Deaths in May 2015

The following is a list of notable deaths in May 2015. For notable deaths before the current month, please see "Previous months".

Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, cause of death, reference (must be added) are added.


May 2015

 May 1 - David Day, 63, Australian radio broadcaster (5KA, Triple M).
 May 1 - María Elena Velasco, 74, Mexican actress, comedienne and movie producer (La India María), stomach cancer.
 May 1 - Pete Brown, 80, American professional golfer, heart failure and stroke.
 May 1 - Stephen Milburn Anderson, 67, American movie director, writer and producer, throat cancer.
 May 1 - Grace Lee Whitney, 85, American actress (Star Trek, Some Like It Hot, Irma la Douce).
 May 1 - Gary Liddell, 60, Scottish footballer (Grimsby Town, Heart of Midlothian). (death announced on this date)
 May 1 - Geoff Duke, 92, British motorcycle racer.
 May 1 - Vafa Guluzade, 74, Azerbaijani diplomat and political scientist.
 May 1 - Beth Whittall, 78, Canadian Olympic swimmer, double Pan American champion (1955).
 May 1 - Harry Geisinger, 81, American politician, member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1969–1974, since 2005), leukemia.
 May 1 - Ray Ceresino, 86, Canadian ice hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs).
 May 2 - Ruth Rendell, 85, English crime novelist (Inspector Wexford series), stroke.
 May 2 - Maya Plisetskaya, 89, Russian ballet dancer, heat attack.
 May 2 - Guy Carawan, 87, American folk singer and civil rights activist.
 May 2 - Dave Goldberg, 47, American executive (SurveyMonkey, LAUNCH Media).
 May 2 - Sarah Correa, 22, Brazilian swimmer, South American Games champion (2010), hit by car.
 May 2 - Michael Blake, 69, American author and screenwriter (Dances with Wolves).
 May 2 - Konstantin K. Kuzminsky, 75, Russian performance poet. 
 May 2 - Stuart Archer, 100, British recipient of the George Cross.
 May 2 - Philip S. Goodman, 89, American director, screenwriter and producer (We Shall Return, Profiles in Courage).
 May 2 - Ryan McHenry, 27, Scottish movie director and social media personality, bone cancer.
 May 2 - Norman Thaddeus Vane, 86, American screenwriter and movie director (Frightmare).
 May 2 - John Mahaffy, 96, Canadian ice hockey player (Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers).
 May 3 - Abdul Wahid Aresar, 65, Pakistani politician.
 May 3 - Revaz Chkheidze, 88, Georgian movie director (Father of a Soldier, The Saplings).
 May 3 - Danny Jones, 29, Welsh international rugby league player, cardiac arrest.
 May 3 - Abdul Basit Usman, 40–41, Filipino fugitive, shot.
 May 3 - Harry Martin, 95, American judge.
 May 3 - John Elders, 84, English rugby union player (Leicester).
 May 4 - Ellen Albertini Dow, 101, American actress (The Wedding Singer, Wedding Crashers, Patch Adams).
 May 4 - Jesús Hermida, 77, Spanish journalist and broadcaster, stroke.
 May 4 - Andrew Lewis, 44, Guyanese boxer, traffic accident.
 May 4 - Joshua Ozersky, 47, American food writer.
 May 4 - Zhivko Gospodinov, 57, Bulgarian footballer. 
 May 5 - Jon Castañares, 90, Spanish economist and politician, Mayor of Bilbao (1979-1983).
 May 5 - Hans Jansen, 72, Dutch politician, Member of the European Parliament (since 2014), stroke.
 May 5 - Oscar Holderer, 95, American engineer, worked on Saturn V project.
 May 5 - Craig Gruber, 63, American rock musician (Rainbow, Elf), prostate cancer.
 May 5 - Brian Sedgemore, 78, British politician, MP (1974–1979, 1983–2005), fall.
 May 6 - Errol Brown, 71, British singer (Hot Chocolate), liver cancer.
 May 6 - Jerome Cooper, 68, American jazz drummer, multiple myeloma.
 May 6 - Jim Wright, 92, American politician, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1987–1989).
 May 7 - Józef Pazdur, 90, Polish Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Wrocław (1984–2000).
 May 7 - John Dixon, 86, Australian cartoonist (Air Hawk and the Flying Doctors), stroke.
 May 7 - Maurice Flanagan, 86, British businessman (Emirates).
 May 7 - Frank DiPascali, 58, American financier and fraudster, lung cancer.
 May 8 - Zeki Alasya, 72, Turkish actor and director (From the Village to the City), liver disease.
