Famous People Who Died in 1999

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For one reason or another, we as human beings seem to be fascinated by celebrity deaths. Every year we mourn the loss of famous people who pass away, and 1999 was no exception. Wrestling fans were shocked when Owen Hart, one of the WWF's most popular wrestlers, died live on Pay Per View after a wrestling stunt went wrong.

Here's our list of the most notable people to die in 1999, ordered by how well-known they were. All walks of famous people are on this list, including actors, athletes, musicians, politicians and more.Although the rich and famous are just like the rest of us, it's alarming how many of them have their lives cut short because of drug overdoses or other accidents. Still others live out many long years only to succumb to diseases like cancer late in life.

Which celebrities died in 1999? Scroll down and see for yourself.

Stanley Kubrick
Myocardial infarction
Stanley Kubrick, a name synonymous with the world of cinema, was born on July 26, 1928, in New York City. Raised in the Bronx by his father, a doctor, and mother, a homemaker, Kubrick's fascination with visual storytelling began from an early age. He was an avid reader and a very intelligent, albeit not academically inclined student. While still at high school, he developed a passion for photography, leading him to become a staff photographer at Look magazine immediately after graduation. Over the course of his illustrious career, Kubrick directed a collection of critically acclaimed films spanning several genres. His filmography includes iconic titles like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket. Each of his films is renowned for their unique visual style, meticulous attention to detail, and innovative narrative techniques. Kubrick's works challenged conventional norms and pushed cinematic boundaries. Despite his reputation as a reclusive genius, Kubrick was known to foster close relationships with his actors, often encouraging them to contribute ideas during the filmmaking process. This collaborative approach resulted in unforgettable performances and gave rise to some of cinema's most memorable characters. Kubrick passed away in 1999, but his legacy continues to inspire filmmakers across the world. His contribution to the art of filmmaking is unparalleled, making Stanley Kubrick one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema.
Owen Hart
Blunt trauma, Accidental fall
Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian–American professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He received his most success in the WWF, where he wrestled under both his own name and the ring name The Blue Blazer. A member of the Hart wrestling family, he was born in Calgary, Alberta, the youngest of 12 children of Stampede Wrestling promoters Stu and Helen Hart. Among other accolades, Owen was a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion, a two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion, a one-time WWF European Champion, and a four-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, as well as the 1994 WWF King of the Ring. He headlined multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF, and was widely regarded as one of the company's best in-ring performers.
Dana Plato
Drug overdose, Suicide
Dana Michelle Plato (born Dana Michelle Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress known for her role as Kimberly Drummond on the U.S. television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes from 1978 to 1986. After leaving the cast of Diff'rent Strokes, Plato attempted to establish herself as a working actress, with mixed success: she worked sporadically in made-for-TV movies and in independent films, and did voice-over work. At the age of 34, after years of struggling with poverty and substance abuse, Plato died from an overdose of prescription drugs.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Aviation accident or incident
John F. Kennedy Jr., born on November 25, 1960, was a prominent figure in American history, not just for his family lineage but also for his personal achievements and charisma. He was the only son of the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. His birth took place just a few weeks after his father's historic election, making him an immediate national icon. This early public exposure laid the foundation for his future endeavors in media and law. Kennedy Jr. graduated from Brown University in 1983 with a degree in American Studies. He later obtained his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from New York University Law School in 1989. Despite facing early challenges in his legal career, including failing the bar exam twice, he eventually became an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, serving from 1989 to 1993. During this time, he demonstrated his commitment to public service, a trait shared by many members of the Kennedy clan. In 1995, Kennedy Jr. ventured into publishing, co-founding the political magazine George. As editor-in-chief, he combined politics and celebrity culture in a way that was both innovative and engaging. This new direction in his career showcased his ability to leverage his unique position at the intersection of politics, media, and fame. Kennedy Jr.'s life, however, was tragically cut short when he died in a plane crash in July 1999, leaving behind a legacy that continues to captivate and inspire.
George C. Scott
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
George C. Scott, a titan of American acting, etched his name in the annals of Hollywood with a career spanning over four decades. Born on October 18, 1927, in Wise, Virginia, he was renowned for his intense performances and distinctive voice. His early life was marked by hardship, but it was this very struggle that shaped his resilient character. After serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, Scott found solace in acting and honed his craft at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism, where he studied drama. Scott's breakthrough came with the role of General "Buck" Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove. However, it was his unforgettable portrayal of General George S. Patton in the 1970 film Patton that catapulted him to stardom. Despite receiving an Academy Award for Best Actor for this role, Scott refused the honor, stating his belief that every dramatic performance was unique and could not be compared. This act of defiance made him the first actor to reject an Oscar, setting a precedent in the industry. Throughout his career, Scott displayed a versatility that spanned across genres and mediums. From theater to film and television, he left an impression with his powerful performances. His work in Arthur Miller's The Crucible and Neil Simon's Plaza Suite showcased his talent on stage, while his roles in films like The Hustler and The Changeling highlighted his cinematic prowess. Scott passed away in 1999, but his legacy continues to inspire generations of actors.
Madeline Kahn
Ovarian cancer
Madeline Kahn was an actress renowned for her comedic flair and velvety soprano voice. Born Madeline Gail Wolfson on September 29, 1942, in Boston, Kahn started her career in off-Broadway productions before finding her calling in film and television. She graduated from Hofstra University with a drama degree, where she honed her acting chops and began to shape the trajectory of her future career. Kahn's breakthrough role came under the direction of Mel Brooks in his 1974 comedy classic, Blazing Saddles. Her portrayal of the saloon singer Lili Von Shtupp earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. This was followed by another nomination for the same category in 1975 for her performance in Paper Moon. Kahn's partnership with Brooks proved fruitful, leading to her unforgettable roles in other Brooks's films such as Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety. Beyond her film career, Kahn was also a force to be reckoned with on the small screen and stage. She won an Emmy Award for her guest role in the popular sitcom, The Cosby Show and a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway play The Sisters Rosensweig. Sadly, her life and career were cut short when she passed away on December 3, 1999, due to ovarian cancer.
Joe DiMaggio
Lung cancer
Born in California in 1914, Joe DiMaggio, affectionately known as "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," emerged as one of the most iconic figures in American sports history. He was the eighth child born to Sicilian immigrants who lived a meager existence fishing off the San Francisco bay. Despite these humble beginnings, DiMaggio rose to become an outstanding baseball player, creating a legacy that resounds throughout Major League Baseball (MLB) even decades after his retirement. DiMaggio's professional baseball career began with the San Francisco Seals, a minor league team, but his extraordinary talent couldn't be contained for long. He moved on to play for the New York Yankees in 1936, marking the start of a distinguished 13-season career in MLB. Throughout his time with the Yankees, DiMaggio set numerous records, including an unrivaled 56-game hitting streak in 1941, a record that still stands today. His consistency at bat coupled with his outstanding fielding skills won him three MVP awards and helped lead the Yankees to nine World Series titles. However, DiMaggio's life wasn't only about baseball. He served in the military during World War II, which interrupted his playing career for almost three years. His personal life also garnered significant public attention, particularly his marriage to Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. While their marriage was short-lived, it intensified the spotlight on DiMaggio's life beyond baseball. DiMaggio passed away in 1999, leaving behind a monumental legacy that transcends sport. His impact both on and off the field makes him one of the most influential figures in American sports history.
Gene Siskel
Brain tumor
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of popular movie review shows on television from 1975 to 1999.
Pete Conrad
Traffic collision
Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999) (Captain, USN), was an American NASA astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and during the Apollo 12 mission became the third man to walk on the Moon. Conrad was selected in NASA's second astronaut class. He set an eight-day space endurance record along with his Command Pilot Gordon Cooper on his first spaceflight, the Gemini 5 mission. Conrad also commanded the Gemini 11 mission. He became the third human to walk on the moon during the Apollo 12 mission. After Apollo, he commanded Skylab 2, the first crewed Skylab mission. On the mission, he and his crewmates repaired significant launch damage to the Skylab space station. For this, President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978. After he retired from NASA in 1973, he became a vice president of American Television and Communications Company. He went on to work for McDonnell Douglas, as a vice president. During his tenure, he served as vice president of marketing, senior vice president of marketing, staff vice president of international business development, and vice president of project development. Conrad died on July 8, 1999, from internal injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.
Jill Dando
Ballistic trauma, Firearm, Murder
Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was a British journalist, television presenter, and newsreader who was 1997 BBC Personality of the Year. At the time of her death, she was the presenter of the BBC programme Crimewatch. On 26 April 1999, Dando was fatally shot outside her home in Fulham, London. A local man, Barry George, was convicted and imprisoned for the murder but was later acquitted after an appeal and retrial. The case remains open.
Rick Rude
Cardiovascular disease
Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Rude wrestled from 1982 until his 1994 retirement due to injury, with a final match following in 1997. Among other accolades, he was a three-time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion. Rude also challenged for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view cards, headlining several such events during his career. Following his retirement, Rude managed multiple wrestlers. In late 1997, Rude founded the D-Generation X stable alongside Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna. On November 17 of that year, in the midst of the Monday Night Wars, he became the only person to appear on the WWF's Raw and WCW's Monday Nitro programs on the same night, as the former was pre-recorded and Rude had left for WCW in the interim. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.
Walter Payton
Liver tumour
Walter Payton, widely recognized as one of the greatest running backs in the history of American football, was born on July 25, 1954, in Columbia, Mississippi, USA. He established himself as a dominant player early on, exhibiting his exceptional athleticism while playing for Jackson State University before being drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1975 National Football League (NFL) Draft. Payton's career spans over an impressive 13 seasons with the Bears, during which he amassed a total of 16,726 rushing yards and broke numerous records. These achievements earned him the nickname "Sweetness," a testament to his smooth, agile playing style. Notable among his accomplishments is the NFL Most Valuable Player award in 1977 and his instrumental role in leading the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX in 1986. His record for career rushing yards stood for nearly two decades, underscoring his significant impact on the sport. Off the field, Payton was renowned for his philanthropic efforts. He established the Walter Payton Foundation to support underprivileged children, demonstrating his commitment to giving back to his community. His life was cut tragically short due to a rare liver disease in 1999. Today, his legacy lives on, both in his enduring contributions to the sport of football and his unwavering dedication to service. The NFL's Man of the Year Award, given annually to a player who demonstrates excellence on and off the field, was renamed in his honor in 1999 to acknowledge his enduring impact.
Dirk Bogarde
Myocardial infarction
Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde (28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999), known professionally as Dirk Bogarde, was an English actor and writer. Initially a matinée idol in films such as Doctor in the House (1954) for the Rank Organisation, he later acted in art-house films. In a second career, he wrote seven best-selling volumes of memoirs, six novels and a volume of collected journalism, mainly from articles in The Daily Telegraph. Bogarde came to prominence in films including The Blue Lamp in the early 1950s, before starring in the successful Doctor film series (1954–1963). He twice won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for The Servant (1963) and Darling (1965). His other notable film roles included Victim (1961), Accident (1967), The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), The Night Porter (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Despair (1978). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1990 and a Knight Bachelor in 1992.
Gorilla Monsoon
Myocardial infarction, Diabetes mellitus
Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. Monsoon is famous for his run as a super-heavyweight main eventer, and later as the voice of the World Wrestling Federation, as commentator and backstage manager during the 1980s and 1990s. He also portrayed the on-screen role of WWF President from 1995 to 1997. In professional wrestling, the staging area just behind the entrance curtain at an event, a position which Marella established and where he could often be found during WWF shows late in his career, is named the "Gorilla Position" in his honor. Although remembered fondly by many viewers, Monsoon was voted Worst Television Announcer a record six times by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in the publication's annual awards poll.
Sarah Kane
Suicide, Hanging
Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright who is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological—and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of extreme and violent stage action. Kane herself, as well as scholars of her work, such as Graham Saunders, identify some of her inspirations as expressionist theatre and Jacobean tragedy. The critic Aleks Sierz has seen her work as part of what he has termed In-Yer-Face theatre, a form of drama which broke away from the conventions of naturalist theatre. Kane's published work consists of five plays, one short film (Skin), and two newspaper articles for The Guardian.
Lili St. Cyr
Willis Marie Van Schaack (June 3, 1918 – January 29, 1999), known professionally as Lili St. Cyr, was a prominent American burlesque stripteaser.
Dusty Springfield
Breast cancer
Dusty Springfield, born as Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien in 1939 in London, England, was an iconic British pop singer and record producer who gained prominence during the 1960s. With her signature blonde beehive hairstyle, dramatic makeup, and unforgettable soulful voice, she became a significant figure in the British Invasion of the U.S. music scene. Springfield's music career began in earnest with her brother Tom, as part of a folk-oriented trio named The Springfields. However, she achieved her biggest success as a solo artist, with an unmistakable, emotive voice that bridged pop and soul music. Springfield's string of top-charting songs made her one of the most successful British female performers of her generation. Her most enduring work, the 1969 album Dusty in Memphis, is hailed to this day for its fusion of pop and soul, yielding the international hit "Son of a Preacher Man." As a result, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, acknowledging her contribution to the genre. Her innovative approach to music extended beyond her own performance; she was instrumental in bringing the Motown sound to the UK, introducing audiences to a whole new world of music. Offstage, Springfield was known for her colourful personality and personal life. At a time when being openly gay could have been detrimental to her career, she was candid about her relationships with women. Springfield's life was not without challenges; she faced struggles with addiction and mental health issues, but always maintained her dedication to music until her untimely death from breast cancer in 1999. Despite any difficulties, Dusty Springfield's legacy in the music industry endures, her influence still felt in the sounds of contemporary artists across genres.
Charles Pierce
Charles Pierce (July 14, 1926 – May 31, 1999) was one of the 20th century's foremost female impersonators, particularly noted for his impersonation of Bette Davis.
John Ehrlichman
Diabetes mellitus
John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important influence on Nixon's domestic policy, coaching him on issues and enlisting his support for environmental initiatives.Ehrlichman was a key figure in events leading to the Watergate break-in and the ensuing Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury and served a year and a half in prison.
Marguerite Chapman
Marguerite Chapman was an American actress who appeared in "Pardon My Past," "Counter-Attack," and "Destroyer."
Jaime Garzón
Assassination
Jaime Hernando Garzón Forero (October 24, 1960 – August 13, 1999 in Bogotá) was a Colombian comedian, journalist, politician, and peace activist. He was popular on colombian television during the 1990s for his political satire. In addition to his work on television, he also had roles as a peace negotiator in the release of FARC guerrillas' hostages. He was murdered in 1999 by right-wing paramilitary hitmen, with suspected support from members of the Colombian military and security services, according to testimonies of former paramilitaries commanders. The case remains open and unsolved.
Susan Strasberg
Breast cancer, Thrombosis
Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress, the daughter of the drama coach Lee Strasberg. She was nominated for a Tony Award when she was 18 years old.
Paco Stanley
Firearm, Assassination, Murder
Francisco "Paco" Jorge Stanley Albaitero (July 3, 1942 – June 7, 1999) was a Mexican television entertainer who worked for Televisa and TV Azteca.
Akio Morita
Pneumonia
Akio Morita (盛田昭夫, Morita Akio, January 26, 1921 – October 3, 1999) was a Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony along with Masaru Ibuka.
Lois Hamilton
Drug overdose, Suicide
Lois Hamilton (October 14, 1952 – December 23, 1999) was an American model, author, aviator, artist and actress.
Rory Calhoun
Emphysema, Diabetes mellitus
A chance meeting with Alan Ladd led to a film career for Rory Calhoun, a rangy, likable leading man who started out billed as Frank McCown before settling on his permanent moniker. Best remembered for his work in the Westerns and action pictures, he acted in a wide variety of movies, portraying eligible bachelors in modern-day comedies like "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1953) and "Ain't Misbehavin'" (1955), as well as venturing into period fare for "The Colossus of Rhodes" (1961) and the title role in "Marco Polo" (1962). Calhoun's cowboy credits included the comedy-Western, "A Ticket to Tomahawk" (1950) and a series of films that he produced (with Victor Orsatti) and starred in, "Domino Kid," "The Hired Gun" (both 1957) and "Apache Territory" (1958), all directed by Ray Nazarro. He solidified his Western standing as star of the CBS series, "The Texan" (1958-60), which he also produced with Orsatti. Calhoun has acted in some laughers like "The Night of the Lepus" (1972) and "Angel" (1984), but has balanced those with appearances in the popular CBS miniseries, "The Blue and the Gray" (1982), and features like "Bad Jim" (1990) and "Pure Country" (1992). During the 80s, he also ventured into the realm of daytime drama, playing a judge with political connections on the CBS series "Capitol."
Lionel Bart
Liver cancer
Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman", which became the first British pop song to break into the American Top 40, and was the sole creator of the musical Oliver! (1960). With Oliver! and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal, Stratford East, he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated the West End. Best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!, he was described by Andrew Lloyd Webber as "the father of the modern British musical". In 1963 he won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Oliver!, and the 1968 film version of the musical won a total of 6 Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Some of his other compositions include the theme song to the James Bond film From Russia with Love, and the songs "Living Doll" by Cliff Richard, "Far Away" by Shirley Bassey, "Do You Mind?" (recorded by both Anthony Newley and Andy Williams), "Big Time" (a 1961 cover by Jack Jones of his "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be" show tune), "Easy Going Me" by Adam Faith, "Always You And Me" by Russ Conway, and several songs recorded by Tommy Steele ("A Handful of Songs", "Butterfingers" and "Little White Bull"). By the mid 1960s he was as well known for his outlandish lifestyle, his celebrity friends, his excesses, and his parties as he was for his work.
Wilt Chamberlain
Heart failure
Wilt Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His journey to becoming one of the most dominant players in the history of the sport began at Overbrook High School, where his towering height and natural talent quickly catapulted him into the spotlight. He then attended the University of Kansas, where he continued to hone his skills before embarking on a professional career that would span over a decade. Chamberlain's professional career kicked off with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958, but it was his time with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1959 to 1973 that truly defined his legacy. His unmatched greatness on the court saw him achieve numerous records, including scoring 100 points in a single game, a feat yet to be surpassed. Chamberlain also holds records for the most rebounds in a game and the highest average points per game in a season, among others. Beyond his athletic accomplishments, Chamberlain was known for his larger-than-life personality off the court. Despite his intimidating presence on the court, he was a gentle giant with a passion for life and a love for people. After retiring from basketball, he ventured into acting, appearing in several films and television shows. His charisma and charm translated well onto the screen, further cementing his status as a cultural icon. Chamberlain passed away in 1999, but his influence on the game of basketball and his impact on popular culture continue to resonate, making him an enduring figure in sports history.
Quentin Crisp
Actor Quentin Crisp appeared on the big screen many times over the course of his Hollywood career. Crisp started off his acting career mostly in film roles, appearing in "Hamlet" (1976), the horror feature "The Bride" (1985) with Sting and "Resident Alien" (1991). He also appeared in the TV movie "Flowers For Matty" (ABC, 1989-1990). He continued to work steadily in film throughout the nineties, appearing in "Camp Christmas" (1993), the Tilda Swinton dramatic adaptation "Orlando" (1993) and "Memoirs of a Madman" (1994) with Richard Craven. He also appeared in the Wesley Snipes comedy "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (1995). Nearing the end of his career, he tackled roles in the Michael Rodrick drama "Desolation Angels" (1996), the adaptation "The Celluloid Closet" (1996) with Jay Presson Allen and "Homo Heights" (1997). He also appeared in "The Electric Urn" (1997) and "Barriers" (1998). Crisp was most recently credited in "Quentin" (2000). Crisp passed away in November 1999 at the age of 91.
DeForest Kelley
Stomach cancer
Known to generations for his portrayal of the compassionate yet slightly cranky ship's doctor, Leonard "Bones" McCoy, on the classic television series "Star Trek" (NBC, 1966-69), actor DeForest Kelley created one of science fiction's most beloved and indelible characters. Following an auspicious start in film with the leading role in the noir "Fear in the Night" (1947), a disappointed Kelley quickly found himself settling for guest turns on various television series and smaller roles in films such as "House of Bamboo" (1955) and "Tension at Table Rock" (1956). Westerns quickly became Kelley's stock-in-trade, with appearances in "Gunfight at O.K. Corral" (1957) and "Warlock" (1959) being among his more notable. Although his work in the Gene Roddenberry-created pilot "333 Montgomery" (NBC, 1960) failed to materialize into a series, it impressed the writer-producer enough to win Kelley a supporting role in "Star Trek" just a few years later. His work as the unapologetically humanistic McCoy soon elevated Kelley's role to co-starring status on the iconic series. However, despite his proven talents, parts were hard to come by for the veteran actor in the aftermath of the show's cancellation. A full decade later, Kelley and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew were called back to action for the epic re-launch, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979). The franchise jumped to warp-speed with the hugely popular "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), and continued for four more installments before the original crew finally stepped off the bridge of the U.S.S.Enterprise for good. A key member of a popular cast, Kelley emerged as an actor who was universally admired by his "Star Trek" co-stars.
Walt Levinsky
Walt Levinsky was an American big band and orchestral player, composer, arranger and band leader. While many of his big band assignments were as lead alto sax player, his favorite instrument was the clarinet. Walt was known for his fine instrumental technique and his rich, round tone both on clarinet and sax.
Zoë Tamerlis Lund
Drug overdose
Zoë Tamerlis Lund (February 9, 1962 – April 16, 1999), also known as Zoë Tamerlis and Zoë Tamerlaine, was an American musician, model, actress, author, producer, political activist and screenwriter. She was best known for her association in two films with film director Abel Ferrara: Ms .45 (1981), in which she starred, and Bad Lieutenant (1992), for which she co-wrote the screenplay.
Horst P. Horst
Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann (August 14, 1906 – November 18, 1999) who chose to be known as Horst P. Horst was a German-American fashion photographer.
Shel Silverstein
Myocardial infarction
Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer known for his cartoons, songs, and children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in some works. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold more than 20 million copies. He was the recipient of two Grammy Awards, as well as Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominations.
Victor Perlo
Victor Perlo was a Marxist economist, government functionary, and a longtime member of the governing National Committee of the Communist Party USA.
Hillary Brooke
Hillary Brooke was an American actress who appeared in "The Road to Utopia," "Africa Screams," and "The Woman in Green."
Payne Stewart
Aviation accident or incident
William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three major championships in his career, the last of which occurred a few months before he died in an airplane accident at the age of 42. Stewart gained his first major title at the 1989 PGA Championship. He won the 1991 U.S. Open after a playoff against Scott Simpson. At the 1999 U.S. Open Stewart captured his third major title after holing a 15-foot (5 m) par putt on the final hole for a one stroke victory. Stewart was a popular golfer with spectators, who responded enthusiastically to his distinctive clothing. He was reputed to have the biggest wardrobe of all professional golfers and was a favorite of photographers because of his flamboyant attire of ivy caps and patterned pants, which were a cross between plus fours and knickerbockers, a throwback to the once-commonplace golf "uniform". Stewart was also admired for having one of the most gracefully fluid and stylish golf swings of the modern era.
Benjamin Smoke
Liver failure
Benjamin (born Robert Dickerson) was an American poet and singer-songwriter who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia bands Smoke and the Opal Foxx Quartet. He was noted for being a radical rock 'n' roll performer. He died on January 29, 1999 due to liver failure caused by Hepatitis C at age 39. He performed his final concert in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve, 1998. He was the subject of a documentary released in 2000 called Benjamin Smoke directed by Jem Cohen and Peter Sillen, filming for which took 10 years.
Peter Wildeblood
Peter Wildeblood (19 May 1923 – 14 November 1999) was an Anglo-Canadian journalist, novelist, playwright and gay rights campaigner. He was one of the first men in the UK to publicly declare his homosexuality.
Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles was an American actor and writer who appeared in "Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles," "Let It Come Down: the Life of Paul Bowles," and "Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider."
Giant Baba
Shohei Baba (馬場正平, Baba Shōhei, January 23, 1938 – January 31, 1999), best known by his ring name Giant Baba (ジャイアント馬場, Jaianto Baba), was a Japanese professional wrestler. Baba is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota, the sons of Rikidōzan. Along with being the top star of All Japan its first ten years of existence, Baba served as the booker, promoter, head trainer and president of the promotion from its inception in 1972 to his death in 1999. Baba was also responsible for recruiting much of the talent for All Japan, and was the public face of the promotion for much of his lifetime. Considered one of the most beloved Japanese wrestlers ever, Baba was a national hero with a popularity in Japan comparable to Hulk Hogan in the United States. The 2006 Top 100 Historical Persons in Japan survey ranked Baba the 92nd greatest person in the history of Japan, as voted for by the general public.Among his many accomplishments, Baba was a record seven-time winner of the Champion Carnival, a four-time PWF World Heavyweight Champion, three time NWA International Heavyweight Champion and a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Baba was born with gigantism and suffered with many health problems in his later life. He died in January 1999 from liver failure at the age of 61. His funeral took place on April 17, 1999, at the Nippon Budokan the day after the 1999 Champion Carnival Final.
Anthony Newley
Kidney cancer
Anthony George Newley was born into a working-class family, his father being a shipping clerk. His parents separated and he grew up mostly in the care of his mother. Newley applied to the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, but found that the tuition was too expensive. Despite this, directors at the school saw him audition and were impressed enough to offer him a job as an office boy, which included free tuition. It was here that television producer Geoffrey de Barkus noticed him and cast him in the title role for his children's show, "The Adventures of Dusty Bales." He then was offered the part of the Artful Dodger in "Oliver Twist." As an older actor, he portrayed Matthew Mugg in the film adaptation of "Doctor Dolittle," and appeared in supporting roles in "Sweet November" and "Jazz Boat." His primary success, however, came as a vocalist and songwriter, with several hits on the U.K. pop chart including the Grammy Award-winning "What Kind of Fool am I?." He wrote the musicals "Stop the World - I Want to Get Off,"
Rosemary Nelson
Assassination
Rosemary Nelson (née Magee; 4 September 1958 – 15 March 1999) was an Irish human rights solicitor who was assassinated by an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in 1999. A bomb exploded under Nelson's car at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. A loyalist paramilitary group calling itself the Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility for the murder. Allegations that the British state security forces were involved in her killing led to a public inquiry. It found no evidence that state forces directly facilitated her murder, but could not exclude the possibility that individual members had helped the perpetrators. It said that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) failed to protect her and that she had been publicly threatened and assaulted by officers, which helped legitimize her as a target.
Victor Mature
Leukemia
Standing 6'3" with a head of curly black hair and famously broad shoulders, Victor Mature seemed born to fill the expanding motion picture screen of the postwar era. He received 20,000 fan letters from his film debut in the Hal Roach comedy "The Housekeeper's Daughter" (1939), which led to his promotion to leading man for the dinosaur romp "One Million Years, B.C." (1940). After the war, Mature came into his own as an actor at 20th Century Fox, partnering with Henry Fonda for John Ford's mythic oater "My Darling Clementine" (1946) and going head to head with Richard Widmark in Henry Hathaway's steely noir "Kiss of Death" (1947). The advent of CinemaScope and the standardization of Technicolor thrust Mature into a clutch of chromatic biblical epics and he soldiered shirtless through "Samson and Delilah" (1949), "The Robe" (1950), "Demetrius and the Gladiators" (1954) and "The Egyptian" (1954) with professional aplomb, never taking himself too seriously. With no need for shoulder pads, shoe lifts, a hairpiece, or studio-mandated secrecy regarding his private life, Mature proved his worth to the film industry as a low risk, reliable, scandal-free leading man. Savvy investments in real estate and the booming television market allowed the actor to retire at age 44, though he returned for roles in a handful of films before his death in 1999 denied moviegoers the company of a Hollywood star who stood every inch a king.
Jaime Hurtado
Firearm, Assassination
Jaime Ricaurte Hurtado González (7 February 1937 – 17 February 1999) was an Ecuadorian politician of African descent aligned with the Democratic People's Movement (MPD), a deputy in the Ecuadorian parliament, and at the time of his death was standing for election to the Ecuadorian presidency.
Ellen Corby
Cardiovascular disease, Stroke
Ellen Corby was small, prim, and had a face to which smiling did not come easily, but she appeared in supporting and small roles in dozens of films and TV programs. Possibly, she would have been one of those character actors whose faces are known to the audience but whose names are a lost in memory had it not been for her Emmy Award-winning work as the no-nonsense Grandma Esther Walton on the CBS TV series "The Waltons" (1972-79) and in subsequent TV reunion movies on NBC in 1982 and in CBS in the 90s.
Marion Motley
Marion Motley (June 5, 1920 – June 27, 1999) was an American football fullback and linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He was a leading pass-blocker and rusher in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and ended his career with an average of 5.7 yards per carry, a record for a fullback that still stands. A versatile player who possessed both quickness and size, Motley was a force on both offense and defense. Fellow Hall of Fame running back Joe Perry once called Motley "the greatest all-around football player there ever was".Motley was also one of the first two African-Americans to play professional football in the modern era, breaking the color barrier along with teammate Bill Willis in September 1946, when the two played their first game for the Cleveland Browns.Motley grew up in Canton, Ohio. He played football through high school and college in the 1930s before enlisting in the military during World War II. While training in the U.S. Navy in 1944, he played for a service team coached by Paul Brown. Following the war, he went back to work in Canton before Brown invited him to try out for the Cleveland Browns, a team he was coaching in the newly formed AAFC. Motley made the team in 1946 and became a cornerstone of Cleveland's success in the late 1940s. The team won four AAFC championships before the league dissolved and the Browns were absorbed by the more established NFL. Motley was the AAFC's leading rusher in 1948 and the NFL leader in 1950, when the Browns won another championship. Motley and fellow black teammate Bill Willis contended with racism throughout their careers. Although the color barrier was broken in all major American sports by 1950, the men endured shouted insults on the field and racial discrimination off of it. "They found out that while they were calling us niggers and alligator bait, I was running for touchdowns and Willis was knocking the shit out of them," Motley once said. "So they stopped calling us names and started trying to catch up with us." Focused exclusively on winning, Brown did not tolerate racism within the team. Slowed by knee injuries, Motley left the Browns after the 1953 season. He attempted a comeback in 1955 as a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers but was released before the end of the year. He then pursued a coaching career, but was turned away by the Browns and other teams he approached. He attributed his trouble finding a job in football to racial discrimination, questioning whether teams were ready to hire a black coach. Motley was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
Luis María Argaña
Assassination
Luis María del Corazón de Jesús Dionisio Argaña Ferraro (October 3, 1932 in Asunción – March 23, 1999 in Asunción) was a prominent Paraguayan politician and Supreme Court judge. He was an influential member of the Colorado Party and rose to the Vice-Presidency in 1998, but was assassinated in March 1999 at a time when it appeared likely that he would inherit the presidency from Raúl Cubas, who was on the verge of being impeached. The incident and its aftermath is known in Paraguay as Marzo paraguayo ("the Paraguayan March"). An airport in Paraguay, Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport, is named for him.
Rajendra Kumar
Cancer
Rajendra Kumar was an actor who had a successful Hollywood career. Kumar began his career with a role in the drama "Mother India" (1957) with Nargis. Kumar made film his next project, appearing in the Manoj Kumar foreign "Mera Naam Joker" (1970) and "Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee" (1971). Later in his career, Kumar produced "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book" (1994) with Jason Scott Lee.
Harry D. Belock
Harry David Belock (April 10, 1908 – November 8, 1999) was an American electronics inventor, engineer and entrepreneur.
Adolfo Bioy Casares
Adolfo Bioy Casares (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈðolfo ˈβjoi kaˈsaɾes]; September 15, 1914 – March 8, 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges, and is the author of the fantastic fiction novel The Invention of Morel.
Bobby Troup
Myocardial infarction
Actor, composer, and jazz pianist Bobby Troup graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Troup's first musical success was writing the song "Daddy" in 1941, which stayed at number one on the Billboard Best Seller chart for eight weeks; it was subsequently recorded by Glenn Miller and The Andrews Sisters. Frank Sinatra also recorded his song "Snootie Little Cutie." During World War II, Troup was a Marines Captain on an all-black unit in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Troup's troops built huts, a nightclub, a boxing ring, and formed a jazz band and orchestra. His immensely popular song "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66," was recorded, at different times, by Chuck Berry, Nat King Cole, and The Rolling Stones. Troup wrote the theme song of the 1950s rock and roll movie "The Girl Can't Help It," which was sung by Little Richard. In the mid-1950s, along with Mel Blanc and Johnny Mercer, Troup was a panelist on the quiz show "Musical Chairs," also providing much of the show's music. In 1959, he married singer Julie London and later produced London's hit record "Cry Me a River." As an actor, Troup played the cordial Dr. Joe Early on the 1970s TV series "Emergency!," opposite Julie London and directed by Jack Webb (London's ex-husband). In February, 1999, Troup died at UCLA Medical Center of a massive heart attack.
Iron Eyes Cody
Natural causes
Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti, April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an Italian-American actor. He portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as Chief Iron Eyes in Bob Hope's The Paleface (1948). He also played a Native American shedding a tear about litter in one of the country's most well-known television public service announcements, "Keep America Beautiful". Living in Hollywood, he began to insist, even in his private life, that he was Native American, over time claiming membership in several different tribes. In 1996, Cody's half-sister said that he was of Italian ancestry, but he denied it. After his death, it was revealed that he was of Sicilian parentage, and not Native American at all.
Edward Dorn
Pancreatic cancer
Edward Merton Dorn was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is Gunslinger.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
Aviation accident or incident
Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy (January 7, 1966 – July 16, 1999) was a publicist for Calvin Klein and the wife of John F. Kennedy Jr. After her marriage, Bessette-Kennedy's relationship with her husband and her fashion sense became the subjects of media scrutiny, drawing comparisons to her mother-in-law Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The couple and Bessette-Kennedy's older sister, Lauren, died in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in July 1999.
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan Dunstan, AC, QC (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999), usually known as Don Dunstan, was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953 at age 26, became leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979. In the late 1950s, Dunstan became well known for his campaign against the death penalty being imposed on Max Stuart, who was convicted of rape and murder of a small girl. He harried Premier Thomas Playford IV aggressively over the matter, creating an uproar over what he saw as an unfair process. Playford eventually relented, and appeared shaken thereafter; the event was seen as a turning point in the LCL's decline, and Labor gained momentum. During Labor's time in opposition, Dunstan was prominent in securing some reforms in Aboriginal rights, and was at the forefront of Labor abandoning the White Australia Policy. Labor conducted an extensive campaign in marginal LCL seats at the 1965 election, resulting in 21 of 39 seats, with Frank Walsh and the Labor Party taking power and Dunstan becoming Attorney-General. The LCL opposition changed leaders and installed the young Steele Hall, worrying Labor as the elderly Walsh appeared bumbling in contrast. This resulted in Labor replacing Walsh with Dunstan. Despite maintaining a much larger vote over the LCL, Labor lost two seats at the 1968 election, with the LCL forming government with support of an independent. Dunstan responded by increasing his attacks on the Playmander and was able to convincingly sustain Playmander attacks with the effect of convincing the LCL into watering down the malapportionment. Again with little change in Labor's vote but with the Playmander removed, Labor won 27 of 47 seats at the 1970 election. With a fairer seat and boundary system in place, Dunstan won three more elections, in 1973, 1975 and 1977. A reformist, Dunstan brought profound change to South Australian society. His socially progressive administration saw Aboriginal land rights recognised, homosexuality decriminalised, the first female judge appointed, the first non-British governor, Sir Mark Oliphant, and later, the first indigenous governor Sir Douglas Nicholls. He enacted consumer protection laws, reformed and expanded the public education and health systems, abolished the death penalty, relaxed censorship and drinking laws, created a ministry for the environment, enacted anti-discrimination law, and implemented electoral reforms such as the overhaul of the Legislative Council of parliament, lowered the voting age to 18, enacted universal suffrage, and completely abolished malapportionment, changes which gave him a less hostile parliament and allowed him to enact his reforms. He established Rundle Mall, enacted measures to protect buildings of historical heritage, and encouraged a flourishing of the arts, with support for the Adelaide Festival Centre, the State Theatre Company, and the establishment of the South Australian Film Corporation. He encouraged cultural exchanges with Asia, multiculturalism and an increase in the state's culinary awareness and sophistication. He is recognised for his role in reinvigorating the social, artistic and cultural life of South Australia during his nine years in office, remembered as the Dunstan Decade. However, there were also problems; the economy began to stagnate, and the large increases to burgeoning public service generated claims of waste. One of Dunstan's pet projects, a plan to build a new city at Monarto to alleviate urban pressures in Adelaide, was abandoned when economic and population growth stalled, with much money and planning already invested. After four consecutive election wins, Dunstan's administration began to falter in 1978 following his dismissal of Police Commissioner Harold Salisbury, as controversy broke out over whether he had improperly interfered with a judicial investigation. In addition, policy problems and unemployment began to mount, as well as unsubstantiated rumours of corruption and personal impropriety. Dunstan became increasingly short-tempered, and the strain was increased by the death of his second wife. His resignation from the premiership and politics in 1979 was abrupt after collapsing due to ill health, but he would live for another 20 years, remaining a vocal and outspoken campaigner for progressive social policy. The Don Dunstan Foundation was established shortly before his death in 1999, to honour his name and to help bring research, policy makers and community groups together, with the aim of improving meeting social needs in South Australia.
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, (22 April 1916 – 12 March 1999) was an American-born violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. He played the Soil Stradivarius considered one of the finest violins made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari.
Iris Murdoch
Alzheimer's disease
Dame Jean Iris Murdoch (; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was a British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her first published novel, Under the Net, was selected in 1998 as one of Modern Library's 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 1987, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Her books include The Bell (1958), A Severed Head (1961), The Red and the Green (1965), The Nice and the Good (1968), The Black Prince (1973), Henry and Cato (1976), The Sea, the Sea (1978, Booker Prize), The Philosopher's Pupil (1983), The Good Apprentice (1985), The Book and the Brotherhood (1987), The Message to the Planet (1989), and The Green Knight (1993). In 2008, The Times ranked Murdoch twelfth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
Mary Kay Bergman
Firearm, Suicide
With over 60 credits to her name between 1991 and 2002, Mary Kay Bergman was an extremely versatile voice actress. She grew up a big fan of Walt Disney animated entertainment, and fittingly, her earliest voiceover credit was in the enormously successful "Beauty and the Beast"; not only did Bergman provide the part of minor characters, but she also sang the track "Belle" on the film's soundtrack. Within the next year, she had landed a recurring part on Disney's cartoon series "The Little Mermaid," which was intended as a prequel to the 1989 movie, and as the voice of "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" villain Dr. Blight. Bergman was subsequently cast in countless animated shows of varying levels of sophistication, and also started providing voiceovers for video games. During the mid-to-late '90s, around the same time that she played Quasimodo's Mother in Disney's animated "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and various characters in the studio's "Hercules," she began working on a new cable series called "South Park." Frequently obscene and offensive, "South Park" became a huge hit, and Bergman would voice several important supporting characters, including Liane Cartman and Mayor McDaniels, from 1997 to 1999. One of her last voiceover parts was Snow White for a Disney commercial. Interestingly, while growing up she lived near the home of Adriana Caselotti, who voiced the character in the 1937 animated classic.
Barry Winchell
Murder
Barry Winchell (August 31, 1977 – July 6, 1999) was an infantry soldier in the United States Army, whose murder by a fellow soldier, Calvin Glover, became a point of reference in the ongoing debate about the policy known as "Don't ask, don't tell", which did not allow U.S. military gays, bisexuals, and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation. (Winchell was dating a transgender woman, Calpernia Addams).
Paul Cadmus
Paul Cadmus (December 17, 1904 – December 12, 1999) was an American artist widely known for his egg tempera paintings of gritty social interactions in urban settings. He also produced many highly finished drawings of single nude male figures. His paintings combine elements of eroticism and social critique in a style often called magic realism.
Michel Petrucciani
Pneumonia
Michel Petrucciani (French pronunciation: [miʃɛl petʁutʃani]; Italian: [petrutˈtʃaːni]; 28 December 1962 – 6 January 1999) was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. He became one of the most accomplished jazz pianists of his generation despite having arms that caused him pain.
Pee Wee Reese
Lung cancer
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Reese is also famous for his support of his teammate Jackie Robinson, the first modern African American player in the major leagues, especially in Robinson's difficult first years.
Theodore Hall
Cancer
Theodore Alvin Hall (October 20, 1925 – November 1, 1999) was an American physicist and an atomic spy for the Soviet Union, who, during his work on US efforts to develop the first and second atomic bombs during World War II (the Manhattan Project), gave a detailed description of the "Fat Man" plutonium bomb, and of several processes for purifying plutonium, to Soviet intelligence. His brother, Edward N. Hall, was a rocket scientist who worked on intercontinental ballistic missiles for the United States government.
Paddy Chew
AIDS
Paddy Chew (simplified Chinese: 周丰林; traditional Chinese: 周豐林; pinyin: Zhōu Fēng Lín; 29 March 1960 – 21 August 1999) was the first Singaporean person with HIV/AIDS to come out to the general public.
Franklin S. Cooper
Franklin Seaney Cooper (April 29, 1908 – February 20, 1999) was an American physicist and inventor who was a pioneer in speech research.[1]
Ernst Günther
Ernst Harry Ingemar Günther (3 June 1933 – 8 December 1999) was a Swedish actor. He appeared in 66 films and television shows between 1962 and 1999. He starred in the 1974 film Gangsterfilmen, which was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. At the 28th Guldbagge Awards he won the Creative Achievement award.
Amália Rodrigues
Natural causes
Amália Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈmaliɐ ʁuˈðɾiɣɨʃ]) or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese fadista (fado singer) and actress. Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen of Fado"), Rodrigues was instrumental in popularising fado worldwide and travelled internationally throughout her career. She became one of the most important figures during the genre's revival in the twentieth century and was a leading female fadista during her 50-year recording and stage career. Rodrigues remains an iconic figure and inspiration to other fado and popular music artists such as Madredeus, Dulce Pontes, Mariza and Cristina Branco. As of 1999, she had sold over 30 million records worldwide. Amália remains the best-selling Portuguese artist in history.
Mel Tormé
Stroke
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925–June 5, 1999), known professionally as Mel Tormé and nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, a singer of jazz standards, a jazz composer and arranger, drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells.
Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma pronunciation (19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was the ninth President of India, serving from 1992 to 1997. Prior to his presidency, Sharma had been the eighth Vice President of India, serving under R. Venkataraman. He was also the Chief Minister (1952–1956) of Bhopal State, and Cabinet Minister (1956–1967), holding the portfolios of Education, Law, Public Works, Industry and Commerce, National Resources and Separate Revenue. He was the President of the Indian National Congress in 1972–1974 and returned to the Government as Union Minister for Communications from 1974 to 1977. The International Bar Association presented Sharma with the 'Living Legends of Law Award of Recognition' for his outstanding contribution to the legal profession internationally and for commitment to the rule of law.Sharma was born in Bhopal, then the capital of the princely state of Bhopal.
Clayton Moore
Myocardial infarction
Although best-known as TV's "The Lone Ranger," Clayton Moore also appeared in dozens of Westerns and serials in the 1940s and 50s. The dark, handsome Chicagoan worked as a model and circus aerialist before heading to Hollywood as a stuntman and extra in 1938. With the help of his girlfriend, actress Lupe Velez, he began getting roles in 1940. He made brief appearances in a handful of UA films ("Kit Carson" and "The Son of Monte Cristo," both 1940; "International Lady," 1941; "The Bachelor's Daughters," 1946), but spent most of the decade at minor studios like Monogram and Republic.
Bernie Faloney
Colorectal cancer
Bernie Faloney (June 15, 1932 – June 14, 1999) was a professional football player in the Canadian Football League (primarily with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and an outstanding American college football player at the University of Maryland. Born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Faloney is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the Western Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, and the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Faloney's jersey #10 was retired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1999. In 2005, Faloney was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. In 2006, Faloney was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's Top 50 Players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
Tobin Wolf
Theodore Walter "Tobin" Wolf, also known as Ted Wolf (July 21, 1922 – June 21, 1999), was an American writer who was responsible for creating the animated television series ThunderCats. He was also an inventor with several patents to his name. Wolf was born in 1922 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and died in 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Yury Vasilyevich Malyshev
Yury Vasilyevich Malyshev (Russian: Ю́рий Васи́льевич Ма́лышев) was born in the village Nikolayevsk, Stalingrad Oblast (Volgograd Oblast), USSR, on 27 August 1941. He studied in Taganrog's high school N24, 1949-1959. He was married with two children. He was selected as a cosmonaut on 7 May 1967. He retired on 20 July 1988. He died on 8 November 1999 in Zvyozdny Gorodok, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation. He was Commander of Soyuz T-2 (5–9 June 1980) and Soyuz T-11 (3–11 April 1984).
Catfish Hunter
Motor neuron disease
James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From 1965 to 1979, he was a pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees. Hunter was the first pitcher since 1915 to win 200 career games by the age of 31. He is often referred to as baseball's first big-money free agent. He was a member of five World Series championship teams. Hunter retired in 1979 after developing persistent arm problems. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in his early 50s. He died of the disease about a year after his diagnosis. Hunter has been the subject of numerous popular culture references, including the Bob Dylan song "Catfish".
Judson S. Swearingen
Dr. Judson S. Swearingen (January 11, 1907 – September 5, 1999) was a theoretician, hands-on manager, inventor and entrepreneur. He made major contributions to the technology of cryogenic expanders, compressors, and to the design of shaft seals for high-speed machinery.He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas (UT) in 1933. Prior to joining the UT faculty in 1939 he was an entrepreneur and co-owned a small cracking plant and a natural gasoline plant. Swearingen was a member of the National Academy of Engineering beginning in 1977.
Charlotte Perriand
Charlotte Perriand, was a French architect and designer. Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society. In her article L’Art de Vivre from 1981 she states “The extension of the art of dwelling is the art of living- living in harmony with man’s deepest drives and with his adopted or fabricated environment.”
Thornton Wilson
Thornton "T" Arnold Wilson (February 8, 1921 – April 10, 1999) was the Chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of Boeing corporation.Born February 8, 1921, in Sikeston, Missouri, Wilson earned his B.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Iowa State University in Ames and a M.S. degree from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He also attended the MIT Sloan School of Management's Sloan Fellows program, but did not graduate. While attending Iowa State, Wilson was a member of the swim team. Wilson was awarded the NAS Award in Aeronautical Engineering in 1985 from the National Academy of Sciences. In 1992, he was the recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for his distinguished contributions to commercial aviation. Following his graduation from Iowa State, Wilson joined Boeing in 1943 and worked on bomber programs, notably the swept-wing B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress, and also led the proposal team that won the contract for the Minuteman missile. He became company president in 1968, chief executive officer in 1969, and chairman in 1972. Wilson stepped down as CEO in 1986 at age 65, succeeded by Frank Shrontz, and retired as chairman at the end of 1987. He died at age 78 at his winter home in Palm Springs, California.The main glass gallery of the Museum of Flight in Seattle, opened in 1987, is named for Wilson.
Doreen Valiente
Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente (4 January 1922 – 1 September 1999) was an English Wiccan who was responsible for writing much of the early religious liturgy within the tradition of Gardnerian Wicca. An author and poet, she also published five books dealing with Wicca and related esoteric subjects. Born to a middle-class family in Surrey, Valiente began practicing magic while a teenager. Working as a translator at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, she also married twice in this period. Developing her interest in occultism after the war, she began practicing ceremonial magic with a friend while living in Bournemouth. Learning of Wicca, in 1953 she was initiated into the Gardnerian tradition by its founder, Gerald Gardner. Soon becoming the High Priestess of Gardner's Bricket Wood coven, she helped him to produce or adapt many important scriptural texts for Wicca, such as The Witches Rune and the Charge of the Goddess, which were incorporated into the early Gardnerian Book of Shadows. In 1957, a schism resulted in Valiente and her followers leaving Gardner in order to form their own short-lived coven. After investigating the Wiccan tradition of Charles Cardell, she was initiated into Raymond Howard's Coven of Atho in 1963. She went on the following year to work with Robert Cochrane in his coven, the Clan of Tubal Cain, although she later broke from this group. Eager to promote and defend her religion, she played a leading role in both the Witchcraft Research Association and then the Pagan Front during the 1960s and 1970s. That latter decade also saw her briefly involve herself in far right politics as well as becoming a keen ley hunter and proponent of Earth mysteries. As well as regularly writing articles on esoteric topics for various magazines, from the 1960s onward she authored a number of books on the subject of Wicca, as well as contributing to the publication of works by Wiccan friends Stewart Farrar, Janet Farrar, and Evan John Jones. In these works also she became an early advocate of the idea that anyone could practice Wicca without requiring initiation by a pre-existing Wiccan, while also contributing to and encouraging research into the religion's early history. Living in Brighton during these years, she was a member of the Silver Malkin coven and worked with Ron Cook, who was both her partner and initiate. In her final years she served as patron of the Sussex-based Centre for Pagan Studies prior to her death from pancreatic cancer. Valiente's magical artefacts and papers were bequeathed to her last High Priest, John Belham-Payne, who donated them to a charitable trust, the Doreen Valiente Foundation, in 2011. Having had a significant influence in the history of Wicca, she is widely revered in the Wiccan community as "the Mother of Modern Witchcraft", and has been the subject of two biographies.
David Duncan
David Duncan was a writer, actor, and director who was known for writing "Time Machine," "Fantastic Voyage," and "The Time Machine."
Joseph Heller
Myocardial infarction
Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the novel Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice.
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell was a writer who was known for writing "Beetlejuice," "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," and "Cold Moon."
David Strickland
Suicide
David Gordon Strickland, Jr. (October 14, 1969 – March 22, 1999) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the boyish rock music reporter Todd Stities in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan.
Gene Rayburn
Heart failure
Gene Rayburn (December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the popular American television game show Match Game for over two decades.
Charles "Buddy" Rogers
Natural causes
He starred in the first Hollywood film to earn an Academy Award for Best Picture, but Charles "Buddy" Rogers's most cherished role was as Mr. Mary Pickford. Scouted by Paramount in 1925, the surpassingly handsome university undergrad was introduced to moviegoers in comedies starring W. C. Fields and Clara Bow. Paramount brought him west in 1927, but prominent parts failed to materialize. Rogers was on the verge of quitting when director William Wellman cast him as a World War I fighter pilot in "Wings" (1927), whose innovation and realism were rewarded with the first Best Picture Oscar. Rogers found offscreen love in the arms of his "My Best Girl" (1927) co-star Mary Pickford, but he had to wait a decade for Pickford to divorce Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. In the interim, he led a dance band, debuted on Broadway, worked in England, and developed a cinematic reputation as America's Boyfriend, a distinction that netted him 20,000 fan letters a month. After his 1937 marriage to Pickford, Rogers withdrew from the limelight to produce films, to serve his country in World War II, and to entertain American troops during the Korean War. Rogers and Pickford remained one of Hollywood's longest-married couples, a union that lasted until her death in 1979. Devoted to philanthropic pursuits and preserving Pickford's legacy, Rogers enjoyed the quintessential Palm Springs retirement until his own passing in 1999 marked the final chapter of an American success story that could have been written only in Hollywood.
Curtis Mayfield
Diabetes mellitus
Curtis Mayfield, a figure of monumental significance in the realm of soul music, etched his name in history with his prodigious talent and profound lyrics. Born in Chicago in 1942, Mayfield's journey in music commenced in his neighborhood church choir, which gradually paved the way for his inevitable breakthrough in the musical landscape. His passion for music was largely shaped by his grandmother's gospel influence and the diverse musical culture of his surroundings. In the mid-1950s, Mayfield joined forces with Jerry Butler, Sam Gooden, and brothers Richard and Arthur Brooks to form the acclaimed group "The Impressions." The group significantly impacted the evolution of R&B into soul, producing a string of hits that resonated with the Civil Rights Movement, encapsulating the spirit of change and optimism. Their most notable songs included "People Get Ready" and "Keep On Pushing," both penned by Mayfield. His unique guitar-playing style, characterized by tuning his guitar to the black keys of the piano, contributed immensely to the distinctive sound of the group. In the 1970s, Mayfield ventured into a solo career and made significant strides that solidified his status as a celebrated singer-songwriter and producer. His soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Super Fly remains one of his most enduring works, offering a poignant social commentary that transcended the confines of the film. Despite a tragic accident during an outdoor concert in 1990 that rendered him paralyzed, Mayfield's spirit was unbroken. He continued to compose music until his death in 1999, leaving behind a rich legacy that continues to inspire generations of musicians and listeners alike.
Edward Dmytryk
Cardiovascular disease, Renal failure
As one of classic Hollywood's more prominent directors, Edward Dmytryk appeared primed for greatness following a string of successful movies in the 1940s, until he was blacklisted as one of the infamous Hollywood Ten following his refusal to name names to Congress during the Red Scare. Dmytryk started his filmmaking career as an editor and segued to directing by taking over production of "Million Dollar Legs" (1939). That led to a series of B-movies like "Golden Gloves" (1940) and "The Devil Command" (1941), until finally making the excellent film noir "Murder, My Sweet" (1944). From there, he entered his fruitful period with "Back to Bataan" (1945), Till the End of Time" (1946) and "So Well Remembered" (1947), before helming the politically-charged noir classic, "Crossfire" (1947). It was then that Dmytryk ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee, leading to his blacklisting from Hollywood and a brief stint in jail after his return from exile in England. With the help of producer Stanley Kramer, Dmytryk revitalized his career with "The Caine Mutiny" (1954) and went on to make a number of quality films like "Broken Lance" (1954), "The End of the Affair" (1955), "Raintree Country" (1957) and "The Young Lions" (1958). Though his career sputtered in the following decade, Dmytryk managed to direct a few more hits and became one of the few blacklisted filmmakers to mount a bona fide comeback.
