Deaths: May 17

1. Donna Summer

Soundtrack | Thank God It's Friday

Donna Summer rocketed to international super-stardom in the mid-1970s when her groundbreaking merger of R&B, soul, pop, funk, rock, disco and avant-garde electronica catapulted underground dance music out of the clubs of Europe to the pinnacles of sales and radio charts around the world.

Maintaining...

2. Alan O'Day

Soundtrack | Muppet Babies

Alan O'Day was born on October 3, 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Muppet Babies (1984), Super 8 (2011) and Really Wild Animals (1993). He was married to Katsuyo Yuka Hedman. He died on May 17, 2013 in Westwood, California, USA.

3. Barb Cranmer

Producer | Qatuwas: People Gathering Together

Barb Cranmer was born on April 6, 1960 in Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada. She was a producer and director, known for Qatuwas: People Gathering Together (1997), T'Lina: The Rendering of Wealth (1999) and Gwishalaayt: The Spirit Wraps Around You (2001). She died on May 17, 2019 in Canada.

4. Blair Davies

Actor | The Brighter Day

Blair Davies was born on May 15, 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for The Brighter Day (1954), Man Against Crime (1949) and Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963). He died on May 17, 2003 in Yorktown Heights, New York, USA.

5. Blanca Podestá

Actress | Tierra baja

Blanca Podestá was born on July 6, 1889 in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Tierra baja (1912), Manuelita Rosas (1925) and Sendas cruzadas (1942). She died on May 17, 1967 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

6. Bobby 'Wheezer' Hutchins

Actor | Love Business

Robert E. Hutchins was born March 29th, 1925, in Tacoma, Washington. He was born to James Hutchins and Olga Hutchins (nee Roe). Robert was a very outgoing boy with a charming personality, because friends persuaded James and Olga to go to a Hollywood photographer and get his picture taken. The ...

7. Frank Gorshin

Actor | Twelve Monkeys

Frank John Gorshin, Jr. was born on April 5, 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was a railroad worker and his mother, Frances (Preseren), was a seamstress. His family was originally from Novo Mesto, Slovenia. While in high school, young Frank worked as an usher at the Sheridan Square ...

8. Guy Clark

Soundtrack | Boyhood

Guy Clark was born on November 6, 1941 in Monahans, Texas, USA. He was married to Susanna Clark and Susan Spaw. He died on May 17, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

9. Hans-Joachim Gelberg

Self | Georg

Hans-Joachim Gelberg was born on August 27, 1930 in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He died on May 17, 2020 in Weinheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

10. Henry Jones

Actor | Vertigo

Henry Burk Jones was born in New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Helen (Burk) and John Francis Xavier Jones, and the grandson of Pennsylvania Representative Henry Burk, a Prussian immigrant. He graduated from St. Joseph's College. His Broadway debut was in 1938 in ...

11. Herman Wouk

Writer | The Caine Mutiny

Herman Wouk was born on May 27, 1915 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Caine Mutiny (1954), Slattery's Hurricane (1949) and Her First Romance (1951). He was married to Betty Sarah Brown. He died on May 17, 2019 in Palm Springs, California, USA.

12. John Shelton

Actor | The Time of Their Lives

John Shelton was born on May 18, 1915 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Time of Their Lives (1946), Road to the Big House (1947) and Foreign Agent (1942). He was married to Lorraine Elise Ludwig, Irene Winston, Kathryn Grayson, Sally Sage and Marti Stanley. He died on ...

13. Johnny 'Guitar' Watson

Soundtrack | Syriana

Johnny 'Guitar' Watson was born on February 3, 1935 in Houston, Texas, USA. He was married to Susan . He died on May 17, 1996 in Yokohama, Japan.

14. Jon Sholle

Soundtrack | Jason X

Jon Sholle was born on March 13, 1948 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Jason X (2001), The Rose (1979) and Bad Assassin (2000). He died on May 17, 2018 in Ossining, New York, USA.

15. Jorge Rafael Videla

Self | Condor - les axes du mal

Jorge Rafael Videla was born on August 2, 1925 in Mercedes, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. He died on May 17, 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

16. Jürgen Marcus

Composer | Die Insel der blutigen Plantage

Jürgen Marcus was born on June 6, 1948 in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was an actor and composer, known for Die Insel der blutigen Plantage (1983), Hinter Gittern - Der Frauenknast (1997) and Blau blüht der Enzian (1973). He died in May 2018 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

17. Ken Venturi

Actor | Tin Cup

Ken Venturi was born on May 15, 1931 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Tin Cup (1996), PGA Tour Golf on CBS (1970) and The Big Money (1966). He was married to Kathleen, Beau Wheat and Conni Joanne MacLeann. He died on May 17, 2013 in Rancho Mirage, California, USA.

