Celebrity Deaths – W

by Michael RichComment — Updated August 3, 2023
John Wayne
John Wayne
1979
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
1981
Guy Williams
Guy Williams
1989
Terry Wilson
Terry Wilson
1999
Paul Winfield
Paul Winfield
2004
William Westmoreland
Gen. William Westmoreland
2005
Shelley WInters
Shelley Winters
2006
Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver
2006
Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt
2006
Jim Walsh
Jim Walsh
2007
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
2007
Mr. WHipple
Dick Wilson
(Mr. Whipple)
2007
Jerry Wallace
Jerry Wallace
2008
James Whitmore Died
James Whitmore
2009
Joseph Wiseman
Joseph Wiseman
2009
Helen Wagner
Helen Wagner
2010
margaret Whiting
Margaret Whiting
2011
Dana Winter
Dana Wynter
2011
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
2011
Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace
2012
William Windom
William Windom
2012
Andy Williams
Andy Williams
2012
Ned Wertimer
Ned Wertimer
2013
Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
2013
Esther Williams
Esther Williams
2013
Marcia Wallace
Marcia Wallace
2013
Paul Walker
Paul Walker
2013
Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite
2014
Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
2014
Robin Williams
Robin Williams
2014
Gene Wilder - Blazing Saddles
Gene Wilder
2016
Van Williams Celebrity Death
Van Williams
2016

Henry M. Wade b. 1914 d. March 1, 2001
Dallas Prosecutor – in the Roe v. Wade case

Porter Wagoner b. 1927 d. October 28, 2007 (lung cancer)
Country Singer and Grand Ole Opry star

Helen Wagner b. 1916 d. 2010 (cancer)
Actress – Nancy Hughes-McClosky on “As the World Turns” from 1956 until 2010 (50 Years)

Ralph Waite b. 1928 d. Feb. 13, 2014
Actor – John Walton, Sr. on “The Waltons” and Jackson Gibbs on “NCIS”

Jimmy Wakely b. 1914 d. 1982 (heart failure)
Country singer/actor

Jersey Joe Walcott b. 1914 d. 1994
Boxer – Heavyweight Champion

Nancy Walker b. 1921 d. 1992 (lung cancer)
Actress – Ida on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, Bounty paper towel spokeswoman

Paul Walker b. 1973 d. 2013 (car crash)
Actor – Brian O’Conner in “The Fast and the Furious” films

George C Wallace b. 1919 d. 1998 (heart failure)
Governor of Alabama, Presidential candidate in 1968,1972 and 1976

Irving Wallace b. 1916 d. 1990 (pancreatic cancer)
Writer – The Prize, the Chapman Report and others

Jerry Wallace b.1928 d. 2008 (heart disease)
Muscian, 1950’s country & western star

Lurleen B. Wallace b. 1926 d. 1968
Alabama Governor – Wife of George C. Wallace

Marcia Wallace b. 1942 d. 2013 (complications from breast cancer)
Actress – Receptionist Carol Kester on “Bob Newhart Show“(1972 – 1978)

Myron Leon “Mike” Wallace b. 1918 d. 2012
correspondent for “60 Minutes” news show (1968 – 2008)

Eli Wallach b. 1915 d. 2014 (natural)
Actor – Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Karl Wallenda b.1905 d. 1978 (fell!)
High wire circus performer

Eddy Waller b. 1889 d. 1977 (stroke)
Western Actor

Deborah Walley b. 1943 d. May 10, 2001 (esophageal cancer)
Actress – Gidget Goes Hawaiian

Wallis (Simpson), Duchess of Windsor b. 1896 d. 1986
King Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne for her

J. T Walsh b. 1943 d. 1998 (heart attack)
Actor – John Ehrlichman in Nixon

Bill Walsh b. 1931 d. July 31, 2007 (leukemia)
Legendary coach of the San Francisco 49ers

Ray Walston b. 1914 d. January 1, 2001 (lupus)
Actor – My Favorite Martian and Judge Henry Bone on Picket Fences

John Walton b. 1947 d. June 27, 2005 (plane crash)
Wal-Mart heir, Sam Walton’s son

Sam Wanamaker b. 1919 d. 1993 (cancer)
Actor/director

Andy Warhol b. 1928 d. 1987 (complications of surgery)
Artist

Jack Warden b. 1920 d. July 19, 2006 (heart and kidney failure)
Actor – Crazy Like a Fox and Heaven Can Wait

Jack Warner b. 1892 d. 1978 (pulmonary edema)
Warner Brothers President

Earl Warren b. 1891 d. 1974
Chief Justice, US Supreme Court 1953-1969

Fran Warren b. 1926 d. 2013
Singer – biggest hit, “A Sunday Kind Of Love”

Robert Penn Warren b. 1905 d. 1989
Writer – All the King’s Men

Ruth Warrick b. 1915 d. January 15, 2005 (complications from pneumonia)
Actress – Phoebe Wallingford on All My Children

Harold Washington b. 1922 d. 1987
First Black Mayor of Chicago

Ethel Waters b. 1896 d. 1977 (heart disease)
Actress – Beulah

Muddy Waters b. 1915 d. 1983
Musician – I Got My Mojo Working

Thomas Watson, Jr. b. 1914 d. 1993
Made IBM B-I-G

Bernie Wayne b. 1919 d. 1993
Songwriter – Miss America theme and Blue Velvet

John Wayne (Marion Michael Morrison) b. 1907 d. 1979 (lung and stomach cancer)
Actor – The Duke

David Wayne b. 1914 d. 1995 (lung cancer)
Actor – Dr. Amos Wetherby on House Calls

Ken Weatherwax b. 1955 d. 2014 (heart attack)
Actor – Pugsley on the original Addams Family (1964-’66)

Rudd Weatherwax d. 1985 b. 1915
Dog trainer – Lassie

Dennis Weaver b. 1924 d. February 24, 2006 (cancer)
Actor – Chester Goode on Gunsmoke and Sam McCloud on McCloud

Fritz Weaver b. 1926 d. 2016
Dr. Josef Weiss in the mini series “Holocaust”

Sylvester “Pat” Weaver b. 1908 d. March 15, 2002 (pneumonia)
TV Pioneer, created Today show – father of Sigourney Weaver

Jack Webb b. 1920 d. 1982 (heart attack)
Actor – Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet

Caspar Weinberger b. 1917 d. March 28, 2006 (pneumonia)
Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan

Johnny Weissmuller b. 1904 d. 1984 (series of strokes)
Swimming champion and actor – Tarzan and Jungle Jim

Bob Welch b.1945 d. 2012 (suicide after unsuccessful spinal surgery)
Guitarist / song writer with Fleetwood Mac (1971 – 1974)

Lawrence Welk b. March 11, 1903 d. 1992 (pneumonia)
Musician/Bandleader – The Lawrence Welk Show 1955-1982

Kitty Wells b. 1919 d. 2012 (stroke)
C&W Singer – 1952 hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”

Orson Welles b. 1915 d. 1985 (heart attack)
Actor/Director – Citizen Cane

Cory Wells b. 1941 d. 2015 (myeloma blood cancer)
Singer – Three Dog Night

Mary Wells b. 1943 d. 1992 (throat cancer)
Singer – My Guy

Vince Welnick b. 1951 d. June 2, 2006
Keyboard Player for the Grateful Dead

Ned Wertimer b. 1923 d. January 08, 2013 (complications from a fall)
Actor – Ralph Hart the doorman on “The Jeffersons” (1975 – ’85)

Dottie West b. 1932 d. 1991 (car accident)
Country Singer

Mae West b. 1893 d. 1980 (complications from stroke)
Actress and sex symbol

Gen. William Westmoreland b. 1914 d. July 18, 2005
Leader of the U.S. forces in Vietnam from 1964 to 1968

Jack Weston b. 1924 d. 1996
Actor – Max Kellerman in Dirty Dancing

Dan Wheldon b. 1978 d. October 16, 2011
British born race car driver, won Indy 500 twice, died in a 15 car accident at Las Vegas 300

Barry White b. 1944 d. July 4, 2003 (kidney failure as a result of high blood pressure)
Singer – Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” and “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything.”

David White b. 1916 d. 1990 (heat attack)
Actor – Larry Tate on Bewitched

Lt. Col. Edward White II b. 1930 d. 1967
Astronaut – died in Apollo 1 fire

Jesse White b. 1917 d. 1997
Actor – the Maytag repairman

Maurice White b. 1941 d. 2016 (Parkinson’s disease)
Singer / Songwriter – founder of Earth, Wind & Fire

Reggie White b. 1961 d. December 26, 2004 (heart attack)
Defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers from 1985-1998

Billie Whitelaw b. 1932 d. 2014
Mrs Baylock, the demonic nanny in “The Omen”

Margaret Whiting b.1924 d. 2011 (natural)
Singer, popular in late 40’s early 50’s

Slim Whitman b. 1924 d. 2013 (natural)
Singer – known for his yodeling abilities and his smooth high octave falsetto

James Whitmore b.1921 d. 2009 (lung cancer)
Actor, portrayed Will Rogers on stage

Grace Lee Whitney b. 1930 d. 2015 (natural)
Actress – Yeoman Janice Rand in Star Trek the original series

Mary Wickes b. 1910 d. 1995 (complications of surgery)
Actress – Sister Mary Lazarus in Sister Act (1&2)

Richard Widmark b. 1914 d. March 24, 2008
Actor – How the West Was Won and Madigan

Elie Wiesel b. 1928 d. 2016 (natural)
Jewish Writer/political activist – Holocaust survivor, and Nobel Laureate

Simon Wiesenthal b. 1908 d. September 20, 2005
Holocaust survivor who devoted his life to hunting Nazi war criminals

Frank Wilcox b. 1907 d. 1974
Actor – John Brewster on the Beverly Hillbillies

Cornel Wilde b. 1915 d. 1989 (leukemia)
Actor – The Great Sebastian in Greatest Show on Earth

Gene Wilder b. 1933 d. 2016 (Alzheimer Disease)
Actor – Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka

Roy Wilkins b. 1901 d. 1981
Civil Rights Leader

Andy Williams b. 1927 d. 2012 (bladder cancer)
Singer – Moon River, Andy Williams Show (1959-’71)

Billy Williams b. 1915 d. 1992 (brain tumor)
Actor – Kit Carson, father, with Barbara Hale of William Katt

Esther Williams b. 1921 d. 2013 (natural causes)
Swimmer & Actress – starred in movies that featured swimming and diving

Grant Williams b. 1930 d. 1985 (peritonitis)
Actor – Scott Carey in The Incredible Shrinking Man

Guy Williams b. 1924 d. 1989 (brain aneurysm)
Actor – Zorro and Prof. John Robinson on Lost in Space

Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams b. 1915 d. 2002
Saxaphone Player – biggest hit “The Hucklebuck”, was the only act to play the Moondog Coronation Ball

Paul Williams b. 1939 d. 1973 (suicide – shooting)
Singer – Temptations, asked to leave band due to drinking problem

Robin Williams b. 1951 d. 2014 (suicide by asphyxiation)
Actor / Comedian – “Good Will Hunting”, “Good Morning, Vietnam”, “Dead Poets Society”

Roger Williams b. 1924 d. 2011 (pancreatic cancer)
Pianist – Autumn Laeves, Born Free was discovered by Authur Godfrey

Roy Williams b. 1907 d. 1976
“The Big Moosketeer” on the Mickey Mouse Club

Ted Williams b. 1918 d. July 5, 2002 (heart failure)
Baseball legend – 2 time triple crown winner, Boston Red Sox

Tennessee Williams b. 1911 d. 1983 (accidental asphyxiation while drunk)
Writer – Streecar Named Desire, Glass Menagerie and more

Tex Williams b. 1917 . d. 1985
Country Singer/Songwriter

Van Williams b. 1934 d. 2016 (renal failure)
Actor – Kenny Madison in “Bourbon Street Beat” (1959) & “Surfside 6” (1960)

Boxcar Willie b. 1932 d. 1999 (leukemia)
Country singer

Noble Willingham b. 1931 d. January 17, 2004 (natural causes)
Actor – C. D. Parker on Walker, Texas Ranger

August Wilson b. 1945 d. October 2, 2005 (liver cancer)
Playwright – “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

Charles “Charlie” Wilson b. 1933 d. 2010 (pulmonary arrest)
Politician – 12 term US Congressman, helped to organize and fund the secret war in Afghanastan

Dick Wilson b. 1916 d. November 19, 2007
Actor – Mr. Whipple of over 500 Charmin ads

Frank Wilson b. 1940 d. 2012 (prostate cancer)
Songwriter / Producer – “Love Child” for Supremes, “Castles In the Sand” for Stevie Wonder

Meredith Wilson b. 1902 d. 1984(heart failure)
Composer – The Music Man, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and more

Carl Wilson b. 1946 d. 1998 (brain cancer)
Musician – The Beach Boys

Dennis Wilson b. 1944 d. 1983 (drowning)
Musician – The Beach Boys

Flip Wilson b. 1933 d. 1998 (liver cancer)
Actor/Comedian, “The Flip Wilson Show”