Martin Wong
AIDS
Martin Wong (July 11, 1946 – August 12, 1999) was a Chinese-American painter of the late twentieth century. His work has been described as a meticulous blend of social realism and visionary art styles. Wong's paintings often explored multiple ethnic and racial identities, exhibited cross-cultural elements, demonstrated multilingualism, and celebrated his queer sexuality.
Abdelkader Hachani
Firearm, Assassination
Abdelkader Hachani ( (listen); Arabic: عبد القادر حشاني‎; 26 December 1956 – 22 November 1999) was a leading figure and founding member of the Islamic Salvation Front (or FIS), an Algerian Islamic party.
Waldo Semon
Waldo Lonsbury Semon (September 10, 1898 – May 26, 1999) was an American inventor born in Demopolis, Alabama. He is credited with inventing methods for making polyvinyl chloride useful.
Neelan Tiruchelvam
Assassination
Neelakandan Tiruchelvam (Tamil: நீலகண்டன் திருச்செல்வம்; 31 January 1944 – 29 July 1999) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, academic, politician and Member of Parliament.
Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr
Assassination
Sadeq al-Sadr (Arabic: محمد محمّد صادق الصدر‎; Muḥammad Muḥammad Ṣādiq aṣ-Ṣadr) (March 23, 1943 – February 19, 1999), often referred to as Muhammad Sadiq as-Sadr which is his father's name, was a prominent Iraqi Twelver Shi'a cleric of the rank of Grand Ayatollah. He called for government reform and the release of detained Shi'a leaders. The growth of his popularity, often referred to as the followers of the Vocal Hawza, also put him in competition with other Shi'a leaders, including Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim who was exiled in Iran. He is the father of Muqtada al-Sadr, one of the most influential religious and popular figures in Iraq.
Karen Demirchyan
Firearm, Assassination
Karen Demirchyan (Armenian: Կարեն Դեմիրճյան) (April 17, 1932 – October 27, 1999) was a Soviet and Armenian politician. He served as the First Secretary of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1974 to 1988. Soon after his reemergence into active politics in independent Armenia in the late 1990s, he became President of the National Assembly in 1999 until his assassination with other politicians in parliament in the Armenian parliament shooting.
Lakshman Algama
Assassination
Major-General (Rtd) Chulasoka Lakshman "Lucky" Algama VSV, USP, ndc, psc (June 2, 1940 – December 18, 1999) was a former Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and a United National Party activist after retirement. Lucky Algama was educated at Ananda College, Colombo. Algama held several key posts in the army including Commander Security Forces Headquarters East (SF HQ (E)) and was responsible for enabling the government to hold elections in the eastern province in 1993. He was killed in a suicide bombing that killed twelve people and injured another seven at a political rally in Ja-Ela Colombo. The Sri Lankan government claimed that he was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber.
Sylvia Sidney
Esophageal cancer
During the Great Depression, actress Sylvia Sidney was said to possess the saddest eyes in Hollywood. The native New Yorker had only just debuted on Broadway when the movies lured her westward, where she cornered the market playing little ladies with big problems in "City Streets" (1930) and "An American Tragedy" (1930). (The actress once joked that Paramount paid her by the tear.) In time, she enjoyed more varied roles, among them "Madame Butterfly" (1932), while Fritz Lang made expressionistic use of her in "Fury" (1936) and "You Only Live Once" (1937). Sidney also found sanctuary on the stage, performing with the Group Theatre on Broadway and touring as Jane Eyre and Eliza Doolittle. Sidney was later drawn out of retirement to play Joanne Woodward's elderly mother in "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams" (1973), for which she received an Oscar nomination. The attention propelled Sydney towards a comeback, in which the diminutive yet wholly indomitable actress was a bracing presence in such films as "Damien: Omen II" (1978), "Beetlejuice" (1988), "Used People" (1992), and "Mars Attacks!" (1998). A lifelong smoker, Sydney succumbed to throat cancer in 1999, her death capping the picaresque career of a leading lady whose star shone bright.
Oliver Reed
Myocardial infarction
A versatile performer who made his living playing ruthless villains, actor Oliver Reed also developed a reputation as one of the bad boys of British cinema. In the 1960s and 1970s, he - along with pals Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Peter O'Toole - notoriously raised hell while drinking themselves into oblivion, leaving behind a long line of battered hotel rooms and broken bones, courtesy of numerous bar fights. With no formal training to speak of, Reed burst onto the scene with "The Curse of the Werewolf" (1961) and delivered a memorable performance as the evil Bill Sykes in the Oscar-winning musical "Oliver!" (1968). He was delightful as the amoral head of "The Assassination Bureau" (1969), and was at his swashbuckling best as Athos in "The Three Musketeers" (1973) and its sequel "The Four Musketeers" (1974). From there, Reed embarked on a series of misbegotten films like "The Big Sleep" (1978), "The Sting II" (1983) and "Castaway" (1986), none of which added any value to his career. Reed had a bit of fun as the evil Vulcan in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (1988) and Billy Bones in "Treasure Island" (TNT, 1990), only to once again make several rather forgettable pictures. But Reed began reviving himself once more late in his career, only to suffer a fatal heart attack in the midst of production on the Oscar-winning "Gladiator" (2000), leaving behind a long career that to critics and fans seemed unworthy of the actor's considerable gifts.
Roderick M. Chisholm
Roderick Milton Chisholm was an American philosopher known for his work on epistemology, metaphysics, free will, value theory, and the philosophy of perception. He received his Ph.D. at Harvard University under Clarence Irving Lewis and Donald C. Williams, and taught at Brown University. He served as president of the Metaphysical Society of America in 1973.
Gertrude B. Elion
Gertrude "Trudy" Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black for their use of innovative methods of rational drug design for the development of new drugs. This new method focused on understanding the target of the drug rather than simply using trial-and-error. Her work led to the creation of the AIDS drug AZT. Her well known works also include the development of the first immunosuppressive drug, azathioprine, used to fight rejection in organ transplants, and the first successful antiviral drug, acyclovir (ACV), used in the treatment of herpes infection.
Vazgen Sargsyan
Firearm, Assassination
Vazgen Sargsyan (Armenian: Վազգեն Սարգսյան, pronounced [vɑzˈɡɛn sɑɾkʰsˈjɑn]; 5 March 1959 – 27 October 1999) was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 1999. He served as Armenia's Prime Minister from 11 June 1999 until his assassination on 27 October of that year. He rose to prominence during the mass movement for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia in the late 1980s and led Armenian volunteer groups during the early clashes with Azerbaijani forces. Appointed Defence Minister by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan soon after Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union in late 1991, Sargsyan became the most prominent commander of Armenian forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. In different positions, he regulated the military operations in the war area until 1994, when a ceasefire was reached ending the war with the de facto unification of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with Armenia. In the post-war years, Sargsyan tightened his grip on the Armed Forces, establishing himself as a virtual strongman. After strongly supporting Ter-Petrosyan to retain power, he forced the president out of office in 1998 due to his support for concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement negotiations, and helped Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan to be elected president. With their relations deteriorated, Sargsyan merged the influential war veterans group Yerkrapah into the Republican Party and joined forces with Armenia's ex-communist leader Karen Demirchyan. In the May 1999 elections, their reform-minded alliance secured a comfortable majority in the National Assembly. Sargsyan became prime minister, emerging as the de facto decision-maker in Armenia with effective control of the military and the legislature.Sargsyan, along with Demirchyan and several others, was assassinated in the Armenian parliament shooting of 27 October 1999. The perpetrators were sentenced to life in prison. However, the distrust toward the trial process gave birth to a number of conspiracy theories. Some experts and politicians argue that their assassination was masterminded by Kocharyan and National Security Minister Serzh Sargsyan. Others have suspected the possible involvement of foreign powers in the shooting. Despite his mixed legacy, Sargsyan is now widely recognized as a national hero across the political spectrum and by the public. Given the honorific Sparapet, he made significant contributions to the establishment of Armenia as independent state and ensuring its security as the founder of the Armenian Army. He has also been criticized by human rights organizations for being undemocratic, especially for his role in elections. Sargsyan was awarded the highest titles of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh—National Hero of Armenia and Hero of Artsakh.
Lena Zavaroni
Anorexia nervosa
Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer and a television show host. At ten years of age, with her album Ma! (He's Making Eyes At Me), she was the youngest person in history to have an album in the top ten of the UK Albums Chart. Later she starred in her own television series', made numerous TV guest star appearances, and appeared on stage. From the age of thirteen, Zavaroni suffered anorexia nervosa and also developed clinical depression when she was fifteen. Following an operation to cure her depression, Zavaroni died at the age of thirty five from pneumonia on 1 October 1999.
Anthony Stanislas Radziwill
Prince Anthony Stanisław Albert Radziwiłł (Polish pronunciation: [ra'd͡͡ʑivʲiww]; August 4, 1959 – August 10, 1999) was a Swiss-born American television executive and filmmaker. He was the nephew of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Derek Nimmo
Pneumonia
Derek Robert Nimmo (19 September 1930 – 24 February 1999) was an English character actor, producer and author. He was particularly associated with upper class "silly-ass" roles, and clerical roles.
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (May 9, 1949 – April 9, 1999) was a military officer in Niger who seized power in a January 1996 coup d'état and ruled the country until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999. Maïnassara, a member of Niger's Hausa ethnic majority, was born in Dogondutchi in 1949, and pursued a military career. Maïnassara was named Army Chief of Staff in March 1995, under a constitution which had moved Niger from military rule in 1991.
Manny Babbitt
Lethal injection
Manuel Pina "Manny" Babbitt (May 3, 1949 – May 4, 1999) was a U.S. Marine veteran of the Vietnam War who was convicted of the murder of a 78-year-old woman, Leah Schendel, during a burglary in Sacramento, California in 1980. He was executed by the state of California by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, one day after his 50th birthday. The murder was committed during a string of robberies and burglaries and the day after the murder Babbitt committed at least one sexual assault.Babbitt had been wounded at the bloody 1968 Battle of Khe Sanh in Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam. As part of his defense, he claimed he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which he claimed caused him to commit his crimes and to later lose all memories of the crimes.One year before his execution, while on death row, Babbitt was awarded a Purple Heart medal for the wounds he had received at the Battle of Khe Sanh.Babbitt refused his last meal and asked that the $50 allotted be given to homeless Vietnam veterans. His last words were: "I forgive all of you." He was buried in his native Wareham, Massachusetts, on May 10, 1999, with full military honors.The movie Last Day of Freedom, nominated for an Oscar in 2016, depicts his brother's narrative of the events that led to Babbitt's execution.
Frank De Vol
Heart failure
Frank Denny De Vol (September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999) was an American actor, and using the name De Vol was an arranger and composer. As a composer he was nominated for four Academy Awards.
George V. Higgins
George V. Higgins (November 13, 1939 – November 6, 1999) was an American author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, raconteur and college professor. He authored 29 books, including Bomber's Law, Trust and Kennedy for the Defense and is best known for his bestselling crime novels, including The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which established the Boston noir genre of gangster tales that spawned several popular films by followers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
David Logan
Respiratory failure
David Logan (October 25, 1956 – January 13, 1999) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 12th round of the 1979 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh. A nose tackle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1979 to 1986, Logan finished his career ranked second on the team's all-time sack list and sixth in career tackles. Named an All-Pro in 1984 and alternate three times in his career, finishing his NFL playing career with the Green Bay Packers in 1987.
Leonard Petrosyan
Assassination
Leonard Petrosyan (Armenian: Լեոնարդ Պետրոսյան; 13 October 1953 – 27 October 1999) was the second President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic for almost 6 months (20 March 1997 to 8 September 1997). He also served as Prime Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from December 1994 to June 1998. He was killed in the 1999 Armenian parliament shooting while serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia.
Andrew L. Stone
Andrew L. Stone (July 16, 1902 – June 9, 1999) was an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film Julie in 1957 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Known for his hard-hitting, realistic films, Stone frequently collaborated with his first wife, editor and producer Virginia Lively Stone (m 1946). Though few of his films achieved mainstream success, Stone was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his 1956 thriller Julie. Stone's stories frequently featured characters called Cole, Pringle and Pope, usually in law enforcement and interchangeably played by the same actors—Jack Kruschen, Barney Phillips and John Gallaudet. Roles with those names were included in A Blueprint for Murder, The Night Holds Terror, Julie, Cry Terror! and The Decks Ran Red.
Davis Allen
Davis Allen was an American interior designer and furniture designer. He was noted as a pioneer in the design of interior corporate environments and had a forty-year tenure at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He also designed the Andover chair. In 1985, he was inducted into the Interior Design Magazine Hall Of Fame.
Steen Fenrich
Steen Fenrich (1980 – September 9, 1999) was a 19-year-old African-American gay man who lived in Bayside, Queens, New York. In March 2000 his dismembered remains were discovered. Police believe his stepfather, John Fenrich, killed him in a homophobic rage.
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Myocardial infarction
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel The Mists of Avalon, and the Darkover series. While she is noted for her feminist perspective in her writing, her popularity has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations against her of child sexual abuse and rape by two of her children, Mark and Moira Greyland, and others.
William Rous
Lieutenant General The Hon. Sir William Edward Rous (23 February 1939 – 25 May 1999) was a British Army officer who served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces.
Tony Crombie
Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, occasional but capable pianist and vibraphonist, and an energizing influence on the British jazz scene over six decades.
Roman Hruska
Roman Lee Hruska (August 16, 1904 – April 25, 1999) was a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Nebraska. Hruska was known as one of the most vocal conservatives in the United States Senate during the 1960s and 1970s. Hruska was also co-founder of the Douglas Theatre Company, based in Nebraska.
Harvey Jackins
Carl Harvey Jackins was the founder, leader and principal theorist of Re-evaluation Counseling.
G. S. Maddala
Gangadharrao Soundalyarao "G. S." Maddala (May 21, 1933 – June 4, 1999) was an Indian American economist, mathematician, and teacher, known for his contributions in the field of econometrics and for the textbooks he authored in this field.
Luagalau Levaula Kamu
Assassination
Luagalau Levaula Kamu (died 16 July 1999) was a lawyer and Minister of Public Works in Samoa, whose assassination shocked the Samoan and Pacific Islands community. Having been trained as a lawyer in New Zealand, at Victoria and Auckland Universities, he served as a chairman of the Samoan Advisory Council in New Zealand, and had practised law in Samoa before entering parliament. He was fatally shot during a social function celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ruling Human Rights Protection Party. His assassin was a 34-year-old man, Eletise Leafa Vitale, the son of Leafa Vitale who had been the previous Minister of Public Works (and who had been dismissed from that position the preceding November by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, following a scandal involving accusations of embezzlement of public funds). Involved in the plot was another politician, erstwhile Minister of Post and Telecommunications Toi Aukuso. His wife is Maiava Visekota Kamu-Peteru, a lawyer and former Member of Parliament.
Glenn T. Seaborg
Glenn Theodore Seaborg (; April 19, 1912 – February 25, 1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements earned him a share of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work in this area also led to his development of the actinide concept and the arrangement of the actinide series in the periodic table of the elements. Seaborg spent most of his career as an educator and research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, serving as a professor, and, between 1958 and 1961, as the university's second chancellor. He advised ten US Presidents – from Harry S. Truman to Bill Clinton – on nuclear policy and was Chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission from 1961 to 1971, where he pushed for commercial nuclear energy and the peaceful applications of nuclear science. Throughout his career, Seaborg worked for arms control. He was a signatory to the Franck Report and contributed to the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. He was a well-known advocate of science education and federal funding for pure research. Toward the end of the Eisenhower administration, he was the principal author of the Seaborg Report on academic science, and, as a member of President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education, he was a key contributor to its 1983 report "A Nation at Risk". Seaborg was the principal or co-discoverer of ten elements: plutonium, americium, curium, berkelium, californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, nobelium and element 106, which, while he was still living, was named seaborgium in his honor. He also discovered more than 100 atomic isotopes and is credited with important contributions to the chemistry of plutonium, originally as part of the Manhattan Project where he developed the extraction process used to isolate the plutonium fuel for the second atomic bomb. Early in his career, he was a pioneer in nuclear medicine and discovered isotopes of elements with important applications in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, including iodine-131, which is used in the treatment of thyroid disease. In addition to his theoretical work in the development of the actinide concept, which placed the actinide series beneath the lanthanide series on the periodic table, he postulated the existence of super-heavy elements in the transactinide and superactinide series. After sharing the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Edwin McMillan, he received approximately 50 honorary doctorates and numerous other awards and honors. The list of things named after Seaborg ranges from the chemical element seaborgium to the asteroid 4856 Seaborg. He was a prolific author, penning numerous books and 500 journal articles, often in collaboration with others. He was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the person with the longest entry in Who's Who in America.
Harry Blackmun
Surgical complications
Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Blackmun ultimately became one of the most liberal justices on the Court. He is best known as the author of the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade, which prohibits many state and federal restrictions on abortion.Raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Blackmun graduated from Harvard Law School in 1932. He practiced law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, representing clients such as the Mayo Clinic. In 1959, he was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After the defeat of two previous nominees, President Richard Nixon successfully nominated Blackmun to the Supreme Court to replace Associate Justice Abe Fortas. Blackmun and his close friend, conservative Chief Justice Warren Burger, were often referred to as the "Minnesota Twins," but Blackmun drifted away from Burger during their tenure on the court. Blackmun retired from the Court during the administration of President Bill Clinton, and was succeeded by Stephen Breyer. Aside from Roe v. Wade, notable majority opinions written by Blackmun include Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, Bigelow v. Commonwealth of Virginia, and Stanton v. Stanton. He joined part of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey but also filed a separate opinion, warning that Roe was in jeopardy. He wrote dissenting opinions in notable cases such as Furman v. Georgia, Bowers v. Hardwick, and DeShaney v. Winnebago County.