List of Famous people who died in 2006

Floyd Patterson was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Raizo Matsuno was a Japanese politician. Matsuno was born in Yamaga, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture in 1917. He served in the Imperial Japanese Navy as an officer at the end of World War II as he was attending Naval Accounting School.

Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also referred to as Sheikh Maktoum (honorific) was the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the emir (ruler) of Dubai.

Roscoe Monroe Brumbaugh better known by his ring name Sputnik Monroe, was an American professional wrestler. He was a headliner in many territories, and was best known in Memphis, Tennessee, where he and Billy Wicks set an attendance record that lasted until the Monday Night Wars boom period.

Akira Ifukube was a Japanese classical and film music composer, best known for his works on the Godzilla franchise.

Marshall Goldberg was a National Football League (NFL) All-Pro American football player. He played college football as a halfback and fullback at the University of Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh, Goldberg was twice recognized as a consensus All-American, and played on two national championship teams under head coach Jock Sutherland. Goldberg played for the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL for eight seasons between 1939 and 1948, with an interruption during World War II, and was a four-time All-Pro. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1958.

Edward Laurence Albert was an American actor. The son of actor Eddie Albert and Mexican actress Margo, he starred opposite Goldie Hawn in Butterflies Are Free (1972), a role for which he won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. He was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Albert starred in more than 130 films and television series, including Midway, The Greek Tycoon, Galaxy of Terror, The House Where Evil Dwells, The Yellow Rose, Falcon Crest and Power Rangers Time Force.

Kuljeet Randhawa was an Indian model and actress. The former Gladrags model was known for her portrayal of bold and strong women-centric characters. She is best known for her work in TV series C.A.T.S., Special Squad and Kohinoor.

Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov also known as Türkmenbaşy / Түркменбашы or Beýik Türkmenbaşy / Бейик Түркменбашы was a Turkmen politician who served as the leader of Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was First Secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party from 1985 until 1991 and supported the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt. He continued to rule Turkmenistan for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Bebe Moore Campbell, was an American author, journalist and teacher. Campbell was the author of three New York Times bestsellers: Brothers and Sisters, Singing in the Comeback Choir, and What You Owe Me, which was also a Los Angeles Times "Best Book of 2001". Her other works include the novel Your Blues Ain't Like Mine, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and the winner of the NAACP Image Award for Literature; her memoir, Sweet Summer: Growing Up With and Without My Dad; and her first nonfiction book, Successful Women, Angry Men: Backlash in the Two-Career Marriage. Her essays, articles, and excerpts appear in many anthologies.