List of Famous people who died in 2006

Jurij Brězan was a Sorbian writer. His works, especially the novels, narrative works and children's books, were available in the two languages German and Upper Sorbian.

Kōji Totani was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan who worked at Aoni Production. On February 6, 2006, at the age of 57, he died from acute heart failure. His final appearance was the Naruto 2006 New Year one-hour special, where he voiced Hoki. Following Totani's death, his ongoing roles were taken up by other voice actors.

Liesel ("Liese") Prokop-Sykora was an Austrian athlete who competed mainly in the pentathlon and, later in her life, a politician.

Eckhard Dagge, was a professional boxer in the super welterweight division.

Franz "Schnuckenack" Reinhardt was a gypsy jazz musician (violinist), composer and interpreter. He was considered the "great violin virtuoso of Sinti music." He was a German Sinto; his music was mostly published and categorized under the contemporary names gypsy jazz or "Musik deutscher Zigeuner". He "made this music accessible to a broad public" and made the most significant contribution to the presentation of gypsy music and jazz in Germany into a concert form. He was the pioneer of this style of music in Germany and directly or indirectly inspired many of the succeeding generation of gypsy jazz players in that country, as well as preserving on record a great many folkloric and gypsy compositions for future generations.

Hamza El Din was an Egyptian composer, oud player, tar player, and vocalist. El Din was born in southern Egypt and studied the music of his native region Nubia, near the Sudanese border. He subsequently lived and studied in Italy, Japan and the United States. El Din collaborated with a wide variety of musical performers, including Sandy Bull, the Kronos Quartet and the Grateful Dead.

Arthur Hertzberg was a Conservative rabbi and prominent Jewish-American scholar and activist.

Yuan Baojing was a Chinese billionaire from Liaoyang, Liaoning province. He was the president of the Beijing-based Jianhao Group. He was convicted of murder and executed in March 2006, after what appeared to be a feud with Sichuan businessman Liu Han.

Chinatsu Mori was a Japanese shot putter. Her personal best throw is 18.22 metres, achieved in April 2004 in Hamamatsu. This is the current Japanese record.

Thierry Fortineau was a French actor.