Famous people and celebrities who died in March 1997

This page is dedicated to commemorating the celebrities and famous people who passed away in March 1997. 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

• March 4 Robert H. Dicke

  Renowned American physicist and astronomer who made significant contributions to cosmology and experimental physics.

• March 4 Joe Baker-Cresswell

  Officer of the english royal navy (born 1901).

• March 5 Jean Dréville

  French director and screenwriter (b. 1906)

• March 5 Samm Sinclair Baker

  American author and dietician (born in 1909)

• March 6 Anthony Hopkins

  Welsh actor known for his exceptional international career in film and television, who overcame significant personal challenges with alcohol addiction.

• March 6 Cheddi Jagan

  Prominent Guyanese political leader who served as the 4th President of Guyana and was a key figure in the country's independence movement, advocating for democratic socialism and anti-colonial politics.

• March 6 Michael Manley

  Prominent Jamaican politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and again from 1989 to 1992, known for his democratic socialist policies.

• March 6 Ursula Torday

  English author (b. 1912)

• March 7 Edward Mills Purcell

  PHY - American physicist and academic, nobel prize laureate (b. 1912)

• March 8 Alexander Salkind

  Prominent film producer known for producing the Superman film series starring Christopher Reeve, which revolutionized superhero cinema in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

• March 9 Jean-Dominique Bauby

  French journalist and author of 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly', who wrote his memoir by blinking his left eye after suffering a massive stroke. His extraordinary story of resilience and creativity became a critically acclaimed book and film.

• March 9 Terry Nation

  Terry Nation was a pioneering Welsh screenwriter who created the iconic Daleks for the science fiction series Doctor Who, significantly influencing science fiction television.

• March 9 The Notorious B.I.G.

  American rapper, songwriter, and actor (b. 1972)

• March 10 LaVern Baker

  American singer and actress (b. 1929)

• March 14 Fred Zinnemann

  Acclaimed Austrian-American film director who won multiple Academy Awards, known for landmark films like 'High Noon', 'From Here to Eternity', and 'A Man for All Seasons'.

• March 15 Victor Vasarely

  Pioneering Hungarian-French artist who founded the Op Art movement, creating groundbreaking geometric abstract artworks that challenged visual perception.

• March 17 Jermaine Stewart

  American pop singer and dancer best known for his 1986 hit single 'We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off'. He was a member of the group Shalamar before launching a successful solo career.

• March 19 Willem de Kooning

  Willem de Kooning was a pioneering Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist who significantly influenced 20th-century modern art through his bold, gestural paintings that challenged traditional artistic conventions. His innovative work, characterized by dynamic brushstrokes and vibrant colors, helped define the Abstract Expressionist movement alongside contemporaries like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.

• March 19 Eugène Guillevic

  French poet and author (b. 1907)

• March 20 V. S. Pritchett

  English short story writer, essayist, and critic (b. 1900)

• March 21 Wilbert Awdry

  Wilbert Awdry was a beloved British author and Anglican clergyman best known for creating the iconic 'Thomas the Tank Engine' children's book series, which has delighted generations of young readers worldwide.

• March 21 W V Awdry

  English children's writer (born in 1911).

• March 24 Martin Caidin

  Martin Caidin was a prolific American author known for science fiction and aviation writing, including the novel 'Cyborg' which inspired the TV series 'The Six Million Dollar Man'.

• March 26 Marshall Applewhite

  Infamous cult leader of Heaven's Gate who orchestrated a mass suicide in 1997, leading 39 members to take their own lives in a bizarre ritual believing they would be transported to an alien spacecraft.

• March 27 Lane Dwinell

  American businessman and politician, 69th governor of new hampshire (b. 1906)

• March 29 Ellen Clara Pollock

  Actress (wicked lady fake), dies at the age of 94