The following is a list of notable deaths in March 1981.
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.
March 1981 2 Tony Gulotta, 77, American racing driver, he made thirteen starts in the Indy 500, with a best finish of third in 1927, his second start.Tony Gulotta, Champ Car Stats, Retrieved 2011-04-07
3 William S. Burroughs Jr., 33, American novelist, he wrote two autobiographical novels, and was working on a third, the novels relate the experiences of a teenage runaway in the early 1960s, death by acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage, associated with micronodular cirrhosis Oleg Dal, 39, Soviet actor, his film credits included appearances in Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha (as Zhenya Kolyshkin, 1967), Chronicles of a Dive Bomber (as Eugene Sobolevsky, 1967), An Old, Old Tale (as soldier and puppeteer, 1968), King Lear (as the Jester, 1970), The Land of Sannikov (as Yevgeny Krestovsky, 1974), It Can't Be! (as Barygin-Amursky, 1975), and The Suicide Club, or the Adventures of a Titled Person (as Prince Florizel, 1981, death by heart attack while sleeping in his hotel room in the city of Kiev
4 Torin Thatcher, 76, Indian-born British actor from Bombay,cancer
5 Brenda de Banzie, 71, British actress, she reportedly appeared in many films produced by the Rank Organisation, death due to post-surgery complications, following a brain surgery. Yip Harburg, 84, American lyricist and librettist, he wrote the lrics for all of the songs for the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), including Over the Rainbow, he championed racial, sexual, and gender equality and labor unionism, and he was an ardent critic of high society and religion, death due to a heart attack while driving, he had stopped at a red light at the time of his death. Paul Hörbiger, 86, Austrian actor,he portrayed the porter who "talks too much" in the British film noir The Third Man (1949);, as Hörbiger did not speak English at the time, he learned his lines phonetically. Red Saunders, 69, American jazz drummer and bandleader, in 1937, Saunders joined the house band at the Club DeLisa, and he eventually became its bandleader, Robert L. Campbell, Armin Büttner, and Dan Kochakian, "Red Saunders Discography", updated 2016. Campber.people.clemson.edu, Retrieved 24 October 2016he remained in control of the Club DeLisa house band, playing four to six shows nightly, until the club closed in 1958, he only had a relatively brief hiatus between 1945 and 1947, when he led a smaller band at other venues in both Chicago and Indianapolis. Totti Truman Taylor, 65, British actress,in 1953, she portrayed Aunt Sally in the children's television series Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective.
6 George Geary, 87, English first-class cricketer, primarily a bowler, he took 46 wickets in 14 Tests. Garry Marsh, 78, English actor,he started off in films as a leading man, but he later became a character actor, playing self-important roles, during World War II he served as a flying officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF).
7 Peter Birch, Irish cleric, he served as the Bishop of Ossory from 1964 until his death in 1981, he was reportedly an unpopular figure in the Irish hierarchy, supporting the progressive ideals of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and calling for improvements in the living conditions of rural women, going against the social conservatism of his fellow clerics. https://www.dib.ie/biography/birch-peter-a0676 Bosley Crowther, 75, American journalist, writer, and film critic for The New York Times, he was the film critic for the Times until he semi-retired in 1967 and became the critic emeritus,following his semi-retirement, he was employed by the film studio Columbia Pictures, tasked with identifying stories and films to buy, heart failure Kirill Kondrashin, 67, Russian conductor, in the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958, Kondrashin was the conductor for American pianist Van Cliburn, who won the first prize,; following the competition, Kondrashin toured the United States with Cliburn, being the first Soviet conductor to visit the United States since the beginning of the Cold War. Red Pollard, 71, Canadian horse racing jockey, he was hired in 1936 by the horse trainer Tom Smith to ride Charles S. Howard's horse, Seabiscuit, he continued to ride into the 1950s, mostly in New England,; following his retirement as a jockey, he became a jockey's valet at Narragansett Park in Rhode Island. Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, 72, German-Danish tennis player, according to A. Wallis Myers and John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Sperling was ranked in the world top 10 from 1930 through 1939 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of world no. 2 in these rankings in 1936, in recognition of her winning the French Championships three times, being a Wimbledon finalist twice, reaching the semifinals of the French Championships and Wimbledon an additional six times, and being ranked in the top 10 for 10 consecutive years, Sperling was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013.
9 Max Delbrück, 74, German-American biophysicist, in 1935, he published a collaboration with Nikolay Timofeev-Ressovsky and Karl Zimmer, the major work Über die Natur der Genmutation und der Genstruktur which was considered to be a major advance in understanding the nature of gene mutation and gene structure,Timofeeff-Ressovky, N. W., K. G. Zimmer, and M. Delbrück "Über die Natur der Genmutation und der Genstruktur" (Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1935). Nachrichten Göttingen – "Über die Natur der Genmutation und der Genstruktur" (1935). the work was a keystone in the formation of molecular genetics.
13 Robin Maugham, 64, British novelist, travel writer, playwright, and biographer, he was the son and heir of Frederic Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham, but he was reportedly "unashamedly homosexual", he never married, and the viscountcy became extinct upon his death, he died from a pulmonary embolism, compounded by long-standing diabetes mellitusP. Newley, The Krays and Bette Davis (Authors OnLine Ltd., 2006), p. 60.
14 Ken Barrington, 50, English international cricketer, he was regarded as the backbone of the England team during the 1960s, always best in a crisis, p. 21, Arlottp. 107, Peelhe was reputedly appreciated overseas more than he was at home, winning widespread admiration in Australia and hero-worship in India, p. 206, Arnoldpp. 55–58, 60–62, Peeldeath by heart attack. An ambulance was summoned at his location, but he died before its arrival.pp. 190–192, Peel Eleanor Perry, 66, American screenwriter and author, she was an advocate for women's rights and screenwriters' recognition, often criticizing the film industry, The Cleveland Press "Obituaries: Eleanor Perry dies, was screenwriter, feminist" March 17, 1981cancer
15 René Clair, 82, French filmmaker and writer, Pierre Billard, Le Mystère René Clair. ([Paris]: Plon, 1998). p.443.as the author of all of his own scripts, who also paid close attention to every aspect of the making of a film, including the editing, Clair was one of the first French filmmakers to establish for himself the full role of an auteur,Dictionnaire du cinéma populaire français; sous la direction de Christian-Marc Bosséno et Yannick Dehée. (Paris: Nouveau Monde, 2004). p.204.his first four sound films in the early 1930s portrayed an affectionate and idealized view of working class life, and they established a popular romantic image of ParisDictionnaire du cinéma français: sous la direction de Jean-Loup Passek. (Paris: Larousse, 1987). p.81. Derek Roy, 58, English comedian,he made his first stage appearance at the age of 14, "Top Midland comedian dies at 58 ", Sandwell Evening Mail, 16 March 1981, p.2. Retrieved 14 February 2023in 1946, he became the resident comedian on the BBC radio show Variety Bandbox, sharing the role on alternate weeks with Frankie Howerd, with whom he developed a friendly rivalry, he remained popular through the 1950s and the 1960s, especially in the Midlands, he made several successful tours of South Africa, cancer
17 Paul Dean, 68, American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, he was nicknamed "Daffy" by the press, in contrast to his quiet and serious demeanor, "Ken Burns' Baseball Inning Five: Shadow Ball". Washington. PBS Video. 1994heart attack Dorothy Dwan, 74, American actress and columnist for Photoplay, she portrayed Dorothy Gale in the fantasy adventure film The Wizard of Oz (1925), lung cancer
18 Cahide Sonku, 68, Yemeni-born Turkish film director, actress, model, and writer, she was the first female film director in Turkey
19 Frank Lane, 86, American sports executive, primarily associated with professional baseball, Corbett, Warren: Frank Lane, Society for American Baseball Research Biography Projecthe variously served as the general manager in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cleveland Indians, the Kansas City Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers for over fifteen seasons between and .
20 Gerry Bertier, 27, Amerivan high school football player and Paralympian, having recovered from a car accident in 1971, he decided to occupy himself in Wheelchair Track and Field, the Wheelchair Basketball League, and the United States Paralympics, setting state and national records, mortally injured in a second car accident, caused by a drunk driver Edith Schultze-Westrum, 76, German actress, she portrayed Mrs. Hudson in the mystery film Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962).
22 Jumbo Elliott, 65, American track and field coach.Jumbo Elliott of Villanova is Dead: Long an Outstanding Track Coach, New York Times, March 23, 1981 John S. McCain Jr., 70, American admiral, in April 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, he was named by then-President Lyndon Johnson as the commander in chief of the United States Pacific Command, stationed in Honolulu, while also serving as the commander of all American forces in the Vietnam theater, McCain played an important part in the expansion of the American involvement in Cambodia, Shawcross, Sideshow, p. 136.death by heart attack while traveling aboard a military aircraft.His son attributed McCain's long-term health problems to the admiral's many years of habitual binge drinking.McCain and Salter, Worth the Fighting For, pp. 3–4.
23 Claude Auchinleck, 96, English military officer, Heathcote, p. 35he was a commander of the British Indian Army and a veteran of both world wars, following the see-saw of Allied and Axis successes and reverses in North Africa, Auchinleck was appointed to succeed General Sir Archibald Wavell as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command in July 1941;when the Partition of India was effected in August 1947, Auchinleck was appointed Supreme Commander of all British forces remaining in both India and Pakistan, Warner (1982), p. 269he remained in this role until the winding up and closure of the Supreme H.Q. at the end of November 1947, Warner (1982), p. 289 this marked his effective retirement from the army