2021 deaths in the United States (January–June)

Deaths in the first half of the year 2021 in the United States. For the last half of the year, see 2021 deaths in the United States (July–December).

January

January 1 Ben Chafin, 60, politician, member of the Virginia House of Delegates (2014) and Senate (since 2014) (b. 1960) Ron Dominguez, 85, business and theme park executive, vice-president of Disneyland (1974–1990) and of Walt Disney Attractions, West Coast (1990–1994) (b. 1935) George Gerdes, 72, singer, songwriter and actor (Hidalgo, L.A. Noire, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) (b. 1948) Floyd Little, 78, Hall of Fame football player (Syracuse Orange, Denver Broncos) (b. 1942) Misty Morgan, 75, country music singer (Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan) (b. 1945) Paige Rense, 91, writer and editor, editor-in-chief of Architectural Digest (1975–2010) (b. 1929) George Whitmore, 89, mountaineer and conservationist (b. 1931) January 2 Mary Catherine Bateson, 81, writer and cultural anthropologist (b. 1939) Brad Cox, 76, computer scientist (b. 1944) Carrie Dann, 88/89, Western Shoshone indigenous rights activist and spiritual leader (b. 1932) Robert Livingston, 87, Zen Buddhist teacher (b. 1933) W. B. Park, 84, cartoonist and illustrator (b. 1936) Mike Reese, 42, politician, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (since 2009) (b. 1978) Don Salls, 101, football player (Alabama Crimson Tide) and coach (Jacksonville State Gamecocks) (b. 1919) Gary Staples, 80, politician, member of the Mississippi House of Representatives (1988–1992, 2004–2020) (b. 1940) Paul Westphal, 70, Hall of Fame basketball player (Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, New York Knicks), coach (Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, Sacramento Kings) and commentator (b. 1950) January 3 Lee Breuer, 83, academic, educator, filmmaker, lyricist, playwright (The Gospel at Colonus), poet and theater director (b. 1937) Eric Jerome Dickey, 59, author (b. 1961) Dick Kulpa, 67, cartoonist (Cracked, Weekly World News) (b. 1953) Donald Perry Polsky, 92, architect (b. 1928) George F. Regas, 90, Episcopal priest, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church (Pasadena) (1967–1995) (b. 1930) James C. Renick, 72, academic administrator, 4th Chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn (1993–1999) and 9th Chancellor of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (1999–2006) (b. 1948) January 4 Tom Acker, 90, baseball player (Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds) (b. 1930) Ronnie Burgess, 57, football player (Green Bay Packers) (b. 1963) Seymour Van Gundy, 89, nematologist (University of California, Riverside) (b. 1931) Sandra Hutchens, 65, law enforcement officer and official, Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County, California (2008–2019) (b. 1955) Jonas Neubauer, 39, Tetris player, seven-time world champion (b. 1981) Bernard P. Randolph, 87, general (b. 1933) Tanya Roberts, 65, actress (Charlie's Angels, A View to a Kill, That '70s Show), producer and model (b. 1955) Gregory Sierra, 83, actor (Sanford and Son, Barney Miller, The Other Side of the Wind) (b. 1937) January 5 Jerry Berger, 87, public relations practitioner, press agent and journalist (St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis Post-Dispatch) (b. 1933) C. George Boeree, 68, Dutch-born American psychologist (Shippensburg University) (b. 1952) Christina Crosby, 67, scholar and writer (b. 1953) Thereasea Elder, 93, public health nurse (b. 1927) Patricia C. Frist, 81, banker and philanthropist (b. 1939) Don Leppert, 90, baseball player (Baltimore Orioles) (b. 1930) Pat Patrick, 91, racing team owner (Patrick Racing) (b. 1929) Thelma Shoher Baker, 96, educator and anthropologist (b. 1924) January 6 Jonathan Aldrich, 84, poet and educator (b. 1936) Kenneth Z. Altshuler, 91, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (Columbia University, UT Southwestern Medical Center) (b. 1929) Ashli Babbitt, 35, protester who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack Thomas G. Carpenter, 94, educator and academic administrator, President of the University of North Florida (1969–1980) and University of Memphis (1980–1991) (b. 1926) Peter S. Eagleson, 92, hydrologist (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and author (b. 1928) Bobby Few, 85, jazz pianist and vocalist (b. 1935) Eldon Fortie, 79, football player (BYU Cougars, Edmonton Eskimos) (b. 1941) Donald Frith, 96, ceramic artist and academic (b. 1924) Jim Haynes, 87, American-British underground and avant-garde theatre producer, co-founder of the Traverse Theatre and International Times (b. 1933) Gerald Hiken, 93, actor (Car 54, Where Are You?, Invitation to a Gunfighter, Reds) (b. 1927) Laurence H. Kedes, 83, scientist (Stanford University, University of Southern California) (b. 1937) Barry Schwartz, 83, sociologist (b. 1938) Burt Wilson, 87, philosopher, writer, jazz musician, playwright, political activist and advertising executive (b. 1933) January 7 Robbins Burling, 94, anthropologist and sociolinguist (University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan) (b. 1926) Deezer D, 55, rapper and actor (CB4, ER, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion) (b. 1965) Grant Gondrezick, 57, basketball player (Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, Limoges CSP) (b. 1963) Taky Kimura, 96, Japanese-American martial artist (b. 1924) Tom LaBonge, 67, politician, member of the Los Angeles City Council (2001–2015) (b. 1953) Tommy Lasorda, 93, Hall of Fame baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers, Kansas City Athletics), manager (Los Angeles Dodgers) and coach (Los Angeles Dodgers) (b. 1927) Jamie O'Hara, 70, country musician and songwriter ("Older Women", "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)"), Grammy winner (1987) (b. 1950) Lonnie Perrin, 68, football player (Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins) (b. 1952) Marion Ramsey, 73, actress (Police Academy, Return to Babylon, Lavalantula) and singer (b. 1947) Neil Sheehan, 84, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner (1989) (b. 1936) Brian Sicknick, 42, police officer (U.S. Capitol Police) (b. 1978) Mel Weitsman, 91, Buddhist priest, founder of the Berkeley Zen Center (b. 1929) January 8 Meredith Anding, 79, civil rights activist (b. 1941) William H. Barbour Jr., 79, judge (1983–2006), chief judge (1989–1996) and senior judge (since 2006) of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (b. 1941) Harold Bornstein, 73, gastroenterologist (b. 1947) Ed Bruce, 81, country music singer-songwriter ("Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had") and actor (Bret Maverick) (b. 1939) David Buchsbaum, 91, mathematician (Brandeis University) (b. 1929) Steve Carver, 75, film director (Big Bad Mama, Capone, Lone Wolf McQuade), producer and photographer (b. 1945) John Corcoran, 83, logician, mathematician and philosopher (University at Buffalo (SUNY), University of Pennsylvania) (b. 1937) David Darling, 79, cellist and composer (b. 1941) Steve Hendrickson, 54, football player (San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Houston Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles) (b. 1966) Mike Henry, 84, football player (Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams) and actor (Tarzan films, Smokey and the Bandit) (b. 1936) Peter W. Huber, 68, lawyer and non-fiction writer (b. 1952) Steve Lightle, 61, comic book artist (Doom Patrol, Legion of Super-Heroes, The Flash) (b. 1959) Jay W. McGee, 70, American-Canadian musician (b. 1950) Diana Millay, 85, actress (The Secret Storm, Street of Sinners, Dark Shadows) (b. 1935) Samuel L. Myers Sr., 101, economist, educationist and civil rights advocate (b. 1919) Deborah Rhode, 68, legal scholar (b. 1952) Don Robertson, 92, television announcer (CBS Sports) (b. 1928) Shirley Wilson, 95, football player and coach (Elon University, Duke University) (b. 1925) January 9 Jerry