- Dec 1 Fred Rose, American songwriter and music publishing executive (Nashville's Acuff-Rose Music), dies of a heart attack at 57
- Dec 3 Enrique Soro, Chilean composer, dies at 70
- Dec 4 Nina Varzar, wife of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies at 46
- Dec 8 Gladys George, American actress (Roaring Twenties), dies at 50
- Dec 9 Bill McGowan, American Baseball HOF umpire (AL 1925-54; 8 x World Series; 4 x MLB All-Star Games), dies from a heart attack at 58
- Dec 13 John Raymond Hubbell, American writer (b. 1879)
- Dec 20 Emilis Melngailis, Latvian choral composer, folklorist, and conductor (Latvian Song and Dance Festival), dies at 80
- Dec 20 James Hilton, English novelist and screenwriter (Goodbye Mr Chips, Lost Horizon), dies at 54
- Dec 23 René Iché, French sculptor (b. 1897)
- Dec 25 Johnny Ace, American rhythm and blues singer, accidentally shoots himself in the head at 25
- Dec 25 Liberty Hyde Bailey, American botanist, horticulturalist and writer (Hortus), dies at 96
- Dec 25 Rosario Scalero, composer, dies at 84
- Dec 31 Peter Van Anrooy, Dutch conductor and composer (Piet Hein Rhapsodie), dies at 75
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide