It's that time of year again, folks. While not exactly within the bailiwick of this blog, at least 16 politicians and eleven other dudes somehow mixed up in the Miracle of Democracy called stumps and gave the game away in 2019.
I've got absolutely no idea where my long standing obsession with obituaries comes from. I've always imagined the ideal Saturday morning as a quick flip through the papers and "a slow read of the obituaries with a glass of cheeky Chablis". Suppose taking a passing interest in the twig droppers is just one way to pace out the ruthless, relentless march of time. I've been doing these nostalgic lists of deadun's for far too long now - and even after some judicious editing - they're now also getting ridiculously long. My tribute to those who have permanently left the departure lounge continues to balloon out - but who can you omit from of this eclectic, idiosyncratic bunch of clock punchers? The only criteria is that those listed as no longer with us may or may not have been famous, may or may not have led interesting lives in interesting times, or the manner and cause of death may or may not have been somewhat unusual. So there's a big range of those who have fallen from their perches, from some very ordinary types to out and out crack-pots and whack-jobs, and three animals and even an inanimate object also get a guernsey this year. And there's been something of a changing of the guard at the end of the decade, with a seeming preponderance of some really old snoozers who've shuffled off this mortal coil, including no less than ten centenarians, and three who fell a year short of triple figures before finally pegging out.
Having personally come face to face with the Sausage Creature more than once and still wondering if I'm immortal, obviously I don't subscribe to the latter part of John Donne's sentiment from Meditation XVII of 1623:
"Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
So, just sit back and relax with a cheeky...
CRAZY CRAVES TOP 130 OBITUARIES 2019
† JANUARY †
George, c.14, January 1, Honolulu, Hawai'i. Last known surviving specimen of the land snail species achatinella apexfulva, endemic to the Hawaiian islands, now believed extinct. Died in captivity. Extreme old age.
Mungau Dain, 27, January 4, Port Vila, Vanuatu. ni-Vanuatu movie actor. Played lead role in Australian produced local language feature film Tanna [2015]. Known as "the Brad Pitt of Vanuatu". Sepsis due to untreated leg infection.
Annalise Braakensiek, 46, January 6, Sydney. Australian fashion model, "Instagram influencer, wellness guru, and vegan cook". Ambassador for RU-OK suicide prevention organisation. Suicide.
Jimmy Hannan, 84, January 7, Bellingen, New South Wales. Australian television legend of the 1960's and 70's, entertainer, comedian, singer. Appeared on In Melbourne Tonight and then his own shows Tonight with Jimmy Hannan and Saturday Date. Retired to the countryside at 50. Short cancer-related illness.
Babs Simpson, 105, January 7, Rye, New Jersey. American journalist and art collector. Fashion editor for Vogue magazine [1947-68]. Long time collaborator with photographer Irving Penn. Renowned for having "a chic all her own". Extreme old age.
Carol Channing, 97, January 15, Rancho Mirage, California. American actress, singer, dancer and Broadway musical theatre legend. First came to prominence in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [1949] and cemented her Hollywood stardom in Hello Dolly! [1964]. Continued performing until the age of 93. Complications of stroke.
Masazo Nonaka,113, January 20, Ashoro, Japan. World's oldest man to that date. Outlived all seven siblings, his wife and three of their five children. Credited longevity to eating sweet things, watching sumo wrestling on TV and bathing daily in hot mineral springs. Extreme old age.
Michel Legrand, 86, January 26, Paris. French film composer, arranger and jazz pianist. Wrote more than 200 film and television scores. Three times Academy Award winner. Died a week ahead of scheduled series of jazz concerts in Japan. Sepsis due to viral respiratory infection.
† FEBRUARY †
Albert Finney, 82, February 8, London. British stage, film, and television actor. Leading figure in British 1960's "new wave" cinema, and later a Hollywood heart-throb. Five Oscar nominations in illustrious career, never won. Refused both a CBE [1980] and a Knighthood [2000]. Declined to write a biography, and shunned fame. Kidney cancer.
Betty Ballantine, 99, February 12, Bearsville, New York. American literary editor and publisher. Along with husband Ian, created the first mass-circulation "paperback" at Penguin Books in New York [1939], selling millions of literary classics at 25c each. The first promoter of science fiction as a mainstream genre with Bantam and Ballantine Books. Extreme old age.
Leonard Casley, aka His Royal Highness Prince Leonard I of Hutt, 93, February 13, Geraldton, Western Australia. Australian eccentric, wheat farmer, shyster, shonk, raconteur, pretender, self-styled prince, and notorious vexatious litigant. Suceeded his 75 sq km property at Hutt River from the state of Western Australia in dispute over wheat quotas [1970]. Briefly declared war on Australia [1977] in a long running tax dispute, before declaring unilateral sovereign independence as a principality under absolute monarchy. Abdicated in favour of 61-year-old youngest son Prince Graeme [2017]. Recognised by no-one. Died owing the Australian Tax Office three million dollars. Complications of emphysema.
Karl Lagerfeld, 85, February 19, Paris. Flamboyant German-born French fashion designer. Creative director of fashion house Chanel for 37 years until his death. Claimed his controversial persona was a sham, and bequeathed his considerable fortune to his two cats. Pancreatic cancer.
