Deaths in May 1989

The following is a list of notable deaths in May 1989.

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 1989

1

Antonio Janigro, 71, Italian cellist and conductor.
Sally Kirkland, 76, fashion editor at Vogue and Life, emphysema.
Scooter Lowry, 69, American child actor (Our Gang). (body found on this date)
Marion Mack, 87, American film actress (The General), heart failure.
Edward Ochab, 82, Polish communist politician, Chairman of the Polish Council of State.
Muneyoshi Tokugawa, 91, Japanese army officer and politician.
Douglass Watson, 68, American actor (Another World), heart attack.^[1]
David Webster, 44, South African anti-apartheid activist, assassinated.

2

Bennie Benjamin, 81, Virgin Islands–born American songwriter (Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, Wheel of Fortune)).
James Crabe, 57, American cinematographer (Rocky, The China Syndrome, The Karate Kid), complications of AIDS.
Veniamin Kaverin, 87, Russian writer and dramatist.
Gerald Scarpelli, 60–61, American mobster and hitman (Chicago Outfit), suicide.
Giuseppe Siri, 82, Italian cardinal, Archbishop of Genoa.^[2]
Maki Yūkō, 95, Japanese mountain climber.

3

Sheikh Abbas, 76–77, Algerian diplomat and writer, rector of the Great Mosque of Paris.
Gordon Dailley, 77, Canadian-born British ice hockey player and Olympic gold medalist.
Christine Jorgensen, 62, American trans-gender woman, actress and singer, bladder and lung cancer.^[3]
Muriel Ostriche, 92, American silent-screen actress.
Roland Robinson, 82, British politician (Member of Parliament), and diplomat (Governor of Bermuda).
William Squire, 72, Welsh actor (Callan).

4

Adnan Khayr Allah, 49, Iraqi military officer and Saddam Hussein's brother-in-law, Minister of Defence, helicopter crash.
Chalam, 59, Indian film actor (Mattilo Manikyam).
Morris Copeland, 93, American economist (flow of funds analysis).
Larry Fleisher, 58, American attorney and sports agent, founded the National Basketball Players Association, heart attack.^[4]
John R. Heller Jr., 84, American director of the National Cancer Institute, known for the Tuskegee syphilis study.
Herschel C. Loveless, 77, American politician, Governor of Iowa, lung cancer.^[5]
James McKeown, 88, Irish missionary in the Gold Coast (Ghana), founded the Church of Pentecost.
Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay, 68, Indian writer.
Lydia Pasternak Slater, 87, Soviet research chemist and poet.
Jean-Marie Tjibaou, 53, French New Caledonian politician, leader of Kanak independence movement, assassinated.
Evelle J. Younger, 70, American lawyer, Attorney General of California.

5

Hermann Hölter, 89, German modern pentathlete, Nazi German army general.
Sister Mary Leo, 94, New Zealand religious sister, trained some of the world's best sopranos.
Wolfgang Neuss, 65, German actor and Kabarett artist, cancer.
Jennifer Hodge de Silva, 38, Canadian filmmaker.
Naval Tata, 84, Indian industrialist and philanthropist.
Stefan E. Warschawski, 85, Russian-born American mathematician (conformal maps, minimal surfaces, harmonic functions).

6

Earl Blaik, American football player and coach (United States Military Academy).^[6]
Tally Brown, 64, American singer and actress.
Adolfo Constanzo, 26, Cuban-American serial killer, drug dealer and cult leader, assisted suicide.
Thakin Soe, 82–83, Burmese politician, founding member of the Communist Party of Burma.
L. D. Weldon, 80–81, American track and field coach of decathletes.

7

Miranda Campa, 75, Swiss-Italian actress.
Frank Cluskey, 59, Irish politician, leader of the Labour Party, cancer.
Willie Covan, 91, American tap dancer, actor and vaudeville performer (The Duke Is Tops).
Darío Echandía, 91, Colombian politician, acting president of Colombia, Colombian ambassador to the U.K.
Earl J. Hamilton, 89–90, American historian.
Mills Lane, 77, American banker (Citizens & Southern National Bank).
John Whittet, 63, American officer in the U.S. Navy, drowned.

8

Hendrik Allik, 88, Estonian politician (Estonian Communist Party).
Felice Mario Boano, 85–86, Italian automobile designer and coachbuilder (Fiat).
Mariga Guinness, 56, English-born architectural conservationist, co-founder of the Irish Georgian Society, heart attack.
Andreas Hillgruber, 64, German historian, throat cancer.^[7]
Tony Lucadello, 76, American professional baseball scout, suicide by shooting.
Ruggero Maccari, 69, Italian screenwriter (Profumo di donna, La Famiglia).
Rudolf Uhlenhaut, 82, British-German engineer (Mercedes-Benz).^[8]

9

Karl Brunner, 73, Swiss economist.^[9]
Timothy Farrell, 66, American actor (Jail Bait, The Violent Years, Glen or Glenda)
Alex Fraser, 72, Canadian politician, member of the B.C. Legislative Assembly.
Fred Halsted, 47, American gay pornographic film director and actor, suicide.
Enrique Lucero, 68, Mexican actor (Canoa: A Shameful Memory).
Kenneth A. Roberts, 76, American politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives, heart failure.^[10]
Keith Whitley, 34, American country music singer and songwriter (When You Say Nothing at All, I'm No Stranger to the Rain), alcohol poisoning.^[11]

10

Wilhelm Bleckwenn, 82, Nazi German Wehrmacht general.
Joseph Brennan, 88, American ABL basketballer (Brooklyn Visitations).
Richard Green, 52, American teacher, New York City Schools Chancellor, cardiac arrest due to asthma.
Dimitar Ilievski-Murato, 35, Yugoslavian mountaineer, first Macedonian to climb Mount Everest.
Stewart Perowne, 87, British diplomat and archaeologist of the Middle East.^[12]
Kalu Rinpoche, 84, Tibetan Buddhist lama and teacher.
Woody Shaw, 44, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader, kidney failure.^[13]
Hassler Whitney, 82, American mathematician (singularity theory), stroke.^[14]

11

Vin Brown, 67, Australian rules footballer.
Xiao Wangdong, 78, Chinese Communist revolutionary and a lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army.

12

Nicholas Wilder, 51–52, American art dealer, complications from AIDS.^[15]

13

Jack Grout, 79, American golfer.
Charlie Mutton, 98, Australian politician.
Bjørn Puggaard-Müller, 67, Danish film actor.

14

Nikifor Kalchenko, 83, Soviet politician.
Joe Primeau, 83, Canadian professional ice hockey player.
Hans Stubbe, 87, German agronomist and plant breeder.
E. P. Taylor, 88, Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist.

15

Johnny Green, 80, American songwriter, conductor and pianist.
Noel O'Brien, 56, Australian rules footballer.
Noriko Tsukase, 43, Japanese voice actress and singer, rectal cancer.

16

Lamar Allen, 74, American college football player and coach, and Negro League baseballer.
Ralph Gibson, 83, Australian communist organiser and writer.
Josephine R. Hilgard, 83, American developmental psychologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
Théodore Strawinsky, 82, Russian-Swiss painter.

17

Hallvard Eika, 68, Norwegian politician, member of the Norwegian Parliament.
Walter Gross, 85, German actor.
Finn Juhl, 77, Danish architect, interior and industrial designer.
Lucia Moholy, 95, Austro-Hungarian–born photographer and publications editor.
Specs Toporcer, 90, American Major League baseballer, injuries sustained from a fall.

18

Donald Hiss, 82, American legal secretary, younger brother of Alger Hiss.^[16]
Hermann Höcherl, 77, German politician and lawyer, member of the Nazi Party.
Ed McIlvenny, 64, Scottish footballer who represented the United States.
Dorothy Ruth, 67, American daughter of US baseballer Babe Ruth and his mistress Juanita Jennings.

19

Anton Diffring, 72, German actor, cancer.
Abel Herzberg, 95, Dutch lawyer and writer.
John J. Muccio, 89, Italian-American diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, Iceland and South Korea.^[17]
Gerd Oswald, 79, German director of American film and television, cancer.
Yiannis Papaioannou, 79, Greek composer and teacher.
Robert Webber, 64, American actor, Lou Gehrig's disease.^[18]

20

John Hicks, 85, British economist, Nobel Memorial laureate in Economic Sciences.
Pavel Juráček, 53, Czech screenwriter and film director.
Lyn Murray, 79, English-American composer, conductor and arranger of music, cancer.^[19]
Warren G. Magnuson, 84, American lawyer and politician, President pro tempore of the United States Senate.^[20]
Gilda Radner, 42, American actress, comedian, writer and singer, ovarian cancer.^[21]
Mike Reinbach, 39, American Major League baseballer, car accident.
Gōgen Yamaguchi, 80, Japanese martial artist, subarachnoid hemorrhage.

21

Tito Colliander, 85, Finnish Eastern Orthodox Christian writer.
Margot Zemach, 57, American illustrator of children's books, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.^[22]

22

Carlton Massey, 59, American NFL footballer.
Rush Rhees, 84, American philosopher.
Robert Richardson Sears, 80, American psychologist.^[23]

23

Ansa Ikonen, 75, Finnish film and theatre actress.
James Kay Thomas, 87, American lawyer and politician, Attorney General of West Virginia.
George Thomas, 61, American NFL footballer.
Georgy Tovstonogov, 73, Russian-Georgian theatre director, heart attack.
Earle Wilson, 73, American triple-jumper and Olympian.

24

S. K. Dey, 82, Indian politician.
Guus Dräger, 71, Dutch footballer.
Tom Harper, 86, American football player and coach.
Steve McCall, 55, American jazz drummer.
Tripti Mitra, 63, Indian actress.

25

Ben H. Brown Jr., 75, American diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, cancer.
Ab DeMarco, 73, Canadian ice hockey player.
Jean Despeaux, 73, French boxer and Olympic gold medalist.
Soma Wickremanayake, 74, Sri Lankan educator and politician, member of the Ceylonese Parliament.

26

Phineas Newborn Jr., 57, American jazz pianist, growth on lungs.^[24]
Don Revie, 61, English international footballer and manager, motor neurone disease.
Kazuko Takatsukasa, 59, elder sister to Emperor Akihito of Japan, heart failure.

27

Jerry Anderson, 35, American NFL footballer, drowned.
Jess Sweetser, 87, American golfer.
Arseny Tarkovsky, 81, Russian poet and translator.

28

Wally Anderzunas, 43, American basketballer.
Abbas Nalbandian, 39–40, Iranian playwright, suicide.
Iván Palazzese, 27, Italian-Venezuelan motorcycle racer, racing accident.
Baltasar Lopes da Silva, 82, Portuguese writer, poet and linguist, cerebrovascular disease.
John M. Systermans, Belgian-missionary and priest.
Muttathu Varkey, 76, Indian novelist, short story writer and poet.

29

Nora Barlow, 103, British botanist and geneticist, granddaughter of Charles Darwin.
John Cipollina, 45, American guitarist, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
George C. Homans, 78, American sociologist, founder of behavioral sociology, heart ailment.^[25]
Joseph Van Ingelgem, 77, Belgian international footballer.
Donald L. Katz, 81, American chemist and chemical engineer.
Tariq Mehmood, 50, Pakistani military officer of Pakistan Army, parachute accident.
Giuseppe Patanè, 57, Italian opera conductor, heart attack.
Bob Waters, 50, American footballer, Lou Gehrig's disease.

30

Jane Fauntz, 78, American swimmer and diver, and Olympic medalist, leukemia.
James Harry Lacey, 72, British Royal Air Force fighter pilot in World War II.
Thoreau MacDonald, 88, Canadian illustrator, graphic and book designer, and artist.
Zinka Milanov, 83, Croatian operatic dramatic soprano, stroke.^[26]
Claude Pepper, 88, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, stomach cancer.

31

Heinz Hasselberg, 75, German cyclist and Olympian.
Edward Hubbard, 51, English architectural historian, ankylosing spondylitis.
C. L. R. James, 88, Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist writer, chest infection.^[27]
Owen Lattimore, 88, American Orientalist and writer.^[28]
Raisa Orlova, 70, Russian writer and American studies scholar.
G. Vanmikanathan, 88, Indian scholar and author.

Unknown date

John Sutton, 60–61, Irish hurler.

References

^ "Douglass Watson, 67, Theater and TV Actor". The New York Times. May 6, 1989. p. 1 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Giuseppe Cardinal Siri Of Genoa Is Dead at 82". The New York Times. May 3, 1989. p. D 27. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ John T. McQuiston (May 4, 1989). "Christine Jorgensen, 62, Is Dead; Was First to Have a Sex Change". The New York Times. p. D 22. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Fleisher Service Tomorrow". The New York Times. May 7, 1989. p. 1 44. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Herschel Loveless, 77, Ex-Governor of Iowa". The New York Times. May 6, 1989. p. 1 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ William N. Wallace (May 7, 1989). "Earl (Red) Blaik, 92, Army's Top Football Coach". The New York Times. p. 1 44. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Eric Pace (May 25, 1989). "Andreas Hillgruber, 64, Historian In West German Dispute, Is Dead". The New York Times. p. D 22. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Automotive Engineer, 82". The New York Times. May 20, 1989. p. 1 34. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Eric Pace (May 10, 1989). "Prof. Karl Brunner Is Dead at 73; Economist and Early Monetarist". The New York Times. p. D 29. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Kenneth Roberts, 76, Former House Member". The New York Times. May 12, 1989. p. B 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Keith Whitley Is Dead; Country Singer Was 33". The New York Times. May 13, 1989. p. 1 31. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Stewart Perowne, 87, Diplomat and Author". The New York Times. May 16, 1989. p. B 6. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Jon Pareles (May 12, 1989). "Woody Herman Shaw, 44, Jazz Trumpeter, Dies". The New York Times. p. B 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Glenn Fowler (May 12, 1989). "Hassler Whitney, Geometrician; He Eased 'Mathematics Anxiety'". The New York Times. p. B 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Nicholas Wilder, 51, Artist and Art Dealer". The New York Times. May 16, 1989. p. B 6. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Glenn Fowler (May 20, 1989). "Donald Hiss, 82, Ex-U.S. Official And Lawyer in Washington Firm". The New York Times. p. 1 34. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Howard W. French (May 22, 1989). "John J. Muccio, 89; Was U.S. Diplomat In Several Countries". The New York Times. p. D 11. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ G. S. Bourdain (May 20, 1989). "ROBERT WEBBER, ACTOR, DIES AT 64". The New York Times. p. 1 34. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Lyn Murray, 79, Dies; Composed Film Scores". The New York Times. June 10, 1989. p. 1 12. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Wolfgang Saxon (May 21, 1989). "Warren G. Magnuson Dies at 84; Held Powerful Positions in Senate". The New York Times. p. 1 46. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
^ Dennis Hevesi (May 21, 1989). "Gilda Radner, 42, Comic Original Of 'Saturday Night Live' Zaniness". The New York Times. p. 1 46. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Glenn Collins (May 23, 1989). "Margot Zemach, 57, Author, Dies; Also Illustrated Books for Children". The New York Times. p. A 27. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Alfonso A. Narvaez (May 26, 1989). "Dr. Robert R. Sears, 80, Is Dead; Child Pyschologist and Educator". The New York Times. p. A 18. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "Phineas Newborn Jr., 57, Top Jazz Pianist". The New York Times. May 28, 1989. p. 1 38. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ "George Homans, 78, Sociologist And Harvard Professor Emeritus". The New York Times. May 31, 1989. p. A 20. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Harold C. Schonberg (May 31, 1989). "Zinka Milanov, Soprano, Is Dead at 83". The New York Times. p. A 20. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ C. Gerald Fraser (June 2, 1989). "C. L. R. James, Historian, Critic And Pan-Africanist, Is Dead at 88". The New York Times. p. D 15. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Eric Pace (June 1, 1989). "Owen Lattimore, Far East Scholar Accused by McCarthy, Dies at 88". The New York Times. p. B 8. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[1] "Douglass Watson, 67, Theater and TV Actor". The New York Times. May 6, 1989. p. 1 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[2] "Giuseppe Cardinal Siri Of Genoa Is Dead at 82". The New York Times. May 3, 1989. p. D 27. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[3] John T. McQuiston (May 4, 1989). "Christine Jorgensen, 62, Is Dead; Was First to Have a Sex Change". The New York Times. p. D 22. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[4] "Fleisher Service Tomorrow". The New York Times. May 7, 1989. p. 1 44. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[5] "Herschel Loveless, 77, Ex-Governor of Iowa". The New York Times. May 6, 1989. p. 1 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[6] William N. Wallace (May 7, 1989). "Earl (Red) Blaik, 92, Army's Top Football Coach". The New York Times. p. 1 44. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[7] Eric Pace (May 25, 1989). "Andreas Hillgruber, 64, Historian In West German Dispute, Is Dead". The New York Times. p. D 22. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[8] "Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Automotive Engineer, 82". The New York Times. May 20, 1989. p. 1 34. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[9] Eric Pace (May 10, 1989). "Prof. Karl Brunner Is Dead at 73; Economist and Early Monetarist". The New York Times. p. D 29. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[10] "Kenneth Roberts, 76, Former House Member". The New York Times. May 12, 1989. p. B 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[11] "Keith Whitley Is Dead; Country Singer Was 33". The New York Times. May 13, 1989. p. 1 31. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[12] "Stewart Perowne, 87, Diplomat and Author". The New York Times. May 16, 1989. p. B 6. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[13] Jon Pareles (May 12, 1989). "Woody Herman Shaw, 44, Jazz Trumpeter, Dies". The New York Times. p. B 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[14] Glenn Fowler (May 12, 1989). "Hassler Whitney, Geometrician; He Eased 'Mathematics Anxiety'". The New York Times. p. B 10. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[15] "Nicholas Wilder, 51, Artist and Art Dealer". The New York Times. May 16, 1989. p. B 6. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[16] Glenn Fowler (May 20, 1989). "Donald Hiss, 82, Ex-U.S. Official And Lawyer in Washington Firm". The New York Times. p. 1 34. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[17] Howard W. French (May 22, 1989). "John J. Muccio, 89; Was U.S. Diplomat In Several Countries". The New York Times. p. D 11. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[18] G. S. Bourdain (May 20, 1989). "ROBERT WEBBER, ACTOR, DIES AT 64". The New York Times. p. 1 34. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[19] "Lyn Murray, 79, Dies; Composed Film Scores". The New York Times. June 10, 1989. p. 1 12. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[20] Wolfgang Saxon (May 21, 1989). "Warren G. Magnuson Dies at 84; Held Powerful Positions in Senate". The New York Times. p. 1 46. Retrieved July 4, 2023.

[21] Dennis Hevesi (May 21, 1989). "Gilda Radner, 42, Comic Original Of 'Saturday Night Live' Zaniness". The New York Times. p. 1 46. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[22] Glenn Collins (May 23, 1989). "Margot Zemach, 57, Author, Dies; Also Illustrated Books for Children". The New York Times. p. A 27. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[23] Alfonso A. Narvaez (May 26, 1989). "Dr. Robert R. Sears, 80, Is Dead; Child Pyschologist and Educator". The New York Times. p. A 18. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[24] "Phineas Newborn Jr., 57, Top Jazz Pianist". The New York Times. May 28, 1989. p. 1 38. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[25] "George Homans, 78, Sociologist And Harvard Professor Emeritus". The New York Times. May 31, 1989. p. A 20. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[26] Harold C. Schonberg (May 31, 1989). "Zinka Milanov, Soprano, Is Dead at 83". The New York Times. p. A 20. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[27] C. Gerald Fraser (June 2, 1989). "C. L. R. James, Historian, Critic And Pan-Africanist, Is Dead at 88". The New York Times. p. D 15. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

[28] Eric Pace (June 1, 1989). "Owen Lattimore, Far East Scholar Accused by McCarthy, Dies at 88". The New York Times. p. B 8. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

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Deaths in May 1989

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Unknown date

References

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