- Dec 1 Teun Struycken [Antoon Arnold Marie Struycken], Dutch Minister of Justice (1950-51) and Governor of the Netherlands Antilles (1951-56), dies at 70
- Dec 4 Leila Hyams, actress (Red Headed Woman, Freaks), dies at 72
- Dec 5 Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Soviet military commander (b. 1895)
- Dec 5 Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American jazz multi-instrumentalist (Bright Moments, The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color), dies of a stroke at 42
- Dec 7 Paul Gibb, cricketer (England batsman, 8 Tests), dies
Peter Carl Goldmark (1906-1977)
Dec 7 Hungarian-American engineer (developed the 33-1/3 rpm LP phonograph record format), dies in a car accident at 71
- Dec 9 Clarice Lispector, Ukrainian-Brazilian writer (Laços de Família), dies at 56
- Dec 10 Adolph Rupp, American Basketball HOF coach (NCAA Div I Tournament 1948, 49, 51, 58; Uni of Kentucky; 5 × National Coach of the Year), dies of spinal cancer at 76
- Dec 11 Bodi Rapp [Johanna Goetmakers], Dutch mezzo-soprano and teacher, dies at 1977
- Dec 12 Clementine Churchill, British life peer and wife of Winston Churchill, dies at 92
- Dec 12 Frank Boucher, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Ottawa Sens, Vancouver Maroons, NY Rangers), coach (Stanley Cup 1939–40 NY Rangers) and executive (GM NY Rangers), dies at 76
- Dec 13 Charles Petrie, British historian known for his study of royalism and Jacobitism (If: A Jacobite Fantasy), dies at 82
- Dec 15 Wilfred Kitching, English, 7th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1893)
- Dec 16 Benny de Weille, German swing jazz clarinetist and bandleader, dies at 62
- Dec 16 Risto Jarva, Finnish filmmaker, major figure during Finnish New Wave cinema, dies in a car accident at 43
- Dec 18 Cyril Ritchard, Australian actor (Peter Pan; Hans Brinker), dies at 80
- Dec 18 Louis Untermeyer, American poet and critic (Immortal Poems, Story Poems), dies at 92
- Dec 18 Walter Breedveld, Dutch writer (Een ship vergaat), dies at 76
- Dec 19 Nellie Tayloe Ross, American educator, politician, 1st woman to serve as a governor (Wyoming, 1925-27), and administrator (Director of US Mint, 1933-53), dies at 101
- Dec 22 Johann Nepomuk David, Austrian-German composer, dies at 82
- Dec 24 Samael Aun Weor, Colombian writer (b. 1917)
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
Dec 25 British actor and comedian (Modern Times, The Kid), dies in Switzerland at 88
- Dec 26 Howard Hawks, American director and producer (Rio Bravo, Scarface, The Big Sleep), dies at 81
- Dec 26 Ivan Rezak, Czech composer, dies at 53
- Dec 28 Charlotte Greenwood, American actress (Oklahoma; Moon Over Miami), dies at 87
- Dec 31 Nora Marlowe, actress (Sara-Gov & JJ), dies at 62
- Dec 31 Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, ruler of Kuwait (b. 1924)
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide