Deaths in July 1989 explained

The following is a list of notable deaths in July 1989.

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

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

July 1989

1

• William Ching, 75, American actor, congestive heart failure.
• Eric Holland, 68, New Zealand politician, member of the New Zealand Parliament.
• Sumant Moolgaokar, 82, Indian industrialist.
• António Morais, 54, Portuguese footballer and manager, car crash.
• Viktor Nekipelov, 60, Soviet Russian poet and writer.
• Louise Varèse, 98, American writer, editor and translator of French literature.

2

• Brendan Crinion, 65, Irish Fianna Fáil politician.
• Andrei Gromyko, 79, Soviet politician and diplomat, Chairman of Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, vascular problem.^[1]
• Hasan Esat Işık, 72–73, Turkish diplomat and politician.
• Jean Leguay, 79, French Nazi, responsible for rounding up Jews for concentration camps, cancer.
• Jean Painlevé, 86, French photographer and filmmaker.
• Franklin J. Schaffner, 69, Japanese-born American film, television and stage director, lung cancer.^[2]
• Wilfrid Sellars, 77, American philosopher.^[3]
• Ben Wright, 74, English radio, film and television actor, complications from heart surgery.

3

• Jim Backus, 76, American actor, best known as Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island, pneumonia.^[4]
• Peter Fox, 68, Canadian politician, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

4

• Jack Haig, English actor, 76, stomach cancer.
• Win Maung, 73, President of the Union of Burma.
• Leyla Mammadbeyova, 79, Azerbaijani aviator.
• Vic Perrin, 73, American radio, film and television actor, cancer.^[5]

5

• Bill Daddio, 73, American NFL football player, coach and scout, heart attack.
• Ernesto Halffter, 84, Spanish composer and conductor.
• Sirarpie Der Nersessian, 92, Armenian art historian.
• Berthold Wolpe, 83, German calligrapher, typographer, type designer, book designer and illustrator.

6

• Jean Bouise, 60, French actor.
• C. A. Dharmapala, 81, Sri Lankan politician.
• János Kádár, 77, Hungarian politician, General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, cancer.
• John Maguire, 84, American Roman Catholic clergyman.
• William F. Tompkins, 76, American politician, member of the New Jersey General Assembly, heart attack.

7

• Moshe Kol, 78, Israeli politician.

8

• August Haußleiter, 84, German politician and journalist.

9

• Andrex, 82, French film actor.
• Piet Lieftinck, 86, Dutch politician, member of the House of Representatives and Senate.

10

• Mel Blanc, 81, American voice actor and radio personality, complications of emphysema and obstructive pulmonary disease.^[6]
• Jean-Michel Charlier, 64, Belgian comics writer.
• Roger Richebé, 91, French film director, screenwriter and producer.
• Tommy Trinder, 80, English stage, screen and radio comedian.

11

• Irv Comp, 70, American NFL footballer.
• Laurence Curtis, 83, American attorney and politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives.^[7]
• Horia Macellariu, 95, Romanian admiral, Royal Romanian Navy commander in Second World War.
• Vic Maile, 55–56, British record producer, cancer.
• Laurence Olivier, 82, English actor and director, renal failure.^[8]
• Richard Travis, 76, American actor in films and television.

12

• Sidney Hook, 86, American philosopher.^[9]
• Carlos Puebla, 71, Cuban singer, guitarist and composer.
• Prince Wolfgang of Hesse, 92, Crown Prince of Finland.

13

• A. Amirthalingam, 61, Sri Lankan politician, Leader of the Opposition, assassinated.
• Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, 58, Iranian Kurdish politician, assassinated.
• Davud Monshizadeh, 74, Iranian supporter of Nazism.
• Arnaldo Ochoa, 58–59, Cuban general, executed.
• Pedro Orata, 90, Filipino educator.
• V. Yogeswaran, 55, Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and member of Parliament, assassinated.

14

• Arnold Poepke, 87, German politician.

15

• Josef Bauer, 74, German politician.
• Will Bradley, 77, American trombonist and bandleader.^[10]
• Laurie Cunningham, 33, English international footballer, car crash.
• Nesuhi Ertegun, 71, Turkish-born American record producer, complications of cancer surgery.^[11]
• Artur Sandauer, 75, Polish literary critic, essayist and professor.
• Jack Scholes, 71, Australian-born New Zealand sailor.
• Teiichi Suzuki, 100, Lieutenant General in Imperial Japanese Army, minister of state, heart failure.^[12]
• William F. Temple, 75, British science fiction writer.

