Deaths in August 1983

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The following is a list of notable deaths in August 1983.

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.

August 1983

1

• Peter Arne, 64, British actor, bludgeoned to death in a murder-suicide ^{[1] [2] [3]}

2

• James Jamerson, 47, American bassist and session musician, served as the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits during the 1960s and the early 1970s, he is reported to have played on nearly every Motown recording between 1963 and 1968, with his body of work during this era covering over 60 top-fifteen pop singles, ^{[4] [5]} complications from cirrhosis, heart failure and pneumonia ^{[4] [6]}

3

• Jobriath, 36, American rock musician and actor, complications from AIDS ^{[a] [8]}
• Carolyn Jones, 53, American actress, colon cancer, died after falling into a coma ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

4

• Yuri Levitan, 68, Soviet radio announcer, he served as the primary radio announcer of Radio Moscow from the 1940s until the 1960s, covering all the major international events of the era, ^[14] heart attack ^[14]

5

• Bart Bok, 77, Dutch-born American astronomer, studied the structure and evolution of the Milky Way galaxy, he discovered the Bok globules ^{[15] [ failed verification ]} , heart attack shortly after his return home from Java ^{[16] [17]}
• Judy Canova, 69, American comedienne, actress, singer and radio personality, cancer ^[18]
• Joan Robinson, 79, British economist, one of the leaders of the neo-Ricardian and post-Keynesian schools ^{[19] [20]}
• Harold Shumate, 89, American screenwriter ^[21]

6

• Grace Bailey, 79, American animator, head of the ink and paint department at Walt Disney Animation Studios ^{[22] [23] [24] [25]}
• Klaus Nomi, 39, German countertenor and performance artist, complications from AIDS. He was one of the earliest known figures from the arts community to die from the illness. ^{[26] [27]}

7

• David Ford, 57, American actor, heart attack ^[28]

11

• Mamie Phipps Clark, 65, American social psychologist, her work focused on the development of self-consciousness in black preschool children, cancer ^{[29] [30]}
• Satsuo Yamamoto, 73, Japanese film director ^{[31] [32]}

13

• Bob Bailey, 70, American actor ^[33]
• Sidney Ford, 73, British trade union leader, Parkinson's disease ^[34]

15

• Al Kilgore, 55, American cartoonist and filmmaker ^[35]

16

• Heinz Warneke, 88, German-born American sculptor and animalier, heart attack ^[36]

17

• Ira Gershwin, 86, American lyricist, heart disease ^{[37] [38]}

18

• Nikolaus Pevsner, 81, German-born British historian, specialist in art history and the history of architecture ^{[39] [40]}

21

• Ninoy Aquino, 50, Filipino politician, served as the Governor of Tarlac from 1963 until 1967, ^[41] and a senator from 1967 until 1972, assassinated shortly after his return from self-exile. The audio of the attack was recorded on a news camera, but the actual shooting of Aquino was not caught on camera due to the movement and exposure to bright sunlight. ^{[42] [43] [44] [45]}

24

• Jack Somack, 64, American chemical engineer and actor, heart attack ^{[46] [47] [48] [49] [50]}

26

• Nazir Ahmed Khan, 78-79, Pakistani actor and filmmaker, considered one of the founding fathers for the cinema of Pakistan ^{[51] [52] [53]}
• Mike Kellin, 61, American actor, lung cancer ^[54]

29

• Rory Hayes, 34, American underground cartoonist and landscape painter, drug overdose ^{[55] [56]}
• Simon Oakland, 68, American actor and violinist, colon cancer ^{[57] [58]}

