The following is a list of notable deaths in May 2015.
Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship and reason for notability, established cause of death, reference.
May 2015
1
Stephen Milburn Anderson, 67, American film director, writer and producer, throat cancer. Jamie Bishop, 44, Welsh cricketer (Glamorgan). Pete Brown, 80, American professional golfer. José Canalejas, 90, Spanish actor (Django, The Ugly Ones, The Mercenary). Ray Ceresino, 86, Canadian ice hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs). Amitabha Chowdhury, 87, Indian journalist. David Day, 63, Australian radio broadcaster (Triple M Adelaide). Petro Didyk, 54, Ukrainian footballer, traffic collision. Geoff Duke, 92, British motorcycle racer, six-time Grand Prix world champion. Harry Geisinger, 81, American politician, member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1969–1974, since 2005), leukemia. Dave Goldberg, 47, American executive (SurveyMonkey, LAUNCH Media), head trauma from treadmill fall. Vafa Guluzade, 74, Azerbaijani diplomat and political scientist. Leonard Haber, 82, American psychologist, politician and radio show host, Mayor of Miami Beach, Florida (1977–1979). John Hansen, 97, American politician. Alexander Kok, 89, South African-born British cellist. Amar Laskri, 73, Algerian film director. Paul Walter Myers, 82, British classical record producer. Phyllis Rutledge, 83, American politician, member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (1968–1972, 1988–1994). María Elena Velasco, 74, Mexican actress, comedian and film producer (La India María), stomach cancer. Bob Wareing, 84, British politician, MP for Liverpool West Derby (1983–2010). Colin Whitaker, 82, English footballer (Shrewsbury Town, Oldham Athletic). Grace Lee Whitney, 85, American actress (Star Trek, Irma la Douce, Some Like It Hot). Beth Whittall, 78, Canadian Olympic swimmer (1956), double Pan American champion (1955).
2
Stuart Archer, 100, British army colonel, recipient of the George Cross (1941). Michael Blake, 69, American author and screenwriter (Dances with Wolves), Oscar winner (1991). Guy Carawan, 87, American folk singer and civil rights activist. José María Castiñeira de Dios, 94, Argentine poet, pneumonia. Sarah Correa, 22, Brazilian swimmer, South American Games champion (2010), hit by car. Philip S. Goodman, 89, American director, screenwriter and producer (We Shall Return, Profiles in Courage). Konstantyn K. Kuzminsky, 75, Russian performance poet. Ma Shui-long, 75, Taiwanese composer. John Mahaffy, 96, Canadian ice hockey player (Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers). Ryan McHenry, 27, Scottish film director and social media personality (Vine), bone cancer. Nick Mead, 93, British World War II Royal Navy officer. Martin Nag, 88, Norwegian writer, stroke. Rex Percy, 81, New Zealand rugby league player (Auckland, Balmain, national team). Maya Plisetskaya, 89, Russian prima ballerina, heart attack. Ruth Rendell, 85, English crime novelist (Inspector Wexford), stroke. Bob Schmidt, 82, American baseball player (San Francisco Giants, Washington Senators, Cincinnati Reds). Frank Snow, 74, American politician, lung cancer. Norman Thaddeus Vane, 86, American screenwriter and film director (Frightmare). Yu Pengnian, 93, Chinese real estate magnate and philanthropist.
3
Abdul Wahid Aresar, 65, Pakistani politician. Revaz Chkheidze, 88, Georgian film director (Father of a Soldier, The Saplings). Thomas A. Constantine, 76, American police superintendent, Administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration (1994–1999). John Elders, 84, English rugby union player (Leicester). Margaret Garwood, 88, American opera composer, acute heart failure. André Gruchet, 82, French Olympic cyclist (1956, 1960). Alan Hall, 62, British cell biologist. Bruce Barrymore Halpenny, 78, English military historian and author. Danny Jones, 29, English rugby league footballer, heart attack. Symphorian Thomas Keeprath, 84, Indian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Jalandhar (1971–2007). Zoran Lalović, 65, Serbian musician. *Lu Ping, 87, Chinese politician and diplomat, cancer. Harry Martin, 95, American judge. Elizabeth Raybould, 89, British nurse and nursing educator. Warren Smith, 99, American professional golfer. *Su Wenmao, 86, Chinese xiangsheng actor. Per Sundberg, 65, Swedish Olympic fencer. Abdul Basit Usman, 40–41, Filipino fugitive, shot. Tung Jeong, 84, Chinese-born American physicist.