The following is a list of notable deaths in February 1989.
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.
February 1989
1 Hubert Ausböck, 81, German Olympic boxer (1928). Everett Bacon, 98, American college football player (Wesleyan Cardinals). Lillian Boyer, 88, American wing walker.That Daring Young Gal on a Flying Machine: On a Wing and a Prayer, Lillian Thrilled Fans. L.A. Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. James Drake, 81, British civil engineer, pioneer of the national motorway network.OBITUARY Sir James Drake. British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Blaze Foley, 39, American country music singer-songwriter, poet and artist, shot.Blaze Foley (1949–1989). Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Elaine de Kooning, 70, American artist.Elaine de Kooning, Artist and Teacher, Dies at 68. N.Y. Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Grace Hayes, 93, American actress, singer, vaudeville entertainer and nightclub owner. J.C. Hoel, 84, American motorcycle racer, and founder of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.Meet the American who founded the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, 'put the brotherhood in motorcycles'. Fox "News". Retrieved 19 May 2024. Kenneth Morris, 71, American composer of gospel music.KENNETH MORRIS; HAD LAST BLACK GOSPEL MUSIC STORE. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Erik Persson, 79, Swedish international footballer and Olympian (1936). John Tootoosis, 89, Canadian First Nations leader.
2 Yuri Bogatyryov, 41, Soviet actor (At Home Among Strangers), medication clash related to heart attack. Marie Poland Fish, 88, American oceanographer and marine biologist. Étienne Guibel, 83, French Olympic field hockey player (1936). Vladimír Lulek, 35, Czech family murderer, executed. Ondrej Nepela, 38, Slovak figure skater and Olympic gold medalist (1964, 1968, 1972), lymph node cancer. Arnold Nordmeyer, 87, New Zealand politician, Leader of the Opposition.Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer. Britannica. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Nuno Oliveira, 63, Portuguese equestrian, horse trainer and dressage instructor. Walter M. Scott, 82, American set decorator (The Sound of Music, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Marie Syrkin, 89, American writer and Zionist activist.
3 Dick Bass, 82, American MLB player (Washington Senators). John Cassavetes, 59, Greek-American actor (Johnny Staccato, The Dirty Dozen), film director, and screenwriter, cirrhosis of the liver. Glenna Collett-Vare, 85, American amateur golfer, inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame.Glenna Collett Vare, 85, Golfer. The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. John Davis, 77, British RAF officer. Betty Farrington, 90, American actress. Joan Grant, 81, English writer of historical novels (Winged Pharaoh). Harry Gray, 72, Australian rules footballer. Frank Hursley, 86, half of American husband-and-wife television screenwriting duo Frank and Doris Hursley (General Hospital). Nina Kirsanova, 91, Russian-born Yugoslav ballet dancer. Ebbe Langberg, 55, Danish actor and film director. John McCauley, 89, Australian Air Force senior commander, Chief of Air Force, stroke.Air Marshal John Patrick Joseph McCauley. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Louis H. Narcisse, 67, American religious leader, founder of Mt. Zion Spiritual Church, heart attack. Lionel Newman, 73, American conductor, pianist and composer (Academy Award for Best Original Score for Hello, Dolly!), cardiac arrest. Kim Sung-jun, 35, South Korean boxer (WBC light flyweight champion), suicide by jumping.
4 Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns, 68, American mandolinist, half of comedy duo Homer and Jethro, prostate cancer.KENNETH BURNS, 68, OF HOMER & JETHRO. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Medford Bryan Evans, 81, college professor and Conservative political activist. Thorkild Hansen, 62, Danish novelist (Coast of Slaves, Ships of Slaves, Islands of Slaves). Trevor Lucas, 45, Australian folk singer (Fotheringay), heart attack.Trevor Lucas Biography. Mainly Norfolk. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Grandizo Munis, 76, Spanish Trotskyist politician.Grandizo Munis. Marxists.org. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Ham Seok-heon, 87, Korean Quaker.HAM SOK-HON: The Korean Gandhi. mkgandhi.org. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Ferris Webster, 76, American film editor (The Manchurian Candidate, The Great Escape).
5 André Cheuva, 80, French international footballer and manager (Lille OSC).André Cheuva. eu-football.info. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Roy Chicago, Nigerian musician and band leader. Percy Hoskins, 84, British crime reporter (Daily Express). Emrys James, 60, Welsh Shakespearean actor.Emrys James. BBC. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Rajinder Kaur, 57, Indian journalist and politician, shot by terrorists. Joe Morrison, 51, American NFL footballer and coach (New York Giants), congestive heart failure. Killer Joe Piro, 67, American dance instructor, kidney disease.Killer Joe Piro, Who Popularized Discotheque Dancing, Dies at 68. New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Joe Raposo, 51, American composer, singer and pianist (Sesame Street theme, Bein' Green), non-Hodgkin lymphoma.Joseph G. Raposo Is Dead at 51; Helped to Create 'Sesame Street'. New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Hal Wilder, 95, American NFL player (St. Louis All-Stars).
6 Suri Bhagavantam, 79, Indian scientist, vice chancellor of Osmania University, director of Indian Institute of Science. Sushil Bose, 77, Indian cricketer. Joseph L. Carrigg, 87, American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives (1951-1959). André Cayatte, 80, French filmmaker (Justice Is Done, We Are All Murderers, To Die of Love).Andre Cayatte, Film Maker, Is Dead at 80. New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Ron Field, 55, American choreographer and dancer (Cabaret), brain lesions. Chris Gueffroy, 20, East German, last to be killed by use of firearms at the Berlin Wall.Victims of the Berlin Wall never forgotten. NBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Netty Herawaty, 59, Indonesian actress (Rodrigo de Villa, After the Curfew). Antoni Łaciak, 49, Polish Olympic ski jumper (1964). Filiberto Menna, 62, Italian art critic and art theorist. Undine Smith Moore, 84, American composer and professor of music (Scenes from the Life of a Martyr), stroke.Notable Virginia Women - Undine Smith (1904–1989). LibRary of Virginia. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Otto Schulmann, 86, German-born conductor and vocal teacher. King Tubby, 48, Jamaican sound engineer, shot.King Tubby. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Barbara W. Tuchman, 77, American historian and author (The Guns of August, Stilwell and the American Experience in China), stroke.
7 Eric Jay, 81, British Anglican priest. Albert Branson Maris, 95, American judge. Adolf Martignoni, 79, Swiss Olympic ice hockey player (1936). James T. Patterson, 80, American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives (1947-1959). Philip Pratt, 64, American district judge (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan). Giuseppe Puca, 33, Italian criminal, boss of Nuova Camorra Organizzata, murdered after shootout. Sixto Rovina, 28, Netherlands Antilles international footballer, heart attack during game. Gilbert Simondon, 64, French philosopher. William Campbell Steere, 81, American botanist, expert on bryophytes, director of New York Botanical Garden. Simon Virsaladze, 80, Georgian ballet, film and opera designer.Simon Virsaladze, 80, Designer. New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Prince Wilhelm Victor of Prussia, 69, German nobleman and diplomat.
8 Matt Bross, 85, American NFL player (Green Bay Packers). John Coward, 81, British Olympic ice hockey player (1936). Cyril Luckham, 81, English film, television and theatre actor (Doctor Who, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em). Begum Khurshid Mirza, 70, Pakistani television and film actress. Webster B. Todd, 89, American Chairman of New Jersey Republican State Committee, heart attack.
9 Ken Adachi, 59–60, Canadian writer and literary critic (Toronto Star).Ken Adachi. University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Bill Dalley, 87, New Zealand rugby union player (Canterbury, All Blacks). Oliver C. Dawson, 78, American athlete (John Carroll Blue Streaks) and sports coach (South Carolina State Bulldogs). Osamu Tezuka, 60, Japanese artist and animator (Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion), stomach cancer.TEZUKA, Osamu 1928-1989. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
10 Darnley Alexander, 69, Nigerian jurist, Chief Justice of Nigeria. Irving Brown, 77, American trade unionist (Presidential Medal of Freedom). Agustín Ramos Calero, 69, decorated Puerto Rican soldier in the U.S. Army.Agustín Ramos Calero: The Borinqueneers’ “One Man Army”. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Cosmo Crawley, 84, English cricketer, rackets and real tennis player. Wayne Hays, 77, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1949-1976), heart attack.Wayne L. Hays of Ohio Dies at 77; Scandal Ended Career in Congress. New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Grady Higginbotham, 96, American sports player and coach. James Hunter III, 72, American circuit judge (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit). Panini Ilangakoon, 69, Sri Lankan politician, Member of Parliament. Dan Kelly, 52, Canadian-American sportscaster, lung cancer. Emily Kimbrough, 89, American author and journalist (Our Hearts Were Young and Gay). Herbert Ryman, 78, American artist and Disney Imagineer (Sleeping Beauty Castle), cancer.H. Ryman; Illustrated Disneyland Plans. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Josef Schneeberger, 69, Austrian Olympic cross-country skier (1952 1956).
11 Charles L. Bolte, 93, United States Army general, vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, stroke. T. E. B. Clarke, 81, British screenwriter (The Lavender Hill Mob). Leon Festinger, 69, American social psychologist (cognitive dissonance, social comparison theory), cancer. Roland Gross, 80, American film editor and television editor (None but the Lonely Heart). George O'Hanlon, 76, American actor, comedian and writer (The Jetsons), stroke.George O'Hanlon, 76, George Jetson's Voice. New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024. André Rolet, 87, French Olympic weightlifter (1924). Cecil C. Steiner, 92, American dentist (Steiner method of analysis). Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, 83, ruler of Abu Dhabi.Sheikh Shakhbout ibn Sultan Al Nahyan. Britannica. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Katharine Lane Weems, 89, American sculptor (Dolphins of the Sea, Lotta Fountain).
12 Thomas Bernhard, 58, Austrian novelist and playwright (Correction, Extinction), heart attack. Eduard Braesecke, 83, German Olympic long-distance runner (1936). Jorge Romero Brest, 83, Argentinian art critic. Attilio Dottesio, 79, Italian film actor and singer. Pat Finucane, 39, Irish lawyer, murdered.Pat Finucane's murder: a pitiless act and a political storm. The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2024. Gordon Kramer, 67, Australian rules footballer. Euel Moore, 80, American MLB player (Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants). Pandit Narendra Sharma, 75, Indian writer and poet (Satyam Shivam Sundaram theme). Bill Speer, 46, Canadian NHL ice hockey player (Boston Bruins), snowmobile accident.Family remembers Stanley Cup win. The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
13 Ernestine Barrier, 80, American stage, film and television actress (Project Moonbase). Hal Broda, 83, American NFL player (Cleveland Bulldogs). Claude Dupuy, 87, French Roman Catholic archbishop. Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark, 79, member of the Greek Royal family. Thorbjørn Frydenlund, 96, Norwegian Olympic wrestler (1912). Dud Harris, 85, American NFL player (Portsmouth Spartans).