The following is a list of notable deaths in January 2011.
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.
January 2011
1 Anna Anni, 84, Italian costume designer (Otello, Tea with Mussolini, Callas Forever). Georgiy Ball, 83, Russian writer. Branko Bokun, 90, Yugoslavian writer. Peter Branson, 86, British admiral. Sir Robin Carnegie, 84, British army general. Charles Fambrough, 60, American jazz musician and composer. Bruce Halliday, 84, Canadian physician and politician, MP for Oxford (1974–1993). Gerd Michael Henneberg, 88, German actor. Sonia Humphrey, 63, Australian television presenter and journalist. Flemming Jørgensen, 63, Danish actor and musician (Bamses Venner), heart attack. Verne Langdon, 69, American musician, record producer and make-up artist. Constantin Marin, 85, Romanian musician, conductor and composer. John Olguin, 89, American aquarium official, director of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (1949–1987). Billy Joe Patton, 88, American golfer. Louise Reiss, 90, American physician, co-ordinator of the Baby Tooth Survey. John Rice, 92, American baseball umpire (1955–1973). Faizal Yusof, 32, Malaysian actor, heart attack.
2 Bali Ram Bhagat, 88, Indian politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (1976–1977) and Governor of Rajasthan (1993–1998). Mia Bustam, 90, Indonesian painter, writer, and political prisoner Kate Ebli, 52, American politician, member of the Michigan House of Representatives (2006–2010). Anne Francis, 80, American actress (Honey West, Forbidden Planet, The Twilight Zone), pancreatic cancer. Peter Hobbs, 92, French-born American actor (Barney Miller, Lou Grant, The Odd Couple). Hans Kalt, 86, Swiss rower, Olympic silver (1948) and bronze (1952) medalist. Émile Masson Jr., 95, Belgian cyclist, winner of Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne classic cycle races. John Osborne, 74, Montserratian politician, Chief Minister (1978–1991; 2001–2006), after long illness. Pete Postlethwaite, 64, British actor (In the Name of the Father, Amistad, The Usual Suspects), pancreatic cancer. William R. Ratchford, 76, American politician, U.S. Representative from Connecticut (1979–1985), complications from Parkinson's disease. Bill Robertson, 93, Australian intelligence officer. Miriam Seegar, 103, American silent film actress and interior designer. Shen Tianhui, 87, Chinese chemist, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Patricia Smith, 80, American actress (The Spirit of St. Louis, The Bob Newhart Show, The Debbie Reynolds Show), heart failure. Margot Stevenson, 98, American stage and radio actress (The Shadow). Szeto Wah, 79, Hong Kong political activist, lung cancer. Robert Trumble, 91, Australian writer and musician. Hari Uppal, 84, Indian dancer and dance academy founder. Richard Winters, 92, American army officer and World War II veteran, depicted in Band of Brothers, Parkinson's disease.
3 Julia Bonds, 58, American activist, cancer. Fadil Hadžić, 88, Croatian filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright and journalist. Jill Haworth, 65, English actress (Exodus, In Harm's Way, Cabaret, The Outer Limits), natural causes. Zbigniew Jaremski, 61, Polish athlete, 1976 Olympic silver medalist. Michael Kennelly, 96, Irish-born American Jesuit priest, President of Loyola University New Orleans (1970–1974), founder of Strake Jesuit College Prep. Suchitra Mitra, 86, Indian singer, cardiac arrest. Alfred Proksch, 102, Austrian athlete and graphic designer. Yosef Shiloach, 69, Israeli actor, cancer. Anatoliy Skorokhod, 81, Ukrainian mathematician. Paul Soldner, 89, American ceramicist. Eva Strittmatter, 80, German writer. William Takaku, Papua New Guinean film and theatre actor, screenwriter and theatre director. Stanley Tolliver, 85, American attorney and civil rights advocate. Nakamura Tomijūrō V, 81, Japanese Kabuki actor, Living National Treasure. Alec Woodall, 92, British politician, MP for Hemsworth (1974–1987).
4 Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, Tunisian protestor, self-immolation. Albert E. Bradbury, 93, American politician. Grady Chapman, 81, American doo-wop singer (The Robins), heart failure. Chrysanth Chepil, 73, Russian Orthodox prelate, Metropolitan of Vyatka-Slobodskoy. B. H. Friedman, 84, American author and art critic, pneumonia. Keki Byramjee Grant, 90, Indian cardiologist. Sir John Gray, 92, British physiologist. Cyril M. Harris, 93, American acoustical engineer. Hadayatullah Hübsch, 64, German journalist. Mick Karn, 52, Cypriot-born British musician (Japan), cancer. Dick King-Smith, 88, British author (The Sheep-Pig, The Water Horse, The Queen's Nose). Gustavo Kupinski, 36, Argentine guitarist (Los Piojos), traffic collision. Herb Mitchell, 73, American actor (The Practice, Gettysburg, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me).Herbert L. Mitchell Jr. Coen Moulijn, 73, Dutch footballer, brain haemorrhage. Ali-Reza Pahlavi, 44, Iranian royal, son of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, suicide by gunshot. Ronald Parfitt, 97, British Olympic fencer. Gerry Rafferty, 63, Scottish singer-songwriter ("Baker Street", "Stuck in the Middle with You", "Right Down the Line"), liver failure. Jack Richardson, 90, British chemical engineer. Salmaan Taseer, 66, Pakistani politician, Governor of Punjab (since 2008), shot. Bob Usdane, 74, American politician, member of the Arizona Senate (1977–1991), after a short illness.
5 Ross Cain, 54, Nauruan politician.BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES Jim Duncan, 86, American football player (New York Giants) and coach (Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders). Paul Egertson, 75, American Lutheran bishop, heart attack. David Hart, 66, British political activist, author and playwright, motor neurone disease. Lily Marinho, 89, Brazilian philanthropist, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, respiratory failure. Malangatana Ngwenya, 74, Mozambican poet and painter, after long illness. Jack Oliver, 87, American scientist, provided seismic evidence supporting plate tectonics. Helene Palmer, 82, British actress (Coronation Street). Agustin Perdices, 76, Filipino politician, Governor of Negros Oriental (since 2010), stomach cancer. Assar Rönnlund, 75, Swedish cross-country skier, world and Olympic champion. Brian Rust, 88, British jazz discographer and music journalist. David G. Trager, 73, American jurist, pancreatic cancer. Bill Zeller, 27, American computer programmer, complications from a suicide attempt.
6 Leovigildo Banaag, 67, Filipino politician, cardiac arrest. Rudi Bass, 96, Austrian-born American graphic artist, illustrator and writer. John Bendor-Samuel, 81, British missionary and linguist, traffic collision. Tom Cavanagh, 28, American ice hockey player (San Jose Sharks), blunt force trauma. Susana Chávez, 36, Mexican poet and human rights activist, strangled. Francisco de la Rosa, 44, Dominican baseball player (Baltimore Orioles), after a long illness. Ryne Duren, 81, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees). Ohan Durian, 88, Armenian composer. Gad Granach, 95, German memoirist, son of Alexander Granach. John D. Kendall, 93, American musical educator (Suzuki method), complications of a stroke. Irving Farmer Kennedy, 88, Canadian World War II fighter pilot. Aron Kincaid, 70, American actor (The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, Batman: the Animated Series, The Transformers), heart failure. Gary Mason, 48, British boxer, cycling collision. Uche Okafor, 43, Nigerian footballer, murdered. Andrzej Przeździecki, 84, Polish Olympic fencer and trainer. Anthony S. Seminerio, 75, American politician and convicted felon, member of the New York State Assembly (1979–2009). Pyotr Sumin, 64, Russian politician, Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast (1996–2010). Donald J. Tyson, 80, American business executive, Chairman of Tyson Foods (1967–2001), cancer. *Vang Pao, 81, Lao army general and Hmong community leader, Commander of the Secret Army, pneumonia. Reg Ward, 82, British chief executive of London Docklands Development Corporation (1981–1987). Dagmar Wilson, 94, American anti-nuclear activist, heart failure.
7 Helga Bachmann, 79, Icelandic actress and director. Red Borom, 95, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers). Eddie Carr, 87, American football player (San Francisco 49ers). Carlos Castro, 65, Portuguese journalist, bludgeoned. Derek Gardner, 79, British vehicle and Formula One car designer. Robert P. Hanrahan, 76, American politician, U.S. Representative from Illinois (1973–1975). George Harris, 77, American Olympic judoka, leukemia. Bill "Tiger" Johnson, 84, American football player (San Francisco 49ers) and coach (Cincinnati Bengals). Krzysztof Kolberger, 60, Polish actor, cancer. Włodzimierz Ławniczak, 51, Polish journalist, Chairman of Telewizja Polska, after long illness. Val Puccio, 45, American professional wrestler. Alberte Pullman, 90, French theoretical and quantum chemist. Richard Bordeaux Parker, 87, American diplomat. Bobby Robinson, 93, American record producer. Simona Senoner, 17, Italian ski jumper. José Vidal, 70, Dominican baseball player (Cleveland Indians, Seattle Pilots), cancer.
8 Noel Andrews, 79, Irish boxing commentator. Joey Carew, 73, Trinidadian cricketer (West Indies), arteriosclerosis. Willi Dansgaard, 88, Danish paleoclimatologist. Jiří Dienstbier, 73, Czech politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1989–1992). Peter Donaldson, 58, Canadian actor (The Sweet Hereafter, Emily of New Moon, Road to Avonlea), lung cancer. Hans Ulrich Engelmann, 89, German composer. Mike Gambrill, 75, British Olympic cyclist, bronze medalist (1956). José García, 84, Uruguayan footballer. Oleg Grabar, 81, American Islamic art historian, heart failure. Ángel Pedraza, 48, Spanish footballer and manager, cancer. Manuel Pestana Filho, 82, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Anápolis (1978–2004). *Juan Piquer Simón, 74, Spanish film director (Pieces, Slugs), lung cancer. John Roll, 63, American jurist, shot. Del Reisman, 86, American television producer (The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables) and writer, President of WGAW (1991–1993), cardiac arrest. Elfa Secioria, 51, Indonesian jazz pianist. Thorbjørn Svenssen, 86, Norwegian footballer, record 104 appearances for the national team, stroke. Morton Sweig, 95, American businessman. Marcia Torres, 60–61, Chilean hairstylist and entertainer, first transgender woman that had a sex reassignment surgery in Latin America. Christopher Trumbo, 70, American screenwriter, kidney cancer. William F. Walsh, 98, American politician, Mayor of Syracuse, New York (1961–1969), Congressman (1973–1979). Moshe Yess, 67, Canadian composer and singer, cancer.
9 James Acord, 66, American sculptor, suicide. Vítor Alves, 75, Portuguese soldier and politician, member of the MFA, responsible for the Carnation Revolution, cancer. Richard Butcher, 29, English footballer (Macclesfield Town), natural causes. Ruth Cavin, 92, American mystery novel editor, lung cancer. Debbie Friedman, 59, American songwriter, pneumonia. Sir Ernest Lee-Steere, 98, Australian horse racing official, Lord Mayor of Perth, Western Australia (1972–1978). Makinti Napanangka, 80s, Australian Papunya Tula artist. Howard Wallace Pollock, 90, American politician, U.S. Representative from Alaska (1967–1971). Dave Sisler, 79, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds), prostate cancer. Georges Vanbrabant, 84, Belgian Olympian Jerzy Woźniak, 78, Polish footballer (Legia Warszawa). Peter Yates, 81, British film director and producer (Bullitt, Breaking Away, Krull).
10 Liana Alexandra, 63, Romanian music educator and composer. Naseerullah Babar, 82, Pakistani soldier and politician, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1976–1977) and Interior Minister (1993–1996). Arthur Barrett, 83, English footballer. Bill Bower, 93, American aviator, last surviving pilot of Doolittle Raid, complications from a fall.