List of Famous people who died in 2011

John Joseph Maus, known professionally as John Walker, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the founder of the Walker Brothers, who had their greatest success in the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom.

Gorgen Ray Aghayan was an American fashion designer and costume designer for the United States film industry. He won an Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his costume design. His partner was fashion designer Bob Mackie, from the early 1960s until his death in 2011.

María Elena Walsh was an Argentine poet, novelist, musician, playwright, writer and composer, mainly known for her songs and books for children.

Alan Tang Kwong-Wing was a Hong Kong film actor, producer and director.

Sylvia Robinson was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson had two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with "Love Is Strange" in 1957 and her solo record "Pillow Talk" in 1973. She later became known for her work as founder and CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. Robinson is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the hip hop genre; "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by the Sugarhill Gang, and "The Message" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; which caused her to be dubbed "The Mother of Hip–Hop". Robinson received a Pioneer Award for her career in singing and being the founder of Sugarhill Records at the 11th Annual Rhythm and Blues Awards Gala in 2000.

John Herbert was a Brazilian actor, director and producer.

Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev was a Soviet weightlifter. He set 80 world records and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting and won Olympic gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 games.

Margaret Atieno Ogola was a Kenyan novelist who wrote The River and the Source and its sequel, I Swear by Apollo. The River and the Source follows four generations of Kenyan women in a rapidly changing country and society. The book has been on the KCSE syllabus for many years, and it won the 1995 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best first book, Africa Region. Ogola completed on her final book, titled Mandate of the people, before her death and it is set to be released posthumously. She was also the recipient of the Familias Award for Humanitarian Service of the World Congress of Families.

Takanosato Toshihide , real name Toshihide Takaya , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Namioka, Aomori. He was the sport's 59th yokozuna from 1983 to 1986 and won four top division tournament championships. After retirement he established Naruto stable which he ran from 1989 until his death.

Maurice Ward was an English inventor best known for his invention of Starlite, a thermal shielding material. He was a former hairdresser from Hartlepool, County Durham, England. Ward believed he should not sell his material directly or allow unsupervised research due to the potential for reverse engineering, and he maintained that he should keep 51% ownership of the formula for Starlite because he valued the material to be worth billions; this is believed to have stunted its commercial success. Starlite is considered by many to be a lost invention, a technology which might have revolutionised the world of aerospace and materials science. Thermashield, LLC claims to have purchased the secret formula and all rights from Maurice's widow Eileen in 2013.