- Jan 1 (Jennie Jane Morgan, British-American vaudeville, radio, and screen actress (Our Miss Brooks - "Mrs Margaret Davis"), dies at 91
- Jan 1 Maurice Chevalier, French actor (Can Can; Gigi) and singer ("Thank Heaven For Little Girls"), dies at 83
- Jan 3 Frans Masereel, Flem WWII resistance fighter (Le Soleil), dies at 82
- Jan 4 Carl-Olof Anderberg, Swedish composer, dies at 57
- Jan 5 Gerald Kelly, British painter, dies at 92
- Jan 6 Chen Yi, Chinese military commander and politician (b. 1901)
- Jan 7 Clarence Passailaigue, Jamaican cricketer (487 for 6th wkt for Jamaica), dies at 70
- Jan 7 Eftichia Papagianopoulos, Greek lyricist (b. 1893)
- Jan 7 John Berryman, American poet (The Dream Songs), dies at 57
Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972)
Jan 8 American writer (See You in the Morning), dies at 60
- Jan 8 Wesley Ruggles, American actor, producer and director (I'm No Angel, Arizona, Too Many Husbands), dies at 82
- Jan 9 Ted Shawn, American modern dance pioneer and choreographer (Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers ), dies at 80
- Jan 10 Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (b. 1897)
- Jan 10 Al Goodman, Russian-American orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 81
- Jan 10 Georg Rendl, Austrian miner, beekeeper and writer (Satan on Earth), dies at 68
- Jan 10 Sverre Jordan, Norwegian composer, orchestra conductor and pianist (Norwegian Rapsody), dies at 82
- Jan 12 Padraic Colum, Irish novelist and poet (Collected Poems), dies at 90
- Jan 14 Frederik IX, King of Denmark (1947-72), dies at 72
- Jan 15 Margaret "Daisy" Ashford, British child author who wrote "The Young Visiters" (Mister Salteena's Plan) aged 9, dies at 90
- Jan 16 David Seville [Ross Bagdasarian], American songwriter ("Come On A-My House"), singer (Alvin & The Chipmunks - "Witch Doctor"), and actor (Rear Window), dies at 52
- Jan 16 Teller Ammons, American attorney and politician (Governor of Colorado, 1937-39), dies at 76
- Jan 17 Betty Smith, American novelist (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), dies at 75
- Jan 17 Rochelle Hudson, American actress (Les Misérables, Imitation of Life, That's My Boy), dies from pneumonia at 55
- Jan 18 Rudolf Wittelsbach, Swiss pianist and composer, dies at 69
- Jan 19 Michael Rabin, American violinist (In Memorium), dies at 35
- Jan 23 Big Maybelle [Mabel Smith], American R&B singer (A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On; Candy), dies from complications of diabetes at 47
- Jan 24 Jerome Cowan, American actor (Blondie, Tab Hunter Show), dies at 74
- Jan 25 Erhard Milch, German field marshal (b. 1892)
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972)
Jan 27 American gospel singer ("Whole World In His Hands"), dies of a heart failure at 60
- Jan 27 Richard Courant, German-American mathematician, dies at 84
- Jan 28 Adriaan B "Jaap" Wagemaker, Dutch sculptor, dies at 66
- Jan 28 Dino Buzzati, Italian writer (The Tartar Steppe), dies at 67
- Jan 30 Karel Boleslav Jirak, Czech composer and pedagogue, dies at 81
- Jan 31 Bir Bikram Shah Deva Mahendra, King of Nepal (1955-72), dies at 51
- Jan 31 Fritiof Nilsson Piraten, Swedish writer (Bombi Bitt Och Jag), dies at 76
- Jan 31 Howard Barlow, American conductor (Voice of Firestone), dies at 79
- Jan 31 Istvan Szelenyi, Hungarian composer and musicologist, dies at 67
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning