Wikipedia: Deaths in 2003

Deaths in 2003
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The following is a list of famous people (and animals) who died in 2003.

December 2003

31 Arthur R. von Hippel, 105, German-born scientist and MIT professor who made critical contributions to the development of radar.
31 Bríd Durrane, 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 [1]
31 Yoshio Shirai, 80, first Japanese world boxing champion
30 David Bale, 62, activist
30 John Gregory Dunne, 71, American novelist and screenwriter
30 Anita Mui, 40, Hong Kong pop queen
30 Archbishop Michael Courtney, the Irish-born Papal Nuncio to Burundi who was central to peace negotiations, 58 assassinated
29 Earl Hindman, 61, U.S. actor, played "Wilson" on Home Improvement TV series
29 Bob Monkhouse, 75, British comedian and game show host
28 Isabelle Stevenson, chairman of the board of the American Theatre Wing, presenters of the Tony Awards. [1]
28 Dinsdale Landen, 71, British actor
27 Vestal Goodman, 74, Queen of Southern Gospel music
27 Ivan Calderon, (41 years) Puerto Rican former major league baseball star
27 Sir Alan Bates, British actor
26 Phil Goldman, 39, WebTV founder
22 Dave Dudley, 75, Country music singer
20 John Halfpenny Australian unionist (68 years)
19 Hope Lange, actress in Peyton Place
19 Peter Carter-Ruck UK libel lawyer (89 years)
17 Ed Devereaux, Australian actor
17 Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns football quarterback during the 1950s (82 years)
16 Gary Stewart, Country music singer (suicide, age 58)
16 Robert Stanfield, Canadian politician
15 Keith Magnuson, former National Hockey League player (car accident, 56 years)
15 George Fisher, U.S. political cartoonist
14 Jeanne Crain, Oscar-nominated actress (78 years)
14 Blas Ople, foreign minister of the Philippines (75 years)
13 Elizabeth Bates, Professor of Psychology at University of California, San Diego (56 years).
13 William V. Roth, Jr, former U.S. Senator, known for Kemp-Roth Tax Cut and Roth IRA.
12 Keiko, orca of Reino Aventura and Free Willy fame (27 years)
12 Heydar Aliyev, former President of Azerbaijan (80 years)
12 Fadwa Toukan, Palestinian poet (86 years)
12 Earl Gillespie, sportscaster, voice of the Milwaukee Braves (81 years)
11 Ahmadou Kourouma, author from Côte d'Ivoire
11 John W. Sidgmore, former head of Worldcom and UUNet
11 Paulos Tzadua, Roman Catholic cardinal from Ethiopia
9 Paul Simon, former U.S. Senator from Illinois (75 years)
8 Rubén González, Cuban pianist, member of the Buena Vista Social Club (84 years)
8 Johnny Bulla, golfer (89 years)
7 Raúl Vale, Venezuelan-Mexican entertainer (59 years)
7 Carl F. H. Henry, American Evangelical theologian, founder of Christianity Today magazine (90 years)
7 Azie Taylor Morton, former Treasurer of the United States (67 years)
6 Jose-Maria Jimenez, professional cyclist (32 years)
6 Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala 1970-74 (85 years)
6 Jerry Tuite, professional wrestler (36 years)
5 Bert Templeton, ice hockey coach (63 years)
3 David Hemmings, actor
2 Ignaz Kiechle, German politician, minister for agriculture 1983-93
1 Clark Kerr, first Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, 1952-58, and President of the University of California, 1958-67 (92 years)

November 2003

30 Barber B. Conable, New York Congressman, president of the World Bank from 1986-1991 (81 years)
30 Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim the English Channel (97 years)
28 Harold von Braunhut, American, creator of Amazing Sea Monkeys and Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations member
27 Talal al-Rasheed, Saudi poet (41 years?)
27 Will Quadflieg, German actor
26 Stefan Wul, French sf writer (81 years)
26 Soulja Slim, rapper
26 Anton Burg, USC chemistry professor (99 years)
26 William H. Waldren, archaeologist (79 years)
24 Hugh Kenner, literary critic (80 years)
24 Warren Spahn, baseball pitcher (82 years)
24 Floquet de Neu or Copito de Nieve ("Snowflake"), rare albino gorilla, star of the Barcelona zoo [1]
24 Uma Devi, popularly known as Tuntun, Indian actress (80 years)
21 Bohumil Simon, one of the leaders of the Prague Spring (83 years)
20 David Dacko, first president of the Central African Republic (73 years)
20 Robert Addie, British actor (43 years)
20 Eugene Kleiner, entrepreneur and co-founder of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers venture capital firm (80 years)
20 Roger Short, British diplomat, consul-general in Istanbul (58 years)
20 Kerem Yilmazer, Turkish actor (58 years)
19 Ken Brett, former Major League Baseball player, brother of George Brett. (55 years)
18 Michael Kamen, composer
17 Arthur Conley, soul singer
17 Don Gibson, singer-songwriter
16 Bettina Goislard, UNHCR relief worker (29 years)
16 Fukuda, Arihiro, Japanese associate professor and author of Sovereignty and the Sword (39 years)
15 Ray Lewis, first Canadian-born black Olympic medalist
15 Mohamed Choukri, writer
15 Laurence Tisch, billionaire, head of Loews Corporation and CBS television network
15 Dorothy Loudon, actress
14 Gene Anthony Ray, actor and dancer
13 Kellie Waymire, actress (35 years)
13 Mitoyo Kawate, oldest person in the world (114 years)
12 Tony Thompson, drummer for The Power Station
12 Penny Singleton, actress (95 years)
12 David Silvetti, Mexican bullfighter, committed suicide
12 Jonathan Brandis, actor, reportedly suicide (27 years)
10 Canaan Banana, first president of independent Zimbabwe (67 years)
10 Irv "Kup" Kupcinet, columnist, television personality (91 years)
9 Gordon Onslow Ford, surrealist painter (90 years)
9 Mario Merz, Italian artist
9 Art Carney, The Honeymooners actor (85 years)
9 Buddy Arnold, jazz saxophonist
8 Hava Rexha, oldest woman in Albania, maybe in the world (123 years?)
8 C. Z. Guest, socialite (83 years)
6 Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (41 years)
6 Crash Holly, professional wrestler (32 years)
6 Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer, triple Olympic champion (84 years)
5 Bobby Hatfield, half of the singing duet, the Righteous Brothers (63 years)
5 Dernell Stenson, Cincinnati Reds baseball player
4 Angel Chingre, Ecuadorian campesino leader, human rights activist
4 Mitch Rosario, Puerto Rican hair stylist who worked with Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio among others.
4 Ken Gampu, South African actor
4 Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (80 years)
3 Rasul Gamzatov, Avarian/Soviet/Russian poet, called the "People's poet of Dagestan" (80 years)
2 Frederic Vester, German cybernetician (77 years)

October 2003

31 Mohamed Yazid, Algerian politician, 80 years old
31 Richard Neustadt, political scholar and historian
31 Kamato Hongo, oldest person in world at 116
30 Daphne Hardy Henrion, British sculptor, 86 years old
30 Franco Corelli, operatic tenor, 82 years old
29 Hal Clement, author, 81 years
28 Behram Kursunoglu, Turkish physicist, 81 years old
27 Rod Roddy, booth announcer on The Price is Right
26 Elem Klimov, Russian director
24 Rosie Nix Adams, daughter of June Carter Cash
23 Tony Capstick, British actor, comedian, musician and broadcaster
23 Soong May-ling, widow of the Nationalist Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek, 106 years
21 Louise Day Hicks, US politician
21 Fred Berry, American actor, "Rerun" on the show What's Happening
21 Elliott Smith, US musician, 34 years
21 Luis A. Ferré, former governor of Puerto Rico, 99 years
20 Jack Elam, American actor, 84 years
19 Margaret Murie, "Mother of the Modern Conservationist Movement" 101 years
19 Faith Fancher, television journalist and breast cancer awareness activist, 53 years
19 Michael Hegstrand, "Road Warrior Hawk", 46 years
19 Alija Izetbegovic, former President of Bosnia Herzegovina
18 Preston Smith, former governor of Texas
18 Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Spanish writer
16 Stu Hart, patriarch of wrestling family, 88 years
16 László Papp, Hungarian boxer
16 Avni Arbas, Turkish artist
14 Ben Metcalfe, Greenpeace activist and co-founder
13 Bertram Brockhouse, Nobel Prize-winning Canadian physicist [1]
13 Joan B. Kroc, philanthropist, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc
12 Willie Shoemaker, Hall of Fame jockey
12 Jim Cairns, Australian politician
11 Fredy Knie, Sr, Swiss circus director
10 Eugene Istomin, American pianist
9 Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American academic and author
7 Frank Roe, former President of the Irish Circuit Court
7 Eleanor Lambert, U.S fashion pioneer
7 Izzy Asper, Canadian press baron [1]
7 Felicitas Corrigan, Benedictine nun
6 Mildred O'Neill, widow of former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill
5 Neil Postman, media critic
5 Elena Slough, oldest American, aged 114
5 Denis Quilley, British actor
5 Dan Snyder, Atlanta Thrashers hockey player
4 Sid McMath, former governor of Arkansas
4 James Forlong, former British reporter for Sky News, who was accused of faking a news report during the invasion of Iraq, in an apparent suicide
4 Bill Cayton, American boxing manager, owner of (reportedly) largest fight video collection in the world, former manager of Edwin Rosario and Mike Tyson
3 William Steig, American cartoonist and children's author; creator of Shrek
2 John T. Dunlop, briefly Secretary of Labor under Gerald R. Ford
2 Gunther Philipp, Austrian actor

