- Dec 1 Anna E. Roosevelt, American radio personality (b. 1906)
- Dec 1 Ernesto Maserati, Italian auto racer and engineer (director, chief engineer Maserati of Modena), dies at 77
- Dec 1 Nellie Fox, American Baseball Hall of Fame infielder (15 x MLB All Star; AL MVP 1959; Chicago White Sox), dies from lymphatic cancer at 47
- Dec 1 Nick Kenny, American columnist and songwriter (Nick Kenny Show), dies at 80
- Dec 1 Ranganandhan Francis, Indian field hockey goalkeeper (Olympic gold 1948, 52, 56), dies at 55
- Dec 3 Jacob Kruijt, Dutch sociologist, dies at 76
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975)
Dec 4 German-American political theorist and historian (Origins of Totalitarianism), dies of a heart attack at 69
Thornton Wilder (1897-1975)
Dec 7 American playwright and writer (Bridge of San Luis Rey), dies at 78
- Dec 8 Gary Thain, New Zealand bassist (Uriah Heep, 1972-75), dies of respiratory failure due to a heroin overdose, at 27
- Dec 9 Esdras Minville, Quebec writer, economist and sociologist, dies at 79
- Dec 9 Frank Signorelli, American swing jazz pianist (Original Dixieland Jazz Band; Joe Venuti's Blue Four), and songwriter (Stairway to the Stars), dies at 74
- Dec 9 Jeff Heath, Canadian baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1941, 43, 45; Cleveland Indians), dies from a heart attack at 60
- Dec 9 William A. Wellman, American director (Ox Bow Incident), dies at 79
- Dec 11 Lee Wiley, American jazz singer (Night in Manhattan), dies at 67
- Dec 13 Cyril Delevanti, British actor (Soylent Green, The Night of the Iguana), dies at 88
- Dec 13 Hendrik Johan Kruls, Dutch general and chief military authority (1944-46), dies at 73
- Dec 14 Arthur Treacher, British character actor (The Little Princess; Thank You, Jeeves), TV announcer/sidekick (The Merv Griffin Show, 1965-70), and fish and chips restaurant namesake, dies of cardiovascular disease at 81
- Dec 15 Mukhtar Ashrafi, Soviet-Uzbek composer, dies at 63
- Dec 17 Frank Sully, American actor (Along Came Jones; Phantom Thief; Inside the Law), dies at 67
- Dec 17 Hound Dog Taylor [Theodore Roosevelt], American Chicago blues guitarist and singer, dies of lung cancer at 60
- Dec 17 Noble Sissle, American jazz composer, singer, lyricist and playwright (Shuffle Along; "I'm Just Wild About Harry"), dies at 86
- Dec 18 Theodosius Dobzhansky, Russian-American genetist, evolutionary biologist and author (Mankind Evolving), dies at 75
- Dec 20 William Lundigan, American actor (Climax, Pinky, They Asked for It), dies of lung and heart congestion at 61
- Dec 23 Richard S Welch, American CIA station chief in Athens, Greece, assassinated by revolutionaries at 46
- Dec 24 Bernard Herrmann [Maximillian Herman], American radio and Academy Award-winning film score composer (Mercury Theatre on the Air; Citizen Kane; Vertigo; Psycho; Taxi Driver), and conductor, bdies of a heart attack at 64
- Dec 24 Tilly Losch, Austrian dancer and actress (Duel in the Sun; Garden of Allah), dies at about 71 (birth date disputed)
- Dec 25 Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (Librairie Gallimard), dies at 94
- Dec 29 Euell Gibbons, American outdoorsman and proponent of natural diets (b. 1911).
- Dec 31 Donal Michalsky, American composer, dies in a fire at 47
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide