Deaths Date 2011 May | History by KabAstro

May 1 Henry Cooper, English boxer (British, European, C'wealth heavyweight champion; famous defeats to Muhammad Ali 1963, 66), dies of heart failure at 76
May 1 Ted Lowe, English snooker commentator (Pot Black, BBC), dies at 90

Osama bin Laden (1957-2011)

May 2 Islamic militant and founder of al-Qaeda, shot and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan by navy seals during Operation Neptune Spear at 54

May 3 Jackie Cooper, American actor and director (Skippy, Superman), dies at 88
May 3 Sergo Kotrikadze, Georgian footballer (b. 1936)
May 3 Thanasis Veggos, Greek actor (b. 1927)
May 4 Mary Murphy, American actress (A Man Alone, Maggie-Investigators), dies at 80
May 4 Sada Thompson, American actress (Family, Pursuit of Happiness), dies at 83
May 5 Arthur Laurents, American playwright (West Side Story: Gypsy), and screenwriter (Rope; Anastasia), dies at 93
May 5 Claude Choules, British-Australian sailor and last surviving combat veteran of both World War I and World War II, dies at 110
May 5 Dana Wynter, German-English actress (Airport; Invasion of the Body Snatchers), dies at 79
May 5 Yosef Merimovich, Israeli football player, 1948-58, and manager, 1958-89, dies at 86
May 7 "Big" George Webley, British broadcaster, composer, bandleader and musician, dies of a heart attack at 53
May 7 Allyson Hennessy, Trindadian television presenter
May 7 John Walker [Maus], American rock vocalist (Walker Brothers - "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)"), dies of liver cancer at 67

Seve Ballesteros (1957-2011)

May 7 Spanish golfer (British Open 1979, 84, 88, US Masters 1980, 83), dies of brain cancer at 54

May 8 Cornell Dupree, American jazz and R&B session guitarist (Atlantic Records - Aretha Franklin), dies of emphysema at 68
May 8 Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (WBA, WBC, The Ring bantamweight title 1968-69; first Indigenous Australian to win a world title), dies at 62
May 9 Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist, dies at 26
May 11 (Eugene) "Snooky" Young, American jazz trumpeter who mastered the plunger mute, dies at 92
May 12 Harry Danielsen, Norwegian educator and politician, dies at 74
May 13 Bernard Greenhouse, American cellist (Beaux Arts Trio), dies at 95
May 13 Bruce Ricker, American jazz and blues documentarian (The Last of the Blue Devils; Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser), dies at 68
May 13 Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
May 13 Jack Richardson, Canadian record producer (The Guess Who), dies at 81
May 13 Patricia Tindale, British architect and civil servant (school buildings, public housing), dies at 85
May 15 Bob Flannigan, American jazz singer (The Four Freshmen), dies at 84
May 16 Bill Skiles, American comic (b. 1931)
May 16 Bob Davis, Australian football forward (All Australian captain 1958; VFL Premiership 1951, 52 Geelong FC), coach (VFL Premiership 1963 Geelong FC) and broadcaster (7 Network), dies at 82
May 16 Edward Hardwicke, British actor (Sherlock Holmes), dies at 78

Harmon Killebrew (1936-2011)

May 17 American Baseball HOF utility (13 × MLB All-Star; AL MVP 1969; 6 × AL HR leader; Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins), dies from esophageal cancer at 74

May 18 Leonard Kastle, opera composer, librettist, director (The Passion of Mother Ann), and film maker (The Honeymoon Killers), dies at 82
May 19 Garret FitzGerald, Irish politician and 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (Fine Gael: 1981-87), dies at 85
May 19 Kathy Kirby, English singer (Secret Love), dies at 72
May 19 Phyllis Avery, American actress (Ruby Gentry, George Gobel Show, Mr Novak), dies at 88

Randy Savage (1952-2011)

May 20 American pro wrestler (WWF/SMW/ICW; WWE Hall of Fame), dies of a heart attack at 58

May 22 Ze'ev Wolfgang Steinberg, Israeli violist and composer, dies at 92
May 24 Huguette Clark, Heiress of the Clark Copper fortune, life-long reclusion from society. (b. 1906)
May 25 Leonora Carrington, British-Mexican Surrealist artist, dies aged 94
May 25 Paul Splittorff, American MLB pitcher and broadcaster (KC Royals), dies of oral cancer at 64
May 25 Terry Jenner, Australian cricket spin bowler (9 Tests, 24 wickets; WA CA, SA CA), dies from a heart attack at 66
May 26 Arisen Ahubudu, Sri Lankan scholar, author and playwright (b. 1920)
May 26 Ben Roberts, British industrial relations expert (London School of Economics), dies at 93
May 27 Gill Scott-Heron, American writer, poet and singer ("Whitey on the Moon"), dies at 62
May 27 Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (Taxi - "Bobby"; Grease - "Kenickie"; Babylon 5 - "Zack"), dies of pneumonia and sepsis at 60
May 27 Margo Dydek, Polish basketball player (b. 1974)
May 28 Alys Robi [Alice Robitaille], French Canadian cabaret and radio of French translations of Latin songs, dies at 88
May 28 Barbara Mills, British barrister (first female Director of Public Prosecutions), dies at 70
May 29 Bill Clements, American politician, Governor of Texas (1987-91), dies at 94
May 29 Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian (Olympic gold team event 1960, bronze 1968, 76), dies at 96
May 29 Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian politician, President of Hungary (b. 1931)
May 29 Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian president (b. 1949)
May 29 Simon Brint, British comic actor, musician, and television composer (French and Saunders; A Bit of Fry & Laurie; Monarch of the Glen), takes his own life at 60
May 30 Clarice Taylor, American actress (Nurse Bailey-Nurse), dies at 93
May 30 Giorgio Tozzi, American operatic bass (dubbed vocals of Emile de Becque for "South Pacific" film), dies at 88
May 30 Rosalyn Yalow, American medical physicist (Nobel 1977), dies at 89
May 31 Andy Robustelli, American NFL defensive end (LA Rams, NY Giants), dies at 85
May 31 Pauline Betz Addie, American tennis player (5 Grand Slam singles titles), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 91

Famous People Who Died in May 2011

Osama bin Laden (1957-2011)

Seve Ballesteros (1957-2011)

Harmon Killebrew (1936-2011)

Randy Savage (1952-2011)

Famous People by Cause of Death