2017 Deaths

January:

1^st: Bill Marshall, 77, Canadian film and theater producer, co-founder of the Toronto International Film Festival.

2^nd: Richard Machowicz, 51, American Navy SEAL and television host (Future Weapons, Deadliest Warrior), brain cancer.

3^rd: Ivo Brešan, 80, Croatian writer (How the War Started on My Island).

3^rd: Rolf Noskwith, 97, German-born British businessman and codebreaker (World War II).

3^rd: Rosemary Stevenson, 80, American baseball player (Grand Rapids Chicks).

3^rd: Igor Volk, 79, Ukrainian-born Russian cosmonaut and test pilot (Soyuz T-12).

5^th: David Alexander, 90, British Royal Marines general.

6^th: Audrey Grevious, 86, American civil rights activist.

6^th: Joseba Leizaola, 86, Spanish politician, President of the Basque Parliament (1990–1998).

7^th: Lucina da Costa Gomez-Matheeuws, 87, Dutch Antillean politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles (1977).

7^th: Mildred Meacham, 92, American baseball player (AAGBPL).

7^th: Einfrid Perstølen, 99, Norwegian psychiatrist and language proponent.

7^th: Mário Soares, 92, Portuguese politician, President (1986–1996) and Prime Minister (1976–1978, 1983–1985).

9^th: Bob McCullough, Australian sports administrator, President of the Australian Paralympic Committee (1994–1996).

9^th: Warren Allen Smith, 95, American author, atheist, and gay-rights activist, signatory of Humanist Manifesto II.

9^th: Jens Christian Magnus, 96, Norwegian politician and resistance activist.

10^th: Roman Herzog, 82, German politician, President (1994–1999), Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court (1983–1994).

12^th: Vsevolod Murakhovsky, 90, Ukrainian-born Russian politician, First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union (1985–1989).

14^th: Herbert Mies, 87, German politician, Chairman of the Communist Party (1973–1989).

14^th: Zhou Youguang, 111, Chinese linguist and supercentenarian, developed the pinyin romanization system.

16^th: Eugene Cernan, 82, American astronaut (Apollo 10, Apollo 17), last person to walk on the Moon.

16^th: Roland Glavany, 94, French army general.

16^th: Jiří Navrátil, 93, Czech Scout leader, President of Junák.

18^th: Obed Dlamini, 79, Swazi politician, Prime Minister (1989–1993).

19^th: Miguel Ferrer, 61, American actor (RoboCop, Mulan, NCIS: Los Angeles), throat cancer.

19^th: Joyce Murland, 79, Canadian wheelchair athlete, Paralympic silver medalist (1972, 1976).

20^th: Naděžda Kavalírová, 93, Czech political prisoner and activist, head of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (2007–2013).

21^st: Harry E. T. Thayer, 89, American diplomat, Ambassador to Singapore (1980–1985), Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (1984–1986).

22^nd: Lev Navrozov, 88, Russian writer, historian and dissident.

25^th: Sir John Hurt, 77, British actor (Alien, The Elephant Man, Harry Potter), BAFTA winner (1979, 1981), pancreatic cancer.

25^th: Mary Tyler Moore, 80, American actress (The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ordinary People), 7-time Emmy winner, cardiopulmonary arrest.

26^th: Alexander Kadakin, 67, Russian diplomat, Ambassador to India (1999–2004, since 2009), heart failure.

27^th: Wanda Hjort Heger, 95, Norwegian resistance activist.

27^th: Evdokia Pasko, 97, Russian military officer and pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union.

28^th: Thomas Joseph Simpson, 95, Canadian World War II veteran.

29^th: William Owens, 36, American Navy SEAL soldier, shot.

29^th: Leonard H. Perroots, 83, American military officer, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (1985–1988).

30^th: Carmen Contreras-Bozak, 97, American World War II veteran, first Hispanic to serve in the Women's Army Corps.

30^th: Eiður Svanberg Guðnason, 77, Icelandic politician and diplomat, Ambassador to Australia (2003–2007).

31^st: Grethe Bartram, 92, Danish war criminal.

February:

1^st: Edward Tipper, 95, American World War II veteran (Easy Company), depicted in Band of Brothers.

2^nd: Gordon Aikman, 31, British ALS campaigner, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

3^rd: Anthony French, 96, British-American physicist, contributor to the Manhattan Project.

7^th: Sotsha Dlamini, 76, Swazi politician, Prime Minister (1986–1989), fall.

7^th: Smail Hamdani, 86, Algerian politician, Prime Minister (1998–1999).

8^th: Ljubiša Beara, 77, Bosnian military officer and convicted war criminal.

10^th: Hal Moore, 94, American lieutenant general and author (We Were Soldiers Once… And Young).

13^th: Richard H. Solomon, 79, American diplomat, Ambassador to the Philippines (1992–1993), President of the United States Institute of Peace (1993–2012), brain cancer.

18^th: Nick Dupree, 34, American disability rights activist.

19^th: Jørgen Kieler, 97, Danish physician and World War II resistance member.

19^th: Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, 90, Tongan royal, Queen Consort (1965–2006), Queen Mother (since 2006).

20^th: Vitaly Churkin, 64, Russian diplomat, Permanent Representative to the United Nations (since 2006), Ambassador to Belgium (1994–1998) and child actor (A Mother's Heart), heart failure.

21^st: Sir Cosmo Haskard, 100, Irish-born British colonial administrator, Governor of the Falkland Islands (1964–1970).

23^rd: David Waddington, Baron Waddington, 87, British politician, Home Secretary (1989–1990), Leader of the House of Lords (1990–1992), Governor of Bermuda (1992–1997).

25^th: Bill Paxton, 61, American actor (Apollo 13, Titanic, Big Love), stroke as a complication from heart surgery.

26^th: Essa Moosa, 81, South African judge and anti-apartheid activist.

26^th: Joseph Wapner, 97, American judge (Los Angeles County Superior Court) and television personality (The People's Court, Judge Wapner's Animal Court), respiratory failure.

27^th: Carlos Humberto Romero, 92, Salvadoran politician, President (1977–1979).

28^th: Yury Abramovich, 81, Ukrainian-born Russian test pilot.

28^th: Donald Easten, 98, British Army officer awarded the Military Cross for his part in the Battle of Kohima.

March

1^st: Shirley Palesh, 87, American baseball player (AAGPBL).

3^rd: René Préval, 74, Haitian politician, Prime Minister (1991), President (1996–2001, 2006–2011).

5^th: Zhuang Yan, 99, Chinese diplomat, Ambassador to Bangladesh (1976–1979), Iran (1980–1982), and Greece (1983–1985).

6^th: Robert Osborne, 84, American film historian and television host (Turner Classic Movies).

6^th: Shirley Childress Saxton, 69, American sign language interpreter.

11^th: Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, 56, Bangladeshi diplomat, Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2012–2014) and Brazil (since 2014), multiple organ failure.

12^th: Sir Probyn Inniss, 80, Saint Kitts and Nevis lawyer, Governor of Saint Christopher and Nevis (1975–1981).

12^th: Sverre Bergh Johansen, 77, Norwegian diplomat, Ambassador to China (1994–1999).

13^th: Richard H. Solomon, 79, American political aide and diplomat, Ambassador to the Philippines (1992–1993), brain cancer.

14^th: Arleene Johnson, 93, Canadian baseball player (AAGPBL).

15^th: Bảo Thắng, 72, Vietnamese royal, head of the Nguyễn dynasty (since 2007).

17^th: Léonard Legault, 82, Canadian diplomat, Ambassador to the Holy See (1993–1997).

17^th: Laurynas Stankevičius, 81, Lithuanian politician, Prime Minister (1996).

17^th: Inomjon Usmonxo‘jayev, 86, Soviet politician, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan (1983–1988).

18^th: Alfred Tibor, 97, Hungarian-born American sculptor and Holocaust survivor.

20^th: George Weinberg, 87, American psychologist, coined the term "homophobia".

22^nd: Andy Coogan, 99, Scottish author and World War II veteran.

23^rd: Donald Burgett, 91, American writer and World War II veteran.

30^th: Sir John Fretwell, 86, British diplomat, Ambassador to France (1982–1987).

30^th: Hattie Peterson, 86, American baseball player (Rockford Peaches), lung cancer.

31^st: Gilbert Baker, 65, American artist and gay activist, creator of the rainbow flag.

April

1^st: Yevgeny Yevtushenko, 84, Russian poet (Babi Yar).

5^th: Alma Soller McLay, 97, American stenographer (Nuremberg trials).

6^th: Don Rickles, 90, American comedian and actor (Toy Story, Casino, Kelly's Heroes), kidney failure.

8^th: Georgy Grechko, 85, Russian cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union, heart failure.

20^th: Sir Ewen Fergusson, 84, British diplomat, Ambassador to South Africa (1982–1984) and France (1987–1992.)

20^th: Philip Kgosana, 80, South African anti-apartheid activist.

22^nd: Erin Moran, 56, American actress (Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi, Galaxy of Terror), tonsil cancer.

30^th: Lorna Gray, 99, American actress (O, My Darling Clementine, Captain America, Oh! Susanna).

May

2^nd: Heinz Kessler, 97, German politician and military officer, East German Minister of National Defence (1985–1989).

2^nd: Leo K. Thorsness, 85, American air force officer and Medal of Honor recipient, member of the Washington Senate (1988–1992), leukemia.

7^th: Richard Summers, 95, British RAF air observer during the Battle of Britain.

8^th: Curt Lowens, 91, German-born American actor (Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory, The Hindenburg, Angels & Demons) and Holocaust survivor, fall.

9^th Wilburn K. Ross, 94, American WWII veteran, Medal of Honor recipient.

12^th: Mauno Koivisto, 93, Finnish politician, President (1982–1994) and Prime Minister (1968–1970, 1979–1982), complications from Alzheimer's disease.

15^th: Thomas James Kinsman, 72, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient.

17^th: Viktor Gorbatko, 82, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 7, 24 and 37).

20^th: Roger Tassé, 85, Canadian civil servant, architect of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

23^rd: Sir Roger Moore, 89, English actor (The Spy Who Loved Me, Maverick, The Saint), cancer.

23^rd: Patrick van Rensburg, 85, South African educationalist and anti-apartheid activist.

26^th: Zbigniew Brzezinski, 89, Polish-born American diplomat and political scientist, National Security Advisor (1977–1981).

28^th: Lawrence Jenkins, 93, American World War II veteran and memoirist.

29^th: Konstantinos Mitsotakis, 98, Greek politician, Prime Minister (1990–1993).

29^th: Manuel Noriega, 83, Panamanian dictator and military official, military ruler (1983–1989), complications from brain surgery.

30^th: Wendell Burton, 69, American actor (The Sterile Cuckoo, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Heat), brain cancer.

30^th: Reinhold Hanning, 95, German Waffen-SS concentration camp guard and convicted war criminal.

June

1^st: George Joseph, 66, Indian diplomat, Ambassador to Turkmenistan (1997–2001), Qatar (2005–2009) and Bahrain (2009–2010).

1^st: Rosa Taikon, 90, Swedish silversmith and Romani people activist.

2^nd: Jaroslav Kořán, 77, Czech translator, writer and politician, Charter 77 signatory, Mayor of Prague (1990–1991).

2^nd: David Mattingley, 94, Australian WWII bomber pilot.

9^th: Adam West, 88, American actor (Batman, Family Guy, Robinson Crusoe on Mars), leukemia.

12^th: David Shentow, 92, Belgian-born Canadian Holocaust survivor.

