List of Famous people who died at 81

Max Luciano Birnstiel was a Swiss molecular biologist who held a number of positions in scientific leadership in Europe, including the chair of the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Zurich from 1972–86, and that of founding director of the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna from 1986 to 1996. His research focused on gene regulation in eukaryotes. His research group is sometimes cited as the first to purify single genes, the ribosomal RNA genes from Xenopus laevis, three years before the successful isolation of the lac operon. He is also recognized for one of the earliest discoveries of a gene enhancer element. Birnstiel died in 2014 of heart failure during cancer treatment.

Marcus Rafael Nikkanen was a Finnish figure skater. He was the 1930 European bronze medalist and the 1933 World bronze medalist. He represented Finland at the 1928 Winter Olympics, at the 1932 Winter Olympics, and the 1936 Winter Olympics. He placed sixth in 1928, fourth in 1932, and seventh in 1936.

Dino Verde was an Italian author, lyricist, playwright and screenwriter.

Mario Tobino was an Italian poet, writer and psychiatrist.

Ian Fraser was an English composer, conductor, orchestrator, arranger and music director. In a career that spanned over 50 years, he received eleven Emmy Awards out of 32 total nominations, making him the most-honored musician in television history. His first 23 Emmy nominations, received between 1977 and 1999, were consecutive, which is the longest run of individual nominations in the history of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Sergio Ferrero was an Italian novelist.

Richard Thomas Condon was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were written in distinctive Condon style, which combined a fast pace, outrage, and frequent humor while focusing almost obsessively on monetary greed and political corruption. Condon himself once said: "Every book I've ever written has been about abuse of power. I feel very strongly about that. I'd like people to know how deeply their politicians wrong them." Condon's books were occasionally bestsellers, and a number of his books were made into films; he is primarily remembered for his 1959 The Manchurian Candidate and, many years later, a series of four novels about a family of New York gangsters named Prizzi.