Michael Murphy, 66, February 21, Sydney. Australian criminal. Sentenced to life without parole along with five others including his two brothers for the rape and murder of Anita Cobby in 1986. Died in jail. Cancer related illness.
Peter Tork, 77, February 21, Mansfield, Connecticut. American pop musician. Best known as the bass player in the original boy band, The Monkees. Adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Tom Ballard, 30, February c.24, Nanga Parbat, Pakistan. British mountaineer. First person to complete climbs of all six major north faces in the Alps in the same season. Died with companion Daniele Nardi while attempting ascent of the “Killer Mountain”, the ninth highest mountain in the world. His mother, Alison Hargreaves [the first woman to climb Mt Everest unassisted by oxygen], died while climbing nearby mountain K2 [1995]. Accident. 400m fall.
André Previn KBE, 89, February 28, New York. German-born American composer, conductor, and impresario. Chief conductor at London Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras. Jazz pianist, recording dozens of jazz albums. Won four Academy Awards for his film scores. Received honourary British knighthood [1996]. Married five times, seven children. Flamed out.
† MARCH †
Mike Willesee AO, 76, March 1, Perth. Hard-drinking Australian journalist and television personality known for his critical political coverage. Hosted ABC's Four Corners program [1969-1971], and later appeared on the Nine, Ten and Seven Networks in 30 year current affairs career. Re-embraced Roman Catholicism in later life and produced popular documentaries in the US on so-called "miracles". Throat cancer.
Les Carlyon AC, 76, March 4, Melbourne. Australian journalist, editor and historian. Former editor of the The Age newspaper, and editor-in-chief of The Herald and Weekly Times. Two Walkley awards and lifetime-achievement gong. Wrote six books on Australian sports and war history. Cancer-related illness.
Keith Flint, 49, March 4, Dunmow, Essex. Outrageous British post-punk front man for electro-pop band The Prodigy [1997-2019], selling 30 million+ records world-wide. Motorcycle racing team owner and publican in later life. Suicide.
Kelly Catlin, 23, March 8, Stanford, California. American Olympian and professional cyclist, engineer, violinist, artist. Silver medalist at Rio [2016] in Team's Pursuit and three times World Champion. Suicide.
Julia Ruth Stevens, 102, March 9, Henderson, Nevada. Adopted daughter of American baseball immortal "Babe" Ruth. Major boosterist of the Ruth legend, appearing as guest of honour at ball parks across the US until the age of 100. Extreme old age.
Edmund Capon AM OBE, 78, London, March 13. Eccentric English born Australian art director, curator, author, historian, PhD in Chinese Art. 33-year-long Director Art Gallery of New South Wales [1978-2011]. Tripled the size of the gallery collection, creating the Gallery's Asian art wing. Paid $A16.2 million for a Cézanne [2008]. Biggest regret the still unsolved theft of million dollar 17th-century Frans van Mieris painting on his watch [2007].Chevalier, Ordre des Arts des Lettres. Complications of melanoma.
Birch Bayh, 91, March 14, Easton, Maryland. American politician and broad-acre farmer. Democrat Senator for Indiana [1963-81]. Principally known as the lead author of the 25th and 26th Amendments to the US Constitution. Advocate of abolition of the Electoral College. Pneumonia.
Charlie Whiting, 66, March 14, Melbourne. English motor racing engineer and official. Chief Steward [Race Director] for FIA in Formula One [1997-2019]. Started every F1 race for 21 years. Died suddenly the day before the start of the 2019 Australian F1GP. Pulmonary embolism.
Dick Dale, 81, March 16, Loma Linda, California. American musician and sound engineer known as "The King of the Surf Guitar". Collaborated on creation of the first ever 100 watt guitar amplifier. Released five surf music albums [1962-64], regular on the Ed Sullivan Show, before making a comeback in the 90's. Congestive heart disease, renal failure.
Bruce "Roo" Yardley, 71, March 27. Kununurra, Western Australia. Australian test cricketer. Off-spinner, playing 33 tests for 126 wickets. International Cricketer of the Year [1981-82]. Called by umpires twice for throwing in Jamaica [1978], with the tour ending in a spectator riot. Bowling coach in later life and credited with inventing the "doosra" for all-time test wicket taker, Muttiah Muralitharan. Short cancer-related illness.
† APRIL †
Lloyd McDermott, 79, April 6, Brisbane. Australian indigenous lawyer and rugby union footballer. Mununjali and Waka Waka man. First aboriginal barrister in Australia, and former Wallaby. Best known for refusing to tour South Africa with the Wallabies in 1963 due to the country's apartheid regime. Short illness.
Richard E. Cole,103, April 9, San Antonia, Texas American Air Force pilot. Last of "The Doolittles". Final surviving crew member of the16 strong squadron of B-25's that bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942. Extreme old age.
Jim Daniher, 90, April 12, Ungarie, New South Wales. Australian farmer and progenitor of the famous Daniher Australian Rules football family. Four sons, and two grandsons all played AFL for Essendon. Old age.
Paul Greengard, 93, April 13, New York. American neuroscientist and Nobel Laureate. Won Nobel Prize for Medicine [2000] for work proving the chemical links in brain cell communications, paving the way for the development of a new generation of anti-psychotic drugs. Old age.
