The following is a list of notable deaths in December 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.
December 2008
1 Thomas R. Adams, 87, American librarian. Paul Benedict, 70, American television actor (The Jeffersons). James Bree, 85, British actor (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Satan's Slave, Doctor Who). Beverly Dustrude, 82, American baseball player (AAGPBL) Betty Goodwin, 85, Canadian artist. Jodami, 23, Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse, injury. Tom Kirby, 61, Irish darts player, pancreatic cancer. Siegfried Knappe, 91, German Wehrmacht artillery and General Staff officer, author (Soldat). Mikel Laboa, 74, Spanish Basque singer and songwriter. Raymond Lederer, 70, American politician, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania (1977–1981), lung cancer. Lav Mantula, 79, Yugoslavian football player and coach. Emanuel Rackman, 98, American Orthodox rabbi; President of Bar-Ilan University. H. Sridhar, 50, Indian sound engineer, heart attack. Dorothy Sterling, 95, American writer and historian. Sir John Wall, 78, British jurist and blind rights campaigner. Joseph B. Wirthlin, 91, American Mormon prelate, Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, natural causes.
2 Carlos Abascal, 59, Mexican public official, Secretary of the Interior (2005–2006), cancer. Kathleen Baskin-Ball, 50, American minister (United Methodist Church), cancer. Frank Crean, 92, Australian politician, Treasurer (1972–1974), Deputy Prime Minister (1975), after short illness. Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, 81, American writer, filmmaker and scholar, after long illness. Leïla Karam, 80, Lebanese actress, after long illness. Margarita Karapanou, 62, Greek author, respiratory problems. Pyotr Latyshev, 60, Russian politician, presidential envoy to Urals Federal District. Patrick Maitland, 17th Earl of Lauderdale, 97, British aristocrat and politician. Henry Molaison, 82, American amnesiac, subject of brain science study, respiratory failure. Odetta, 77, American folk singer and human rights activist, heart disease. Edward S. Rogers Jr., 75, Canadian businessman, CEO of Rogers Communications and owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, heart failure.
3 William Pierson Jr., 97, American art historian. Oliver Selfridge, 82, British-born American computer scientist, pioneer of artificial intelligence, injuries from a fall. William Spoelhof, 98, American academic, President of Calvin College (1951–1976), complications from a fall. Elmer Valentine, 85, American nightclub owner. Derek Wadsworth, 69, British composer and jazz trombonist. Alex Widmer, 52, Swiss executive, CEO of Julius Baer bank. Robert Zajonc, 85, Polish-born American psychologist, pancreatic cancer.
4 Forrest J Ackerman, 92, American science fiction expert, heart failure. Steve Bradley, 32, American wrestler. Ophélie Bretnacher, 22, French murder victim. Jan Kemp, 59, American academic, exposed bias in passing college football players, complications from Alzheimer's disease. Warren M. Robbins, 85, American art collector, complications from a fall. Richard Van Allan, 73, British opera singer, lung cancer.
5 A. Bernard Ackerman, 72, American dermatopathologist, heart failure. Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, 79, Estonian-born Russian primate of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1990, heart failure. Jimmy Anderson, 55, American rodeo clown, heart disease. George Brecht, 82, American artist (Fluxus), natural causes. Martyn Crook, 52, Australian footballer and coach, heart attack. Constantin Ticu Dumitrescu, 80, Romanian politician, cancer. Nina Foch, 84, Dutch-born American actress (Executive Suite, Spartacus, The Ten Commandments) and drama instructor, myelodysplasia. Joseph Gardner, 38, American convicted murderer and fugitive, execution by lethal injection. Beverly Garland, 82, American actress (My Three Sons), after long illness. Paris Herouni, 75, Armenian scientist and professor. Sir Basil Kelly, 88, British politician and jurist, after short illness. Rawson Macharia, 96, Kenyan perjurer against Jomo Kenyatta, traffic accident. Jean-Pierre Nguema, 76, Gabonese politician, member of the Senate of Gabon. Anca Parghel, 51, Romanian jazz singer, metastatic breast cancer. Richard Topus, 84, American World War II messenger pigeon trainer and business executive, kidney failure. Dick Vertlieb, 78, American baseball and basketball executive. Wild Again, 28, American Thoroughbred racehorse, euthanized.
6 Tamar Adar, 69, Israeli children's author and poet.הלכה לעולמה התסריטאית תמר אדר (in Hebrew) John Cumming, 78, Scottish footballer (Hearts, Scotland). Larry Devlin, 86, American CIA agent, emphysema. Sir Curtis Keeble, 86, British diplomat, Ambassador to the USSR (1978–1982). Gérard Lauzier, 76, French cartoonist and film director, after long illness. Elliot Manyika, 53, Zimbabwean politician, road accident. Richard Marsland, 32, Australian radio host, apparent suicide. Lloyd Ohlin, 90, American criminologist, complications of Shy–Drager syndrome. Ivan Semedi, 87, Ukrainian Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Mukacheve. Sunny von Bülow, 76, American heiress, cardiopulmonary arrest. Peter Wardle, 77, New Zealand botanist.
7 Abul Ahsan, 71, Bangladeshi diplomat and politician, cardiac arrest. Marky Cielo, 20, Filipino Igorot actor, suspected acute pancreatitis. Jimmy Gourley, 82, American jazz guitarist. Herbert Hutner, 99, American chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Arts (1982–1990). George Kuzma, 83, American Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys. Kerryn McCann, 41, Australian Olympic athlete, breast cancer. Georges Nguyen Van Loc, 75, French police officer, writer and actor. James H. Pomerene, 88, American electrical engineer. Roger Sonnabend, 83, American hotelier. John Ellis Williams, 84, British author. Dennis Yost, 65, American singer (Classics IV), respiratory failure. Mahbub Jamal Zahedi, 79, Pakistani journalist and philatelist, paralysis.
8 Maurice Andrieux, 83, French politician. Manzoor Hussain Atif, 81, Pakistani field hockey player and administrator, after long illness. Frank K. Edmondson, 96, American astronomer. Xavier Perrot, 76, Swiss auto racer. Oliver Postgate, 83, British animator (Bagpuss, Clangers). Robert Prosky, 77, American actor (Thief, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hill Street Blues), complications following heart surgery. Bob Spiers, 63, British television director (Absolutely Fabulous, Fawlty Towers). William S. Stevens, 60, American lawyer, heart attack. Hillary Waugh, 88, American mystery writer.
9 Jonathan Bailey, 69, British Anglican prelate, Bishop of Derby (1995–2005) and Clerk of the Closet (1997–2005). Emmanuel Bitanga, 55, Cameroonian Olympic sprinter. Ibrahim Dossey, 36, Ghanaian footballer, car accident. James Fergason, 74, American inventor. Yuri Glazkov, 69, Russian cosmonaut. Dražan Jerković, 72, Croatian football player and manager, heart failure. José María Larrauri Lafuente, 90, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Vitoria. Howard Pack, 90, American businessman, shipping magnate, heart failure. Bill Patman, 81, American politician, U.S. Representative for Texas (1981–1985), cancer. Pentti Rummakko, 65, Finnish Olympic runner. George Turman, 80, American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Montana (1981–1989), natural causes.
10 Henning Christiansen, 76, Danish composer. Mildred Constantine, 95, American curator (Museum of Modern Art), heart failure. Chaudhary Munawwar Hasan, 44, Indian politician, car accident. Dorothy Porter, 54, Australian poet (The Monkey's Mask), breast cancer. Didith Reyes, 60, Filipino singer, heart attack and rupture of the pancreas. Chris Richardson, 28, American basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters), brain aneurysm. Owen Wade, 87, British medical researcher and physician. Mizuki Yamada, 80, Japanese Olympic sailor.Olympedia – Mizuki Yamada Sal Yvars, 84, American baseball player (New York Giants), amyloidosis.
11 Ali Alatas, 76, Indonesian politician, Foreign Minister (1988–1999), heart attack. Maddie Blaustein, 48, American voice actress (Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Chaotic), stomach virus. Ron Carey, 72, American labor leader (Teamsters), lung cancer. Robert Chandler, 80, American CBS executive, heart failure. Elie Amsini Kiswaya, 80, Congolese Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Sakania-Kipushi. Angeliki Laiou, 67, Greek historian, anaplastic thyroid cancer. Bettie Page, 85, American pin-up model and actress, complications from a heart attack. Robert Shepherd, 71, American academic lawyer. Yeh Shih-tao, 83, Taiwanese writer, colorectal cancer.
12 David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss, 96, British aristocrat and public servant. Paddy Dooley, 82, Irish Olympic rower. Avery Dulles, 90, American Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, theologian and cardinal. Max Elbin, 88, American golfer, president of the PGA (1965−1968), heart failure. Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, 85, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1976). Sigitas Geda, 65, Lithuanian poet. Van Johnson, 92, American actor (Battleground, The Caine Mutiny, Brigadoon). Emmanuel Kasonde, 72, Zambian economist and politician, Finance Minister (1967−1971). Tassos Papadopoulos, 74, Cypriot politician, President (2003−2008), small cell lung carcinoma. Maksym Pashayev, 20, Ukrainian footballer, car accident. Amalia Solórzano, 97, Mexican First Lady (1934–1940), respiratory complications. Robin Toner, 54, American journalist (The New York Times), colon cancer.
13 Doris Totten Chase, 85, American painter and sculptor. Christmas Past, 29, American Thoroughbred racehorse, infirmities of old age. Sir David Clutterbuck, 95, British admiral. John Drake, 49, New Zealand rugby union player. Mario Álvarez Dugan, 77, Dominican journalist and newspaper editor, heart problems. Otto Felix, 65, American actor (Up in Smoke), amyloidosis. Vince Karalius, 76, British rugby league player, cancer. David Margolis, 78, American industrialist, cardiac arrest. Maurice Meersman, 86, Belgian cyclist. Kjartan Slettemark, 76, Norwegian political artist, heart failure. Kathy Staff, 80, British actress (Last of the Summer Wine, Crossroads, Mary Reilly), brain tumour. Horst Tappert, 85, German actor (Derrick).
14 Véronique Ahoyo, 69, Beninese politician, car accident. K. P. Appan, 72, Indian literary critic. Mike Bell, 37, American professional wrestler (WWF, ECW), heart attack. Hank Goldup, 90, Canadian ice hockey player. Henri G. Hers, 85, Belgian biochemist. William Kaufmann, 90, American nuclear strategist, adviser to seven Defense Secretaries, Alzheimer's disease. Carl Kotchian, 94, American aviation executive, president of Lockheed. Gastón Parra, 75, Venezuelan academic and banker, after long illness. Candida Tobin, 82, British music educator. Nick Willhite, 67, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers), cancer.
15 Hassib Ben Ammar, 84, Tunisian politician and journalist/editor. Valentin Berlinsky, 83, Russian cellist, after long illness. Mike Blum, 65, Canadian football player (Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats), cerebral hemorrhage. Carlo Caracciolo, 83, Italian publisher (La Repubblica). León Febres Cordero, 77, Ecuadorian president (1984–1988), complications from pulmonary emphysema. Davey Graham, 68, British guitarist, lung cancer. Wanda Koczeska, 71, Polish actress. David Lieber, 83, Polish-born American biblical scholar, lung ailment. John W. Powell, 89, Chinese-born American journalist tried for sedition, complications from pneumonia. Gian Franco Romagnoli, 82, Italian chef, author, television personality. Clyde Sproat, 78, American musician. Anne-Cath. Vestly, 88, Norwegian children's writer and actress. John Webster, 95, Australian activist.