Obituaries of the Seventies, 1972

This is a list of people who died during 1972. Exact dates are listed when known.

We also have similar pages for the 80s and 90s.

January 01Jane Morgan, actress (Mrs Margaret Davis-Our Miss Brooks), dies at 91
January 01Kenneth Patchen, US poet/writer (Cloth of Tempest), dies at 60
January 01Maurice A Chevalier, French actor (Can Can, Gigi), dies at 83
January 03Frans Masereel, Flem WWII resistance fighter (Le Soleil), dies at 82
January 04Carl-Olof Anderberg, composer, dies at 57
January 07Clarence Passailaigue, cricketer (487 for 6th wkt for Jamaica), dies
January 07John Berryman, US poet (Imaginary Jew), dies
January 08Kenneth Patchen, US writer (See You in the Morning), dies at 60
January 09Ted Shawn, US dancer, dies at 80
January 10Al Goodman, Russian/US orch leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 81
January 10Georg Rendl, Austriam miner/beekeeper (Satan on Earth), dies at 68
January 10Sverre Jordan, composer, dies at 82
January 12Padraic Colum, Irish poet/writer/founder (Irish Review), dies at 90
January 14Frederik IX, [Christiaan FFMKW], king of Denmark (1947-72), dies at 72
January 16David Seville, singer (Alvin & Chipmunks), dies at 52
January 17Rochelle Hudson, actress (That's My Boy), dies at 55
January 18Rudolf Wittelsbach, composer, dies at 69
January 24Jerome Cowan, actor (Mr Dithers-Blondie), dies at 74
January 27Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer (He Got the Whole World), dies at 60
January 27Richard Courant, German/US mathematician, dies at 84
January 28Adriaan B "Jaap" Wagemaker, Dutch sculptor, dies at 66
January 30Karel Boleslav Jirak, composer, dies at 81
January 31Bir Bikram Shah Deva Mahendra, king of Nepal (1955-72), dies at 51
January 31Howard Barlow, conductor (Voice of Firestone), dies at 79
January 31Istvan Szelenyi, composer, dies at 67
February 02Jessie Royce Landis, actress (North by Northwest), dies at 67
February 03John Litel, actor (Big Boss, Crime Doctor, My Buddy), dies at 79
February 05Marianne Moore, US poetess (Pulitzer 1951), dies at 84
February 06Julian H Steward, US anthropologist (South American), dies at 70
February 11Jan Wils, architect (Olympian Stadium, Amsterdam), dies at 80
February 14Lambertus "Bertus" van Lyre, composer/conductor (Dike), dies at 65
February 15Edgar P Snow, US author/journalist (Battle for Asia), dies at 66
February 15Jef [Josephus CF] Last, Dutch poet/Indonesian politician, dies at 73
February 17Gavril Nikolayevich Popov, composer, dies at 67
February 17Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, founder (SF Zen Center), « ashes buried
February 20Herbert Menges, composer, dies at 69
February 20Walter Winchell, writer/actor (Dondi, Love & Hisses), dies at 74
February 22Walter Sande, actor (Adventures of Tugboat Annie), dies at 65
February 23Michael Taube, composer, dies at 81
February 26Tom Manders, Dutch cabaret artist (Dorus), dies at 50
February 28Victor Barna, table tennis champ, dies
March 01Victor Babin, composer, dies at 63
March 02Bill Lawrence, news anchor (ABC), dies at 56
March 05Nils Bjorkander, composer, dies at 78
March 11Fredric [William] Brown, sci-fi author (Martians Go Home), dies at 65
March 16Harold "Pie" Traynor, hall of fame 3rd baseman (Pirates), dies at 72
March 17Manny Martindale, cricketer (10 Tests for WI, 34 wickets), dies
March 20Aad de Haas, Dutch religious painter/graphic artist, dies at 51
March 20Jan Engelman, Dutch poet/art critic (At the Front), dies at 71
March 20Marilyn Maxwell, actress (Grace-Bus Stop), dies at 50
March 27Maurits C Escher, Dutch lithograph carver (Praedestinatie), dies at 73
March 29J Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank, industrialist/film magnate
March 30Gabriel Heather, US news anchor, dies at 81
March 30Peter Whitney, actor (Rough Riders), dies at 55
April 02Gil Hodges, manager (NY Mets), dies of heart attack at 57
April 03Ferde Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofe, composer, dies at 80
April 03Ferde Grof‚, US composer (Grand Canyon Suite), dies at 80
April 04Adam Clayton Powell Jr, (Rep-D-NY), dies at 63
April 04John A H J S Bruins Slot, co-founder/editor in chief (illegal), dies
April 04Stefan Wolpe, German composer (Zeus & Elidco), dies at 69
April 05Brian Donlevy, actor (Steve-Dangerous Assignment), dies at 73
April 05Isabel Jewell, dies at 62
April 06Heinrich Lbke, West Germany president (1959-69), dies at 77
April 07"Crazy" Joe Gallo, mobster, killed at his 43rd birthday party
April 07Abeid Karume, Tanzanian sheik/president, murdered
April 07Victor Wong, actor (Mission to Moscow, King Kong) dies at 65
April 12C W Ceram, [Kurt Marek], German/US writer (1st American), dies at 57
April 12Henri Potiron, composer, dies at 89
April 15Otto Brenner, German trade union leader, dies at 64
April 16Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese author (Nobel 1968), dies at 72
April 19Adolf Bach, German philologist/sociologist, dies at 82
April 25George Sanders, actor (Mr Freeze-Batman, Ivanhoe), dies at 65
April 26Margaret A R Bonds, US pianist/composer/arranger, dies at 59
April 27Kwame Nkrumah, president of Ghana, dies at 62
April 27Phil King, rock (Blue Oyster Cult), shot in head at 24 while gambling
April 29Ntare V, deposed King of Burundi, killed in an abortive coup
April 30Gia Scala, actress (Garment Jungle, I Aim at the Stars), dies at 38
April 30Ntare V, king of Burundi, murdered
May 01Fernand Ansseau, Belgian operator (Orfeo), dies at 82
May 02Hugo Hartung, writer, dies at 69
May 02J Edgar Hoover, head of FBI (1924-72)/cross dresser, dies at 77
May 03Bruce Cabot, actor (Diamonds are Forever), dies at 68
May 03Dan Blocker, actor (Hoss-Bonanza), dies at 43
May 03Les Harvey, rocker, dies
May 05Rev Gary David, vocalist, dies at 76
May 13Dan Blocker, actor (Hoss-Bonanza), dies at 41
May 15Nigel Green, actor (Skull, Tobruk, Ipcress File), dies at 47
May 16Maxime Dumoulin, composer, dies at 79
May 18Eero Aukusti Sipila, composer, dies at 53
May 20Cornelis J van der Klauw, Dutch biologist/zoologist, dies at 78
May 20Walter Winchell, columnist/narrator (Untouchables), dies at 75
May 22Margaret Rutherford, English actress (Murder Ahoy, VIP's), dies at 80
May 24Asta Nielsen, actress (Joyless Street), dies at 88
May 24Gavin Muir, actor (Hollister-Betty Hutton Show), dies at 64
May 28Edward VIII, King of Gr Brit/N Ireld/emperor (India 1936), dies at 77
May 30Margaret Ruthven Lang, composer, dies at 104
June 02Franz Philipp, composer, dies at 81
June 04Godfried Devreese, composer, dies at 79
June 08Jimmy Rushing, US blues singer, dies at 68
June 12Edmund Wilson, US writer (To the Finland station), dies at 79
June 12Saul David Alinsky, radical writer (John L Lewis), dies at 63
June 13Clyde L Mcphatter, US singer (Drifters-Without Love), dies at 39
June 20Horst Salomon, writer, dies
June 20Howard Johnson, US restaurant/hotel founder, dies at 75
June 21Seth Bingham, composer, dies at 90
June 23Elton Britt, country singer (Sat Night Jamboree), dies at 54
June 26David Lichine, [Lichtenstein], Russian/US choreographer, dies at 61
July 02Joseph F Smith Jr, leader US mormon chuch, dies at 95
July 03Mississippi Fred McDowell, jazz artist, dies at 68
July 06Brandon De Wilde, actor (Jamie), dies at 30 in a car crash
July 06Sam de Grasse, dies at 97
July 06Vincent Valentine, WI cricket pace bowler (England 1933), dies
July 07Athenagoras, 268th patriarch of Constantinople, dies
July 09Kwame Nkrumah, re-buried in Nkroful Ghana
July 16Giorgio Nataletti, composer, dies at 65
July 16Max Zehnder, composer, dies at 70
July 21Jigme Dori Wangchuck, King of Bhutan, dies
July 22Hugo Kauder, composer, dies at 84
July 22Pavel Borkovek, composer, dies at 78
July 24Bobby Ramirez, drummer (White Trash), killed at 23 in bar brawl
July 28Heal Traubel, US singer (Sieglinde in Walkre, Nightclubs), dies
July 31Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian premier/sect-gen (NATO, 1957-61), dies at 73
August 02Brian Cole, vocalist/bassist (Association), dies of overdose at 29
August 02Paul Goodman, US social critic/writer, dies at 60
August 02Rudolf Ganz, composer, dies at 95
August 05Frederic Tozere, actor (Mr Phillips-Stanley), dies at 71
August 07Joi Lansing, actress (Bob Cummings Show), dies at 44 of cancer
August 09Bill Berns, commentator (Television Screen Magazine), dies at 53
August 09Richard Elsasser, composer, dies at 45
August 11Max Theiler, S Afr/US microbiologist (vaccin-Nobel 1951), dies at 73
August 13George Wiess, General Manager (NY Yankees), dies at 78
August 14Jules Romains, French novelist (Death of Nobody), dies at 86
August 14Oscar Levant, actor (American in Paris, Dance of Life), dies at 65
August 14Pierre Brasseur, French actor (Quai des Brumes), dies at 66
August 15Alf Thorbald Hurum, composer, dies at 89
August 16John Barnes Chance, composer, dies at 39
August 17Raymond Brulez, Flemish author (Schoone slaapster), dies at 76
August 17Wampilow, writer, dies
August 23Balis Dvarionas, composer, dies at 68
August 24Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas, US jazz saxophonist, dies at 59
August 25Juan Carlos Paz, composer, dies at 71
August 25Robert Denzler, composer, dies at 80
August 26Jacques Gans, Dutch author/journalist, dies at 63
August 28William HAF, Engl prince/grandson of George V, dies in accident at 29
August 29Lale [Liselotte H] Anderson, Ger night club performer/singer, dies
August 29Rene Leibowitz, composer, dies at 59
September 01May Aufderheide, composer, dies at 84
September 04Alan Kippax, cricketer (1st-class batting average 67), dies
September 05Josef Romano, Israeli olympian, murdered
September 05Mosje Weinberg, Israeli olympic wrestling coach, murdered
September 07Jacques Pirenne, Belgian historian, dies at 81
September 10Sidney Pegler, cricket leg spinner (leading S Afr prior to WWI), dies
September 12William Boyd, cowboy (Hopalong Cassidy), dies at 77
September 14Kornelis Posthumus, chemist, dies at 70
September 15Ulvi Cemal Erkin, composer, dies at 66
September 17Akim Tamiroff, actor (Hotel Paradisio, Lord Jim), dies at 72
September 19Robert M Casadesus, French pianist/composer (Prix Di‚mer), dies at 73
September 21Henry M de Montherlant, French author (Port Royal), dies at 76
September 22Robert KJE Antonissen, South African literary, dies at 53
September 23Carl Frank, actor (Uncle Gunnar-Mama), dies at 63
September 26Charles J Correll, actor/voice (Calvin & the Colonel), dies at 82
September 27Rory Storm, lead singer (Rory Storm & Hurricane), commits suicide
September 28Maurice Thiriet, composer, dies at 66
October 01Kurt Hiller, writer, dies at 87
October 01Louis Leakey, English anthropologist, dies at 68
October 04Colin Gordon, actor (John-Baron), dies at 61
October 04Louis S B Leakey, archaeologist/anthropologist, dies at 68
October 09Giuseppe Capogrossi, Italian painter, dies at 72
October 09Miriam Hopkins, actress (Carrie, Barbary Coast), dies at 69
October 14Joseph Kaminski, composer, dies at 68
October 16Leo G Carroll, actor (Topper, Man From Uncle), dies at 80
October 18Ken Wishart, cricketer (WI opening batsman in one Test 1935), dies
October 20Harlow Shapley, astronomer (Sun's position in galaxy), dies at 86
October 22Kurt Edzard, German sculptor (nudist/portraits), dies
October 24Jackie Robinson, 1st black baseball player (Bkln Dodgers), dies at 53
October 25Norman Norell [Levinson], US fashion designer, dies at 72
October 26Igor Sikorsky, Russian/US helicopter builder, dies at 83
October 27Lew Parker, actor (Lou Marie-That Girl), dies a day before turning 65
October 30Alan Roth, orch leader (Milton Berle Show), dies at 68
November 01Ezra Loomis Pound, US poet (Throne), dies at 87
November 05Reginald Owen, actor (Above Suspicion, Love on the Run), dies at 85
November 06Billy Murcia, rocker (New York Dolls), chokes to death at 21
November 06Tod Andrews, actor (Gray Ghost, Counterthrust), dies at 52
November 07Tod Andrews, actor (From Hell it Came, Outrage), dies at 51
November 10Charlie Hallows, cricketer (1000 runs-May 1928, 2 Tests for Eng), dies
November 11Berry Oakley, US rock bassist (Allman Bro), dies in car crash at 24
November 12Rudolf Friml, Czech/US composer (Bohemian suite), dies at 92
November 14Martin Dies, (Rep)/1st chairman of House Un-American, dies
November 16Andrey Filippovich Pashchenko, composer, dies at 87
November 18Danny Whitten, rocker, dies of a drug overdose
November 18Segundo Luis Moreno Andrade, composer, dies at 90
November 21Karel H ba, Czech violinist/composer, dies at 74
November 23Marie Wilson, actress (My Friend Irma), dies at 56
November 24Hall Overton, US composer (Enchanted Pear Tree), dies at 52
November 25Hans H B Scharoun, German architect (Berlin Philharmonic), dies at 79
November 27Mahalia Jackson, vocalist (Got Whole World in His Hands), dies at 61
November 28Gustave Frederic Soderlund, composer, dies at 91
November 28Havergal Brian, composer, dies at 96
November 30Hans-Erich Apostel, Austrian composer (Kubiniana, Requiem), dies at 71
November 30Neil H McElroy, soap manufacturer/minister of Defense (1957-59), dies
November 30Valentin Ruiz Azner, composer, dies at 70
December 01Antonio Segni, Italian PM/pres (1955-57, 59-60, 62-64), dies at 81
December 02Friedrich Christian Christiansen, German Luftwaffe general, dies
December 02Jos‚ Lim¢n, Mexican/US dancer (moor's pavane), dies at 64
December 06Janet Munro, actress (Crawling Eye, Swiss Family Robinson), dies at 38
December 07Adrian J Zoetmulder, author (God's Hour), dies at 91
December 08George Collins, (Rep-Ill), dies at 47, in airplane crash
December 10Mark A Van Doren, US literary (Our Lady Peace), dies at 78
December 11John Mills, cricketer (7 Tests for NZ in early 1930's, 241 runs), dies
December 11Semjon I Kirsanov, Ukrainian poet (Zolushka), dies at 66
December 15Edward Earle, actor (Charlie Chan-Meeting at Midnight), dies at 90
December 15Herbert Eimert, German composer (Glockenspiel), dies at 75
December 17Erwin Dressel, composer, dies at 63
December 20Gnter Eich, German literary (Botschaften des Regens), dies at 65
December 21Horace Mann Bond, president of Lincoln University (Pa), dies at 70
December 23Andrej N Tupolev, Russian aircraft builder, dies at 84
December 23Charles Atlas, [Angelo Siciliano], body builder, dies at 79
December 24Charles Atlas, bodybuilder, dies at 79
December 24Ernst Kreuder, writer, dies at 69
December 26Harry Truman, 33rd US Pres (1945-53), dies in KC Mo at 88
December 27Lester B Pearson (L), 14th Canadian PM (Nobel 1957), dies at 75
December 29Fritz Behrend, composer, dies at 83
December 31Roberto Clemente, slugger (Pitts Pirate), dies in a plane crash at 38

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