List of Famous people who died in 2006

Pramoedya Ananta Toer was an Indonesian author of novels, short stories, essays, polemics and histories of his homeland and its people. His works span the colonial period under Dutch rule, Indonesia's struggle for independence, its occupation by Japan during the Second World War, as well as the post-colonial authoritarian regimes of Sukarno and Suharto, and are infused with personal and national history.

James Zadroga was a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer who died of a respiratory disease that has been attributed to his participation in rescue and recovery operations in the rubble of the World Trade Center following the September 11 attacks. Zadroga was the first NYPD officer whose death was attributed to exposure to his contact with toxic chemicals at the attack site.

Ahmet Ertegun was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter and philanthropist.

Bruno Kirby was an American actor, singer, voice artist, and comedian. He was known for his roles in City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II, and Donnie Brasco. He voiced Reginald Stout in Stuart Little.

Guy Louis Gabaldon was a United States Marine who, at age 18, captured or persuaded to surrender over 1,300 Japanese soldiers and civilians during the battles for Saipan and Tinian islands in 1944 during World War II. Though Gabaldon was recommended for the Medal of Honor, he received the Silver Star, which was upgraded by the Marine Corps to the Navy Cross in 1960.

Rudolf Teschner was a German chess master and writer.

Taira Hara was a Japanese manga artist and tarento born in Tosayamada, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. He was a long-time resident of Koishikawa, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. He made his professional manga debut in 1963 with his story Shinjuku BB , published in Weekly Manga Times.

Cláudio Besserman Vianna, commonly known as Bussunda, was a Brazilian humorist and TV comedian, member of the Casseta & Planeta troupe. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, where he lived and worked, having started his career in the 1980s as a writer for satirical magazine Casseta Popular. One of the most popular Brazilian comedians of his generation, the overweight Bussunda was famous for his impersonations of football striker Ronaldo and of Brazil's president Lula. He also did the voice of Shrek in the Brazilian Portuguese version of Shrek and Shrek 2. He was of Jewish descent.

Cory Fulton Lidle was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Lidle spent nine seasons in Major League Baseball with seven different teams. Lidle was killed when the small aircraft he owned crashed into a residential building in New York City.

Natascha Maria Kampusch is an Austrian woman who was abducted at the age of 10 on 2 March 1998 and held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil for more than eight years, until she escaped on 23 August 2006. She has written a book about her ordeal, 3,096 Days (2010), upon which the 2013 German film 3096 Days is based.