PASSINGS

A look back at some of the world figures who died in 1994:

Cab Calloway, 86, flamboyant bandleader, singer, author, dancer and father of “jive language” who performed for more than six decades from the Roaring ‘20s to the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers.” In November, after a stroke.

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James Clavell, 69, prolific author of epic best-selling novels such as “King Rat,” “Shogun” and “Noble House” that were usually reincarnated on TV or the silver screen. In September, of a stroke.

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Robert Doisneau, 81, whose intimate, often poignant pictures of Parisians became some of the world’s best-known photographs, among them “The Kiss at City Hall.” In April, after heart surgery.

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Erik Erikson, 91, influential psychoanalyst and author who extended Freudian theory into adolescence and adulthood and coined the phrase “identity crisis.” His book “Gandhi’s Truth” won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1970. In May, of undisclosed causes.

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Erich Honecker, 81, former East German Communist leader (1971-89) who built the Cold War’s most chilling monument, the Berlin Wall. In May at his home in exile in Santiago, Chile, of liver cancer.

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Eugene Ionesco, 81, Romanian-born playwright considered the godfather of the theater of the absurd who wrote the genre’s best-known work, “The Rhinoceros.” In March, after declining health.

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Kim Il Sung, 82, who led North Korea into the Korean War in 1950 and was the Communist dictator of the isolated regime for more than four decades. In July, of a heart attack.

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Melina Mercouri, throaty actress who rocketed to international fame as the good-hearted prostitute Illya in “Never on Sunday.” She became the first woman to hold a senior Cabinet post in Greece, as culture minister in 1981-1989 and again in October, 1993. In March of lung cancer. Believed to be 70.

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Richard Nixon, 81, the 37th U.S. President (1969-74) and the only one to resign his office--to avoid impeachment in the Watergate scandal. He claimed a lasting achievement in the historic opening to China and later became an elder statesman as part of a decades-long career. In April, after a stroke.

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Jaramogi Odinga, 76, who helped bring multi-party politics back to Kenya and was the country’s first vice president in 1964. In January, of a heart attack.

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Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, 64, widow of the 35th U.S. President and also of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. She captivated the world by defining elegance and culture and by braving the tragedy of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination with composure. In May, of cancer.

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Linus C. Pauling, 93, two-time Nobel Prize winner, a leader in the fight against nuclear weapons and an advocate of Vitamin C to prevent cancer, the common cold and other diseases. In August, of prostate cancer.

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Martha Raye, 78, charismatic comedian who entertained American troops in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars and teamed up with top talent such as Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope and Milton Berle. In October, after a lengthy illness.

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Wilma Rudolph, 54, Olympic track legend who overcame polio and inspired a generation of women’s track stars by becoming the first U.S. woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. In November, of brain cancer.

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Dean Rusk, 85, former secretary of state under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson during years that encompassed the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis, the signing of a nuclear non-proliferation treaty with the Soviet Union and the Vietnam War. In December, of congestive heart failure.

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Ayrton Senna, 34, Brazilian three-time world Formula One champion whom some called the best race driver of all time. In May, of head injuries when his car crashed during the Grand Prix of San Marino in Imola, Italy.