# Deaths in December 2006
## Contents

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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.

## December 2006
### 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.
* Ross A. McGinnis, 19, United States Army soldier, killed in action.
* 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), suicide by hanging.
* 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.
* Tone Razinger, 85, Slovenian cross-country skier.
* 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.
* Kenneth Cummins, 106, British veteran of the First World War, 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.
* 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 by gunshot.
* 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.
* 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).