List of Famous people who died in 2005

John Spencer was an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing. His performance on the show earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002.

Artimus Lamont Bentley, better known professionally as Lamont Bentley, was an American actor and rapper best known for his role as Hakeem Campbell on the UPN sitcom Moesha and the spin-off The Parkers. Bentley was also known for his role as Crazy K in the 1995 horror film Tales from the Hood and C-Money in the 2001 film The Wash featuring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

Maurice Ralph Hilleman was a leading American microbiologist who specialized in vaccinology and developed over 40 vaccines, an unparalleled record of productivity. According to one estimate, his vaccines save nearly 8 million lives each year. Many have described him as one of the most influential vaccinologists of all time.

Jason Jeffrey Collier was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the first active NBA player to die since Malik Sealy in 2000.

William Curtis Colepaugh was an American who, following his 1943 discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserve, defected to Nazi Germany in 1944. While a crewman on a repatriation ship that stopped off in Lisbon, Colepaugh defected at the German consulate. Colepaugh had attended Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach, New Jersey.

Stanley Tookie Williams III was best known for being one of the original founders and leaders of the Crips gang in Los Angeles, California who was executed by lethal injection. He also was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, an International Peace Mediator, and an author. In 1971, Williams and Raymond Washington formed an alliance establishing the Crips as the first major African-American street gang in South Central Los Angeles. Williams became the de facto leader and the prominent crime boss in South Central in the 1970s. In 1979, Williams was convicted for the murder of four people during two robberies, and was sentenced to death. The highly publicized trial of Williams and extensive appeals for clemency sparked debate on the status of the death penalty in California.

Pierre Bachelet was a French singer-songwriter.

Moustapha Al Akkad was a Syrian–American film producer and director, best known for producing the original series of Halloween films and directing The Message and Lion of the Desert. He was killed along with his daughter Rima Al Akkad Monla in the 2005 Amman bombings.

Michael Marshall was a French American actor.

William Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1968 to 1972.