Deaths in April 2017

The following is a list of notable deaths in April 2017. For notable deaths before the current month, please see "Previous months". Names under each date are reported in alphabetical order by last name or pseudonym. Deaths of non-humans are reported here also if notable.
Each listing of a death must have a source. If no reference is included, the death notice will be removed. The following are the requirements of adding a name to the list in its order: name, age, nationality, what the person is known for, cause of death (if known) and most importantly a source.
April
1
Gary Austin, 75, American theater writer and director (The Groundlings), cancer.
Lonnie Brooks, 83, American blues guitarist and singer.
Gosta Ekman, 77, Swedish actor and director (Jonssonligan, Martin Beck).
Darcus Howe, 74, Trinidadian-born British editor (Race Today) and civil rights activist, member of the Mangrove Nine, complications from prostate cancer.
Antonio Lamela, 90, Spanish architect (Torres de Colon, Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Adolfo Suarez, Madrid-Barajas Airport).
Burton Watson, 91, American translator (From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry, Selected Poems of Su Tung-p'o).
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, 84, Russian poet (Babi Yar), heart failure.
2
Kenneth J. Donnelly, 66, American politician, member of the Massachusetts State Senate (since 2009), complications from a brain tumor.
Leonard Litwin, 102, American real estate developer (Glenwood Management Corp.), respiratory failure.
3
Michel Arrive, 80, French linguist and novelist.
John Chrispinsson, 60, Swedish journalist (Melodifestivalen 1989), heart attack.
Sergio Gonzalez Rodriguez, 67, Mexican journalist (La Jornada), heart attack.
Akbarzhan Jalilov, 22, Kyrgyzstani-born Russian terrorist, attacker responsible for the 2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing, suicide by bombing.
Roy Sievers, 90, American baseball player (St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox).
Stella Turk, 92, British zoologist, naturalist, and conservationist.
4
Samir Farid, 73, Egyptian movie critic and historian.
Maria Pozsonec, 77, Hungarian-born Slovenian politician, MP (1990-2008).
Giovanni Sartori, 92, Italian political scientist and journalist (Corriere della Sera), throat cancer.
5
Arthur Bisguier, 87, American chess grandmaster and writer, respiratory failure.
John Chittick, 69, American health activist, founder of TeenAIDS-PeerCorps.
David Gove, 38, American ice hockey player (Carolina Hurricanes) and coach (Wheeling Nailers), suspected drug overdose.
Paul O'Neill, 61, American producer, composer and songwriter (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), chronic disease.
Meme Perlini, 69, Italian actor and director (A Fistful of Dynamite, The Grand Duel), suicide by jumping.
Atanase Sciotnic, 75, Romanian sprint canoeist, Olympic silver medalist (1972).
Ilkka Sinisalo, 58, Finnish ice hockey player (Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings), prostate cancer.
6
Bob Cerv, 91, American baseball player (New York Yankees), stroke.
Armand Gatti, 93, Monegasque-born French playwright, filmmaker (Enclouser, El Otro Cristobal) and journalist.
David Peel, 73, American musician (The Lower East Side Band) and political activist, complications from a heart attack.
Don Rickles, 90, American comedian (The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast) and actor (Toy Story, C.P.O. Sharkey, Kelly's Heroes), kidney failure.
Jerzy Vetulani, 81, Polish neuroscientist, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences (since 1991), hit by car.
7
Relja Basic, 87, Croatian actor (One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away) and politician.
Arturo Garcia Bustos, 90, Mexican painter.
Marthe Gosteli, 99, Swiss women's rights activist (Bund Schweizerischer Frauenvereine) and archivist, complications from a fall.
Peter Isaacson, 96, Australian media publisher.
Christopher Morahan, 87, English stage and television director (The Jewel in the Crown).
Glenn O'Brien, 70, American journalist (GQ Magazine), editor (Rolling Stone, Interview) and television presenter (TV Party), complications from pneumonia.
Tim Pigott-Smith, 70, English actor (The Jewel in the Crown, Clash of the Titans, V for Vendetta), suspected heart attack.
8
Fishman, 66, Mexican professional wrestler (UWA, AAA), heart attack.
Georgy Grechko, 85, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, Soyuz 26, Soyuz T-14), Hero of the Soviet Union, heart failure.
Brian Matthew, 88, English television and radio presenter (Saturday Club, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Sounds of the 60s).
Donald Sarason, 84, American mathematician (Hardy space).
9
Knut Borge, 67, Norwegian journalist (Dagens Naeringsliv, Verdens Gang) and television presenter (Spellemannprisen, 20 sporsmal), heart failure.
Carme Chacon, 46, Spanish politician, Minister of Housing (2007-2008) and Defence (2008-2011), heart disease.
John Clarke, 68, New Zealand-born Australian novelist (The Tournament), actor (Never Say Die, Death in Brunswick), screenwriter (Lonely Hearts), comedian (A Current Affair) and satirist, heart attack.
Peter Hansen, 95, American actor (When Worlds Collide, Port Charles, General Hospital).
Harry Huskey, 101, American computer scientist (Standards Western Automatic Computer).
Kim Young-ae, 65, South Korean actress (The Attorney), pancreatic cancer.
Dieter Kottysch, 73, German middleweight boxer, Olympic gold medalist (1972).
Jean Perimony, 86, French actor (Des grives aux loups) and theatre director (Cie du Villiers).
10
Bab Christensen, 89, Norwegian actress (Stevnemote med glemte ar).
Sir Arnold Clark, 89, Scottish businessman (Arnold Clark Group).
Linda Hopkins, 92, American actress (Purlie, Me and Bessie) and blues and gospel singer ("Shake a Hand").
Dennis F. Kinlaw, 94, American academic, President of Asbury University (1968-1981; 1986-1991).
Kirill Kovaldzhi, 88, Russian author (Five Points on the Map, Liman Stories, Candle in Draft), poet (Talk with the Beloved) and critic.
Larry Sharpe, 66, American professional wrestler (NWA), liver disease.
Banner Thomas, 63, American bass guitarist (Molly Hatchet), pneumonia.
11
Michael Ballhaus, 81, German cinematographer (Goodfellas, Air Force One, Bram Stoker's Dracula).
J. Geils, 71, American guitarist (The J. Geils Band).
Dorothy Mengering, 95, American television personality (Late Night with David Letterman, Late Show with David Letterman).
Margit Schumann, 64, German luger, Olympic gold medalist (1976).
12
Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 65, American judge, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (since 2013), suspected suicide by jumping.
Tom Coyne, 62, American Grammy award-winning music engineer (21, 1989, 25), multiple myeloma.
Akhilesh Das, 56, Indian politician and sporting executive, member of the Rajya Sabha (19962014), mayor of Lucknow (19931995), heart attack.
Angel Espinosa, 50, Cuban boxer, World Amateur Champion (1986), suspected cardiac arrest.
Geoff Grover, 73, Australian footballer (Port Melbourne).
Wayne Hardin, 91, American football player (Pacific Tigers) and coach (Navy Midshipmen, Temple Owls), stroke.
Charlie Murphy, 57, American comedian (Chappelle's Show), actor (Paper Soldiers, Black Jesus, Meet the Blacks) and screenwriter (Norbit, The Boondocks, Vampire in Brooklyn), leukemia.
Toby Smith, 46, British keyboardist (Jamiroquai) and music producer (The Hoosiers).
13
K. S. Chandrasekharan, 96, Indian-Swiss mathematician, pneumonia.
Fred Goldsmith, 84, Australian AFL footballer (South Melbourne).
David Mwiraria, 78, Kenyan politician, MP for North Imenti (19922007), Minister of Finance (20032006), respiratory failure and bone cancer.
Dan Rooney, 84, American football executive and diplomat, Chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers (since 2003), Ambassador to Ireland (2009-2012), and member of the Hall of Fame (2000).
14
Henry Hillman, 98, American venture capitalist and philanthropist.
Robert Taylor, 85, American computer scientist and internet pioneer, recipient of the National Medal of Technology and the Draper Prize, complications from Parkinson's disease.
15
David Brumbaugh, 56, American politician, member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives (since 2011).
Clifton James, 96, American actor (Live and Let Die, Cool Hand Luke, Eight Men Out), complications from diabetes.
Emma Morano, 117, Italian supercentenarian, verified oldest living person and last living person born in the 19th Century, heart disease.