 May 8 - Atanas Semerdzhiev, 90, Bulgarian politician, Vice President (1990–1992).
 May 8 - Martin Nag, 88, Norwegian writer, stroke. 
 May 8 - Menashe Kadishman, 82, Israeli artist, winner of the Israel Prize (1995).
 May 8 - Phil Skoglund, 77, New Zealand lawn bowls player, triple world champion (1988).
 May 8 - Rutger Gunnarsson, 69, Swedish bassist (ABBA, Elton John). (death announced on this date)
 May 8 - Joanne Carson, 84, American television talk show host and model.
 May 8 - Notable people killed in the 2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash:
Leif Holger Larsen, 61, Norwegian diplomat, Ambassador to Pakistan (since 2014).
Domingo Lucenario, Jr., 54, Filipino diplomat, Ambassador to Pakistan (since 2013).
 May 9 - Lo Wing-lok, 60, Hong Kong politician, member of the Legislative Council for Medical (2000–2004), lung cancer.
 May 9 - Odo Marquard, 87, German philosopher. 
 May 9 - Michael MacKellar, 76, Australian politician, MP for Warringah (1969–1994).
 May 9 - Igor Gorynin, 89, Russian metallurgist.
 May 9 - Kenan Evren, 97, Turkish military officer, President of Turkey (1980–1989), gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
 May 9 - Johnny Gimble, 88, American country music fiddler.
 May 9 - Ragne Tangen, 88, Norwegian children's television presenter. (death announced on this date)
 May 9 - Elizabeth Wilson, 94, American actress (The Birds, The Graduate, 9 to 5), Tony Award winner (1972).
 May 10 - Ninad Bedekar, 65, Indian historian and writer.
 May 10 - Luiz Henrique da Silveira, 75, Brazilian politician, Senator (since 2011), Governor of Santa Catarina (2003–2006, 2007–2010), Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (1987–1988), heart attack.
 May 10 - Kim Kyok-sik, 76, North Korean military officer, Defence Minister (2012–13), acute respiratory failure.
 May 11 - Jef Geeraerts, 85, Belgian author, heart attack.
 May 11 - Stan Cornyn, 81, American record label executive and writer.
 May 11 - Sir John Watts, 93, Grenadian politician, President of the Senate (1988–1990, 1995–2004).
 May 12 - William Zinsser, 92, American writer (On Writing Well).
 May 12 - Suchitra Bhattacharya, 65, Indian novelist, cardiac arrest.
 May 12 - Bill Guthridge, 77, American college basketball coach (University of North Carolina).
 May 12 - Peter Gay, 91, American psychohistorian and writer.
 May 12 - William MacDonald, 90, Australian serial killer, natural causes.
 May 13 - Derek Davis, 67, Irish broadcaster (Live at 3).
 May 13 - Gainan Saidkhuzhin, 77, Russian Soviet Olympic cyclist (1960, 1964), heart attack.
 May 13 - Anna Levinson, 76, German zoologist.
 May 14 - Zdzisław Żygulski, Jr., 93, Polish art historian.
 May 14 - B.B. King, 89, American Hall of Fame blues guitarist, singer and songwriter ("The Thrill Is Gone"), complications from Alzheimer's disease.
 May 15 - John Stephenson, 91, American actor (The Flintstones, Dragnet), Alzheimer's disease. 
 May 15 - Garo Yepremian, 70, American football player (Miami Dolphins), brain cancer.
 May 15 - Donald Wrye, 77, American movie director (Ice Castles).
 May 15 - Jackie Brookner, 69, American artist, cancer.
 May 16 - Yeung Kwong, 89, Hong Kong pro-communist activist, heart failure.
 May 16 - Jackie Basehart, 63, American-born Italian actor (The Inglorious Bastards).
 May 16 - Dean Potter, 43, American rock climber, BASE-jumping accident.
 May 16 - Moshe Levinger, 80, Israeli Orthodox rabbi.
 May 16 - Flora MacNeil, 86, Scottish Gaelic singer (Mo Run Geal Og).
 May 16 - John Templeton Jr., 75, American physician and philanthropist, brain cancer.
 May 16 - Elias Gleizer, 81, Brazilian actor, heart failure and bronchopneumonia complicated by a fall.
 May 17 - Chinx, 31, American rapper, shot.
 May 17 - Margaret Dunning, 104, American philanthropist, complications from a fall.
 May 17 - Michael Alfred Peszke, 83, Polish-born American psychiatrist and historian.
 May 18 - Raymond Gosling, 88, British scientist.
 May 18 - Halldór Ásgrímsson, 67, Icelandic politician, Prime Minister (2004–2006), heart attack.
 May 18 - Aruna Shanbaug, 66, Indian nurse, comatose rape victim, pneumonia.
 May 19 - Happy Rockefeller, 88, American socialite and philanthropist, Second Lady of the United States (1974–1977).
