List of Famous people who died in 1996

Herbert Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best-known roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls. He also had a recurring role on the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere.

Martin Henry Balsam was an American actor who had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television.

Bernhard "Berni" Klodt was a German football player. He was born in Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck; the goalkeeper Hans Klodt was his brother.

Herbert Richard Baumeister was an American suspected serial killer. A resident of Westfield, Indiana, Baumeister was under investigation for murdering over a dozen men in the early 1990s, most of whom were last seen at gay bars. Police found the remains of eleven persons, eight identified, on Baumeister's property. After an arrest warrant was issued the suspect fled to Canada and subsequently killed himself before he could be brought to trial. He never confessed to the crimes and his suicide note made no mention of the murder allegations. He was later linked to a series of murders of at least nine men along Interstate 70, which occurred in the early to mid-1980s.

Guy Madison was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958.

Jacques Desrosiers was a Québécois Canadian singer and actor. Desrosiers was best known for playing the clown Patof in the Canadian television series Patofville. He was born in Montreal, Quebec.

Andre "Angel" Melendez was a member of the Club Kids and purported drug dealer who lived and worked in New York City. He was killed by Michael Alig and Robert "Freeze" Riggs on March 17, 1996.

Eric Lawson Malpass was an English novelist noted for witty descriptions of rural family life, notably of his creation, the extended Pentecost family. He also wrote historical fiction ranging from the late Middle Ages to Edwardian England, and acquired a devoted readership on the Continent, particularly in Germany, where most of his books were translated.

Joan Elisabeth Lowther Murray, MBE was an English cryptanalyst and numismatist best known for her work as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Although she did not personally seek the spotlight, her role in the Enigma project that decrypted Nazi Germany's secret communications earned her awards and citations, such as appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), in 1946.

Peng Wan-ru, also spelled Peng Wan-ju, was a feminist Taiwanese politician. The director of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Women's Affairs Department, Peng advocated for the safety and development of women. Peng married Horng Wann-sheng and they had a son together.