Deaths in July 1997

The following is a list of notable deaths in July 1997.

Contents
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← June	July	August →

Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:

• Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.

July 1997

1

• Lester Asheim, 83, American librarian and scholar of library science.
• Annie Fratellini, 64, French circus artist, film actress and clown, cancer.[1]
• Werner Haberkorn, 90, German-Brazilian engineer, photographer, and businessman.
• Joshua Hassan, 81, Gibraltarian politician and Chief Minister of Gibraltar.
• Robert Mitchum, 79, American actor, complications of lung cancer and emphysema.[2]
• Efraín Andrade Viteri, 77, Ecuadorian painter.

2

• George Antonio, 82, English footballer.
• Jean Pierre Capron, 75, French painter.
• Chiquito, 65, Filipino actor and comedian, liver cancer.
• James Stewart, 89, American actor, blood clot in lung.[3]

3

• Johnny Copeland, 60, American Texas blues guitarist and singer, complications during heart surgery.[4]
• Gloster B. Current, 84, American NAACP activist, leukemia and pneumonia.[5]
• Rufe Gentry, 79, American baseball player.
• Thomas Mervyn Horder, 2nd Baron Horder, 86, English hereditary peer and publisher.
• Michael James MacDonald, 87, Canadian politician and union leader.

4

• William Cadogan, 7th Earl Cadogan, British peer and military officer.
• Charles Kuralt, 62, American journalist, complications from lupus.[6]
• Miguel Najdorf, 87, Polish-Argentinian chess grandmaster.[7]
• Bevis Reid, 78, British track and field athlete.
• Rerukane Chandawimala Thero, 99, Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and author.
• John Zachary Young, 90, English zoologist and neurophysiologist.

5

• Kainoyama Isamu, 57, Japanese sumo wrestler.
• Bill Kinner, 83, American basketball player.
• Les Norman, 83, Australian politician.[8]
• A. Thangathurai, 61, Sri Lankan Tamil politician.

6

• Chetan Anand, 82, Indian film producer, screenwriter and director.
• Gene James, 72, American basketball player.[9]
• Henry Salvatori, 96, American geophysicist, philanthropist, and political activist.[10]
• Ajaib Singh, 70, Indian sant of Surat Shabd Yoga.
• Brun Smith, 75, New Zealand cricketer.

7

• Mate Boban, 57, Bosnian Croat politician and the only president of the short lived Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, stroke.[11]
• Leonid Bykovets, 75, Soviet airman.
• Jerry Doggett, 80, American sportscaster.
• Henry Howell, 76, American politician, cancer.[12]
• Oku Mumeo, 101, Japanese politician and feminist.
• Royston Tickner, 74, British actor.
• Rolando Tinio, 60, Filipino poet, dramatist, actor, and essayist.

8

• Dick van Dijk, 51, Dutch footballer (FC Twente, Ajax Amsterdam), acute endocarditis.
• Guy Murchie, 90, American author and aviator[13]
• Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem, 81, Bangladeshi jurist and statesman.
• Charles P. B. Taylor, Canadian journalist, author, and thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, cancer.[14]
• Tony Thomas, 69, British-American film historian, author, and producer, pneumonia.[15]
• Max E. Youngstein, 84, American film producer.[16]

9

• Alexander Cordell, 82, Welsh novelist and author.[17]
• Carol Forman, 79, American actress.
• Aurelio González, 91, Paraguayan football player.
• Georgeta Năpăruș, 66, Romanian modernist painter.
• Sandor Szondi, 76, Hungarian-Flemish politician.
• Sir David Pitblado, British principal private secretary to successive Prime Ministers.[18]

10

• Ivor Allchurch, 67, Welsh international footballer.
• Bernard Elgood, 75, British Army officer and first-class cricketer.
• Dwight Lowry, 39, professional baseball catcher, heart attack.[19]
• Abe Okpik, 69, Canadian Inuit community leader.
• Frank R. Parker, 57, American civil rights lawyer and activist, complications from an aortic aneurysm[20]

11

• Felix Barker, 80, British drama critic and historian.[21]
• Fred Beavis, 82, Canadian politician, pneumonia.
• Alfred M. Boyce, 96, American entomologist.
• Joe Hauser, 98, American baseball player.[22]
• Edward Lasker, 85, American businessman and thoroughbred racehorse owner.
• Robert V. Whitlow, 78, American military officer, football coach, and sports club executive.

12

• Meribeth E. Cameron, 92, American historian of China and academic.
• François Furet, 70, French historian, head injury while playing tennis.[23]
• Douglas Huebler, 72, American conceptual artist.[24]
• Vinko Nikolić, 85, Croatian writer, poet and journalist.
• Frank Shuter, 54, New Zealand speedway rider, traffic accident.

13

• Garfield Barwick, 94, Australian politician, lawyer, and Chief Justice of Australia.
• Miguel Ángel Blanco, 29, Spanish politician and ETA victim, executed.
• Alexandra Danilova, 93, Russian-American prima ballerina.[25]
• Rosy Gibb, 54, Irish social worker, clown, and magician, cancer.[26]

14

• Eugene Goossen, 76, American art critic and art historian, pneumonia.[27]
• Joseph F. Holt, 73, American politician.
• Isaac Nicola, Cuban guitarist.
• Polly Shackleton, 87, American politician.[28]
• Hilda Watson, 75, Canadian politician.

15

• Ernest Amano Boateng, 76, Ghanaian academic and public servant.
• Alan J. Charig, 70, English palaeontologist, stroke.[29]
• Cheryl Linn Glass, 35, American racing driver, suicide.
• Eve Greene, 91, American screenwriter.
• Rosamund Greenwood, 90, British actress.
• Stefan Marinov, 66, Bulgarian physicist, suicide.
• Arthur A. J. Marshman, 68, English architect.
• Albert G. Mumma, 91, United States Navy rear admiral.
• Gianni Versace, 50, Italian fashion designer and founder of the Versace fashion house, shot.[30][31]

16

• Virginia Dare Aderholdt, 86, American cryptanalyst and Japanese translator, pancreatic cancer.
• Ron Berry, 77, Welsh author and novelist.
• Eddie Finnigan, 84, Canadian ice hockey player.
• Dora Maar, 89, French photographer, painter, and poet.[32]
• William Reynolds, 87, American film editor, cancer.[33]

17

• Don Bingham, 67, American gridiron football player.
• Thomas Mellon Evans, 86, American financier, complications following a fall.[34]
• Frank Irish, 78, English cricket player.
• Arthur Jepson, 82, English first-class cricketer.
• R. Krishnan, 87, Indian film director.
• Robert C. Weaver, 89, American economist and academic.[35]

18

• Valerie Violet French, 88, English socialite.
• Léon Gaultier, 82, French nazi collaborator during World War II and founding member of Front National.
• James Goldsmith, 64, Anglo-French financier, tycoon, and politician, pancreatic cancer.[36]
• Stephen Kimpton, 83, Australian first-class cricketer.
• Igor Lintchevski, Russian botanist.
• Eugene Merle Shoemaker, 69, American geologist and planetary science pioneer, car accident.[37]
• Gregorio Weber, 81, Argentinian biochemist[38]

19

• Ethaline Hartge Cortelyou, 87, American chemist and scientist.
• Frank Farrell, 50, British rock musician (Supertramp).
• Eric Halladay, 67, British historian and academic.
• John E. Hines, 86, American Episcopal Church bishop.[39]
• Jim Peebles, 76, American football player (Washington Redskins).

20

• Alf Engen, 88, Norwegian-American skier.[40]
• Ed Klewicki, 85, American football player.
• M. E. H. Maharoof, 58, Sri Lankan politician, gunshot wounds.
• Drummond Matthews, 66, British marine geologist and geophysicist.[41]
• Arshi Pipa, 76, Albanian-American philosopher, writer and poet.
• Linda Stirling, 75, American showgirl, model, and actress, cancer.[42]

21

• Tony Alvarez, 40, Spanish Australian actor and singer, AIDS-related cancer.
• Paul K. Benedict, 85, American anthropologist, and linguist, traffic accident.
• Roger Bowman, 69, American baseball player.[43]
• Ernst Majonica, 76, German politician (CDU).

22

• Khalil Ahmed, 61, Pakistani composer.
• Marilyn Brown, 44, American actress, suicide by jumping.
• Irving Geis, 88, American artist.[44]
• Vincent Hanna, 57, Northern Irish television journalist, heart attack.[45]
• Sondra Rodgers, 94, American actress.

23

• Barney Bright, 70, American sculptor, lung cancer.
• Jeff Cross, 78, American baseball player.
• Andrew Cunanan, 27, American spree killer and murderer of Gianni Versace, suicide by gunshot.[46]
• Chūhei Nambu, 93, Japanese track and field athlete, pneumonia.
• Simon Pierre Tchoungui, 80, First Prime Minister of Cameroon.
• David Warbeck, 55, New Zealand actor and model, cancer.[47]

24

• William J. Brennan Jr., 91, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1956–1990).[48]
• Bob Gaddy, 73, American East Coast blues and R&B pianist, singer and songwriter, lung cancer.
• Brian Glover, 63, English actor and writer, brain tumor.
• Saw Maung, 69, Burmese army general and statesman, heart attack.[49]
• Frank Parker, 81, American tennis player.[50]
• Bill Shine, 85, British actor.

25

• Jack Bickham, 66, American novelist.
• Peter Carmichael, 73, British fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War.
• Ned Courtney, Irish footballer.
• Jack Davies, 80, New Zealand swimmer.
• Ralph Goldstein, 83, American Olympic épée fencer, car accident.
• Ben Hogan, 84, American golf champion.[51]
• Boris Novikov, 72, Soviet actor, complications from diabetes.
• Matiu Rata, 63, New Zealand Māori politician, traffic accident.[52]

26

• Kunihiko Kodaira, 82, Japanese mathematician.
• William Kolakoski, 52, American artist and recreational mathematician, lung cancer.
• Jaime Milans del Bosch, 82, Spanish lieutenant general and co-leader of 1981 coup d'état, brain tumor.[53]
• Sir Denis Smallwood, 78, British Royal Air Force senior commander.

27

• Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri, 98, Iraqi poet.
• Allan Broadway, 75, Australian rules footballer.
• Isabel Dean, 79, English actress.[54]
• Heinrich Liebe, 89, German naval officer during World War II.
• K'tut Tantri, 99, Scottish American hotelier and broadcaster known as "Surabaya Sue".[55]

28

• Sir Geoffrey Vavasour, 5th Baronet, 82, English cricket player and Royal Navy officer.
• Rosalie Crutchley, 77, British actress.[56]
• John FitzPatrick, 82, Australian politician.
• Bud Hardin, 75, American baseball player.[57]
• Leo Loudenslager, 53, American aviator, motorcycle accident.
• Gordon McMaster, 37, Scottish politician.
• Seni Pramoj, 92, Thai politician and Prime Minister, heart disease and kidney failure.[58]

29

• Jack Archer, 75, English sprinter.
• Edward A. Kawānanakoa, 72, American member of the Hawaiian House of Kawānanakoa.
• John H. Ware III, 88, American politician.[59]
• Chuck Wayne, 74, jazz guitarist.[60]

30

• Giuseppe Anedda, 85, Italian mandolin player.
• Robert Bryce, 87, Canadian civil servant.[61]
• Bảo Đại, 83, Vietnamese emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty.[62]

31

• Hepi Te Heuheu VII, 78, New Zealand Māori chief.[63]
• Eddie Miller, 80, American baseball player.[64]
• Vern Riffe, 72, American politician and speaker.
• Frans Schoubben, 63, Belgian racing cyclist.[65]

References

1. James Barron (4 July 1997). "Annie Fratellini, 64, Clown And Founder of School, Dies". The New York Times. p. A 14. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
2. "Robert Mitchum, 79, Dies; Actor With Rugged Dignity". The New York Times. 2 July 1997. p. B 7. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
3. "James Stewart, the Hesitant Hero, Dies at 89". The New York Times. 3 July 1997. p. A 1. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
4. Neil Strauss (4 July 1997). "Johnny Copeland, 60, Who Sang Texas Blues and Played Guitar". The New York Times. p. A 14. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
5. Lawrence Van Gelder (9 July 1997). "Gloster B. Current, 84, Leader Who Helped Steer N.A.A.C.P.". The New York Times. p. B 11. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
6. Joe Sexton (5 July 1997). "Charles Kuralt, 62, Is Dead; Chronicler of the Country". The New York Times. p. 1 24. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
7. Eric Pace (17 July 1997). "Miguel Najdorf, 87, Famed For Sparkling Chess, Dies". The New York Times. p. B 10. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
8. ""Condolences: Hon. Leslie George Norman"". hansard.parliament.vic.gov.au/. Victorian Parliamentary HANSARD. 16 September 1997. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
9. "Gene James NBA stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
10. Wolfgang Saxon (13 July 1997). "Henry Salvatori, G.O.P. Adviser And Oil Company Founder, 96". The New York Times. p. 1 26. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
11. Chris Hedges (8 July 1997). "Mate Boban, 57, Chief Builder Of Croatian Enclave in Bosnia". The New York Times. p. A 13. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
12. Saxon, Wolfgang (July 9, 1997). "Henry E. Howell Jr., 76, Leader Of Liberal Democrats in Virginia". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
13. "Guy Murchie, Author and Aviator, 90". The New York Times. 13 July 1997. p. 1 26. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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16. Milt Freudenheim (11 July 1997). "Max Youngstein, 84; Helped Run United Artists". The New York Times. p. A 20. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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39. Wolfgang Saxon (22 July 1997). "John E. Hines, Episcopal Leader, Dies at 86". The New York Times. p. A 17. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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51. Larry Dorman (26 July 1997). "Ben Hogan, Golf's Iron-Willed Legend, Dies at 84". The New York Times. p. 1 1. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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