The following is a list of notable deaths in December 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.
December 2011
1 Solomon Abera, 43, Eritrean journalist. Shingo Araki, 72, Japanese animation artist and character designer (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Galaxy Express 999). Eric Arnott, 82, British eye surgeon. Arthur Beetson, 66, Australian rugby league footballer, first Indigenous Australian to captain a national team in any sport, heart attack. Andrei Blaier, 78, Romanian film director and screenwriter, after long illness. Martina Davis-Correia, 44, American civil rights activist, breast cancer. Ragnhild Hveger, 90, Danish swimmer, Olympic silver medalist (1936). Ted Lapka, 91, American football player (Washington Redskins). François Lesage, 82, French embroidery designer. Bill McKinney, 80, American actor (Deliverance, The Outlaw Josey Wales, First Blood), esophageal cancer. Mr. Ebbo, 37, Tanzanian rapper, leukemia. Purificacion Quisumbing, 77, Filipino human rights advocate, Chairperson of Commission on Human Rights (2002–2008), multiple myeloma. Louis Silverstein, 92, American artist and graphic designer. Alan Sues, 85, American actor and comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), heart attack. Hippolyte Van den Bosch, 85, Belgian footballer. Christa Wolf, 82, German writer. Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, 65, American psychoanalyst, biographer of Hannah Arendt, pulmonary embolism.
2 Robert Lawrence Balzer, 99, American wine journalist. Bruno Bianchi, 56, French cartoonist and animator (Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats, Inspector Gadget). Laurent Fuahea, 84, Tongan-born Wallisian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Wallis et Futuna (1974–2005). Pavle Jurina, 56, Croatian handball player and coach. Christopher Logue, 85, British poet. David Montgomery, 84, American historian, brain hemorrhage. Artur Quaresma, 94, Portuguese footballer. Patrick Sheridan, 89, American Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of New York (1990–2001). Bill Tapia, 103, American ukulelist. Howard Tate, 72, American soul singer.
3 Jalal Alamgir, 40, Bangladeshi academic, drowning. Dev Anand, 88, Indian actor, cardiac arrest. James A. Barclay, 88, Scottish Canadian engineer and executive, golfer, and golf historian, natural causes. Louky Bersianik, 81, Canadian novelist. Philip "Fatis" Burrell, 57, Jamaican record producer, stroke. Ernst-Jürgen Dreyer, 77, German writer. Sabri Godo, 82, Albanian politician, writer and scriptwriter, founder and president of the Republican Party of Albania, lung cancer. Karl-Axel Karlsson, 72, Swedish Olympic sport shooter (1972, 1976). Sam Loxton, 90, Australian cricketer (The Invincibles), Australian rules footballer and politician, Victorian MLA for Prahran (1955–1979). Larry Rickles, 41, American Emmy Award-winning producer (Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project), pneumonia. Rafael Rodríguez Barrera, 74, Mexican politician, Governor of Campeche (1973–1979), President of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (1992–1993). Rob Schroeder, 85, American racing driver.
4 Ahmed Haji Abdirahman, 54, Somali cleric, preacher, and Islamic scholar known for his contributions to Dawah, Assassinated by Al-Shabab. Mary Ellen Avery, 84, American pediatrician. Antonio Barone, 72, Italian physicist. Allan Cameron, 94, Scottish soldier and curler. Ambika Charan Choudhury, 81, Indian writer. Marion Dougherty, 88, American casting director (Full Metal Jacket, Batman, Midnight Cowboy). Patricia C. Dunn, 58, American businesswoman, Chairman of Hewlett-Packard (2005–2006), ovarian cancer. Adam Hanuszkiewicz, 87, Polish actor and theatre director. Matti Yrjänä Joensuu, 63, Finnish crime fiction writer. Besim Kabashi, 35, Albanian kickboxer, heart attack. Dimitrios Kalligeris, 62, Greek footballer (Panathinaikos F.C., Kalamata F.C.), traffic collision. Alamein Kopu, 68, New Zealand politician, List MP (1996–1999). Jim Malosky, 82, American football coach (Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs), respiratory failure. Sonia Pierre, 48, Dominican Republic human rights advocate, winner of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award (2006), heart attack. RJ Rosales, 37, Filipino-born Australian singer and actor. Sócrates, 57, Brazilian footballer, septic shock. Hubert Sumlin, 80, American blues guitarist, heart failure. Andrei Tverdokhlebov, 71, Soviet dissident.
