Deaths in May 2006
The following is a list of notable deaths in May 2006.
May 2006
1
- Jay Presson Allen, 84, American screenwriter, stroke.
- Ed Casey, 73, former Queensland Labor Party leader, stroke.
- George F. Haines, 82, American Olympic swimming coach, complications from a stroke
- Joseph S. Iseman, 89, lawyer, educator and former president of Bennington College, cardiac arrest
- Betsy Jones-Moreland, 76, film and television actress, cancer.
- Rob Lacey, 43, stage actor and award-winning Christian author, bladder cancer
- Rauno Lehtinen, 74, Finnish composer
- Johnny Paris, 65, American saxophonist (Johnny & the Hurricanes)
- Bruce Peterson, 72, American test pilot and engineer, known for surviving the crash of the M2-F2 and inspiring the TV-series The Six Million Dollar Man.
- Raúl Francisco Primatesta, 87, retired Cardinal Archbishop of Córdoba, Argentina
2
- Joseph Lewis Clark, 57, convicted American murderer, executed in Ohio.
- Boyd Coffie, 68, American baseball player and manager, cancer.
- Luigi Griffanti, 89, Italian footballer, goalkeeper of ACF Fiorentina in the 1940s
- Sam Mokuahi, Jr., also known as "Sammy Steamboat", 71, Hawaiian professional wrestler, complications from Alzheimer's disease
- Louis Rukeyser, 73, business and economics expert, multiple myeloma.
- Juan Ramón Salgado, 45, Honduran congressional deputy, gunshot wounds.
3
- Karel Appel, 85, Dutch COBRA painter.
- Rosita Fernandez, 88, American singer.
- Pramod Mahajan, 56, Indian politician, general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party, gunshot wounds.
- Howard Thomas Markey, 85, American federal judge and U.S. Air Force major general, first chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
- Earl Woods, 74, father and former coach of U.S. golfer Tiger Woods, prostate cancer
4
5
6
- Lillian Asplund, 99, last American survivor of the Titanic sinking, died in sleep.
- Konstantin Beskov, 85, Soviet/Russian footballer and manager.
- Ruth Bachhuber Doyle, 89, American politician and educator.
- Shigeru Kayano, 79, Japanese Ainu activist
- Grant McLennan, 48, lead singer of The Go-Betweens, suspected heart attack.
- Flt Lt Sarah Mulvihill, 32, first British servicewoman to be killed in action in Iraq.
- František Peřina, 95, Czechoslovak fighter pilot who served in the British Royal Air Force during World War II.
- Pattabhi Rama Reddy, 87, Indian moviemaker, complications from a prolonged illness
- Lorne Saxberg, 48, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) broadcaster.
- Sister Rose Thering, 85, Roman Catholic nun and professor at Seton Hall University.
7
- Steve Bender, 59, record producer and member of Dschinghis Khan.
- Richard Carleton, 62, Australian television journalist (60 Minutes), heart attack.
- Joan C. Edwards, 87, American philanthropist, liver cancer.
- Stella Sigcau, 69, South African Public Works Minister, heart-related problems.
- Jocelyn Simon, Baron Simon of Glaisdale, 95, United Kingdom minister and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.
- Machiko Soga, 68, Japanese voice actress and actress and tokusatsu legend (Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, etc.), pancreatic cancer.
8
- Lovana Jones, 68, Assistant Majority Leader in the Illinois House of Representatives, represented the 26th District since 1987, undisclosed causes.
- John Kimbrough, 87, College Hall of Fame American football player with Texas A&M and state legislator, pneumonia.
- George Lutz, 59, owner of the Amityville Horror house.
- Pule Patrick "Ace" Ntsoelengoe, 50, South African soccer player with the Minnesota Kicks and Kaizer Chiefs, unknown causes.
- Barbara Schwartz, 58, American painter.
9
- Adrian Bennett, 73, Australian politician, MHR for Division of Swan (1969–1975).
- Corey Engen, 90, captain of the U.S. Nordic skiing team at the 1948 Winter Olympics, complications of pneumonia.
- Jerzy Ficowski, 81, Polish poet, writer and translator.
- Pietro Garinei, 87, Italian playwright and lyricist of "Arrivederci Roma" and other songs.
- Edouard Jaguer, French poet and art critic.
- Tony Ward, 82, Australian actor and journalist, cancer.
10
- Val Guest, 94, British film writer and director (The Quatermass Xperiment, Casino Royale)
- John Hicks, 64, American jazz pianist/composer.
- James Keogh, 89, former executive editor of Time and speechwriter for US President Richard Nixon.
