Deaths in May 1978

The following is a list of notable deaths in May 1978. 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.

May 1978

1 Edgar Church, 89, American illustrator and art collector. Claude Corbitt, 62, American baseball player. Felix du Plessis, 58, South African rugby player. Aram Khachaturian, 74, Soviet Armenian composer ("Sabre Dance").Khachaturian, a Leading Soviet Composer, Dies at 74 Rooney McInerney, 47, American judge. Bobby Pacho, 66, American boxer. James Reeves, 68, English author. Herbert J. Taylor, 85, American businessman and civic leader. Boris Vladimirov, 73, Soviet general. Sylvia Townsend Warner, 84, English novelist (Lolly Willowes).Sylvia Townsend Warner Is Dead Nina Barr Wheeler, 68, American artist. Hans Severus Ziegler, 84, German publicist and Nazi official.

2 Robert P. Anderson, 72, American judge.Judge Anderson funeral services to be Saturday Joe Bedenk, 80, American football and baseball player and coach.Joe Bedenk, Penn State Grid Coach Guy Big, 32, Canadian actor (The Hilarious House of Frightenstein), throat cancer. Boronia Lucy Giles, 68, Australian journalist, arterial dissection.Boronia Lucy (Bonnie) Giles (1909–1978) Matti Lähde, 66, Finnish Olympic skier (1936). Mira McKinney, 85, American actress. Slobodan Perović, 51, Serbian actor. Ned Porter, 66, Irish hurler.Death of Ned Porter, esteemed GAA man Albino SyCip, 90, Filipino banker and businessman (Chinabank). Vong Savang, 46, Laotian royal.Laotian Royal Family Died in Prison Camp

3 Carl Brazell, 60, American football player. Bill Downs, 63, American journalist, laryngeal cancer.Bill Downs Viththal Dattatreya Ghate, 83, Indian author. A. Arnold Gillespie, 78, American set designer and special effects artist. Vivi Laurent-Täckholm, 80, Swedish botanist and author. Charles Mapp, 74-75, British politician, MP (1959–1970). Roberto Pineda, 25, Mexican jockey, fall from horse.Pineda Is Killed in Spill At Pimlico Three Years After Brother's Death Pinchas Rosen, 91, German-born Israeli politician, MK (1949–1968).

4 Altab Ali, 24, Bangladeshi textile worker, stabbed.Remembering Altab Ali Gerald Brockhurst, 87, British painter. Henri Curiel, 63, Egyptian communist activist, shot.Marxist assassinated Kolbjørn Fjeld, 76, Norwegian publisher and librarian. Bernard G. Gordon, 61, American politician, member of the New York State Assembly (1961–1964) and State Senate (since 1965), cancer.Senator Gordon Dies at 61 Oliver J. Hart, 85, American Episcopalian prelate, complications from a fall.Bishop Oliver Hart Henryk Magnuski, 69, Polish-American telecommunications engineer, cancer.

5 W.W.W. Awori, 52, Kenyan journalist and politician. Heinz Bongartz, 83, German conductor and composer. Lionel Bull, 89, Australian veterinarian.BULL, Lionel Batley Baron Feyzi, 84-85, Turkish footballer. Harold Gilligan, 81, English cricketer. Kirtley F. Mather, 90, American geologist.Geologist Kirtley F. Mather, 'Humanist And Scientist,' Dies Ján Móry, 85, Czechoslovak composer. George Mottershead, 83, English zookeeper. Kurissery Gopala Pillai, 64, Indian linguist. Igor B. Polevitzky, 66, Russian-born American architect, house fire. Errett P. Scrivner, 80, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1943–1959).Errett P. Scrivner Margaret Thorp, 85, English-Australian peace activist.Margaret Sturge Watts (1892–1978)

6 Sir Hubert Acland, 87, English naval officer. Ethelda Bleibtrey, 76, American Olympic swimmer (1920 Summer Olympics), three-time gold medalist.Ethelda Bleibtrey, 76, Won 3 Medals For Swimming in 1920 Olympic Games Ted Firth, 72, New Zealand businessman. Loyal Griggs, 71, American cinematographer (The Ten Commandments, Shane, White Christmas). Dale Hansen, 57, American football player.Ex-Lion w. D. Hansen Chris Harrington, 81, English footballer. Doug Rowe, 68, English footballer.