Sylvia Moy, 78, American songwriter ("Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "I Was Made to Love Her", "My Cherie Amour") and record producer (Motown Records, Stevie Wonder), complications from pneumonia.
16
Gianni Boncompagni, 84, Italian television presenter (Non e la RAI), producer (Discoring) and screenwriter (Domenica in), cerebral hemorrhage.
Arcan Cetin, 20, Turkish-born American terrorist, attacker responsible for 2016 Cascade Mall shooting, suicide by hanging.
Robert Godwin, 74, American foundry worker and murder victim (Shooting of Robert Godwin), shot.
Allan Holdsworth, 70, British guitarist and composer (Bruford, U.K., Soft Machine), heart attack.
17
Dawson Mathis, 76, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 2nd district (1971-1981), complications from pneumonia.
John T. Noonan Jr., 90, American circuit judge, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1985-1996).
Rosey, 47, Samoan-American professional wrestler (WWE, AJPW), congestive heart failure.
Shoichi Watanabe, 86, Japanese-born English scholar and historical revisionist, heart failure.
18
Augustin Bubnik, 88, Czech ice hockey player (national team), coach and politician, MP (1998-2002).
Yvonne Monlaur, 77, French actress (Three Strangers in Rome, Circus of Horrors, The Brides of Dracula).
Jaak Panksepp, 73, Estonian-born American neuroscientist, cancer.
Steve William Stephens, 37, American killer, responsible for the murder of Robert Godwin, suicide by gunshot.
19
Delbert Daisey, 89, American waterfowl decoy maker and conservationist.
Aaron Hernandez, 27, American football player (New England Patriots) and convicted killer (Odin Lloyd), suicide by hanging.
Lyda Ann Thomas, 80, American politician, Mayor of Galveston, Texas (2004-2010), cancer.
20
Jay Dickey, 77, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 4th congressional district (1993-2001).
Roberto Ferreiro, 81, Argentine footballer (Independiente, River Plate, national team) and manager.
Cuba Gooding, Sr., 72, American soul singer (The Main Ingredient) and actor (Gedo, Children of the Struggle, Save the Children), suspended drug overdose.
Lawrence Hogan, 88, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 5th congressional district (1969-1975), complications from a stroke.
Germaine Mason, 34, Jamaican-born British high jumper, Olympic silver medalist (2008), motorcycle crash.
21
Magdalena Abakanowicz, 86, Polish sculptor.
Cecilia Alvear, 77, Ecuadorian-born American journalist (NBC News), breast cancer.
Carl Christ, 93, American economist (Econometrics).
Ugo Ehiogu, 44, English professional football player (Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, national team) and coach (Tottenham), cardiac arrest.
22
Hubert Dreyfus, 87, American philosopher (What Computers Can't Do), prostate cancer.
William Hjortsberg, 76, American novelist (Falling Angel) and screenwriter (Legend), pancreatic cancer.
Jess Kersey, 76, American basketball official (ABA, NBA), cancer.
Erin Moran, 56, American actress (Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi, Galaxy of Terror), complications from squamous cell carcinoma of the throat.
Attilio Nicora, 80, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, Bishop of Verona (1992-1997).
Witold Pyrkosz, 90, Polish actor (M jak milosc, Janosik, Alternatywy 4).
Gustavo Rojo, 93, Uruguayan actor (Tarzan and the Mermaids, The Evil Forest, The Valley of Gwangi).
Michele Scarponi, 37, Italian racing cyclist (Diquigiovanni-Androni, Lampre-ISD, Astana), winner of the 2011 Giro d'Italia, traffic collision.
Pere Tapias, 70, Spanish food writer and radio presenter (Tapies Variades), Ambassor of Xato (2005-2006), heart failure.
23
Isiaka Adeleke, 62, Nigerian politician, Governor of Osun State (1992-1993), heart attack.
Jerry Adriani, 70, Brazilian singer (Jovem Guarda, Os Rebeldes) and actor (Excelsior to Go Go, MilleVoci), cancer.
Chris Bearde, 80, Australian comedy writer (Laugh-In) and producer (The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Gong Show), heart attack.
Leo Baxendale, 86, British comics artist (The Bash Street Kids, Minnie the Minx, Little Plum), cancer.
Kathleen Crowley, 87, American actress (Robert Montgomery Presents, Downhill Racer, Maverick).
Imre Foldi, 78, Hungarian weightlifter, Olympic champion (1972).
Frantisek Rajtoral, 31, Czech football player (Banik Ostrava, Viktoria Plzen, national team), suicide by hanging.
Chriet Titulaer, 73, Dutch astronomer, television presenter (Wondere Wereld) and writer.
Michael Williams, Baron Williams of Baglan, 67, British peer and diplomat.
24
Benjamin Barber, 77, American political theorist and author (Jihad vs. McWorld), pancreatic cancer.
Agustin Edwards Eastman, 89, Chilean newspaper publisher, owner of El Mercurio, respiratory failure.
Agnes Giebel, 95, German soprano.
Don Gordon, 90, American actor (Bullitt, Papillon, The Towering Inferno).
Robert M. Pirsig, 88, American writer and philosopher (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Lila: An Inquiry into Morals).
Nicholas Sand, 75, American chemist (Brotherhood of Eternal Love), suspected heart attack.
Ken Sears, 83, American basketball player (New York Knicks, San Francisco Warriors).
25
Sasha Lakovic, 45, Canadian hockey player (Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils) and actor (Miracle), brain cancer.
Erik Martin, 81, German songwriter and editor (Muschelhaufen).
Philippe Mestre, 89, French media executive (Presse-Ocean) and politician, member of the National Assembly (1981-1993), Minister of Veteran Affairs and War Victims (1993-1995).
Munyua Waiyaki, 91, Kenyan politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs (1974-1979), pneumonia.
26
Jonathan Demme, 73, American movie director (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married), Oscar winner (1992), complications from esophageal cancer and heart disease.
Bill Page, 91, American jazz musician (Lawrence Welk Band) and businessman.
27
Vinu Chakravarthy, 71, Indian actor (Parasangada Gendetimma, Muni, Gopurangal Saivathillai).
Peter George, 75, Canadian academic, 6th President and Vice-Chancellor of McMaster University (1995-2010), cancer.
Vinod Khanna, 70, Indian actor (Mere Apne, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suryaa: An Awakening) and politician, member of the Lok Sabha from Gurdaspur constituency (1997-2009; since 2014), bladder cancer.
Julius Youngner, 96, American virologist.
28
Vito Acconci, 77, American artist (Seedbed) and architectural designer, stroke.
Brazo de Oro, 57, Mexican professional wrestler (CMLL, UWA, NWA), heart attack.
Janelle Kirtley, 73, American water skier, world champion (1961).
Maria Kide, 66, Swedish politician, injuries sustained from the 2017 Stockholm attack.
John Shifflett, 64, American jazz musician, pancreatic cancer.
Chad Young, 21, American racing cyclist (Axeon), cycling accident.
29
George Genyk, 78, American football player (New York Titans, Michigan Wolverines) and coach, stomach cancer.
R. Vidyasagar Rao, 77, Indian irrigation engineer, bladder cancer.
30
Belchior, 70, Brazilian singer and composer, multiple organ failure.
Mbah Gotho, 146 (claimed), Indonesian man, oldest unverified living person, heart failure.
Lorna Gray, 99, American actress (O, My Darling Clementine, Captain America, Oh! Susanna).
Archduke Joseph Arpad of Austria, 84, Hungarian royalty, Captain General of the Order of Vitez (since 1977).
Raymond P. Kogovsek, 75, American politician, member of the Colorado Senate (1970-1978) and the U.S. House of Representatives (1979-1985).
Boris Oleynik, 81, Ukrainian poet, translator, and politician, member of the Verkhovna Rada (1992-2006), heart failure.
Ueli Steck, 40, Swiss rock climber and mountaineer.
Jean Stein, 83, American author (West of Eden, Edie: American Girl) and editor (The Paris Review), suicide by jumping.
Months
January 2017
February 2017
March 2017
April 2017
Related pages
Deaths in 2014
Deaths in 2015
Deaths in 2016
References
Other websites
The Guardian, UK obituaries
Obituaries, Los Angeles Times
Obituaries, Chicago Tribune
The New York Times, US obituaries
The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian obituaries
The Telegraph obituaries
04
April 2017 events