The following is a list of notable deaths in April 1987.
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.
April 1987
1 Zdeněk Bárta, 95, Czech Olympic fencer (1912). Henri Cochet, 85, French tennis player, world number one player. Victor D'Amico, 82, American teaching artist, Director of the Department of Education of the Museum of Modern Art.Victor D'Amico, 82, A Pioneer in Art Education for Children. New York Times. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. James Edward Doyle, 71, American lawyer, United States district judge.Doyle Funeral Saturday. Newspapers.com (Wausau Daily Herald). Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. Oscar Ellis, 77, Chilean footballer. Niels Peder Hansen, 85, Danish footballer. Edmund Boyd Osler, 67, Canadian politician, member of the House of Commons of Canada (1968–1972). Vladimir Popov, 56, Soviet animator and art director. Valter Sentimenti, 64, Italian Olympic boxer (1952).
2 Hans Cattini, 73, Swiss Olympic ice hockey player (1936, 1948). Tommy Davis, 52, American NFL footballer (San Francisco 49ers), lung cancer.Tommy Davis, Ex-49er, Dies; Set Record for Extra Points. New York Times. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. Trevor Hockey, 43, British footballer and Welsh international (Birmingham City, Wales), heart attack.Trevor Hockey (Player). National Football Teams. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. Eleanor Leacock, 64, American anthropologist and social theorist, stroke.Eleanor Burke Leacock, 64, A Professor of Anthropology. New York Times. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. Larry Marley, 41–42, Irish member of the IRA, shot.Convicted rapist Seamus Marley's father was shot dead by .... The Irish News. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. Wang Renmei, 72, Chinese actress and singer, cerebral hemorrhage. Buddy Rich, 69, American jazz drummer, songwriter and bandleader, cardiac failure Harry Watt, 80, Scottish documentary and feature film director (The Siege of Pinchgut).Watt, (Raymond Egerton) Harry. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. Kansuke Yamamoto, 73, Japanese photographer and poet.Kansuke Yamamoto. J. Paul Getty Museum (year of death only). Retrieved 25 Jul 2024.
3 Joe Casey, 86, American baseball player. Robert Dalban, 83, French actor. Aksel Duun, 66, Danish Olympic sprint canoeist (1956). Philip Edwards, 80, English cricketer. Anne Grey, 80, English actress. Lynda Heaven, 84, Australian politician, member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly (1962–1964). Robert Perry, 77, British Olympic sailor (1952, 1956). Tom Sestak, 51, American AFL footballer (Buffalo Bills), heart attack.Tom Sestak, former Buffalo Bills defensive tackle,.... L.A. Times. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024.
4 Gordon Bennetts, 78, Australian cricketer. Agyeya, 76, Indian poet, novelist and revolutionary.A rebel in life and work. The Hindu. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. C. L. Moore, 76, American science fiction and fantasy writer.Moore, C.L. (1911–1987). Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024. Michael Redstone, 84, American entrepreneur, founder of the Northeast Theater Corporation. Osman Saleh Sabbe, 54–55, Eritrean-born writer and political activist. Phil Stein, 73, Canadian NHL player (Toronto Maple Leafs). Le Tari, 40, American film and television actor, heart attack. Chögyam Trungpa, 48, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, cardiac arrest.Buddhist Leader Dies; Started Centers in U.S.. New York Times. Retrieved 25 Jul 2024.
5 George William Bulmer, 88, American-born Canadian WWI flying ace. Jack Howe, 71, English international footballer (Derby County, England).Jack Howe John Robert Howe (Player). National Football Teams. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Leabua Jonathan, 72, Prime Minister of Lesotho, heart attack. Jan Lindblad, 54, Swedish naturalist, writer and film maker, kidney failure. Tsuneko Nakazato, 77, Japanese novelist, colon cancer. Jim White, 67, American NFL footballer (New York Giants).Jim White. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024.
6 Vicente Cañas, 47, Spanish Christian missionary, assassinated. James G. Donovan, 88, American lawyer and politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives (1951–1957). Jean-Baptiste Doumeng, 67, French businessman and communist politician.Jean-Baptiste Doumeng, 68, Wealthy French Communist. New York Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Bud Morse, 82, American MLB player (Philadelphia Athletics). Lucia Nifontova, 73, Finnish ballet dancer. John Nunn, 81, English cricketer. Bob Van Osdel, 77, American Olympic high jumper (1932). Henry Lucien de Vries, 77, Surinamese politician and entrepreneur, Governor General of Suriname.
7 Terry Carr, 50, American science fiction fan, author and editor, heart failure. Pick Dehner, 72, American basketball player and coach. Will Hindle, 57, American filmmaker of personal 16mm movies, heart attack.A Salute to Will Hindle's Films. L.A. Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Charles Hope, 75, British peer and businessman, director of Eagle Star Insurance.Mr Charles Hope. UK Parliament. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. John Lehmann, 79, English publisher and poet.John Lehmann. Britannica. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Nick De Noia, 45, American director, screenwriter and choreographer, murdered.Emmy-Winning Producer Shot to Death in Office. New York Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Noel F. Parrish, 77, American brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force, cardiac arrest.Kentucky by Heart: Versailles resident Noel Parrish became field commander for Tuskegee Airmen. Northern Kentucky Tribune. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Dénes Pataky, 70, Hungarian Olympic figure skater (1936). Paul Peek, 82, American attorney and politician, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California.Obituary for Paul Peek. Newspapers.com (The San Francisco Examiner). Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Walter H. Reynolds, 86, American politician, mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. Vladimir Shilykovsky, 54, Soviet Russian Olympic speed skater (1956. 1960). Hermann Simon, 80, German Olympic wrestler (1928). Maxine Sullivan, 75, American jazz vocalist, seizure.
