- Oct 3 Herb Flemming [Nicolaiih El-Michelle], American jazz trombonist and vocalist, dies at 77
- Oct 3 Victoria Spivey, American vaudeville and blues singer, pianist, organist, and songwriter ("Dope Head Blues"; Organ Grinder Blues"), dies at 69
- Oct 4 Alexander Gray, American actor (Sally, This is Music), dies at 85
- Oct 5 Barbara Nichols, American actress (Dear Heart, Disorderly Orderly), dies of complications from organ damage at 47
- Oct 5 Lars Onsager, Norwegian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- Oct 6 Gilbert Ryle, British philosopher (b. 1900)
- Oct 7 Nikolai Lopatnikoff, Estonian-American composer (Variazioni Concertanti), dies at 73
- Oct 9 Walter Warlimont, German military officer (WW - 2nd Lieutenant inI; WWII General), and convicted war criminal, dies at 82
- Oct 10 Connee Boswell, American jazz singer (Pete Kelly's Blue), dies at 68
- Oct 10 Silvana Armenulic, Yugoslavian folk singer (b. 1939)
- Oct 11 Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (b. 1897)
- Oct 12 José Rozo Contreras, Colombian saxophonist, conductor, and composer, dies at 82
- Oct 14 Edith Evans, English actress (Tom Jones, Scrooge, Chalk Garden), dies at 88
Carlo Gambino (1902-1976)
Oct 15 Italian-born American mafioso (Gambino family), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Oct 18 Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Indian Telugu writer (Ramayana Kalpa Vrukshamu, Veyipadagalu), dies at 81
- Oct 23 Leonard Lee, American vocalist (Shirley & Lee - "I'm Gone"), dies at 40
- Oct 24 Richard Sturzenegger, Swiss composer and cellist, dies at 70
- Oct 25 Raymond Queneau [M Presle], French writer (Last Days), dies at 73
- Oct 27 Deryck Victor Cooke, composer, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 57
- Oct 31 Linda Watkins, American actress (From Hell it Came, Harpy), dies at 68
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide