The following is a list of notable deaths in March 1988.
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Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:
- Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.
1
- Joe Besser, 80, American actor and comedian (The Three Stooges, The Joey Bishop Show), heart failure.[1]
- Tommy Breen, 75, Irish international footballer (Manchester United, Ireland).
- Ernest Cuneo, 82, American newspaperman (McClure Newspaper Syndicate, The Saturday Evening Post), heart attack.[2]
- Sohan Lal Dwivedi, 82, Indian poet.
- Yoshi Katō, 75, Japanese stage and film actor.
- Tommy Potter, 69, American jazz double bassist.
- Jean Le Poulain, 63, French stage actor and director, heart attack.[3]
- Ed Roman, 57, American college basketballer, convicted of point shaving, leukemia.[4]
- Kay Sutton, 72, American actress.
- Benjamin F. Wilson, 66, American soldier in the US army, Medal of Honor.[5]
2
- Chuck Arnett, 60, American artist and dancer, AIDS.[6]
- Raymond Hewitt, 47, American civil rights activist, leader of the Black Panther Party, heart attack.[7]
- J. Saunders Redding, 81, American professor and author, heart failure.[8]
- Leslie Turner, 88, American cartoonist and writer (Captain Easy).[9]
3
- Peter D. Martin, 65, American college professor and founder of City Lights Bookstore, emphysema.[10]
- Henryk Szeryng, 69, Polish-Mexican violinist, cerebral hemorrhage.[11]
- Lois Wilson, 93, American silent-screen actress (The Covered Wagon, The Great Gatsby), pneumonia.[12]
- Sewall Wright, 98, American geneticist, complications of hip fracture.[13]
4
- Ernesto Duarte Brito, 65, Cuban-Spanish musician.[14]
- James Peter Davis, 83, American Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of San Juan and of Santa Fe..[15]
- Parry Moon, 90, American electrical engineer and author.
- Franco Scalamandré, 89, Italian-American textile designer, co-founder of Scalamandré Inc.[16]
5
- Santosh Dutta, 62, Bengali actor (Sonar Kella, Joi Baba Felunath).
- Lewis J. Fields, 78, American lieutenant general in U.S. Marine Corps.[17]
- Alfred Hollings, 81, New Zealand lawyer and cricketer (Wellington).[18]
- Margaret Irving, 90, American actress (The People's Choice, Animal Crackers).[19]
- William L. Marbury Jr., 86, American lawyer at Marbury, Miller & Evans, heart attack.[20]
- Alberto Olmedo, 54, Argentine comedian and actor, fall from building.[21]
6
- Jeanne Aubert, 88, French singer and actress.[22]
- Mairéad Farrell, 31, member of Provisional Irish Republican Army, shot by British army.[23]
- Joan Hassall, 82, English wood engraver and book illustrator.[24]
- Daniel McCann, 30, member of Provisional Irish Republican Army, shot by British army.[25]
- Dick Ricketts, 54, American Major League baseballer (St. Louis Cardinals) and NBA basketballer (St. Louis Hawks), leukemia.[26]
- Stanlake J. W. T. Samkange, 65–66, Zimbabwean writer of historical novels, heart and lung ailments.[27]
- Seán Savage, 23, member of Provisional Irish Republican Army, shot by British army.[28]
7
- Edmund Berkeley, 79, American computer scientist, co-founded the Association for Computing Machinery.[29]
- Guido Celano, 83, Italian actor, voice actor and director.[30]
- Divine, 42, American singer, actor and drag queen (Pink Flamingos, Hairspray), heart failure.[31]
- Gordon Huntley, 62, British steel guitar player (Matthews Southern Comfort), cancer.
- Robert Livingston, 83, American film actor (The Three Mesquiteers, The Bold Caballero), emphysema.[32]
- Joe Loco, 66, Puerto Rican Latin jazz and pop pianist and arranger.[33]
- Rafael Quiñones Vidal, 95, Puerto Rican journalist.
8
- Gordon Carpenter, 68, American basketballer and Olympic gold medalist, national coach.
- Amar Singh Chamkila, 27, Indian singer and musician, gunned down.[34]
- Ken Colyer, 59, English jazz trumpeter and cornetist.
- Werner Hartmann, 76, German physicist (microelectronics), complications after prostate surgery.[35]
- África de las Heras, 78, Spanish-born Soviet communist.[36]
- Frank Osborne, 91, South-African–born English international footballer and manager (Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham, England).[37]
- Harold Pierce, 70, American entrepreneur, founded Harold's Chicken Shack restaurant chain, prostate cancer.[38]
- Lala Abdul Rashid, 65, Pakistani hockey player and Olympic gold medalist.
- Don Redden, 24, American basketballer, heart failure.[39]
- Guy Tirolien, 71, Guadeloupean poet.[40]
9
- Milton Galamison, 64, American Presbyterian minister, cancer.[41]
- John Joseph Harper, 36, Canadian aboriginal leader, shot by police.[42]
- Kurt Georg Kiesinger, 83, West German politician, Chancellor of Federal Republic of Germany, heart failure.[43]
- Poondi Kumaraswamy, 57, Indian hydrologist (Kumaraswamy distribution).[44]
- Janusz Piekałkiewicz, 62–63, Polish underground soldier, historian, writer and director.
- M. E. Aldrich Rope, 96, English stained-glass artist.
- M. B. Sreenivasan, 62, Indian music director, heart attack.
10
- Glenn Cunningham, 78, American middle-distance runner and Olympic medalist, heart attack.[45]
- Andy Gibb, 30, English singer and songwriter (I Just Want to Be Your Everything, Shadow Dancing), myocarditis.[46]
- Svetislav Glišović, 74, Yugoslavian international footballer and manager (BSK Beograd, Yugoslavia).[47]
- Abdul Khaliq, 54, Pakistani sprinter and Olympian, "The Flying Bird of Asia".[48]
- Hugh Lindsay, 34, English equerry to Queen Elizabeth II, killed in an avalanche.[49]
- Phạm Hùng, 75, Vietnamese politician, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, heart attack.[50]
- Jock Semple, 84, Scottish-born American runner and sports official, cancer.[51]
- Joey Sternaman, 88, American NFL footballer (Chicago Bears).[52]
- William Wordsworth, 79, English composer.[53]
11
- Rashid Bakr, 54, Sudanese politician, Prime Minister of Sudan.
- Christianna Brand, 80, British crime writer and children's author (Green for Danger).
- Harry Brauner, 80, Romanian composer.
- Nicholas Eliot, 74, British peer, Earl of St Germans.[54]
- Khurshid Hasan Khurshid, 64, Indian-Pakistani politician, President of Azad Kashmir, road accident.[55]
12
- Samaresh Basu, 63, Indian writer (Prajapati).
- Alessandro Bausani, 66, Italian scholar of Islam and Middle Eastern studies.
- Romare Bearden, 76, American artist, author and songwriter, complications from bone cancer.[56]
- Arnold Bell, 86, British actor.
- DeWitt Bodeen, 79, American film screenwriter and television writer (Cat People).[57]
- Vicky Longomba, 55, Congolese singer and founding member of TPOK Jazz.[58]
- Billie Rhodes, 93, American actress.[59]
- Bernard Rudofsky, 82, Austrian-American writer and architect (Architecture Without Architects), cancer.[60]
- Karen Steele, 56, American actress and model (Marty, Ride Lonesome), cancer.
13
- Olive Carey, 92, American film and television actress.[61]
- Yngve Ekström, 74, Swedish furniture designer
- John Holmes, 43, American pornographic film actor, cardio-respiratory arrest.[62]
- Patesko, 77, Brazilian international footballer (Palestra Itália, Nacional, Brazil).[63]
- Xavier Saint-Macary, 39, French actor (Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo), heart attack.
- Steno, 71, Italian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer (Un giorno in pretura, Febbre da cavallo).
- Irving Younger, 55, American lawyer and writer, pancreatic cancer.[64]
14
- Abbas Abbasi, 63, Pakistani hereditary leader, Nawab and Amir of Bahawalpur State.
- Willi Apel, 94, German-American musicologist and author (The Harvard Dictionary of Music).[65]
- Bruno Balz, 85, German songwriter.[66]
- Rudolf Gramlich, 79, SS officer and German international footballer (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany).[67]
- Carter B. Magruder, 87, American general in the U.S. Army, lung ailments.[68]
- Henrik Malyan, 62, Georgian-Armenian film director and writer (Nahapet).
- Zeb Terry, 96, American Major League baseballer (Chicago Cubs).[69]
- Saul Weingeroff, 72, American professional wrestling manager.
15
- Laura Caller, 72–73, Peruvian union lawyer.
- Amaro da Cunha, 75, Brazilian rower and Olympian, brother of Carmen Miranda.[70]
- Willie Darden, 54, American murderer, executed.[71]
- Ivan Dubasov, 90, Soviet artist.
- Chevene Bowers King, 64, American attorney and civil rights leader, prostate cancer.[72]
- Henry N. Manney III, 65, American journalist known for writings on cars, motorcycles and travel.[73]
- Edita Morris, 86, Swedish-American writer and political activist (The Flowers of Hiroshima).[74]
- Frank Perkins, 79, American song composer (Stars Fell on Alabama).
- Dmitri Polyakov, 66, Ukrainian-Soviet operative and spy for the United States, executed by shooting.[75]
- William J. Porter, 73, British-American diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, South Korea, Canada and Saudi Arabia, cancer.[76]
- John Sloan, 83, American businessman, president of Cain-Sloan, heart attack.[77]
- Victor Wickersham, 82, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[78]
16
- Dorothy Adams, 88, American actress (The Best Years of Our Lives).
- Nazir Dekhaiya, 67, Indian poet, bronchopneumonia.
- Rollie Dotsch, 75, American football coach (Birmingham Stallions), pancreatic cancer.[79]
- Paul Kohner, 85, Austro-Hungarian–born American talent agent and producer, heart attack.[80]
- Dan Laner, 65, Austrian-born Israeli general.
- Erich Probst, 60, Austrian international footballer (Rapid Wien, Admira Wien, Austria).[81]
- Dannie Richmond, 56, American jazz drummer, heart attack.[82]
- Jigger Statz, 90, American Major League baseballer (Chicago Cubs).[83]
- Mickey Thompson, 59, American auto racing builder and promoter, gunned down.[84]
17
- Raffaele Arié, 67, Bulgarian bass.[85]
- Nikolas Asimos, 38, Greek composer and singer.[86]
- Bruce C. Clarke, 86, United States Army general, stroke.[87]
- Roland Drew, 87, American actor (Ramona, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer).[88]
- Franz-Otto Krüger, 70, German film and television actor.
- Patrick Mphephu, 63–64, South African politician, President of Venda.[89]
- Jaimal Singh Padda, 44–45, Indian poet and communist activist, shot by extremists.
- Tan Siew Sin, 71, Malaysian politician, Minister of Finance, heart attack.[90]
18
- Gerald Abraham, 84, English musicologist, editor and music critic.[91]
- Billy Butterfield, 71, American jazz bandleader, cancer.[92]
- Oliver Dawnay, 67, British civil servant, private secretary to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
- Karl Maria Demelhuber, 91, Nazi German SS general.
- Joan Field, 72, American violinist.
- Máirtín Ó Direáin, 77, Irish poet.[93]
- Percy Thrower, 75, British gardener, horticulturist, broadcaster and writer.[94]
- Frank Wayne, 70, American game show producer and host (The Price Is Right).
19
- Reyner Banham, 66, English architectural critic and writer, cancer.[95]
- Sabino Barinaga, 65, Spanish footballer and manager (Real Madrid), heart disease.[96]
- Philip Birnbaum, 83, American religious author and translator.[97]
- Bun Cook, 84, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (New York Rangers).[98]
- Suzy Frelinghuysen, (a.k.a. Suzy Morris), 76, American abstract painter and opera singer, stroke.[99]
- Máirtín Ó Direáin, 77, Irish poet.[100]
- Sid Harkreader, 90, American fiddle player and string band leader.[101]
- Pamela Manson, 59, British actress.[102]
20
- Dick Bell, 74, Canadian politician, member of the Canadian Parliament, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.[103]
- Gil Evans, 75, Canadian-American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader, peritonitis.[104]
- Akhilbandhu Ghosh, 67, Indian Bengali singer.
- Samuel W. Reynolds, 97, American politician, U.S. senator, pneumonia.[105]
- Greer Skousen, 71, Mexican basketballer.[106]
21
- Virginia Axline, 76, American psychologist and author (Dibs in Search of Self, Play Therapy).
- Marie Burke, 93, English actress of stage, cinema and television.
- George W. Lehr, 51, American politician, State Auditor of Missouri, brain tumour.[107]
- Robert McIntosh, 80, Indian-born English cricketer (Oxford University).[108]
- Edd Roush, 94, American Major League baseballer (Cincinnati Reds).[109]
- Charley Shipp, 74, American NBL and NBA basketballer and coach (Oshkosh All-Stars).[110]
- Sigfrit Steiner, 81, Swiss actor.
- Patrick Steptoe, 74, English obstetrician and gynaecologist, pioneer of in-vitro fertilisation.[111]
22
- Gudmund Harlem, 70, Norwegian politician (Minister of Defence).[112]
- Rudolf Matz, 86, Croatian composer.[113]
- Kathleen Napoli McKenna, 90, Irish nationalist activist and journalist.[114]
- Lester Rawlins, 63, American actor (A Man for All Seasons, The Old Glory), cardiac arrest.[115]
23
- Theodore Fred Abel, 91, Soviet-born American sociology professor (Theodore Abel papers).[116]
- John Charles Bolsinger, 30, American serial killer, suicide.[117]
- Jimmy Jacobs, 58, American handball player, leukemia.[118]
- Moody Jones, 79, American blues guitarist and singer.
- Isaiah L. Kenen, 83, Canadian-American journalist and lawyer, founder of the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs.[119]
- Deborah Linsley, 22, English murder victim.[120]
- Dayton Lummis, 84, American actor (The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell).
- Pash, 37, Indian poet, gunned down.[121]
- Stephen Boleslav Roman, 66, Canadian mining engineer.[122]
24
- Pete Estes, 72, American automotive engineer, president of General Motors, heart attack.[123]
- Turhan Feyzioğlu, 65–66, Turkish academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey.
- Sirkazhi Govindarajan, 55, Indian singer, heart attack.[124]
- Abdullahi Issa, 67, Somali politician, Prime Minister of Italian Somalia.
25
- James J. Howard, 60, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, heart attack.[125]
- Robert Joffrey, 57, American dancer and choreographer, co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, organ failure.[126]
- Leona Maricle, 82, American actress, heart attack.[127]
- Vera Pagava, 81, Georgian artist.
- Al Schwartz, 77, American screenwriter and producer (The Red Skelton Show), brother of Sherwood Schwartz.[128]
26
- Miguel Abuelo, 42, Argentine rock musician and singer, cardiac arrest.
- Robert Fairbairn, 77, Scottish banker, chairman of Clydesdale Bank.[129]
- Musa Kaleem, 67, American jazz saxophonist and flautist.
- Julian Pierce, 42, American lawyer and activist, murdered (body found on this date).[130]
27
- Lee Guber, 67, American theatre producer, brain cancer.[131]
- Gordon Merrick, 71, American Broadway actor and author, lung cancer.[132]
- Renato Salvatori, 55, Italian actor, liver cirrhosis.[133]
- Charles Willeford, 69, American writer (Cockfighter), heart attack.[134]
28
- David R. Bennion, 59, Californian winemaker, founder of Ridge Vineyards, car accident.[135]
- Shu-tien Li, 88, Chinese-American hydraulic engineer.
- S. N. Tripathi, 75, Indian composer.
- Neil Williams, 53, American painter, heart attack.[136]
29
- Ted Kluszewski, 63, American Major League baseballer (Cincinnati Reds), heart attack.[137]
- Sheila Manahan, 64, Irish actress (Only Two Can Play).
- Jacques Santi, 49, French actor and film producer (The Aeronauts).
- Dulcie September, 52, South African anti-Apartheid activist, assassinated.[138]
- Clarence Gilbert Taylor, 89, American aviation entrepreneur, co-founder of the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation.[139]
30
- Ranulph Bacon, 81, British police officer, Inspector-General of Police of British Ceylon.
- Georgia Ellis, 71, American actress (Gunsmoke).
- Edgar Faure, 79, French politician, lawyer and historian, Prime Minister of France.[140]
- John Clellon Holmes, 62, American author and poet (Go), cancer.[141]
- Beulah Levy Ledner, 94, American pastry chef (Doberge cake).[142]
- Jimmy McGuigan, 64, Scottish footballer and manager (Crewe Alexandra).[143]
- Doris Pawn, 93, American silent-screen actress.
- Arnie Zane, 39, American photographer, choreographer and dancer, AIDS.[144]
31
- Nicola Alexandrovich Benois, 86, Russian-born Italian stage designer (La Scala).[145]
- Talib Rasul Hakim, 47–48, American composer.[146]
- Harry Kane, 75, American illustrator (Three Investigators), aneurysm.
- Sir William McMahon, 80, Australian politician, Prime Minister of Australia, cancer.[147]
- Manuel Silos, 82, Filipino film-maker (Biyaya ng Lupa – Blessings of the Land).