- Georgy Korniyenko, 81, Russian diplomat and deputy to Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko.
- A.M. Rosenthal, 84, Executive Editor of the New York Times for 17 years, stroke.
- Soraya, 37, Colombian-American songwriter, guitarist, arranger, record producer, and singer, breast cancer.
- Aleksandr Zinovyev, 83, Russian logician, sociologist and writer, brain cancer.
11
- Yossi Banai, 74, Israeli singer and actor
- Byron Morrow, 95, American TV and film character actor.
- Michael O'Leary, 70, former leader of the Irish Labour Party, drowned in a swimming pool.
- Floyd Patterson, 71, former boxing heavyweight champion, Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer
- Ferdinando Tacconi, 83, Italian comics artist.
- Michael Taliferro, 45, actor and American football player, stroke.
- Frankie Thomas, 85, American actor (Tom Corbett, Space Cadet), stroke.
12
13
- Joan Diener, 76, American actress/soprano (Man of La Mancha), complications of cancer.
- Rick Farley, 53, Australian National Farmers' Federation Chief Executive for eight years.
- Ryan Francis, 19, freshman point guard for the University of Southern California basketball team, homicide.
- Jaroslav Pelikan, 82, American historian of Christianity, winner of the Kluge Prize in the Human Sciences, lung cancer.
- Östen Sjöstrand, 80, Swedish poet, translator and member of the Swedish Academy.
- Peter Viereck, 89, American historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.
- Johnnie Wilder, Jr., 56, R&B musician, founder of Heatwave ("Boogie Nights", "Always and Forever")
14
- Lew Anderson, 84, American bandleader, played Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show, prostate cancer.
- James Botten, 67, South African international test cricketer, complications after colon operations.
- Steve Cooper, 47, rock singer for Juggernaut and S.A. Slayer.
- William Ginsberg, 75, American professor of environmental law at Hofstra University and former New York City commissioner of parks and recreation.
- Reza Hassanzadeh, 33, Iranian professional soccer player with Teraktor Sazi F.C., injuries from car accident.
- Stanley Kunitz, 100, American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former US poet laureate.
- Jim Lemon, 78, Major League Baseball player, cancer.
- Paul Marco, approximately 81, American film actor (Plan 9 from Outer Space)
- Bruce Merrifield, 84, Nobel Prize-winning chemist
- Günther Nenning, 84, Austrian journalist, author and political activist
- Eva Norvind, New York City-based Norwegian former actress, drowning accident
15
- Joyce Ballantyne, 88, artist best known for creating the "Coppertone Girl" ad, heart attack.
- George Blackburn, 93, head football coach at University of Virginia (1965–1970).
- George Crile III, 61, CBS News producer, pancreatic cancer.
- Eberhard Esche, 73, German actor.
- Chic Hecht, 77, former Republican Senator for Nevada, prostate cancer.
- Judith Moore, 66, American author (Fat Girl - A True Story).
- Cheikha Rimitti, 83, Algerian singer, heart attack.
- David Sharp, 34, British mountaineer.
- Bill Strode, 69, American Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer, cancer.
16
- Clare Boylan, 58, Irish author of 12 books including 7 novels, ovarian cancer.
- Beryl Evans, 84, Australian politician, NSW MLC (1984–1995).
- Anthony Murray, 47, New Zealand rugby league player.
- Jorge Porcel, 69, Argentine actor and comedian, following gall bladder surgery.
- Dan Ross, 49, former NFL football player (Cincinnati Bengals), suspected heart attack
- Takahiro Tamura, 77, Japanese movie and television actor, cerebral infarction.
17
- Cy Feuer, 95, American Broadway producer and writer (Guys and Dolls).
- Dr. Stephen Fleet, 69, Former Registrary, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Master of Downing College, Cambridge.
- Eric Forth, 61, British Conservative Member of Parliament and former government minister, bone cancer.
- Captain Nichola Goddard, 26, Canadian Forces, first female Canadian soldier since WW II to be killed in combat.
- Dan Q. Kennis, 86, American B movie producer.
- John Marsden, 64, Australian lawyer and civil liberties activist, cancer.
- Daniel Owino Misiani, 66, Benga musician from Kenya, car accident
- Mieczysław Nowak, 69, Polish weightlifter, 1964 Olympic medalist
- Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin, 63 prominent Turkish judge sitting in Turkey's highest court, shot dead.
- Lawrence "Ramrod" Shurtliff, 61, longtime crew member for the Grateful Dead, lung cancer.
18
- James Andrew "Andy" Capps, 37, former drummer (Built to Spill).
- Jaan Eilart, 73, Estonian biogeographer.
- Stephen Fleet, 69, British scientist.
- George M. Foster, 92, American anthropologist.
- Morris Glushien, 96, American lawyer, general counsel for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
- Hans Horrevoets, 32, Dutch sailor, swept overboard while competing in Volvo Ocean Race.
- Maksim Kahan, 88, Israeli Olympic shooter.
- Andrew Martinez, 33, the "Naked Guy" at the University of California, Berkeley, apparent suicide.
- Vitor Negrete, 38, prominent Brazilian mountaineer, died after reaching the peak of Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen.
- Michael O'Riordan, 88, chairman of the Communist Party of Ireland and International Brigades veteran.
- Kiyan Prince, 15, youth team player with English football team Queens Park Rangers, stabbed to death.
- Robert Reid, 81, American chemical engineer.
- Gilbert Sorrentino, 77, American novelist.
- Takahiro Tamura, 77, Japanese actor (Tora! Tora! Tora!).
19
- Yitzhak Ben Aharon, 99, founder of the Israeli Labor Party.
- Edward Roy Becker, 73, former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
- Peter Bryant, 82, British television producer.
- Freddie Garrity, 65, lead singer of Freddie and the Dreamers, 1960s pop band, heart disease
- Alan Sapper, 75, British trade unionist.
20
- JoAnna Lund, 61, cookbook author, cancer.
- Les Olive, 78, Assistant Secretary of Manchester United at time of Munich air disaster, prostate cancer.
- Rt. Rev. Andrew Radford, 62, Bishop of Taunton, brain tumour
- Cherd Songsri, 75, Thai film director, cancer
- Annis Stukus, 91, member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions to the Canadian Football League and ice hockey.
- Tommy Watt, 80, British jazz bandleader.
21
- Katherine Dunham, 96, American dancer and choreographer.
- Richard McIlkenny, 73, member of the Birmingham Six, cancer.
- Sherman Skolnick, 75, Illinois anti-corruption activist, heart attack.
- Billy Walker, 77, American country music performer and member of the Grand Ole Opry, traffic accident
22
- Spencer Clark, 19, NASCAR Busch Series driver, road accident.
- Heather Crowe, 61, Canadian anti-smoking activist, lung cancer.
- Hamza El Din, 76, Nubian oud player.
- Jack Fallon, 90, jazz double bassist
- Lee Jong-wook, 61, Director-General of the World Health Organization, brain thrombus
- Lilia Prado, 78, Mexican actress, multiple organ failure.
- Philip Thorn, English researcher and statistician.
23
- Philippe Amaury, 66, French media owner, cancer.
- Clifford Antone, 56, Austin blues club owner, heart attack.
- Lloyd Bentsen, 85, American Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator, and Treasury Secretary under Clinton.
- James W. Carey, 71, American professor of journalism at Columbia University, author.
- Ian Copeland, 57, American music promoter and agent, older brother of Stewart Copeland of The Police, melanoma.
- Bracha Eden, 78, Israeli pianist, brain hemorrhage
- Kazimierz Górski, 85, former coach of Poland national football team, cancer.
- John Nevin, 79, former CEO of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, heart attack.
- Mary Margaret Smith, 112, Ohio's oldest person
- Graham Stewart, 19, William Paterson University athlete, vehicular accident
- Jim Trimble, 87, Philadelphia Eagles coach 1952-55, emphysema.
24
- Eric Bedser, 87, cricketer for Surrey, and elder twin brother of Sir Alec Bedser.
- Henry Bumstead, 91, Academy Awards-winning art director (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sting), prostate cancer.
- Robert Giaimo, 86, Congressman for Connecticut 3rd District (1959−1981), lung ailments.
- Fritz Klein, 73, Austrian-born psychiatrist and researcher.
- Anderson Mazoka, 63, chief opposition leader in Zambia.
- Bernard Ostry, 78, Canadian civil servant and philanthropist, cancer.
- Claude Piéplu, 83. French actor, cancer
- John Wheeldon, 76, former Australian Labor Party Senator and minister in the Whitlam government.
25
- Sir Julian Bullard, 78, British diplomat
- Elizabeth Connelly, 77, former member of the New York State Assembly representing Staten Island, cancer.
- Desmond Dekker, 64, Jamaican ska musician, heart attack.
- Lars Gyllensten, 84, Swedish author, physician, and member of the Swedish Academy.
- Wilber Huston, 93, American scientist and retired NASA mission director.
