The following is a list of notable deaths in August 2008.
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.
August 2008
1 Leopoldo Alas Mínguez, 45, Spanish writer, poet and editor. Carlos Aponte, 69, Colombian footballer. Rolf Bae, 33, Norwegian mountaineer, climbing accident. Pauline Baynes, 85, British illustrator (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings). Peter Jackson, 80, Australian fashion designer, prostate cancer. Ashok Mankad, 61, Indian cricketer. Chief Mqalo, 91, South African Chief of the AmaKhuze Tribe, Alice. Harkishan Singh Surjeet, 92, Indian politician, cardiac arrest. Butch White, 72, British cricketer (Hampshire, Glamorgan, England).
2 Fujio Akatsuka, 72, Japanese manga artist, pneumonia. Frederic Apcar, 93, Russian-born French acrobatic dancer and producer/impresario. Thomas Ashton, 3rd Baron Ashton of Hyde, 81, British aristocrat and banker. Geoffrey Ballard, 76, Canadian businessman and fuel cell scientist, founder of Ballard Power Systems. Pérez Celis, 69, Argentine plastic artist, leukaemia. Affonso Évora, 89, Brazilian Olympic bronze medal-winning (1948) basketball player. Helga Gitmark, 78, Norwegian politician. Christopher González, 65, Jamaican sculptor and painter, cancer. Kåre Grøndahl Hagem, 93, Norwegian politician. Meherban Karim, 29, Pakistani mountaineer, climbing accident. Allen Kolstad, 76, American politician, lieutenant governor of Montana (1988–1991), cancer. Ger McDonnell, 37, Irish mountaineer, first Irishman to reach K2 summit, climbing accident. Peter Rodman, 64, American foreign policy expert, leukemia. John F. Seiberling, 89, American politician, representative from Ohio (1971–1987), respiratory failure.
3 Anton Allemann, 72, Swiss footballer (PSV Eindhoven, 1. FC Nürnberg, Grasshopper Zürich), heart attack. Skip Caray, 68, American broadcaster for baseball (Atlanta Braves) and basketball (Atlanta Hawks), bronchitis. Erik Darling, 74, American songwriter, folk musician, lymphoma. Roger Dean, 65, British guitarist, brain cancer. Babatunde Jose, 82, Nigerian journalist and newspaper editor. Jeffrey S. Medkeff, 39, American astronomer and science writer, liver cancer. Robert Montgomery, 78, American lawyer. Aurelius H. Piper Sr., 92, American hereditary chief of the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation since 1959, natural causes. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 89, Russian novelist and historian, Nobel Prize winner (1970), heart failure. Louis Teicher, 83, American classical pianist (Ferrante & Teicher), heart failure.
4 Alberto Achacaz Walakial, 79, Chilean craftsman, one of the last full-blooded Alacaluf, blood poisoning. Sally Insul, 92, American actress (Click), heart failure. Craig Jones, 23, British motorcycle racer, head injuries from a race crash. Peter Kass, 85, American actor, director and teacher. Eri Kawai, 43, Japanese pop and classical singer, liver cancer. Victor McCaffery, 89, Australian cricketer. Robert Maheu, 90, American businessman, aide to Howard Hughes. Nicola Rescigno, 92, American opera conductor, complications from broken femur. Johnny Thio, 63, Belgian football player and coach, myocardial rupture. Greg Weld, 64, American racing driver and businessman, heart attack.
5 Aziz Abdullah Ahmed, 80–81, Iraqi Kurdish judge, Alzheimer's disease. Jaroslav Alexa, 59, Czech Olympic athlete. Bruno Dallansky, 79, Austrian actor. Robert Hazard, 59, American musician and songwriter ("Girls Just Want to Have Fun"), pancreatic cancer. Jack Kamen, 88, American comic book artist (Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror), cancer. Reg Lindsay, 79, Australian country music singer and songwriter, pneumonia. Shelby Linville, 78, American basketball player (Kentucky Wildcats), cancer. José Medellín, 33, Mexican convicted murderer, execution in Texas by lethal injection. Gary Mooney, 78, American animator (Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, George of the Jungle), cancer. Daniel L. Norris, 73, Canadian commissioner of the Northwest Territories (1989–1994), heart failure. Eva Pflug, 79, German actress (Raumpatrouille Orion). Manuel d'Almeida Trindade, 90, Portuguese bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aveiro (1962–1988).
6 Bertil Ahlin, 81, Swedish boxer. Robert Nason Beck, 80, American scientist, myelodysplasia. John K. Cooley, 80, American author (Unholy Wars), journalist and expert of Middle East affairs, cancer. Ela-Mana-Mou, 32, British Thoroughbred race horse and sire, euthanized. Gene Galusha, 66, American actor and narrator. Ken Going, 66, New Zealand rugby union player (North Auckland, national team), pancreatic cancer. Roy Howard, 85, Australian cricketer. Karl Kuehl, 70, American baseball scout, coach and manager (Montreal Expos), pulmonary fibrosis. Tony Russo, 71, American whistleblower (Pentagon Papers). Jud Taylor, 68, American television director and actor (Dr. Kildare, Star Trek, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), kidney failure. Reg Whitehouse, 75, Canadian football player (Saskatchewan Roughriders).
7 Bernie Brillstein, 77, American film producer (Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers, ALF), chronic pulmonary disease. Juan Bustos Ramírez, 72, Chilean politician, liver cancer. Simon Gray, 71, British playwright, abdominal aortic aneurysm. Ralph Klein, 77, Israeli basketball player and coach, intestinal cancer. Andrea Pininfarina, 51, Italian businessman, CEO of Pininfarina, motorcycle accident. Clarence Rost, 94, Canadian ice hockey player.
8 Ann-Mari Aasland, 93, Norwegian politician. Rio Alex Bulo, 30, Indonesian Serial Killer Ralph Edward Dodge, 101, American bishop of the Methodist Church. Antonio Gava, 78, Italian politician, minister of the interior (1988–1990), after long illness. Orville Moody, 74, American professional golfer, winner of 1969 U.S. Open. Eleo Pomare, 70, Colombian modern dance choreographer, cancer. Henk Starreveld, 94, Dutch Olympic canoer.
9 Giorgi Antsukhelidze, 23, Georgian soldier, shot. Sir Stanley Bailey, 81, British chief constable of Northumbria Police (1975–1991). Peter Coe, 88, British athletics coach, father of Sebastian Coe. Colm Condon, 87, Irish lawyer, Attorney General (1965–1973). Bob Cunis, 67, New Zealand cricketer. Mahmoud Darwish, 67, Palestinian poet, complications from open heart surgery. Archie Elliott, Lord Elliott, 85, British judge. Ken Griffiths, 78, English footballer (Port Vale). Jacob Landau, 74, American journalist, attorney, co-founder of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Bernie Mac, 50, American comedian and actor (The Bernie Mac Show, Ocean's Eleven, Friday), complications from pneumonia. Gilbert Morand, 85, French military patrol runner. Roy Simmonds, 79, Australian rules footballer (Hawthorn), cancer.Hawthorn legend toyed with the best Greg Urwin, 61, Australian diplomat, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (2004–2008), cancer. Denis Vetchinov, 32, Russian army major, recipient of Hero of the Russian Federation award, killed in action. Vivian Shun-wen Wu, 95, Taiwanese entrepreneur, chairwoman of Yulon Motor, heart failure.
10 Louise Armstrong, 71, American children's writer. Chaim Banai, 71, Israeli actor (For My Father), cardiac arrest.Actor Chaim Banai dies in Jerusalem at 71 Sir William Christie, 95, North Irish politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (1972–1975). Lee Clark, 71, Canadian politician, MP for Brandon—Souris (1983–1993). John Esmonde, 71, British television writer, half of Esmonde and Larbey (Please Sir!, The Good Life). Isaac Hayes, 65, American soul and funk musician ("Theme from Shaft") and actor (South Park, The Rockford Files), Oscar winner (1972), stroke. Cezmi Kartay, 88, Turkish civil servant and politician (chairman of SODEP). William A. Knowlton, 88, American general. Howard G. Minsky, 94, American film producer (Love Story). Terence Rigby, 71, British actor (Get Carter, Watership Down, Mona Lisa Smile), lung cancer. Alexander Slobodyanik, 65, Ukrainian pianist, meningitis. František Tikal, 75, Czech ice hockey player. David Young, 76, British Bishop of Ripon (1977–1999).
11 Arase Nagahide, 59, Japanese sumo wrestler, heart failure. Agneta Bolme Börjefors, 67, Swedish television presenter and royal reporter. Sheikh Abdul Aziz, 55–56, Kashmir politician, shot. Henry B. R. Brown, 82, American investment banker, aneurysm. John S. Bull, 73, American NASA astronaut. Sir Bill Cotton, 80, British television executive. George Deem, 75, American artist, lung cancer. George Furth, 75, American playwright (Company) and actor (Blazing Saddles, The Cannonball Run). Don Helms, 81, American steel guitarist. James Hoyt, 83, American soldier, member of the Buchenwald liberation team. Anatoly Khrapaty, 45, Kazakh Olympic weightlifter (USSR and Kazakhstan), motorcycle accident. Günther Schifter, 84, Austrian journalist and radio presenter. Fred Sinowatz, 79, Austrian politician, chancellor of Austria (1983–1986). Darren Taylor, 42, American gang member turned peacemaker, cancer. Rhoshii Wells, 31, American boxer, Olympic medallist, shot.
12 Christie Allen, 53, Australian pop singer, pancreatic cancer. Michael Baxandall, 74, British art historian, Parkinson's disease. Gilles Bilodeau, 53, Canadian NHL and World Hockey Association player (Quebec Nordiques). Mick Clough, 80, Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (1976–1988, 1991–1999). Dottie Wiltse Collins, 84, American AAGPBL baseball pitcher (Fort Wayne Daisies). Leon Dorsey, 32, American serial killer, execution by lethal injection. Donald Erb, 81, American avant-garde composer. George Gick, 92, American Major League Baseball player (Chicago White Sox). Rust Hills, 83, American fiction editor (Esquire), cardiac arrest. Lester Hogan, 88, American physicist, complications of Alzheimer's disease. Vilma Jamnická, 101, Czechoslovak actress and astrologer. Francis Lacassin, 76, French editor. Patricia W. Malone, 84, American naval officer.Patricia W. Malone Obituary Aditya Prakash, 84, Indian architect. Herm Schneidman, 94, American football player (Green Bay Packers). Stan Storimans, 39, Dutch photojournalist and cameraman, mortar fire. Bill Stulla, 97, American children's television show host.
13 Sandy Allen, 53, American tallest woman in the world (according to Guinness World Records). Henri Cartan, 104, French mathematician. Bill Gwatney, 48, American politician, Arkansas state senator (1992–2002), Democratic Party of Arkansas chairman, shot. John MacDougall, 60, British politician, MP for Glenrothes since 2005 and Central Fife (2001–2005), mesothelioma. *Nollaig Ó Gadhra, 64, Irish language activist, journalist and historian, co-founder of Teilifís na Gaeilge. Roy Prosser, 66, Australian international rugby union player, heart attack. Dino Toso, 39, Italian automotive engineer, Renault F1 director of aerodynamics, cancer. Jack Weil, 107, American founder of Rockmount Ranch Wear, oldest working CEO. Stuart Cary Welch, 80, American scholar and collector of Indian and Islamic art.
14 Seiji Aochi, 66, Japanese ski jumper, stomach cancer. Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Baron Bruce-Lockhart, 66, British politician and local government leader, cancer. Ralph Feigin, 70, American pediatrician, lung cancer. Luigi Grossi, 83, Italian Olympic sprinter. Percy Irausquin, 39, Aruban fashion designer, cerebral hemorrhage. Carlton John, 92–93, Trinidadian West Indian cricket umpire. Marius Maziers, 93, French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Michael Anthony Rodriguez, 45, American murderer, member of the Texas Seven, execution by lethal injection. Lita Roza, 82, British singer, first British female to top the UK singles chart. Bob Worthington, 72, American honorary consul of the Cook Islands to the United States (1985–2008).
15 Carlos Meglia, 50, Argentine comic book artist (Cybersix).