Deaths in December 1989

The following is a list of notable deaths in December 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.

December 1989

1 Alvin Ailey, 58, American dancer, director and choreographer, founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, AIDS. Leo Amino, 78, Japanese-born American sculptor.Leo Amino: Building a Brighter Art Through Plastics Michał Antoniewicz, 92, Polish equestrian, dual Olympic medalist (1928). Danilo Atienza, 38, Filipino air force pilot, plane crash.Danilo Atienza André Charles Biéler, 93, Swiss-born Canadian painter.André Charles Biéler Billy Lyall, 36, Scottish singer, keyboard player and flautist (The Alan Parsons Project, Bay City Rollers), AIDS. Nikolai Patolichev, 81, Soviet politician, Ministry of Foreign Trade. Earl Reoch, 47, Scottish cricketer. Bill Stout, 62, American journalist (CBS News), cardiac arrest.KCBS Commentator Bill Stout, Newscasting Pioneer, Dies at 62 Mitchell Ucovich, 74, American NFL footballer (Washington Redskins). William Vandivert, 77, American photographer, co-founder of Magnum Photos.William Vandivert

2 Harland Bartholomew, 100, American civil engineer and urban planner. Norman Davis, 76, New Zealand professor of English language and literature (Oxford).Norman Davis. University of Otago. Retrieved 6 Aug 2024. Keith Ewert, 71, Australian accountant and politician, member of the Australian House of Representatives.Biography for EWERT, Keith Walter Wilson Oldřich Hanč, 74, Czech Olympic speed skater (1936). Delmas Carl Hill, 83, American district and circuit judge. Ruth Mary Reynolds, 73, American political and civil rights activist.Ruth M. Reynolds Papers. The City University of New York. Retrieved 6 Oct 2024. Richard Shannon, 69, American film and television actor (The Tin Star). William Taylour, 85, British archaeologist (Mycenaean Greece).

3 Sourou-Migan Apithy, 76, Beninese politician, president of Dahomey.. Mario Astorri, 69, Italian footballer and coach (Napoli). Connie B. Gay, 75, American country musician, cancer.Music Promoter Connie B. Gay Dies at 75. Washington Post. Retrieved 5 Aug 2024. Fernando Martín, 27, Spanish basketball player and swimmer, five-time Spanish swimming champion, traffic collision. Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi, 57, Pakistani religious leader. Jean-Paul Moulinot, 77, French actor. Alexander Obukhov, 71, Soviet geophysicist and applied mathematician (atmospheric physics).Alexander Mikhailovich Obukhov. Springer (obituary). Retrieved 5 Aug 2024. Paul Wei Ping-ao, 60, Chinese and Hong Kong actor (Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon). Carlo Rim, 86, French film screenwriter, producer and director. Nihal Silva, 35, Sri Lankan comedian and actor, shot.

4 Gerald Carson, 90, American advertising executive, social historian and writer.Gerald Carson, 90, A Social Historian Of Accessible Style Émile Janssens, 87, Belgian colonial official and military general. Elwyn Jones, 80, Welsh barrister and politician, Lord Chancellor. Steve Lembo, 63, American Major League baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers). Colin MacKay, 81, Australian rules footballer. Kathleen Manners, 95, English aristocrat. Angelo Ruggiero, 49, American mobster, member of the Gambino crime family, cancer. May Swenson, 76, American poet and playwright, chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

5 Juan Manuel Acuña, 68, Chilean international footballer (Chile national football team).Juan Manuel Acuña Juan Manuel Acuña Romero (Player). National Football Teams. Retrieved 3 Nov 2024. Edoardo Amaldi, 81, Italian physicist, coined the term "neutrino". Peter Bessone, 76, American NHL player (Detroit Red Wings). Nathan Huggins, 62, American historian and author, cancer. Sofiya Kalistratova, 82, Soviet lawyer and human rights activist. Li Keran, 82, Chinese painter and art educator, heart attack. George Machin, 66, British politician, Member of Parliament.Mr George Machin. UK Parliament (Hansard). Retrieved 28 Sep 2024. Tadeusz Miksa, 63, Polish footballer (Lechia Gdańsk). John Pritchard, 68, English conductor, music director of the San Francisco Opera, lung cancer. George Selden, 60, American author (The Cricket in Times Square), gastrointestinal hemorrhage.

6 Frances Bavier, 86, American stage and television actress (The Andy Griffith Show), heart failure. Cecil Cathers, 88, Canadian politician, member of the House of Commons of Canada (1957-1962). C. L. Dellums, 89, American labor activist, leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Sammy Fain, 87, American composer ("Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella", "I'll Be Seeing You"), heart attack. David Hardman, 88, British politician, Member of Parliament.Mr David Hardman. UK Parliament (year of death only). Retrieved 6 Aug 2024. Rolf Johannesson, 89, Nazi German and West German naval admiral.Johannesson, Rolf Marc Lépine, 25, Canadian mass murderer (École Polytechnique massacre), suicide.École Polytechnique Tragedy (Montreal Massacre). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 6 Aug 2024. Mélinée Manouchian, 75–76, French-Armenian member of the French Resistance and widow of Missak Manouchian. Art Parks, 78, American Major League baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers). John Payne, 77, American film actor (Miracle on 34th Street, The Restless Gun), heart failure. Ćamil Sijarić, 75, Yugoslavian novelist and short story writer, traffic collision. Gaston Van Roy, 73, Belgian Olympic sports shooter (1952).

7 Haystacks Calhoun, 55, American professional wrestler. Phil Dokes, 34, American NFL footballer (Buffalo Bills), heart failure. Hans Hartung, 85, German-French abstract painter and soldier. Lucien Le Guével, 74, French racing cyclist. Carlos DeLuna, 27, American convicted murderer, executed. Stuart Novins, 75, American television journalist, CBS News correspondent, respiratory failure. Sirima, 25, English-French singer, murdered. Vadim Spiridonov, 45, Soviet film actor and director, heart failure. Luis Calderón Vega, 77–78, Mexican politician and writer, co-founder of the National Action Party. Melchior Wezel, 86, Swiss gymnast and Olympic gold medalist (1928).

8 Albert Barrett, 86, English footballer (Fulham).Albert Frank Barrett. saintsplayers.co.uk. Retrieved 3 Nov 2024. Bruno Carette, 33, French humorist and comedian, member of Les Nuls. Szymon Datner, 87, Polish historian and Holocaust survivor. Max Grundig, 81, German businessman, founder of Grundig AG. Mykola Livytskyi, 82, Soviet Ukrainian politician, prime minister and president of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile. Stanley Steingut, 69, American politician, speaker of the New York State Assembly, lung cancer.

9 Brett Austin, 30, New Zealand swimmer and Olympian (1984). Edward J. Bloustein, 64, American president of Rutgers University, heart attack. Gunnar Bøe, 72, Norwegian politician and economist.Gunnar Bøe. Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 Sep 2024. William P. Ennis, 85, American general in the United States Army. Bob Friedman, 68, American NFL player (Philadelphia Eagles). Basil Hayward, 61, English footballer and manager (Port Vale), heart attack. Takeshi Kaikō, 58, Japanese novelist, short-story writer and journalist, esophageal cancer. Doug Scovil, 62, American football player and NFL coach (Philadelphia Eagles), heart attack. S. Somasundaram, 70, Indian Carnatic vocalist. R. G. Springsteen, 85, American B movie and television director.

10 Frank Baker, 71, English footballer (Stoke City). Sam Barkas, 79, English footballer and manager (Bradford City, England).Sam Barkas. English Football Online. Retrieved 30 Sep 2024. Paul Collaer, 98, Belgian musicologist, pianist and conductor. George Edmonds, 96, English professional footballer (Wolverhampton Wanderers).George William Neville Edmonds. England Football Online. Retrieved 30 Sep 2024. Nico Gardener, 83, Latvian-born British bridge player.Nico Gardener. English Bridge Union. Retrieved 30 Sep 2024. Frank Gulotta, 82, American judge, diabetes.Frank A. Gulotta, 82, Ex-New York Justice. New York Times. Retrieved 6 Aug 2024. Frederick Hedges, 86, Canadian rower and Olympic medalist (1928).Frederick Hedges. Olympedia. Retrieved 30 Sep 2024. Robin Hughes, 69, Argentinian-born British actor, liver disease.Robin Hughes. WorldCat. Retrieved 3 Nov 2024. Steve Sebo, 75, American football and baseball player and coach.Gravestone: Steve Sebo 10.12.89. University of Virginia Cemetery and Columbarium, Charlottesville, Charlottesville City, Virginia, USA. Retrieved 3 Oct 2024. Harold Thomas, 75, Welsh rugby union and rugby league player (Salford, Wales).Harold Thomas. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 30 Sep 2024. Huang Zhen, 80, Chinese politician, ambassador to Hungary, Indonesia and France.Huang Zhen, 80, Beijing Envoy Who Helped Plan Nixon's Visit. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Aug 2024.

11 Allez France, 19, American Thoroughbred racehorse.Allez France History: A tribute to a great mare Carlos Almaraz, 48, Mexican-born American artist, AIDS. John Buxton, 76, British poet and ornithologist.John Buxton (1912-1989). Wiley Online Library. Retrieved 7 Aug 2024. Lindsay Crosby, 51, American actor and singer, suicide.Lindsay Crosby, 51, A Son of Bing, Dead. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Aug 2024. Louise Dahl-Wolfe, 94, American photographer (Harper's Bazaar), pneumonia. Alfred Ferraz, 82, French architect. Howard Lang, 78, English actor (The Onedin Line).Howard Lang. WorldCat. Retrieved 3 Nov 2024.

12 Carlos Barral, 60–61, Spanish poet and politician, member of the European Parliament, abdominal aortic aneurysm. Sid Colin, 74, English scriptwriter (The Army Game). Helen Creighton, 90, Canadian folklorist and author.Helen Creighton. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 Aug 2024. Charles Fosset, 79, French footballer. Bill Kennedy, 77, Scottish footballer (Southampton).William Kennedy. Saints Players. Retrieved 30 Sep 2024. Fernand Le Heurteur, 84, French Olympic long-distance runner (1936). Suihō Tagawa, 90, Japanese manga artist.

13 Paul Crowe, 65, American NFL footballer (San Francisco 49ers). Peter de la Mare, 69, New Zealand physical organic chemist. Michele Fanelli, 82, Italian long-distance runner and Olympian (1932).Michele Fanelli. Olympedia. Retrieved 30 Sep 2024. Sammy Lerner, 86, Romanian-born American film and musical songwriter, cancer. Roderick Mackenzie, 85, Scottish soldier and peer, chief of Clan Mackenzie.Mr Roderick Mackenzie. UK Parliament (Hansard). Retrieved 3 Nov 2024. Felix McGrogan, 75, Scottish footballer (Kilmarnock). Stan Randall, 81, Canadian businessman and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Jack Showell, 74, Australian rules footballer.

14 Lucien Aguettand, 88, French art director. Reuben Bennett, 75, Scottish professional footballer and manager (Hull City).Reuben Mitchell Bennett. Aberdeen F.C.. Retrieved 7 Aug 2024. Robert D. Blue, 91, American politician, governor of Iowa, stroke.Robert D. Blue Dies; Former Iowa Governor. New York Times. Retrieved 7 Aug 2024. Ants Eskola, 81, Estonian actor, singer and artist.Ants Eskola. WorldCat. Retrieved 3 Nov 2024. Willy Fascher, 77, German Olympic fencer (1952). Gerry Healy, 76, British political activist, leader of the Workers Revolutionary Party.Healy, Thomas Gerard ('Gerry'). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 7 Aug 2024. Seiichi Katsumata, 81, Japanese politician, Soviet spy, member of the House of Representatives.Seiichi Katsumata. WorldCat. Retrieved 3 Nov 2024. Jock Mahoney, 70, American actor and stuntman (The Range Rider), stroke. Frederick Nolting, 78, American diplomat, ambassador to South Vietnam, cardio-pulmonary arrest. Georges Poitou, 63, French mathematician. Andrei Sakharov, 68, Soviet nuclear physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics, dilated cardiomyopathy. Howard Walton, 73, British tennis and table tennis player.

15