The following is a list of notable deaths in October 1987.
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.
October 1987
1 Richard Blackburn, 69, Australian judge and legal academic, cancer.Sir Richard Arthur (Dick) Blackburn (1918–1987). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 Sep 2024. Douglas Cleverdon, 84, English radio producer and bookseller.Caught Red Handed. Newspapers.com (The Observer). Retrieved 9 Sep 2024. June Clyde, 77, American actress, singer and dancer (A Strange Adventure, A Study in Scarlet).Clyde, June (1909–1987). Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 9 Sep 2024. Valeriya Golubtsova, 86, Soviet scientist, director of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Eusebio Guiñez, 80, Argentine Olympic long-distance runner (1948). Luis da Costa Ivens Ferraz, 90, Portuguese Olympic equestrian (1928). Geoffrey Jackson, 72, British diplomat and writer, ambassador to Uruguay, kidnapped by guerrillas. Zina Morhange, 78, Polish-born French physician, member of the French Resistance. Abdur Rahim, 69, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician.
2 Madeleine Carroll, 81, English actress (The 39 Steps), pancreatic cancer. Jack Lyons, 86, Scottish-American Olympic soccer player (1928). John Mastrangelo, 61, American NFL player. Sir Peter Medawar, 72, Brazilian-born British biologist, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine.Peter B. Medawar, Scientist, is Dead. New York Times. Retrieved 9 Sep 2024. Russell Rouse, 73, American screenwriter, director and producer (The Well, Pillow Talk), heart failure.Oscar-Winning Director and Writer Russell Rouse. L.A. Times. Retrieved 9 Sep 2024. Hryhoriy Vasiura, 72, Soviet officer in the Red Army and in the German Schutzmannschaft, executed.
3 Jean Anouilh, 77, French dramatist and screenwriter (Antigone), heart attack. Catherine Bramwell-Booth, 104, English Salvation Army officer, granddaughter of Salvation Army founder. Hans Gál, 97, Austrian and Scottish composer. Mahamat Idriss, 45, French-born Chadian Olympic high jumper (1960, 1964, 1968). Maria Ivogün, 95, Hungarian soprano singer.Maria Ivogun, Leading Singer Of German Opera for 20 Years. New York Times. Retrieved 9 Sep 2024. Kalervo Palsa, 40, Finnish artist, pneumonia. Walter Bernard Smith, 75, Canadian politician, member of the Canada House of Commons (1968–1979).
4 Neville Cohen, 74, English cricketer. Mercer Cook, 84, American diplomat and professor, U.S. Ambassador to the Gambia, Senegal and Niger, pneumonia.Will Mercer Cook. New York Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Eric Gandar Dower, 92–93, Scottish politician and businessman, Member of Parliament.Mr Eric Gandar-Dower. UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Bjarne Elgar Grottum, 94, American politician, member of the Minnesota Senate (1947–1954). Mian Arshad Hussain, 77, Pakistani politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister and Ambassador to Sweden. Raymond W. Karst, 84, American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives (1949–1951). Chester Nelsen Sr., 85, American Olympic cyclist (1928). Eloise Wilkin, 83, American illustrator of Little Golden Books, cancer. Hubert Yencesse, 87, French sculptor.Hubert Yencesse. Olympedia. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024.
5 Vladimir Akimov, 34, Soviet Russian Olympic water polo player (1980). Charles Baillie, 85, British Olympic swimmer (1924). Conrad Bourcier, 71, Canadian ice hockey player (Montreal Canadiens). Maurice de Conninck, 90, French Olympic middle-distance runner (1920). Manny Cussins, British businessman, chairman of Waring & Gillow and Leeds United F.C.15th October 1987. London Gazette. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Isobel Roe, 71, British Olympic alpine skier (1948).
6 Hi Brigham, 95, American football player. Grete Heckscher, 85, Danish Olympic fencer (1924). Roald Jensen, 44, Norwegian international footballer (Brann, Heart of Midlothian, Norway), heart failure.Roald Jensen (Player). National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Eugen Steimle, 77, Nazi German SS commander, death sentence commuted.
7 Ivan Belošević, 78, Croatian footballer. Charles J. Carney, 74, American politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives (1970–1979), heart ailment. Abdul Haleem Chowdhury, 59, Bangladeshi politician. Phil Flanagan, 77, American AFL footballer (Boston Shamrocks). John Fletcher, 46, English tubist and French horn player, cerebral haemorrhage. Greta Granstedt, 80, American film and television actress. Verrall Newman, 90, British Olympic diver (1924). Cedric Phatudi, 75, South African politician, Chief Minister of Lebowa. Stefan Szelestowski, 86, Polish Olympic athlete (1924, 1928). Sarkes Tarzian, 87, Ottoman-born American engineer, inventor and broadcaster. Bobby Walston, 58, American NFL footballer (Philadelphia Eagles), heart attack. Valentin Zamotaykin, 47, Soviet Olympic sailor (1964, 1972, 1976).
8 Spencer Gordon Bennet, 94, American film producer and director.Known as the 'Serial King' : Spencer G. Bennet, 94. L.A. Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Alberto Segismundo Cruz, 87, Filipino poet, short story writer and novelist. Richard W. Dempsey, 78, American illustrator and painter. Mona Douglas, 89, British Manx poet, novelist and journalist. Rolf Dudley-Williams, 79, British aeronautical engineer and politician, Member of Parliament.Sir Rolf Williams. UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Warren C. Gill, 74, American coast guard commander and politician. Roger Lancelyn Green, 68, British biographer and children's writer (King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table).Roger Green; Authority on Children's Literature. L.A. Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Nader Mahdavi, 24, Persian Revolutionary Guard Corps naval commander. Cecil Matthews, 73, New Zealand Olympic long-distance runner (1936). Donald McWhinnie, 66, British BBC executive and director. Arnaldo Santana, 37, American actor. Konstantinos Tsatsos, 88, Greek diplomat and politician, President of Greece.Constantine Tsatsos, 88; First President of Greek Republic. L.A. Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Dick Wittmann, 86, Australian rules footballer.
9 Letterio Cucinotta, 85, Italian racing driver. Charles R. Donaldson, 68, American attorney and jurist, judge of the Idaho Supreme Court (1969–1987). Ella Eronen, 87, Finnish actress. Mohammad Farhad, 49, Bangladeshi guerrilla force commander, Bangladesh Communist Party president, heart attack.Farhad's death anniversary today. The Daily Star. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Guru Gopinath, 79, Indian actor and dancer.Epitome of creative dynamism. The Statesman. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Clare Boothe Luce, 84, American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, member of U.S. House of Representatives, brain cancer. William P. Murphy, 95, American physician, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine (pernicious anemia).William P. Murphy. The Nobel Prize. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Ted Shiels, 79, Australian rules footballer. Henry Studholme, 88, British politician, Member of Parliament.Sir Henry Studholme. UK Parliament (year of death only). Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Carlos Volante, 81, Argentinian international footballer (Flamengo, Argentina).
10 Carlos Ancira, 58, Mexican film actor. Behice Boran, 77, Turkish Marxist–Leninist politician and author, Member of Parliament, heart disease.Boran, Behice (p. 83). Academia.edu (The Encyclopedia of Islam). Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Jaroslav Bouček, 74, Czech international footballer (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia).Jaroslav Bouček (Player). National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Gretl Braun, 72, German sister of Eva Braun. Peter Clyne, 60, Austrian-Australian lawyer and businessman, heart attack. Oretha Castle Haley, 48, American civil rights activist, ovarian cancer. Malathi, 20, Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers fighter, died in combat. Robert Wilberforce, 77, Australian cricketer.
