List of Famous people who died at 71

Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian communist politician and leader. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was also the country's head of state from 1967, serving as President of the State Council and from 1974 concurrently as President of the Republic, until his overthrow and execution in the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, part of a series of anti-Communist and anti-Soviet uprisings in Eastern Europe that year.

Matsumoto Hakuō I , born Junjirō Fujima , was a Japanese Kabuki actor, regarded as the leading tachiyaku of the postwar decades; he also performed in a number of non-kabuki venues, including Western theatre and films. Taking the name Hakuō upon retirement, he was known as Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII for much of his career.

John Warren Geils Jr., known professionally as J. Geils or Jay Geils, was an American guitarist. He was known as the leader of The J. Geils Band.

Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. was an American actor, best known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show The White Shadow (1978–1981). Howard won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1970 for his performance in Child's Play, and later won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his work in Grey Gardens (2009).

John Derek was an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer and photographer. He appeared in such films as Knock on Any Door, All the King's Men, and Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950). He was also known for launching the career of his fourth wife, Bo Derek.

Edward Kirk Herrmann was an American actor, director, and writer, best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt on television, Richard Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, Max in The Lost Boys and a ubiquitous narrator for historical programs on The History Channel and in such PBS productions as Nova, and as a spokesman for Dodge automobiles in the 1990s.

Aimo Allan Koivunen was a Finnish soldier in World War II and the first documented case of a soldier overdosing on methamphetamine during combat.

Robert William Hoskins was an English actor. His work included lead roles in Pennies from Heaven (1978), The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Mermaids (1990), and Super Mario Bros. (1993), and supporting performances in Brazil (1985), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), A Christmas Carol (2009), Made in Dagenham (2010), and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). He also directed two feature films: The Raggedy Rawney (1988) and Rainbow (1996).

Roger Rees was a Welsh actor and director, widely known for his stage work. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. He also received Obie Awards for his role in The End of the Day and as co-director of Peter and the Starcatcher. Rees was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in November 2015.

Anthony James Donegan, known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was Britain's most successful and influential recording artist before the Beatles.