7 Red Armstrong, 75, American football player.Gerald Armstrong Augusto Codecá, 71, Argentine actor. Claude Ely, 55, American singer and songwriter, heart attack.Rev. Claude D. Ely Edith Somborn Isaacs, 93, American playwright and civic leader.EDITH SOMBORN ISAACS Lita Prahl, 73, Norwegian actress and costume designer. Zygmunt Plater-Zyberk, 76, Polish architect. Raymond Rallier du Baty, 96, French sailor and surveyor. Mort Weisinger, 63, American comic book editor (Aquaman).MORT WEISINGER, AT 63, EDITOR OF COMIC BOOKS Tom Wilhelmsen, 66, Norwegian shipping magnate.

8 T. C. Cannon, 31, American artist, traffic collision. Eileen Crowe, 79, Irish actress. Juan Evaristo, 75, Argentine footballer. Mario Ferri, 51, Italian politician. Duncan Grant, 93, Scottish artist.Duncan Grant, Painter, Dies at 93; Founder of Bloomsbury Group Charley Hyatt, 70, American basketball player, cancer.Former Pitt Charley Hyatt dies Sir Abdool Razack Mohamed, 71, Indian-born Mauritian politician Winarti Partaningrat, 55, Indonesian librarian and government official. Carlos Queiroz, 76, Portuguese Olympic sports shooter (1948). Sarah Towles Reed, 96, American educator and trade unionist. Raymond Rubicam, 85, American advertising executive.Raymond Rubicam, 85, Co‐Founder Of Largest U.S. Ad Agency, Dies Violet Rodgers, 64, British museum curator. David Sánchez Morales, 52, American intelligence operative. Key Sato, 71, Japanese painter. Henri Scheibenstock, 84, Swiss-born French footballer. Valentine Sewell, 68, English cricketer. Klara Amalie Skoglund, 86, Norwegian politician.

9 Halvor Bunkholt, 74, Norwegian politician. Miguel Ángel Cárcano, 88, Argentine diplomat and politician.Latin diplomat dies Urbano Cioccetti, 72, Italian politician, mayor of Rome (1958–1961). Enrique de la Mora, 70, Mexican architect. Sir Denham Henty, 74, Australian politician.Sir Denham Henty dead Marguerite Hicks, 86, American socialite and book collector. Giuseppe Impastato, 30, Italian anti-mafia activist, explosion.Se desencadena en Italia una cruel ola terrorista Albert Laprade, 94, French architect. George Maciunas, 46, Lithuanian-born American artist, pancreatic cancer.George Maciunas, Artist And Designer Organized Fluxus to Develop SoHo Aldo Moro, 61, Italian politician, prime minister (1963–1968, 1974–1976), shot.MORO SLAIN, BODY FOUND IN ROME Dorothy Steeves, 86, Dutch-Canadian politician.CCF founder dies

10 Hugh Ernest Butler, 61, British astronomer. Samuel Broadus Earle, 100, American academic administrator. Walter Andrew Foery, 87, American Roman Catholic prelate.BISHOP WALTER FOERY, 87, LED DIOCESE OF SYRACUSE Jimmy Gray, 77, Scottish footballer. Htin Aung, 68, Burmese historian and diplomat. Boris Khaikin, 73, Soviet conductor. Rafael Pérez Perry, 66, Puerto Rican businessman, heart attack.El fundador de una cadena de TV, murio Käthe Voderberg, 67, German botanist. Vladimír Vondráček, 83, Czech psychiatrist.

11 Bill de Freitas, 54, Guyanese cricketer. Dave Kerr, 68, Canadian ice hockey player.Dave Kerr Dies Reinaldo Nuñez, 76, Chilean politician. Philip Ray, 79, English actor.

12 Robert Coogan, 53, American actor (Skippy). Kenneth W. Dyal, 67, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1965–1967).KEN W. DYAL Myron M. Kinley, 81, American firefighter, heart failure.Myron Kinley Rites Today Vasili Merkuryev, 74, Soviet actor. Alois Pernerstorfer, 65, Austrian singer. Mieczysław Szczurek, 55, Polish footballer. Louis Zukofsky, 74, American poet.Louis Zukofsky, 74, a Major Poet Of Objectivist School and Novelist

13 Marzieh Arfa, 76–77, Ottoman-born Iranian general. Walt Blackadar, 55, American whitewater kayaker, drowned.Kayak Expert Dies Práxedes Giner Durán, 85, Mexican politician. Herb Hardt, 72, American billiards player. Jan Heřmánek, 70, Czechoslovak Olympic boxer (1928). Joseph R. Jelinek, 58, American general, cancer.Joseph R. Jelinek, Former Deputy Of National Guard Everett Franklin Lindquist, 76, American educator, creator of the ACT test, heart disease.E. F. Lindquist, expert in educational testing Henk Mulders, 73, Dutch footballer. Anton Charles Pegis, 72, American-Canadian philosopher and academic administrator.Deaths André Plassart, 88, French archaeologist. Stanislav Rajdl, 66, Czech Olympic boxer (1936). Joie Ray, 84, American Olympic runner (1920, 1924, 1928).Joie Ray Dies at 84 Alby Roberts, 70, New Zealand cricketer. Elsie Shrigley, 78, English vegetarian activist.SALLY SHRIGLEY Sisavang Vatthana, 70, Laotian royal, king (1959–1975). Eric Treacy, 71, English Anglican prelate and photographer, heart attack. Jonas Vabalas, 69, Lithuanian athlete and military officer. Tom Watson, 77, Northern Irish footballer.

14 Henri Chapron, 91, French automobile designer. Phil Griffiths, 72, Welsh footballer. Robert Furneaux Jordan, 73, English architect and novelist. Alexander Kipnis, 87, Russian-American singer.Wagnerian Singer Alexander Kipnis, Performed Here at Old Poli Theater Bill Lear, 75, American engineer, businessman and inventor, leukemia.William Powell Lear, 75, Is Dead; Pioneered Small Jet and Autopilot Sir Paul Mason, 73, British diplomat. Henry Winston Newson, 68, American chemist and physicist, vascular disease.Henry W. Newson Ya'akov Riftin, 71, Russian-born Israeli politician, MK (1949–1965). Artashes Shahinian, 71, Soviet Armenian mathematician. Sir Michael West, 72, British general.Sir Michael West

15 Kiku Amino, 78, Japanese writer. Johnnie Ruth Clarke, 58, American educator and activist, cancer.Dr. Johnnie Ruth Clarke, 58, Dies Of Cancer Dorothy Coburn, 72, American actress and stuntwoman, emphysema.Dorothy Coburn Heep, stuntwoman Herman Dunlap, 70, American baseball player. Constance Margaret Eardley, 67, Australian botanist. Eugene Vernon Harris, 65, American photographer, heart attack. Ralph Lowell, 87, American banker and philanthropist, pneumonia.RALPH LOWELL AT 87; BANKER AND SCHOLAR Sir Robert Menzies, 83, Australian politician, prime minister (1939–1941, 1949–1966), heart attack.Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, 83, Dies Walter Richard Miles, 93, American psychologist, cardiorespiratory failure.Walter Miles, 93, Professor Of Psychology at Yale Till '53 Friedrich Müller, 71, German footballer. Maurice Olivier, 91, French footballer. Ouyang Qin, 77–78, Chinese politician. Shang Zhen, 89, Chinese general. Kurt Stössel, 70, German footballer. Emlyn Watkins, 73, Welsh rugby player.

16 Goffredo Alessandrini, 73, Italian filmmaker.Goffredo Alessandrini Laura Bragg, 96, American museum director. Frank Hatton, 56, British politician, MP (since 1973).Another test at polls for Labour Diana Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll, 52, British hereditary peer, member of the House of Lords (since 1964).Countess of Erroll dies aged 52 Søren Alfred Jensen, 87, Danish Olympic gymnast (1912). Sir Gerald Lathbury, 71, British general.Sir Gerald Lathbury Ignatius Pi Shushi, 81, Chinese Roman Catholic prelate.Archbishop Ignatius Pi of Shenyang A. E. Smith, 98, English-born Australian violin maker.Renowned violin-maker dies at 98 William Steinberg, 78, German-American conductor.William Steinberg, Orchestral Conductor, Dies at 78 George Volkert, 86, British aircraft designer. Mike Wilson, 81, American football and baseball player.Cornell Rips W&L Sticks; Other Notes

17 Vic Hurt, 79, American football coach. Selwyn Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd, 73, British politician, MP (1945–1976) and member of the House of Lords (since 1976), brain cancer.Lord Selwyn‐Lloyd Dies at 73, A Key Briton During Suez Crises Golan Maaka, 74, New Zealand physician. Ljubiša Stevanović, 68, Yugoslav footballer. Jan van Balkum, 90, Dutch Olympic sports shooter (1924). Armin T. Wegner, 91, German human rights activist and author.

18 Stewart Adams, 73, Canadian ice hockey player.Stewart Adams Dies Émile Bollaert, 87, French politician and colonial administrator.Emile Bollaert Gerhard Danelius, 65, German politician.