Deaths in December 2006

The following is a list of notable deaths in December 2006.

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.

1

 * Claude Jade, 58, French actress (Baisers Volés, L'Amour en Fuite, Topaz), metastatic eye cancer.
 * Herbert Gursky, 76, American astrophysicist for the Naval Research Laboratory, stomach cancer.
 * Geoffrey Colin Guy, 86, British airman and colonial governor.
 * Sid Raymond, 97, American character actor and voice of Baby Huey, complications of a stroke.
 * Ali Khan Samsudin, 48, Malaysian "snake king", venomous snakebite.

2

 * Bob Berry, 80, British test cricket player, natural causes.
 * Corinne Clark, 83, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League).
 * kari edwards, 52, American poet, artist and gender activist, heart failure.
 * Kurt Lipstein, 97, German-born legal scholar.
 * Mariska Veres, 59, Dutch singer for Shocking Blue (Venus), cancer.

3

 * Craig Hinton, 42, British science fiction author, heart attack.
 * Billy Klaus, 77, American baseball shortstop and third baseman.
 * Ferenc Machos, 74, Hungarian soccer player.
 * Logan Whitehurst, 29, American singer and songwriter (The Velvet Teen), brain cancer.

4

 * Sir Peter Gadsden, 77, British Lord Mayor of London (1979–1980).
 * Joseph Ki-Zerbo, 84, Burkinabé politician, natural causes.
 * James Kim, 35, American CNET editor, exposure and hypothermia.
 * Rodney Needham, 83, British social anthropologist.
 * Len Sutton, 81, American Indianapolis 500 racing driver, cancer.
 * Adam Williams, 82, American actor (North by Northwest, The Big Heat, Fear Strikes Out), lymphoma.

5

 * David Bronstein, 82, Ukrainian chess grandmaster and writer, champion of USSR, natural causes.
 * Eric Cox, 83, Australian rugby league player, referee and administrator, pneumonia and stroke.
 * Michael Gilden, 44, American actor (NCIS, Return of the Jedi, Pulp Fiction), apparent suicide.
 * Gerry Humphreys, 75, Welsh sound engineer (Gandhi, A Chorus Line, Blade Runner).
 * Gernot Jurtin, 51, Austrian football player, cancer.
 * Timothy Moxon, 82, British actor and entrepreneur.
 * Van Smith, 61, American costume and makeup designer (Pink Flamingos, Hairspray, Cry-Baby), heart attack.

6

 * Han Ahmedow, 70, Turkmen Prime Minister (1989–1992), heart attack.
 * Darren Brown, 44, British musician and lead singer (Mega City Four), stroke.
 * Russell Buchanan, 106, American World War I veteran, stroke.
 * Hugo Cores, 69, Uruguayan historian, labor leader and politician, Deputy (1990–1994), stroke.
 * Samuel Devons, 92, British physicist and science historian at Columbia University, heart failure.
 * Andra Franklin, 47, American football player (Miami Dolphins), heart failure.
 * Mavis Pugh, 92, British actress (You Rang, M'Lord?), natural causes.
 * Robert Rosenblum, 79, American art historian, curator, and author, colon cancer.
 * William Salcer, 82, Czechoslovakian-born American inventor and Holocaust survivor, leukemia.

7

 * Lyuben Berov, 81, Bulgarian prime minister (1992–1994), cancer.
 * Kevin Berry, 61, Australian gold medal winner in the 200m butterfly at the 1964 Summer Olympics, brain tumour.
 * Desmond Briscoe, 81, British sound engineer and founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, natural causes.
 * Moses Hardy, 112, American supercentenarian, oldest known American man, last African American World War I veteran, natural causes.
 * Johnnie Bryan Hunt, 79, American trucking executive, founder of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, head injuries from a fall.
 * Kim Hyung-chil, 47, South Korean equestrian at the 2006 Asian Games, crushed by falling horse.
 * Jeane Kirkpatrick, 80, American United Nations ambassador (1981–1985), heart failure.
 * Chris Nelson, 46, American photographer, heart attack.
 * Jay McShann, 90, American blues and swing pianist, bandleader and singer, natural causes.

8

 * William H. Briare, 76, American politician, Mayor of Las Vegas (1975–1987).
 * Sir Colin Figures, 81, British head of the Secret Intelligence Service (1982–1985), natural causes.
 * Martha Tilton, 91, American jazz and swing singer with Benny Goodman, natural causes.
 * Philip Tower, 89, British army general.
 * José Uribe, 47, Dominican baseball shortstop (1984–1993), car accident.

9

 * Koula Agagiotou, 91, Greek actress (To Retire), natural causes.
 * Peter Derow, 62, American classical scholar, heart attack.
 * Georgia Gibbs, 87, American singer ("Kiss of Fire") known for her work on Your Hit Parade, leukemia.
 * Ralph Gomberg, 85, American principal oboist at the Boston Symphony, primary lateral sclerosis.
 * Andrei Lomakin, 42, Russian ice hockey player, gold medallist at 1988 Winter Olympics, long illness (cancer).
 * Martin Nodell, 91, American comic book and advertising artist, creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern, natural causes.
 * Tremayne Rodd, 3rd Baron Rennell, 71, British rugby union player for Scotland, cancer.

10

 * Mario Llerena, 93, Cuban intellectual, author and former Castro supporter turned critic, natural causes.
 * Salvatore Pappalardo, 88, Italian Archbishop of Palermo (1970–1996), natural causes.
 * Augusto Pinochet, 91, Chilean president (1973–1990), complications from heart attack.
 * David Wood, 43, American environmental campaigner.

11

 * Elizabeth Bolden, 116, American oldest verified person in the world (2006), natural causes.
 * Kenneth Cummins, 106, British veteran of the First World War, natural causes.
 * Tom Gregory, 79, American television news anchor and announcer, heart disease.
 * Homer Ledford, 79, American bluegrass musician, guitar and dulcimer luthier, Lou Gehrig's disease and stroke.
 * Lo Tak-shing, 71, Hong Kong politician, heart attack.
 * Colin Mair, 86, British rector of Kelvinside Academy.
 * Walter Ward, 66, American lead singer of The Olympics, unspecified illness.

12

 * Paul Arizin, 78, American basketball player (Philadelphia Warriors).
 * Peter Boyle, 71, American actor (Young Frankenstein, Everybody Loves Raymond, Taxi Driver), Emmy winner (1996), multiple myeloma.
 * Kenny Davern, 71, American jazz clarinetist, heart attack.
 * Cor van der Hart, 78, Dutch footballer, natural causes.
 * Oscar Klein, 76, Austrian-born jazz trumpeter, heart attack.
 * Antoine Raab, 93, German association footballer and anti-fascist, natural causes.
 * Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy, 68, Sri Lankan Tamil militant civil war leader, long illness.
 * Ellis Rubin, 81, American attorney and author, cancer.
 * Raymond P. Shafer, 89, American Governor of Pennsylvania (1967–1971), complications from heart failure.
 * Alan Shugart, 76, American disk drive pioneer, co-founder of Seagate Technology, complications from heart surgery.
 * Charles Stourton, 26th Baron Mowbray, 83, British Conservative whip in the House of Lords, pneumonia.

13

 * Henry Beachell, 100, American agriculturalist and recipient of the 1996 World Food Prize.
 * Eileen Caddy, 89, British co-founder of the Findhorn Foundation, natural causes.
 * Richard Carlson, 45, American author (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff), heart attack.
 * Loyola de Palacio, 56, Spanish Vice-President of the European Commission, cancer.
 * Alf Delany, 95, Irish Olympic sailor
 * Ángel Nieves Díaz, 55, Puerto Rican murderer, lethal injection.
 * Homesick James, 96, American blues musician, natural causes.
 * Lamar Hunt, 74, American owner of Kansas City Chiefs, coiner of term "Super Bowl", complications of prostate cancer.
 * Bernard Kleiman, 78, American general counsel to the United Steelworkers of America, heart attack.
 * Charles Peter McColough, 84, Canadian CEO of Xerox Corporation, cardiac arrest.
 * Mario Ravagnan, 75, Italian Olympic fencer.

14

 * Anton Balasingham, 69, Sri Lankan LTTE senior negotiator, cholangiocarcinoma.
 * John Bridge, 91, British recipient of the George Cross and George Medal, natural causes.
 * Camille Darsières, 74, French politician deputy for Martinique's 3rd constituency (1993–2002).
 * Ahmet Ertegün, 83, American businessman, co-founder of Atlantic Records, head injury from a fall at a Rolling Stones concert.
 * Mike Evans, 57, American actor (The Jeffersons), throat cancer.
 * Kate Fleming, 41, American actress, audio book producer and narrator, drowned.
 * John Hamilton, 84, British politician, leader of Liverpool City Council (1983–1986), lung disease.
 * Robert Long, 63, Dutch singer, cancer.
 * Sivuca, 76, Brazilian accordionist and composer, cancer.

15

 * Federico Crescentini, 24, San Marino footballer, drowned.
 * Mimi Jennewein, 85-86, American painter.
 * Frank Johnson, 63, British journalist, editor of The Spectator (1995–1999), cancer.
 * Clay Regazzoni, 67, Swiss Formula One racing driver (1970–1980), car accident.
 * Mary Stolz, 86, American young adult novelist (Belling the Tiger, The Noonday Friends), natural causes.
 * Matt Zunic, 87, American basketball player and coach.

16

 * Don Jardine, 66, Canadian professional wrestler, heart attack and leukemia.
 * Chicho Jesurun, 59, Dutch baseball player and coach from the Netherlands Antilles, heart attack.
 * Oginohana Masaaki, 71, Japanese sumo wrestler.
 * Goce Nikolovski, 59, Macedonian singer, suicide.
 * Taliep Petersen, South African theatre impresario, shot.
 * John Rae, 75, British educator and writer, headmaster of Westminster School (1970–1986).
 * Pnina Salzman, 84, Israeli pianist, natural causes.
 * Cecil Travis, 93, American baseball player (Washington Senators), natural causes.
 * Larry Zox, 69, American artist, cancer.

17

 * Timmie Rogers, 91, American comedian, singer-songwriter, bandleader and actor.
 * Joe Gill, 87, American comic book writer (Captain Atom, Peacemaker).
 * Kyōko Kishida, 76, Japanese actress, respiratory failure caused by brain tumor.
 * Esko Nikkari, 68, Finnish actor, pneumonia.
 * Larry Sherry, 71, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers), MVP of the 1959 World Series, cancer.

18

 * Abdul Amir al-Jamri, 67, Bahraini Shiite Muslim cleric, heart failure and kidney failure.
 * Joseph Barbera, 95, American cartoonist, co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Productions, natural causes.
 * Ruth Bernhard, 101, American photographer, natural causes.
 * W. Craig Broadwater, 56, American judge, cancer.
 * Denis Carter, Baron Carter, 74, British politician, Chief Whip in the House of Lords (1997–2002), cancer.
 * Mike Dickin, 63, British talkSPORT radio presenter, car accident.
 * Mavor Moore, 87, Canadian writer, actor, radio and television producer, illness.
 * Mollie Orshansky, 91, American statistician and economist, cardiac arrest.
 * Daniel Pinkham, 83, American composer, natural causes.

19

 * Len Ablett, 90, Australian rules football player.
 * Jack Burnley, 95, American comic book artist (Superman, Batman, Starman).
 * Oonah McFee, 90, Canadian writer.
 * Maj-Britt Nilsson, 82, Swedish actress (Summer Interlude, Secrets of Women).
 * Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, Afghan Taliban commander, airstrike.
 * Elisabeth Rivers-Bulkeley, 82, Austrian-born British first female member of the London Stock Exchange.
 * Roy Ward, 83, Australian politician.

20

 * Yukio Aoshima, 74, Japanese comedian, Governor of Tokyo (1995–1999), myelodysplastic syndrome.
 * John Bishop, 77, American screenwriter and playwright.
 * Elkan Blout, 87, American biochemist (Harvard University and the Polaroid Corporation), pneumonia.
 * Anne Rogers Clark, 77, American dog show judge (Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show), kidney failure associated with colon cancer.
 * Ma Ji, 72, Chinese xiangsheng actor, heart attack.
 * Mick Mulligan, 78, British jazz trumpeter and bandleader.
 * Tadayuki Nakashima, 35, Japanese comedian, member of duo Cunning, pneumonia and complications from leukemia.
 * Piergiorgio Welby, 60, Italian poet and euthanasia advocate, removal of life support.

21

 * Scobie Breasley, 92, Australian jockey, stroke.
 * Rogério Oliveira da Costa, 30, Brazilian-born Macedonian football player, heart attack.
 * Lois Hall, 80, American actress, heart attack and stroke.
 * Jerzy Janikowski, 54, Polish Olympic fencer.
 * Pierre Louki, 86, French actor and singer-songwriter.
 * Saparmurat Niyazov, 66, Turkmen Communist party secretary (1985–1991), president (1990–2006), cardiac arrest.
 * Philippa Pearce, 86, British children's author, stroke.
 * Karl Strauss, 94, German-born brewer for Pabst and Karl Strauss Brewing Company, natural causes.
 * Sydney Wooderson, 92, British lawyer and track athlete, world record holder for mile run (1937–1942), kidney failure.

22

 * Richard Boston, 67, British journalist and author, illness.
 * Sam Chapman, 90, American athlete, Alzheimer's disease.
 * Ervin Lázár, 70, Hungarian writer, Kossuth Prize winner, lung failure.
 * Dennis Linde, 63, American songwriter ("Burning Love", "Goodbye Earl"), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
 * Michael Morrison, 60, American pornographic actor.
 * Elena Mukhina, 46, Russian gymnast, complications of quadriplegia.
 * Terence O'Brien, 85, British diplomat, ambassador to Nepal, Burma and Indonesia.
 * Phillip Pine, 86, American actor.
 * Thomas Shoyama, 90, Canadian politician, heart failure and Parkinson's disease.
 * Galina Ustvolskaya, 87, Russian composer, natural causes.

23

 * Sol Carter, 98, American baseball player.
 * Charlie Drake, 81, British comedian, actor and singer (My Boomerang Won't Come Back), stroke-related illness.
 * Wilma Dykeman, 86, American author and journalist, complications after hip fracture.
 * Dutch Mason, 68, Canadian blues musician, complications from diabetes.
 * Bo Mya, 79, Burmese rebel leader, complications of heart disease and diabetes.
 * Rosina Raisbeck, 90, Australian soprano singer.
 * Robert Stafford, 93, American politician, governor of Vermont (1959–1961) and senator (1971–1989), natural causes.
 * Timothy J. Tobias, 54, American composer and musician.

24

 * Gino D'Antonio, 79, Italian comics writer and artist.
 * Braguinha, 99, Brazilian composer, multiple organ failure.
 * Mirko Sandić, 64, Serbian Olympic water polo player.
 * Kenneth Sivertsen, 45, Norwegian folk singer, comedian and poet, brain trauma.
 * Frank Stanton, 98, American president of CBS (1946–1971).

25

 * James Brown, 73, American soul singer and bandleader, heart failure related to pneumonia.
 * John Butcher, 60, British Conservative MP (1979–1997), heart attack.
 * Sir Bob Cotton, 91, Australian politician and ambassador to the United States (1982–1985, 1991–1994).
 * Sven Lindberg, 88, Swedish actor.
 * Ingerid Vardund, 79, Norwegian actress.

26

 * Robert Boehm, 92, American lawyer and chairman of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
 * Sir Harold Bollers, 91, Guyanese jurist, Chief Justice.
 * Chris Brown, 45, American baseball player, complications from burns.
 * Gerald Ford, 93, American politician, President (1974–1977), Vice President (1973–1974), arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis.
 * Ivar Formo, 55, Norwegian cross-country skier and Olympic Games champion, drowning.
 * John Heath-Stubbs, 88, British poet and translator, lung cancer.
 * Martin David Kruskal, 81, American mathematician (Princeton University), stroke.
 * Fernand Nault, 85, Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director, Parkinson's disease.
 * George Snell, 99, Canadian Anglican prelate, Bishop of Toronto (1966–1972).

27

 * Richard Dean, 50, American model, photographer and television host (Cover Shot), pancreatic cancer.
 * Pierre Delanoë, 88, French lyricist, cardiac arrest.
 * Scotty Glacken, 62, American Georgetown University football coach (1970–1992).
 * Itche Goldberg, 102, Polish-born American writer and Yiddish language preservationist.
 * Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley, 83, British media executive, chair of BBC Board of Governors (1986–1996).
 * Tommy Sandlin, 62, Swedish ice hockey coach.

28

 * Gracie Cole, 82, British trumpeter and bandleader.
 * Nicola Granieri, 64, Italian Olympic fencer.
 * Jamal Karimi-Rad, 50, Iranian Minister of Justice, car accident.
 * Mandy Mitchell-Innes, 92, British oldest living test cricketer for England, natural causes.
 * Jack Myers, 93, American biologist and science contributing editor (Highlights for Children), bladder cancer.
 * Jared Nathan, 21, American actor (ZOOM), car accident.
 * Gershon Shaked, 77, Israeli author and professor of Hebrew Literature.
 * Aroldo Tieri, 89, Italian actor.

29

 * Harald Bredesen, 88, American Lutheran pastor and advocate of speaking in tongues, injuries following a fall.
 * Bud Delp, 74, American racehorse trainer inducted into the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame, cancer.
 * Johnny Gibson, 101, American 400 meter hurdles world record holder (1927–1928).
 * Charles Addo Odametey, 69, Ghanaian football player.
 * Red Wolf, 18, American world champion bucking bull.
 * Charlie Tyra, 71, American basketball player, heart failure.

30

 * Frank Campanella, 87, American character actor.
 * Mitzi Cunliffe, 88, American sculptor.
 * Elizabeth Greenhill (bookbinder), 99, English bookbinder
 * Saddam Hussein, 69, Iraqi President (1979–2003), execution by hanging.
 * Antony Lambton, 84, British Conservative government minister.
 * Donald Murray, 82, American columnist.
 * Azumi Muto, 20, Japanese model and actress, homicide.
 * Michel Plasse, 58, Canadian ice hockey player, cardiac arrest.
 * Gerald Washington, 57, American mayor-elect of Westlake, Louisiana, suicide by gunshot.

31

 * Marv Breeding, 72, American Major League Baseball player (Orioles, Dodgers).
 * John Denison, 95, British music administrator.
 * James Harder, 80, American civil engineer.
 * Ya'akov Hodorov, 79, Israeli football goalkeeper, stroke.
 * Seymour Martin Lipset, 84, American sociologist, stroke.
 * Liese Prokop, 65, Austrian athlete and Minister of the Interior (2004–2006), aortic dissection.
 * Joe Walton, 81, English football player (Preston North End).