawyer'" . The New York Times . p. D 11. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
31. Obituaries : Jail Cell Death for Innovative Musician : Guitarist Roy Buchanan Found Hanged. L.A. Times. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
32. Cult heroes: Robert Calvert – Hawkwind's prescient space-rock poet. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
33. MICHAEL CROWDER, 1934-88. Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Retrieved 2 Jun 2024.
34. Richard Williams (February 28, 2011). Enzo Ferrari: A Life. Random House. p. 323. ISBN   978-1-4464-5037-6.
35. "Hollis Dow Hedberg, Professor Emeritus, 85" . The New York Times . August 16, 1988. p. D 23. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
36. Barry Bingham Sr. Is Dead at 82; Louisville Newspapers' Publisher. New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
37. Jack Cutting; Pioneer Disney Animator. L.A. Times. Retrieved 3 Jun 2024.
38. Bone, James; Hussain, Zahid (August 16, 2008). "As Pakistan comes full circle, a light is shone on Zia ul-Haq's death". The Times . London. p. 40. Archived from the original on November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2011.(subscription required)
39. The New York Times Biographical Service. New York Times & Arno Press. 1988. p. 923.
40. Secret Church in Czechoslovakia honored. National Catholic Reporter (death year only). Retrieved 4 Jun 2024.
41. Jean-Paul Aron, Philosopher, 61. New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
42. "Second President of Palau Is Found Shot to Death" New York Times, 21 August 1988
43. Douglas C. McGill (August 23, 1988). "Ray Eames, 72, a Founder of Firm That Designed the Eames Chair" . The New York Times . p. D 19. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
44. "Dr. Hans Lewy, 83, Mathematics Profesor" . The New York Times . September 2, 1988. p. B 5. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
45. "Jack Sher, 75, Writer And Director of Films" . The New York Times . August 24, 1988. p. D 18. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
46. Mel Gussow (August 25, 1988). "Leonard Frey, Actor, Dies at 49; Was in 'Fiddler' and Other Films" . The New York Times . p. D 21. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
47. Alfonso A. Narvaez (August 26, 1988). "Ex-Senator Price Daniel, 77, Dies; Was Texas Governor for 3 Terms" . The New York Times . p. D 15. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
48. Guillerault, Gérard (2008). Comprendre Dolto: Une éthique positive du désir. Armand Colin. p. 38.
49. Gerald Eskenazi (August 26, 1988). "Art Rooney, 87, Founder of N.F.L.'s Steelers, Dies" . The New York Times . p. D 15. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
50. Donald DeLue, 90, Sculptor of Monuments. New York Times. Retrieved 4 Jun 2024.
51. "Dr. Max Black, 79, Author and Philosopher" . The New York Times . August 30, 1988. p. D 19. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
52. C. Gerald Fraser (August 31, 1988). "Hazel Dawn, Stage Actress, Is Dead at 98" . The New York Times . p. D 21. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
53. Richard Grandy and Richard Warner (2017). Paul Grice. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
54. James Barron (August 29, 1988). "Max Shulman, Humorist, Is Dead; Chronicler of Postwar Life Was 69" . The New York Times . p. A 16. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
55. James N. Black, Musician, 48. New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
56. New Zealand. Parliament (1988). Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives. p. 6401.