Deaths in May 2023

The following is a list of deaths that happened in May 2023. For deaths that should be noted before the month that the world is in, please see "Months". Names under each date are noted in the order of the alphabet by last name or pseudonym. Deaths of non-humans are noted here also if it is worth noting.

Each listing of death must have a source. If no reference is included, the death notice will be removed. The following are the requirements of adding a name to the list in its order: name, age, where they came from, what the person is known for, cause of death (if known), and a source.

May

1

• Calvin Davis, 51, American hurdler, Olympic bronze medalist (1996).
• Gordon Lightfoot, 84, Canadian Hall of Fame singer-songwriter ("Sundown", "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", "If You Could Read My Mind").
• Eileen Saki, 79, Japanese-American actress (M*A*S*H, Splash, Policewomen), cancer.

2

• Arun Manilal Gandhi, 89, Indian-American author and political activist.
• Valentina Yudashkin, 59, Russian fashion.

3

• Alessandro D'Alatri, 68, Italian director and actor.

4

• Gabriel Carey, 64, Australian author.

5

• Michel Cordes, 77, French actor (The Horseman on the Roof, Didier, A Question of Taste), author and stage director, suicide by gunshot.
• Samuel T. Durance, 79, American astronaut.

6

• Vida Blue, 73, American baseball player (Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals), three-time World Series champion (1972, 1973, 1974).
• Newton N. Minow, 97, American attorney, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (1961–1963), heart attack.

7

• Lindsay Crocker, 64, New Zealand cricketer (Northern Districts).

8

• Terrence Hardiman, 86, English actor (Gandhi, Sahara, Mask of Murder).
• Pema Tseden, 53, Chinese film director.

9

• Antonio Carbajal, 93, Mexican football player (León, national team) and manager (Atlético Morelia).
• Denny Crum, 86, American Hall of Fame basketball coach (Louisville Cardinals).

10

• Rolf Harris, 93, Australian entertainer (Rolf's Cartoon Club, Animal Hospital), singer ("Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"), and convicted sex offender, neck cancer.
• Enrico Oldoini, 77, Italian film director (Don Matteo, Vacanze di Natale '90, Anni 90) and screenwriter.
• Thelston Payne, 66, Barbadian cricketer (West Indies, national team), pancreatic cancer.
• Jacklyn Zeman, 70, American actress (General Hospital).

11

• Guido Gorgatti, 103, Italian-born Argentine actor (Bárbara atómica, An American in Buenos Aires, Would You Marry Me?).

12

• Bruce Robertson, 71, New Zealand rugby union player (Counties, national team).

13

• Owen Davidson, 79, Australian tennis player. (death announced on this date)

14

• Doyle Brunson, 74, American hall of fame

15

• Billy Guyton, 33, New Zealand rugby union player (Tasman Mako, Blues).

16

• Marlene Hagge, 89, American Hall of Fame golfer.
• P. K. R. Pillai, 92, Indian film producer (Chithram, Thathamme Poocha Poocha, Ezhu Muthal Onpathu Vare).
• Per Røntved, 74, Danish footballer (Brønshøj Boldklub, Werder Bremen, national team).

17

• Dvora Kedar, 98, Israeli actress (Lemon Popsicle, Going Steady, Operation Thunderbolt).

18

• Helmut Berger, 78, Austrian actor (Ludwig, The Damned, The Godfather Part III).
• Jim Brown, 87, American Hall of Fame football player (Cleveland Browns) and actor (The Dirty Dozen, Mars Attacks!).
• Sevvalai Rasu, 70, Indian actor.

19

• Brian Booth, 89, Australian cricketer and Olympic field hockey player (1956).
• Pete Brown, 82, English poet, lyricist ("I Feel Free", "Sunshine of Your Love", "White Room") and singer.
• Andy Rourke, 59, English bassist (The Smiths), pancreatic cancer.

20

• Edmonds J. Muniz, 83, American politician.

21

• Ray Stevenson, 58, Northern Irish actor (Rome, Thor, Punisher: War Zone).

22

• Wahid Satay, 93, Singaporean actor (Pontianak, Puteri Gunong Ledang, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam), comedian and singer, sepsis.
• Wim Udenhout, 85, Surinamese politician, prime minister (1984–1986).

23

• Neil Dansie, 94, Australian cricketer (South Australia).
• Jean Haudry, 88, French linguist.

24

• Dano Heriban, 43, Slovak actor (The Man Who Stood in the Way), heart attack.
• Bill Lee, 94, American jazz musician and film composer (She's Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do the Right Thing).
• Tina Turner, 83, American-born Swiss Hall of Fame singer ("River Deep – Mountain High", "What's Love Got to Do with It") and actress (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), eight-time Grammy winner.

25

• Đặng Văn Thành, 90, Vietnamese association footballer.

26

• Mickey Jagtiani, 70, Indian billionessman.
• Luo Jingmin, 67, Chinese actor.
• Lawrence Williams, 76, Welsh cricketer (Glamorgan).

27

• Tyrone O'Sullivan, 84, Sri Lankan diplomat, member.

28

• Isa Barzizza, 93, Italian actress (The Two Orphans, Bluebeard's Six Wives, It's Never Too Late).
• Antonio Gala, 93, Spanish poet.
• Harald zur Hausen, 87, German virologist, Nobel Prize recipient (2008).

29

• Michel Côté, 72, Canadian actor (Cruising Bar, Life After Love, C.R.A.Z.Y.).
• Peter Simonischek, 76, Austrian actor (Love and Fear, Toni Erdmann, Kursk).
• Jacob Turkel, 88, Israeli judge.

30

• John Beasley, 79, American actor (Rudy, Walking Tall, The Purge: Anarchy).

31

• Patricia Dainton, 93, British actress (Dancing with Crime, The Passionate Stranger, Sixpenny Corner).
• Dickie Harrell, 82, American Hall of Fame drummer (Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps). (death announced on this date)

Months

• January
• February
• March
• April

Other websites

• The Guardian, UK obituaries
• The Telegraph obituaries
• Obituaries, Chicago Tribune
• Obituaries, Los Angeles Times
• The New York Times, US obituaries
• The Washington Post obituaries
• The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian obituaries

Preceded by Deaths in 2022

Deaths by year

Succeeded by Deaths in 2024