List of Famous people who died at 53

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal was a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher. He was the editor of La Prensa, the only significant opposition newspaper to the long rule of the Somoza family. He is a 1977 laureate of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize of the University of Columbia. He married Violeta Barrios de Chamorro who later went on to become President of Nicaragua (1990-1996). In 1978, he was shot to death, one of the precipitating events of the overthrow of the Somoza regime the following year.

Pierre Rapsat was a Belgian singer-songwriter who had a very successful career in his homeland and also spells of popularity in other Francophone countries. Outside these areas, he is best known for his participation in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest.

Brett Whiteley AO was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. He held many exhibitions, and lived and painted in Australia as well as Italy, England, Fiji and the United States.

Gerard Ryan was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented The Gerry Ryan Show on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1988 until hours before his sudden death. He was presented with a Jacob's Award for this show in 1990.

Ayşe Olcay Tiryaki (1955–2008) was a Turkish physician. Ayşe Olcay Tiryaki was a professor at the University of Ankara.

Géza Balkay was a Hungarian television and film actor. He appeared in 46 films and television shows between 1976 and 2006. He starred in The Summer Guest, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.