- Dec 1 Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian/American author (Angry Angel), dies at 83
- Dec 1 Stephen Gill Spottswood, American African Methodist Episcopal Zion bishop, and civil rights leader (NAACP Chairman, 1961-74), dies at 77
- Dec 2 Max Weber, Swiss Federal Councilor, dies at 77
- Dec 4 Lee Kinsolving, American actor (Explosive Generation), dies of an illness at 36
- Dec 4 Sophie-Carmen "Sonia" Eckhardt-Gramatté, Russian-Canadian pianist and composer, dies at 75
- Dec 5 Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1909-11, 19), dies at 87
- Dec 5 Henry Wadsworth, American actor (The Thin Man, Applause, Fast & Loose), dies at 77
- Dec 5 Pietro Germi, Italian actor, writer and director (Divorce Italian Style, The Facts of Murder), dies from hepatitis at 60
- Dec 6 Nikolay Kuznetsov, Russian naval commander (Admiral of the Fleet during World War II), dies at 70
- Dec 8 Hugues Panassié, French jazz critic, record producer, and impresario (Hot Club de France), dies at 62
- Dec 9 George Carew, cricketer (4 Tests for WI between 1935 & 1949), dies
- Dec 9 Jorge Croner de Vasconcelos, Portuguese composer, dies at 64
- Dec 10 Paul Richards, American actor (Dr Thompson-Breaking Point), dies of cancer at 50
- Dec 11 Reed Hadley, American actor (Zorro's Fighting Legion, Racket Squad, Shock, Grand Canyon), dies from a heart attack at 63
- Dec 13 John G. Bennett, British scientist and author, dies at 77
- Dec 13 Rufus "Rufe" Davis, American actor (Cocoanut Grove, Trail Blazers, Gangs of Sonora), dies at 66
- Dec 13 Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu, Turkish writer and translator, dies at 85
Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
Dec 14 American journalist and political writer (Public Opinion), dies at 85
- Dec 15 Anatole Litvak, Russian-born American film director, writer and producer (Mayerling, Anastasia, The Snake Pit), dies at 72
- Dec 15 Erich Walter Sternberg, German-Israeli composer (co-founder of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra), dies at 83
- Dec 16 Helen Hicks, American golfer (Western Open 1937, Titleholders Championship 1940), dies of throat cancer at 63
- Dec 16 Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet, dies at 90
- Dec 18 Harry Hooper, American Baseball HOF right fielder (World Series 1912, 15, 16, 18 Boston Red Sox), dies at 87
- Dec 20 André Jolivet, French composer (Jeune France, Mana), dies at 69
- Dec 21 James Henry Govier, British artist (b. 1910)
- Dec 21 Richard Long, American actor (Prof-Nanny and the Professor), dies at 47
- Dec 22 Fosco Giachetti, Italian actor (Wastrel, We the Living), dies at 74
- Dec 25 Harry Ray, American film make-up artist, costume designer and actor (Avanti!), dies at 65
- Dec 26 Farid al-Atrash [El-Atrache], Syrian composer, musician, virtuoso oud player, and actor (Akher kedba), dies of heart disease at 59
Jack Benny (1894-1974)
Dec 26 American comedian (The Jack Benny Program), dies of pancreatic cancer at 80
- Dec 26 Knudåge Riisager, Danish composer (director of the Royal Danish Academy of Music 1956-67), dies at 77
- Dec 26 Robert Levine Sanders, American composer, and organist, dies at 68
- Dec 27 Amy Vanderbilt, American authority on etiquette ("Complete Book of Etiquette"; "Complete Cook Book"), dies of multiple fractures of the skull at 66
- Dec 27 Bob Custer [Raymond Glenn], American silent and sound screen actor (The Fighting Hombre; The Law of the Wild), dies of a heart attack at 76
- Dec 28 Paul Dixon, Ohio talk show host (Paul Dixon Show), dies at 56
- Dec 31 Donalee Tabern, American scientist and inventor of Pentothal - world's most widely used anesthetic, dies at 74 [1]
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide