Deaths in 2003 - 2 reference results
The following is a list of notable deaths in 2003. Names are listed by date of death, not the date it was announced. Names under each date are listed in alphabetical order by family name.
A typical entry appears in the following sequence:
- Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, established cause of death, reference.
December 2003
- 31 Sophie Daumier, 69, French actor and comedian
- 31 Arthur R. von Hippel, 105, German-born scientist and MIT professor who made critical contributions to the development of radar
- 31 Bríd Dirrane, 109, the oldest person to receive a university degree and write an autobiography (both at 103), last surviving person who knew the leaders of Ireland's 1916 Uprising personally

- 31 Rein Helme, 49, Estonian war historian
- 31 Terje Soots, 38, Estonian radio host
- 30 David Bale, 62, South African activist, brain lymphoma

- 30 John Gregory Dunne, 71, American novelist and screenwriter, myocardial infarction
- 30 Anita Mui, 40, Hong Kong pop queen, cervical cancer
- 29 Archbishop Michael Courtney, 58, Irish-born Papal Nuncio to Burundi who was central to peace negotiations, homicide
- 29 Earl Hindman, 61, American actor, lung cancer
- 29 Bob Monkhouse, 75, British comedian and game show host, prostate cancer
- 28 Benjamin Thurman Hacker, 68, first American Naval Flight Officer to achieve the "Flag" rank, complications from leukemia
- 28 Isabelle Stevenson, chairman of the board of the American Theatre Wing, presenter of the Tony Awards

- 28 Dinsdale Landen, 71, British actor, pneumonia
- 27 Vestal Goodman, 74, American Southern Gospel singer, complications from influenza
- 27 Iván Calderón, 41, Puerto Rican former major league baseball star, homicide by gunshot
- 27 Sir Alan Bates, 69, British actor, pancreatic cancer
- 26 Phil Goldman, 39, American engineer and entrepreneur, heart failure
- 26 Yoshio Shirai, 80, first Japanese world boxing champion, pneumonia
- 24 Linda Viiding, 97, Estonian translator
- 22 Dave Dudley, 75, American country music singer, myocardial infarction
- 20 John Halfpenny, 68, Australian unionist
- 19 Ricardo Alfonso Cerna, 47, Guatemalan suicide victim
- 19 Hope Lange, 70, American actress, ischemic colitis
- 19 Peter Carter-Ruck, 89, British libel lawyer
- 17 Ed Devereaux, 78, Australian actor
- 17 Otto Graham, 82, American professional football and basketball player, heart aneurysm
- 16 Gary Stewart, 58, American country music singer, suicide
- 16 Robert Stanfield, 89, Canadian politician
- 15 Keith Magnuson, 56, Canadian National Hockey League player, road accident
- 15 George Fisher, 80, American political cartoonist
- 14 Jeanne Crain, 78, American actress, myocardial infarction
- 14 Blas Ople, 75, Filipino journalist and politician
- 13 Elizabeth Bates, 56, Professor of Psychology at University of California, San Diego, pancreatic cancer
- 13 William V. Roth, Jr., 82, American lawyer and politician
- 12 Keiko, 27, orca of Reino Aventura and Free Willy fame, pneumonia
- 12 Heydar Aliyev, 80, former President of Azerbaijan
- 12 Fadwa Toukan, 86, Palestinian poet
- 12 Earl Gillespie, 81, sportscaster, voice of the Milwaukee Braves
- 11 Ahmadou Kourouma, 76, Ivorian novelist
- 11 John W. Sidgmore, former head of Worldcom and UUNet, acute pancreatitis
- 11 Paulos Tzadua, Roman Catholic cardinal from Ethiopia
- 10 Ettore Perazzoli, 29, Italian free software developer
- 9 Paul Simon, 75, American politician, complications following heart surgery
- 8 Rubén González, 84, Cuban pianist
- 8 Johnny Bulla, 89, American golfer
- 7 Raúl Vale, 59, Venezuelan-Mexican entertainer
- 7 Carl F. H. Henry, 90, American Evangelical theologian and founder of Christianity Today magazine
- 7 Azie Taylor Morton, 67, former Treasurer of the United States, complications from a stroke
- 6 Haddis Alemayehu, 93, Ethiopian Foreign Minister and novelist
- 6 Jose-Maria Jimenez, 32, professional cyclist
- 6 Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, 85, President of Guatemala 1970-74
- 6 Jerry Tuite, 36, American wrestler, myocardial infarction
- 5 Bert Templeton, 63, Scottish ice hockey coach, kidney cancer
4 Jonathan Luna, 38, United States Assistant Attorney, murdered
- 3 David Hemmings, 62, British actor and director, myocardial infarction
- 2 Ignaz Kiechle, 73, German politician and minister for agriculture (1983-93)
- 1 Clark Kerr, 92, first Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley (1952-58) and President of the University of California (1958-67), injuries from a fall
November 2003
- 2 Frederic Vester, 77, German cybernetician
- 3
- Aaron Bridgers, 85, French jazz pianist
- Rasul Gamzatov, 80, Avarian/Soviet/Russian poet, called the "People's poet of Dagestan"
- Frank McCloskey, 64, Indiana Congressman from 1983-1995
- 4
- Angel Chingre, Ecuadorian campesino leader, human rights activist
- Mitch Rosario, Puerto Rican hair stylist who worked with Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio among others
- Ken Gampu, South African actor
- Richard Wollheim, 80, British philosopher
- 5
- Bobby Hatfield, 63, half of the singing duet the Righteous Brothers
- Dernell Stenson, Cincinnati Reds baseball player
- 6
- Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (41 years)
- Crash Holly, professional wrestler (32 years)
- Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer, triple Olympic champion (84 years)
- 8
- Hava Rexha, oldest woman in Albania, maybe in the world (123 years?)
- C. Z. Guest, socialite (83 years)
- Haydar Richard Nancy (pregnant) and Jad, Lebanese nationals form Lebanon, killed in terrorist bombing attack on residential compound Al-Muhaya in Saudi Arabia (31, 29 and 1 years)
- 9
- Gordon Onslow Ford, surrealist painter (90 years)
- Mario Merz, Italian artist
- Art Carney, The Honeymooners actor (85 years)
- Buddy Arnold, jazz saxophonist
- 10
- Canaan Banana, first president of independent Zimbabwe (67 years)
- Irv "Kup" Kupcinet, columnist, television personality (91 years)
- 11 Robert Brown, British actor (M in 4 James Bond films) (82 years)
- 12
- Tony Thompson, drummer for The Power Station
- Penny Singleton, actress (95 years)
- David Silvetti, Mexican bullfighter, committed suicide
- Jonathan Brandis, actor, reportedly suicide (27 years)
- 13
- Kellie Waymire, actress (Star Trek: Enterprise) (35 years)
- Mitoyo Kawate, oldest recognized person in the world (114 years)
- 14 Gene Anthony Ray, actor and dancer
- 15
- Ray Lewis, first Canadian-born black Olympic medalist
- Mohamed Choukri, writer
- Laurence Tisch, billionaire, head of Loews Corporation and CBS television network
- Dorothy Loudon, actress
- 16
- Bettina Goislard, UNHCR relief worker (29 years)
- Arihiro Fukuda, Japanese associate professor and author of Sovereignty and the Sword (39 years)
- 17
- Gerry Adams Sr., IRA member
- Arthur Conley, soul singer
- Don Gibson, singer-songwriter
- 18 Michael Kamen, composer
- 19 Ken Brett, former Major League Baseball player, brother of George Brett (55 years)
- 20
- David Dacko, first president of the Central African Republic (73 years)
- Robert Addie, British actor (43 years)
- Eugene Kleiner, entrepreneur and co-founder of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers venture capital firm (80 years)
- Roger Short, British diplomat, consul-general in Istanbul (58 years)
- Kerem Yilmazer, Turkish actor (58 years)
- Jim Siedow, American actor (b. 1920)
- 21 Bohumil Simon, one of the leaders of the Prague Spring (83 years)
- 24
- Hugh Kenner, 80, literary critic
- Warren Spahn, 82, baseball pitcher
- Floquet de Neu or Copito de Nieve ("Snowflake"), rare albino gorilla, star of the Barcelona zoo

- Uma Devi (popularly known as Tuntun), 80, Indian actress
- 26
- Stefan Wul, 81, French science fiction writer
- Soulja Slim, rapper
- Anton Burg, 99, USC chemistry professor
- William H. Waldren, 79, archaeologist
- 27
- Talal al-Rasheed, 41, Saudi poet
- Will Quadflieg, German actor
- 28
- Harold von Braunhut, American, creator of Amazing Sea-Monkeys and other comic book kitsch, member of the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations
- Jim Duffy, 82, Major League Baseball umpire
- 30
- Barber B. Conable, 81, New York Congressman, president of the World Bank from 1986-1991
- Gertrude Ederle, 97, first woman to swim the English Channel
October 2003
- 2
- John T. Dunlop, briefly Secretary of Labor under Gerald Ford
- Gunther Philipp, Austrian actor
- 3 William Steig, American cartoonist and children's author; creator of Shrek
- 4
- Sid McMath, former governor of Arkansas
- James Forlong, former British reporter for Sky News, who was accused of faking a news report during the invasion of Iraq, apparent suicide
- Bill Cayton, American boxing manager, owner of (reportedly) largest fight video collection in the world, former manager of Edwin Rosario and Mike Tyson
- 5
- Matthew Brown, 29, Latin teacher
- Neil Postman, media critic
- Elena Slough, oldest recognized American, aged 114
- Denis Quilley, British actor
- Dan Snyder, Atlanta Thrashers hockey player
- Timothy Treadwell, environmentalist and bear enthusiast
- 6 Mildred O'Neill, widow of former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill
- 7
- Frank Roe, former President of the Irish Circuit Court
- Eleanor Lambert, U.S. fashion pioneer
- Izzy Asper, Canadian press baron

- Felicitas Corrigan, Benedictine nun
- 9 Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American academic and author
- 10 Eugene Istomin, American pianist
- 11 Fredy Knie, Sr., director of Swiss circus Circus Knie
- 12
- Willie Shoemaker, Hall of Fame jockey
- Jim Cairns, Australian politician
- 13
- Bertram Brockhouse, Nobel Prize-winning Canadian physicist

- Joan B. Kroc, philanthropist, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc
- 14 Ben Metcalfe, Greenpeace activist and co-founder
- 16
- Jim Albrecht, tournament director of the World Series of Poker.