Alan García, 69, April 17, Lima, Peru. Peruvian politician and two-term President of Peru [1985-90, 2006-11]. Leader of the Peruvian Aprista Party. Shot himself dead during police raid to arrest him on bribery and corruption charges. Suicide.
Lyra McKee, 29, April 18, Derry, Northern Ireland. Northern Irish investigative journalist and author. Specialised in covering historic unsolved murders during The Troubles. About to publish the first of a three book deal. Shot during a riot. Unsolved murder.
Les Murray AO, 80, April 29, Taree, New South Wales. Australian poet and literary critic. Published 30 volumes of poetry over four-decade career. Longtime literary editor Quadrant magazine. Chronic illness.
Peter Mayhew, 74, April 30, Boyd, Texas. English-born American character actor, children's author. Best known for his role as Chewbacca [1997-2015] in the Star Wars cinema franchise. Cardiac arrest.
† MAY †
Mike Williamson OAM, 90, May 2, Melbourne. Australian sports journalist and colourful Australian football media identity. Decades long career in radio and television becoming a household name with Channel 7 from 1959, broadcasting football, cricket and tennis. Delivered immortal line in the 1970 VFL grand final “Jesaulenko! You beauty!”. Old age.
Doris Day, 97, May 13, Carmel Valley, California. American singer, actress, and Hollywood superstar. Recorded more than 650 popular songs. Became a 1960's Hollywood box office hit with a series of romantic comedies. Following film career, starred in own TV series The Doris Day Show [1963-72]. Retired from the screen 1973. Later became involved in animal rights activism. Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom [2004]. Four times married. Requested no funeral or gravesite. Pneumonia.
Grumpy Cat, 7, May 14, Morristown, Arizona. American calico cat with feline dwarfism. The original "internet cat". Lived out her life as a 'viral sensation'. Urinary tract infection.
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC, 89, May 16, Sydney. Australian trade union leader and politician. ACTU President [1969-79]. Australia's longest serving Labor Prime Minister [1983-1991]. Statesman, consummate politician, consensus builder, charismatic leader, national icon, history maker, showman, raconteur, Rhodes scholar, ladies man and gentleman. Son of a Congregationalist minister, lost his Christian faith [1952] and became agnostic. Set beer sculling world record [1956] while at Oxford. Self-admitted alcoholic, stopped drinking for 11 years [1983-1994]. Separated from wife Hazel [1995] and married his biographer Blanche d'Alpuget. Legend and folk hero of the Australian Labor movement. Old age.
I.M.Pei, 102, May 16, New York. Chinese-born American architect. Designed landmark buildings around the world. Won Pritzker Prize [1983] considered the Nobel Prize for Architecture. Extreme old age.
Herman Wouk, 103, May 17, Palm Springs, California. American popular fiction novelist, radio writer and WWII US Navy veteran. Largely shunned by critics, authored several run away best sellers, notably The Caine Mutiny which sold three million copies and won the Pullizter Prize [1951]. Extreme old age.
Niki Lauda, 70, May 20, Zürich, Switzerland. Austrian racing car driver and motor sports super star. Three times Formula One World Champion [1975 and 77 - Ferrari, 1984 - McLaren]. Severely disfigured by burns in near-fatal accident at Nürburgring [1976]. Achieved greatest success post accident. Ran his own airline Lauda Air [1997-2013], briefly returning to F1 [1982], and later became involved in the ownership and management of Formula One teams. Double lung transplant recipient ten months before death. Complications of kidney failure and long term respiratory damage.
Judith Kerr OBE, 95, May 22 German-born British children's author, illustrator, novelist. Best known for the best selling The Tiger Who Came to Tea [1968], part of her 17 volume Mog series. Short illness.
Murray Gell-Mann, 89, May 24, Santa Fe, New Mexico. American physicist and Nobel laureate. Known as the "Father of quantum mechanics". Won Nobel Prize for Physics [1959] for his work on sub-atomic elementary particles. Work on cosmic rays proved the existence of "quarks". Chronic illness.
James S. Ketchum, 87, May 27, Peoria, Arizona. American army psychiatrist who experimented with the hallucinogenic drug LSD on 5000 volunteer soldiers at at Edgewood Arsenal Chemical Warfare Facility in the 1960's, aimed at determining its possible debilitating effects on enemy battle field groups. US Army cancelled the program after ten years, declaring it "impractical" .Drifted off.
Leon Redbone, 69, May 30, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Cypriot-born American guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor, comedian, raconteur. Best known for his vaudevillian jazz and tin pan alley stage shows. Recorded 18 studio albums. Dementia.
† JUNE †
Malcolm Rebennack aka "Dr John", 77, June 6, New Orleans, Louisiana. American R&B musician, singer/songwriter, entertainer over 40 year career. Best known for theatrical stage shows based on the "New Orleans sound" and recorded 30 studio albums. Six Grammy awards and inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame [2011]. Cardiac arrest.
Peter Batey OAM, 85, June 14, Coolac, New South Wales. Prolific Australian playwright, theatre producer and impresario. Founding member of Melbourne Theater Company, and inaugural artistic director of the South Australian Theatre Company, directing/producing more than 130 plays. Best known for founding the Bald Archy competition, a satirical take on the Archibald Prize. Single-car motor crash.
Anne Hamilton-Byrne, 98, June 15, Melbourne. Australian leader of the doomsday cult The Family [1963-87]. Claimed she was Jesus Christ incarnate, and accused of the imprisonment, drugging and beating of children, but never faced justice, despite being extradited after fleeing to the United States following a police raid. Dementia.
Franco Zeffirelli KBE OMRI, 96, June 15, Rome. Celebrated Italian film maker, opera director and politician. Best known for Oscar winning film adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet [1968]. Elected to the Italian Senate [1994-2001]. Honourary British knighthood [2004]. Old age.
Mohammed Morsi, 67, June 17, Cairo. Egyptian politician, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, and first democratically elected President of Egypt [2012]. Deposed in a coup d'tat less than a year later. Already convicted of murder on thin evidence and sentenced to death, collapsed and died in the dock during trial on espionage charges. Cardiac Arrest.
Bill Collins OAM, 87, June 20, Melbourne. Australian film critic known as "Mr Movies". Worked on all three commercial television networks, presenting Bill Collins' Golden Years of Hollywood on Channel Ten for fifteen years. Brief illness..
Judith Krantz, 91, June 22, Los Angeles. American pulp fiction novelist and magazine journalist. Wrote ten runaway best selling steamy romance books, publishing her first at the age of 50. Sold an astonishing 80 million copies in more than 50 languages. Old age.
Dave Batholomew, 100, June 23, New Orleans, Louisiana. American jazz musician, composer, arranger, producer. Best known as long time collaborator with the legendary Fats Domino producing more than 40 hits in the 1950's. Congestive heart disease.
George Rosenkranz, 102, June 23. Atherton, California. Hungarian-born American scientist, leading steroid researcher and co-inventor of the first chemical female birth control, known as "The Pill" [1964]. Grand master of the contract bridge card game, writing ten books on the subject. His wife Edith kidnapped for ransom, and released unharmed [1984]. Extreme old age.
† JULY †
João Gilberto, 88, July 6, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazilian singer/songwriter known as "The Father of the Bossa Nova" along with long-time collaborator Antônio Carlos Jobim. Musical superstar in Brazil, but died in debt. Three children by three women. Dementia.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho aka Pak Topo, 49, July 7, Guangzhou, China. Indonesian public servant and media celebrity. Chief spokesman for the Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Much loved communicator of disaster relief operations, providing honest and direct emergency reports on the ground. Directed Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami media efforts from his hospital bed eight months before death. Lung cancer.
Ross Perot, 89, July 9, Dallas, Texas. American electronics billionaire and would be politician. Twice ran for President of the USA [1992, 96] as an Independent, garnering 19% of the popular vote in 1996. Leukemia.
Rip Torn, 88, July 9, Lakeville, Connecticut. American stage, screen and television actor. Oscar nominee.1956 for film debut in Baby Doll, leading to a successful bit-part Hollywood career. Worked in television comedy in later career. Retired 2009. Famous for on-set brawling and a reputation as a "hell raiser". Given suspended jail term for burglary and carrying a loaded weapon while intoxicated (2010). Three times married. Complications of chronic alcoholism.
Fernando Corbató, 93, July 12, Newburyport, Massachusetts. American computing scientist and engineer. Best known for inventing computer passwords with his development of the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) in the late 1950's at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Won the Turing Award [1990] for lifetime achievement in computing. Complications of diabetes
Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker, 55, July 13, Virginia Beach, Virginia. American Olympic boxing gold medalist [Los Angeles 1984] and winner of professional boxing World Championship belts in four different weight divisions. Alcoholic in later life and did jail time over cocaine possession. Made millions but died poor. Accident. Hit by car.
Justice John Paul Stevens, 99, July 16, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Former US Supreme Court judge, retiring at age 90 after 35 years on the bench on appointment by President Gerald Ford, leading the "liberal wing" of the court. Stroke.
Justice David Hunt AO QC, 84, July 19, Sydney. Former New South Wales Supreme Court justice and Chief Judge at Common Law. Presided over the trial of infamous backpacker killer, Ivan Milat, sentencing him to life in jail, with no parole [1996]. After retirement served as a judge on the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and later the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Complications of dementia.
Shelia Dikshit, 81, July 20, New Delhi. Indian politician and long-time Chief Minister of New Delhi [1998-2013]. Chief architect and promoter of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games [2010]. Congestive heart disease.
Peter McNamara, 64, July 20, Sonthofen, Germany. Australian tennis player. Doubles specialist who won Wimbledon twice with long time partner Paul McNamee [1980, 82] forming "The Two Macs". Appeared for Australia 21 times in Davis Cup rubbers and reached No.7 in the world in singles. Long time pro-coach following retirement [1987]. Prostate cancer.
Paul Krassner, 87, July 21, Desert Hot Springs, California. American anarchist, journalist, prankster, and co-founder of the Yippie movement along with Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman. Published satirical political magazine The Realist [1967]. Alzheimer's disease.
Margaret Fulton OAM, 93, July 24, Sydney. Scottish-born Australian cook, journalist, author, television personality, raconteur. Food Editor "Woman's Day" [1960-79], where she was renowned for her encyclopedic knowledge of cookery. Her first book The Margaret Fulton Cookbook [1968], sold more than 1.5 million copies, becoming a culinary "bible". Credited with bringing international cuisine to the Australian plebeian. Old age.
Mohamed Essebsi, 92, July 25, Tunis, Tunisia. First democratically elected president of Tunisia [2014-19]. Died in office five months short of the end of his term. Wife died at 83 two months later.. Sudden illness.
Russi Taylor, 75, July 26. Glendale, California. American voice actor principally known as the voice of Minnie Mouse for 30 years. Married to the voice of Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine, for 18 years until his death in 2009. Also voiced Strawberry Shortcake and Pebbles Flintstone. Work in television spanned the "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to the "The Simpsons" in 45 year career. Colon cancer.
Doris Goddard, 89, July 29, Sydney. Australian hotelier and cabaret performer. Colourful Sydney identify, worked in cabaret in Europe and Asia in the 1950's, then owned various pubs in Balmain and Newtown, before buying the Hollywood Hotel, Surry Hills in 1977. Well known for serenading front bar patrons until her death. Brief illness.
† AUGUST †
Damien Lovelock, 65, August 3, Sydney. English-born Australian musician, author, raconteur, sports commentator, and Ryoho yoga teacher. Front man for cult punk band Celibate Rifles, later career as a television soccer commentator and yoga master. Short cancer-related illness.
Toni Morrison, 88, August 5, New York. Revered American novelist and Nobel Laureate. Best known for her trilogy of novels Beloved. Awarded Pulitzer Prize [1987], Nobel Prize for Literature [1993], Presidential Medal of Freedom [2012]. Pneumonia.
Kary B. Mullis, 74, August 7, Newport Beach, California. American biochemist, author, raconteur and Nobel Laureate. Won1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry [1993] for developing simple and inexpensive analysis of DNA, paving the way for major advances in medical diagnostics, molecular biology and forensic science. Well known proponent of the use of LSD and other psychotropic drugs and active believer in extra-terrestrial beings. Pneumonia.
Malcolm T. Elliot, 73, August 8, Lismore, New South Wales. Australian broadcaster. Long-time Sydney radio announcer [2UE, 2GB, 2UW, 2KY. 1972-2004]. Pioneered the madcap breakfast radio formula. Survived major emergency heart surgery [2004]. Died homeless and destitute. Complications of multiple chronic illnesses.
Jeffery Epstein, 66, August 10, New York. American merchant banker, financier, philanthropist, convicted child sex offender. Suicide. Hanged himself in jail while on remand on sex trafficking charges.
Nignhali Lawford, 52, August 11, Edinburgh, Scotland. Walmadjari woman. Indigenous Australian film, stage and musical theatre actor. Best known for roles in Rabbit Proof Fence [2002] and Bran Nue Dae [2009]. Sudden death while on international tour with Sydney Theatre Company. Asthma attack.
Graham "Polly" Farmer MBE, 84, August 14, Perth. Legendary indigenous Australian Rules footballer. Unique ruckman, star of the WAFL [1953-61], then played 101 games for Geelong in the VFL [1962-7]. Later career in coaching, but lost life savings in a failed motel business. Widely credited with opening the door for other Aboriginal players at the top level through the Polly Farmer Foundation.. Awarded MBE [1971] the first royal honour for an Australian Rules footballer. Inducted into Australian Rules Hall of Fame as a "Legend" [1996]. Alzheimer's disease.
Peter Fonda, 79, August 16, Los Angeles. American actor and cinema screenwriter. Began as a 'counter culture' actor, nominated for Academy Award for screenplay of cult movie Easy Rider [1969], and went on to appear action movies in the 1970's and 80's. Son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridgett Fonda. Lung cancer.
Tim Fischer AC, 73, August 22, Albury, New South Wales. Australian politician, statesman, soldier, diplomat, farmer, author, railway enthusiast, scholar and gentleman. Former National Party Leader, Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister in Howard Govt [1996-99], Ambassador to the Holy See [2009-2012]. Conscripted into Australian Army and wounded in Vietnam War. Suffered life-long autism. Acute myeloid leukemia.
David Koch, 79, August 23, Southampton, New York. American industrialist billionaire, philanthropist, and secretive right-wing political donor, with brother Charles, owning petro-chemical empire Koch Industries. 11th richest man in the world at death with a net personal worth at $50B. Prostate cancer.
Al Haynes, 87, August 25 Seattle, Washington. American commercial airline pilot. Pilot of United Airlines Flight 232 "The Miracle of Sioux City" in 1989. Lost all hydraulics after tail engine explosion in a DC10. Piloted essentially uncontrollable aircraft for 44 minutes, before crash landing at Sioux City airport, Iowa, en-route Chicago-Denver. Among 184 survivors, although 111 on board died. Kept flying after accident and had later career as an aviation safety expert. Brief illness.
Jim Leavelle, 99, August 29, Denver, Colorado. American homicide detective. Escort guard for JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald when he was shot dead by Jack Ruby at Dallas police headquarters [1963]. Cardiac arrest.
