The following is a list of notable deaths in October 2002.
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.
October 2002
1 Walter Annenberg, 94, American publisher (The Philadelphia Inquirer, TV Guide, Daily Racing Form, Seventeen) and philanthropist. Ilie Ceaușescu, 76, Romanian general and communist politician, pneumonia. Consuelo Salgar, 74, Colombian journalist, advertising executive, and politician, liver cancer. Edeltraud Schramm, 78, Austrian Olympic gymnast (1948, 1952).
2 Norman O. Brown, 89, American philosopher and author (Life Against Death, Love's Body). Al Lerner, 69, American businessman, football team owner, and philanthropist. William Logan, 87, American Olympic cyclist (1936). Tiberiu Olah, 74, Romanian-Hungarian composer, teacher and musicologist. Alexander Sinclair, 91, Canadian ice hockey player and Olympian (1936). Heinz von Foerster, 90, Austrian-American physicist and philosopher, one of the founders of constructivism.
3 Tad Horino, 81, American film and television actor. Felix Kracht, 90, German engineer. Bruce Paltrow, 58, American television and film director and producer, pneumonia. Dalvanius Prime, 54, New Zealand entertainer and songwriter, cancer. John Weitz, 79, American fashion designer, novelist and historian.
4 Per Bronken, 67, Norwegian poet, novelist, actor, film director and stage producer. Alphonse Chapanis, 85, American pioneer in the field of industrial design. André Delvaux, 76, Belgian film director, considered the father of the Belgian film industry, heart attack. Hans Holmér, 71, Swedish civil servant and author. Buddy Lester, 87, American actor and comedian, cancer. Ahmad Mahmoud, 70, Iranian novelist. Russ Ochsenhirt, 90, American basketball player. Marcel Reymond, 91, Swiss Olympic ski jumper (1936). Arnaldo Salvi, 86, Italian footballer. Roy Wilkins, 68, American professional football player (University of Georgia, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins).
5 Magda B. Arnold, 98, Canadian psychologist. Reginald Hibbert, 80, British diplomat. Morag Hood, 59, British actress, cancer. Ron Horn, 64, American basketball player. Tony Mazzocchi, 76, American labor leader, pancreatic cancer. Mia Čorak Slavenska, 86, Croatian-American ballerina. Jay R. Smith, 87, American child actor and comedian, stabbed.
6 Ben Eastman, 91, American Olympic runner (1932). Wolfgang Mischnick, 81, German liberal politician (FDP). Prince Claus of the Netherlands, 76, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Dutch diplomat, pneumonia. Chuck Rayner, 82, Canadian professional hockey player (New York Americans, New York Rangers). Nick Whitehead, 69, British (Welsh) sprinter and Olympian (bronze medal in 1960). Juan Yustrich, 93, Argentine football goalkeeper.
7 Pierangelo Bertoli, 59, Italian singer-songwriter and poet, heart attack. Ralph Harry, 85, Australian diplomat and intelligence specialist. Cor Kint, 82, Dutch backstroke swimmer and 1938 European Champion. Thomas Mack, 88, American rower and Olympian (1928, 1932). Marcel Paille, 69, Canadian ice hockey goaltender (New York Rangers), cancer. Domenico Paolella, 86, Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Ed Rossbach, 88, American fiber artist. Amanda Zhao, 21, Chinese student.
8 Jodie Beeler, 80, American baseball player (Cincinnati Reds). Phyllis Calvert, 87, British actress (The Man in Grey, Fanny by Gaslight, The Magic Bow, My Own True Love), kidney failure. Kirk Grybowski, 64, US Virgin Islands Olympic sailor (1984). Jacques Richard, 50, Canadian ice hockey player (Atlanta Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Quebec Nordiques), car accident. Joachim Zahn, 88, German business executive, chairman of Daimler-Benz (1971-1979).
9 Fred Arndt, 85, American basketball player. Sopubek Begaliev, 71, Soviet-Kyrgyz economist and politician. Charles Guggenheim, 78, American documentary film director, producer, and screenwriter, pancreatic cancer. Anwar Hussain, 82, Pakistani cricketer. Oleksandr Liashko, 86, Ukrainian politician. Carlo Lievore, 64, Italian Olympic javelin thrower (1960, 1964). Eric Martin, 33, American racing driver, racing accident. Jim Martin, 78, American football player. Bruno O'Ya, 69, Estonian-Polish actor. Aileen Wuornos, 46, American serial killer, execution by lethal injection.
10 Strahinja Alagić, 78, Serbian basketball player and coach. Allison Calder, 42, New Zealand swimmer and Olympian (1976). Mario de las Casas, 101, Peruvian football defender. Tom Casey, 78, American professional football player (New York Yankees, Hamilton Wildcats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers). Fate Echols, 63, American professional football player (Northwestern University, St. Louis Cardinals). Lawrence H. Fountain, 89, American politician (U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district). Teresa Graves, 54, American actress and singer, house fire, accidental death. Denison Kitchel, 94, American lawyer political advisor. Abe Most, 82, Swing clarinetist and alto saxophonist. Zara Nelsova, 81, Canadian cellist. Tom Sullivan, 52, American gridiron football player (Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns), accidental death. Erling Sørensen, 81, Danish football player, manager, and Olympian (1948). Joe Wood, 86, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox).
11 Betty Molesworth Allen, 89, New Zealand botanist. Stewart Crawford, 89, British diplomat. Werner Eberlein, 82, German socialist politician and party functionary, heart attack. Toots Ferrell, 73, American baseball player. Bill Field, 93, British politician."William James Field" (obituary), The Times, 15 October 2002, p. 35 Ron Gray, 82, English football player and manager. Fritz Halmen, 90, Romanian Olympic handball player (1936). Maxim Levy, 52, Israeli politician. Dina Pathak, 80, Indian actor and director, heart attack. Emilio García Riera, 70, Spanish-born Mexican actor, writer and cinema critic. Christine Stevens, 84, American animal welfare activist and conservationist. Fred Troller, 71, Swiss-born graphic designer.Heller, Stephen, Fred Troller, 71, Champion of bold graphic style, The New York Times, 24 October 2002. Retrieved 4 March 2024. Stanley Wagner, 94, Canadian ice hockey player and Olympian (1932). Rusty Wailes, 66, American Olympic rower (1956, 1960).
12 Viktor Asmaev, 54, Russian Olympic equestrian (1980). Ray Conniff, 85, American bandleader and arranger, fall. Carolina Fadic, 28, Chilean actress and television presenter, cerebral hemorrhage. Desmond Fitzpatrick, 89, British Army general. Audrey Mestre, 28, French world record-setting free diver, drowned. Nozomi Momoi, 24, Japanese AV idol, murdered. Sidney W. Pink, 86, American movie director and producer. William R. Sears, 89, American aeronautical engineer and educator. Mick Shoebottom, 58, English rugby league footballer.
13 Stephen E. Ambrose, 66, American historian and author (Band of Brothers), lung cancer. Keene Curtis, 79, American actor (The Rothschilds, Annie, Cheers), Alzheimer's disease. Mason Hammond, 99, American educator and scholar. Jim Higgins, 71, British politician. Billy McAdams, 68, Northern Irish football player and manager. Ila Mitra, 76, Indian communist politician and activist. Dennis Patrick, 84, American actor, fire. Eileen Southern, 82, American musicologist, researcher and author. Sir Garfield Todd, 94, Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. Herman Fredrik Zeiner-Gundersen, 87, Norwegian Army general.
14 Bill Green, 72, American politician (U.S. Representative for New York's 18th and 15th congressional districts), liver cancer. Louis Pichon, 86, French Olympic modern pentathlete (1948). Timothy Reuter, 55, German-British historian, brain cancer. Seikyu Ri, 91, Korean Olympic basketball player (1936). Norbert Schultze, 91, German film score composer and Nazi Party member. Arturo Silvestri, 81, Italian football player and manager. Rostyslav Svanidze, 30, Ukrainian swimmer and Olympian (1996, 2000).
