Famous People Who Died In 1985

Ricky Nelson was an American pop pioneer, rock & roll star, and singer-songwriter. After establishing himself as a top teen idol during the 1950s, Ricky Nelson went on to release several chartbusting songs. He achieved great popularity and was ranked 91st on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.

American filmmaker, Orson Welles, acted in and directed the 1941 film, Citizen Kane, which is considered to be one the greatest movies ever made. Though hailed as a genius, many of his films didn’t work at the box office. The Stranger, Macbeth, Chimes at Midnight, Touch of Evil and The Trial are some of the other films that he directed.

Considered a heartthrob and one of the most popular movie stars of all time, some of Rock Hudson’s successful movies are the Magnificent Obsession, Giant, Written on the Wind, Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, Come September and Send Me No Flowers. He also acted in television. It was speculated that he was a homosexual. He died due to AIDS-related illness.

Anne Baxter is best remembered for her Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning performance as Sophie MacDonald in The Razor's Edge. Her other notable projects were the film All About Eve and the series The Name of the Game. She also actively participated in Republican campaigns.

Russian-French artist Marc Chagall, a key figure of modernism, had explored a wide range of media as an artist, from paintings and drawings to stained glass and ceramics. His major projects included the ceiling of the Paris Opéra, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Jerusalem Windows of Israel.

Vivien Theodore Thomas was laboratory supervisor who never went to college; yet he rose above poverty and racism to develop a procedure for treating cyanotic heart disease. Initially billed as janitor, he began his career as assistant to surgeon Alfred Blalock first at Nashville University and later at Johns Hopkins, and in time discovered the life-saving technique, eventually becoming a teacher of operative techniques.

Samantha Smith was an American schoolgirl, child actress, and peace activist. She achieved popularity during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States of America; she visited the Soviet Union as a goodwill ambassador which attracted extensive media attention. She also took part in peacemaking activities in Japan before dying in an airplane crash at age 13.

Phil Silvers was an American comedian and entertainer. Dubbed the King of Chutzpah, Silvers won two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards during his illustrious career that spanned almost six decades. In 1996, he was ranked 31st on TV Guide's list of 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Silvers’ work has inspired other comedians like Dick Van Dyke.

Edmond O'Brien was an American film director and actor. During his illustrious career, that spanned almost four decades, O'Brien recieved several prestigious awards like an Academy Award and Golden Globe Awards. He also has a couple of stars on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Simone Signoret was a German-born French actress best known for her role in the film Room at the Top, for which she won several awards, including an Academy Award. Growing up during the Nazi occupation, she started acting in the early 1940s. She was professionally active for over 40 years, until her death in 1985.

Italian-American chef Ettore Boiardi is remembered for revolutionizing the culinary industry with his food brand Chef Boyardee, which made a variety of Italian food products, such as sauces and spaghetti, available to Americans for the first time. He even supplied food to the Allied soldiers during World War II.

Better known as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s uncle, John G. Trump was an MIT physicist and engineer. Though he had initially aspired to be an architect and join his brother Fred’s real-estate business, John later concentrated on his research that led to the invention of high-voltage generators.

Singer-songwriter Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers, better known as The Singing Nun, soared to fame with the Billboard-charting track Dominique. She was also a Dominican Order nun, who later took the name Sister Luc Gabriel. She often played the guitar and was accompanied by a chorus of 4 nuns.

With his Billboard number one track Sukiyaki, Kyu Sakamoto became the first to score a pop number one with a song entirely sung in Japanese. Born to a restaurateur, he had started his career singing in jazz clubs. He died in a 1985 plane crash that killed over 500 people.

Laura Ashley was a Welsh businesswoman and fashion designer. She is credited with co-founding a British textile design company called Laura Ashley plc, which became an international retail chain after some 20 years from its founding. Two years after her death, the Laura Ashley Foundation was established in order to fund arts and social welfare projects.

Jean-Marie Loret learned he was Adolf Hitler’s illegitimate child when his mother, a French lady named Charlotte revealed it to him on her deathbed. Though Loret died before finding any concrete evidence to prove the same, following his death, proof of cash sent to Charlotte by Hitler proved Loret's claim.

Enver Hoxha was an Albanian politician. From 1944 to 1954, Hoxha served as the prime minister of Albania. He is credited with rebuilding Albania after World War II. He was also responsible for building the country's first railway line, wiping out epidemics, raising the adult literacy rate, and electrification the country.

Omayra Sánchez was a Colombian girl who died at age 13. After the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted in 1985, a massive lahar demolished her home and Sánchez was trapped in the water beneath the debris of her home. She died after struggling for 60 hours, and has remained a prominent figure in popular culture; she is remembered through music.

Born to an army doctor in India, Brian Horrocks was educated at Sandhurst and later became a British Army officer. He was skilled in modern pentathlon and had also participated in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Post-retirement, he penned a memoir and was featured in several BBC programs.

Masako Natsume was a Japanese actress who achieved worldwide fame after playing Tripitaka in the popular Japanese television series Monkey. Throughout her brief career, Natsume won several awards like the Elan d'or Awards. Masako Natsume remains a household name in Japan; calendars and picture books featuring pictures of Masako Natsume are still popular today.

Andre Kertesz was a photographer known for his immense contribution to photo essay and photographic composition. Although his style and camera angles, which were considered unorthodox at the time, stopped him from achieving international acclaim during his lifetime, Kertesz is now regarded as one of the most influential figures in the field of photojournalism.

Starting his career as a journalist, László Bíró also tried his hand at Surrealist painting in his early days. Trying to come up with a writing device that would use a fast-drying ink type, he invented the ballpoint pen. Invited by the Argentine government, he set up his pen manufacturing company there.