Deaths in October 1997

The following is a list of notable deaths in October 1997.

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.

October 1997

1 Francisco Aramburu, 75, Brazilian footballer.Seleção brasileira: 1914-2006, , p.242 (Google Books) Georg Bodenhausen, 92, Dutch civil servant. John Bredice, 63, American football player (Philadelphia Eagles). Jerome H. Lemelson, 74, American engineer, inventor and patent holder, liver cancer. Gul Mohammed, 40, Shortest adult human, heart attack. Inbal Perlmuter, 26, Israeli rock musician, singer, composer and lyricist, traffic collision.

2 Carybé, 86, Argentine-Brazilian artist, historian and journalist, heart failure. Douglas Fairbairn, 70, American author. Esa Seeste, 84, Finnish Olympic gymnast (1936). Guillermo Meza Álvarez, 80, Mexican painter.

3 Michael Adekunle Ajasin, 88, Nigerian politician. John Ashley, 62, American actor, producer and singer, heart attack. Walter Baumgartner, 92, Swiss film composer. Richard Gilkey, 72, American painter, suicide by gunshot. Verna Hillie, 83, American film actress, stroke. Jarl Kulle, 70, Swedish actor and director, bone cancer. Millard Lampell, 78, American movie and television screenwriter, lung cancer. Phil Medley, 81, American songwriter. Charlie Parsley, 71, American basketball player (Philadelphia Warriors), and college coach. Hadassah Rosensaft, 85, Polish Holocaust survivor, liver failure. A. L. Rowse, 93, British historian and author. George Urban, 76, Hungarian writer. Blake Wayne Van Leer, 71, United States Navy officer.

4 Helmut Cämmerer, 86, German canoeist and Olympian (1936). Montanino Nuvoli, 66, Italian Olympic rower (1952). Nelson Coral Nye, 90, American author and editor. Otto Ernst Remer, 85, German Wehrmacht officer during World War II. Anne Strachan Robertson, 87, Scottish archaeologist, numismatist and writer. Gunpei Yokoi, 56, Japanese video game designer and creator of the Game Boy, traffic collision. Georgi Yumatov, 71, Soviet and Russian film actor, aneurysm.

5 Chitta Basu, 70, Indian politician, heart attack. Mary Jayne Gold, 88, American heiress, pancreatic cancer. Andrew Keir, 71, Scottish actor (Cleopatra, Rob Roy, Mary, Queen of Scots). Debbie Linden, 36, British glamour model and actress, heroin overdose. John Chester MacRae, 85, Canadian politician, member of the House of Commons of Canada (1957–1972). Dave Marr, 63, American golfer and sportscaster, stomach cancer. Brian Pillman, 35, American professional wrestler (WCW, WWF, ECW), heart attack. Tommy Ring, 67, Scottish footballer. Larisa Rozanova, 78, Soviet and Ukrainian pilot and navigator during World War II. Curtis Williams Sabrosky, 87, American entomologist. Arthur Tracy, 98, American vocalist and actor, heart attack. Bernard Yago, 81, Ivorian cardinal of the Catholic Church.

6 Orlando Ramón Agosti, 73, Argentine general and part of the military junta, cancer. George T. Barclay, 87, American football player and coach. Warren Louis Boudreaux, 79, American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, heart failure. Robert Endean, 71, Australian marine scientist. Otto Grolimund, 79, Swiss Olympic field hockey player (1948). Adrienne Hill, 60, English actress (Doctor Who), cancer. Yevgeny Khaldei, 80, Soviet naval officer and photographer. Johnny Vander Meer, 82, American baseball player (Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians), abdominal aneurysm.

7 Arvo Ala-Pöntiö, 55, Finnish Olympic weightlifter (1972, 1976). Felicisimo Ampon, 76, Filipino tennis player. Johnny Darrell, 57, American country music artist, diabetes. Gus Marker, 92, Canadian ice hockey player. Lou Possehl, 71, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies). Aldo Sebben, 77, American football, cross country, and track and field coach. Janez Vrhovec, 76, Yugoslav actor of Slovenian-German origin. Wan Laiming, 97, Chinese animator.

8 Henryk Bista, 63, Polish actor. Albert Blumberg, 91, American philosopher and political activist. Bertrand Goldberg, 84, American architect and industrial designer. Robin Lee, 77, American figure skater and Olympian (1936). Brown Meggs, 66, American writer and music executive. John Merricks, 26, English sailor and Olympian (1996). Nininho, 73, Brazilian football player. Desmond J. Scott, 79, New Zealand flying ace during World War II. Sant Singh Sekhon, 89, Indian playwright and writer. George Everard Kidder Smith, 84, American architectural writer and photographer. William Spong Jr., 77, American politician, member of the United States Senate (1966–1973). Mel Thurston, 78, American basketball player (Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Providence Steamrollers). Ernesto P. Uruchurtu, 91, Mexican politician, head of the Federal District Department from 1952 to 1966.

9 Michael Cummings, 78, British newspaper cartoonist.Gifford, Dennis, "Obituary: Michael Cummings", The Independent. 11 October 1997. Retrieved 15 June 2020. Monty Hoyt, 53, American figure skater and Olympian (1964), melanoma. Arch Johnson, 75, American actor, cancer. Peter O'Malley, 70, New Zealand cricketer. Jean Pasqualini, French/Chinese journalist. Joel Pritchard, 72, American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1985), lymphoma. Roy Rappaport, 71, American anthropologist. Chuck Templeton, 65, American baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers).

10 D. J. Ambalavanar, 69, Sri Lankan Tamil bishop. Marjorie Harris Carr, 82, American scientist and environmental activist. Michael J. S. Dewar, 79, American theoretical chemist. Hans-Joachim Kasprzik, 69, German film and television director and screenwriter. George Malcolm, 80, English pianist, harpsichordist, composer, and conductor. Anne Marriott, 83, Canadian writer, stroke. Dencio Padilla, 69, Filipino actor and comedian, heart attack. Marjorie McQuade, 63, Australian swimmer and Olympian (1948, 1952). Walt Simon, 57, American basketball player (New Jersey Americans/Nets, Kentucky Colonels). Thomas Whiteside, 79, American journalist, heart failure.

11 Paul Doughty Bartlett, 90, American chemist. Giacinto Bosco, 92, Italian jurist, academic and politician. Lina Gennari, 86, Italian actress and operetta singer. Käthe Gold, 90, Austrian actress. Will Sherman, 69, American gridiron football player (Dallas Texans, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings). Ivan Yarygin, 48, Soviet / Russian heavyweight freestyle wrestler and Olympian (1972, 1976), traffic collision.

12 Raúl Arellano, 62, Mexican football forward. Rodrigue Bourdages, 73, Canadian politician, member of the House of Commons of Canada (1958–1962). John Denver, 53, American singer ("Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Poems, Prayers & Promises", "Annie's Song") and activist, plane crash. Talib El-Shibib, 63, Iraqi politician. Eleanor Fortson, 93, American politician, member of the Washington House of Representatives (1973–1979). Draga Garašanin, 76, Serbian archaeologist. Kenneth Hahn, 77, American civil servant, heart failure. Fred McCain, 79, Canadian politician. Isadore Twersky, 67, American orthodox rabbi and professor.

13 Ian Stuart Black, 82, British novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Joyce Compton, 90, American actress. Gary Lee Davis, 53, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection. Kārlis Irbītis, 92, Latvian aeroplane designer. Yasuo Kawamura, 89, Japanese Olympic speed skater (1932, 1936). Obie Layton, 86, American baseball player. Richard Mason, 78, British novelist, lung cancer. Malte Möller, 83, Swedish Olympic wrestler (1948). Frazier Robinson, 87, American baseball player. William Staveley, 68, Royal Navy officer, heart attack. Adil Çarçani, 75, Albanian politician.

14 Hy Averback, 76, American actor, producer and director. Piedade Coutinho, 77, Brazilian swimmer and Olympian (1936, 1948, 1952). Jacqueline Delubac, 90, French stage and film actress, traffic collision. George Forrest, 72, British classicist and academic, cancer. Henry Pelling, 77, British historian. Harold Robbins, 81, American writer, heart failure. Barbara Slater, 76, American film actress.

15 Jack Arnold, 78, Australian rugby league footballer. MacDonald Critchley, 97, British neurologist. Peter J. Dalessandro, 79, United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient. Jack Dwyer, 70, American gridiron football player (Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Rams). Walter Fritzsch, 76, German football player and manager. Parker T. Hart, 87, American diplomat. Bill McKay, 76, Irish rugby player. Käthe Sohnemann, 85, German Olympic gymnast (1936).

16 A. H. Armstrong, 88, English educator and author. Dick Cavalli, 74, American cartoonist, heart attack. Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, 94, Greek princess, Alzheimer's disease.Neil R. Balfour, Obituary: Princess Paul of Yugoslavia in The Independent, 3 November 1997. Retrieved 20 June 2020 Noel Ferrier, 66, Australian comedian, actor, and theatrical producer. Lotte Goslar, 90, German-American dancer. Adam Kennedy, 75, American actor, novelist, and painter, heart attack. Audra Lindley, 79, American actress (Three's Company, Another World, The Heartbreak Kid), leukemia. James A. Michener, 90, American author, kidney failure.

17 Joyce Christ, 76, Australian cricketer. Larry Jennings, 64, American magician. Sergei Kalinin, 70, Soviet Russian sports shooter and Olympian (1960, 1964). Jim O'Neil, 84, Canadian ice hockey player (Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens). Giorgio Pisanò, 73, Italian journalist, essayist and neo-fascist politician. László Szabados, 86, Hungarian swimmer and Olympic medalist (1932). Ben Welden, 96, American actor. Fang Yi, 81, Chinese Communist revolutionary, diplomat, and politician.

18 Leonard Andrzejewski, 73, Polish actor. Ramiro Castillo, 31, Bolivian footballer, suicide by hanging. Gordon Clark, 83, English football player. Walter William Curtis, 84, American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, pneumonia. Nancy Dickerson, 70, American radio and television journalist, stroke. Trude Eipperle, 89, German operatic soprano. Vince Gironda, 79, American bodybuilder, personal trainer and author. Roberto Goizueta, 65, Cuban businessman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, cancer. J. Smith Henley, 80, American judge. Étienne Laisné, 92, French Olympic racewalker (1936). Milt Neil, 83, American animator (Fantasia, Dumbo, The Three Caballeros). William Rotsler, 71, American artist, cartoonist, pornographer and author. Geoff Walker, 45, New Zealand Olympic canoeist (1980). Paul Edwin Zimmer, 54, American poet and author, heart attack.

19 Donald R. Bensen, 70, American editor and science fiction writer. Glen Buxton, 49, American guitarist and composer, complications from pneumonia. Claudia Drake, 79, American actress and singer. Harold French, 100, English film director, screenwriter and actor. Arthur Ibbetson, 75, British cinematographer (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Where Eagles Dare, The Bounty). Ragnar Larsen, 66, Norwegian footballer. Francisco Guerrero Marín, 46, Spanish composer. William J. McGill, 75, American psychologist and author. Brenton Miels, 49, Australian rules footballer. Pilar Mercedes Miró Romero, 57, Spanish screenwriter and film director, heart attack. Stella Sierra, 80, Panamanian poet and prose writer.

20 John Jacobs, 50, American student and anti-war activist, complications from melanoma. Frank Robert Miller, 89, Canadian air chief marshal. Manush Myftiu, 78, Albanian politician. Thormod Næs, 67, Norwegian Olympic sports shooter (1964). Manuel Rodríguez Barros, 71, Spanish racing cyclist. Li Ruishan, 76, Chinese politician. Ron Tarr, 60, British actor, cancer. Henry Vestine, 52, American guitarist, heart and respiratory failure. Robin Woods, 83, English Anglican bishop.

21 Dolph Camilli, 90, American baseball player. John Whitney Hall, 81, American Japanologist. Lorenzo Sumulong, 92, Filipino politician.