 May 19 - Edmond J. Gong, 84, American politician, member of the Florida House of Representatives (1963–1966) and Senate (1967–1971).
 May 19 - Robert S. Wistrich, 70, British-Israeli history professor, heart attack.
 May 19 - Ahmad Alasgarov, 79, Azerbaijani footballer and manager.
 May 19 - Burhan Muhammad, 57, Indonesian diplomat, Ambassador to Pakistan (since 2012), burns from helicopter crash.
 May 19 - Dale D. Myers, 93, American aerospace engineer, Deputy Administrator of NASA (1986–1989).
 May 19 - Gerald Götting, 91, German politician, President of the East German People's Chamber (1969–1976).
 May 20 - Sudha Shivpuri, 77, Indian actress (Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi), multiple organ failure.
 May 20 - Bob Belden, 58, American musician, heart attack.
 May 21 - Joaquim Durão, 84, Portuguese chess player.
 May 21 - Twinkle, 66, British singer-songwriter ("Terry"), cancer.
 May 21 - Louis Johnson, 60, American bassist (The Brothers Johnson, Michael Jackson).
 May 21 - Annarita Sidoti, 44, Italian race walker, world champion (1997), breast cancer.
 May 22 - Marques Haynes, 89, American basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters).
 May 22 - Aminah Robinson, 75, American artist, heart failure.
 May 22 - Terry Sue-Patt, 50, British actor (Grange Hill). (body found on this date)
 May 22 - Radomir Naumov, 68, Serbian politician, Minister of Energy and Mining (2004–2007), Minister of Religion (2007–2008).
 May 23 - Aleksey Mozgovoy, 40, Ukrainian pro-Russian separatist.
 May 23 - John Forbes Nash, Jr., 86, American Nobel Prize-winning mathematician, car accident.
 May 23 - Anne Meara, 85, American comedian (Stiller and Meara) and actress (Archie Bunker's Place, Sex and the City, Like Mike).
 May 23 - Ali Raymi, 41, Yemeni boxer, bombing.
 May 24 - Tanith Lee, 67, British science fiction, horror and fantasy writer (Blake's 7).
 May 24 - Marcus Belgrave, 78, American jazz trumpeter, heart failure.
 May 24 - Bharat Raj Upreti, 63, Nepali judge, justice of the Supreme Court (2009–2013), suicide by hanging.
 May 25 - John M. Murphy, 88, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 16th (1963–1973) and 17th (1973–1981) districts.
 May 25 - Mary Ellen Mark, 75, American photographer, myelodysplastic syndrome.
 May 25 - Bill O'Herlihy, 76, Irish sports broadcaster (RTÉ Sport).
 May 26 - Vicente Aranda, 88, Spanish movie director (Amantes).
 May 26 - Les Johnson, 90, Australian politician, MP for Hughes (1955–1966, 1969–1983).
 May 26 - Dayton Waller, 90, American politician, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Shreveport (1968–1972).
 May 26 - Rocky Frisco, 77, American pianist (JJ Cale Band).
 May 26 - Bob Hornery, 83, Australian stage, movie and television actor (Neighbours, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, The Importance of Being Earnest).
 May 26 - Robert Kraft, 87, American astronomer.
 May 27 - Erik Carlsson, 86, Swedish rally driver.
 May 27 - Nils Christie, 87, Norwegian criminologist.
 May 28 - Reynaldo Rey, 75, American actor and comedian (227, Friday, White Men Can't Jump), stroke.
 May 29 - Betsy Palmer, 88, American actress (I've Got a Secret, Mister Roberts, Friday the 13th).
 May 29 - Ed Gilligan, 55, American financial executive, President of American Express (since 2013).
 May 29 - Doris Hart, 89, American tennis player.
 May 30 - L. Tom Perry, 92, American apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, thyroid cancer.
 May 30 - Lennie Merullo, 98, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs).
 May 30 - Beau Biden, 46, American politician, Attorney General of Delaware (2007–2015), brain cancer.
 May 30 - Julie Harris, 94, British costume designer.
 May 30 - Tony McNamara, 85, English footballer (Everton, Liverpool).
 May 31 - Rochelle Shoretz, 42, American civil servant, founder of Sharsheret, complications from breast cancer.
 May 31 - Karl Wlaschek, 97, Austrian executive, founder of Billa.
 May 31 - Mario Saliwa, 31, South African first-class cricketer.
 May 31 - Slim Richey, 77, American guitarist, lymphoma.

Previous months
 January 2015
 February 2015
 March 2015
 April 2015

References

05