Deaths of note during 2006
A list of celebrities or people in the public eye who have died during 2006.
| Person of note who died |
Date of death | Age | Profession |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saddam Hussein | 30th December | 69 | Former Iraqi Dictator |
| Gerald Ford | 26th December | 93 | Former US president |
| James Brown | 25th December | 73 | Soul Singer |
| Charlie Drake | 24th December | 81 | Comedian |
| Joseph Barbera | 18th December | 95 | Animator |
| Frank Johnson | 15th December | 63 | Journalist |
| Ahmet Ertegun | 14th December | 83 | Record Company Boss |
| Augusto Pinochet | 10th December | 91 | Dictator - Chile |
| Fred Marsden | 9th December | 66 | Drummer - Gerry & the Pacemakers |
| Allen Carr | 29th November | 72 | Anti-smoking guru |
| Alan Freeman | 27th November | 79 | Radio DJ |
| Nick Clarke | 23rd November | 58 | Radio Presenter / Journalist |
| Alexander Litvinenko | 23rd November | 43 | Ex-Russian Spy |
| Robert Altman | 21st November | 81 | Film Director |
| Milton Friedman | 16th November | 94 | Economist |
| Desert Orchid | 13th November | 27 | Racehorse |
| Gerald Levert | 10th November | 40 | R&B Singer |
| Jack Palance | 10th November | 87 | Actor |
| Bobby Shearer | 5th November | 74 | Footballer |
| William Styron | 1st November | 81 | Writer |
| Pieter Willem Botha | 31st October | 90 | Former S. African President |
| Muhammadu Maccido | 29th October | 80 | Sultan of Sokoto |
| Ghulam Ishaq Khan | 27th October | 91 | Former President Pakistan |
| Paul Hunter | 9th October | 27 | Snooker player |
| Byron Nelson | 26th September | 94 | Golfer |
| Raymond Baxter | 15th September | 84 | TV Presenter - Tomorrow's World |
| Anne Gregg | 5th September | 66 | TV Presenter |
| Giacinto Facchetti | 4th September | 64 | Footballer |
| Steve Irwin | 4th September | 44 | TV Presenter - The Crocodile Hunter |
| Charlie Williams | 2nd September | 78 | Comedian |
| Sir Kyffin Williams | 1st September | 88 | Painter |
| Naguib Mahfouz | 30th August | 94 | Writer |
| Sir Clyde Walcott | 26th August | 80 | Cricketer |
| Maynard Ferguson | 23rd August | 78 | Jazz Musician |
| David Gemmell | 28th July | 57 | Author |
| Syd Barrett | 7th July | 60 | Musician - Pink Floyd |
| Kenneth Lay | 5th July | 64 | Enron Chief Executive |
| Fred Trueman | 1st July | 75 | England Cricketer |
| Aaron Spelling | 23rd June | 83 | TV producer |
| Gyorgy Ligeti | 12th June | 83 | Composer |
| Major Bruce Shand | 11th June | 89 | Father of Duchess of Cornwall |
| Vince Welnick | 2nd June | 55 | Keyboard player - Grateful Dead |
| Arthur Widmer | 28th May | 92 | special effects pioneer |
| Desmond Dekker | 25th May | 64 | Singer |
| Jack Fallon | 22nd May | 90 | Jazz musician |
| Lee Jong-wook | 22nd May | 61 | Head of World Health Org. |
| Eric Forth | 17th May | 61 | MP - conservative |
| Grant McLennan | 6th May | 48 | Singer - Go-Betweens |
| Earl Woods | 3rd May | 74 | Father of Tiger Woods |
| Gene Pitney | 5th April | 65 | Singer |
| Martin Gilks | 3rd April | 41 | Drummer - The Wonderstuff |
| John McGahern | 30th March | 71 | Author |
| Lynne Perrie | 24th March | 75 | Actress - Ivy Tilsley, Coronation Street |
| Jimmy Johnstone | 12th March | 61 | Footballer - Celtic |
| Slobodan Milosevic | 11th March | 64 | President of Yugoslavia / War Criminal |
| John Profumo | 9th March | 91 | Politician - resigned due to scandal |
| Dana Reeve | 6th March | 44 | Singer / Wife of Christopher Reeve |
| Ivor Cutler | 3rd March | 83 | Poet |
| Peter Osgood | 1st March | 59 | Footballer - Chelsea |
| Dennis Weaver | 24th February | 81 | Actor |
| Lynden David Hall | 14th February | 31 | Singer |
| Peter Benchley | 11th February | 65 | Author - Jaws |
| Sir Frederick (Freddie) Laker | 9th February | 83 | Entrepreneur / Airline Tycoon |
| Ron Greenwood | 9th February | 84 | former England manager |
| Coretta Scott King | 31st January | 78 | Civil rights campaigner |
| Moira Shearer | 31st January | 80 | Ballerina / Actress |
| Johannes Rau | 27th January | 75 | Former German President |
| Chris Penn | 24th January | 40 | Actor |
| Wilson Pickett | 19th January | 64 | Soul singer |
| Shelley Winters | 14th January | 83 | Actress |
| Anthony (Tony) Banks | 8th January | 62 | Ex-Labour MP |
| Lord Merlyn-Rees | 5th January | 85 | Former home secretary |