- Stu Hart, patriarch of wrestling family, 88 years
- László Papp, Hungarian boxer
- Avni Arbas, Turkish artist
- 18
- Preston Smith, governor of Texas
- Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Spanish writer
- 19
- Margaret Murie, "Mother of the Modern Conservationist Movement" 101 years
- Faith Fancher, television journalist and breast cancer awareness activist, 53 years
- Michael Hegstrand, "Road Warrior Hawk", 45 years
- Alija Izetbegović, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 20 Jack Elam, American actor, 84 years
- 21
- Louise Day Hicks, US politician
- Fred Berry, American actor, "Rerun" on the show What's Happening!!
- Susanne Hagenbusch, German actress, 96 years
- Elliott Smith, US musician, 34 years
- Luis A. Ferré, former governor of Puerto Rico, 99 years
- 22
- Tony Renna, IndyCar Driver 27 years
- 23
- Tony Capstick, British actor, comedian, musician and broadcaster
- Soong May-ling, widow of the Nationalist Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek, 106 years
- 24 Rosie Nix Adams, daughter of June Carter Cash
- 25
- Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricketer.
- 26 Elem Klimov, Russian director
- 27 Rod Roddy, announcer on The Price is Right
- 28 Behram Kursunoglu, Turkish physicist, 81 years old
- 29 Hal Clement, author, 81 years
- 30
- Daphne Hardy Henrion, British sculptor, 86 years old
- Franco Corelli, operatic tenor, 82 years old
- 31
- Mohamed Yazid, Algerian politician, 80 years old
- Richard Neustadt, political scholar and historian
- Kamato Hongo, oldest recognized person in world at 116 (although disputed)
September 2003
- 1 Sir Terry Frost, British artist
- 3 Paul Hill, executed for two anti-abortion murders
- 4 Tibor Varga, violinist, conductor and pedagogue
- 5 Gisele MacKenzie, singer
- 6
- Mohammad Oraz, Iranian mountain climber, Everest Summiter, died while climbing Gasherbrum I.

- Wilbur Snapp, stadium organist kicked out of game by umpire for playing Three Blind Mice
- 7
- Warren Zevon, singer and songwriter
- The Great Antonio, strongman and eccentric
- 8
- Leni Riefenstahl, German filmmaker
- Jaclyn Linetsky, 17, Canadian voice actress, road accident
- 9
- Larry Hovis, actor, played Carter on Hogan's Heroes
- Edward Teller, American physicist, "Father of the H-Bomb"
- 10 Harry Goz, 71, American musical theater actor and voice actor, multiple myeloma
- 11
- Ben Bril, Dutch boxer
- John Ritter, 54, American actor and comedian, aortic dissection
- Anna Lindh, 46, Swedish foreign minister
- 12
- Johnny Cash, 71, American country singer, diabetes mellitus
- Rev Prof Norman Walker Porteous, theologian and writer on Old Testament issues
- 13 Frank O'Bannon, Governor of Indiana
- 15
- Jack Brymer, British clarinettist
- Yetunde Price, sister of American tennis players Venus and Serena Williams
- 16
- Erich Hallhuber, Bavarian actor
- Sheb Wooley, actor, singer of 1958 pop hit Purple People Eater
- Tommy Rawson, boxer, referee
- 18 Valve Janov, Estonian painter
- 19 Slim Dusty, Australian country music singer
- 20
- Lord Williams of Mostyn, British Cabinet minister, Leader of the House of Lords
- Liam Tobin, longtime Árd Rúnaí Roinn na Gaeltachta (Secretary to the Irish Department of the Gaeltacht) and Irish language campaigner
- Simon Vengai Muzenda, Zimbabwe politician, vice president of the Republic since 1987
- 21 Robert H. Lochner, John F. Kennedy's interpreter
- 22
- Hugo Young, British political commentator
- Gordon Jump, American actor
- Johan Stekelenburg, Dutch union leader and politician
- 24
- Derek Prince, 88, author, biblical scholar and spiritual patriarch
- Tomás MacGabhann, Irish Trade Unionist and Irish language activist
- Edward Said, Palestinian scholar
- 25
- George Plimpton, author, editor
- Franco Modigliani, Nobel Prize-winning economist
- Aquila al-Hashimi, Iraqi politician, member of the Governing Council
- 26 Robert Palmer, 54, singer
- 27 Donald O'Connor, entertainer, actor
- 28
- Yukichi Chuganji, 114 years
- Elia Kazan, director
- Althea Gibson, tennis player
- 30
- Gilbert Ortega, jewelry tycoon, country singer
- Robert Kardashian, criminal defense lawyer
August 2003
- 1
- Guy Thys, 80, former Belgian national football coach.
- Marie Trintignant, French actress and daughter of actor Jean-Louis Trintignant
- 2
- Don Estelle, 70, actor who played 'Lofty' in the BBC's It Ain't Half Hot Mum
- Mike Levey, famous infomercial host
- 4
- Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh, longest-ordained hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
- Chung Mong-hun, Korean businessman
- 5
- Tite Curet Alonso, well known Puerto Rican music composer, critic, newspaper writer
- Lee Muñoz, former first son of Puerto Rico (son of Luis Muñoz Marín), foundation leader
- 9
- Gregory Hines, actor, dancer
- Ray Harford, 58, football manager
- 10 Carmita Jimenez, Puerto Rican singer
- 11
- Kieran Kelly, Irish jump jockey after a racing accident
- Diana Mitford, widow of British Fascist leader Oswald Mosley
- Herb Brooks, coach of 1980 Miracle on Ice US Hockey team
- Armand Borel, notable Swiss mathematician
- 13
- Helmut Rahn, German soccer player, World Champion 1954
- Ed Townsend, songwriter and producer
- Matt Moffitt, Australian singer, guitarist and songwriter from rock band Matt Finish
- 15 Bishop Donal Lamont, Irish born Rhodesian Roman Catholic bishop and Nobel Peace Prize nominee expelled by Ian Smith's apartheid regime in the 1970s
- 16
- Idi Amin, former dictator of Uganda
- Connie Douglas Reeves, centenarian member of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
- 19
- Hermann Withalm, Austrian politician
- Carlos Roberto Reina, former president of Honduras
- Sérgio Vieira de Mello, United Nations Special Representative to Iraq
- 20 António Pedro Ferreira, Portugal President of Portuguese Custom Broker Association
- 21
- Wesley Willis, American schizophrenic musician and artist
- 22 Arnold Gerschwiler, figure skating trainer in Britain
- 23
- Amram Ducovny, novelist, former columnist for Boston magazine and father of actor David Duchovny
- John Geoghan, defrocked pedophile priest
- Bobby Bonds, former baseball player and father of San Francisco Giants ballplayer Barry Bonds
- Michael Kijana Wamalwa, Kenyan Vice-President
- Imperio Argentina, Spanish singer and actress
- Jack Dyer, Australian rules football legend
- 24
- Harry W. Addison, American author
- Sir Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer
- Mal Colston, Australian politician
- 26 Jim Wacker, American football college coach
- 27 Pierre Poujade, French politician
- 28
- Patrick William Feeney, United States college basketball player
- Barry Voorhies, Arena football player
- 29 Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim
- Kathy Wilkes, Oxford philosopher and education worker in Eastern Europe
- 30
- Steve Eisner, boxing promoter
- Charles Bronson, 81, actor
- Donald Davidson (philosopher)
July 2003
- 1
- Wesley Mouzon, former professional boxer, 76 years old, beat Bob Montgomery
- Herbie Mann, crossover jazz and bossa nova flutist
- N!xau, Namibian actor
- 3
- Gaetano Alibrandi, papal diplomat and Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Ireland
- Najeeb Halaby, chairman of Pan Am from 1969 to 1972, father of Queen Noor
- 4
- Larry Burkett, founder of Christian Financial Concepts
- Barry White, 58, American smooth soul singer, renal failure
- 5
- Roman Lyashenko, New York Rangers hockey player
- Bebu Silvetti, popular Argentine musician, songwriter and arranger
- Isabelle, Countess of Paris, widow of Henri, Count of Paris, pretender to the French throne
- 6 Buddy Ebsen, American actor
- 7 Izhak Graziani, conductor
- 8
- Dr. William Boyd, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
- Ladan and Laleh Bijani, Iranian conjoined twins
- 9 Winston Graham, 95, author of Poldark and Marnie
- 10 Hartley Shawcross (Lord Shawcross), Britain's chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials
- 11
- Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-born Canadian journalist
- Ken Whyld, British chess author
- 12 Benny Carter, American jazz pioneer
- 13 Compay Segundo, Cuban musician and star of the Buena Vista Social Club
- 14
- Ahmed Al-Waeli, Shiite cleric.
- Tex Schramm, former Dallas Cowboys president and general manager
- André Claveau, French singer
- 16
- Captain James Kelly, former Irish Army officer cleared of attempting to import arms for the IRA in the Arms Trial in 1970
- Carol Shields, Canadian author
- Celia Cruz, Cuban legendary salsa singer
- 17
- Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist and champion of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach
- Dr. David Kelly, former UN weapons inspector who was accused of leaking information to the BBC about the UK's dossier on Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction
- Eamonn Leahy, 46 year old top Irish barrister and husband of government Chief Whip Mary Hanafin
- 18
- Brad Rone, 35, American boxer, injuries sustained in boxing
- Jane Barbe, phone company voiceover
- 19
- Pierre Graber, former member of the Swiss Federal Council (1970-1978)
- Bill Bright, evangelist, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ
- 20
- Nicolas Freeling, crime writer
- Lauri Aus, Estonian pro cyclist
- 21
- Walter M. "Matt" Jefferies, art director for the original Star Trek series and designer of the Starship Enterprise
- John Davies, president of the New Zealand Olympic Committee
- Tim Hemensley Australian Singer/Bass Guitarist
- 22
- Uday Hussein, 39, eldest son of Saddam Hussein, homicide by firearm
- Qusay Hussein, 37, second son of Saddam Hussein, homicide by firearm
- Noel Picarda, satirist and broadcaster
- 23
- Othniel Askew, killer of James E. Davis
- James E. Davis, New York City councilman
- 24 Colin R. McMillan, nominee for United States Secretary of the Navy
- 25
- Ludwig Bölkow, airplane engineer
- John Schlesinger, director
- 26
- Richard Wayne Dirksen, composer, former organist-choirmaster Washington National Cathedral
- Trevor Ettinger, 23, Professional Hockey Player (AHL), suicide
- 27
- Bob Hope, 100, American comedian and actor, pneumonia
- Vance Hartke, former U.S. Senator from Indiana
- 28
- Erik Braunn, Iron Butterfly guitarist
- Lady Valerie Goulding, former Irish Senator and campaigner for the disabled
- 29 Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean rebel leader
- 30 Sam Phillips, 80, record producer
- 31
- Edward P. Alexander, author and historian
June 2003
- 2
- Fred Blassie, 85, former professional wrestler
- Richard Cusack, 77, ad executive turned actor/screenwriter, father of actors John Cusack and Joan Cusack, dies of pancreatic cancer in Evanston, Illinois
- Jack Frazier, former Saddam Hussein hostage
- 3 Fabrice Salanson, a French pro-cyclist
- 5
- Meir Vilner, last surviving signatory to Israel's declaration of independence and former chairman of the Communist Party of Israel
- Jürgen Möllemann, former German minister
- 7
- Tony McAuley BBC Northern Ireland broadcaster & film-maker associated with traditional Irish music and arts
- Trevor Goddard, actor
- 10
- Donald Regan, Chief of Staff and Treasury Secretary during the Reagan administration
- Bernard Williams, British philosopher
- Phil Williams, highly-respected Welsh politician, in a Cardiff massage parlour
- 11 David Brinkley, broadcast journalist
- 12 Gregory Peck, 87, actor
- 15
- Hume Cronyn, actor
- William Wentworth, Australian politician, first federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
- 18 Larry Doby, baseball Hall of Famer, second Black man to play in the MLB
- 19
- Glen Grant, Hawaiian historian, folklorist and author
- Laura Sadler, 22, British television actress, after falling 40 feet from a building
- 20 Bob Stump, Arizona Congressman
- 21 Roger Neilson, legendary Canadian hockey coach
- 22 Alexander Vetoux, Ukrainian boxing prospect. Was 22-1 with 18 knockouts as a professional; body found in river on June 27
- 23 Vasil Bykau, Belarusian writer
- 24
- Maynard Jackson, former Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, first black mayor of a major southern U.S. city
- Leon Uris, author
- Renato Cayetano, Philippine senator
- 25
- Lester Maddox, segregationist Governor of the State of Georgia
- Shun Yashiro, 70, Japanese actor and seiyū, stroke
- 26
- Marc-Vivien Foé, 28, Cameroonian football player collapsed and died on the football pitch in Lyon
- Sir Denis Thatcher Bt., 88, husband to Baroness Thatcher, former UK Prime Minister
- Strom Thurmond, Former South Carolina Governor, United States Senator, and Presidential candidate
- 27
- Magne Aarøen, Norwegian politician
- Dáithí P. Hanly, former Dublin city architect and conservationist
- 28 Wim Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete
- 29 Katharine Hepburn, actress
- 30
- Robert McCloskey, children's book writer and illustrator
- Buddy Hackett, 78, American comedian and actor, diabetes mellitus
May 2003
- 1 Miss Elizabeth, 42, WWE wrestling figure
- 3 Suzy Parker, actress; top model of the 1950s
- 5 Walter Sisulu, ANC activist
- 6
- Evelio Lopez Falcon, alleged Mexican drug trafficker
- David Woodley, former quarterback of the Miami Dolphins, who started in Super Bowl XVII
- 9 Russell B. Long, former U.S. Senator
- 10 Milan Vukcevich, chemist and chess problem composer
- 11 Noel Redding, former bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience
- 12
- Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1965 - 1977
- Paulo Flores, Brazilian voice actor
- 13 John Savage, former Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada
- 14
- Robert Stack, Hollywood actor, host of Unsolved Mysteries, 84 years old
- Dame Wendy Hiller, British actress (August 15, 1912 - May 14, 2003)
- Dave DeBusschere, NBA basketball player
- 15
- Rik Van Steenbergen, Belgian cyclist
- George Francis, British suspected mobster
- June Carter Cash, musician, singer, wife of Johnny Cash
- David O. Ives, public broadcasting pioneer, longtime executive at WGBH, Boston, which introduced such television programs as "Nova," "Frontline," "Masterpiece Theatre," and "This Old House"
- 16
- Mal Florence, longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times
- William E. Day, broadcaster and preservationist, early proponent of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act
- Mark McCormack, sports business pioneer, founder of IMG
- 18
- Anna Santisteban, advisor of Miss Puerto Rico titleholders for the Miss Universe contest
- Barb Tarbox, Canadian anti-smoking activist
- 21
- Elfren Bernier, Puerto Rican Olympic athlete and lawyer
- Frank D. White, Former governor of Arkansas
- 26 Kathleen Winsor, author of Forever Amber
- 27 Luciano Berio, composer
- 28
- Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
- Martha Scott, actress
- Oleg Makarov, cosmonaut
- 29 Basil Langton, theatre/screen actor from the 30s to the 90s
- 30 Mickie Most, 64, music producer, produced acts such as Lulu, Donovan, The Animals, Hot Chocolate, Suzi Quatro and Kim Wilde
April 2003
- 1 Leslie Cheung, actor and singer, one of the superstars in Hong Kong during late 1980s, committed suicide
- Booker Bradshaw, record producer, film & TV actor, Motown executive
- 2
- Michael Wayne, film producer; eldest son of John Wayne
- Edwin Starr, soul singer
- Pat Leavy, Irish actress who played Hannah Finnegan in the Radio Telifís Éireann soap opera Fair City, died after being taken ill on set
- Edward Keating, founder of Ramparts magazine
- 4 Resortes, legendary Mexican comedian, real name Adalberto Martinez Chavez
- 5 Seymour Lubetzky (aged 104), cataloging theorist and librarian
- 6
- Babatunde Olatunji, African drummer, recorded Drums of Passion
- Lance Corporal Ian Malone Dublin-born soldier in the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army, who featured in a Radio Telifís Éireann documentary on Irish-born British soldiers, killed in Iraq
- David Bloom, an NBC reporter, died from a pulmonary embolism while embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division covering the war in Iraq
- 7 Cecile de Brunhoff (aged 99), who inspired the Babar the Elephant children's books when she told it to her children as a bedtime story in 1931 (it was then illustrated by her husband)
- 8 Anita Borg, computer scientist
- 9 James Earl Salisbury educator
- 10
- Abdul Majid al-Khoei, Shia cleric
- Little Eva (Eva Narcissus Boyd), who sang the 1962 hit The Loco-Motion
- Noel Fox, former singer of gospel band The Oak Ridge Boys
- 12
- Sydney Lassick, actor, best known playing asylum resident Cheswick in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Cecil H. Green (aged 102), Texas Instruments founder
- 14 Kent Pullen, US politician
- 16 Graham Stuart Thomas, horticultural artist, author and garden designer
- 17
- Earl King, R&B musician/songwriter
- Paul Getty, philanthropist
- Robert Atkins, diet doctor
- 18 Edgar F. Codd, computer pioneer
- 19
- Conrad Leonard (aged 104), British musician and composer
- Norberto Longo, Telemundo sportscaster
- 20
- Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress
- Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle rider, after crashing into a Suzuka wall on April 6 (b. 1976)
- 21
- Robert Blackburn, American artist and printmaker
- Rocco Theunissen, Rally Driver
- Nina Simone, 70, jazz singer, "High Priestess of Soul"
- 22 Martha Griffiths, Congresswoman, women's rights proponent
- 23
- Bernard Katz biophysicist, Nobel Prize winner
- James H. Critchfield, CIA Cold Warrior
- 25 Hidefumi Minorikawa, a Diet of Japan member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party
- 26
- The Honourable Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician (NDP), first black woman elected to a provincial legislature and first black woman to run for the leadership of a major federal political party
- Caroline Newhouse, arts patron; widow of Theodore Newhouse
- Max Nicholson, environmentalist
- Peter Stone, Oscar-and-(3-time)Tony-winning writer
- 27 Elaine Steinbeck, former actress; widow of author John Steinbeck
- 29 Etti Plesch, who married three counts, an American heir, and a Hungarian Lawyer
- 30
- Peter 'Possum' Bourne, 3 Times Asia-Pacific Rally Champion
- Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist
March 2003
- 2
- Roger Albertsen, Norwegian footballer.
- Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, Master of the Queen's Music
- Robert B. Ingebretsen pioneer in the development of digital sound.
- Hank Ballard, singer, composer, famous for his hit "The Twist"
- 3 Horst Buchholz, German actor
- 6 John Sanford, author
- 8
- Adam Faith, 62, British singer and actor
- Karen Morley, blonde star of 1930s movies; ex-wife of Charles Vidor
- 9
- Stan Brakhage, filmmaker
- F. William Sunderman (aged 104), physician and scientist
- 10
- Bernard Dowiyogo, President of Nauru
- Barry Sheene, 52, twice 500cc MotoGP Champion
- Naftali Temu, Kenyan athlete
- 11
- Ivar Hansen, Danish politician and speaker of the Folketing
- 12
- Howard Fast, novelist
- Lynne Thigpen, actor, star of the long-running PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and a Tony Award-winner of the Wendy Wasserstein play An American Daughter
- Harry The Kid Matthews, boxer, world title challenger in three divisions
- Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia (assassinated)
- Andrei Kivilev, professional cyclist (fall during Paris-Nice race)
- 14 Jack Goldstein, artist
- 15 Dame Thora Hird, 91, veteran British actress
- 16
- Major Ronald Ferguson, father of UK royal divorcée Sarah, Duchess of York, aged 71

- Rachel Corrie, International Solidarity Movement activist, crushed to death by an Israeli armoured bulldozer
- 18 Adam Osborne, computer pioneer
- 19 Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator
- 20 Sailor Art Thomas, professional wrestler
- 21
- 22 Terry Lloyd, 50, ITN reporter killed in southern Iraq
- 24
- Hans Hermann Groër, former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vienna (1986 - 1995) who resigned in 1995 after allegations of sexually abusing boys
- Philip Yordan, screenwriter; won Oscar for "Broken Lance"
- 26 Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former Senator from New York
- 27
- Tauese Sunia, 61, Governor of American Samoa, heart attack

- 29 Dr. Carlo Urbani, WHO doctor, discoverer of SARS, of which he died
- 30 Valentin Pavlov, former prime minister of the Soviet Union
- 30 Gaby Rado, UK journalist
- 31
- H.S.M. Coxeter, noted geometer and author of many books, died at age 96
- Michael Jeter, actor, friend, as "The Other Mr. Noodle" to Sesame Street's Elmo
February 2003
- 1
- Astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel B. Clark and Ilan Ramon aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia
- Mongo Santamaria, percussionist, band leader, Latin jazz musician
- 2
- Dr. Harold S. Ginsberg, microbiologist
- Lou Harrison, American composer, noted for his microtonal works
- 3
- Aino Järvesoo, Estonian philanthropist
- 4
- Charles McLaren, 3rd Baron Aberconway, British industrialist and horticulturist.