16

• John N. Dempsey, 74, Irish-born American politician, Governor of Connecticut, lung cancer.^[13]
• Nicolás Guillén, 87, Cuban poet, journalist, political activist and writer, Parkinson's disease.
• Herbert von Karajan, 81, Austrian conductor, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, heart attack.
• Jack Kasley, 73, American swimmer and Olympian.
• George Rich, 84, American football player and coach.
• Shmuel Rodensky, 86, Russian-born Israeli actor of stage, film and television, heart attack.
• Allan Shaw, 62, English Anglican priest.

17

• Dudley Brooks, 75, American jazz pianist, arranger and composer.
• Paul C, 24, American hip hop pioneer, producer, engineer and mixer, murdered.
• Robert Horton Cameron, 81, American mathematician.
• Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil, 89, French wife of Samuel Beckett.
• Paul Lemerle, 86, French founding president of the International Association of Byzantine Studies.
• Jeff Moores, 83, Australian rugby league footballer.
• Mary Parke, 81, British marine botanist and Fellow of the Royal Society.
• Vuppuluri Ganapathi Sastry, 100, Indian sanskrit scholar, writer and spiritual teacher.

18

• Donnie Moore, 35, American Major League baseballer, gun suicide.
• Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, American actress, murdered.

19

• J. M. Cohen, 86, British translator of European literature into English.
• Xaquín Lorenzo Fernández, 82, Spanish educator.
• Jay Ramsdell, 25, American commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association, plane crash.
• Stan Ramsay, 84, English footballer and manager.
• Kazimierz Sabbat, 76, Prime Minister and President of the Polish government in exile.
• Carl-Heinz Schroth, 87, German actor and film director.
• John Wyhonic, 69, American NFL footballer.

20

• Forrest H. Anderson, 76, American politician, Governor and Attorney General of Montana, self-inflicted gunshot wound.
• Valentine Bargmann, 81, German-born American mathematician and theoretical physicist.^[14]
• Jaime Bartrolí, 71, Spanish tennis player and coach.
• José Augusto Brandão, 78, Brazilian international footballer.
• Juan Carlos Altavista, 60, Argentine actor and comedian, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
• Lauro Corona, 32, Brazilian actor.
• Karen DeWolf, 85, American screenwriter and novelist.
• Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, 79, leader of French Resistance network \"Alliance\", under code name \"Hérisson\".
• Dženan Salković, 44, Bosnian and Yugoslav singer and songwriter, accident while piloting a glider.
• Erwin Sietas, 78, German swimmer and Olympic medalist.
• Mary Treen, 82, American film and television actress, cancer.^[15]
• Yannis Tsarouchis, 79, Greek modernist painter and set designer.
• Harry Worth, 71, English comedy actor, comedian and ventriloquist, spinal cancer.^[16]

21

• Donald Brittain, 61, Canadian film director and producer.
• James M. Collins, 73, American businessman and politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.^[17]
• Danilo Lokar, 97, Slovene physician and expressionist writer.
• William T. Whisner Jr., 65, American pilot in U.S. Air Force, complications from wasp sting.^[18]

22

• Janet Lee Bouvier, 81, American mother of Jacqueline Kennedy, complications from Alzheimer's disease.
• A. Thomas Doyle, 71, American thoroughbred racehorse trainer, Alzheimer's disease.
• Martti Talvela, 54, Finnish operatic bass, heart attack.^[19]
• Frank Thompson, 70, American politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives, esophageal cancer.

23

• Donald Barthelme, 58, American short story writer and novelist, throat cancer.^[20]
• Archduchess Charlotte of Austria, 68, daughter of Emperor Charles I of Austria.
• Hank Greenspun, 79, American publisher of Las Vegas Sun newspaper.^[21]
• Thevis Guruge, Sri Lankan broadcaster with Radio Ceylon, murdered.
• Claude Harmon, 73, American professional golfer, heart failure.^[22]
• Daniel Rhodes, 78, American artist, heart attack^[23]
• Alexander Weygers, 87, Dutch-American sculptor, painter, mechanical and aerospace engineer, and author.

24

• Marco Acerbi, 40, Italian hurdler and Olympian.
• Walter Dick, 83, American international footballer.
• Charlie Gallagher, 51, Irish Gaelic footballer, drowned.
• Ernie \"Sunshine Sammy\" Morrison, 76, American actor, comedian and dancer, cancer.
• Eleanor Raymond, 102, American architect.

25

• Steve Rubell, 45, American entrepreneur, owner of New York City disco Studio 54, hepatitis complicated by AIDS.^[24]

26

• Derek Ball, British sound engineer and Academy Award winner.

27

• Eugénie Henderson, 74, British linguist and academic.
• Warren Low, 83, American film editor.
• Walter Scott, 89, Australian rules footballer.
• Dolf Sternberger, 81, German philosopher and political scientist.

28

• B. V. Bowden, 79, English scientist.
• Jeff Richards, 64, American actor, acute respiratory failure.
• Fu Zhong, 89, Chinese general in the People's Liberation Army.

29

• Osvaldo Brandão, 72, Brazilian footballer and coach.
• Joe Littlejohn, 81, American stock car racing driver, heart attack.
• Rudy Zamora, 79, Mexican-American animator.

30

• Lily Broberg, 65, Danish stage and film actress.
• Muhammad Dilawar Khanji, 71, Pakistani politician, Governor of Sindh, lung cancer.
• Lane Frost, 25, American professional rodeo cowboy, killed by bull.
• Amadeo Labarta, 84, Spanish footballer and Olympian.

31

• Premakeerthi de Alwis, 42, Sri Lankan radio and television broadcaster and lyricist, murdered.
• Eddie Gannon, 78, Irish footballer.
• Michael Harrington, 61, American author, political activist and radio commentator, esophageal cancer.^[25]
• Bull Moose Jackson, 70, American rhythm-and-blues singer and saxophonist, lung cancer.
• Geronima Pecson, 92, Filipina educator and suffragette, first woman senator of the Philippines.
• George Augustus Vaughn Jr., 92, American fighter ace in World War I, brain tumour.
• Zhou Yang, 80, Chinese literary theorist, translator and Marxist.

Unknown date

• Hui Yuyu, 79–80, Chinese politician.

Notes and References

1. News: Bill Keller, Special To the New York Times . Gromyko, 79, Soviet Voice, Dies of Stroke . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 4 July 1989 . 1 1.
2. News: Thomas Morgan . Franklin J. Schaffner Dies at 69; An Oscar-Winning Film Director . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 3 July 1989 . 1 11.
3. News: Wilfrid S. Sellars, Professor, 77 . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 6 July 1989 . D 19.
4. News: Glenn Collins . Jim Backus, 76, Character Actor Best Known as Mr. Magoo, Dies . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 4 July 1989 . 1 9.
5. News: Vic Perrin, 73, Actor And Announcer, Dies . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 8 July 1989 . 1 29.
6. News: Peter B. Flint . Mel Blanc, Who Provided Voices For 3,000 Cartoons, Is Dead at 81 . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 11 July 1989 . A 16.
7. News: Laurence Curtis, 95, Former House Member . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 13 July 1989 . A 21.
8. News: Mel Gussow . Mel Gussow . Olivier Is Dead After 6-Decade Acting Career . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 12 July 1989 . A 1.
9. News: Richard Bernstein . Richard Bernstein (journalist). Friends and Colleagues Remember Sidney Hook . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 26 September 1989 . B 20.
10. News: Will Bradley, 78, Dies; Wrote Boogie-Woogie . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 19 July 1989 . A 17.
11. News: Susan Heller Anderson . Nesuhi Ertegun, a Top Record Producer, Dies at 71 . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 16 July 1989 . 1 26.
12. News: Teiichi Suzuki, 100; A Last War Criminal . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 16 July 1989 . 1 26.
13. News: Kirk Johnson, Special To the New York Times . Former Gov. John Dempsey, 74; Led Connecticut During the 60's . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 17 July 1989 . B 6.
14. News: Valentine Bargmann, 81, Einstein Assistant . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 25 July 1989 . B 5.
15. News: Mary Treen, Actress, 82 . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 22 July 1989 . 1 10.
16. News: Harry Worth, Comedian, 71 . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 22 July 1989 . 1 10.
17. News: Alfonso A. Narvaez . James Collins, Conservative, 73; Texan Was in Congress 14 Years . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 22 July 1989 . 1 10.
18. News: Joseph P. Fried . William T. Whisner Jr., 65, Pilot; Was U.S. Fighter Ace in 2 Wars . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 25 July 1989 . B 5.
19. News: Allan Kozinn . Allan Kozinn . Martti Talvela, 54, Imposing Bass Regarded as Peerless in 'Godunov' . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 24 July 1989 . D 11.
20. News: Herbert Mitgang . Herbert Mitgang . Donald Barthelme Is Dead at 58; A Short-Story Writer and Novelist . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 24 July 1989 . D 11.
21. News: Ari L. Goldman . Ari L. Goldman . Hank Greenspun, 79, Publisher . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 24 July 1989 . D 11.
22. News: Claude Harmon Is Dead at 73; Taught Golf to Four Presidents . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 25 July 1989 . B 5.
23. News: Daniel Rhodes, 78, Ceramic Sculptor, Dies . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 28 July 1989 . A 10.
24. News: Peter B. Flint . Steve Rubell, Studio 54's Creator And a'Pasha of Disco,' Dies at 45 . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 27 July 1989 . A 19.
25. News: Herbert Mitgang . Herbert Mitgang . Michael Harrington, Socialist and Author, Is Dead . subscription . 23 March 2024 . . 2 August 1989 . D 23.