September 2003

30 Gilbert Ortega, jewelry tycoon, country singer
30 Robert Kardashian, criminal defense lawyer
28 Yukichi Chuganji, 114 years.
28 Elia Kazan, director
28 Althea Gibson, tennis player
27 Donald O'Connor, entertainer, actor
26 Robert Palmer, singer.
25 George Plimpton, author, editor.
25 Franco Modigliani, Nobel Prize-winning economist
25 Aquila al-Hashimi, Iraqi politician, member of the Governing Council
24 Derek Prince, author, biblical scholar and spiritual patriarch, 88 years
24 Tomás MacGabhann Irish Trade Unionist and Irish language activist
24 Edward Said, Palestinian scholar
22 Hugo Young, British political commentator
22 Gordon Jump, American actor.
22 Johan Stekelenburg, Dutch union leader and politician.
21 Robert H. Lochner, John F. Kennedy's interpreter
20 Lord Williams of Mostyn, British Cabinet minister, Leader of the House of Lords.
20 Liam Tobin, longtime Árd Rúnaí Roinn na Gaeltachta (Secretary to the Irish Department of the Gaeltacht) and Irish language campaigner
19 Slim Dusty, Australian country music singer
16 Erich Hallhuber, Bavarian actor.
16 Sheb Wooley, actor, singer of 1958 pop hit Purple People Eater
16 Tommy Rawson, boxer, referee
15 Jack Brymer, British clarinettist.
15 Yetunde Price, sister of American tennis-players Venus and Serena Williams
13 Frank O'Bannon, Governor of Indiana
12 Johnny Cash, American country singer
11 Ben Bril, Dutch boxer
11 John Ritter, American actor, played Jack Tripper on Three's Company
11 Anna Lindh, Swedish foreign minister
10 Harry Goz, cartoon voice actor.
9 Larry Hovis, actor, played Carter on "Hogan's Heroes"
9 Edward Teller, American physicist, "Father of the H-Bomb"
8 Leni Riefenstahl, German filmmaker
8 Jaclyn Linetsky, Canadian voice actor, provided voice of cartoon character Caillou
7 Warren Zevon, singer and songwriter
7 The Great Antonio, strongman and eccentric
6 Wilbur Snapp, stadium organist kicked out of game by umpire for playing Three Blind Mice
5 Gisele MacKenzie, singer
4 Tibor Varga, violinist, conductor and pedagogue
3 Paul Hill, executed for two anti-abortion murders
1 Sir Terry Frost, British artist

August 2003

30 Steve Eisner, boxing promoter
30 Charles Bronson, actor
30 Donald Davidson (philosopher)
29 Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim
28 Patrick William Feeney, United States college basketball player
28 Barry Voorhies, Arena football player
27 Pierre Poujade, French politician
26 Jim Wacker, American football college coach
24 Sir Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer
24 Mal Colston, Australian politician
23 John Geoghan, defrocked pedophile priest
23 Bobby Bonds, former baseball pro and father of San Francisco Giants ballplayer Barry Bonds
23 Michael Kijana Wamalwa, Kenyan Vice-President
23 Imperio Argentina, Spanish singer and actress
23 Jack Dyer, Australian Football legend.
22 Arnold Gerschwiler, figure skating trainer in Britain.
21 Wesley Willis, American schizophrenic musician and artist
20 António Pedro Ferreira, Portugal President of Portuguese Custom Broker Association
19 Hermann Withalm, Austrian politician
19 Carlos Roberto Reina, former president of Honduras
19 Sérgio Vieira de Mello, United Nations Special Representative to Iraq
16 Idi Amin, former dictator of Uganda.
16 Connie Douglas Reeves, centenarian member of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
15 Bishop Donal Lamont, Irish born Rhodesian Catholic bishop and Nobel Peace Prize nominee expelled by Ian Smith's apartheid regime in the 1970s.
13 Helmut Rahn, German soccer player, World Champion 1954.
13 Ed Townsend, songwriter and producer.
11 Kieran Kelly, Irish jump jockey after a racing accident.
11 Diana Mitford, widow of British Fascist leader Oswald Mosley.
11 Herb Brooks, coach of 1980 Miracle on Ice US Hockey team.
10 Carmita Jimenez, Puerto Rican singer.
9 Gregory Hines, actor, dancer.
9 Ray Harford, football manager.
5 Tite Curet Alonso, well known Puerto Rican music composer, critic, newspaper writer.
5 Lee Muñoz, former first son of Puerto Rico (son of Luis Muñoz Marín), foundation leader.
4 Metropolitan Antony, Metropolitan of SUROZH.
4 Chung Mong-hun, Korean businessman.
2 Don Estelle, actor who played 'Lofty' in the BBC's It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
2 Mike Levey, famous infomercial host.
1 Guy Thys, former Belgian national football coach.
1 Marie Trintignant, French actress and daughter of actor Jean-Louis Trintignant.

July 2003

30 Sam Phillips, record producer
29 Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean rebel leader
28 Erik Braunn, Iron Butterfly Guitarist
28 Lady Valerie Goulding, former Irish Senator and campaigner for the disabled
27 Bob Hope, comedian
27 Vance Hartke, former U.S. Senator from Indiana
26 Ludwig Bölkow, airplane engineer
25 John Schlesinger, director
24 Colin R. McMillan, nominee for United States Secretary of the Navy
23 Othniel Askew, killer of James E. Davis
23 James E. Davis, New York City councilman
22 Uday Hussein son of Saddam Hussein
22 Qusay Hussein son of Saddam Hussein
21 Walter M. "Matt" Jefferies, art director for the original Star Trek series and designer of the Starship Enterprise.
21 John Davies, president of the New Zealand Olympic Committee
20 Nicolas Freeling, crime writer
20 Lauri Aus, Estonian pro cyclist
19 Pierre Graber, former member of the Swiss Federal Council (1970-1978)
19 Bill Bright, Evangelist.
18 Brad Rone, boxer, became famous after death.
18 Jane Barbe, phone company voiceover
17 Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist and champion of the music of Bach.
17 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
17 Eamonn Leahy, 46 year old top Irish barrister and husband of government Chief Whip Mary Hanafin
16 Captain James Kelly, former Irish Army officer cleared of attempting to import arms for the IRA in the Arms Trial in 1970
16 Carol Shields, Canadian author
16 Celia Cruz, Cuban legendary salsa singer
14 Tex Schramm, former Dallas Cowboys president and general manager
14 André Claveau, French singer.
13 Compay Segundo, Cuban musician and star of the Buena Vista Social Club
12 Benny Carter, American jazz pioneer.
11 Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-born Canadian journalist
11 Ken Whyld, British chess author
10 Lord Shawcross, Britain's chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials.
9 Winston Graham, author of Poldark and Marnie
8 Dr. William Boyd, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
8 Ladan and Laleh Bijani, Iranian conjoined twins
7 Izhak Graziani, conductor
6 Buddy Ebsen, American actor
5 Roman Lyashenko, New York Rangers hockey player
5 Bebu Silvetti, popular hispanic musician, songwriter
5 Isabelle, Countess of Paris, widow of Henri, Count of Paris, pretender to the French throne
4 Larry Burkett, founder of Christian Financial Concepts
4 Barry White, smooth soul singer
3 Gaetano Alibrandi, papal diplomat and Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Ireland
3 Naheeb Halabi, chairman of Pan Am from 1969 to 1972, father of Queen Noor
1 Wesley Mouzon, former professional boxer, 76 years old, beat Bob Montgomery
1 Herbie Mann, crossover jazz and bossa nova flutist
1 N!xau, Namibian actor

June 2003

30 Robert McCloskey, children's book writer and illustrator
30 Buddy Hackett, comic
29 Katharine Hepburn, actress
28 Wim Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete
27 Dáithí P. Hanly, former Dublin city architect and conservationist
26 Strom Thurmond, United States Senator
26 Marc-Vivien Foe, footballer
26 Sir Denis Thatcher Bt, husband to Baroness Thatcher, former UK Prime Minister
25 Lester Maddox, segregationist Governor of the State of Georgia
24 Maynard Jackson,former Mayor of Atlanta, GA first black mayor of a major southern U.S. city
24 Leon Uris, author
24 Renato Cayetano, Philippine senator
23 Vasil Bykau, Belarusian writer
22 Alexander Vetoux, Ukranian boxing prospect. Was 22-1 with 18 knockouts as a professional; body found in river on June 27th.
21 Roger Neilson, legendary Canadian hockey coach
20 Bob Stump, Arizona Congressman
19 Laura Sadler, British television actress, after falling 40 feet from a building
18 Larry Doby, baseball Hall of Famer, second Black man to play in the MLB
15 Hume Cronyn, actor
15 William Wentworth, Australian politician, first Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
12 Gregory Peck, actor
11 David Brinkley, broadcast journalist
10 Donald Regan, Chief of Staff and Treasury Secretary during the Reagan administration
10 Phil Williams, highly-respected Welsh politician, in a Cardiff massage parlour
7 Tony McAuley BBC Northern Ireland broadcaster & film-maker associated with traditional Irish music and arts
7 Trevor Goddard, actor
5 Meir Vilner, last surviving signatory to Israel's declaration of independence and former chairman of the Communist Party of Israel
5 Jürgen Möllemann, former German minister
3 Fabrice Salanson, a french pro-cyclist
2 Fred Blassie, 85, former professional wrestler
2 Richard Cusack, 77, ad executive turned actor/screenwriter, father of actors John Cusack and Joan Cusack, dies of pancreatic cancer in Evanston, Illinois
2 Jack Frazier, former Saddam Hussein hostage

May 2003

30 Mickie Most, music producer, produced acts such as Lulu, Donovan, The Animals, Hot Chocolate, Suzi Quatro and Kim Wilde
28 Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
28 Martha Scott, actress
28 Oleg Makarov, cosmonaut
27 Luciano Berio, composer
26 Kathleen Winsor, author of Forever Amber
21 Elfren Bernier, Puerto Rican Olympic athlete and lawyer
21 Frank D. White, Former governor of Arkansas
18 Anna Santisteban, legendary figure in the Miss Universe contests
18 Barb Tarbox, Canadian anti-smoking activist
16 Mal Florence, longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times
16 William E. Day, broadcaster and preservationist, early proponent of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act
16 Mark McCormack, sports business pioneer, founder of IMG
15 Rik Van Steenbergen, Belgian cyclist
15 George Francis, British suspected mobster
15 June Carter Cash, musician, singer, wife of Johnny Cash
15 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"
14 Robert Stack, Hollywood actor, host of Unsolved Mysteries, 84 years old
14 Dame Wendy Hiller, British actress (August 15, 1912 - May 14, 2003)
14 Dave DeBusschere, NBA basketball player
13 John Savage, former Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada
12 Sadruddin Aga Khan, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1965 - 1977
11 Noel Redding, former bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience
10 Milan Vukcevich, chemist and chess problem composer
9 Russell B. Long, former U.S. Senator
6 Evelio Lopez Falcon, alleged Mexican drug trafficker
6 David Woodley, former quarterback of the Miami Dolphins, who started in Super Bowl XVII
5 Walter Sisulu, ANC activist
3 Suzy Parker, actress; top model of the 1950s
1 Miss Elizabeth, WWE wrestling figure

April 2003

30 Peter 'Possum' Bourne, 3 Times Asia-Pacific Rally Champion
30 Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist
29 Etti Plesch, who married three counts, an American heir, and a Hungarian Lawyer
27 Elaine Steinbeck, former actress; widow of author John Steinbeck
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
26 Caroline Newhouse, arts patron; widow of Theodore Newhouse
26 Max Nicholson, environmentalist
26 Peter Stone, Oscar-and-(3-time)Tony-winning writer
25 Hidefumi Minorikawa, a Diet of Japan member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party
23 Bernard Katz biophysicist, Nobel Prize winner
23 James H. Critchfield, CIA Cold Warrior
22 Martha Griffiths, Congresswoman, women's rights proponent
21 Rocco Theunissen, Rally Driver
21 Nina Simone, jazz singer, "High Priestess of Soul"
19 Conrad Leonard (aged 104), British musican and composer
19 Norberto Longo, Telemundo sportscaster
18 Daijiro Kato, Japanese 500cc MotoGP Star, former 250cc Champion
18 Edgar F. Codd, computer pioneer
17 Earl King, R&B musician/songwriter
17 Paul Getty, philanthropist
17 Robert Atkins, diet doctor
16 Sarah Marple-Cantrell, a student
10 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
12 Cecil H. Green (aged 102), Texas Instruments founder
10 Little Eva (Eva Narcissus Boyd), who sang the 1962 hit The Loco-Motion
8 Anita Borg, computer scientist
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)
6 Babatunde Olatunji, African drummer, recorded Drums of Passion
6 Lance Corporal Ian Keith 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
6 David Bloom, an NBC reporter, died from a pulmonary embolism while embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division covering the war in Iraq
5 Seymour Lubetzky (aged 104), cataloging theorist and librarian
4 Resortes, legendary Mexican comedian, real name Adalberto Martinez Chavez
2 Michael Wayne, film producer; eldest son of John Wayne
2 Edwin Starr, soul singer
2 Pat Leavy, Irish actress who played Hannah Finnegan in the Radio Telifís Éireann soap opera Fair City, died after being taken ill on set
2 Edward Keating, founder of Ramparts magazine
1 Leslie Cheung, actor and singer, one of the superstars in Hong Kong during late 1980s, committed suicide

March 2003

31 H.S.M. Coxeter, noted geometer and author of many books, passed away at age 96
31 Michael Jeter, actor, friend, as "The Other Mr. Noodle" to Sesame Street's Elmo
30 Valentin Pavlov, former prime minister of the Soviet Union
30 Gaby Rado, UK journalist
29 Dr. Carlo Urbani, WHO doctor, discoverer of SARS, of which he died
26 Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former Senator from New York
24 Hans Hermann Groër, former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vienna (1986 - 1995) who resigned in 1995 after allegations of sexually abusing boys
24 Philip Yordan, screenwriter; won Oscar for "Broken Lance"
22 Terry Lloyd, reporter
20 Sailor Art Thomas, professional wrestler
18 Adam Osborne, computer pioneer
16 Major Ronald Ferguson, father of UK royal divorcee Sarah, Duchess of York, aged 71 [1]
16 Rachel Corrie, International Solidarity Movement activist, crushed to death by an Israeli armoured bulldozer
15 Dame Thora Hird, veteran British actress
12 Howard Fast, novelist
12 Lynne Thigpen, actor, co-star of CBS television show "The District", and star of PBS show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego
12 Harry The Kid Matthews boxer, world title challenger in three divisions
12 Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister of Serbia (assassinated)
10 Bernard Dowiyogo, President of Nauru
10 Barry Sheene, 2 Times 500cc MotoGP Champion
9 Stan Brakhage, filmmaker
9 F. William Sunderman (aged 104), physician and scientist
8 Adam Faith, British singer and actor
8 Karen Morley, blonde star of 1930s movies; ex-wife of Charles Vidor
6 John Sanford, author
3 Horst Buchholz, German actor
2 Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, Master of the Queen's Music
2 Hank Ballard, singer, composer, famous for his hit "The Twist"

February 2003

28 Roger Needham, computer pioneer
28 Fidel Sanchez Hernandez, former President of El Salvador
28 Chris Brasher, athlete
27 Fred Rogers, host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
25 Alberto Sordi, Italian comedy film legend
25 Tom O'Higgins, former Irish Chief Justice & twice defeated Irish presidential candidate
23 Howie Epstein, former Bass player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
22 Jesica Santillan, heart and lung patient whose wrong transplant made headlines
22 Daniel Taradash, former president of AMPAS; Oscar-winning screenwriter of "From Here to Eternity"
20 Ty Longley, Guitarist for the heavy metal band Great White
20 Harry Jacunski, former NFL player, Green Bay Packers
20 Orville Lothrop Freeman, former Governor of Minnesota and Secretary of Agriculture for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
19 Johnny PayCheck, country music singer
18 Jack Brodsky, movie producer and publicist
17 Steve Bechler, baseball pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
14 Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal
14 Johnny Longden, jockey
13 Kid Gavilan, world boxing champion and hall of famer
13 Stacy Keach Sr, character actor; father of actors Stacy and James Keach
13 Walt Rostow, political advisor
10 Curt Hennig, professional wrestler
10 Clark MacGregor, former United States Congressman
10 Al Ruffo, former mayor of San Jose, California who helped form the San Francisco 49ers football team in 1946
10 Ron Ziegler former press secetary for Richard Nixon during the Watergate Scandal
9 Vera Hruba Ralston, star of Ice Capades and Republic Pictures B-movies of the 1940s
9 Kerri Yascheshyn Canadian cancer patient whose friendship with Madonna made headlines
7 John Reading, Mayor of Oakland, California from 1966 to 1977 who supported the building of the Oakland Coliseum
6 Robert St. John (aged 100) globetrotting reporter and author
2 Dr. Harold S. Ginsberg, microbiologist
2 Lou Harrison, Americann composer, noted for his microtonal works
1 Astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia
1 Mongo Santamaria, percussionist, band leader, Latin jazz musician

January 2003

29 Frank Moss Former Utah Senator
29 Peter Shaw, producer; husband of actress Angela Lansbury
26 Lord Younger, (George Younger) British politician, Secretary of State for Scotland between 1979 and 1986
26 Lord Dacre (Hugh Trevor-Roper), British historian, authenticator of the hoaxed Hitler Diaries
26 Valeriy Brumel, track and field athlete
25 Robert Rockwell, actor; Philip Boynton on TV's "Our Miss Brooks"
24 Gianni Agnelli, Italian entrepreneur and president of Fiat
23 Nell Carter, singer, actress
23 Aodhagán Brioscú, last surviving founder of Irish cultural organisation Gael Linn
22 Bill Mauldin, World War II cartoonist
21 Tony O'Malley, Irish artist and painter
21 Seán Malone, retired university professor and pioneer of biological psychiatry in the Republic of Ireland
20 Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player
20 Al Hirschfeld, caricaturist
19 The Iran Sheik, professional wrestler
19 Françoise Giroud, French writer and politician
18 Richard Crenna, actor
15 Gladys Kamakakuokalani Ainoa Brandt, a pioneering Hawaiian educator, fought for native Hawaiian rights
15 Doris Fisher, singer & songwriter
13 Norman Panama, screenwriter and director
12 Maurice Gibb, of the Bee Gees
12 Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri, former dictator of Argentina
12 Estelle Blanc, widow of cartoon voice Mel Blanc
12 Koloman Sokol (aged 100), Slovak artist
11 Richard Simmons, actor; TV's "Sgt Preston of the Yukon"
11 Anthony Havelock-Allan, British screenwriter
11 Mickey Finn, of T. Rex
11 Maurice Pialat, French movie director
8 Ron Goodwin, British film music composer and conductor
6 Lila Mayoral, former first lady of Puerto Rico, wife of Rafael Hernandez Colon
5 Roy Jenkins, British Labour MP and co-founder, first leader of, then Peer for, the Social Democratic Party
4 Conrad Hall, Hollywood cinematographer, a two-time Academy Award-winner
3 Sid Gillman, American football coach
2 Sydney Omarr, astrologer, newspaper columnist
2 Bob Chalker, former United States diplomat
1 Joe Foss, politician, fighter pilot, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor

For earlier deaths see 20th century, Deaths in 2002, Deaths in 2001, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, ...