Douglas, 85, director and writer (b. 1935) John Lutz, 81, mystery writer (b. 1939) John Joseph Ryba, 91, politician, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly (1993–2003) (b. 1929) Caroly Wilcox, 89, puppeteer (b. 1931) Jeannette Wood, 88, politician, member of the Washington House of Representatives (1988–1994) and Senate (1994–1999) (b. 1932) January 10 Harry Brown, 72, basketball player (b. 1948) Nancy Walker Bush Ellis, 94, philanthropist (b. 1926) Tom Gannon, 77, politician, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1979–2006) (b. 1943) Wayne Radford, 64, basketball player (Indiana Pacers) (b. 1956) Dee Rowe, 91, college basketball coach (b. 1929) Antonio Sabàto Sr., 77, Italian-American actor (Grand Prix, One Dollar Too Many, Due volte Giuda) (b. 1943) Julie Strain, 58, actress and model (b. 1962) January 11 Sheldon Adelson, 87, businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist (b. 1933) Edward Beard, 80, politician, member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives (1972–1974) and the U.S. House of Representatives (1975–1981) (b. 1940) Lionel Gossman, 91, Scottish-American literary scholar (b. 1929) Ronald J. Hays, 92, admiral (b. 1928) Howard Johnson, 79, jazz musician (b. 1941) Tetsuo Najita, 84, historian (b. 1936) Prentice E. Sanders, 83, police officer (b. 1937) Margo St. James, 83, women's rights activist and sex worker (b. 1937) Paul Taylor, 81/82, engineer (b. 1939) William E. Thornton, 91, astronaut (b. 1929) Stacy Title, 56, film director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1964) January 12 Bruce Bennett, 77, football player (Saskatchewan Roughriders) (b. 1943) Carlos Joseph, 40, football player (b. 1980) Tim Lester, 52, football player (b. 1968) Fred Levin, 83, lawyer (b. 1937) Barry Lewis, 75, architectural historian (b. 1945) Christopher P. Monkhouse, 73, architectural historian (b. 1947) Keith Valigura, 63, politician, member of the Texas House of Representatives (1985–1991) (b. 1957) January 13 Howard Andrew, 86/87, poker player (b. 1934) Tim Bogert, 76, rock bassist and vocalist (b. 1944) Duke Bootee, 69, rapper and songwriter (b. 1951) Sir Robert Cohan, 95, American-born British dancer, choreographer, and artistic director (b. 1925) Frank J. Coppa, 83, historian, author, and educator (b. 1937) Siegfried Fischbacher, 81, German-American magician and entertainer (b. 1939) Benjamin F. Gibson, 89, judge (1979–1996), chief judge (1991–1995) and senior judge (1996–1999) of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan (b. 1931) Ben Hines, 85, baseball coach (b. 1935) Bryan Monroe, 55, journalist, editor, and educator (b. 1965) Lisa Marie Montgomery, 52, convicted murderer (b. 1968) Sylvain Sylvain, 69, Egyptian-born American rock guitarist (b. 1951) January 14 Eiji Hashimoto, 89, Japanese-American harpsichordist, orchestra conductor, and professor (b. 1931) Shirley Johnson, 83, politician, member of the Michigan House of Representatives (1981–1992, 1993–1998) and Senate (1999–2004) (b. 1937) John LaRose, 69, baseball player (b. 1951) Harold Lawrence McPheeters, 97, psychiatrist (b. 1923) Peter Mark Richman, 93, actor (b. 1927) Joanne Rogers, 92, pianist and puppeteer (b. 1928) Ron Samford, 90, baseball player (b. 1930) Larry Willoughby, 70, country singer-songwriter and music executive (b. 1950) January 15 William R. Allen, 96, economist, professor and author (b. 1924) Dale Baer, 70, animator (b. 1950) Wilbur Brotherton, 98, politician, member of the Michigan House of Representatives (1975–1988) (b. 1922) Tyrone Crawley, 62, boxer (b. 1958) Bruce Headley, 86, thoroughbred trainer and owner (b. 1934) Kathleen Krull, 68, children's writer and book editor (b. 1952) Lệ Thu, 77, Vietnamese-American singer (b. 1943) Thomas V. Miller Jr., 78, politician, member of the Maryland House of Delegates (1971–1975), member (1975–2020) and President (1987–2020) of the Maryland Senate (b. 1942) J. Michael Schweder, 71, politician, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1975–1980) (b. 1949)