List of Famous people who died at 47

Vernon Emory Aldo Rumsey was an American musician and the bassist for the band Unwound. He generally played a Fender Jazz bass. He was also a recording engineer who has worked with bands such as Blonde Redhead, KARP, Enemymine, Novex and Replicator.

Stella Doufexis was a German mezzo-soprano in opera and concert.

Carroll Edward Cole was an American serial killer who was executed in 1985 for killing at least fifteen women and one boy by strangulation between 1947 and 1980.

Christopher Joseph Gedney was an American college and professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for Syracuse University, and earned All-American honors. He played professionally for the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals of the NFL. After his football career ended, he served as assistant athletics director at Syracuse University.

Nazif Mujić was a Bosnian Roma actor who is known for his award-winning performance in the documentary drama film An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker. He acted as a scrap collector in Bosnia and Herzegovina along with his family in the movie.

Lawrence Neil Bonnett was an American NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. Bonnett was a member of the Alabama Gang, and started his career with the help of Bobby and Donnie Allison. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s with his performances in cars owned by Jim Stacy and Wood Brothers Racing, becoming one of the top competitors in the 1980s. The Alabama native currently ranks 47th in all-time NASCAR Cup victories. He appeared in the 1983 film Stroker Ace and the 1990 film Days of Thunder. Bonnett hosted the TV show Winners for TNN from 1991 to 1994. He was a color commentator for CBS, TBS, and TNN in the years until his death. Bonnett's driving career was interrupted by a severe brain injury from a crash in 1990. He was killed while practicing for the 1994 Daytona 500 for a much-anticipated comeback.

Marc Spitz was an American music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in Spin as well as The New York Times, Maxim, Blender, Harp, Nylon and the New York Post. He was a contributing music writer for Vanity Fair.

Dean Paul Mercer was an Australian sportsman who competed in ironman events.

John Paul Vann was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, later retired, who became well known for his role in the Vietnam War. Although separated from the military before the Vietnam War reached its peak, he returned to service as a civilian and by the waning days of the war was the first American civilian to command troops in regular combat there. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was the only civilian in Vietnam to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. He died in a helicopter crash in 1972 at 47 years old.

Roger Troutman, also known mononymously as Roger, was an American singer, composer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenced West Coast hip hop due to the scene's heavy sampling of his music over the years. Troutman was well known for his use of the talk box, a device that is connected to an instrument to create different vocal effects. Roger used a custom-made talkbox—the Electro Harmonix "Golden Throat"—through a Moog Minimoog and later in his career a Yamaha DX100 FM synthesizer. As both band leader of Zapp and in his subsequent solo releases, he scored a bevy of funk and R&B hits throughout the 1980s and regularly collaborated with hip hop artists in the 1990s.