18. Lawrence Welk

Soundtrack | Good Morning, Vietnam

The accordion maestro provided nearly two decades of squeaky-clean music and family entertainment on TV every Saturday night between 1955 and 1971 on prime-time, and for another 11 years in syndication. His trademarks included his "A uh-one, a uh-two" intro and a perpetual bubble machine.

19. Lita de Lázzari

Self | Un aplauso para el asador

Lita de Lázzari was born on July 27, 1925 in Buenos Aires City, Distrito Federal, Argentina. She died on May 17, 2015 in Buenos Aires City, Distrito Federal, Argentina.

20. Lucky Peterson

Self | Soul!

Lucky Peterson was born on December 13, 1964 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He was married to Tamara Stovall. He died on May 17, 2020 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

21. Luz Kertz

Actress | Con pecado concebidas

Luz Kertz was born on December 29, 1946 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Con pecado concebidas (1993), The Second Death (2012) and El juguete rabioso (1984). She died on May 17, 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

22. Maciej Maciejewski

Actor | Krótki film o zabijaniu

Maciej Maciejewski was born on October 1, 1914 in Augustów, Poland, Russian Empire [now Augustów, Podlaskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for A Short Film About Killing (1988), Kanal (1957) and Young Chopin (1952). He died on May 17, 2018 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

23. Mario Benedetti

Writer | La tregua

Mario Benedetti was born on September 14, 1920 in Paso de los Toros, Uruguay. He was a writer and actor, known for The Truce (1974), Dale nomás (1974) and Football Stories (1997). He was married to Luz López Alegre and Luz. He died on May 17, 2009 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

24. Montagu Love

Actor | Gunga Din

Montague Love - certainly an intriguing name - but his own - started his working life as a newspaper man in London. His primary expertise centered on being a field illustrator and cartoonist who covered the Boer War (1899-1902). His realistic battle sketches gained him popularity among readers, but...

25. Octavia St. Laurent

Actress | The Saint of Fort Washington

Octavia St. Laurent was born on March 16, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Saint of Fort Washington (1993), Paris Is Burning (1990) and Mirror, Mirror (1996). She died on May 17, 2009 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA.

26. Paul E. Burns

Actor | Smoky River Serenade

Paul E. Burns was born on January 26, 1881 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Smoky River Serenade (1947), The Pilgrim Lady (1946) and Son of Paleface (1952). He died on May 17, 1967 in Van Nuys, California, USA.

27. Penne Hackforth-Jones

Actress | Muriel's Wedding

Penne Hackforth-Jones was born on August 5, 1949 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. She was an actress, known for Muriel's Wedding (1994), Cash and Company (1975) and Kokoda Crescent (1989). She died on May 17, 2013 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

28. Rallapalli

Actor | Athadu

Rallapalli was born on August 15, 1945 in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, British India. He was an actor, known for Athadu (2005), Manthrigari Viyyankudu (1983) and Maatho Pettukoku (1995). He died on May 17, 2019 in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

29. Ratnakar Matkari

Writer | Investment

Ratnakar Matkari was born on November 17, 1938 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India. He was a writer and director, known for Investment (2013), Gahire Paani and Char Divas Premache (2008). He was married to Pratibha. He died on May 17, 2020 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

30. Robert Knapp

Actor | Days of Our Lives

Robert Knapp was born on February 24, 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), TV Reader's Digest (1955) and Mesa of Lost Women (1953). He was married to Marilyn Frances Remillard. He died on May 17, 2001 in Glendale, California, USA.

31. Sean Tyla

Self | Punk Britannia

32. Shad Gaspard

Stunts | Black Panther

Shad Gaspard was born on January 13, 1981 in Brooklyn, New York, USA as Shad Chad Javier Romain Chittick Gaspard. He is a Professional wrestler, actor, and writer, known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, and films such as Get Hard (2015), WWE Raw (1993) and From Dusk Till Dawn: The ...

33. Tony Randall

Actor | The Odd Couple

Tony Randall was born on February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg. He attended Tulsa Central High School and later Northwestern University and New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. After graduating, he starred in two plays: George Bernard Shaw's '...

34. Yuriko Hoshi

Actress | San Daikaijû Chikyû Saidai no Kessen

Born on December 6 1943, Yuriko Hoshi was one of the younger members of the Toho stable of actors during the 1960s. She made a big impression in the Wakadasho (Young Guy) movies and was recognized for her youthful energy. Eventually she became more known for her roles in kaiju eiga films such as ...