Famous People Who Died At 81

Considered one of the greatest authors, JRR Tolkien is popularly called the father of the modern fantasy literature. He is best known for his high fantasy classic works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which is set in a conceived world called the Middle-Earth. Many years after his death, Tolkien continues to be one of the best-selling writers.

The Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for over six decades, Queen Victoria reigned for longer than any of her predecessors. Her rule witnessed the vast expansion of the British Empire and ushered in a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military changes. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were celebrated with great pomp and show.

Kenny Rogers was an American singer-songwriter. He is among the best-selling musicians of all-time list, having sold over 100 million records. His songs and albums remain influential among country music lovers. A multi-talented personality, Rogers was also successful as an actor and entrepreneur; he was the co-founder of the Kenny Rogers Roasters chain of restaurants.

American actor, Charles Bronson, had a tough-guy on screen persona and is best known for numerous action and vigilante movies. The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen and Hard Times are some of his notable films. Death Wish was his most popular film and it led to four sequels starring him. He worked from the 1950s to 1990s.

Ray Kroc was the man who helped expand McDonald's into a global franchise, eventually turning it into the most successful fast food corporation. Not surprisingly, he was mentioned in Time magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century list. He was also the owner of the popular baseball team San Diego Padres.

Richard Nixon is the only American president in the history so far to resign from the office. His name is synonymous with the infamous Watergate scandal which led to his resignation. But his regime saw several positives too, such as end to the U.S involvement in the Vietnam War, improvement in the relationship with Soviet Union and China, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Two-time Academy Award-winner Bette Davis, a prominent figure from the Golden Age of Hollywood, was known for playing unlikeable characters and her addiction to cigarettes both off and on screen. Fans loved her in All About Eve and Human Bondage. Bette was also the first female AFI Lifetime Achievement Award-winner.

Glen Campbell was an American TV host, actor, singer-songwriter, and guitarist. Regarded as one of the most successful musicians ever, Campbell sold more than 45 million records, which included a double-platinum album, four platinum albums, and 12 gold albums, in a career spanning 50 years. In 2014, he became the subject of a documentary titled Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me.

Widely regarded as one of the most beloved American actors of all time, Don Knotts achieved popularity after portraying Barney Fife in the popular TV series The Andy Griffith Show. Knotts is often considered a major influence on other actors and entertainers. In 1979, he was ranked 27th on TV Guide's list of 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. 

Brian Dennehy was a prolific stage actor with two Tony Awards under his belt. He is credited with exploring playwright Eugene O'Neill’s works and bringing his popular characters to life at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Also an acclaimed television and film actor, Brian Dennehy appeared in more than 180 films and several TV series.

Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. He was also the U.S. secretary of war and had fought in the Mexican–American War earlier. He was against secession. He wrote an autobiography named The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.

Peter O'Toole was a British actor who became popular as a Shakespearean actor with the English Stage Company and at the Bristol Old Vic. O'Toole, who holds the record for receiving the most number of Oscar nominations for acting without a win, has appeared on several greatest actors list in England and Ireland.

Eartha Kitt was an American actress, comedian, dancer, and singer-songwriter. Renowned for her distinctive singing style, Kitt recorded several chartbusting songs during the 1950s. Also a well-known activist, Eartha Kitt established a non-profit organization called the Kittsville Youth Foundation, which helped underprivileged youths in Los Angeles. She was also an ardent advocate for same-sex marriage and LGBT rights.

Mel Blanc was an American radio personality and voice actor. Dubbed The Man of a Thousand Voices, Blanc contributed immensely to the success of several theatrical cartoons by voicing famous characters, such as Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Barney Rubble, and Mr. Spacely. He was considered one of the most influential and important personalities in the voice acting industry.

The King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for almost six decades, George III had a reign that was longer than those of any of his predecessors. His reign was marked by a series of military conflicts. He suffered from mental illness in his later years.

Soul and R&B legend Bill Withers is best remembered for hits such as Ain't No Sunshine and Lean on Me. The three-time Grammy Award-winner also inspired the documentary Still Bill. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Bill moved on to other jobs after his 15-year music career. 

