Deaths in November 1981

The following is a list of notable deaths in November 1981.

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.

November 1981

2

• Wally Wood, 54, American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, his better known works include stories for EC Comics's titles such as Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, and MAD Magazine from its inception in 1952 until 1964, for the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, for Warren Publishing's Creepy, for the early issues of Marvel's Daredevil (where he established the title character's distinctive red costume), and for his own creator-owned characters Sally Forth and Cannon, ^[1][2][3] suicide by gunshot, due to facing declining health and career prospects. ^[1][4]

3

• Thérèse Casgrain, 85, French-Canadian feminist, reformer, politician and senator, she was a leader in the fight for women's right to vote in the province of Quebec^[5], she was also the first woman to lead a political party in Canada, ^[6] in the 1960s, she became a campaigner against nuclear weapons, she founded in February 1961 the Quebec wing of the Voice of Women (VOW) and served as the national president of VOW from 1962 until 1963.^[7]

5

• Jean Eustache, 42, French film director and editor, his debut feature film The Mother and the Whore (1973) is considered a key work of the post-Nouvelle Vague French cinema, ^[8][9][10]suicide by gunshot, after being partially immobilized in a car accident^[11][12][13]

6

• Frank Harvey, 69, English screenwriter and playwright^[14]

10

• Abel Gance, 92, French film director, producer, writer, and actor, he began directing his own films in 1911 with La Digue (ou Pour sauver la Hollande), ^[15]Gance's innovations in the cinematic techniques included his multiscreen ventures with Polyvision, the superimposition of images, extreme close-ups, fast rhythmic editing, and unorthodox uses for mobile cameras (hand-held, mounted on wires or a pendulum, or strapped to a horse), ^[16]tuberculosis^[17]

12

• William Holden, 63, American actor, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the dark comedy Sunset Boulevard (1950), ^[18] and he won the same award for his role in the war film Stalag 17 (1953),^[19]he bled to death in his apartment after lacerating his forehead by slipping on a rug while intoxicated and hitting a bedside table. The forensic evidence recovered at the scene suggested that Holden was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. His body was found four days later.^[20][21]

13

• Gerhard Marcks, 92, German sculptor and potter, ^[22]he was one of the first three faculty members hired by the Bauhaus in 1919, ^[23]in the post-World War II era, his work was part of the art competitions at three Olympic Games.^[24]

15

• Walter Heitler, 77, German–Irish theoretical physicist, ^[25]he co-published a paper on pair production of gamma rays in the Coulomb field of an atomic nucleus, developing the Bethe–Heitler formula for Bremsstrahlung (braking radiation), ^[26]he also contributed to the understanding of cosmic rays,^[27][28]and he predicted the existence of the electrically neutral pi meson.^[29]
• Enid Markey, 87, American actress, she was the first actress to portray the literary character of Jane Porter in film, playing the character in both Tarzan of The Apes (1918) and The Romance of Tarzan (1918), ^[30][31]complications from a heart attack which she had experienced on November 13^[32]

18

• Fredric Wertham, 86, German–American psychiatrist and author, ^[33][34]he served as a professor of psychiatry at New York University, a senior psychiatrist in the New York City Department of Hospitals, and as both a psychiatrist and the director of the Mental Hygiene Clinic at the Bellevue Hospital Center, ^[33]his best-known book is Seduction of the Innocent (1954), which asserted that comic books caused youth to become juvenile delinquents, many of Wertham's other conjectures, particularly about hidden sexual themes (e.g. images of female nudity concealed in drawings of muscles and tree bark, or Batman and Robin as gay lovers), were met with skepticism from his fellow mental health professionals, but found an audience in those concerned with "public morals", such as Senator Estes Kefauver, who had Wertham testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, which he led^[35][36]

21

• Harry von Zell, 75, American radio announcer and actor, CBS staff announcer and announcer of The Aldrich Family^[37], during the 1920s and 1930s, von Zell served as the announcer on some 20 shows per week, ^[38]he also worked in the early days of television, in 1931 describing boxing matches on experimental television boxing broadcasts, ^[39]cancer^[38]

22

• Jack Fingleton, 73, Australian Test cricketer, journalist and commentator, ^[40]he scored five Test match centuries, representing Australia in 18 Tests between 1932 and 1938.^[41]
• Hans Krebs, 81, German-British biologist, physician, and biochemist, ^[42][43]in 1932, Krebs worked out the outlines of the urea cycle with a medical student, and they published their discovery within the same year. The urea cycle was the first metabolic cycle to be discovered.^[44]

25

• Jack Albertson, 74, American actor, comedian, dancer, singer, and vaudevillian, ^[45]he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Subject Was Roses (1968), ^[46]colon cancer^[47][48]
• Morris Kirksey, 86, American track and field athlete and rugby union footballer who won two gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics^[49]

26

• Max Euwe, 80, Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator, he became the world amateur chess champion in 1928 with a score of 12/15, ^[50]he served as was president of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) from 1970 until 1978.^[51]

27

• Lotte Lenya, 83, Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the romantic drama The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), ^[52]she portrayed the antagonist Rosa Klebb in the spy film From Russia with Love (1963)^[53], and her film character was described as one "the most dangerous female villains of the decade", ^[54]cancer^[55]

28

• Bill Stalker, 33, New Zealand actor, he portrayed the popular character Peter Fanelli, the head of airport security, in both the airport drama serial Skyways^[56] and the police procedural Cop Shop, ^[57][58]killed in a road accident taking place in wet weather, when his motorcycle slid and collided with a car^[59][60]

29

• Natalie Wood, 43, American actress, she began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), ^[61] critics have suggested that her cinematic career represents a portrait of modern American womanhood in transition, as she was one of the few actresses to take both child roles and those of middle-aged characters, ^[62][63]death due to accidental drowning and hypothermia.^[64] Wood was on a weekend boat trip to Santa Catalina Island on board Splendour, a 58-foot (18 m) motor yacht owned by her husband, ^[65] the local authorities recovered her body from the water, one mile (1.6 km) from the boat, with a small Valiant-brand inflatable dinghy beached nearby. ^[66]

30

• Robert H. Harris, American character actor, ^[67] he played Jake Goldberg in the television version of The Goldbergs from 1953 until 1956, ^[67]serving as a replacement for Philip Loeb and Harold Stone^[68]

References

1. "Wallace Wood". Lambiek Comiclopedia. 2014. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014.
2. Daniels, Les (1991). "The Marvel Age (1961–1970)". Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. Abrams Books. p. 120. ISBN 9780810938212. The complicated red-and-yellow costume that [Bill] Everett created for the original Daredevil cover was changed by artist Wally Wood to simpler red tights. The more devilish new costume is the one that ultimately lasted.
3. Markstein, Don (2010). "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. The series was created by Wallace Wood, whose art had been seen throughout the comics industry since 1947 ... Wood was mainly responsible for the overall look of the series.
4. Saunders, David (2012). "Wally Wood (1927-1981)". pulpartists.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2025.
5. Doucet, Sophie (March 9, 2013). "Les contradictions de Madame Casgrain". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved May 9, 2020.
6. Legacy: How French Canadians shaped North America. Signal. 2016. ISBN 978-0-7710-7239-0.
7. Josephson, Harold (1985). Biographical Dictionary of Modern Peace Leaders. Connecticut: Greenwood. pp. 145-146. ISBN 0-313-22565-6.
8. Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "The Way We Are (THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE)". Jonathan Rosenbaum. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
9. "Word Made Flesh: The Films of Jean Eustache". Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
10. "Harvard Film Archive -- Of Flesh, of Spirit: The Cinema of Jean Eustache". Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
11. Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "Jean Eustache". Jonathan Rosenbaum. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
12. "The Thread, by Serge Daney (translated by Steve Erickson)". Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2004.
13. Schneider, Steven Jay, ed. (2007). 501 Movie Directors. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 415. ISBN 9781844035731. OCLC 1347156402.
14. J. B. and R. B., "Mr Frank Harvey", The Times, 14 November 1981, p. 8.
15. Kevin Brownlow, The Parade's Gone By (London: Columbus, 1989), p. 522.
16. Kevin Brownlow, The Parade's Gone By (London: Columbus, 1989), p. 532.
17. Obituary of Abel Gance in The Times (London), Thursday 12 November 1981; p. 14; Issue 61080; col G.
18. "The 23rd Academy Awards (1951) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
19. "The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
20. Bennett, Bruce. "William Holden's Unscripted Fall From Grace" Archived September 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Sun, July 2, 2008.
21. Death Certificate of William Holden, autopsyfiles.org; accessed September 28, 2016.
22. "Marcks, Gerhard". Deutsche Biographie (in German). Retrieved March 4, 2022.
23. Fiell, Charlotte; Fiell, Peter (2005). Design of the 20th Century (25th anniversary ed.). Köln: Taschen. p. 447. ISBN 9783822840788. OCLC 809539744.
24. "Gerhard Marcks". Olympedia. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
25. "Heitler, Walter - Dictionary of Irish Biography". Retrieved October 19, 2025.
26. Bethe, H.; Heitler, W. (1934). "On the Stopping of Fast Particles and on the Creation of Positive Electrons". Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 146 (856): 83–112. Bibcode:1934RSPSA.146...83B. doi:10.1098/rspa.1934.0140.
27. Bhabha, H. J.; Heitler, W. (1937). "The Passage of Fast Electrons and the Theory of Cosmic Showers". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences. 159 (898): 432. Bibcode:1937RSPSA.159..432B. doi:10.1098/rspa.1937.0082.
28. Homi Jahangir Bhabha
29. Fröhlich, H.; Heitler, W.; Kemmer, N. (1938). "On the Nuclear Forces and the Magnetic Moments of the Neutron and the Proton". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences. 166 (924): 154–177. Bibcode:1938RSPSA.166..154F. doi:10.1098/rspa.1938.0085.
30. Katchmer, George A. (2009). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 233. ISBN 9781476609058. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
31. "Enid Markey dies; played Jane in original 'Tarzan'", obituary, Chicago Tribune, November 16, 1981, p. D15. Retrieved (Ann Arbor, Michigan), June 29, 2022.
32. Fraser, C. Gerald (November 16, 1981). "Enid Markey, Actress, Dead; Starred in First Tarzan Film". The New York Times. p. B 18. ProQuest 121663388. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
33. Webster, Bayard (December 1, 1981). "Fredric Wertham, 86, Dies. Foe of Violent TV and Comics". New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
34. "Death Revealed". Time magazine. December 14, 1981. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
35. Itzkoff, Dave (February 19, 2013). "Scholar Finds Flaws in Work by Archenemy of Comics". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
36. Weldon, Glen (April 3, 2016). "A Brief History of Dick". Slate. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
37. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 21, 24.
38. "Longtime Entertainer Harry Von Zell Dies". Santa Cruz Sentinel. November 23, 1981. p. 22. Retrieved May 22, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
39. Radio Dial Log in The New York Sun dated August 20, 1931
40. "Wisden 1982 – Obituary – Jack Fingleton". Wisden. 1982. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
41. "Jack Fingleton : The Man Who Stood up to Bradman | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories".
42. Altman, Lawrence K. (December 9, 1981). "Sir Hans Krebs, winner of Nobel for research on food cycles, dies". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
43. Gibbons, Marion Stubbs, Geoff (2000). "Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–1981)...His Life and Times". IUBMB Life. 50 (3): 163–166. doi:10.1080/152165400300001462. PMID 11142342. S2CID 26393428.
44. Holmes, FL (1980). "Hans Krebs and the discovery of the ornithine cycle". Federation Proceedings. 39 (2): 216–25. PMID 6986292.
45. Obituary Variety, December 2, 1981.
46. "The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
47. "From the Archives: Jack Albertson Dies of Cancer". Los Angeles Times. November 26, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
48. Jack Albertson at the Internet Broadway Database
49. Hickok, Ralph (1995). A who's who of sports champions : their stories and records. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. p. 441. ISBN 9780395681954.
50. Mcfadden, Robert D. (November 28, 1981). "Max Euwe, ex-chess champion, led the game's World Federation". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2010. Euwe's obituary
51. Sosonko, Gennadi (2001). "Remembering Max Euwe Part 1" (PDF). ChessCafe.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2009.
52. "The 34th Academy Awards (1962) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
53. Terence Young. From Russia with Love audio commentary. MGM Home Entertainment. Accessed 17 October 2008. From Russia with Love Ultimate Edition, Disc 1
54. Funnell, Lisa (2011), Waters, Melanie (ed.), "Negotiating Shifts in Feminism: The "Bad" Girls of James Bond", Women on Screen: Feminism and Femininity in Visual Culture, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 199–212, doi:10.1057/9780230301979_14, ISBN 978-0-230-30197-9, retrieved May 29, 2021
55. "Lotte Lenya: A Detailed Chronology 1970–1981". Kurt Weill Foundation. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
56. "1979: August 18–24". August 16, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
57. "Cop Shop coming soon to DVD". April 2, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
58. Fawcett, Tony. "Fanelli’s Leaving Cop Shop". TV Week. 3 October 1981, page 5
59. "Actor with film hopes is killed". "The Age", 30 November 1981, p. 5
60. "TV actor's death accidental, SM rules". "The Age", 18 March 1982, p. 21
61. Wilkins, Barbara (December 13, 1976). "Second Time's the Charm – Marriage, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner". People. 6 (24). Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
62. Lucia, Cynthia; Grundmann, Roy; Simon, Art, eds. (2015). 'Natalie Wood, Studio Stardom and Hollywood in Transition.' in American film history : selected readings. Chicester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 423–447. ISBN 978-1118475133. OCLC 908086219.
63. Sullivan, Rebecca (2016). Natalie Wood. London: British Film Institute. ISBN 978-1844576371. OCLC 933420525.
64. Noguchi & DiMona 1983, p. 43.
65. Rulli & Davern 2009, p. 219.
66. Winton, Richard (July 9, 2012). "Natalie Wood death probe yields more unanswered questions". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
67. "Actor Robert Harris dead at 70". The Galveston Daily News. Texas, Galveston. United Press International. December 4, 1981. p. 14. Retrieved November 8, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
68. Paul Lomartire. "Have I got news for you about Molly," The Palm Beach Post, June 18, 1994, page 1D.

Sources

• Noguchi, Thomas T.; DiMona, Joseph (1983). Coroner. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-46772-7.
• Rulli, Marti; Davern, Dennis (2009). Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour. Medallion. ISBN 978-1-59777-639-4.

External links

• List of November 1981 deaths at IMDb