Famous People Who Died Today

Australian Steve Irwin was a world famous, high-spirited, lively host of The Crocodile Hunter television series. A conservationist, he was also part of other shows and documentaries on wildlife and environment. He was known for close encounters with some of the most dangerous and endangered animals in various jungles. He died after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

French-American actor Hervé Villechaize is best remembered for playing the evil henchman in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. Born with dwarfism, he was bullied at school for his condition. After initially working as an artist, painter and photographer, he ventured into acting. He was popular and much loved by the audience.

Famous for her controversial comedic persona, Joan Rivers was a television host and comedian. She broke stereotypes by hosting a late-night television talk show titled The Late Show with Joan Rivers, becoming the first woman to do so. Also an author, Rivers wrote 12 best-selling books. In 2017, she was posthumously inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. 

Albert Schweitzer was an Alsatian polymath who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his philosophical work, Reverence for Life. He is credited with founding the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, which was a direct result of his philosophical expression. Schweitzer is also credited with influencing the Organ reform movement, which began in the mid-20th-century.

Irene Dunne was a prominent actor of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedy roles and was nominated for the Academy Award five times. Some of her best-known films were Theodora Goes Wild and I Remember Mama. A devout Catholic, she received the papal knighthood.

Maurice Tillet was a Russian professional wrestler. A two-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion, Tillet was a very successful and popular wrestler at that time. He even appeared as The Swedish Angel in the 1949 American fantasy film Mighty Joe Young. Maurice Tillet was posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012.

Born to actor Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy Lawford, President John F. Kennedy's sister, Christopher Lawford grew up to be an actor and an activist. He was also a qualified lawyer. He related his struggle with addiction in his book Symptoms of Withdrawal and also taught psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf was an American entertainer who achieved popularity by appearing on The Howard Stern Show as part of the show's Wack Pack. He gained national attention in 1998 when he won an online poll conducted by People magazine to determine the Most Beautiful People as part of the run-up promotion for People's 50 Most Beautiful People issue.

Georges Simenon was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels during his illustrious career that spanned several years. Simenon is credited with creating one of the most popular fictional detectives of all time, Jules Maigret. A self-proclaimed Casanova, Simenon claimed in 1977 to have had sex with 10,000 women since his 13th birthday.

Gustavo Cerati was one of the finest South American singers and one of the pioneers of Ibero-American rock. He headed the popular pop-rock trio Soda Stereo and later also penned lyrics and recorded for artists such as Shakira. He died at age 55, after a stroke and a 4-year coma.

Born to German actor parents who divorced when he was 2, psychologist Hans Eysenck was raised by his grandmother till he went to England at 18. He is best remembered for his theories on personality and intelligence. His claim that genetic factors decide racial differences in intelligence was criticized.

German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher was one of the significant figures behind the formation of Britain’s post-World War II welfare state plans. His ground-breaking book Small Is Beautiful explained how capitalism was detrimental to culture. He also developed the concept of intermediate technology.

English novelist and playwright, Keith Spencer Waterhouse is noted for his ability to create comedies even out of unpleasant situations. Leaving school at fifteen, he eventually became a columnist in established London papers like Punch and Daily Mirror. He earned international fame with his second novel, Billy Liar. He is also known for his campaigning against color bar and  against decline in the standards of modern English.

Belgian singer-actor Annie Cordy, best known for films such as Le Chat and Cigarettes, Whiskey and Wild Women, had also voiced Grandmother Willow in the French version of Pocahontas. She had appeared in countless plays, too, and soared to fame with the chartbusting track La Ballade de Davy Crockett.

Ştefan Odobleja was a Romanian scientist and physician. Widely regarded in Romania as one of the forerunners of artificial intelligence and cybernetics, Ştefan Odobleja is best remembered for his book Psychologie consonantiste, which talks about the notion of feedback in psychology. This book was published 10 years before Norbert Wiener's groundbreaking book, Cybernetics.

Italian actor Gastone Moschin featured in notable films like The Birds, the Bees and the Italians that won him Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Supporting Actor; and The Godfather Part II. He is however best-remembered for playing Rambaldo Melandri in the Amici miei film series, the third film of which also earned him Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Donatas Banionis was a Soviet and Lithuanian actor and theatre director. He is best remembered for playing Kris Kelvin in the 1972 film, Solaris. Apart from his film roles, Banionis was also known for his career as a stage actor. Vladimir Putin once said that Donatas Banionis' role in the film Dead Season inspired him to join the KGB.

Born in present-day Slovenia, author and journalist Louis Adamic moved to the US as a teenager. His books often spoke about the immigrant community in the US. Known for his works such as Laughing in the Jungle and The House in Antigua, he also traveled to Yugoslavia on a Guggenheim fellowship.