- Donald Rudolph, 85, US Army soldier awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II, Alzheimer's disease.
- Mari Yonehara, 56, Japanese essayist, ovarian cancer.
- Tobías Lasser, 95, Venezuelan botanist, founder of the Botanic Garden of Caracas, natural causes .
26
- Milicent Bagot, 99, British intelligence officer.
- Horondino José da Silva, also known as "Dino Sete Cordas", 88, Brazilian virtuouso of the seven-string guitar.
- Selvin González, 24, Salvadoran footballer.
- Alan Kotok, 64, American early video game designer (Spacewar!), engineer for Digital Equipment.
- Mahmoud al-Majzoub, also known as Abu Hamza, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader, assassination by bombing.
- Édouard Michelin, 42, CEO of Michelin, boating accident off the Île de Sein.
- Kevin O'Flanagan, 86, Irish former association football and rugby union international, and IOC member, heart problems.
- Dr. Anita Roberts, 64, American molecular biologist at the National Cancer Institute, stomach cancer.
- Ted Schroeder, 84, American tennis player, winner at Wimbledon (1949) and the U.S. Open (1942), cancer.
- Raymond Triboulet, 99, member of the French Resistance during World War II, member of the French Parliament and government minister.
27
- Adeeb, 72, Pakistani actor
- Harold Falls, 96, American ophthalmologist.
- Paul Gleason, 67, American actor (The Breakfast Club), mesothelioma.
- Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, 39, NFL fullback, complications from a brain tumor.
- General Romeo Lucas García, 81, former President of Guatemala, complications of Alzheimer's disease.
- Thelma Leeds, 95, American actress, widow of Parkyakarkus
- Michael Riffaterre, 81, French-born professor at Columbia University and scholar of French literature.
- Alex Toth, 77, American comic book artist and cartoonist (Space Ghost, Jonny Quest).
- Apache Bull Ramos, 71, Northwest US wrestler, shoulder infection
28
- Edward Aldwell, 68, music theorist and pianist specializing in Bach, automotive accident.
- James Archibald, 94, Maine judge for 50 years including service on the Maine Judicial Supreme Court between 1971 and his retirement in 1981.
- Lewis Carter, 81, Australian cricketer.
- Fermín Chávez, 82, Argentine historian, complications from renal failure. (Spanish)
- Sue Fear, 43, Australian mountaineer, climbing accident.
- Umberto Masetti, 80, motorcycle racer, the first Italian World Champion class 500cc in 1950 and 1952, pulmonary strokes
- Masumi Okada, 70, Japanese actor, played Brother Michael in Shogun, throat cancer.
- Tony Sardisco, 73, American footballer, former captain of the Boston Patriots, heart attack.
- Doris Saunders, 64, first editor of Them Days magazine and inducted into the Order of Canada for her role in preserving Labrador's history. Alzheimer's disease.
- Arthur Widmer, 91, motion picture special effects pioneer, winner of an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement, cancer.
29
- Neville Amadio, 93, flautist and soloist for Sydney Symphony for 50 years, series of small heart attacks.
- Peter Borsari, 67, celebrity photographer, complications from elective knee surgery.
- James Brolan, 42, CBS News sound technician, injuries sustained in car bombing in Iraq.
- Paul Douglas, 48, veteran CBS News cameraman, injuries sustained in car bombing in Iraq.
- Steve Mizerak, 61, champion billiards player
- Omeljan Pritsak, 87, Harvard professor, scholar and authority on Ukraine
- Johnny Servoz-Gavin, 64, French racing driver.
30
- Slim Aarons, 89, American photographer, stroke.
- Hladnik Boštjan, 77, Slovenian film director.
- Shohei Imamura, 79, Japanese film director (Black Rain), two-time winner of the Palme d'Or, liver cancer.
- Bill Kovacs, 56, computer animation pioneer and Academy Award winner, complications of a stroke.
- David Lloyd, 68, New Zealand botanist, complications from mystery illness, possibly poison.
- Robert Sterling, 88, star of 1950s television show Topper, natural causes.
31
- Ryan Bennett, 35, former UFC announcer and founder of MMAweekly, died in a car crash.
- Ronald Cranford, 65, neurologist and bioethicist who developed coma standards, complications of kidney cancer.
- Raymond Davis Jr., 91, American chemist and a winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002, Alzheimer's disease.
- Lula Mae Hardaway, 76, mother of singer Stevie Wonder, natural causes.
- Miguel Berrocal, 73, Spanish sculptor and puzzle creator; prostate cancer.