List of Famous people who died in 2016

Margaret Nixon McEathron, known professionally as Marni Nixon, was an American soprano and ghost singer for featured actresses in movie musicals. She is now recognized as the singing voice of leading actresses on the soundtracks of several musicals, including Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, although her roles were concealed from audiences when the films were released. Several of the songs she dubbed appeared on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list.

Stephen Okechukwu Keshi was a Nigerian football defender and manager.

Andrzej Witold Wajda was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "Polish Film School". He was known especially for his trilogy of war films consisting of A Generation (1955), Kanał (1956) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958).

James Perry, was an English script writer and actor. He devised and co-wrote the BBC sitcoms Dad's Army (1968–77), It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81), Hi-De-Hi (1980–88) and You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–93), all with David Croft. Perry co-wrote the theme tune of Dad's Army, "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr. Hitler?" along with Derek Taverner, for which Perry received an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in 1971.

James Harrison was an American poet, novelist, and essayist. He was a prolific and versatile writer publishing over three dozen books in several genres including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature, and memoir. He wrote screenplays, book reviews, literary criticism, and published essays on food, travel, and sport. Harrison indicated that, of all his writing, his poetry meant the most to him. He published 24 novellas during his lifetime and is considered "America’s foremost master" of that form. His first commercial success came with the 1979 publication of the trilogy of novellas, Legends of the Fall, two of which were made into movies. Harrison's work has been translated into multiple languages including French, Greek, Chinese, and Russian. He was the recipient of multiple awards and honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1969), the Mark Twain Award for distinguished contributions to Midwestern literature (1990), and induction into the American Academy of Arts & Letters (2007). Harrison wrote that "The dream that I could write a good poem, a good novel, or even a good movie for that matter, has devoured my life."

Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez CBE was a French composer, conductor, writer and founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of the post-war classical music world.

Ananias Eloi Castro Monteiro, known as Ananias, was a Brazilian footballer who last played as an attacking midfielder for Chapecoense.

Lisa Lynn Masters was an American actress, writer and model.

Sean Lester Rooks was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1992 to 2004, and was an Assistant for Player Development for the Philadelphia 76ers. He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, earning all-conference honors in the Pac-10 as a senior. Rooks died of heart disease on June 7, 2016.

Abdul Nasser Qardash is an Iraqi-born militant who in 2019 was wrongly reported as the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). He was also nicknamed "The Professor" and "Destroyer". Although his role within ISIL is unclear, he is reported as one of ISIL's top commanders and tipped as a potential candidate for ISIL leadership succession. However days after the death of Al-Baghdadi, ‘Abdul-Rahman Al-Mawlah known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was ultimately chosen as the new declared leader of ISIS.