The following is a list of notable deaths in May 2003.
Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:
- Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.
1
- Haukur Clausen, 74, Icelandic Olympic athlete.[1]
- Elizabeth Ann Hulette, 42, American professional wrestler and wrestling manager, drug and alcohol overdose.
- István Kelen, 91, Hungarian-Australian sportsman, journalist, author, and playwright.
- Shlomo Levi, 68, Israeli football player.[2]
- Paul Moore, 83, American bishop of the Episcopal Church and former US Marine Corps officer.[3]
- Wim van Est, 80, Dutch racing cyclist.[4]
2
- Mohammed Dib, 82, Algerian writer.[5]
- Blaga Dimitrova, 81, Bulgarian poet and politician, Vice President (1992-1993), cerebrovascular disease.[6]
- James Miller, 34, Welsh filmmaker and cameraman, killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
- Henry Wise, Jr., 82, American physician and World War II Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot.[7]
- George Wyle, 87, American musical director and composer (theme to Gilligan's Island, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year), leukemia.[8]
3
- Queta Claver, 70, Spanish actress, singer, and dancer, cardiovascular disease.[9]
- Glen Culler, 75, American professor of electrical engineering.
- Don Johnson, 62, American bowler, heart attack.
- Suzy Parker, 70, American actress and model, wife of Bradford Dillman, arthritis, diabetes.[10]
- Marcel Roche, 82, French physician and scientist.
- G. Venkateswaran, 55, Indian film producer.[11]
4
- Alexander Boghossian, 65, Ethiopian-American artist and teacher.[12]
- Sesto Bruscantini, 83, Italian baritone.[13]
- Arthur Oldham, 76, British composer and choirmaster.[14]
- Jean Tricart, 82, French geomorphologist.[15]
- Richard Trowbridge, 83, British admiral and Governor of Western Australia (1980–1983).
- David Woodley, 44, American gridiron football player (Miami Dolphins), complications due to kidney and liver failure.[16]
5
- Sam Bockarie, 38, Sierra Leonean politician and army commander, shot.
- David Lewin, 69, American music theorist.[17]
- Philip Powell, 82, British architect.
- Sultan Rakhmanov, 52, Soviet weightlifter and Olympic champion, heart attack.[18]
- Waly Salomão, 59, Brazilian poet.
- Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu, 90, South African anti-apartheid activist and ANC member, Parkinson's disease.[19]
6
- Steve Atkinson, 54, Canadian ice hockey player (Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals, Toronto Toros), heart attack.[20]
- Geoffrey Bardon, 63, Australian artist, teacher and aboriginal art advocate.[21]
- Oleksandr Bilash, 72, Ukrainian composer and author.[22]
- Tito García, 71, Spanish actor.[23]
- Colin Gunton, 62, British theologian and academic.[24]
- Jocelyn Herbert, 86, British stage designer.[25]
- Art Houtteman, 75, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles), heart attack.[26]
- Stanislav Kolář, 91, Czechoslovak and Czech table tennis player.
- Dean L. May, 65, American academic, author and documentary filmmaker, heart attack.[27]
7
- Johan Andersen, 83, Danish sprint canoer (silver medal in men's K-1 1000 metres at the 1948 Summer Olympics).[28]
- Sisir Kumar Das, 66, Linguist, poet, playwright, translator, comparatist and a scholar of Indian literature.[29]
- Quentin Dean, 58, American actress, cancer.
- Mike Hudock, 68, American gridiron football player.[30]
- Joshua Madaki, 55, Nigerian politician, car crash.[31]
- George Morrow, 69, American computer scientist and pioneer, aplastic anemia.[32]
8
- Slick Coffman, 92, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns).[33]
- Dorothy Ferguson, 80, Canadian-American baseball player, cancer.[34]
- Sam Lacy, 99, American sportswriter, reporter, and television/radio commentator.[35]
- Elvira Pagá, 82, Brazilian vedette, actress, singer, writer and painter.
9
- Yves Brouzet, 54, French shot putter (four-time French champion; men's Olympic shot put: 1972, 1976).[36]
- Hans Engnestangen, 95, Norwegian Olympic speed skater and world champion.[37]
- Carmen Filpi, 80, American actor.
- Antonio Ibáñez Freire, 89, Spanish politician and army officer.[38]
- Jack Gelber, 71, American playwright (The Connection), leukemia.[39]
- Russell B. Long, 84, American politician (U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1948 to 1987), heart attack.[40]
- Alexey Medvedev, 75, Soviet-Russian heavyweight weightlifter.
- Elizabeth Neuffer, 46, American journalist, specialized in war crimes and human rights abuses, car accident in Iraq.[41]
- Bernard Spear, 83, English actor.[42]
10
- Ingo Buding, 61, West German tennis player.[43]
- Leonard Michaels, 70, American writer of short stories, novels, and essays.[44]
- Eleanor C. Pressly, 85, American mathematician and aeronautical engineer at NASA.
- Ambros Speiser, 80, Swiss engineer and scientist.[45]
- Milan Vukcevich, 66, Yugoslav-born American chemist and Grandmaster of Chess Composition.[46]
- Joseph D. Ward, 89, American politician.
12
- Jim Clunie, 69, Scottish football player and manager.[51]
- Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, 70, French civil servant (U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees 1965–1977), cancer.[52]
- Stan Lay, 96, New Zealand javelin thrower (men's javelin throw at the 1928 Summer Olympics).[53]
- Renate Riemeck, 82, German historian and Christian peace activist.[54]
- Jeremy Sandford, 72, British screenwriter.[55]
13
- Theo Aronson, 73, South African-British royal biographer (Princess Alice, Queen Mother, Princess Margaret), cancer.[56]
- John Savage, 70, Canadian politician; former Premier of Nova Scotia, cancer.
- René Voillaume, 97, French Catholic priest and theologian.[57]
- Byron Wolford, 72, American rodeo cowboy and professional poker player.[58]
- Marcos Zucker, 82, Argentine actor and comedian.
14
- Tranquilo Cappozzo, 85, Argentine rower and Olympic champion.[59]
- Dave DeBusschere, 62, American basketball player (Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks), and coach (Detroit Pistons), heart attack.[60]
- Otto Edelmann, 86, Austrian operatic bass.[61]
- Al Fleming, 49, American basketbal player, cancer.[62]
- Ingvar Helle, 70, Norwegian politician.
- Wendy Hiller, 91, British actress of stage and screen (I Know Where I'm Going!).[63]
- Pepper LaBeija, 54, American drag queen and fashion designer, heart attack.
- Minarni, 59, Indonesian badminton player.
- Gennadiy Nikonov, 52, Russian firearm engineer.
- Dante Quinterno, 93, Argentine businessman and comics artist.[64]
- Gordon Salkilld, 76, English supporting actor.
- Robert Stack, 84, American film and television actor, heart attack.[65]
15
- June Carter Cash, 73, American musician and wife of Johnny Cash, complications following surgery.[66]
- Pedro Chappé, 57, Cuban basketball player.[67]
- Desmond Dreyer, 93, British Royal Navy admiral.
- Constantin Dăscălescu, 79, Romanian communist politician.
- Stanley B. Kimball, 76, American historian, cancer.[68]
- Rik Van Steenbergen, 78, Belgian cyclist.[69]
- Rune Waldekranz, 91, Swedish film producer.[70]
16
- William Charles Anderson, 83, American writer and screen writer (Bat*21).[71]
- Mark McCormack, 72, American lawyer, sports agent and writer.[72]
- Stan Rofe, 69, Australian disc jockey and music news reporter, cancer.[73]
- Lazar Tasić, 72, Serbian football player.
- Bogdan Śliwa, 81, Polish chess master.
17
- Edith Carlmar, 91, Norwegian actress and Norway's first female film director.[74]
- Pop Ivy, 87, American football player and coach.[75]
- Irene Gut Opdyke, 81, Polish nurse, kidney failure, liver failure.[76]
- Luigi Pintor, 77, Italian politician and journalist.[77]
- Gerhard Schöpfel, 90, German Luftwaffe flying ace during World War II.
18
- Marilyn Bendell, 81, American impressionist painter.
- Peter Lasko, 79, German-British art historian.[78]
- Nick Roman, 55, American gridiron football player, heart attack.[79]
- Mentz Schulerud, 87, Norwegian author, radio personality and theatre director.
19
- Johanna Budwig, 94, German biochemist, alternative cancer treatment advocate and author.
- Kunhiraman Palat Candeth, 86, Indian Army general.[80]
- Paul Hagen, 83, Danish film and television actor.
- Ludwig Lachner, German footballer and manager.
- Aleksandr Miroshnichenko, 39, Kazakhstani boxer and Olympic medalist, fall.[81]
- Ivo Žídek, 76, Czech operatic tenor, known for his roles in the operas of Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček.[82]
20
- Jim Clough, 86, Australian politician.
- Walter Höllerer, 80, German writer, literary critic, and literature academic.[83]
- Eddie Little, 48, American author and journalist, heart attack.[84]
- Howard Sims, 86, African-American vaudeville tap dancer, Alzheimer's disease.[85]
21
- Alejandro de Tomaso, 74, Argentinian racing driver and industrialist.
- Yaroslav Golovanov, 70, Russian journalist, writer and science communicator, cerebrovascular disease.[86]
- Hermann A. Haus, 77, Slovene-American scientist.[87]
- Sumitra Mukherjee, 54, Indian Bengali actress.
- Felice Orlandi, 77, Italian-American actor.
- Frank D. White, 69, American politician (41st Governor of Arkansas), banker and banking regulator, heart attack.[88]
22
- Packiam Arokiaswamy, 82, Indian Roman Catholic prelate.[89]
- Big DS, 31, American hardcore rapper and record producer, lymphatic cancer.[90]
- Grover E. Murray, 86, American geologist and educator.[91]
- Noel Robins, 67, Australian partially quadriplegic sailor, traffic accident.[92]
23
- Fred W. Berger, 94, American film editor.
- Ray Parry, 67, English football player.[93]
- Michael Pössinger, 84, German Olympic bobsledder.[94]
- Jean Yanne, 69, French actor and director (Weekend, This Man Must Die), heart attack.[95]
24
- François Boyer, 83, French screenwriter.[96]
- Neil Cherry, 56, New Zealand environmental scientist, ALS.
- Don Hanmer, 83, American film actor.[97]
- Rachel Kempson, 92, English actress, stroke.[98]
- Jules Levy, 80, American television and film producer.
- Allan McMahon, 48, Australian rugby footballer and coach, heart attack.[99]
- Arne Skouen, 89, Norwegian journalist, author and film director.[100]
25
- Almir Chediak, 52, Brazilian musician and entrepreneur, shot.[101]
- Richard Gardner, 72, American child psychiatrist, suicide by stabbing.[102]
- David Hafler, 84, American audio engineer, Parkinson's disease.[103]
- George Edward Lynch, 86, American Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Raleigh.[104]
- Bill Paschal, 81, American football player (Georgia Tech, New York Giants, Boston Yanks).[105]
- Laurette Séjourné, 91, Mexican archeologist and ethnologist.
- Jeremy Ward, 27, American keyboardist and sound technician, heroin overdose.[106]
- Sloan Wilson, 83, American novelist (The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, A Summer Place), Alzheimer's disease.[107]
26
- Alfredo Bravo, 78, Argentine politician and trade unionist, heart attack.[108]
- Melitta Brunner, 96, Austrian figure skater (ladies singles skating, bronze medal in pairs skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics).[109]
- Burr DeBenning, 66, American actor.
- Gerald Hawkins, 75, British-American astronomer and author, heart attack.[110]
- Thomas Risley Odhiambo, 72, Kenyan entomologist and environmental activist.[111]
- Jim Root, 71, American football player (Miami University, Chicago Cardinals) and coach (New Hampshire, William & Mary).[112]
- Kathleen Winsor, 83, American author (Forever Amber).[113]
27
- Geoffrey Bawa, 83, Sri Lankan architect.[114]
- Luciano Berio, 77, Italian composer (Sinfonia).[115]
- François Bondy, 88, Swiss journalist and novelist.[116]
- Mac Colville, 87, Canadian ice hockey player (New York Rangers).[117]
- Al Hartley, 81, American comic book writer and -artist.[118]
- Stellan Nilsson, 81, Swedish football player.[119]
28
- Janet Collins, 86, American ballerina.[120]
- Phil Holloway, 86, New Zealand politician.
- Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, 70, Soviet cosmonaut and rocket scientist, heart attack.[121]
- Dorothy Nelkin, 69, American sociologist of science and author.[122]
- James Plunkett, 83, Irish writer.[123]
- Ilya Prigogine, 86, Russian-Belgian physical chemist, 1977 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.[124]
- Martha Scott, 90, American actress.[125]
- Momir Talić, 60, Bosnian Serb general in the Yugoslav People's Army and the VRS.
- Marc Zuber, 59, English actor, heart attack.[126]
29
- W. R. Alford, 65, American mathematician, worked in the field of number theory, brain cancer.[127]
- Savita Ambedkar, 94, Indian social activist and doctor.
- Trevor Ford, 79, Welsh international footballer, pneumonia.[128]
- Anthony Frederick, 38, American basketball player, heart attack.[129]
- David Jefferies, 30, British motorcycle racer, motorcycle crash.
- Basil Langton, 91, English actor, director and photographer.[130]
- Joanna Paul, 57, New Zealand visual artist, poet and film maker.
- Pierre Restany, 72, French art critic and cultural philosopher.[131]
- Wallace Terry, 65, American journalist and oral historian.[132]
30
- Zagir Ismagilov, 86, Soviet Bashkir composer and pedagogue.
- Minoru Mochizuki, 96, Japanese martial artist.[133]
- Mickie Most, 64, English record producer, peritoneal mesothelioma.[134]
- Günter Pfitzmann, 79, German film actor, heart attack.[135]
- Lars T. Platou, 82, Norwegian politician.
- John Morris Roberts, 75, British historian and broadcaster.[136]
- Silvester Sabolčki, 23, Croatian footballer, car crash.
- Jason Sweeney, 16, American construction worker, beaten.
31
- Nicolas Barone, 72, French road bicycle racer.[137]
- Janine Bazin, 80, French film and television producer.[138]
- Anil Biswas, 88, Indian film music director.[139]
- Francesco Colasuonno, 78, Italian prelate of the Catholic Church.[140]
- Hal Haskins, 78, American basketball player and coach.[141]
- Anthony Stodart, Baron Stodart of Leaston, 86, Scottish politician and life peer.
- Li Lin, 79, Chinese physicist.
- Billy Wade, 88, South African cricketer.[142]
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