14^th: Arthur J. Jackson, 92, American military officer, Medal of Honor recipient.

16^th: Helmut Kohl, 87, German politician, Chancellor (1982–1998), Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1969–1976).

19^th: Otto Warmbier, 22, American college student, convicted of theft and imprisoned by North Korea.

21^st: Yuri Drozdov, 91, Russian spymaster.

21^st: Robert M. Shoemaker, 93, American military officer, commander of FORSCOM (1977–1982).

22^nd: Quett Masire, 91, Botswanan politician, President (1980–1998), complications from surgery.

22^nd: Nikolai Zhugan, 100, Ukrainian-born Russian pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union (1944).

25^th: Skip Homeier, 86, American actor (Tomorrow, the World!, Boys' Ranch, Star Trek), spinal myelopathy.

26^th: Rex Makin, 91, British solicitor, created the term "Beatlemania".

28^th: Ola Mildred Rexroat, 99, American Airforce Service pilot during World War II.

30^th: Simone Veil, 89, French lawyer and politician, President of the European Parliament (1979–1982), Minister of Health (1974–1979, 1993–1995), and Holocaust survivor.

July

7^th: Diego E. Hernández, 83, American military officer, Parkinson's disease.

14^th: Pedro Richter Prada, 96, Peruvian politician, Prime Minister (1979–1980).

14^th: David Zablidowsky, 37, American bassist (Adrenaline Mob, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Jeff Scott Soto), traffic collision.

15^th: Justine Damond, 40, Australian woman shot by a Minneapolis Police officer.

15^th: Martin Landau, 89, American actor (Ed Wood, Mission: Impossible, Crimes and Misdemeanors), Oscar winner (1995), abdominal hemorrhage.

16^th: Wanda Lesisz, 92, Polish WWII resistance fighter.

21^st: John Heard, 71, American actor (Home Alone, Big, Prison Break).

21^st: Hrvoje Šarinić, 82, Croatian politician, Prime Minister (1992–1993).

22^nd: Artyom Tarasov, 67, Russian businessman and activist, first millionaire of the USSR.

25^th: Barbara Sinatra, 90, American fashion model, showgirl and philanthropist.

August

1^st: Sir John Blelloch, 86, British civil servant, Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office (1988–1990).

2^nd: Alexander Gerasimenko, 71, Belarusian diplomat and politician, Mayor of Minsk (1991–1995).

2^nd: David Ince, 96, British WWII RAF officer.

3^rd: Ladislav Čisárik, 63, Slovak herald artist (national coat of arms, national flag).

3^rd: Robert Hardy, 91, British actor (All Creatures Great and Small, Harry Potter, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years).

8^th: Glen Campbell, 81, American singer ("Rhinestone Cowboy", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix") and actor (True Grit), Grammy winner (1967, 2015), Alzheimer's disease.

8^th: Barbara Cook, 89, American singer and actress (The Music Man, Sondheim on Sondheim, Candide), respiratory failure.

9^th: Thomas A. Bird, 98, British WWII army officer and architect.

11^th: Yisrael Kristal, 113, Polish-Israeli supercentenarian and Holocaust survivor, world's oldest living man.

16^th: Jon Shepodd, 89, American actor (Lassie, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?).

20^th: Jerry Lewis, 91, American comedian (Martin and Lewis), actor (The Nutty Professor) and humanitarian (The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon), cardiomyopathy.

24^th: Cecil Andrus, 85, American politician, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1977–1981), Governor of Idaho (1971–1977, 1987–1995), lung cancer.

24^th: Michael Dougall Bell, 73, Canadian diplomat, Ambassador to Israel (1990–1992, 1999–2003), liver cancer.

24^th: Jay Thomas, 69, American actor (Cheers, Murphy Brown, Love & War) and radio talk show host, Emmy winner (1990, 1991), cancer.

30^th: Sam Pivnik, 90, Polish Jewish Holocaust survivor, author and memoirist.

September

1^st: Shelley Berman, 92, American comedian and actor (You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Meet the Fockers, Curb Your Enthusiasm), Alzheimer's disease.

8^th: Blake Heron, 35, American actor (Shiloh, We Were Soldiers, Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher).

12^th: Edith Windsor, 88, American mathematician and activist, lead plaintiff in United States v. Windsor.

16^th: Mitchell Flint, 94, American fighter pilot (Navy, 101 Squadron).

19^th: Bernie Casey, 78, American actor (Revenge of the Nerds, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) and football player (San Francisco 49ers).

20^th: William J. Ely, 105, American army officer.

21^st: Maurice Nivat, 79, French computer scientist, co-father of theoretical computer science.

21^st: Evelyn Scott, 81, Australian Indigenous social activist, Chairwoman of the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

26^th: Barry Dennen, 79, American actor (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Shining, Fiddler on the Roof), complications from a fall.

27^th: Hugh Hefner, 91, American magazine publisher (Playboy), businessman (Playboy Enterprises) and reality television personality (The Girls Next Door), cardiac arrest due to septicemia.

27^th: Arnošt Polák , 94, Czech colonel and RAF member, Medal of Heroism recipient.

28^th: Balys Gajauskas, 91, Lithuanian politician and prisoner of conscience, member of the Seimas (1990–1992).

30^th: Monty Hall, 96, Canadian-American game show host (Let's Make a Deal), heart failure.

October

1^st: Edward B. Giller, 99, American USAF major general.

2^nd: Tom Petty, 66, American Hall of Fame musician (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Traveling Wilburys) and voice actor (King of the Hill), heart attack.

3^rd: Jalal Talabani, 83, Iraqi-Kurdish politician, Prime Minister (2003) and President (2005–2014), cerebral hemorrhage.

4^th: Liam Cosgrave, 97, Irish politician, Taoiseach (1973–1977).

7^th: Vyacheslav Ivanov, 88, Russian philologist and semiotician, co-developer of glottalic theory.

8^th: Edna Dummerth, 93, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

9^th: Milan Otáhal, 89, Czech historian and dissident, Charter 77 signatory.

11^th: Betty Moczynski, 91, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League).

11^th: Nélio José Nicolai, 77, Brazilian electrotechnician, inventor of Caller ID.

15^th: Sir Bert Massie, 68, British disability rights campaigner, Chairman of Disability Rights Commission (2000-2007), cancer.

16^th: Roy Dotrice, 94, British actor (Amadeus, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Game of Thrones), Tony winner (2000).

18^th: Eamonn Campbell, 70, Irish musician (The Dubliners).

19^th: Jeanne Brousse, 96, French resistance member.

21^st: Lech Ordon, 88, Polish actor (Letters to Santa).

24^th: Robert Guillaume, 89, American actor and singer (Benson, The Lion King, Sports Night), Emmy winner (1979, 1985), prostate cancer.

25^th: Robert Blakeley, 95, American graphic designer (fallout shelter sign).

25^th: Vilnis Edvīns Bresis, 79, Latvian politician, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Latvian SSR (1988–1990).

26^th: Sir Reginald Secondé, 95, British diplomat, Ambassador to Chile, Romania and Venezuela.

28^th Yvonne Baseden, 95, French-born British Special Operations Executive agent.

29^th: Dennis Banks, 80, American indigenous activist and actor (Thunderheart, The Last of the Mohicans), co-founder of American Indian Movement, complications from heart surgery.

29^th: Richard E. Cavazos, 88, American army general, Commanding General of FORSCOM (1982–1984), Alzheimer's disease.

29^th: Sir Ninian Stephen, 94, Australian judge, Governor-General (1982–1989), Justice of the High Court (1972–1982).

November:

1^st: Brad Bufanda, 34, American actor (Veronica Mars, A Cinderella Story, Co-Ed Confidential), suicide by jumping.

2^nd: William Landau, 93, American neurologist, co-namesake of Landau–Kleffner syndrome.

5^th: Robert Knight, 72, American R&B singer ("Everlasting Love", "Love on a Mountain Top").

6^th: Richard F. Gordon Jr., 88, American astronaut (Gemini 11, Apollo 12).

7^th: João Hall Themido, 93, Portuguese diplomat, Ambassador to the United States (1971–1981).

8^th: John H. Cushman, 96, American military officer, Commander of the I Corps (1976–1978) and the 101st Airborne Division (1972–1973), stroke.

9^th: John Hillerman, 84, American actor (Magnum, P.I., Chinatown, Blazing Saddles), Emmy winner (1987), heart disease.

11^th: Kirti Nidhi Bista, 90, Nepali politician, Prime Minister (1969–1970, 1971–1973, 1977–1979), cancer.

13^th: Thomas J. Hudner Jr., 93, American naval aviator, Medal of Honor recipient (Battle of Chosin Reservoir)

13^th: Peter Imbert, Baron Imbert, 84, British police officer, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (1987–1992) and life peer.

14^th: Ruth Bondy , 94, Czech-born Israeli journalist and Holocaust survivor.

15^th: Joy Lofthouse, 94, English World War II pilot.

16^th: Michelle Dumon, 96, Belgian WWII resistance agent (Comet line).

16^th: Ann Wedgeworth, 83, American actress (Three's Company, Evening Shade, Steel Magnolias), Tony winner (1978).

17^th: Earle Hyman, 91, American actor (The Cosby Show, ThunderCats, The Lady from Dubuque).

17^th: Howard Bruner Schaffer, 88, American diplomat, Ambassador to Bangladesh (1984–1987).

19^th: Charles Manson, 83, American criminal (Tate murders) and cult leader (Manson Family), cardiac arrest from colon cancer.

19^th: Della Reese, 86, American actress (Touched by an Angel, Chico and the Man) and singer ("Don't You Know?").

20^th: Ernestine Petras, 93, American baseball player (AAGPBL).

21^st: David Cassidy, 67, American pop singer ("Cherish", "How Can I Be Sure") and actor (The Partridge Family), liver failure.

24^th: Wesley L. Fox, 86, American Marine Corps colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (1971).

24^th: Mitch Margo, 70, American singer and songwriter (The Tokens).

25^th: Anthony Senerchia, 46, American disability activist, inspiration for the Ice Bucket Challenge, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

29^th: Slobodan Praljak, 72, Croatian military officer and war criminal, suicide by cyanide poisoning.

30^th: Jim Nabors, 87, American actor (Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Andy Griffith Show, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) and singer.

30^th: Marina Popovich, 86, Russian test pilot.

December:

4^th: Ali Abdullah Saleh, 75, Yemeni politician, President of North Yemen (1978–1990) and President (1990–2012), shot.

5^th: Michael I of Romania, 96, Romanian royal, King (1927–1930, 1940–1947), complications from leukemia.

11^th: Aline Griffith, Dowager Countess of Romanones, 94, American-born Spanish cipher clerk, aristocrat, socialite and writer.

11^th: Charles Robert Jenkins, 77, American soldier, deserted to North Korea.

14^th: Marilyn Ware, 74, American diplomat and businesswoman, Ambassador to Finland (2006–2008), complications from Alzheimer's disease.

15^th: Kazimierz Piechowski, 98, Polish political prisoner and Holocaust survivor.

17^th: Kjell Grede, 81, Swedish director (Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg, Hugo and Josephine), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

17^th: Edward Rowny, 100, American army lieutenant general and presidential military advisor.

19^th: Sir Peter Terry, 91, British air force commander and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (1985–1989).

21^st: Bruce McCandless II, 80, American astronaut (STS-41-B).

21^st: Jerry Yellin, 93, American fighter pilot (World War II), lung cancer.

24^th: Heather Menzies, 68, Canadian-born American actress (The Sound of Music, Logan's Run, Piranha), brain cancer.