- 5
- Helge Boes, CIA operations officer
- 6
- Robert St. John (aged 100), globetrotting reporter and author
- 7
- John Reading, Mayor of Oakland, California from 1966 to 1977 who supported the building of the Oakland Coliseum
- 9
- Vera Hruba Ralston, star of Ice Capades and Republic Pictures B-movies of the 1940s
- Kerri Yascheshyn Canadian cancer patient whose friendship with Madonna made headlines
- 10
- Edgar de Evia, American photographer born in Mérida, Yucatán, aged 92
- Curt Hennig, professional wrestler
- Clark MacGregor, former U.S. Congressman
- Al Ruffo, former mayor of San Jose, California who helped form the San Francisco 49ers football team in 1946
- Ron Ziegler former press secretary for Richard Nixon during the Watergate Scandal
- 13
- Axel Jensen, Norwegian author
- Kid Gavilan, world boxing champion and hall of famer
- Stacy Keach Sr, character actor; father of actors Stacy and James Keach
- Walt Rostow, political advisor
- 14
- Dolly, 6, the world's first cloned mammal, euthanization following a lung disease
- Johnny Longden, jockey
- 16
- Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley
- 17
- Steve Bechler, baseball pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
- 18
- 19
- Johnny PayCheck, country music singer
- 20
- Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and literary theorist
- Ty Longley, Guitarist for the heavy metal band Great White
- Harry Jacunski, former NFL player, Green Bay Packers
- Orville Lothrop Freeman, former Governor of Minnesota and Secretary of Agriculture for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
- Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistan Chief of the Air Staff
- 22
- Jesica Santillan, heart and lung patient whose wrong transplant made headlines
- Daniel Taradash, former president of AMPAS; Oscar-winning screenwriter of "From Here to Eternity"
- 23
- Howie Epstein, former Bass player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- 25
- Alberto Sordi, Italian comedy actor
- Tom O'Higgins, former Irish Chief Justice & twice defeated Irish presidential candidate
- 27
- Fred Rogers, host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
- 28
- Roger Needham, computer pioneer
- Fidel Sánchez Hernández, former President of El Salvador
- Chris Brasher, 74, athlete
January 2003
- 1 Joe Foss, politician, fighter pilot, recipient of the Medal of Honor
- 2
- Bob Chalker, former United States diplomat
- Sydney Omarr, astrologer, newspaper columnist
- 3
- Sid Gillman, American football coach
- 4
- Raymond Aker, scholar and authority on Francis Drake.
- Conrad Hall, Hollywood cinematographer, a two-time Academy Award-winner
- Yfrah Neaman, violinist and teacher
- 5
- Roy Jenkins, 82, British Labour MP and co-founder, first leader of, then Peer for, the Social Democratic Party
- 6
- Lila Mayoral, former first lady of Puerto Rico, wife of Rafael Hernández Colón
- 8
- Simeon Aké, Ivorian politician.
- Ron Goodwin, British film music composer and conductor
- 11
- Mickey Finn, of T. Rex
- Sir Anthony Havelock-Allan, 98, British producer and screenwriter
- Maurice Pialat, French movie director
- Richard Simmons, actor; TV's Sgt Preston of the Yukon
- 12
- Estelle Blanc, widow of cartoon voice actor Mel Blanc
- Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri, 76, former dictator of Argentina
- Maurice Gibb, 53, of the Bee Gees
- Alan Nunn May, British physicist and spy

- Koloman Sokol (aged 100), Slovak artist
- Brandon "ripper" Vedas (overdosed on drugs while chatting on IRC)
- 13
- Norman Panama, screenwriter and director
- 15
- Gladys Kamakakuokalani Ainoa Brandt, a pioneering Hawaiian educator, fought for native Hawaiian rights
- Doris Fisher, singer & songwriter
- 16
- Hans Pietsch, German professional Go player
- 18
- Richard Crenna, 74, actor
- 19
- Françoise Giroud, French writer and politician
- 20
- Al Hirschfeld, caricaturist
- Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player
- 21
- Tony O'Malley, Irish artist and painter
- Seán Malone, retired university professor and pioneer of biological psychiatry in the Republic of Ireland
- 22
- 23
- Nell Carter, singer, actress
- Aodhagán Brioscú, last surviving founder of Irish cultural organisation Gael Linn
- 24
- Gianni Agnelli, Italian entrepreneur and president of Fiat
- 25
- Robert Rockwell, actor; Philip Boynton on TV's Our Miss Brooks
- 26
- Viscount Younger of Leckie, (George Younger) British politician, Secretary of State for Scotland between 1979 and 1986
- Valeriy Brumel, track and field athlete
- 27
- Lord Dacre (Hugh Trevor-Roper), British historian, authenticator of the hoaxed Hitler Diaries
- 29
- Frank Moss Former Utah Senator
- Peter Shaw, producer and second husband of actress Angela Lansbury
External links and references
- Officer Down Memorial Page
- Find a Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records
- VIPatients.com - VIPatients (Very Important Patients)
- Dead People Server
- Recent AP Obituaries
- The New York Times: Obituaries
- FamousDeaths.com Week in Review
- blogofdeath.com
- Directory of Online Death Indexes
- alt.obituaries
- Topix.net Obituaries
- Operation Iraqi Freedom - US Combat Deaths
- Historic Baseball Deaths in 2003
- Written in Stone, literary deaths and gravestones
- Celebrity Obituary Headlines
For earlier deaths, see Deaths in 2002, Deaths in 2001, Deaths in 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995 ...
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday October 10, 2008 at 14:04:07 PDT (GMT -0700)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday October 10, 2008 at 14:04:07 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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