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In the year 1981

517 Notable deaths

Will Durant

American historian, philosopher and writer (1885–1981).

Born November 5th, 1885 in North Adams. [ref]

Died November 7th, 1981 at 96 years old in Los Angeles. [ref]

Boris Sagal

American director, television producer (1923–1981).

Born October 18th, 1923 in Dnipro.

Died May 22nd, 1981 at 57 years old in Timberline Lodge (decapitation).

Beulah Bondi

American actress.

Born May 3rd, 1889 in Valparaiso. [ref]

Died January 11th, 1981 at 91 years old in Hollywood (fall). [ref]

Adele Astaire

American dancer and entertainer (1896-1981).

Born September 10th, 1896 in Omaha.

Died January 25th, 1981 at 84 years old in Tucson, Scottsdale (stroke).

Soong Ching-ling

Former vice president of the people's republic of china and third wife of sun yat-sen (1893–1981).

Born January 27th, 1893 in Shanghai. [ref]

Died May 29th, 1981 at 88 years old in Beijing (leukemia). [ref]

Lotte Lenya

Austrian singer and actress (1898-1981).

Born October 18th, 1898 in Vienna.

Died November 27th, 1981 at 83 years old in Manhattan (cancer).

Lotte Reiniger

German silhouette animator and film director (1899–1981).

Born June 2nd, 1899 in Charlottenburg. [ref]

Died June 19th, 1981 at 82 years old in Dettenhausen. [ref]

Juan Trippe

American commercial aviation pioneer and founder of pan american world airways.

Born June 27th, 1899 in Sea Bright.

Died April 3rd, 1981 at 81 years old in New York City (stroke).

Paddy Chayefsky

American playwright, screenwriter and novelist (1923-1981).

Born January 29th, 1923 in The Bronx. [ref]

Died August 1st, 1981 at 58 years old in New York City (cancer). [ref]

Fred Trump Jr.

American airplane pilot; elder brother of donald trump.

Born October 14th, 1938 in Queens. [ref]

Died September 26th, 1981 at 42 years old in Jamaica (myocardial infarction, alcoholism). [ref]

Deaths 41 to 50 of 517

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1982 »

Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is just a passing shadow of a cloud. Yann Martel