List of Famous people who died at 86

Julius La Rosa was an American traditional popular music singer, who worked in both radio and television beginning in the 1950s.

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer, dancer, bandleader and actor. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.

Elwyn Brooks White was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte's Web (1952), and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). In a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers, Charlotte's Web came in first in their poll of the top one hundred children's novels. In addition, he was a writer and contributing editor to The New Yorker magazine, and also a co-author of the English language style guide The Elements of Style.

Ramon Daniel Pennington was an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for writing the song "I'm a Ramblin' Man", and for founding the independent Step One Records label.

Bruce Swedien was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand.

Javier Arzalluz Antia was a Basque politician, leader of the Basque Nationalist Party from 1979 until 2004. He was a nationalist and a Christian Democrat, considered during the period one of the most powerful politicians in the Basque Country, making also all strategic decisions in the party he led from 1986 onwards.

Richard Naradof Goodwin was an American writer and presidential advisor. He was an aide and speechwriter to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He was married to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Oleg Nikolayevich Tselkov was a Russian nonconformist artist, celebrated for his images of faces painted in bright color, depicting inner psychological patterns of violence in contemporary culture.

John Anthony West was an American author, lecturer, guide and a proponent of the Sphinx water erosion hypothesis. His early career was as a copywriter in Manhattan and as a science fiction writer. He received a Hugo Award Honorable Mention in 1962.

Dieter Hildebrandt was a German Kabarett artist.