† SEPTEMBER †
Robert Mugabe, 95, September 6, Singapore. Zimbabwean politician, freedom fighter, dictator, tyrant and despot. Liberated Zimbabwe from white rule [1980] after 15 year civil war, then became a brutal authoritarian dictator for 27 years, until deposed in military coup d'tat [2017]. Chronic cancer-related illnesses.
Abdul Qadir, 63, September 6, Lahore. Pakistani test cricketer. Arguably the best leg spin bowler of his generation. 236 wickets in 67 tests for Pakistan [1977-90], becoming a mentor for slow bowlers who followed. Cardiac arrest.
Robert Frank, 94, September 9, Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada. Swiss-born American photographer and photo-journalist. Best known for 1958 book The Americans, documenting everyday life across the USA. Lived as a recluse for his last 45 years after the death of his daughter age 20 in a plane crash. Old age.
Danny "Spud" Frawley, 56, September 9, Millbrook, Victoria. Champion Australian rules footballer, coach and legend. Played 240 games for St Kilda, nine seasons as captain. Coached Richmond to preliminary final [2001]. Later career as a popular radio and television personality and pundit. Single vehicle motor crash. Suicide.
B.J."Pak" Habibe, 83, September 11, Jakarta. Former Indonesian President [1998-9]. aeronautical engineer, politician, author. Took power after Suharto resigned after 30 years in office, and called early elections, which he lost. Allowed referendum on East Timorese independence to go ahead ending the first 24 years of armed hostilities, and enhanced Indonesian economic competition and expansion. Supporter of press freedom. Licenced aeronautical engineer, honourary PhD. Established Indonesian aircraft manufacturing industry [1976]. Subject of two popular feature films, with a third in the making. Congestive heart disease.
Paul Cronin, 81, September 13, Melbourne. Australian television actor, radio personality, Australia Rules football administrator. Came to prominence in police drama Matlock Police, star of long running soap opera The Sullivans [1976-83], also appeared in other soapies Homicide, Division 4, and The Flying Doctors. '1980 King of Moomba'. Led consortium with Christophe Skase to establish Brisbane Bears AFL Club, President [1986-7]. Five silver Logies, never won gold. Short illness.
Charlie Cole, 64, September 13, Ubud, Indonesia. American freelance photojournalist. Best known for the single photograph Tank Man from events surrounding the Tienanmen Square Massacre while on assignment for Newsweek magazine, winning the 1990 World Press Photo award. One of only four foreign press photographers on the scene. Retired to Bali at age 50. Cardiac arrest.
Ric Ocasek, 75, September 15, New York. American singer/songwriter, artist. Lead singer of The Cars. Six sons by three wives, divorced for the last time a year before his death. Took up painting in later years. Congestive heart disease.
Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva, 78, September 12, Auckland. Tongan politician. Incumbent Prime Minister of Tonga [2018-19]. Died in office. Pneumonia.
Nancy Beaumont, 92, September 18, Adelaide. Australian mother of the three infamous Beaumont Children, who disappeared without trace in Adelaide [1966], in one of Australia's most enduring unsolved mysteries. Old age.
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, 83, September 19, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 19. Tunisian politician, dictator, despot. Former President of Tunisia [1987-2011]. Ouster in military-backed popular uprising inspired the 2011 "Arab Spring". Fled the country and died in exile. Prostate cancer.
Bob Oatey OAM, 77, September 17, Adelaide. Champion Australian Rules footballer. Played 301 SANFL games for Norwood and Sturt. The last of the long term player-coaches [1968-1973]. Played nine games for South Australia in the sixties.. Later career as television football commentator. Cancer related illness.
Davo Karnicar, 56, September 16, Zgornje-Jezersko, Slovenia. Slovenian downhill skier, mountaineer and daredevil. Only person to have climbed then descended from Mt Everest on skiis [2000]. Skiied down the highest mountains on seven continents, and three of the main peaks in the Alps. Tree lopping farm accident.
Barron Hilton, 91, September 19, Los Angeles. American multi-billionaire hotel magnate, casino operator and aviation enthusiast. Inherited Hilton Hotels from his father and rapidly expanded the chain as Chairman Hilton Hotels Corporation [1966-2007], to almost a million rooms. Co-founded the break-away American Football League [1960], briefly owning the Los Angeles Chargers. Twice failed in attempts to fly around the world by balloon. Piloting recreational aircraft and gliders until age 84. Old age.
Jimmy Nelson, 90, September 24, Cape Coral, Florida. Pioneering American ventriloquist of the 1950's and 60's. Created the arch-typical ventriloquist's dummy Danny O’Day, and Farrel the Dog, both becoming television stars. Also recorded a series of "how to" albums, paving the way for ventriloquist's who followed. Stroke.
Jacques Chirac, 86, September 26, Paris. Former French President [1995-2007], two-time Prime Minister, and Mayor of Paris. Gaullist center-right politician; became the most unpopular President in French history during second term. Convicted on corruption charges, and given two year suspended sentence. Vocal critic of the Iraq War. Grand Officier Légion d'honneur. Complications of stroke and pneumonia.
Jessie Norman, 74, September 30, New York. American opera singer. Dramatic soprano and superstar with world's leading opera companies over 50 year career. Awarded National Medal of Arts [2009], Fellow Royal Academy of Music, Chevalier Légion d'honneur, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Complications of spinal cord injury and multiple organ failure.
Victoria Galbraith, 52, September 30, Augsburg, Pennsylvania. British born American biological scientist and author. Professor of Animal Behavior and Cognition at time of death. First researcher to prove that fish feel pain. Pancreatic cancer.
"George", The Talking Clock, 66, September 30, Melbourne. Accurate automatic telephone audio time teller since 1953, with three pips counting down to every ten seconds. Final version voiced by Richard Peach [d.2008]. Number 1194 discontinued as incompatible with modern technology, despite getting about two million calls a year. Talking Clock stopped at midnight 30 September. Killed off.
† OCTOBER †
Peter "Ginger" Baker, 80, October 6, Canterbury, England. British rock musician. Formed power rock trio Cream [1966] selling 10 million albums, and the first "supergroup" Blind Faith [1968]. Drummer who pioneered using two bass drums. Chronic heroin addict, relapsing 29 times. Four times married, three children. Known for his outrageous, volatile on and off stage personality. Rare heart disease and complications of a fall.
Alexei Leonov, 85, October 11, Moscow. Russian cosmonaut. First human to 'walk' in space. Exited the Voskhod 2 space capsule in orbit for 12 minutes, on 18 March 1965. Beat the first American to walk in space, Ed White, by less than three months. Awarded Hero of the Soviet Union [twice]. Chronic illness.
Reg Watson AM, 93, October 11, Melbourne. Australian screen writer, director, and television producer. Created soap opera, Neighbours, the longest continuously running show on Australian television [1985-present]. Also co-created other popular soaps, including Prisoner, The Young Doctors, and Sons and Daughters, with executive producer Reg Grundy. Began career in the UK, creating "the first true British soap opera" Crossroads. Long illness.
Harold Bloom, 89, October 14, New Haven, Connecticut. Eccentric American academic, literary scholar and critic. Published more than 40 books. Best known for the Western Canon, a survey of literary works since the 14th century. Photographic memory. Claimed to be able to recite all of Shakespeare by heart. Taught last class at Yale University four days before his death. Sudden illness.
Choi Jin-ri aka "Sulli", 25, October 14, Seongnam, South Korea. Musician, K-Pop star, actor, model. Member of the hit all-girl K-Pop outfit, f(x) [2009-14], followed by successful solo career. Outspoken critic of societal expectation and image presentation in the K-Pop industry Suffered from severe clinical depression. Suicide.
Elijah E. Cummings, 68, October 17, Baltimore, Maryland. Long serving American politician, congressman, orator, social justice and gun control advocate. Elected to 13 consecutive terms to the US House of Representatives for Maryland, Baltimore (7th District). Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Reform until death. Became frail and wheelchair bound in his final years; died in office. Complications of "long standing health issues".
Marieke Vervoort, 40, October 22, Diest, Belgium. Belgian paralympian [London 2012, Rio 2016]. Wheelchair racer, author. Sufferer of reflex sympathetic dystrophy since age 14, losing the use of both legs and inducing intense pain. Euthanised at assisted suicide clinic.
Ivan Milat, 74, October 26, Long Bay, New South Wales. Australian serial killer. Murdered seven European backpackers who went missing between 1989-92, whose remains were found in the Balanglo State Forest. Convicted after long-running trial in 1996, and sentenced to seven life terms. Never admitted guilt. Died in jail. Stomach and esophageal cancer.
Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi, c.46-47, October 26, Barisha, Syria. Iraqi Muslim extremist and military commander. Elusive leader of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] from 2013 until his death, leading rapid expansion of the fundamentalist ISIS 'caliphate' [2013-14]. Survived numerous assassination attempts. Blew himself up during raid by US Special Forces. Suicide.
† NOVEMBER †
Yvette Lundy, 103, November 4, Épernay, France. French WWII resistance fighter. Forged identity papers for Jews and helped Allied airmen shot down over France escape detection. Arrested by the Gestapo [1944] and survived two concentration camps. Concealed war-time experiences until age 42, and then began teaching in schools. Awarded Grand Officier Légion d'honneur at age 101. Extreme old age.
Bob Smithies, 72, November 5, Sydney. English-born Australian rugby league footballer. Played at fullback for the Balmain Tigers in 1969, starring in that year's famous Grand Final victory. Later career as a school teacher. Chronic illness.
James Le Mesurier OBE, 48, November 11, Istanbul. Former British army officer and humanitarian. Founder of the Mayday Rescue group which helped train the White Helmets brigade for the rescue of wounded civilians in the Syrian Civil War. Balcony fall at his home. Suspected/disputed suicide.
Harrison "Bones" Dillard, 96, November 15, Cleveland, Ohio. Champion American athlete. Only man to have won an Olympic gold medal in the 100m [London 1948] and the 110m hurdles [Helsinki 1952]. Worked as a major league baseball scout and school administrator in later life. Stomach cancer.
Bill Waterhouse, 97, November 22, Sydney. Celebrity Australian bookmaker and former barrister. One of Australia's most notorious bookmakers, renowned for taking on some of the country's biggest punters. Implicated in "off the book" SP betting, and involvement in the horse substitution racket "Fine Cotton Affair" [1984], resulting in being 'warned off' racetracks "for life". Regained bookmaker's licence in 2002 to ostensibly teach his grand-son Tom the trade. Old age.
Iman, c.25, November 23, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. Last known surviving Eastern Sumatran rhinoceros [dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni] in Malaysia. Female spent last five years in captivity in unsuccessful in-vitro breeding program. Species now believed extinct in Borneo. Less than 60 survive in the wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Cancer.
Goo Hara, 28, November 24, Seoul. South Korean singer, actor, and former K-Pop star. Open critic of the K-Pop star system. Suffered from clinical depression. Close friend of Sulli, who took her own life five weeks earlier. Suicide.
Clive James AO CBE, 80, November 24, Cambridge, England. Australian author, critic, poet, novelist, biographer, raconteur, television personality, famous ex-patriot. Moved to England at age 22, and never left. Attended Cambridge University. First job as a television critic for The Observer, then wrote literary criticism, poetry, novels and travelogues. Moved to radio and television; known for dead-pan humour, eventually hosting two simultaneous daily television programs in the UK. Wrote five volumes of memoirs. Diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia [2012], as well as emphysema and eventual kidney failure. Multiple chronic illnesses.
Sir Jonathan Miller KB CBE, 85, November 27, London. British theatre and opera director, academic, television producer/presenter, humourist, medical doctor. First came to prominence in comedy show Beyond The Fringe [1960], later career in academic medicine, television, theatre, and opera production/direction. Alzheimer's disease.
Pim Verbeek, 63, November 28, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Dutch soccer coach. Coached the Australian soccer team to the 2010 World Cup. Also coached Japan, Korea, Morocco, and Oman. Known as a gentleman of the game. Cancer related illness.
Yasuhiro Nakasone, 101, November 29, Tokyo. Japanese politician and former Prime Minister (1992-87), promoting nationalism and privatisation. Member of the Japanese Diet for more than 50 years. Served as a Navy paymaster during WWII. Oldest living former state leader in the world at time of death. Extreme old age.
† DECEMBER †
Andrew "Greedy" Smith, 63, December 1, Sydney. Australian musician, singer/songwriter, artist. Founding member and frontman of cult Australian rock band Mental As Anything. Cardiac arrest.
Bob Willis MBE, 70, December 4, London. English Test cricketer. Fast bowler with extravagant long run-up, taking 325 test wickets. Played 90 test matches for England, (1971-84), 18 tests as Captain. Played a pivotal role in the famous 1981 Ashes series. Later career in cricket media commentary. Known as a 'demon' on field, and a gentleman in the pavilion. Prostate cancer.
Carroll Spinney, 85, December 8, Woodstock, Connecticut. American puppeteer and voice actor. Operated and voiced the iconic puppets Big Bird and Oscar The Grouch on long-running children's television show Sesame Street, for 50 years, working on the first series in 1969 until retirement aged 84. Complications of late onset dystonia.
Jill Emberey, 60, December 12, Newcastle, New South Wales. Australian radio journalist and broadcaster. Long-time regional ABC presenter. Spent final years as an advocate for cancer research. Ovarian cancer.
Sir Peter Snell KNZM OBE, 80, December 12, Dallas, Texas. New Zealand Olympian and champion middle-distance track athlete. Won the 800m at the 1960 Olympics (Rome), and gold in the 800m and 1500m at the 1964 Olympics (Tokyo), the only runner to ever do so. Set a new word record for the mile in 1962. Retired from the track in 1965 aged 28. Moved to the USA in 1971, working in sports science and becoming a permanent resident. Cardiac arrest.
Ward Just, 84, December 19, Plymouth, Massachusetts. American journalist and novelist. Prominent Vietnam War correspondent for the Washington Post. Wounded in Viet Cong mortar attack (1966), but later returned to the battlefield. Later career as an author of a dozen political novels. Anti-war activist. Lewy body dementia.
John Cain, 88, December 23, Melbourne. Australian lawyer and politician. Longest serving Labor Premier of Victoria [1982-90]. Ended 27 years of Conservative rule in Victoria in 1982, re-elected twice. Most popular Victorian Premier by electoral success during first two terms. Known as a no-nonsense straight-shooter, scholar and gentleman. Stroke.
Richard Alpert aka Baba Ram Dass, 88, December 24, Honolulu, Hawaii. Author and 1960's 'counter-culture' leader with Timothy Leary and Allan Ginsberg. Best known for writing Hippie "bible" Be Here Now. Advocate of LSD and other psychotropic drugs, later taking up Sufism. Later life as an advocate for the rights of the ageing. Complications of stroke and a fall.
Bill Ryan, 97, December 25, Sydney. Australian soldier and political activist. WWII veteran of the Kokoda Campaign. Vocal critic of the Vietnam War and the South African apartheid regime. Serial protestor. Arrested seven times for civil disobedience. Later embraced environmental activism, supporting school climate strikes. Last seen protesting on the streets of Sydney a week before his death. Short illness, old age.
Neil Innes, 75, December 29, Toulouse, France. British comedian, musician, stage and screen writer, children's author. Known at "the 7th Python", writing sketches and songs for the Monty Python Show [stage, TV and film]. Founded the Bonzo Dog Dooh-Dah Band and Beatles spoof band The Rutles. Best known for Monty Python song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". Cardiac arrest.