11 Uwe Barschel, 43, German politician, Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, suicide.Soul-Searching Over Barschel Case : West German .... L.A. Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Eske Brun, 83, Danish high civil servant and governor of Greenland. Robert d'Arista, 57–58, American artist and educator. Ernie Fortney, 72, American basketball player. Alfred Kieffer, 83, Luxembourgian Olympic footballer (1924). Jaime Pardo Leal, 46, Colombian lawyer, union leader, and politician, assassinated.The World - News from Oct. 14, 1987. L.A. Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Niall Macpherson, 79, Scottish politician, Minister of Pensions and National Insurance.Mr Niall Macpherson. UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Alan McNicoll, 79, Australian Vice Admiral in the Royal Australian Navy, ambassador to Turkey.Sir Alan Wedel Ramsay McNicoll (1908–1987). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Koldo Mitxelena, 71–72, Spanish Basque linguist, reconstructed Proto-Basque language. Fritz Rössler, 75, German neo-Nazi politician.
12 Snake Henry, 92, American MLB player (Boston Braves). Fahri Korutürk, 84, Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician, president of Turkey.Fahri Koruturk; Former Head of State of Turkey. L.A. Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Alf Landon, 100, American oil man and politician, Republican candidate in 1936 presidential election. Russ Letlow, 74, American NFL footballer (Green Bay Packers).Russ Letlow. Green Bay Packers. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Heinz Lowin, 48, German footballer. Philleo Nash, 77, American government official and politician, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, renal cancer. Gustavo Baz Prada, 93, Mexican politician and doctor, Governor of the State of Mexico. Heinz Vollmar, 51, German footballer.
13 Walter Houser Brattain, 85, American physicist (point-contact transistor), Nobel laureate in Physics, Alzheimer's disease. Hugh Alexander Bryson, 75, Canadian politician, member of the House of Commons of Canada (1953–1958). Kishore Kumar, 58, Indian actor and playback singer, heart attack.Kishore Kumar. Britannica. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Nilgün Marmara, 29, Turkish poet, suicide.Gravestone: Nilgün Marmara 13.10.87. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Lucy Monroe, 80, American operatic soprano and dancer, cancer. Walter Fraser Oakeshott, 83, British vice-chancellor of Oxford, discovered Le Morte d'Arthur Winchester manuscript.Finding aid for the Walter Fraser Oakeshott papers, 1926-1986 (bulk 1949-1986). Online Archive of California. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Anwar Kamal Pasha, 62, Pakistani film director and producer. Jamshed Patel, 73, Indian cricket umpire.
14 Elżbieta Barszczewska, 73, Polish stage and film actress. Nikolay Belov, 67, Soviet Olympic wrestler (1952). Rodolfo Halffter, 86, Spanish composer.Halffter, Rodolfo (1900–1987). Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Finlay J. MacDonald, 62, Scottish journalist, producer and writer. Ted Wildie, 81, Australian rules footballer. Basil Wright, 80, English documentary filmmaker (The Song of Ceylon).Obituaries : Documentary Film Director Basil Wright. L.A. Times. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024.
15 Lennie Aleshire, 97, American vaudeville and country music performer. Arthur Benson, 79, British colonial administrator, Governor of Northern Rhodesia."Sir Arthur Benson." Times [London, England] 19 Oct. 1987: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 9 Aug. 2012. Thomas Andrew Donnellan, 73, American Roman Catholic prelate, archbishop of Atlanta, stroke. August Erne, 82, Swiss racing cyclist. Axel Felder, 38, German racing driver. Juda Hirsch Quastel, 88, British-Canadian biochemist.Juda Hirsch Quastel, 2 October 1899 - 15 October 1987. Royal Society. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Gabriele Salviati, 77, Italian Olympic athlete (1932). Thomas Sankara, 37, Burkinabe politician, President of Burkina Faso, Prime Minister of Upper Volta, assassinated.Thomas Sankara. Britannica. Retrieved 10 Sep 2024. Donald Wandrei, 79, American science fiction and fantasy writer, and poet.
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