Famous for her controversial comedic persona, Joan Rivers was a television host and comedian. She broke stereotypes by hosting a late-night television talk show titled The Late Show with Joan Rivers, becoming the first woman to do so. Also an author, Rivers wrote 12 best-selling books. In 2017, she was posthumously inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. 

Garry Marshall was an American screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He is credited with creating the popular television series Happy Days and its several spin-offs. He is also credited with co-creating other TV series like Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy. Makin' It, a 1979 sitcom starring David Naughton, was also co-created by Garry Marshall.

Director/screenwriter John Huston is known for making his films with nominal editing and featuring novel adaptations and themes of religion, colonialism, and war. He is known for his Academy Award-winning direction in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and also appeared as an actor in films such as The Cardinal.

George Jones was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Renowned for his distinctive voice and phrasing, George Jones was widely regarded as the greatest living country singer during the last 20 years of his life. Jones is also remembered for staying painstakingly loyal to country music throughout his life. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992.

Harvey Korman gained recognition with his acts on The Danny Kaye Show. He then soared to fame with the sketch comedy series The Carol Burnett Show, partnering with Tim Conway and winning four Emmys. He has also been part of The Flintstones franchise and several Mel Brooks comedies.

Cantinflas was a Mexican actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Dubbed the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico, Cantinflas is best remembered for playing Passepartout in Around the World in 80 Days, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. Regarded as one of the most popular Mexican comedians of all time, Cantinflas is celebrated as a popular icon throughout Spain and Latin America. 

TV and radio host Gene Rayburn gained fame as the host of Match Game for more than 20 years. He also played the lead in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie and received the ATAS Lifetime Achievement Award. A prominent liberal, he supported Planned Parenthood and was concerned about overpopulation.

John McCain served as a US Senator for Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. Previously he was a US naval officer and is hailed as a war hero for his heroics during the Vietnam War. He was a supporter of LGBT rights, gun regulations and campaign finance reform. He was a Republican nominee for the 2008 presidential election but lost to Barack Obama.

Maria Montessori was an Italian educator and physician best known for developing the Montessori method of education, a student-friendly method, which is being used in several public and private schools around the world. In 2020, she was nominated by Time magazine as one of their Top 100 Women of the year.

Hildegard of Bingen was a German writer, composer, Christian mystic, visionary, philosopher, polymath, and Benedictine abbess of the High Middle Ages. Apart from being the most-recorded composers of sacred monophony in modern history, Hildegard of Bingen is also widely regarded as the founder of scientific natural history.

Pat Nixon was an American educator who served as the First Lady of the US from 1969 to 1974 during which she promoted several charitable causes. She is also one of the most traveled First Lady in the history of the United States, accompanying her husband Richard Nixon on his trips to the Soviet Union and China among other countries.

Wu Zetian was a Chinese empress regnant who ruled the Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705. She is the only female monarch in Chinese history. Before ruling the Zhou dynasty, Wu Zetian had served as the de facto ruler of China from 665 to 690. Under her political and military leadership, the Chinese empire expanded beyond its former territorial limits.

German mathematician David Hilbert was first drawn to math inspired by his mother, who was a budding math enthusiast. He contributed to a host of concepts, theories, and postulates, such as Hilbert space, Hilbert's program, and Hilbert's problems. He died in oblivion, with a handful of people at his funeral.

Mary Astor was an American actress best remembered for her portrayal of Brigid O'Shaughnessy in the 1941 film noir The Maltese Falcon. During an illustrious career that spanned several decades, Mary Astor overcame personal difficulties and achieved great success, eventually winning an Oscar under the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in the 1941 drama film The Great Lie.

Tommy Douglas was a Scottish Canadian politician. From 1944 to 1961, he served as premier of Saskatchewan. His cabinet was the first to introduce North America's first single-payer, universal health care program. His life and career inspired a TV miniseries titled Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, in which Douglas was played by actor Michael Therriault.

William Golding was a British playwright, novelist, and poet whose novel Rites of Passage earned him the Booker Prize in 1980. In 1983, Golding was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1988, William Golding was knighted for his contributions to literature. In 2008, he was mentioned in The Times' list of 50 greatest British writers since 1945.