List of Famous people who died in 2017

Don Edward Baylor was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate and was a first baseman, left fielder, and designated hitter. He played for six different American League (AL) teams, primarily the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels, but he also played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Boston Red Sox. In 1979, Baylor was an All-Star and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. He won three Silver Slugger Awards, the Roberto Clemente Award, and was a member of the 1987 World Series champion Minnesota Twins.

Irina Berezhna was a Ukrainian politician who represented the Party of Regions in the Verkhovna Rada, while serving as a People's Deputy from 2007 to 2014.

Willard Tobe Hooper was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time.

Joseph Albert Wapner (November 15, 1919 – February 26, 2017) was an American judge and television personality. He was the first presiding judge of the ongoing reality court show The People's Court. The court show's first run in syndication, with Wapner presiding as judge, lasted from 1981 to 1993, for 12 seasons and 2,484 episodes. While the show's second run has been presided over by multiple judges, Wapner was the sole judge to preside during the court show's first run. His tenure on the program made him the first jurist of arbitration-based reality court shows, which are now a most popular trend in the judicial genre.

Andy Manuel Marte was a Dominican professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He also played in the KBO League for the KT Wiz. On January 22, 2017, Marte was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic.

Charles Robert Jenkins was a United States Army soldier who lived in North Korea from 1965 to 2004 after deserting his unit and crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Andrew Stuart McLean, was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe. Often described as a "story-telling comic" although his stories addressed both humorous and serious themes, he was known for fiction and non-fiction work which celebrated the decency and dignity of ordinary people, through stories which often highlighted the ability of their subjects, whether real or fictional, to persevere with grace and humour through embarrassing or challenging situations.

Dasari Narayana Rao was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, dialogue writer, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, Television, and Bollywood. He has directed more than one hundred and fifty feature films in a variety of genres. He is known by the moniker Darsaka Ratna. His works emphasize social injustice, corruption and gender discrimination. Rao has received three National Film Awards, nine state Nandi Awards including the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, and four Filmfare Awards South including the lifetime Achievement. During his career he has also acted in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada languages.

Charles Edward Bradley was an American singer. After years of obscurity and a part-time music career, Bradley came to prominence in his early 50s. His performances and recording style were consistent with the revivalist approach of his main label Daptone Records, celebrating the feel of funk and soul music from the 1960s and 1970s. One review said he "echoes the evocative delivery of Otis Redding".

William M. "Sonny" Landham was an American film actor and stunt man. He portrayed Billy Bear in 48 Hrs. and tracker Billy Sole in Predator.