List of Famous people who died at 81

Heinz Höher was a German footballer and manager.

General Magnus André de Merindol Malan, was a South African military figure and politician during the last years of apartheid in South Africa. He served respectively as Minister of Defence in the cabinet of President P. W. Botha, Chief of the South African Defence Force (SADF), and Chief of the South African Army. Rising quickly through the lower ranks, he was appointed to strategic command positions. His tenure as chief of the defence force saw it increase in size, efficiency and capabilities. As P.W. Botha's cabinet minister, he posited a total communist onslaught, for which an encompassing national strategy was devised. This entailed placing policing, intelligence and aspects of civic affairs under control of generals. The ANC and Swapo were branded as terrorist organizations, while splinter groups were bolstered in neighbouring and Frontline States. Cross-border raids targeted suspected bases of insurgents or activists, while at home the army entered townships from 1984 onwards to stifle unrest. Elements in the Inkhata Freedom Party were used as a proxy force, and rogue soldiers and policemen in the CCB assassinated opponents.

Horace Meredith Clarke was an American Virgin Islander baseball second baseman who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres from 1965 to 1974. He was a switch hitter who threw right-handed.

Yosuke Natsuki was a Japanese actor. He had participated twice in the Dakar Rally as a racing driver.

Tirumakudalu Narasipura Balakrishna, commonly known an T. N. Balakrishna or Balanna, was an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. He was said to have a hearing problem and some say that he was totally deaf. However, he would catch the lip movements of the artists and would narrate the dialogues spontaneously. He was popular for his comic and villainous roles in films like kantheredu nodu (1961), Muriyada Mane (1964), Bangaarada Manushya (1972), Gandhada Gudi (1973) and Kaamana Billu (1983) and appeared in numerous versatile roles over a hundred films that starred Rajkumar in the lead role.

Gilbert Naccache was a Tunisian Jewish writer and leftist activist.

Olaf Christian Ditlev-Simonsen Jr. was a Norwegian footballer, sports administrator and businessperson.

Biagio Anthony Gazzarra, known as Ben Gazzara, was an American actor and director. His best-known films include Anatomy of a Murder (1959), The Bridge at Remagen (1969), Voyage of the Damned (1976), Inchon (1981), Road House (1989), The Big Lebowski (1998), Buffalo '66 (1998), Happiness (1998), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Summer of Sam (1999), Dogville (2003) and Paris, je t'aime (2006). He was a recurring collaborator with John Cassavetes, working with him on Husbands (1970), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Opening Night (1977).

Roberto Hernández Jr. was a Mexican journalist and sportscaster from Monterrey. He headed the sportscasting team of Multimedios Televisión and Radio and was a commentator for games of the local team UANL Tigres. He was also a columnist for Milenio Diario, the national newspaper owned by Multimedios.

Anri Girshevich Volokhonsky was a Russian poet and translator.