The following is a list of notable deaths in May 1980.
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 1980
1 Henry Levin, 70, American film director (Journey to the Center of the Earth), heart attack. Dave MacKay, 61, Canadian ice hockey player, respiratory failure. Gene Markey, 84, American screenwriter and naval admiral.Gene Markey, Author, Screenwriter, Producer And Breeder of Horses; Decorated in World War II Fred Ormskerk, 57, Surinamese soldier, torture murder. Ōuchi Hyōei, 91, Japanese economist and academic administrator. Johann Pscheidt, 90, Austrian building contractor and humanitarian. Shoba, 17, Indian actress, suicide by hanging.Top Indian actress found hanged Sir Bruce Small, 84, Australian politician and businessman, cancer.Creator of Malvern Stars and meter maids dies George Tully, 76, American football player. George Woodend, 62, American baseball player.
2 Théophile Alajouanine, 89, French neurologist. John Brewer, 74, American football player. Ben Mark Cherrington, 94, American academic administrator.Dr. Ben M. Cherrington, 94, Dies; Denver University Ex-Chancellor; Scope of Term Explained John Henry Cook, 77, Canadian politician. Alioune Diop, 70, Senegalese writer and editor. Clarrie Grimmett, 88, New Zealand-born Australian cricketer.Grimmett was the greatest with googlies Mihkel Lepper, 80, Estonian actor. Sir Jocelyn Lucas, 90, British politician, MP (1939–1966). André-Marie Mbida, 65, Cameroonian politician. Cecile O'Rahilly, 85, Irish linguist. George Pal, 72, Hungarian-American animator (Puppetoons) and film director, heart attack.George Pal Alfred Lionel Rose, 82, Australian politician, veterinarian and soldier.ROSE, Alfred Lionel (Colonel - A.M., O.B.E., E.D.) Ragnvald Thunestvedt, 54, Danish Olympic racewalker (1952). Herbert Westmacott, 28, British soldier, shot. Julie Winterová-Mezerová, 87, Czech painter.
3 Ted D. Clark, 59, American politician, member of the Iowa House of Representatives (1949–1953) and Senate (1953–1957). George P. Elliott, 61, American poet, novelist and essayist, heart attack.George P. Elliott, Novelist, Poet, Essayist and Teacher, Dies at 61 Mark Gosling, 93, English-Australian painter and politician.GOSLING, Mark Wayne B. Hales, 86, American physicist and academic administrator.Wayne B. Hales Fatah Jasin, 64, Indonesian politician.
4 Emanuele Basile, 30, Italian police officer, shot.Gunmen assassinate national police official Siegfried Böhm, 51, East German politician, shot. Jaime Duque, 48, Colombian Olympic fencer (1960). Franz Götz, 67, German flying ace. Kay Hammond, 71, English actress.Kay Hammond Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson, 60, Scottish pianist and composer, heart attack.'Mr Piano' dies Fernando Hurtado Echenique, 77, Chilean politician. Anant Kanekar, 74, Indian writer. Bert Rogers, 63, Australian footballer. Josip Broz Tito, 87, Yugoslav politician, prime minister (1943–1963) and president (since 1953).Tito Dies at 87; Last of Wartime Leaders; A Rotating Leadership Took Over in Belgrade During His Illness Posts Are to Rotate Annually Tadeusz Waśko, 57, Polish footballer. Reginald Westwood, 72, New Zealand cricketer.
5 Henri Grenier, 80, Canadian Roman Catholic priest and theologian. Arvo Haanpää, 81, Finnish Olympic equestrian (1948). Aage Marius Hansen, 89, Danish Olympic gymnast (1912). Sir Archibald James, 86, British politician, MP (1931–1945). Kanhaiya Lal Kapoor, 69, Indian satirist and writer, cardiac arrest. Leonard Woods Labaree, 82, American historian and documentary editor.Leonard Labaree, a Yale Historian; An 'Absorbing Collection' Academic Visit to England Betty May, 85, British singer, dancer and model, heart attack. Isabel Briggs Myers, 82, American writer and pseudoscientist (Myers–Briggs Type Indicator).Overlooked No More: Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers, Creators of a Personality Test Carl Pfeufer, 69, American comic book artist. Harry Ramoutar, 35, Trinidadian cricketer. Frank Scully, 80, Australian footballer. Homer Stryker, 85, American orthopedic surgeon and businessman (Stryker Corporation).Dr. Homer Stryker Les Wade, 71, Canadian Olympic runner (1932). Stewart Way, 69, American basketball coach.Stewart Way dies at 69
6 María Luisa Bombal, 69, Chilean novelist (The Shrouded Woman), gastrointestinal bleeding.Murio una escritora chilena Lola Cornero, 88, Dutch actress. Anne Dalgarno, 70, English-born Australian politician and community leader. Alan Dower, 82, British politician, MP (1931–1950). Andrew Durant, 25, Australian musician and songwriter, cancer. Herb Hollyman, 40, American football coach. Glenn Holtzman, 49, American football player, heart attack.Sports In Brief Adele Kern, 78, German opera singer. Frank Kirkleski, 75, American football player and coach. Arthur Levitt Sr., 79, American lawyer and politician, heart attack.Arthur Levitt Dead at 79; Comptroller for 24 Years; A Man of Sober Image Rejected Koch's Argument A Wrestler for Columbia 'Devotion to Responsibility' Henning Müller, 83, Swedish tennis player. Ayinla Omowura, 47, Nigerian musician, bludgeoned. Frank H. Ono, 56, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient. Bryn Phillips, 79, Welsh rugby player. Arnold Sorsby, 79, Polish-British ophthalmologist. Hank Sweeney, 64, American baseball player. William Warbey, 76, British politician, MP (1945–1950, 1953–1966).
7 Sigval Bergesen the Younger, 87, Norwegian shipping magnate.Shipping titan dies Federico Cafiero, 65, Italian mathematician. Dame Margaret Cole, 87, English writer, poet and politician. Neil Farren, 87, Irish Roman Catholic prelate and educator. Johnny Hunter, 54, Australian rugby player. Aoua Kéita, 67, Malian writer and politician. Steve Maronic, 62, American football player. William Parrington, 90, English cricketer. Risto Solanko, 78, Finnish diplomat. Claude Treglown, 87, English cricketer.
8 Sir Geoffrey Baker, 67, British army marshal. Ricardo Calo, 61, Spanish footballer. Jimmy Connor, 70, Scottish footballer. Sam Coon, 77, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1953–1957).Ex-state GOP lawmaker Sam Coon dies at age 77 Luigi Fenaroli, 80, Italian botanist. John L. Head, 64, American basketball coach. Chieko Higashiyama, 89, Japanese actress. Charles Edward Hubbard, 79, British botanist. Yitzhak Kanev, 83–84, Russian-Israeli politician, MK (1950–1951). Henry Laurence Lindo, 68, Jamaican civil servant. Pierre Marchand, 31, French Olympic fencer (1972). Norman Mingo, 84, American commercial artist and illustrator (Mad).Norman Mingo, 84, Illustrator Behind 'Alfred E. Neuman' Face Farrokhroo Parsa, 58, Iranian politician, execution by firing squad. Perdigão Queiroga, 63, Portuguese filmmaker, traffic collision. Oswold Stephens, 83, New Zealand potter and chemist. Mayilai Seeni. Venkatasami, 79, Indian historian and writer. Fred Wigington, 82, American baseball player.
9 Fernand Chevalier, 81, French politician. Rolf Hansen, 73, Norwegian Olympic runner (1936). Prince Himalaya of Nepal, 58, Nepali royal. Øivind Lorentzen, 97, Norwegian shipping magnate.Oivind Lorentzen James Alexander George Smith McCartney, 34, Turks and Caicos politician, plane crash.Island Official Believed Victim Kate Molale, 52, South African political activist, traffic collision. Pearl Farmer Richardson, 88, American peace activist. James Webb, 34, Scottish historian, suicide.
10 Hans Bohn, 88, German typographer. Henri Crémieux, 83, French actor. Emiel Faignaert, 61, Belgian racing cyclist. Jack Flaherty, 71, British Olympic gymnast (1948). William Albert Flick, 90, Australian bacteriologist.FLICK, William Albert, O.B.E. Adele Ginzberg, 93, German-American writer and Jewish activist.Adele Ginzberg, Led A Variety of Activities For Jewish Seminary Yoshie Katsurada, 68, Japanese mathematician. Kálmán Konrád, 83, Hungarian footballer. Frank Lynch, 71, British trade unionist and politician. Reba Monness, 69, American table tennis player. Leslie Peltier, 80, American astronomer. Jan Pivec, 72, Czech actor. Nadas Rastenis, 89, Lithuanian-American poet and translator. Sir Victor Seely, 79, British hereditary peer.
11 John Beecher, 76, American poet and journalist, lung disease.John Beecher Howard Mumford Jones, 88, American historian and literary critic.Howard Mumford Jones, American Culture Historian; Pessimistic About Future Broad Academic Experience Kaarlo Mäkinen, 87, Finnish Olympic wrestler (1920, 1924, 1928). Zareh Mutafian, 73, Armenian-French painter. Przemysław Ogrodziński, 62, Polish diplomat. Henry Knox Sherrill, 89, American Episcopal prelate.Henry Knox Sherrill, 89, Episcopal Bishop, Dies Daniel John Snyder Jr., 64, American jurist, heart attack.U.S. Judge Daniel Snyder Jr. Dies Fernando Soto, 69, Mexican actor and comedian.Hay luto por la muerte de Mantequilla Jesse Addison Udall, 86, American jurist and politician, member of the Arizona House of Representatives (1931–1938).Jesse A. Udall, 86, dies in Phoenix Dyre Vaa, 77, Norwegian sculptor and painter. Gheza Vida, 67, Hungarian-Romanian sculptor.
12 Ulbo de Sitter, 78, Dutch geologist. Bette Nesmith Graham, 56, American businesswoman (Liquid Paper) and philanthropist, complications from a stroke.Dies at 56 Päiviö Hetemäki, 66, Finnish politician, MP (1945–1962). Sheikh Mukhtar, 65, Indian-Pakistani actor. William A. Robson, 84, British academic and public administration scholar. Lillian Roth, 69, American actress and singer.Lillian Roth, Actress and Singer, Dies; 'Warmth and Sturdy Integrity' Plunged in Willingly The Law Stepped In Triumphs and Tragedies Miki Sawada, 78, Japanese social worker.Miki Sawada Tadahiko Shimazu, 80, Japanese politician.
13 Elliott Arnold, 67, American author, journalist and screenwriter.Used World War II Themes Reporter for Brooklyn Times A Sanitized War in Air Marc Büchler, 50–51, Swiss Olympic equestrian (1956). Maruxa Fandiño Ricart, 82, Spanish anarchist activist. Fumio Gotō, 96, Japanese politician, acting prime minister (1936). Gerard Leembruggen, 83, Dutch tennis player. Francisco Otayza, 65, Peruvian Olympic sports shooter (1956). Freeman Tilden, 96, American writer.Freeman Tilden, 96, Dies, Author of Books on Parks Otto Umbehr, 78, German photojournalist.
14 Elma Bulla, 66, Hungarian actress. Dick Cassiano, 62, American football player.Pitt's Dream Back Dies Carl Ebert, 93, German actor and stage director.Opera producer Carl Ebert dies Fatmawati, 57, Indonesian socialite, first lady (1945–1967), heart attack.Fatmawati Sukarno Hugh Griffith, 67, Welsh actor (Ben-Hur, Tom Jones, Oliver!).Hugh Griffith, Actor, 67, Is Dead; Best Known for 'Tom Jones' Role; Lost to a Banking Career Won Derwent Award in U.S. Long List of Film Credits Hilda Jerea, 64, Romanian pianist and composer. Christine Longford, 79, British playwright. Hans Rösch, 65, West German Olympic bobsledder (1956). Sir Norman Rydge, 79, Australian businessman.Sir Norman Rydge Sigrid Schultz, 87, American journalist and war correspondent.Sigrid L. Schultz, Reporter Who Covered Rise of Nazism, Is Dead; Tribune's Bureau Chief Subrantas Siswanto, 57, Indonesian politician, liver cancer. Wilhelm Weismann, 79, German composer and musicologist.
15 Len Allum, 72, English footballer. Alfred Aslett, 79, English rugby player. Lela Bliss, 84, American actress.Death Notice Andrea Borgnis, 50, Italian Olympic weightlifter (1960). John Somers Dines, 94, English meteorologist. Wilhelmus Doll, 79, Dutch Olympic wrestler (1924). Jóhann Hafstein, 64, Icelandic politician, prime minister (1970–1971). Donald D. Lorenzen, 60, American politician. Len Lye, 78, New Zealand sculptor and experimental filmmaker, leukemia.Len Lye, 78, Experimental Artist And Fine-Art Film Pioneer, Dies; Renewed Interest in Sculpture Milton Parsons, 75, American actor.