- Oct 2 William Bernbach, American advertising creative director, dies at 71
- Oct 3 Roger Claessen, Belgian soccer striker (17 caps; Standard de Liège), dies at 41
- Oct 3 Vivien Merchant [Ada Thompson], British actress (Alfie; The Homecoming; The Offence), dies from alcoholism at 53
- Oct 4 Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, Iraqi fieldmarshal and President of Iraq (1968-79), dies at 68
- Oct 4 Glenn Gould, Canadian classical pianist (Bach's Goldberg Variations) and broadcaster (Solitude Trilogy), dies after suffering a stroke at 50
- Oct 7 Salvador Araneta, Filipino lawyer, educator, businessman, and philanthropist, dies at 80
- Oct 8 Fernando Lamas, Argentine American actor and director (Lost World, You look marvelous), dies of cancer at 67
- Oct 8 Philip Noel-Baker, British politician and disarmament advocate (Nobel 1959), dies at 92
- Oct 9 Anna Freud, Austrian-English psychoanalyst and daughter of Sigmund Freud, dies at 86
- Oct 10 Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (b. 1908)
- Oct 12 (Christiann) "Chris"Reumer, Dutch operatic tenor, dies at 73
- Oct 15 Elsie Randolph, English actress (That'll Make You Whistle), dies at 77
- Oct 16 Hans Selye, Austrian-Canadian endocrinologist, dies at 75
- Oct 16 Jakov Gotovac, Croatian conductor and composer (Ero the Joker), dies at 87
- Oct 16 Mario del Monaco, Italian opera singer (Verdi/Puccini), dies at 67
- Oct 17 Alain de Rothschild, French banker (Banque Rothschild), dies at 72
- Oct 17 Peterus van Doorne, Dutch industrialist, dies at 47
Bess Truman (1885-1982)
Oct 18 US First Lady (1945-52), dies of congestive heart failure at 97
- Oct 18 Dwain Esper, American film director (The Seventh Commandment), dies at 89
- Oct 18 John Robarts, Canadian politician, Premier of Ontario (b. 1917)
- Oct 18 Maurice Gilliams, Belgian writer and poet (Sources of Insomnia), dies at 82
- Oct 18 Paul Lebeau, Flemish writer (Last Rose, Xanthippe), dies at 74
- Oct 18 Pierre Mendès-France, French Premier (1954-55), dies at 75
- Oct 19 Jock Ewing, dies in an aircrash on TV show "Dallas"
- Oct 21 Radka Toneff, Norwegian jazz singer (It Don't Come Easy), dies of a drug overdose at 30
- Oct 22 Savitri Devi [Maximiani Portas], Greek French Nazi writer, dies at 77
- Oct 23 Jacques Klein, Brazilian pianist and composer, dies at 52
- Oct 24 James Philbrook, actor (Islanders, Investigators), dies at 58
- Oct 26 Giovanni Benelli, Italian archbishop of Florence and Pope candidate, dies at 61
- Oct 30 Angelo Ephrikian, Armenian-Italian composer, dies at 69
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide