Deaths in August 1989

The following is a list of notable deaths in August 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.

August 1989

1 José Cândido de Carvalho, 74, Brazilian writer. Don Heffner, 78, American Major League baseball player (St. Louis Browns). Art Herchenratter, 71, Canadian NHL player (Detroit Red Wings). John Hirsch, 59, Hungarian-born Canadian theatre director (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), AIDS. John Ogdon, 52, English pianist and composer, pneumonia.

2 Luiz Gonzaga, 76, Brazilian singer and songwriter.Gonzaga, Luiz (1912–1989). Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Geraldine Knight Scott, 85, American landscape architect.

3 Dominic Behan, 60, Irish writer, songwriter and singer ("The Patriot Game"), pancreatic cancer.Behan, Dominic. Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Antonia Brico, 87, Dutch-born American conductor and pianist. William Larimer Mellon Jr., 79, American philanthropist and physician, cancer and Parkinson's disease.W. L. Mellon, Humanitarian, Is Dead at 79. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Peggy Montgomery, 84, American silent-screen actress (Arizona Days). Egon Orowan, 87, Hungarian-British physicist and metallurgist (crystal dislocation). Colston Westbrook, 51, American teacher and linguist, cancer.Colston R. Westbrook. Newspapers.com (Public Opinion, Pennsylvania). Retrieved 7 Oct 2024.

4 S. M. Ahsan, 68, Pakistani Vice Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Navy (1966-1969), governor of East Pakistan (1969-1971) Paolo Baffi, 77, Italian banker and economist, governor of the Bank of Italy.Paolo Baffi Dies at 77; Headed Italian Bank. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Amador Bendayán, 68, Venezuelan actor and entertainer (Sábado Sensacional).Gravestone: Amador Bendayán 4.8.89. Cementerio del Este, Caracas, Municipio Bolivariano Libertador, Capital District, Venezuela. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Maurice Colbourne, 49, English actor (Howards' Way), heart attack.Howards' Way actor dies. Herald Scotland. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Geoffrey Cross, 84, British barrister and judge, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.Cross, (Arthur) Geoffrey Neale, Baron Cross of Chelsea. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Wayne LaMaster, 82, American MLB player (Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Dodgers). Paul Murry, 77, American cartoonist and comics artist (Disney comics). Larry Parnes, 59, British pop manager, meningitis. Taghi Riahi, 78, Iranian officer in Iranian Imperial Army. W. Wallace Smith, 88, American grandson of Joseph Smith Jr., president of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Wilhelm Stasch, 78, German Olympic boxer (1936).

5 Toni Breder, 63, German Olympic long jumper (1952). John Kinard, 52, American social activist and pastor, director of Anacostia Museum, myelofibrosis. John Larsen, 75, Norwegian rifle shooter and Olympic gold medalist (1952, 1956).John H. Larsen, Sr.. Olympedia. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Max Macon, 73, American Major League baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers).Max Macon, ex-baseball player. Newspapers.com (The Palm Beach Post). Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Helen Thomas, 22, Welsh peace activist (Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp), struck by police vehicle.Thomas, Helen Wyn (1966 - 1989), peace activist. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Stacey Toran, 27, American NFL footballer (Los Angeles Raiders), car accident.Alcohol Gauged In Toran Death. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024.

6 Hubert Beuve-Méry, 87, French journalist and newspaper editor (Le Monde), complications from a fall.Le Monde Founder Hubert Beuve-Mery Dies at Age 87. L.A. Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Beattie Casely-Hayford, 67, Ghanaian founder of the National Dance Ensemble, director of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Don Clark, 65, American footballer and coach (San Francisco 49ers), heart attack.Former USC Coach Clark, 65, Dies : Apparent Heart Attack Takes Life of ‘57-’59 Football Coach. L.A. Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Nat Levine, 90, American film producer (Mascot Pictures).Nathan Levine Dies; Film Executive Was 89. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. P.R. Olgiati, 87, American politician, mayor of Chattanooga.Gravestone: Peter Rudolph “Rudy” Olgiati 6.8.89. Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, USA. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. William Scott, 86, English cricketer. Frank Sinkovitz, 66, American NFL footballer (Pittsburgh Steelers) and umpire.Frank Sinkovitz. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Doc Zeigler, 93, American Negro Leagues baseball player.

7 Leopoldo Sánchez Celis, 73, Mexican politician, governor of Sinaloa. Gerhard de Kock, 63, South African Reserve Bank governor, colon cancer.Gerhard de Kock, 63, Pretoria Bank Chief. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Robert Jani, 55, American event producer, Lou Gehrig's disease.Robert F. Jani, 54, a Producer. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Mickey Leland, 44, American politician, anti-poverty activist, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1979-1989), plane crash.Representative Mickey Leland, 44, Dies in Crash. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Al Savill, 72, British-American banker and sports executive (Pittsburgh Penguins).Al Savill, Banker, Radisson Hotel Owner, Dies. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 14 Aug 2025. Robert Stevens, 68, American television and movie director (Suspense), heart attack after beating.Man Held in Writer's Death. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Maria Thomas, 48, American writer, plane crash. Mira Trailović, 65, Serbian dramaturg and theatre director, co-founder of Atelje 212, cancer.Mira Trailovic, Director, 65. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024.

8 André Cochinal, 84, French Olympic diver (1924). Irving Cottler, 71, American percussionist, heart attack.Drummer Irv Cottler, 71; Called ‘Best in the Business’ by Sinatra. L.A. Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Bob Harris, 74, American MLB player (Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Athletics). Robert Kaske, 68, American professor of medieval literature, brain tumour. Enrico Lorenzetti, 78, Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, 250 cc World Championship winner.Enrico Lorenzetti. Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Brian Naylor, 66, British racing driver, boating accident.Brian Naylor. Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Bobby Oxspring, 70, British Royal Air Force officer and flying ace during World War II.Oxspring, Robert Wardlow "Oxo". Traces of War. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. George Papp, 73, American comics artist (Superboy). Mary Peppin, 76, half of a British twin-sister piano duo act, piano teacher at Guildhall School of Music. Audrey Russell, 83, British BBC Radio journalist and war reporter, Alzheimer's disease.Russell, (Muriel) Audrey. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Maja Sacher, 93, Swiss art collector and philanthropist.Maja Sacher-Stehlin. Personenlexikon des Kantons Basel-Landschaft (in German). Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Morris Shenker, 82, American lawyer, known for connection to Jimmy Hoffa, pneumonia.Morris Shenker, 82, Lawyer in St. Louis And Hoffa Defender. New York Times. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Johnny Vardian, 67, American AAFC player (Miami Seahawks, Baltimore Colts). László Willinger, 80, German-born American photographer, heart failure.Laszlo Willinger; Hollywood Photographer. L.A. Times. Retrieved 7 Oct 2024. Franz Worisch, 63, Austrian Olympic diver (1948, 1952).

9 Richard Alexander, 86, American film actor.Richard Alexander. WorldCat. Retrieved 8 Nov 2024. K. Gunaratnam, 72, Sri Lankan film producer, murdered.30th death anniversary of K. Gunaratnam of Jaffna: Brutally gunned down by unidentified goons on August 9, 1983. Daily Mirror Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 Oct 2024. Don Nelson Laramore, 82, American judge. Duncan MacPherson, 23, Canadian ice hockey player, body found in melting glacier.Eisiges Schweigen (Icy Silence). Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Kathleen Maguire, 63, American actress (The Time of the Cuckoo, A Flame in the Wind), esophageal cancer. Albert Perikel, 76, Belgian cyclist. Philip Sidney Whitcombe, 95, English cricketer and British army officer.

10 Tom Hughes, 82, American MLB player (Detroit Tigers). H. Montgomery Hyde, 81, Irish barrister, politician and author, Member of Parliament.Hyde, Harford Montgomery (H. Montgomery Hyde). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. George Ignatieff, 75, Russian-born Canadian diplomat, ambassador to the United Nations.George Ignatieff. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Pierre Matisse, 89, French-born American art dealer.

11 Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, 69–72, Pakistani politician, Governor of Balochistan. Bill Cody Jr., 64, American child actor, suicide.Gravestone: Bill Cody Jr. 11.8.89. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Goldup Davies, 75, British Olympic swimmer (1948). Léo Kemner Laflamme, 95, American-born Canadian politician, member of the House of Commons of Canada (1925-1930, 1940-1945). Robert W. Levering, 74, American lawyer and politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1959-1961).Levering, Robert Woodrow. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. John Meillon, 55, Australian actor (Crocodile Dundee, The Fourth Wish), cirrhosis.John Meillon Dead at 55. Trove (Canberra Times). Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Sonny Thompson, 72, American R&B bandleader and pianist ("Late Freight").Sonny Thompson. WorldCat. Retrieved 8 Nov 2024. Richard Ward, 71, British army general, Commander British Forces in Hong Kong.The Times, obituary General Sir Richard Ward 14 August 1989 p.12 Hans Zeier, 90, Swiss Olympic cross-country skier (1928).

12 Mo Anthoine, 50, British mountaineer, brain tumour.Anthoine, Julian Vincent [Mo ]. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Wilfred Burne, 86, British Olympic diver (1928). Emyr Estyn Evans, 84, Welsh geographer and archaeologist.Obituary: Emyr Estyn Evans, 1905–1989: An Appreciation. Taylor & Francis (R. H. Buchanan - Obituary). Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Henri Goetz, 79, American-born French painter, member of the French Resistance.Henri Goetz. WorldCat. Retrieved 8 Nov 2024. Samuel Okwaraji, 25, Nigerian international footballer (Nigeria), heart failure.Samuel Okwaraji Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji (Player). National Football Teams. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Max Scott, 82, Australian rules footballer. William Shockley, 79, American physicist, Nobel laureate in Physics (Shockley diode), eugenicist, prostate cancer. Olga Villi, 67, Italian model and actress (The Birds, the Bees and the Italians).Due Protagonisti Dello Spettacolo. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 8 Oct 2024.

13 Anton Cadar, 48, Romanian Olympic gymnast (1964). Willy De Bruyn, 75, Belgian trans-gender cyclist.Overlooked No More: Willy de Bruyn, Cycling Champion Who Broke Gender Boundaries. New York Times. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Hugo del Carril, 76, Argentinian actor, director and tango singer (Las Aguas Bajan Turbias).Hugo del Carril. WorldCat. Retrieved 8 Nov 2024. Tim Richmond, 34, American race car driver, AIDS. Larkin I. Smith, 45, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1989), plane crash.Rep. Larkin Smith, 45, Dies In Mississippi Plane Crash. New York Times. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024.

14 Robert Bernard Anderson, 79, American politician, secretary of the Navy and Treasury, throat cancer. Bergen (Belgin Sarılmışer), 31, Turkish singer, shot. Ricky Berry, 24, American NBA basketballer (Sacramento Kings), suicide.Pro Athlete Commits Suicide. New York Times. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024. Roldano Lupi, 80, Italian film actor.Roldano Lupi. WorldCat. Retrieved 8 Oct 2024.