Famous people and celebrities who died in May 1989

This page is dedicated to commemorating the celebrities and famous people who passed away in May 1989. This month marked the loss of influential and beloved figures whose contributions spanned various fields and touched many lives. Explore our detailed list to remember and celebrate their enduring legacies and the remarkable impact they had on the world

• May 1 Marion Mack

  American silent film actress known for her notable roles in early 20th-century cinema, particularly in comedic performances.

• May 1 V. M. Panchalingam

  Sri lankan civil servant (b. 1930)

• May 1 David Webster

  South african white antiapartheids activist, assassinated.

• May 2 Giuseppe Siri

  Giuseppe Siri was a prominent Italian Catholic cardinal who served as the Archbishop of Genoa from 1946 to 1987. He was a significant figure in the Catholic Church during the mid-20th century and was considered a potential papal candidate.

• May 3 Christine Jorgensen

  Christine Jorgensen was a pioneering transgender woman who underwent gender reassignment surgery in Denmark in the early 1950s, becoming one of the first widely known recipients of such a procedure and a significant figure in transgender visibility.

• May 6 Earl Blaik

  Former american football coach (born in 1897).

• May 7 Guy Williams

  Famous American actor best known for playing Zorro in the Disney TV series and Professor John Robinson in Lost in Space. He was a prominent television star of the 1950s and 1960s who later lived in Argentina.

• May 9 Keith Whitley

  Keith Whitley was a prominent American country music singer and songwriter known for his influential 1988 album 'Don't Close Your Eyes', which produced three number-one hits before his untimely death in 1989.

• May 9 Paul J Steenbergen

  Actor (ciske de rat), dies at 82

• May 10 Woody Shaw

  Renowned American jazz musician who made significant contributions to the jazz genre before his untimely death in 1989.

• May 12 Joe Valdez Caballero

  At 81, the creator of hard taco shells dies.

• May 15 Johnny Green

  Acclaimed American composer, conductor, and arranger who won multiple Academy Awards for his musical compositions.

• May 15 Luc Lacourcière

  Canadian ethnographer and author (b. 1910)

• May 17 Robert Webber

  American character actor known for his roles in films like '12 Angry Men' and 'S.O.B.', with a notable career in Hollywood spanning several decades.

• May 19 CLR James

  West indian journalist and writer (born in 1901).

• May 19 Able J Herzberg

  Russian/netherlands lawyer (adolf eichmann in jerusalem), dies.

• May 20 Gilda Radner

  Iconic comedian and original Saturday Night Live cast member who pioneered comedic character work and was known for her memorable characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna. She was married to actor Gene Wilder and was a beloved figure in comedy before her untimely death.

• May 20 Anton Diffring

  German actor known for his roles in international films and television, particularly in Vienna and European productions.

• May 20 John Hicks

  ECO - English economist and academic, nobel prize laureate (d. 1989)

• May 22 Steven De Groote

  South african pianist and educator (b. 1953)

• May 23 Karl Koch

  German computer hacker (b. 1965)

• May 23 Georgy Tovstonogov

  Russian director and producer (b. 1915)

• May 26 Don Revie

  Influential British soccer player and manager who revolutionized tactical analysis in football, leading Leeds United and the England national team during a transformative period in soccer history.

• May 27 Arseny Tarkovsky

  Renowned Russian poet and literary translator who significantly influenced 20th-century Soviet poetry. He was the father of famous film director Andrei Tarkovsky.

• May 29 George C. Homans

  American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)

• May 30 Zinka Milanov

  Zinka Milanov was a renowned Metropolitan Opera diva who passed away at 83 after suffering a stroke.

• May 31 C. L. R. James

  C. L. R. James was a prominent Trinidadian historian, journalist, and political activist who made significant contributions to postcolonial thought and cricket writing. He was a key intellectual in the Pan-African movement and wrote extensively on socialism, colonialism, and Caribbean culture.

• May 31 Owen Lattimore

  American author and academic (b. 1900)