- Aug 3 Vladimir Tendryakov, Russian writer (Three, Seven, Ace), dies at 60
- Aug 4 Edmond Ryan, actor (Human Monster), dies at 79 of a heart attack
- Aug 4 Howard Culver, actor (Howie-Gunsmoke), dies at 66
- Aug 4 Mary Miles Minter, actress (Drums of Fate), die at 82 of heart failure
- Aug 4 Walter Burke, American actor (Jack the Giant Killer), dies at 75 of emphysema
Richard Burton (1925-1984)
Aug 5 Welsh Tony and BAFTA Award-winning stage and screen actor (Cleopatra: Camelot; Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), and fifth and sixth husband of Elizabeth Taylor (1964-74, 1975-76), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 58
- Aug 5 Rudolf Hagelstange, German writer, dies at 72
- Aug 7 Esther Phillips, American singer (What a Difference a Day Makes), dies at 48
- Aug 8 Ellen Raskin, American author (b.1928)
- Aug 8 Richard Deacon, American actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show - "Mel Cooley"), dies of cardiovascular disease at 62
- Aug 11 Alfred A. Knopf, American publisher (1966 Alexander Hamilton Medal), dies at 91
- Aug 11 Pat McCauley, Northern Irish rock keyboardist and drummer (Them. 1964-65 - "Here Comes The Night"; The Other Them, 1965-67), dies at 40
- Aug 11 Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian-German chess player, dies at 67
- Aug 11 Percy Mayfield, American singer (Hit the Road Jack), dies at 63
- Aug 13 Clyde Cook, actor (Dawn Patrol, Jazz Heaven), dies in his sleep at 92
- Aug 13 Tigran Petrosian, Soviet Armenian World Chess Champion (1963-69), dies of stomach cancer at 55
- Aug 14 (John) "Bobo" Jenkins, American blues singer-songwriter (Democrat Blues), dies at 68
- Aug 14 J. B. Priestly, English novelist and scriptwriter (The Good Companions, An Inspector Calls), dies at 89
- Aug 14 John Boynton Priestley, English, stagewriter (Magicians), dies at 89
- Aug 14 Peter Wishart, English composer, dies at 63
- Aug 15 Norman Petty, American musician, songwriter, recording studio owner, and record producer (Buddy Holly), dies of leukemia at 57
- Aug 16 György Kósa, Hungarian composer, dies at 87
- Aug 17 Hammie Nixon [Nickerson], American blues harmonica player (Sleepy John Estes), dies at 76
- Aug 17 Hollie Roffey, British youngest ever heart transplant, dies at 28 days
- Aug 22 Charles Whittenberg, American composer, dies at 57
- Aug 25 Andy Varipapa, American ten-pin bowler (BPAA All-Star champion 1947-48), dies at 93
Truman Capote (1924-1984)
Aug 25 American author (Breakfast At Tiffany's; In Cold Blood), dies of liver cancer at 59
- Aug 25 Viktor Chukarin, Soviet gymnast (Olympic gold 1952, 56), dies at 62
- Aug 25 Waite Hoyt, American MLB baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1923, 27, 28; AL wins leader 1927; NY Yankees), dies from heart failure at 84
- Aug 26 Julie Stevens, actress (Lorelei-Big Town), dies at 67
- Aug 27 Bernard Youens [Popley], British actor (Coronation Street, Somewhere in Politics), dies from a heart attack at 69
- Aug 27 Billy Sands, American actor (Phil Silvers Show, McHale's Navy), dies at 73
- Aug 28 Mohamed Naguib, Egyptian general and revolutionary (one of the leaders of Egyptian Revolution, 1st President of Egypt 1952-54), dies at 83
- Aug 29 Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian statesman (b. 1901)
- Aug 30 Wesley Lau, American actor (Lt Anderson-Perry Mason), dies at 63
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide