Deaths in December 2006

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The following is a list of notable deaths in December 2006.

December 2006

1

• Claude Jade, 58, French actress (Baisers Volés, L'Amour en Fuite, Topaz), metastatic eye cancer.
• Herbert Gursky, 76, American astrophysicist for the Naval Research Laboratory, stomach cancer.
• Geoffrey Colin Guy, 86, British airman and colonial governor.
• Sid Raymond, 97, American character actor and voice of Baby Huey, complications of a stroke.
• Ali Khan Samsudin, 48, Malaysian "snake king", venomous snakebite.

2

• Bob Berry, 80, British test cricket player, natural causes.
• Kari Edwards, 52, American poet, artist and gender activist, heart failure.
• Kurt Lipstein, 97, German-born legal scholar.
• Dave Mount, 59, British drummer for glam rock band Mud, heart attack.
• Mariska Veres, 59, Dutch singer for Shocking Blue (Venus), cancer.

3

• Craig Hinton, 42, British science fiction author, heart attack.
• Logan Whitehurst, 29, American singer and songwriter (The Velvet Teen), brain cancer.

4

• Sir Peter Gadsden, 77, British Lord Mayor of London (1979–1980).
• Joseph Ki-Zerbo, 84, Burkinabé politician, natural causes.
• James Kim, 35, American CNET editor, exposure and hypothermia.
• Rodney Needham, 83, British social anthropologist.
• Len Sutton, 81, American Indianapolis 500 racing driver, cancer.
• Adam Williams, 82, American actor, lymphoma.

5

• David Bronstein, 82, Ukrainian chess grandmaster and writer, champion of USSR, natural causes.
• Eric Cox, 83, Australian rugby league player, referee and administrator, pneumonia and stroke.
• Michael Gilden, 44, American actor (NCIS, Return of the Jedi), apparent suicide.
• Gerry Humphreys, 75, Welsh sound engineer.
• Gernot Jurtin, 51, Austrian football player, cancer.
• Timothy Moxon, 82, British actor and entrepreneur.
• Van Smith, 61, American costume and makeup designer, heart attack.

6

• Han Ahmedow, 70, Turkmen Prime Minister (1989–1992), heart attack.
• Darren Brown, 44, British musician and lead singer (Mega City Four), stroke.
• Russell Buchanan, 106, American World War I veteran, stroke.
• Hugo Cores, 69, Uruguayan historian, labor leader and politician, Deputy (1990–1994), stroke.
• Samuel Devons, 92, British physicist and science historian at Columbia University, heart failure.
• Andra Franklin, 47, American football player (Miami Dolphins), heart failure.
• Mavis Pugh, 92, British actress (You Rang, M'Lord?), natural causes.
• Robert Rosenblum, 79, American art historian, curator, and author, colon cancer.
• William Salcer, 82, Czechoslovakian-born American inventor and Holocaust survivor, leukemia.

7

• Lyuben Berov, 81, Bulgarian prime minister (1992–1994), cancer.
• Kevin Berry, 61, Australian gold medal winner in the 200m butterfly at the 1964 Summer Olympics, brain tumour.
• Desmond Briscoe, 81, British sound engineer and founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, natural causes.
• Moses Hardy, 112, American supercentenarian, oldest known American man, last African American World War I veteran, natural causes.
• J. B. Hunt, 79, American trucking executive, founder of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, head injuries from a fall.
• Kim Hyung-chil, 47, South Korean equestrian at the 2006 Asian Games, crushed by falling horse.
• Jeane Kirkpatrick, 79, American United Nations ambassador (1981–1985), heart failure.
• Chris Nelson, 46, American photographer, heart attack.
• Jay McShann, 90, American blues and swing pianist, bandleader and singer, natural causes.

8

• William H. Briare, 76, American politician, Mayor of Las Vegas (1975–1987).
• Sir Colin Figures, 81, British head of the Secret Intelligence Service (1982–1985), natural causes.
• Martha Tilton, 91, American jazz and swing singer with Benny Goodman, natural causes.
• Philip Tower, 89, British army general.
• José Uribe, 47, Dominican baseball shortstop (1984–1993), car accident.

9

• Koula Agagiotou, 91, Greek actress (To Retire), natural causes.
• Peter Derow, 62, American classical scholar, heart attack.
• Georgia Gibbs, 87, American singer ("Kiss of Fire") known for her work on Your Hit Parade, leukemia.
• Ralph Gomberg, 85, American principal oboist at the Boston Symphony, primary lateral sclerosis.
• Johnny Hutch, 93, British acrobat and comedian (The Benny Hill Show), natural causes.
• Andrei Lomakin, 42, Russian ice hockey player, gold medallist at 1988 Winter Olympics, long illness.
• Martin Nodell, 91, American comic book and advertising artist, creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern, natural causes.
• Tremayne Rodd, 3rd Baron Rennell, 71, British rugby union player for Scotland, cancer.

10

• Mario Llerena, 93, Cuban intellectual, author and former Castro supporter turned critic, natural causes.
• Salvatore Pappalardo, 88, Italian Archbishop of Palermo (1970–1996), natural causes.
• Augusto Pinochet, 91, Chilean president (1973–1990), complications from heart attack.
• David Wood, 43, American environmental campaigner.

11

• Elizabeth Bolden, 116, American oldest verified person in the world (2006), natural causes.
• Kenneth Cummins, 106, British veteran of the First World War, natural causes.
• Tom Gregory, 79, American television news anchor and announcer, heart disease.
• Homer Ledford, 79, American bluegrass musician, guitar and dulcimer luthier, stroke.
• Colin Mair, 86, British rector of Kelvinside Academy.
• Walter Ward, 66, American lead singer of The Olympics, unspecified illness.

12

• Paul Arizin, 78, American basketball player (Philadelphia Warriors).
• Peter Boyle, 71, American actor (Young Frankenstein, Everybody Loves Raymond), multiple myeloma.
• Kenny Davern, 71, American jazz clarinetist, heart attack.
• Cor van der Hart, 78, Dutch footballer, natural causes.
• Oscar Klein, 76, Austrian-born jazz trumpeter, heart attack.
• Antoine Raab, 93, German association footballer and anti-fascist, natural causes.
• Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy, 68, Sri Lankan Tamil militant civil war leader, illness.
• Ellis Rubin, 81, American attorney and author, cancer.
• Raymond P. Shafer, 89, American Governor of Pennsylvania (1967–1971), complications from heart failure.
• Alan Shugart, 76, American disk drive pioneer, co-founder of Seagate Technology, complications from heart surgery.
• Charles Stourton, 26th Baron Mowbray, 83, British Conservative whip in the House of Lords, pneumonia.

13

• Henry Beachell, 100, American agriculturalist and recipient of the 1996 World Food Prize.
• Eileen Caddy, 89, British co-founder of the Findhorn Foundation, natural causes.
• Richard Carlson, 45, American author (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff), heart attack.
• Loyola de Palacio, 56, Spanish Vice-President of the European Commission, cancer.
• Ángel Nieves Díaz, 55, Puerto Rican murderer, lethal injection.
• Homesick James, 96, American blues musician, natural causes.
• Lamar Hunt, 74, American owner of Kansas City Chiefs, coiner of term "Super Bowl", complications of prostate cancer.
• Bernard Kleiman, 78, American general counsel to the United Steelworkers of America, heart attack.
• Charles Peter McColough, 84, Canadian CEO of Xerox Corporation, cardiac arrest.
• Mario Ravagnan, 75, Italian Olympic fencer.

14

• Anton Balasingham, 69, Sri Lankan LTTE senior negotiator, cholangiocarcinoma.
• John Bridge, 91, British recipient of the George Cross and George Medal, natural causes.
• Ahmet Ertegün, 83, American businessman, co-founder of Atlantic Records, head injury from a fall at a Rolling Stones concert.
• Michael Jonas Evans, 57, American actor (The Jeffersons), throat cancer.
• Kate Fleming, 41, American actress, audio book producer and narrator, drowned.
• John Hamilton, 84, British politician, leader of Liverpool City Council (1983–1986), lung disease.
• Robert Long, 63, Dutch singer, cancer. (Dutch)
• Sivuca, 76, Brazilian accordionist and composer, cancer.

15

• Federico Crescentini, 24, San Marino footballer, drowned.
• Frank Johnson, 63, British journalist, editor of The Spectator (1995–1999), cancer.
• Clay Regazzoni, 67, Swiss Formula One racing driver (1970–1980), car accident.
• Mary Stolz, 86, American young adult novelist (Belling the Tiger, The Noonday Friends), natural causes.
• Matt Zunic, 87, American basketball player and coach.

16

• Don Jardine, 66, Canadian professional wrestler, heart attack and leukemia.
• Chicho Jesurun, 59, Dutch baseball player and coach from the Netherlands Antilles, heart attack. (Dutch)
• Goce Nikolovski, 59, Macedonian singer, suicide.
• Taliep Petersen, South African theatre impresario, shot.
• John Rae, 75, British educator and writer, headmaster of Westminster School (1970–1986).
• Pnina Salzman, 84, Israeli pianist, natural causes.
• Cecil Travis, 93, American baseball player (Washington Senators), natural causes.
• Larry Zox, 69, American artist, cancer.

17

• Joe Gill, 87, American comic book writer.
• Kyōko Kishida, 76, Japanese actress, respiratory failure caused by brain tumor.
• Esko Nikkari, 68, Finnish actor, pneumonia. (Finnish)
• Larry Sherry, 71, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers), MVP of the 1959 World Series, cancer.

18

• Abdul Amir al-Jamri, 67, Bahraini Shiite Muslim cleric, heart failure and kidney failure.
• Joseph Barbera, 95, American cartoonist, co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Productions, natural causes.
• Ruth Bernhard, 101, American photographer, natural causes.
• W. Craig Broadwater, 56, American judge, cancer.
• Denis Carter, Baron Carter, 74, British politician, Chief Whip in the House of Lords (1997–2002), cancer.
• Mike Dickin, 63, British talkSPORT radio presenter, car accident.
• Scott Mateer, 46, American songwriter and disc jockey, complications of diabetes and high blood pressure.
• Mavor Moore, 87, Canadian writer, actor, radio and television producer, illness.
• Mollie Orshansky, 91, American statistician and economist, cardiac arrest.
• Daniel Pinkham, 83, American composer, natural causes.

19

• Jack Burnley, 95, American cartoonist and illustrator, natural causes.
• Oonah McFee, 90, Canadian writer.
• Maj-Britt Nilsson, 82, Swedish actress (Summer Interlude, Secrets of Women).
• Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, Afghan Taliban commander, airstrike.
• Elisabeth Rivers-Bulkeley, 82, Austrian-born British first female member of the London Stock Exchange.
• Roy Ward, 83, Australian politician.

20

• Yukio Aoshima, 74, Japanese comedian, Governor of Tokyo (1995–1999), myelodysplastic syndrome.
• John Bishop, 77, American screenwriter and playwright.
• Elkan Blout, 87, American biochemist (Harvard University and the Polaroid Corporation), pneumonia.
• Anne Rogers Clark, 77, American dog show judge (Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show), kidney failure associated with colon cancer.
• Ma Ji, 72, Chinese xiangsheng actor, heart attack.
• Mick Mulligan, 78, British jazz trumpeter and bandleader.
• Tadayuki Nakashima, 35, Japanese comedian, member of duo Cunning, pneumonia and complications from leukemia.
• Piergiorgio Welby, 60, Italian poet and euthanasia advocate, removal of life support.

21

• Scobie Breasley, 92, Australian jockey, stroke.
• Rogério Oliveira da Costa, 30, Brazilian-born Macedonian football player, heart attack.
• Lois Hall, 80, American actress, heart attack and stroke.
• Jerzy Janikowski, 54, Polish Olympic fencer.
• Saparmurat Niyazov, 66, Turkmen Communist party secretary (1985–1991), president (1990–2006), cardiac arrest.
• Philippa Pearce, 86, British children's author, stroke.
• Karl Strauss, 94, German-born brewer for Pabst and Karl Strauss Brewing Company, natural causes.
• Sydney Wooderson, 92, British lawyer and track athlete, world record holder for mile run (1937–1942), kidney failure.

22

• Richard Boston, 67, British journalist and author, illness.
• Sam Chapman, 90, American athlete, Alzheimer's disease.
• Ervin Lázár, 70, Hungarian writer, Kossuth Prize winner, lung failure. (Hungarian)
• Dennis Linde, 63, American songwriter ("Burning Love", "Goodbye Earl"), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
• Michael Morrison, 60, American pornographic actor.
• Elena Mukhina, 46, Russian gymnast, complications of quadriplegia.
• Phillip Pine, 86, American actor.
• Thomas Shoyama, 90, Canadian politician, heart failure and Parkinson's disease.
• Galina Ustvolskaya, 87, Russian composer, natural causes.

23

• Sol Carter, 98, American baseball player.
• Charlie Drake, 81, British comedian, actor and singer (My Boomerang Won't Come Back), stroke-related illness.
• Wilma Dykeman, 86, American author and journalist, complications after hip fracture.
• Dutch Mason, 68, Canadian blues musician, complications from diabetes.
• Bo Mya, 79, Burmese rebel leader, complications of heart disease and diabetes.
• Rosina Raisbeck, 90, Australian soprano singer.
• Robert Stafford, 93, American politician, governor of Vermont (1959–1961) and senator (1971–1989), natural causes.
• Timothy J. Tobias, 54, American composer and musician.
• Marilyn Waltz, 75, American actress and Playboy model.

24

• Braguinha, 99, Brazilian composer, multiple organ failure.
• Kenneth Sivertsen, 45, Norwegian folk singer, comedian and poet, brain trauma. (Norwegian)
• Frank Stanton, 98, American president of CBS (1946–1971).

25

• James Brown, 73, American soul singer and bandleader, heart failure related to pneumonia.
• John Butcher, 60, British Conservative MP (1979–1997), heart attack.
• Sir Bob Cotton, 91, Australian politician and ambassador to the United States (1982–1985, 1991–1994).
• Ingerid Vardund, 79, Norwegian actress. (Norwegian)

26

• Robert Boehm, 92, American lawyer and chairman of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
• Chris Brown, 45, American baseball player, complications from burns.
• Gerald Ford, 93, 38th President of the United States (1974–1977) and 40th Vice President of the United States (1973–1974), arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis.
• Ivar Formo, 55, Norwegian cross-country skier and Olympic Games champion, drowning.
• John Heath-Stubbs, 88, British poet and translator, lung cancer.
• Martin David Kruskal, 81, American mathematician (Princeton University), stroke.
• Fernand Nault, 85, Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director, Parkinson's disease.

27

• Richard Dean, 50, American model, photographer and television host (Cover Shot), pancreatic cancer.
• Pierre Delanoë, 88, French lyricist, cardiac arrest.
• Scotty Glacken, 62, American Georgetown University football coach (1970–1992).
• Itche Goldberg, 102, Polish-born American writer and Yiddish language preservationist.
• Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley, 83, British media executive, chair of BBC Board of Governors (1986–1996).

28

• Gracie Cole, 82, British trumpeter and bandleader.
• Nicola Granieri, 64, Italian Olympic fencer.
• Jamal Karimi-Rad, 50, Iranian Minister of Justice, car accident.
• Mandy Mitchell-Innes, 92, British oldest living test cricketer for England, natural causes.
• Jack Myers, 93, American biologist and science contributing editor (Highlights for Children), bladder cancer.
• Jared Nathan, 21, American actor (ZOOM), car accident.
• Gershon Shaked, 77, Israeli author and professor of Hebrew Literature.
• Aroldo Tieri, 89, Italian actor.

29

• Harald Bredesen, 88, American Lutheran pastor and advocate of speaking in tongues, injuries following a fall.
• Bud Delp, 74, American racehorse trainer inducted into the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame, cancer.
• Johnny Gibson, 101, American 400 meter hurdles world record holder (1927–1928).
• Charles Addo Odametey, 69, Ghanaian football player.
• Charlie Tyra, 71, American basketball player, heart failure.

30

• Frank Campanella, 87, American character actor.
• Mitzi Cunliffe, 88, American sculptor.
• Saddam Hussein, 69, Iraqi President (1979–2003), execution by hanging.
• Antony Lambton, 84, British Conservative government minister.
• Donald Murray, 82, American columnist.
• Azumi Muto, 20, Japanese model and actress, homicide.
• Michel Plasse, 58, Canadian ice hockey player, cardiac arrest. (French)
• Gerald Washington, 57, American mayor-elect of Westlake, Louisiana, suicide by gunshot.

31

• Marv Breeding, 72, American Major League Baseball player (Orioles, Dodgers).
• John Denison, 95, British music administrator.
• James Harder, 80, American civil engineer.
• Lida Hensley, 81, American president of Universal Life Church.
• Ya'akov Hodorov, 79, Israeli football goalkeeper, stroke.
• Seymour Martin Lipset, 84, American sociologist, stroke.
• Liese Prokop, 65, Austrian athlete and Minister of the Interior (2004–2006), aortic dissection.
• Joe Walton, 81, English football player (Preston North End).