8 Tommy Abbott, 52, American actor, dancer and choreographer (West Side Story).Tom Abbott, Dancer Known for Stagings of Robbin's Works. New York Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Terry Allen, 62, English flyweight boxer and World Champion. Anni Frind, 87, German lyric soprano. Andrei Getman, 83, Soviet military commander, Red Army general.Getman, Andrei Lavrentevich. generals.dk. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Kevin McNamara, 60, Irish Catholic academic, Archbishop of Dublin, cancer.Archbishop Kevin McNamara Of Dublin Is Dead at Age 60. New York Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Ervin Nyiregyházi, 84, Hungarian-born American pianist and composer, colon cancer.Erwin Nyiregyhazi Dies at 84; Pianist Regained Fame in 70's. New York Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024.
9 James Leroy Bondsteel, 39, American soldier in the U.S. Army, Medal of Honor recipient.James Leroy Bondsteel. Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. James Bush, 79, American actor. Al Dodd, 41, American NFL footballer (New Orleans Saints).Al Dodd. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Doug Jennings, 57, Australian politician. Emil M. Mrak, 85, American food scientist and microbiologist, chancellor of the University of California, Davis, heart attack.Emil M. Mrak, 85; Nutritionist and Former UC Davis Chancellor. L.A. Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024.
10 Horst Dassler, 51, German businessman, chairman of Adidas, cancer. Reg Davies, 77, Australian rules footballer. Birgit Dressel, 26. West German heptathlete and Olympian, organ failure.Steroids Were Not an Answer for Heptathlete : West Germany’s Dressel Died at 26 From Using Performance-Enhancing Drug. L.A. Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Berta Drews, 85, German actress. Susy Garland, 20, British Olympic figure skater (1980, 1984). Jean Jonlet, 80, Belgian Olympic rower (1928). Toar Springstein, 68, Canadian football player (Saskatchewan Roughriders).
11 Manny S. Brown, 69, American politician, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly (1965–1973). Carleton F. Bryant, 94, American Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy.Bryant, Carleton F.. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Erskine Caldwell, 83, American novelist and short story writer (Tobacco Road), emphysema and lung cancer. Netania Davrath, 55, Ukrainian-born Israeli soprano opera and concert singer. George Hart, 85, English cricketer. Vasili Kartsev, 67, Soviet Russian football player and coach. Rudolf Krause, 80, East German racing driver. Primo Levi, 67, Italian chemist, writer and Jewish Holocaust survivor, suicide. Frederick Joseph Loftus-Tottenham, 88, Irish-born general in the British Indian Army.Loftus-Tottenham, Frederick Joseph. generals.dk. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Bill Morton, 77, American college football player (Dartmouth Big Green). Kent Taylor, 79, American film and television actor. Hédi Váradi, 57, Hungarian actress.
12 Mike Von Erich, (Michael Adkisson), 23, American professional wrestler, suicide.Mike Von Erich Suicide Apr 1987. Newspapers.com (Longview Daily News). Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Jean Hansen, 55, Danish Olympic cyclist (1952). René Hardy, 76, French citizen, member of the French Resistance during World War II.Rene Hardy, Resistance Chief Accused of Giving Barbie Aid. New York Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Clarence Isreal, 69, American baseball player. Nick Knott, 66, Canadian ice hockey player (Brooklyn Americans). Akram Pahalwan, 57, Pakistani wrestler.When Inoki Came To Lahore: The Legendary Bout With Jhara. Friday Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Hertha von Walther, 83, German film actress.Hertha von Walther, 1903-1987. LUX: Yale Collections Discovery. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024.
13 Dennis Allen, 35, Australian drug dealer, accused murderer, heart failure.Of love and murder. The Age (year of death only). Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Herbert Blumer, 87, American sociologist and NFL footballer (Chicago Cardinals).Herbert Blumer. New York Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Joe Colquhoun, 60, British comics artist (Charley's War), heart attack. Jim Considine, 84, Australian rules footballer. Daniel E. Conway, 75, American labor union leader. Alfred Evans, 73, Welsh politician, Member of Parliament (1968–1979). Simha Flapan, 76, Israeli historian and politician.The Palestinian Exodus of 1948. JSTOR (Journal of Palestine Studies). Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Malcolm Ford, 50, Scottish cricketer. Jørgen Jensen, 67, Danish trade unionist and politician. Gerry McAloon, 70, Scottish footballer (Brentford), hypothermia. Philip Pritchard, 54, Australian Olympic field hockey player (1960). Guido Sala, 58, Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and world champion kart racer. Neal Thompson, 81, Australian rules footballer.
14 Brian Carlson, 54, Australian international rugby league footballer (North Sydney, Australia).Brian Carlson. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Olaf Devik, 100, Norwegian physicist and civil servant. Bill Hardman, 86, Australian rugby league footballer. Karl Höller, 79, German composer. Julius Sumner Miller, 77, American physicist and television personality, leukemia.TV and Classroom Physicist : ‘Professor Wonderful,’ Julius Sumner Miller, Dies. L.A. Times. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024.
15 Orland K. Armstrong, 93, American journalist and politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1951–1953).Armstrong, Orland Kay. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Hans-Joachim Born, 77, German radiochemist. Rachel Burrows, 74, Irish actress and broadcaster.Burrows (Dobbin), Rachel. Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Mickey Finn, 35, Irish fiddler.Mickey Finn. Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 26 Jul 2024. Peter Benjamin Graham, 61, Australian visual artist, printer and art theorist. John Hoffman, 61, American NFL player (Chicago Bears).