15 Grace Hamblin, 94, British private secretary to Winston Churchill. Jack Lee, 89, British film director. Paul Paillole, 96, French intelligence services officer. Toivo Räsänen, 77, Finnish Olympic rower (1952). Zeev, 79, Israeli caricaturist and illustrator.
16 Per Bak, 53, Danish theoretical physicist, known for "self-organized criticality", myelodysplastic syndrome. Philip Brett, 64, British-American musicologist, musician and conductor, cancer. Harry Ferrier, 82, Scottish football player and manager. Allen Walker Read, 96, American etymologist and lexicographer. Henri Renaud, 77, French jazz pianist, record producer, and record company executive.
17 Derek Bell, 66, Northern Irish musician and composer (The Chieftains), heart attack. Pattie Coldwell, 50, British television broadcaster and journalist (Nationwide, Open Air, Loose Women, You and Yours), brain tumor. Yara Cortes, 81, Brazilian actress. Chuck Domanico, 58, American jazz bassist, lung cancer. D. Elmo Hardy, 88, American entomologist. Bashful Brother Oswald, 90, American country musician, a frequent Grand Ole Opry performer. Yitzhak Peretz, 66, Israeli politician. Alina Pienkowska, 50, Polish free trade union activist and politician, cancer. Aileen Riggin, 96, American Olympic swimmer and diver (1920, 1924). Fred Scolari, 80, American basketball player and coach.
18 Richard Bernstein, 62, American artist, member of the circle of Andy Warhol, complications of AIDS. Cecil Blacker, 86, British Army general, Adjutant-General to the Forces. Kam Fong Chun, 84, American police officer and actor (Hawaii Five-O), lung cancer. John D. Ferry, 90, Canadian-American biochemist, made important contributions to polymer science. Roman Tam, 57, Hong Kong cantopop singer, liver cancer. Miroslav Vymazal, 50, Czech Olympic cyclist (1976).
19 Peter Bergmann, 87, German-American physicist, known for his work with Albert Einstein. Manuel Álvarez Bravo, 100, Mexican photographer. John Meredyth Lucas, 83, American writer, director and producer, leukemia. Mehli Mehta, 94, Indian conductor and violinist. Hans Jürgen Press, 76, German children's writer and illustrator. Nikolay Rukavishnikov, 70, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 10, Soyuz 16, Soyuz 33), heart attack. Hank Smith, 68, Canadian country music singer. Héctor Trujillo, 94, Dominican general and political figure.
20 Barbara Berjer, 82, American actress (As the World Turns, Another World), pneumonia. Les Douglas, 83, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings). Hans Eisele, 62, German football player. Bernard Fresson, 71, French actor (French Connection II, The Tenant, Street of No Return), cancer. Mel Harder, 93, American baseball player, coach, and manager (Cleveland Indians).
21 Aldo Canazza, 94, Italian racing cyclist. Alejandro Díaz, 77, Cuban Olympic gymnast (1948). Bernardino Pérez Elizarán, 77, Spanish football player and manager. Manfred Ewald, 76, East German Olympic committee president, pneumonia. Jesse L. Greenstein, 93, American astronomer. George Hall, 85, Canadian theatre, television, and film actor. Kemal Kurt, 54, Turkish-German author, translator and photographer. Bernhard Neumann, 93, British-Australian mathematician. Kaisa Parviainen, 87, Finnish Olympic athlete (1948, 1952). Marquita Rivera, 80, Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer, stroke. Ed Ryan, 76, American football player (Pittsburgh Steelers). Beatrice Serota, Baroness Serota, 83, British politician. Harbhajan Singh, 82, Indian poet, critic, and cultural commentator. Y. R. Swamy, Indian film director and screenwriter.
22 Queen Geraldine of Albania, 87, Queen consort of King Zog I of Albania. George Bellak, 83, American television writer. Marian Bergeron, 84, American beauty pageant winner (Miss America 1933) and big band singer, leukemia. Anna Cattaneo, 91, Italian Olympic figure skater (1936).