Deaths in May 2001

The following is a list of notable deaths in May 2001.

Contents
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
← April	May	June →

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.

May 2001

1

• Happy Hairston, 58, American professional basketball player (Cincinnati Royals, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers).[1]
• Ernie Pomfret, 60, British middle-distance runner.
• Richardson Pratt Jr, 78, American businessman, pancreatic cancer.
• Ernie Wheelwright, 61, American football player.

2

• Dick Jamieson, 63, American minor league baseball player, professional football player (Baltimore Colts, New York Titans) and football coach (Indiana State University).[2]
• Howard Kahane, 73, American professor of philosophy.
• Gina Mastrogiacomo, 39, American actress, myocarditis.
• Ted Rogers, 65, British comedian, complications after open-heart surgery.[3]
• Theodore Roosevelt III, 86, American banker and government official.
• Henry Zolinsky, 97, American poet.

3

• Byrd Brown, 71, American civil rights leader, activist and lawyer.[4]
• Philip George Houthem Gell, 86, British immunologist.[5]
• Billy Higgins, 64, American jazz drummer.[6]
• Karel Kalaš, 90, Czech operatic bass and actor.
• Princess Rosemary of Salm-Salm, 97, German noblewoman.
• Hank Schmulbach, 76, American baseball player.[7]

4

• Anne Anastasi, 92, American psychologist.
• Bonnie Lee Bakley, 44, American socialite, shot.
• Gene Grabosky, 64, American professional football player (Syracuse University, Buffalo Bills).[8]
• Rita Lawrence, 90, British pianist and singer.
• Stan Newsham, 69, English footballer.
• Arne Sucksdorff, 84, Swedish film director, pneumonia.

5

• Charles Black, 85, American constitutional scholar.[9]
• Boozoo Chavis, 70, American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader (Zydeco).[10]
• Morris Graves, 90, American expressionist painter.
• Jules Halfant, 91, American painter and printmaker.
• Roger P. Hill, British Royal Navy officer during World War II.
• Cliff Hillegass, 83, American creator of CliffsNotes, stroke.[11]
• Bill Homeier, 82, American racecar driver (three Indianapolis 500s).[12]
• David Jamieson, 80, British Army officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross.[13]
• Agnes Nanogak, 75, Canadian Inuk artist.
• Aleksandr Petrov, 61, Soviet/Russian basketball player.
• Wang Yinglai, 93, Chinese biochemist.

6

• Weldon B. Gibson, 84, American economist and an executive at SRI International.[14]
• Mike Hazlewood, 59, English singer, composer and songwriter, heart attack.
• Laïty Kama, 62, Senegalese lawyer and president of the ICTR.
• Karl Wilhelm Krause, 90, German Waffen-SS officer.
• Cecil Price, 63, American deputy sheriff and Ku Klux Klan member, fall from a piece of equipment.

7

• Edwin Finckel, 83, American jazz pianist, composer (George White's Scandals) and music educator.[15]
• Joseph Greenberg, 85, American linguist, known for his work on linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages.[16]
• Dick Kimble, 85, American baseball player.[17]
• Simon Slåttvik, 83, Norwegian Olympic skier (gold medal winner of the Nordic combined at the 1952 Winter Olympics).[18]
• Arthur Christopher Watson, 74, British diplomat.

8

• Paul Dekker, 70, American professional football player (Washington Redskins, Hamilton Tiger-Cats).[19]
• Larry Hornung, 55, Canadian ice hockey player.[20]
• Wilhelm Meentzen, 86, German naval officer.
• Piero Natoli, 53, Italian actor and film director.

9

• Jay Bailey, American chemical engineer.
• Nikos Sampson, 65, Cypriot politician, de facto President of Cyprus (1974).
• Leslie Sands, 79, British actor.
• William T. Stearn, 90, British botanist.

10

• Turi Ferro, 80, Italian actor (Liolà, The Seduction of Mimi, Malizia).[21]
• James E. Myers, 81, American songwriter ("Rock Around the Clock"), actor and director.[22]
• Arthur Tange, 86, Australian public servant.
• Deborah Walley, 57, American actress (Gidget Goes Hawaiian, Beach Blanket Bingo, Spinout) and voice-over artist, esophageal cancer.[23]

11

• Douglas Adams, 49, British author, works included The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the two Dirk Gently novels and serials in the series Doctor Who, heart attack.[24]
• Michael J. Bird, 72, British writer.
• Guy Carlton, 47, American Olympic weightlifter (bronze medal winner in heavyweight weightlifting at the 1984 Summer Olympics).[25]

12

• Perry Como, 88, American singer, actor and television personality.[26]
• Didi, 72, Brazilian footballer.[27]
• Fritz Pfenninger, 66, Swiss racing cyclist.
• Simon Raven, 73, British writer.
• Alexei Tupolev, 75, Soviet aircraft designer.[28]
• Corissa Yasen, 27, professional basketball player, suicide.

13

• Eddra Gale, 79, American actress (8½, What's New Pussycat?, The Graduate, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas, Somewhere in Time).[29]
• Peter Garthwaite, 91, English forester.[30]
• Jason Miller, 62, American playwright and actor.[31]
• R. K. Narayan, 94, Indian writer.[32]

14

• Alex Glasgow, 65, English singer-songwriter (On Your Way, Riley!, When the Boat Comes In).[33]
• Peter Griffith, 67, American child actor.
• Gil Langley, 81, Australian Test cricketer and politician.

15

• Ralph Miller, 82, American college basketball coach.
• Bobby Murdoch, 56, Scottish professional footballer, stroke.
• William Oates, 71, English first-class cricketer.
• Georgy Shakhnazarov, 76, Soviet-Armenian politician and political scientist.

16

• Charles Coe, 77, American amateur golfer.
• Loren C. Dunn, 70, American Mormon general authority.
• Prince Ital Joe, 38, Dominican-American reggae artist, car accident.
• Brian Pendleton, 57, British guitarist (The Pretty Things), lung cancer.[34]

17

• Ike Brown, 59, American baseball player.[35]
• Alexander Cave, 100, British anatomist.[36]
• Enid Hattersley, 96, English Labour Party politician and Lord Mayor of Sheffield.[37]
• Robert Knapp, 77, American actor (Days of Our Lives, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, The F.B.I.).[38]
• Jacques-Louis Lions, 73, French mathematician.
• Frank G. Slaughter, 93, American novelist and physician.[39]

18

• Rosa Beddington, 45, British biologist, cancer.[40]
• Stella Mary Newton, 100, British fashion designer and dress historian.
• Robert F. Woodward, 92, American diplomat.

19

• Freddy Derby, 61, Surinamese politician and trade unionist.
• John Joseph Egan, 84, American Roman Catholic priest and social activist.
• Joe Graydon, 82, American big band vocalist, television host, personal manager and concert producer.[41]
• Josef Haunzwickel, 86, Austrian Olympic athlete (men's pole vault at the 1936 Summer Olympics).[42]
• Joe Lovitto, 50, American baseball player.[43]
• Susannah McCorkle, 55, American jazz singer.[44]
• Barry Morris, 66, Australian politician.
• John Warner, 78, British actor.

20

• Carl Eric Almgren, 88, Swedish Army general.
• Renato Carosone, 81, Italian musician.[45]
• Zhang Jun, 34, Chinese robber and serial killer, executed.
• Bob Keely, 91, American baseball coach, scout and player.[46]
• Carlos Lara, 66, Argentine-Mexican footballer and coach.
• Bud Thomas, 90, American baseball player.[47]

21

• Erkin Bairam, 43, Cypriot-born New Zealand economist.
• Mel Hoderlein, 77, American baseball player.[48]
• Bob Johnson, 65, Australian rules footballer.
• Graham Webster, 87, British archaeologist.

22

• Ralph Hamner, 84, American baseball player.[49]
• Whitman Mayo, 70, American actor (Sanford and Son), heart attack.[50]
• Jack Watling, 78, British actor (The Plane Makers, The Power Game, Pathfinders).[51]

23

• Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, 72, Palestinian-born American academic.
• Tommy Eyre, 51, British keyboardist.
• Bob Gaona, 70, American professional football player (Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles).[52]
• Douglas Gardiner, 96, Australian architect.
• Chuck Gelatka, 87, American professional football player (Mississippi State, New York Giants).[53]
• Boris Gyuderov, 74, Bulgarian Olympic volleyball player (1964).[54]
• P. Ramachandran, 79, Indian politician, Governor of Kerala.[55]
• Harry Townes, 86, American actor (Finian's Rainbow, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Star Trek) and an Episcopalian priest.[56]

24

• Lucy Boscana, 85, Puerto Rico actress.
• Elvin Hutchison, 88, American football player and official.
• Paul Kor, 74, Israeli painter and children's writer.
• Javier Urruticoechea, 49, Spanish footballer, car crash.

25

• Arturo Maly, 61, Argentine actor.
• Sir Harold Ridley, 94, British ophthalmologist.
• Paladine Roye, 54, Native American painter.

26

• Vittorio Brambilla, 63, Italian Formula One race car driver.[57]
• Anne Haney, 67, American actress (Mrs. Doubtfire, The American President, Liar Liar), heart failure.[58]
• Moven Mahachi, 53, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence of the Republic of Zimbabwe.[59]

27

• Raymond Andrew, 79, British physicist.
• Ramon Bieri, 71, American actor (Sarge, Room 222, Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke).[60]
• Victor Kiam, 74, American entrepreneur, TV spokesman (Remington Products) and owner of the New England Patriots football team (1988–1991).[61]
• Ralph Nichols, 90, English badminton player.
• Jack Scowen, 65, Canadian politician.

28

• Tony Ashton, 55, English rock pianist, music producer and artist.[62]
• Joe Moakley, 74, American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 9th congressional district (1973 – 2001).[63]
• Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, 79, Indian medical scientist.
• Rockets Redglare, 52, American character actor and comedian (After Hours, Desperately Seeking Susan).[64]
• Elizabeth S. Russell, 88, American geneticist.
• Francisco Varela, 54, Chilean biologist, philosopher and neuroscientist.[65]

29

• John Fleming, 81, British art historian.[66]
• Eddie Forrest, 79, American professional football player (San Francisco 49ers).[67]
• Akira Fujita, 93, Japanese Olympic water polo player (men's water polo at the 1932 Summer Olympics).[68]
• Peter MacLeod, 70, Canadian politician and farmer.
• Charley Pell, 60, American college football player and coach, lung cancer.
• Hédi Temessy, 76, Hungarian actress.

30

• Terry Gathercole, 65, Australian Olympic swimmer (silver medal winner of the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics).[69]
• Adrian Hastings, 71, British Roman Catholic priest and historian.
• Renée Schuurman, 61, South African tennis player.

31

• Arlene Francis, 93, American actress, radio and television talk show host, and game show panelist (What's My Line?), alzheimer's disease and cancer.[70]
• Jagannath Kaushal, 86, Indian politician.
• Nancy Stevenson, 72, American politician.
• Rosemary Verey, 82, English garden designer.

References

1. "Happy Hairston". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
2. "Dick Jamieson". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
3. Barker, Dennis (May 4, 2001). "Ted Rogers". The Guardian. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
4. Pitz, Marylynne (May 4, 2001). "Lawyer Byrd Brown dies; giant in civil rights struggle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
5. Hopkins, John (May 22, 2001). "Philip Gell". The Guardian. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
6. Ratliff, Ben (May 4, 2001). "Billy Higgins, 64, Jazz Drummer With Melodic and Subtle Swing". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
7. "Hank Schmulbach". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
8. "Gene Grabosky". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
9. McFadden, Robert D. (May 8, 2001). "Charles L. Black Jr., 85, Constitutional Law Expert Who Wrote on Impeachment, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
10. Thurber, Jon (May 7, 2001). "Boozoo Chavis; Leader in Zydeco Music Scene". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
11. Dewan, Shaila K. (May 7, 2001). "Clifton Keith Hillegass Dies; Cliffs Notes Creator Was 83". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
12. "Bill Homeier; Race Car Driver Took Part in 3 Indy 500 Races". Los Angeles Times. May 11, 2001. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
13. Goldstein, Richard (May 12, 2001). "David Jamieson, 80, Winner Of Top British Medal for Valor". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
14. "Weldon Gibson, a founder of Stanford Research Institute, dies". Stanford Report. Stanford University. May 9, 2001. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
15. Holden, Stephen (May 10, 2001). "Edwin Finckel, 83, Composer, Jazz Pianist and Music Educator". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
16. Wade, Nicholas (May 15, 2001). "Joseph Greenberg, 85, Singular Linguist, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
17. "Dick Kimble". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
18. "Simon Slåttvik". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
19. "Paul Dekker". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
20. "Larry Hornung". Hockey-Reference.com, Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
21. Lane, John Francis (May 22, 2001). "Turi Ferro". The Guardian. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
22. Cromelin, Richard (May 12, 2001). "J. Myers; Co-Wrote 'Rock Around the Clock'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
23. The Associated Press (May 15, 2001). "Deborah Walley; Actress, 57". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
24. Jones, Richard Lezin (May 15, 2001). "Douglas Adams, 49, Author Of 'Hitchhiker's Guide' Spoofs". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
25. "Guy Carlton". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
26. Severo, Richard (May 13, 2001). "Perry Como, Relaxed and Elegant Troubadour of Recordings and TV, Is Dead at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
27. Yannis, Alex (May 17, 2001). "Didi, 71, Elegant Midfielder Of Brazil's Soccer Championss". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
28. Wines, Michael (May 15, 2001). "Aleksei Tupolev, Russian Plane Designer, 75". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
29. "Eddra Gale". Variety. June 14, 2001. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
30. "Peter Garthwaite". Daily Telegraph. June 15, 2001. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
31. Pogrebin, Robin (May 15, 2001). "Jason Miller, Playwright and Actor, Dies at 62". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
32. Crossette, Barbara (May 14, 2001). "R. K. Narayan, India's Prolific Storyteller, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
33. Plater, Alan (May 16, 2001). "Alex Glasgow". The Guardian. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
34. Clayson, Alan (June 26, 2001). "Brian Pendleton". The Guardian. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
35. Associated Press (June 12, 2001). "Ike Brown -- Baseball Player, 59". The New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
36. Professor Alexander Cave
37. Wainwright, Martin (May 30, 2001). "Enid Hattersley". The Guardian. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
38. Goldrup, Tom Jim (August 2012). "Robert Knapp". The Encyclopedia of Feature Players of Hollywood, Volume 2, Google Books. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
39. Lewis, Paul (May 23, 2001). "Frank Slaughter, Novelist Of Medicine, Is Dead at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
40. "Rosa Beddington -- Embryologist, 45". The New York Times. May 25, 2001. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
41. Oliver, Myrna (May 23, 2001). "Joe Graydon; FBI Agent Became Big Band Singer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
42. Josef Haunzwickel, Sports-Reference / Olympic Sports
43. "Joe Lovitto". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
44. Holden, Steven (May 21, 2001). "Susannah McCorkle, 55, Pop-Jazz Singer". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
45. The Associated Press (May 22, 2001). "Renato Carosone -- Singer, 81". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
46. Wolf, Gregory H. "Bob Keely". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
47. "Bud Thomas". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
48. Nowlin, Bill. "Mel Hoderlein". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
49. "Ralph Hamner". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
50. The Associated Press (May 24, 2001). "Whitman Mayo -- Sanford's Sidekick, 70". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
51. Shorter, Eric (May 24, 2001). "Jack Watling". The Guardian. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
52. "Bob Gaona". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
53. "Chuck Gelatka". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
54. Boris Gyuderov, Sports-Reference / Olympic Sports
55. P. Ramachandran dead
56. The Associated Press (May 31, 2001). "Harry Townes -- Actor, 86". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
57. "Vittorio Brambilla Italy". ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
58. Oliver, Myrna (June 7, 2001). "Anne Haney; Actress". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
59. Meldrum, Andrew (May 27, 2001). "Second Mugabe minister dies in a car crash". The Guardian. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
60. "Ramon A. Bieri". Hartford Courant, Legacy.com. June 3, 2001. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
61. Blair, Jayson (May 29, 2001). "Victor Kiam, 74, Entrepreneur Who 'Bought the Company'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
62. Clayson, Alan (July 19, 2001). "Tony Ashton". The Guardian. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
63. Stout, David (May 29, 2001). "Joe Moakley, Congressman From South Boston, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
64. "Rockets Redglare, 52, Film Actor and Comedian". The New York Times. June 6, 2001. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
65. Palacios, Adrián G.; Bacigalupo, Juan (2003). "Francisco Varela (1946-2001):: Filling the mind - brain gap: A life adventure". Biological Research. 36 (1): 9–12. doi:10.4067/S0716-97602003000100002. PMID 12795203.
66. Masters, Christopher (June 19, 2001). "John Fleming". The Guardian. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
67. "Eddie Forrest". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
68. Akira Fujita, Sports-Reference / Olympic Sports
69. Terry Gathercole, Sports-Reference / Olympic Sports
70. Wakin, Daniel J. (June 2, 2001). "Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2019.