5 Dan Biggers, 80, American actor (In the Heat of the Night, Glory, Elizabethtown). Michel Descombey, 81, French choreographer. Michel Descombey (1930–2011) Paul M. Doty, 91, American scientist. Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, 75, Japanese politician, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2006–2008), acute pneumonia. Peter Gethin, 71, British Formula One driver (1970–1974). Jorge Hourton, 85, French-born Chilean Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Temuco (1992–2001). Anatoly Klebanov, 59, Soviet Olympic water polo player. Gennady Logofet, 69, Russian footballer. Joe Lonnett, 84, American baseball player and coach. Dan Mills, 80, American animator (Family Guy, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe). Daisy Myers, 86, African-American educator. Pusuke, 26, Japanese dog, world's oldest known living dog at time of death. Bill Stits, 80, American football player (Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants), complications from Alzheimer's disease. Darrell K. Sweet, 77, American artist. Georges Talbourdet, 60, French cyclist. Violetta Villas, 73, Belgian-born Polish singer. Celia Whitelaw, Viscountess Whitelaw, 94, British ATS volunteer, philanthropist/charity worker and horticulturist.
6 Günter Altner, 75, German interdisciplinary scientist. Giancarlo Badessi, 83, Italian actor, heart attack. John Banks, 89, American Negro league baseball player. Brent Darby, 30, American basketball player (Ohio State University), blood clots. Tony Fell, 79, British music publisher. Ron Fletcher, 90, American dancer and pilates teacher, heart failure. Dobie Gray, 71, American singer ("The 'In' Crowd", "Drift Away"), cancer. Barbara Orbison, 61, German-born American record producer and music publisher, pancreatic cancer. Paul Ramírez, 25, Venezuelan footballer, stroke. Lawrie Tierney, 52, Scottish footballer.
7 Pearse Cahill, 95, Irish aviation pioneer. Peter Croker, 89, English footballer (Charlton Athletic). Teresa Hsu, 113, Chinese-born Singaporean social worker and supercentenarian. Tom Kennedy, 63, American film trailer producer. *Nuno Viriato Tavares de Melo Egídio, 89, Portuguese general, Governor of Macau (1979–1981). Harry Morgan, 96, American actor (M*A*S*H, Dragnet, December Bride), pneumonia. Elizabeth Ann Ray, 98, American USAF officer. Jerry Robinson, 89, American comic book artist (Batman), co-creator of Robin and The Joker. T. A. Springer, 85, Dutch mathematician.
8 Gilbert Adair, 66, Scottish author, film critic and journalist, brain haemorrhage. Mihai Botez, 89, Romanian Olympic gymnast. Peter Brown, 77, English footballer. Robert Brown, 61, American politician, Georgia State Senator (1991–2011), suicide by gunshot. Lewis Bush, 42, American football player (San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs), apparent heart attack. Sir Zelman Cowen, 92, Australian constitutional lawyer and academic, 19th Governor-General of Australia (1977–1982). Vinko Cuzzi, 72, Croatian footballer. Ladislas de Hoyos, 72, French journalist and news anchor (TF1). Đơn Dương, 54, Vietnamese-born American actor (We Were Soldiers), heart failure and brain hemorrhage. Gene Huff, 82, American politician, member of the Kentucky House of Representatives (1967–1971) and State Senator (1971–1994), lung disease. Peggy Makins, 95, British agony aunt. Giorgio Mariani, 65, Italian footballer. Minoru Miki, 81, Japanese composer. Andrew Pataki, 84, American Eastern Catholic hierarch, Bishop of Parma for Ruthenian (1984–1995) and Passaic for Ruthenian (1995–2007). Joe Restic, 85, American NCAA and CFL football coach (Harvard Crimson, Hamilton Tiger-Cats). Charles Ritcheson, 86, American historian and diplomat. Nakdimon Rogel, 86, Israeli journalist and broadcaster, author of the Nakdi Report. Anthony Harbord-Hamond, 11th Baron Suffield, 89, British soldier and aristocrat.
9 Alf R. Bjercke, 90, Norwegian business magnate. Jacques Debary, 97, French actor. Pushpa Hans, 94, Indian playback singer and actress. Davida Karol, 94, Israeli actress. Hans Maršálek, 97, Austrian political activist, spy, detective and historian.Hans Maršálek - An Austrian political prisoner and survivor of Mauthausen João Pereira dos Santos, 93, Brazilian martial artist (Capoeira). Len Phillips, 89, English footballer (Portsmouth, England). Richard J. Rabbitt, 76, American politician, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives (1973–1977), heart failure. Roy Tattersall, 89, English Test cricketer. Myra Taylor, 94, American jazz singer.
10 Cary D. Allred, 64, American politician, member of the North Carolina Senate (1980–1984) and North Carolina House of Representatives (1994–2009). Jean Baucus, 94, American author, historian and arts patron, mother of Max Baucus. Hamilton Bobby, 44, Indian footballer, heart attack. Alan D. B. Clarke, 89, British psychologist. John Gower, 70, American politician, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly (1973–1979). Vida Jerman, 72, Croatian actress, lung cancer. Albert Overhauser, 86, American physicist. Stephen Schlossberg, 90, American union leader. Ernst Specker, 91, Swiss mathematician (Kochen–Specker theorem). Frank Stephens, 98, Australian surgeon.
11 Rodolfo Bottino, 52, Brazilian actor (Bambolê, Bebê a Bordo, O Homem do Futuro) and chef, pulmonary embolism. Phillip Cottrell, 43, British born New Zealand journalist (BBC Scotland, Radio New Zealand), assaulted. Mimi Darwish, 69, Egyptian Olympic footballer (1964). John Patrick Foley, 76, American Roman Catholic Cardinal and Grand Master Emeritus of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, leukemia. Susan Gordon, 62, American child actress (The Five Pennies, My Three Sons, The Twilight Zone), thyroid cancer. J. Lynn Helms, 86, American Marine Corps officer, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (1981–1984), cardiopulmonary failure and pneumonia. Mabel Holle, 91, American baseball player (AAGPBL). Hans Heinz Holz, 84, German Marxist philosopher. Harold Hopkins, 67, Australian actor (Don's Party, Gallipoli, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities), mesothelioma. Eric Howlett, 84, American inventor. *Ke Yan, 82, Chinese poet and writer. Ahmed İhsan Kırımlı, 91, Turkish doctor, politician, poet and philanthropist. Leonida Lari, 62, Moldovan-born Romanian writer and politician, member of the Supreme Soviet (1989–1991) and Romanian Parliament (1992–2008), breast cancer. Mario Miranda, 85, Indian cartoonist. Bonnie Prudden, 97, American rock climber and physical fitness advocate. M. S. Reddy, 87, Indian film producer, long illness.
12 Sunday Bada, 42, Nigerian Olympic sprinter, gold medalist (2000). Clyde Conner, 78, American football player (San Francisco 49ers). John Gardner, 94, British classical music composer. Heini Lohrer, 93, Swiss Olympic ice hockey player (1948). Alberto de Mendoza, 88, Argentine actor (Horror Express). Mălina Olinescu, 37, Romanian singer (Eurovision Song Contest 1998), suicide by jumping. Sir Robert Peliza, 91, Gibraltarian politician, Chief Minister (1969–1972). Bert Schneider, 78, American film and television producer (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Monkees). Randy Stein, 58, American baseball player. Gene Summers, 83, American architect (McCormick Place), liver disease.
13 David Allen, 74, Northern Irish politician, stroke. Nordine Amrani, 33, Belgian-Moroccan terrorist, suicide by gunshot. T. J. Bass, 79, American writer. Graham Brown, 87, American actor (Malcolm X, The Muppets Take Manhattan), pulmonary failure.