List of Famous people who died at 72

David Paul Mancuso was an American disc jockey who created the popular "by invitation only" parties in New York City, which later became known as "The Loft". The first party, called "Love Saves The Day", was in 1970.

Álvaro Enrique Arzú Yrigoyen was a Guatemalan politician who was the 32nd President of Guatemala from 14 January 1996 until 14 January 2000. He was elected Mayor of Guatemala City on six occasions: in 1982, when he declined taking office because of a coup d'état; in 1986; in 2003, after serving as president; in 2007; in 2011, and in 2015, for a term that would see him die in office.

Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery was an American animator and director, known for producing and directing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel, George and Junior, and Chilly Willy.

Girdhari Lal was a member of the Lok Sabha a senior Congress leader from Jammu and Kashmir, a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. Dogra served twice as Member of Parliament and six times as Member of the Legislative Assembly. He served as Finance minister of the state for 26 years. He was also known as "The People’s man".

Yoshio Mochizuki was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, and a Minister of the Environment. A native of Shimizu, Shizuoka and graduate of Chuo University, he was elected to the first of his four terms in the city assembly of Shimizu in 1975 and to the first of his two terms in the assembly of Shizuoka Prefecture in 1991. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996 as an independent. He was affiliated to the openly revisionist organization Nippon Kaigi.

Willy Fritsch was a German theater and film actor, a popular leading man and character actor from the silent-film era to the early 1960s.

Dame Cheryll Beatrice Sotheran was a New Zealand museum professional. She was the founding chief executive of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and was credited with the successful completion of the museum, considered the largest international museum project of the 1990s.

Serge Nubret was a French professional bodybuilder, actor and self published author. He won numerous bodybuilding competitions, including 1976 NABBA Mr. Universe (1976). Nubret was nicknamed "The Black Panther."

Warda Al-Jazairia was an Algerian-Lebanese singer. She was well known for her Egyptian Arabic songs and music. Her name literally meant Warda the Algerian, but she was sometimes referred to as just Warda or as "The Algerian Rose" in the Arab world.

Fu Pei-mei was a Taiwanese chef. She wrote over 30 cookbooks on Chinese cuisine and produced and host cooking programs on Taiwan Television and Japan's NHK. In 2012, she was posthumously awarded the special award at the 47th Golden Bell Awards ceremony.