Deaths in 1997

The following is a list of notable deaths in 1997. Names are listed under the date of death and not the date it was announced. Names under each date are listed in alphabetical order by family name.

Deaths of notable animals (that is, those with their own Wikipedia articles) are also reported here.

A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:

• Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, established cause of death, reference (and language of reference, if not English).

January 1997

Melvin Calvin

• January 1
  • Aenne Brauksiepe, German politician (born 1912)
  • Townes Van Zandt, American folk singer (born 1944)
• January 2
  • Leighton Buckwell, Canadian politician (born 1918)
  • Randy California, American guitarist, singer and songwriter (born 1951)
  • Samuel Carlisi, Chicago gangster (born 1914)
• January 4
  • Hédi Berkhissa, Tunisian footballer (born 1972)
  • Dwight Billings, American ecologist (born 1910)
  • Harry Helmsley, American real estate mogul (born 1909)
• January 5
  • Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, Prince of Sweden (born 1912)
  • Peter Cain, American artist (born 1959)
  • Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (born 1912)
• January 6
  • Herbert Blitzstein, Chicago Outfit mobster (born 1934)
  • Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (born 1912)
• January 8
  • Sidney M. Aronovitz, American lawyer (born 1920)
  • Melvin Calvin, American chemist (born 1911)
• January 9
  • Karol Borhy, Slovak football coach (born 1912)
  • Jesse White, Actor who played the Maytag repairman (born 1917)
• January 10
  • Darrell A. Amyx, American classical archaeologist (born 1911)
  • Francisco Aramburu, Brazilian footballer (born 1922)
  • Robert Atwood, American newspaper publishers (born 1907)
  • Samuel Preston Bayard, American folklorist and musicologist (born 1908)
  • Sheldon Leonard, American producer, actor, director (born 1907)
  • Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1907)
• January 11 – Garry O'Connor, playwright, biographer and novelist (born 1899)
• January 12
  • Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-born cancer researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1901)
  • Jill Summers, English actress (born 1910)
• January 13 – Ernest Bayer, American rower (born 1904)
• January 14 – John Amdisen, Danish footballer (born 1934)
• January 15
  • Oscar Auerbach, American physician (born 1905)
  • Exuma, Bahamian musician (born 1942)
• January 16 – Ennis Cosby, comedian Bill Cosby's son (born 1969)
• January 17
  • Karel Benedík, Czech painter (born 1923)
  • W. A. Camps, British classical scholar (born 1910)
  • Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (born 1906)
• January 18
  • Herbert A. Allen, Sr., American stock broker (born 1908)
  • Paul Tsongas, U.S. Senator from (Massachusetts) and one-time candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination (born 1941)
• January 19 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (born 1923)
• January 20
  • Edith Brown, one of the last remaining and oldest survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912 (born 1896)
  • Albín Brunovský, Slovak painter, graphic artist, lithographer, illustrator and pedagogue (born 1935)
  • Curt Flood, American baseball player (born 1938)
• January 21 – Colonel Tom Parker, Dutch-born celebrity manager (born 1909)
• January 22
  • Ênio Andrade, Brazilian football player and manager (born 1928)
  • Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican educator and historian (born 1898)
  • Billy Mackenzie, Scottish singer (born 1957)
• January 23 – Richard Berry African-American singer and composer (born 1935)
• January 24
  • Lourdino Barreto, Indian musicologist and composer (born 1938)
• January 25
  • Werner Aspenström, Soviet poet (born 1918)
  • Dan Barry, American cartoonist (born 1923)
  • James Boyd, American boxer (born 1930)
  • José Luis Cabezas, Argentine news photographer (born 1961)
  • Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (born 1904)
• January 26 – Sufi Barkat Ali, Muslim Sufi saint (born 1911)
• January 27 – Cecil Arthur Lewis MC, British fighter pilot who flew in World War I and last surviving World War I ace (born 1898)
• January 28
  • John Morton-Finney, civil rights activist, lawyer and educator (born 1889)
  • Abdelhak Benhamouda, Algerian trade unionist (born 1946)
  • Antônio Callado, Brazilian journalist, playwright, and novelist (born 1917)
• January 29 – Antal Benda, Hungarian field handball player (born 1910)
• January 30
  • Charles Hargens, American painter. (born 1893)
  • Henry Bentinck, 11th Earl of Portland, British earl and activist (born 1919)
  • Ulrich Kiesow, German role-playing game designer (born 1949)
• January 31
  • Harold Raymond Ballard, Canadian MP (born 1918)
  • Johnny Klein, American drummer (born 1918)

February 1997

Deng Xiaoping

• February 1
  • Georg Ay, German politician (born 1900)
  • Allen J. Bartunek, American politician (born 1928)
  • Simion Bughici, Romanian communist politician (born 1914)
  • Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (born 1916)
  • Marjorie Reynolds, American actress (born 1917)
• February 2
  • Godfrey Baseley, British radio executive (born 1904)
  • Chico Science, Brazilian musician (born 1967)
• February 3
  • Richard Andvord, Norwegian businessperson and resistance member (born 1920)
  • John J. Buckley, American politician (born 1916)
• February 4 – Henry H. Barschall, German-American physicist (born 1915)
• February 5
  • Frederick J. Almgren, Jr., American mathematician (born 1933)
  • Bob Brown, Canadian professional wrestler (born 1938)
  • Pamela Harriman, U.S. Ambassador to France (born 1920)
• February 6 – Ernie Anderson, American disc jockey, and television and radio announcer/voiceover artist (born 1923)
• February 7
  • Owen Aspinall, American attorney and politician (born 1927)
  • John Baker, British musician and composer (born 1937)
• February 8 – Corey Scott, American motorcycle stunt rider (born 1968)
• February 9
  • David Austick, British Liberal Party politician and bookshop owner (born 1920)
  • Brian Connolly, Scottish lead singer for the glam band Sweet (born 1945)
  • Barry Evans (actor), Actor best known for debuts in Mind Your Language and Doctor in the House (born 1943)
• February 10
  • Harriet Andreassen, Norwegian labour activist and politician (born 1925)
  • Lou Bennett, American jazz organist (born 1926)
• February 11 – Don Porter, American actor (born 1912)
• February 12 – James Cossins, English actor (born 1933)
• February 13
  • Bobby Adams, American Major League Baseball player (born 1921)
  • John Ries Bartels, United States federal judge (born 1897)
  • Otto Beckmann, Austrian sculptor and pioneer of media and computer art (born 1908)
• February 15
  • Oscar Adams, African-American Alabama Supreme Court justice (born 1925)
  • Luras,(Giovanni Giua), Italian engineer and officer (born 1895)
  • Arne Berg, Swedish road racing cyclist (born 1909)
  • Georges Bergé, French Army general who served during World War II (born 1909)
• February 16 – Ethel Owen, American actress (born 1893)
• February 17
  • Henry Jacques Le Même, French architect (born 1897)
  • Nic Roeser, Luxembourgian gymnast who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics (born 1896)
  • Zein Isa, Palestinian militant imprisoned in the United States for the honor killing of his daughter
• February 18
  • Bozorg Alavi, Iranian writer, novelist, and political intellectual (born 1904)
  • Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (born 1928)
• February 19
  • David Ashkenazi, Russian pianist, concertmaster and composer (born 1915)
  • Jarmil Burghauser, Czech composer, conductor, and musicologist (born 1921)
  • Afonso Guimarães da Silva, Brazilian footballer (born 1914)
  • Deng Xiaoping, leader of the People's Republic of China (born 1904)
• February 20 – Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist (born 1960)
• February 21 – Ziya Bunyadov, Azerbaijani historian, academician, and Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (born 1921)
• February 22 – Joseph Aiuppa, American mobster (born 1907)
• February 23
  • Abdelkader Ben Bouali, French footballer (born 1912)
  • Tony Williams, American musician (born 1945)
• February 24 – Donald Hodge (veteran), last surviving veterans of the First World War (born 1894)
• February 25
  • Cal Abrams, American Major League Baseball player (born 1924)
  • Bill "Hoss" Allen, American radio disc jockey (born 1922)
  • Louis Auslander, American mathematician (born 1928)
• February 26
  • Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer and constructor (born 1914)
  • David Doyle, American actor (born 1929)
  • W. A. Poucher, British mountain photographers (born 1891)
• February 27 – Helen Boyce, American film actress (born 1918)
• February 28 – Ivan Arkhipov, Soviet-Russian statesman (born 1907)

March 1997

• March 1
  • Stanislaus Joseph Brzana, the tenth Roman Catholic Bishop of Ogdensburg (born 1917)
  • Miltiades Caridis, German-Greek conductor (born 1923)
• March 2
  • Abdel Azim Ashry, Egyptian basketball player, referee and sports administrator (born 1911)
  • Judi Bari, American environmentalist and labor leader (born 1949)
  • Douglas Blackwood, British publisher (born 1909)
• March 3
  • Bradford Angier, American wilderness survivalist and proponent of back to earth living (born 1910)
  • Jascha Brodsky, Russian-American violinist (born 1907)
• March 4
  • Joe Baker-Cresswell, British Royal Navy officer (born 1901)
  • Roger Brown, American basketball player (born 1942)
  • Robert H. Dicke, American experimental physicist (born 1916)
  • Carey Loftin, American actor and stuntman (born 1914)
• March 5
  • Zalman Abramov, Israeli politician (born 1908)
  • Josef Ackermann, German politician (born 1905)
  • Amjad Ali, Pakistani civil servant (born 1907)
  • Samm Sinclair Baker, American health and wellness writer (born 1909)
  • Ralph Bass, American musician (born 1911)
  • Frank Brennan, Scottish footballer (born 1924)
• March 6
  • Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (born 1918)
  • Gomek, Oldest captive crocodile (born unknown)
• March 7
  • Wilfred Conwell Bain, American music educator (born 1908)
  • Emanuel Bronner, the maker of Dr. Bronner's castile soap (born 1908)
  • Martin Kippenberger, German artist (born 1953)
  • Edward Mills Purcell, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1912)
• March 8
  • Gershon Liebman, French rabbi (born 1905)
• March 9
  • Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist, author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE (born 1952)
  • John Boyd, American military strategist (born 1927)
  • The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (born 1972)
  • Terry Nation, Welsh screenwriter (born 1930)
• March 10
  • Jimmy Airlie, Scottish trade unionist (born 1936)
  • La Vern Baker, American singer (born 1929)
  • Raymond Bass, American gymnast (born 1910)
  • Peter H. Behr, American politician (born 1915)
• March 11
  • Lars Ahlin, Swedish author and aesthetician (born 1915)
  • Hubert de Bèsche, Swedish Olympic fencer (born 1911)
  • Paul Archibald Brent, American musician, the first African American to attend the prestigious Peabody Conservatory (born 1907)
  • Robert Browning, Scottish Byzantinist (born 1914)
• March 12
  • Shamsul-hasan Shams Barelvi, Pakistani Islamic scholar and a prolific translator of classical Islamic texts (born 1917)
  • Hendrik Brugmans, Dutch academic and linguist (born 1906)
• March 14
  • Jurek Becker, Polish-born German writer, film-author and GDR dissident (born 1937)
  • Charles Weldon Cannon, American rancher (born 1915)
  • Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-born director (born 1907)
• March 15
  • Boediardjo, Indonesian politician (born 1921)
  • Gail Davis, American actress (born 1925)
  • Star Stowe, Playboy centerfold (born 1956)
  • Victor Vasarely, Hungarian–French artist (born 1906)
• March 17 – Jermaine Stewart, American singer (born 1957)
• March 19
  • Johannes Bråten, Norwegian politician (born 1920)
  • Willem de Kooning, Dutch artist (born 1904)
• March 20
  • Ronnie Barron, American musician (born 1943)
  • Tony Zale, American boxer (born 1913)
• March 21
  • Liv Andersen, Norwegian politician (born 1919)
  • Wilbert Awdry, British children's writer (born 1911)
  • John Nemechek, NASCAR driver (born 1970)
• March 24
  • Herbert Bauer, German pilot (born 1919)
  • Martin Caidin, American author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation (born 1927)
• March 25
  • Robert Arthur, American radio announcer (born 1921)
  • Baltazar, Brazilian footballer (born 1926)
• March 26
  • Norman Alexander, New Zealand physicist (born 1907)
  • Marshall Applewhite, leader of the Heaven's Gate religious group (born 1931)
• March 27 – George Malcolm Brown, English geologist (born 1925)
• March 28 – Arthur Arntzen, Norwegian politician (born 1906)
• March 31
  • Ed Alberian, American stage and television actor (born 1920)
  • Eugenie Anderson, United States diplomat (born 1909)
  • Friedrich Hund, American physics (born 1896)

April 1997

Allen Ginsberg

• April 1 – Jolie Gabor, Hungarian socialite (born c. 1896)
• April 2
  • Anthony Bushell, English film actor and director (born 1904)
  • Craig D. Button, United States Air Force pilot (born 1964)
• April 3
  • Isaac Felipe Azofeifa, Costa Rican poet, politician and educator (born 1909)
  • Thomas Barthel, German ethnologist and epigrapher (born 1923)
• April 4 – Leo Picard, Israeli geologist and an expert in the field of hydrology (born 1900)
• April 5
  • Paul de Bruyn, German athlete (born 1907)
  • Ignazio Buttitta, Sicilian dialectal poet (born 1899)
  • Allen Ginsberg, American poet (born 1926)
  • August Heckscher II, American public intellectual and author (born 1913)
• April 6
  • Max Alvarado, Filipino film actor (born 1929)
  • Arturo de Ascanio, Spanish magician (born 1929)
  • William T. Brotherton, Jr., Democratic President of the West Virginia Senate (born 1926)
• April 7
  • Witto Aloma, Cuban baseball player (born 1923)
  • Georgi Shonin, Russian cosmonaut (born 1935)
• April 8
  • Audrey Atterbury, British puppeter (born 1921)
  • Bob Cain, Major League Baseball pitcher (born 1924)
  • Laura Nyro, American singer and composer (born 1947)
• April 9 – Mae Boren Axton, American songwriter and music promoter (born 1914)
• April 10 – Robert Aitken, New Zealand physician and university administrator (born 1901)
  • Gösta Johansson, World Champion Icehockey player in Sweden (born 1929)
• April 11 – Faith Burrows, nationally syndicated cartoonist during the Jazz Age (born 1904)
• April 12 – George Wald, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1903)
• April 13
  • Dorothy Frooks, American author, publisher, military figure and actress (born 1896)
  • Rodolfo Oroz, Chilean writer, professor, and philologist,won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1978 (born 1895)
• April 15
  • Don Bexley, American actor and comedian (born 1910)
  • L. Brent Bozell, Jr., American conservative activist; Roman Catholic writer (born 1926)
  • Mildred Cleghorn, Chairwoman of the Fort Sill Apache tribe (born 1910)
• April 16
  • Doris Angleton, American socialite (born 1951)
  • Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, Mexican businessman, newspaper publisher, and television executive (born 1930)
  • Jan Bruins, Dutch motorcycle racer (born 1940)
  • Roland Topor, French illustrator (born 1938)
• April 17 – Dale Burnett, American football running back for the New York Giants (born 1909)
• April 18
  • Carlos Auyero, Argentine politician (born 1936)
  • Edward Barker, English cartoonist (born 1950)
• April 19 – El Duce, American singer and drummer (born 1958)
• April 20
  • Jean Louis, American costume designer (born 1907)
  • Henry Mucci, American Colonel of the 98th Ranger Battalion (born 1909)
• April 21
  • Alfred Bailey, Canadian educator, poet, anthropologist, ethno-historian, and academic administrator (born 1905)
  • Diosdado Macapagal, 9th President of the Philippines (born 1910)
• April 22 – Reg Gammon, English painter and illustrator (born 1894)
• April 23 – Brian Alderson, Scottish footballer (born 1950)
• April 24
  • Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov, Soviet historian and writer turned anti-communist (c. 1908/10)
  • Assen Bossev, Bulgarian author of children's literature (born 1913)
  • John A. Brown, Jr., American murderer
  • Pat Paulsen, American comedian (born 1927)
• April 25
  • Aleksejs Auziņš, Latvian football midfielder, manager and also an ice hockey player (born 1910)
  • Nicholas Baker, British MP (born 1938)
  • Kay Blumetta, American baseball player (born 1923)
• April 26 – John Beal, American actor (born 1909)
• April 30
  • Heinz Bergmann, German military officer (born 1914)
  • Henry Picard, American golfer (born 1906)

May 1997

• May 1
  • Bo Widerberg, Swedish film director (born 1930)
  • Elena Altieri, Italian actress (born 1916)
• May 2
  • Kenneth Allen, British nuclear physicist (born 1923)
  • John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1903)
• May 3
  • Bruce Beetham, New Zealand academic and politician (born 1936)
  • Gerrit den Braber, Dutch song writer and lyricist (born 1929)
• May 4
  • Jerome Alden, American playwright and screenwriter for television and documentary films (born 1921)
  • Alvy Moore, American actor (born 1921)
• May 5
  • Bob Briggs, American football player (born 1945)
  • George Burns, British Army officer (born 1911)
  • Walter Gotell, German actor (born 1924)
• May 8 – Ralph Wendell Burhoe, American theologian (born 1911)
• May 9 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian woman who became the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world (born 1926)
• May 11
  • William Ragsdale Cannon, American theologian (born 1916)
  • Howard Morton, American actor (born 1925)
• May 12 – Louis Barbarin, New Orleans jazz drummer (born 1902)
• May 13 – Laurie Lee, English writer (born 1914)
• May 14
  • Jambyn Batmönkh, Mongolian communist political leader (born 1926)
  • Mel Bay, American musician (born 1913)
  • Rouville Beaudry, Canadian politician (born 1904)
  • Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician (born 1934)
  • Thelma Carpenter, American singer and actress (born 1922)
• May 15 – Oscar Berger, American editorial cartoonist (born 1901)
• May 16
  • Friedrich Bader, German military officer (born 1908)
  • Giuseppe De Santis, Italian film director (born 1917)
• May 17 – Mikhail Bychkov, Russian ice hockey player (born 1926)
• May 18
  • Bridgette Andersen, American actress (born 1975)
  • Mikhail Anikushin, Soviet Russian sculptor (born 1917)
• May 19 – John Browell, British radio producer (born 1917)
• May 20
  • Virgilio Barco Vargas, Colombian Liberal Party politician (born 1921)
  • Don Parker, British racing driver (born 1908)
• May 21
  • William Arthur, Australian politician (born 1918)
  • William Aston, Australian politician (born 1916)
  • Amasa Stone Bishop, American nuclear physicist (born 1921)
  • Noël Browne, Irish politician and doctor (born 1915)
• May 22
  • Stanisław Swianiewicz, Polish economist and historian (born 1899)
  • Alfred Hershey, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1908)
• May 23
  • Anne Anstine, American politician
  • James Lee Byars, American artist (born 1932)
• May 24
  • Kinpei Azusa, Japanese voice actor (born 1931)
  • Robbie Branscum, American writer of children's books and young adult fiction (born 1937)
  • Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (born 1923)
• May 25 – Carmen Figueiró, Galician oldest living person's (born 1883)
• May 26
  • Manfred von Ardenne, German physicist and inventor (born 1907)
  • Ralph Horween,American football player and coach (born 1896)
• May 27
  • Henry Barakat, Egyptian film director (born 1912)
  • Edilberto Campadese, Italian bobsledder (born 1915)
• May 28
  • Lynn Archibald, American basketball coach (born 1944)
  • Conway Baker, American football offensive tackle (born 1911)
  • Ronald V. Book, American theoretical computer scientist 1937)
• May 29
  • Jeff Buckley, American musician (born 1966)
  • George Fenneman, American radio and television announcer (born 1919)
• May 30
  • West Arkeen, American musician (born 1960)
  • Béla Barényi, Austro-Hungarian automotive engineer (born 1907)
• May 31
  • Donald Beer, American rower (born 1935)
  • James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (born 1905)
  • Lionel Booth, Irish Fianna Fáil politician and businessman (born 1914)

June 1997

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

• June 1
  • Florence Wysinger Allen, African American artists' model (born 1913)
  • Ruth Atkinson, American cartoonist (born 1918)
  • Garland T. Byrd, United States Democratic politician from Georgia (born 1924)
• June 2
  • Lukas Aurednik, Austrian footballer and football manager (born 1918)
  • Martin Bronfenbrenner, American economist (born 1914)
  • Helen Jacobs, American tennis champion (born 1908)
• June 3
  • Pidge Browne, American professional baseball player (born 1929)
  • Dennis James, American game show host (born 1917)
• June 6
  • Eitel Cantoni, Uruguayan racecar driver (born 1906)
  • Magda Gabor, American actress (born 1914)
• June 7
  • Diogenes Angelakos, American electrical engineer and academic (born 1920)
  • Lewis White Beck, American philosopher and scholar of German philosophy (born 1913)
  • Jacques Canetti, French talent manager
• June 8
  • Betty Andujar, American politician (born 1912)
  • Reid Shelton, American actor (born 1924)
• June 10 – Kim Ki-soo, South Korea's first world champion boxer, liver cancer (born 1938)
• June 11 – Robert Bates, Ulster loyalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland (born 1948)
• June 12
  • Rick Baldwin, American racing driver (born 1955)
  • Bulat Okudzhava, Soviet non-mainstream singer of Georgian descent (born 1924)
• June 13 – Al Berto, Portuguese poet (born 1948)
• June 14
  • Marjorie Best, American Hollywood costume designer (born 1903)
  • Richard Jaeckel, American actor (born 1926)
• June 15 – Desmond Banks, Baron Banks, British Liberal Party politician (born 1918)
• June 18 – Waldo Don Carlos, American football center (born 1909)
• June 20
  • John Akii-Bua, Ugandan hurdler and the first Olympic champion from his country (born 1949)
  • Paul Carell, German Nazi politician (born 1911)
• June 22
  • Lars Bergendahl, Norwegian cross country skier (born 1909)
  • Don Henderson, British actor (born 1932)
  • Gérard Pelletier, Canadian journalist, politician and diplomat (born 1919)
• June 23
  • Len Bailey, British automobile designer (born 1926)
  • Harry Botterell, Canadian neurosurgeon (born 1906)
  • William Slater Brown, American novelist, biographer and translator of French literature (born 1895)
  • Betty Shabazz, American widow of Malcolm X (born 1936)
• June 24
  • Marion Jones Callister, United States federal judge (born 1921)
  • Brian Keith, American actor (born 1921)
• June 25
  • Elmer Batters, German erotic photographer (born 1919)
  • Jacques-Yves Cousteau, French explorer (born 1910)
• June 26
  • George Bassman, American composer and arranger (born 1914)
  • Don Bradley, English footballer (born 1924)
  • Don Hutson, American football player (Green Bay Packers) and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (born 1913)
  • Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer (born 1959)
• June 27

Cesar Y. Alzona, Filipino songwriter (born 1926)

Ray Benge, American baseball pitcher (born 1907)

• June 28 – Mrs. Miller, American singer (born 1907)
• June 29
  • Griffith Borgeson, American race car historian (born 1918)
  • William Hickey, American actor (born 1927)
• June 30 – Bill Bradley, English cyclist (born 1933)

July 1997

Robert Mitchum

James Stewart

• July 1
  • Lester Asheim, American librarian and scholar of library science (born 1914)
  • Robert Mitchum, American actor (born 1917)
• July 2
  • Stan Barker, English jazz pianist (born 1926)
  • Jimmy Stewart, American actor (born 1908)
• July 4
  • William Cadogan, 7th Earl Cadogan, British peer and professional soldier (born 1914)
  • Charles Kuralt, American television reporter (born 1934)
  • John Zachary Young, British biologist (born 1907)
• July 5 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil politician
• July 6
  • Chetan Anand, Hindi film producer, screenwriter and director (born 1915)
  • Gabriel Asaad, Assyrian composer and musician (born 1907)
  • Ajaib Singh, Sant of Surat Shabd Yoga (born 1926)
• July 7
  • Raghu Raj Bahadur, Indian mathematician (born 1924)
  • Mate Boban, Bosnian Croat politician and the only president of the short lived and self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia (born 1940)
  • Leonid Bykovets, Soviet airman (born 1921)
  • Royston Tickner, English actor (born 1922)
• July 10 – Ivor Allchurch, Welsh international footballer (born 1929)
• July 11
  • Felix Barker, British drama critic and historian (born 1917)
  • Fred Beavis, Canadian politician (born 1914)
• July 12 – Pietro Buscaglia, Italian professional football player (born 1911)
• July 13
  • Garfield Barwick, Australian politician, lawyer, and Chief Justice of Australia (born 1903)
  • Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician for the People's Party (born 1968)
  • Alexandra Danilova, Russian dancer (born 1903)
• July 15
  • Sennen Andriamirado, Malagasy journalist (born 1945)
  • Gordie Bruce, Canadian professional ice hockey forward (born 1919)
  • Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (born 1946)
  • Alan Charig, British Palaeontologist (born 1927)
• July 16 – Ron Berry, Welsh author of novels and short stories (born 1920)
• July 18 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American astronomer (born 1928)
• July 21
  • Tony Alvarez, Spanish actor (born 1956)
  • Roger Bowman, pitcher in Major League Baseball (born 1927)
• July 22
  • Khalil Ahmed, Pakistani composer (born 1936)
  • Marilyn Brown, American actress (born 1953)
  • Ephraim John Burford, English historian and author (born 1905)
• July 23
  • Walter Behrendt, German politician of the Social Democratic Party and president of the European parliament (born 1914)
  • Norman William Black, American federal judge (born 1931)
  • Barney Bright, American sculptor (born 1927)
  • Chuhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (born 1904)
• July 24
  • William J. Brennan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (born 1906)
  • Frank Parker, American tennis champion (born 1916)
• July 25
  • Jack Bickham, American novelist (born 1930)
  • Ben Hogan, American golf champion (born 1912)
• July 29
  • Alex Archer, British Ice Hockey player (born 1911)
  • Jack Archer, English sprinter (born 1921)
• July 30
  • Robert Bryce, Canadian civil servant (born 1910)
  • K'tut Tantri, broadcaster/hotelier (born 1899)

August 1997

Diana, Princess of Wales

• August 1

Berta Alves de Sousa, Portuguese pianist and composer (born 1906)

Kenneth W. Bilby, executive vice president of RCA (born 1918)

• August 2
  • William S. Burroughs, American author (born 1914)
  • Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and political activist (born 1938)
• August 4
  • Ján Brezina, Slovak poet, literally historian and theoretician (born 1917)
  • Horace Bristol, American photographer (born 1908)
  • Dick Bush, English cinematographer (born 1931)
  • Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian and the oldest person ever documented in history (born 1875)
  • Jean Pierre Capron, French painter (born 1921)
• August 6
  • Lance Barnard, Australian politician (born 1919)
  • Sandy Beadle, Canadian ice hockey left winger (born 1960)
  • Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, Indian writer (born 1924)
• August 8
  • Joseph Aquilina, Maltese author and linguist (born 1911)
  • Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist (born 1915)
• August 9
  • Maria Antonietta Beluzzi, Italian actress (born 1930)
  • Max Blösch, Olympic Swiss field handball player (born 1908)
• August 10
  • Peter Braestrup, American journalist (born 1929)
  • Conlon Nancarrow, American-born composer (born 1912)
• August 12
  • Luther Allison, American musician (born 1939)
  • Rex Barney, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (born 1924)
  • Gösta Bohman, Swedish politician (born 1911)
  • Henry Calley, English pilot, owner and manager of a stud farm, and Conservative politician (born 1914)
• August 16
  • Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian activist, politician and diplomat (born 1921)
  • Mercedes Alison Bates, American magazine editor, businessperson, and director of the Betty Crocker division of General Mills (born 1916)
  • Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خان (Shahmukhi)), Pakistani Qawwali musician (born 1948)
  • Hendrik van den Bergh, South African police official who founded the Bureau of State Security (born 1914)
• August 17

Geoffrey Burnand, English painter, theatrical designer and mural artist (born 1912)

Jorge Cañas, Salvadoran football player (born 1942)

Doug Carl, American politician from Michigan (born 1951)

• August 18 – Harry R. Wellman, University of California president (born 1899)
• August 20 – Norris Bradbury, American physicist (born 1909)
• August 22 – Infante Alvaro, Duke of Galliera, Prince of the Royal House of France and the 6th Duke of Galliera (born 1910)
• August 23 – John Kendrew, British molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (born 1917)
• August 24
  • Werner Abrolat, German actor (born 1924)
  • Hardial Bains, founder of the Communist Party of Canada (born 1939)
  • Louis Essen, English physicist (born 1908)
• August 25 – Clodomiro Almeyda, Chilean politician (born 1923)
• August 27
  • Sally Blane, American actress (born 1910)
  • Sotiria Bellou, Greek singer (born 1921)
  • Basu Bhattacharya, Hindi film director (born 1934)
  • Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (born 1949)
• August 28 – Masaru Takumi, Japanese yakuza lord (born 1936)
• August 31
  • Diana, Princess of Wales (born 1961)
  • Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (born 1955)

September 1997

Mother Teresa

• September 1 – Gordon Blake, U.S. Air Force lieutenant general (born 1910)
• September 2
  • George E. Allen, American football player and coach of football and basketball (born 1911)
  • Julien Binford, American painter (born 1909)
  • Rudolf Bing, Austrian opera manager (born 1902)
  • Boris Brunov, Soviet actor and entertainer (born 1922)
  • Karl Buckel, German military officer (born 1920)
  • Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (born 1905)
• September 3 – George Henry Andrews, Liberian sports journalist and minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs of Liberia (born 1926)
• September 4
  • Chuck Arnold, American racecar driver (born 1926)
  • Jeffrey Bernard, British journalist (born 1932)
  • Dharamvir Bharati, Hindi poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India (born 1926)
• September 5
  • Georg Solti, Hungarian conductor (born 1912)
  • Mother Teresa, Albanian missionary and humanitarian, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (born 1910)
• September 6 – Salvador Artigas, Spanish former footballer and manager (born 1913)
• September 7
  • Mukul S. Anand, Indian film director and producer (born 1951)
  • Elisabeth Brooks, Canadian actress (The Howling) (born 1951)
  • Edwin Brock, British poet (born 1927)
  • Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire (born 1930)
• September 8 – Helen Shaw (actress), American actress (born 1897)
• September 9
  • Richie Ashburn, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (born 1927)
  • Burgess Meredith, American actor (born 1907)
• September 10
  • Satish Chandra Agarwal, Bharatiya Janata Party politician
  • Abraham Akaka, American clergyman (born 1917)
  • Richard Brandt, American philosopher (born 1910)
  • Bakeer Markar, Sri Lankan politician (born 1917)
• September 11
  • Fernando Ayala, Argentine film producer, film director, screenwriter and film producer (born 1920)
  • Raymond 'Raybeez' Barbieri, American singer for New York hardcore band Warzone (born 1961)
  • Cay-Lorenz Baron von Brockdorff, German military officer (born 1923)
• September 12
  • Stig Anderson, Swedish talent manager (born 1931)
  • Constantin Andronikof, French theologian (born 1916)
  • Leslie E. Brown, United States Marine Corps aviator (born 1920)
  • Leonard Maguire, Scottish actor (born 1924)
• September 13
  • Paul Brechler, athletic director for the University of Iowa (born 1911)
  • Robert Cant, British Labour politician (born 1915)
• September 15
  • Aleksanteri Ahola-Valo, Finnish artist and architect (born 1900)
  • Angel Balevski, Bulgarian inventor and engineer (born 1910)
  • Bulldog Brower, American professional wrestler (born 1933)
• September 16 – Bill Burns, American journalist and news anchor (born 1913)
• September 17
  • Benjamin Atkins, American serial killer (born 1968)
  • Brian Hall, English actor (Fawlty Towers) (born 1937)
  • Red Skelton, American comedian (born 1913)
  • Aida Yūji, Japanese historian (born 1916)
• September 18 – Jimmy Witherspoon, American blues singer (born 1920)
• September 19
  • Józef Bielawski, Polish arabist and Muslim scholar (born 1910)
  • Louis Bisson, Canadian aviator (born 1909)
  • Bill Butland, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (born 1918)
  • Jack May, English actor (born 1922)
  • Rich Mullins, American musician (born 1955)
• September 22 – Deolindo Bittel, Argentine politician (born 1922)
• September 23
  • Darko Bratina, Italian sociologist, film theorist and politician (born 1942)
  • Shirley Clarke, American filmmaker (born 1919)
  • Wilbur R. Ingalls, Jr., American architect (born 1923)
• September 25
  • Hélène Baillargeon, Canadian singer, actor and folklorist (born 1916)
  • Paul Bernard, British television director (born 1929)
  • Jean Françaix, French composer (born 1912)
• September 27 – Walter Trampler, American violist (born 1915)
• September 28 – Munir Bashir, Assyrian musician in Iraq and one of the most famous musicians in the Middle East during the 20th century (born 1930)
• September 29 – Roy Lichtenstein, American artist (born 1923)
• September 30 – Milner Gray (designer), British industrial design (born 1899)

October 1997

James A. Michener

Samuel Fuller

• October 1 – Jerome H. Lemelson, American inventor (born 1923)
• October 3
  • Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Nigerian politician (born 1908)
  • John Ashley, American actor (born 1934)
  • A. L. Rowse, British historian (born 1903)
• October 4
  • Romano Amerio, Roman Catholic theologian (born 1905)
  • Otto Ernst Remer, German military personnel (born 1912)
  • Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese video game franchise creator (born 1941)
• October 5
  • Chitta Basu, Indian politician and a leader of the All India Forward Bloc (born 1926)
  • Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (born 1962)
  • Arthur Tracy, American singer (born 1899)
• October 6
  • Orlando Ramón Agosti, Argentine general (born 1924)
  • Warren Louis Boudreaux, American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (born 1918)
  • Adrienne Hill, British actress (born 1937)
  • Johnny Vander Meer, baseball player (born 1914)
• October 8
  • William H. Amoss, American politician (born 1936)
  • Henryk Bista, Polish actor (born 1934)
  • Albert Blumberg, American philosopher and political activist (born 1906)
• October 10
  • Chuck Andrus, American jazz double-bassist (born 1928)
  • Stella Bonheur, Stella Bonheur (born 1904)
• October 11
  • Udo Anneken, German military officer (born 1917)
  • Gordon Arnold, American man who claimed to have witnessed the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (born 1943)
  • Paul Doughty Bartlett, American chemist (born 1907)
• October 12
  • Rodrigue Bourdages, Canadian politician (born 1923)
  • John Denver, American musician (born 1943)
• October 13
  • Ian Stuart Black, British novelist, playwright and screenwriter (born 1915)
  • Adil Çarçani, Albanian politician (born 1922)
• October 14
  • Hy Averback, American radio, television, and film actor who eventually became a producer and director (born 1920)
  • Harold Robbins, American writer (born 1916)
• October 16
  • A. H. Armstrong, English educator and author (born 1909)
  • Audra Lindley, American actress (born 1918)
  • James A. Michener, American writer (born 1907)
• October 18 – Leonard Andrzejewski, Polish actor (born 1924)
• October 19
  • Donald R. Bensen, American book editor and science fiction writer (born 1927)
  • Glen Buxton, American guitarist (born 1947)
• October 20 – Ron Tarr, English actor (born 1936)
• October 21 – Dolph Camilli, American first baseman in Major League Baseball (born 1907)
• October 22 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator (born 1905)
• October 23
  • Wilhelm Berkenbusch, German military officer (born 1918)
  • Scrappy Blumer, American pilot (born 1917)
  • Hedley Bunton, missionary in China and a Minister in the Congregational Church in Australia (born 1906)
  • Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (born 1916)
• October 24
  • Skip Alexander, American golfer (born 1918)
  • Don Messick, American voice actor (born 1926)
• October 25
  • Tina Lattanzi, Italian actress and voice actress (born 1897)
  • Firudin Shushinski, Azerbaijani musicologist and scholar (born 1925)
• October 26 – Georg Adelly, Swedish film actor (born 1919)
• October 28
  • Walter Capps, American politician (born 1934)
  • Paul Jarrico, American screenwriter (born 1915)
• October 29
  • Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos, Greek-American NASA astrophysicist (born 1947)
  • Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten (1899–1997), German Junker, soldier, business man and author (born 1899)
• October 30 – Samuel Fuller, American screenwriter and director (born 1912)
• October 31
  • Bram Appel, Dutch footballer (born 1921)
  • Hans Bauer, German footballer (born 1927)

November 1997

• November 1 – Victor Mills, chemical engineer for the Procter & Gamble company (born 1897)
• November 3 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (born 1931)
• November 5
  • James Robert Baker, American novelist and screenwriter (born 1946)
  • Isaiah Berlin, British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin (born 1909)
• November 6
  • Lillian Rogers Parks, American housemaid and seamstress in the White House (born 1897)
  • Luigi Cantone, Italian fencer and Olympic champion (born 1917)
• November 7 – Sheila Bellush, American woman whose murder created a media frenzy and inspired several books
• November 8 – Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh, the most prominent writers of Iran in the 20th century (born 1892)
• November 9 – William Browning, American concert pianist, vocal coach and piano pedagogue
• November 10 – Lloyd Cardwell, American football player and coach (born 1913)
• November 11
  • William Alland, American actor, producer, writer and director of science fiction and western films (born 1916)
  • Rod Milburn, American athlete (born 1950)
• November 12
  • Luke Brown, American professional wrestler (born 1935)
  • Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (born 1915)
• November 13
  • Dorothy Arnold, American film actress (born 1917)
  • André Boucourechliev, French composer (born 1925)
• November 14
  • Eddie Arcaro, American jockey (born 1916)
  • Ann Bishop, American broadcast journalist (born 1931)
• November 15
  • Aaron Brown, American football defensive lineman (born 1943)
  • Saul Chaplin, American composer (born 1912)
  • Douglas MacArthur II, nephew of World War II General Douglas MacArthur (born 1909)
• November 16 – Georges Marchais, French politician (born 1920)
• November 17 – John Wimber, American leader of the Vineyard Movement (born 1934)
• November 18 – Un'ichi Hiratsuka, a Japanese print-maker (born 1895)
• November 20 – Asbjørn Aavik, Norwegian Lutheran missionary to China and writer (born 1902)
• November 21
  • George Araujo, American lightweight professional boxer (born 1931)
  • Bill Boyd, American poker player (born 1906)
  • Robert Simpson, English composer (born 1921)
• November 22
  • Roger Brown, American artist (born 1941)
  • Michael Hutchence, Australian musician (born 1960)
• November 23 – Hulda Crooks, American mountaineer (born 1896)
• November 24
  • Barbara, French singer (born 1930)
  • Bonnie HeavyRunner, founder of the Native American Studies program at the University of Montana
  • Czeslaw Brzozowicz, Canadian engineer (born 1911)
• November 25
  • Monique Serf, French singer (born 1930)
  • Hastings Kamuzu Banda, former President of Malawi (born 1898)
  • Charles Hallahan, American film, television and stage actor, and U.S. naval armed forces veteran (born 1943)
• November 26 – Rudolf Buhse, Bundeswehr general (born 1905)
• November 27
  • David "D" Barron, Mexican Gang member (born 1963)
  • Buck Leonard, American baseball player (born 1907)
• November 28 – Qemal Butka, Albanian architect, painter, politician, and postage stamps engraver (born 1907)
• November 29
  • Thomas E. Autzen, American philanthropist (born 1918)
  • Coleman Young, Detroit mayor (born 1918)
• November 30
  • Kathy Acker, American author (born 1947)
  • Shamo Quaye, Ghanaian footballer (born 1971)

December 1997

Stephane Grappelli

• December 1
  • Julius Barnathan, American broadcast engineer (born 1927)
  • Michel Bélanger, Canadian businessman and banker (born 1929)
  • Stephane Grappelli, French violinist (born 1908)
• December 2
  • Shirley Crabtree, British wrestler best known as Big Daddy (born 1930)
  • Michael Hedges, American composer and guitarist (born 1953)
• December 3
  • Stan Anderson, Scottish footballer (born 1939)
  • Abe Bluestein, American anarchist (born 1909)
• December 4
  • Leo August, American philatelist (born 1914)
  • Buck Barry, American actor and radio and television personality (born 1917)
  • Joe Brown, American boxer (born 1925)
• December 5 – Rudolf Bahro, German politician (born 1935)
• December 6
  • Bob Adkins, American National Football League player (born 1917)
  • Mario Benazzi, Italian zoologist (born 1902)
• December 7
  • Billy Bremner, British footballer (born 1942)
  • Barry S. Brook, American musicologist (born 1918)
  • Félix Candela, Spanish architect (born 1910)
• December 8 – Bob Bell, American actor famous for his alter-ego, Bozo the Clown (born 1922)
• December 9 – Lucy Jane Askew, British oldest living person (born 1883)
• December 10 – Anatoliy Banishevskiy, Azerbaijani footballer (born 1946)
• December 11 – Roger Brown, American social psychologist (born 1925)
• December 12 – R. Stanton Avery, American inventor (born 1907)
• December 14
  • John Adair, American anthropologist (born 1913)
  • Owen Barfield, British philosopher, author, poet, and critic (born 1898)
  • Frank Baumholtz, American outfielder for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (born 1918)
  • Stubby Kaye, American actor (born 1918)
• December 15
  • Karsten Andersen, Norwegian conductor (born 1920)
  • Cosmo Campoli,American sculptor (born 1923)
• December 16
  • Lillian Disney, the wife of Walt Disney (born 1899)
  • Thomas J. Parmley, professor in University of Utah (born 1897)
• December 17
  • Juan Francisco Barraza, Salvadoran footballer (born 1935)
  • Katharine Fowler-Billings, American writer, naturalist, and geologist (born 1902)
  • Ernest Bromley, American minister and civil rights and peace activist (born 1912)
• December 18 – Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (born 1964)
• December 19
  • Michael Alldredge, American actor (born 1941)
  • David Bradley, American motion picture director, actor, film collector, and university instructor (born 1920)
  • David Schramm, American astrophysicist (born 1945)
• December 20
  • Juzo Itami, Japanese film director (born 1933)
  • Denise Levertov, English-born American poet (born 1923)
  • Dick Spooner, English cricketer (born 1919)
• December 21
  • Joseph Ahrens, German composer and organist (born 1904)
  • Roger Barkley, American radio personality (born 1936)
  • Amie Comeaux, American country singer (born 1976)
• December 22 – Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Cuban human rights activist (born 1931)
• December 23
  • Felix Bwalya, Olympic boxer from Zambia (born 1970)
  • Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (born 1908)
• December 24 – Toshirō Mifune, Japanese actor (born 1920)
• December 25
  • Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakhstani (USSR/Kazakhstan) climber (born 1958)
  • Anita Conti, French explorer and photographer (born 1899)
• December 26
  • Cahit Arf, Turkish mathematician (born 1910)
  • Sergei Mamchur, Ukrainian-born Russian footballer (born 1972)
• December 27
  • Ewart Abner, American record company executive (born 1923)
  • Said Brahimi, Algerian-born French international football player (born 1931)
  • Billy Wright, Northern Irish paramilitary leader (born 1960)
• December 28
  • Heikki A. Alikoski, Finnish astronomer (born 1912)
  • Shaikh Ayaz, Sindhi poet (born 1923)
  • Corneliu Baba, Romanian painter (born 1906)
  • Henry Barraud, French composer (born 1900)
• December 29
  • Richard Lindsey Batten, English orthopaedic surgeon (born 1920)
  • Ignácz Berecz, Hungarian cross country skier (born 1912)
  • Robert Walter Steel, British geographer (born 1915)
• December 31
  • Billie Dove, American actress (born 1903)
  • Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, American lawyer, son of Robert F. Kennedy (born 1958)

Date unknown

• William Allsop, English footballer (born 1912)
• Giacomo Amari, American mobster
• Bernard Anderson, American jazz trumpeter (born 1919)
• George Antonio, English professional footballer (born 1914)
• Ken Arensbak, Danish lithographer and artist (born 1923)
• Phyllis Arkle, English children's writer (born 1910)
• Gurgen Askaryan, Soviet physicist (born 1928)
• George Assang, American singer and actor (born 1927)
• Frances Baard, South African trade unionist, organiser for the African National Congress Women's League and a Patron of the United Democratic Front (born 1909)
• Anthony Baines, English organologist (born 1912)
• Peter Baines, Australian footballer (born 1918)
• Andrei Bantaş, Romanian dictionary author, translator and teacher (born 1930)
• George Barclay, American football player
• Evgenia Baykova, Russian Soviet realist painter and graphic artist (born 1907)
• Jerry Beit haLevi, Israeli football player and manager (born 1912)
• Mary Bernheim, British biochemist (born 1902)
• Trygve Bjørgo, Norwegian educator and lyricist (born 1916)
• Bobby Blackwood, Scottish footballer (born 1934)
• Malvina Bolus, Canadian historian and art collector (born 1906)
• Charles Brady, American artist (born 1926)
• Braaq, English painter (born 1951)
• Umberto Branchini, Italian boxing promoter and manager (born 1914)
• Paul Brown, senior journalist and presenter of Channel Report (born 1950)
• Eugen Buktenica, Croatian painter (born 1914)
• Eleanor Butler, Lady Wicklow, Irish Labour Party politician and architect (born 1915)
• Tim Byrne, Canadian university administrator (born 1907)
• Geoff Campion, British comics artist (born 1916)
• Piero Camporesi, Italian historian (born 1926)
• Ricardo Caputo, Argentine serial killer (born 1949)
• Jacques Carayon, French entomologist (born 1916)
• Handsome Dan XIII, Office dog (born 1984)
• Laurence Henry Hicks, Australian composer (born 1912)