References

1. "Peter Arne, British Actor, 62, Is Found Murdered in London". The New York Times . August 4, 2022.
2. "Actor Peter Arne Slain In London". The News and Courier. August 3, 1983.
3. Italian's suicide after killing actor, The Times, 20 October 1983.
4. Geoff Gehman (August 13, 1989). "Pioneer Bassist's Work Emerging from Motown Shadow". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
5. Nelson George (2007) [first published 1985]. Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise & Fall of the Motown Sound. University of Illinois Press. p. 103. ISBN   9780252074981 . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
6. "James Jamerson Dies at 45; Bassist Backed Detroit Stars". The New York Times. August 6, 1983. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
7. Anderson, Sean (January 30, 2014). "'Jobriath A.D.': Glam rocker's meteoric rise — and fall". The Seattle Times . Retrieved September 14, 2023.
8. Chiu, David (June 14, 2021). "Overlooked No More: Jobriath, Openly Gay Glam Rocker in the '70s" . The New York Times . p. B6. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
9. "Jobriath: Oh! You pretty thing". The Independent . April 13, 2004. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
10. Del Vecchio, Deborah (December 19, 2012). Beverly Garland: Her Life and Career. McFarland & Company. p. 149. ISBN   978-0786465019.
11. Schemering, Christopher (1988). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. Ballantine Books. ISBN   978-0345324597.
12. Bennett, Ray (April 28, 2015). "Why Carolyn Jones did not want to kiss Elvis Presley". The Cliff Edge. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
13. Pylant 2012, p. 207. sfn error: no target: CITEREFPylant2012 (help)
14. Belenitskaya, Olga (April 16, 2015). "Moscow is speaking: The voice that brought hope to a nation". Russia Behind the Headlines. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
15. Bok, Bart J.; Reilly, Edith F. (March 1947). "Small Dark Nebulae". Astrophysical Journal. 105: 255. Bibcode:1947ApJ...105..255B. doi:10.1086/144901.
16. "BART J. BOK, 77, ASTRONOMER; AUTHORITY ON THE MILKY WAY (Published 1983)". August 11, 1983. Archived from the original on December 26, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
17. Johanna Eubank Arizona Daily Star. "Tucson notable: Astronomer Bart Bok studied the Milky Way". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
18. Obituary, Variety, August 10, 1983.
19. Arenson, Karen W. (August 11, 1983). "Prof. Joan Robinson Dies at 79; Cambrdige (sic) University Economist". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 16, 2019.
20. "How the sexist 'Nobel Prize' in economics has warped the world – Prime". primeeconomics.org. September 26, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
21. "Harold Shumate". Ventura County Star . August 10, 1983. p. 42. Retrieved February 9, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
22. "Grace Bailey". Walt Disney Archives. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
23. Mindy Johnson (September 5, 2017). Ink & paint: the women of Walt Disney's animation. Disney Editions. ISBN   978-1484727812. OCLC   1023138145.
24. Thomas, Bob (1958). Walt Disney: The Art of Animation. New York: Golden Press. p. 175.
25. DeMott, Rick (October 13, 2000). "Disney Announces the 2000 Disney Legends Recipients". Animation World Network . Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
26. Smith, Rupert (July 1994), "Klaus Nomi", Attitude, vol. 1, no. 3, London, England, archived from the original on May 30, 2010, retrieved January 17, 2011.
27. Rosenzweig, Leah (November 30, 2018). "Cause of Death: Uncovering the hidden history of AIDS on The New York Times obituary page". Slate.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
28. "David Conant Ford, 58, Dies; A Stage and Television Actor". The New York Times. August 10, 1983.
29. Obituary, nytimes.com. August 12, 1983.
30. A Brief Reflection On The Work of Mamie Phipps Clark, spgs.org. Accessed April 6, 2024.
31. Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN   978-1-933330-53-2.
32. "山本 薩夫 (Satsuo Yamamoto)". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2021.
33. "Radio Actor". The Lancaster New Era. August 20, 1983. p. 23. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
34. "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
35. "Al Kilgore". lambiek.net.
36. "Heinz Warneke, Ex-Chief At Corcoran, Dies" The Washington Post, August 17, 1983.
37. Obituary Variety , August 24, 1983.
38. Wilson, John S. (August 18, 1983). "Ira Gershwin, Lyricist, Dies; Songs Embodied Broadway". New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
39. "Wildwood Terrace". The Daily Telegraph. London. January 25, 2013. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.
40. Waite, Richard (November 6, 2007). "Pevsner honoured with blue plaque". Architects' Journal.
41. "Benigno Simeon Aquino Jr.". Encyclopædia Britannica .
42. "Agosto Beinte-Uno". ABS-CBN News. August 29, 2018. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021 – via YouTube.
43. "Benigno Aquino Assassinated – 1983 | Today In History | Aug 21, 17". AP Archive. YouTube.
44. Hill & Hill 1983, pp. 90–91.
45. Hill & Hill 1983, pp. 32 and 35–36.
46. "Obituaries". United Press International . August 30, 1983. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
47. Timberg, Robert (October 12, 2004). State of Grace: A Memoir of Twilight Time. Simon and Schuster. p. 420. ISBN   978-0-6848-5561-5 . Retrieved May 4, 2022– via Google Books.
48. "Jack Somack Is Dead at 64;Television and Movie Actor" . The New York Times . September 1, 1983. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
49. "Heart attack claims actor Jack Somack". The Desert Sun . Palm Springs. August 30, 1983. Retrieved May 4, 2022– via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
50. Decker, Cathleen (August 30, 1983). "Jack Somack, Star of Alka-Seltzer Ad, Dies". Los Angeles Times . p. 14. Retrieved July 25, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
51. "A walk down memory lane with legendary filmmaker Nazir Ahmed Khan". Pakistan Today newspaper. August 26, 2011. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
52. "Profile of Nazir Ahmed Khan". Pakfilms.net website. June 2, 2016. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
53. "Nazir Ahmed Khan's Profile". Urduwire.com website. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
54. Kennedy, Shawn G. (August 28, 1983). "Mike Kellin, Actor, Dies at 61; Won OBIE for Role in 'Buffalo'". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
55. "Influential 'Naive' Underground Cartoonist Rory Hayes Dead at 34", The Comics Journal #87 (Dec. 1983).
56. Hayes entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Sept. 22, 2016.
57. "Simon Oakland, 61, Actor who starred in 3 TV series, dies". New York Times . September 1, 1983. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
58. Thompson, Ruth (October 28, 1968). "More Than 800 Programs for Simon Oakland". The Gettysburg Times. No. TV Magazine. p. 1. Retrieved March 3, 2016.

Sources

• Hill, Gerald N.; Hill, Kathleen Thompson (1983). Aquino Assassination: The True Story and Analysis of the Assassination of Philippine Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr . Steve Psinakis. Sonoma, Calif.: Hilltop Pub. Co. ISBN   0-912133-04-X.
• Pylant, James (2012). In Morticia's Shadow: The Life & Career of Carolyn Jones. Jacobus Books. ISBN   978-0984185757.

Notes

1. Jobriath's death date has been given as August 3, 1983, ^[7] and this is the date which appears on his gravestone. However, a 2021 article in The New York Times simply says he died "in the summer of 1983", ^[8] and references a 2004 article in The Independent , which reports that he was found dead in July 1983, and had died more than a week before then. ^[9]

External links

• List of August 1983 deaths at IMDb