1987 deaths

Sherwood Bailey (August 6, 1923 – August 6, 1987) was an American child actor and civil engineer. His parents were nonprofessionals. He is most noted for appearing as Spud, the red-headed, freckle-faced bad boy and enemy of the gang in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1931 to 1932. Spud was characterized as the mama's-boy type who got away with everything and who also liked the girls a lot.
Bailey's most notable appearance was that of the spoiled, bratty stepbrother of Wheezer and Dorothy in 1931's Dogs Is Dogs. In that short, he is nearly convinced by Stymie that ham and eggs can talk and is later pushed down a well by his own dog, Nero. Bailey left the Our Gang series in 1932 at the age of nine.
Bailey quietly left the film industry in 1956. Before retiring from his professional acting career in 1956, Bailey appeared in a few movies, including The Big Stampede (1932) with John Wayne, Too Many Parents (1936), and Young Tom Edison (1940) with Mickey Rooney.
He graduated from Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, then studied engineering at UCLA but did not graduate. He later earned his state civil engineering license and worked as a civil engineer in Huntington Beach.

María Elvira Gallegos Ríos (16 November 1913 – 13 January 1987) was a Mexican singer and actress.
One of the most notable performers of Agustín Lara's songs, Ríos was the first Mexican singer who achieved international success through radio, records, nightclub engagements, tours, and films. She was well known in Mexico, United States, Brazil, Argentina, and France, among other countries. Some of her greatest hits are "Noche de ronda", "Flores negras", "Perfidia", "Desesperadamente", and "Ausencia".

Henry John Heinz II (July 10, 1908 – February 23, 1987) was an American business executive and CEO of the H. J. Heinz Company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US. His grandfather Henry J. Heinz founded the company in the nineteenth century, and he worked in a variety of positions within the company before becoming CEO.
Heinz II was the father of John Heinz, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, who died in a 1991 plane crash.

Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 – April 7, 1987), born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer.
As a vocalist, Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just before her death in 1987. She is best known for her 1937 recording of a swing version of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond". Throughout her career, Sullivan also appeared as a performer on film as well as on stage. A precursor to better-known later vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, Sullivan is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of the 1930s. Singer Peggy Lee named Sullivan as a key influence in several interviews.

Berta Emilie Helene Drews (German: [ˈbɛʁta heˈleːnə ˈdʁeːfs] ; 19 November 1901 – 10 April 1987) was a German stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films from 1933 to 1983. She was married to actor Heinrich George. The couple had two sons, including actor Götz George.

Ilse Blumenthal-Weiss (14 October 1899 – 10 August 1987) was a German poet. A survivor of Westerbork and Theresienstadt concentration camps, she wrote largely about the Holocaust.

Karl Heinrich Slotta (May 12, 1895 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) – July 17, 1987 in Coral Gables, Florida), was a biochemist. His discovery of progesterone and its relationship to ovulation led to the development of birth control pills.

Carlos Ancira (20 August 1929 – 10 October 1987) was a Mexican film actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1950 to 1986.

Lorin Farrar Wheelwright (December 20, 1909 – November 4, 1987) was an American Latter-day Saint hymnwriter, composer, musical instructor and educator.

George Carlos Smith Jr. (23 August 1910 – 29 March 1987) was the eleventh general superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1962 to 1969.