Famous People Who Died In 1983

One half of the popular musical duo The Carpenters, Karen Carpenter was an American drummer and singer. Her death at age 32 and life-long struggles with eating disorders led to increased awareness of conditions like anorexia and body dysmorphia, which were little-known at the time. In 2010, Carpenter was named on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers of all time list.

Acknowledged by his rivals as a remarkable hitter, Jack Dempsey was an American heavyweight boxing champion who was known for his powerful punches. The record attendance at his bouts was an indication of his popularity. He was considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Born poor and nicknamed Kid Blackie, Jack Dempsey went on to become one of the richest athletes during his time.

Carolyn Jones was an American actress who contributed to the success of several films in the 1950s. She was also an influential figure in American television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. During the later stages of her acting career, Jones suffered from colon cancer but decided not to reveal about her condition to colleagues and continued acting through the pain.

Bear Bryant was an American football player who represented the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama. Bryant is remembered for his illustrious career as a coach. He served as the head coach of the Crimson Tide for 25 years, during which he helped his team win six national championships. He is regarded as the greatest college football coach ever.

Actress and producer, Gloria Swanson, appeared in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and became a prominent Hollywood figure. As a teenager, she ventured into acting by chance and became a popular face soon after. After establishing herself as an actress, she became a filmmaker as well and is considered one of the film industry's pioneering women filmmakers.

Buckminster Fuller was an American systems theorist, architect, designer, inventor, author, and futurist. He is credited with popularizing the geodesic dome, which resembles carbon molecules known as fullerenes. Fullerenes were named after Fuller for their resemblance to geodesic spheres. Fuller's work has influenced several personalities from different walks of life. His work has also inspired a couple of documentary films.

Born to an artisan father in Catalan, Joan Miró was allowed to attend art school after falling sick working as a clerk. Known for combining surrealism and abstract art, he experimented with various forms of art, including paintings, sculptures, and ceramics, and created masterpieces such as The Farm.

Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress who often played sexually liberated ingénues in films. Shearer is often revered as a feminist pioneer as she played bold characters that challenged the norm of the society during the 1930s. In 2008, she was inducted into  Canada's Walk of Fame. 

Better known by his pseudonym, Hergé, Belgian cartoonist Georges Prosper Remi was the man behind Tintin, a cartoon series that several generations of kids and young adults have grown up reading. He was a self-taught artist and wrote Destination Moon, featuring Tintin, 15 years before Neil Armstrong’s feat.

Raymond Massey was a Canadian actor best remembered for his stage-trained voice. Massey earned an Academy Award nomination under the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in the 1940 biographical historical drama film Abe Lincoln in Illinois. Massey has two stars on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the film and TV industries.  

Apart from being an Olympic gold-winning swimmer, Buster Crabbe later also became a well-known actor. He was seen in over 170 movies, with lead roles in series such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. The International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee had also penned fitness books and owned a swimming pool company.

Born to jeweler and watchmaker Casper ten Boom, Corrie ten Boom followed in her father’s footsteps and became the first female licensed watchmaker in the Netherlands. She and her family hid scores of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. Corrie later penned The Hiding Place, based on her experiences.

Arthur Godfrey was an American entertainer and television and radio broadcaster. In the early and mid-1950s, Godfrey was seen on television and heard on the radio up to six days a week. His career inspired two films, namely The Great Man and A Face in the Crowd. Arthur Godfrey was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987.

Benigno Aquino, Jr., also known as Ninoy Aquino, was the son of Filipino politician Benigno Aquino Sr. and grew up to be a senator and the chief opposition leader during President Ferdinand E. Marcos’s rule. A supporter of democracy, he was assassinated at the Manila airport after returning from exile.

Starting his career with vaudeville and then moving on to Broadway, William Demarest later soared to fame with his role of retired sea captain Uncle Charley in the sitcom My Three Sons. His role in the biopic The Jolson Story got him nominated for an Academy Award.

Luis Buñuel was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker with a brilliant career spanning almost half a century. He worked in France, Mexico, and Spain and directed films spanning various genres. His filmmaking technique was strongly influenced by mise-en-scène. He was hailed as a leader of avant-garde surrealism and is considered one of the top directors of the 20th century.  

Klaus Nomi was a German countertenor with a wide vocal range. He wore heavy makeup, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo. He had an otherworldly stage persona that was unique to him. His music was also considered unusual. He suffered from AIDS and was one of the earliest musicians known to die of the illness.  

Umberto II, the only son of King Victor Emmanuel III, was the last king of Italy and ruled for just 34 days, from May 9 to June 12, 1946, and then went into exile. Also known as Re di Maggio, he was the de facto head of state since 1944.

Social philosopher and author Eric Hoffer was rendered half-blind at 7 due to an accident but regained his sight at 15. Orphaned in his 20s, he took up odd jobs, and once even contemplated suicide. His first book, The True Believer, catapulted him to fame, and he never looked back.

Walter Slezak was an Austrian-born actor with an illustrious career spanning over half a century. He often played clever, talkative, and philosophical characters. The son of a famous opera tenor, he was fascinated by the show business and began acting in the 1920s. He was famous as both a stage performer and a film actor.