Harold Wilson b. 1916 d. 1995 (cancer)
British Prime Minister, 1964-1970 and 1974-1976

Jackie Wilson b. 1934 d. 1984 (stroke)
Singer – Lonely Teardrops, Higher and Higher

Terry Wilson b. 1923 d. 1999
Stuntman/Actor – Bill Hawks on Wagon Train

Paul Winchell b. 192 d. June 24, 2005 (natural causes)
Ventriloquist – voice of Tigger in Walt Disney’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”; “The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show”

Walter Winchell b. 1897 d. 1972
Journalist

Amy Winehouse b. 1983 d. 2011 (alcohol overdose)
Singer/Songwriter – “Back to Black”, 5 Grammy awards

William Windom b. 1923 d. 2012 (congestive heart failure)
Actor – played a doctor on “Murder, She Wrote”

Paul Winfield b. 1941 d. March 7, 2004 (heart attack)
Actor – Sounder, King, Roots: The Next Generation

Edward Winter b. 1937 d. 2001 (Parkinson’s disease)
Actor – Col. Samuel Flagg in M*A*S*H

Johnny Winter b. 1944 d. July 16, 2014
Musician – Grammy Award winning blues guitarist and producer

Jonathan Winters b. 1925 d. April 11, 2013
Comedian / Actor – The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters (1972–74) also Mork & Mindy

Shelley Winters b. 1920 d. January 14, 2006 (heart failure)
Actor – The Diary of Anne Frank and A Patch of Blue

Robert Wise b. 1914 d. September 14, 2005 (heart failure)
Producer/director – West Side Story and Sound of Music

Joseph Wiseman b. 1915 d. October 19, 2008 (natural causes)
Canadian Actor played Dr. No in the James Bond film

Bobby Womack b. 1944 d. 2014
R&B Singer/ Songwriter – “Lookin’ For a Love”, “Across 110th Street”

Ed Wood b. 1914 d. 1978 (heart failure)
Dubbed worst director of all time

Evelyn Wood b. 1909 d. 1995
Speed reading guru

Natalie Wood b. 1938 d. 1981 (drowning)
Actress – Rebel Without A Cause, West Side Story – wife of Robert Wagner

Pat Woodell b. 1944 d. 2015 (cancer)
Actress / Singer – Bobbie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction

John Wooden b. 1910 d. 2010 (natural)
Basketball Coach – UCLA 1948 – 1975 won ten National Championships

Earl Woods b. 1932 d. May 3, 2006 (prostate cancer)
Father of golfer Tiger Woods, age 74

Georgie Woods b. 1927 d. June 18, 2005 (heart attack)
Legendary Philadelphia radio broadcaster,”The Guy With the Goods” on WDAS and WHAT

Rose Mary Woods b.1918 d. January 22, 2005
Secretary to Richard Nixon who took blame for 18 ½ minute gap in tapes

Ali-Ollie Woodson b. 1951 d. May 30, 2010 (Leukemia)
Singer / Songwriter sang with the Temptations

Sheb Wooley b. 1921 d. September 16, 2003 (leukemia)
Actor/songwriter – Pete Nolan on Rawhide, wrote “Flying Purple People Eater

Keo Woolford b. 1967 d. 2016 (stroke)
Actor – Det. Chang on Hawaii Five-0 (2010 version)

Hank Worden b. 1901 d. 1992
Western actor

Fay Wray b. 1907 d. August 8, 2004
Actress – King Kong

Richard Wright b.1943 d. 2008 (cancer)
Muscian- keyboardist for Pink Floyd

Teresa Wright b. 1918 d. March 6, 2005 (heart attack)
Actress – Mrs. Miniver, Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives

Jane Wyatt b. 1910 d. October 20, 2006
Actress – Margaret Anderson on Father Knows Best

William Wyler b. 1902 d. 1981
Director – Ben Hur, Roman Holiday, Funny Girl

Jane Wyman b. 1917 d. September 10, 2007
Actress – Angela Channing on “Falcon Crest”) and 1st wife of Ronald Reagan

Tammy Wynette b. 1942 d. 1998 (blood clot – died in her sleep)
Country Singer

Keenan Wynn b.1916 d. 1986 (cancer)
Actor

Dana Wynter b. 1931 d. 2011 (congestive heart failure)
Actress – best known for “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”

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