- Jul 1 Chauncey Haughton, American jazz clarinetist, and saxophonist (Blanche Calloway; Chick Webb; Cab Calloway), dies at 80
- Jul 1 William Ching, actor (Moonlighter, Terror in Haunted House), dies
- Jul 2 Franklin Schaffner, American film director (b. 1920)
- Jul 3 Andrei Gromyko, Soviet politician (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, 1985-88), and diplomat (Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1957–85), dies just short of his 80th birthday
- Jul 3 James "Jim" Backus, American actor (Mr Magoo, Rebel Without a Cause, Gilligan's Island), dies of pneumonia at 76
- Jul 4 Jack Haig [John Cecil Coppin], English actor ('Allo, Allo!), dies of stomach cancer at 76
- Jul 4 Vic Perrin, American actor (Mission: Impossible), dies at 73
- Jul 5 Ernesto Halffter, Spanish classical and film score composer (Rapsodia portuguesa; is Don Quixote de la Mancha), and conductor, dies at 84
- Jul 6 Janos Kádár, 46th Prime Minister of Hungary 5th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary (1956-58), dies at 77
- Jul 9 Piet Lieftinck, Dutch politician (Minister of Finance 1945-52 - oversaw rebuilding of Dutch economy after WWII), dies at 86
- Jul 10 Mel Blanc, American radio comedien and voice actor, best known for his Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons (Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd & Porky Pig), dies at 81
- Jul 10 Thomas "Tommy" Trinder, British radio comedian and actor (Save a Little Sunshine, Phoenix), dies at 80
Laurence Olivier (1907-1989)
Jul 11 English stage and screen acting great (Hamlet, Rebecca), dies at 82
- Jul 12 Sidney Hook, American philosopher (The Paradoxes of Freedom), dies at 86
- Jul 13 Abdul Rahman Qassemlu, Iran Kurds leader, murdered
- Jul 13 Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez, Cubans general, executed
- Jul 14 Frank Bell, British educator and founder of The Bell Educational Trust Limited, dies at 72
- Jul 14 Herman D. Koppel, Danish pianist and composer, dies at 89
- Jul 15 Laurie Cunningham, English soccer left winger (6 caps; Orient, West Bromwich Albion, Real Madrid, Marseille, Rayo Vallecano), dies in a car crash at 33
- Jul 15 Will Bradley [Wilbur Schwichtenberg], American session, jazz, and boogie-woogie trombonist and bandleader ("Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar"), dies at 77
- Jul 16 Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor (Berlin Philharmonic, 1955-89), dies of a heart attack at 81
- Jul 17 Heinz Risse, German writer, dies at 91
- Jul 18 Donnie Moore, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1985 California Angels), dies by suicide at 35
- Jul 18 Rebecca Schaeffer, American actress (Patti-My Sister Sam), is shot by a fan at 21
- Jul 19 Carl-Heinz Schroth, German director and actor (Strafverteidiger), dies at 87
- Jul 19 Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish president (b. 1913)
- Jul 20 Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, French commander of the French resistance, dies at 79
- Jul 20 Mary Treen (née Summers), American character actress (It's a Wonderful Life; Kitty Foyle; The Joey Bishop Show), dies of cancer at 82
- Jul 22 Martti Talvela, Finnish operatic bass (Bayreuth, 1960-85 ; Metropolitan Opera, 1968–87), dies of a heart attack while dancing at his daughter's wedding at 54 [1]
- Jul 23 Claude Harmon, American golfer (US Masters 1948), dies of heart failure at 73
- Jul 23 Donald Barthelme, American author (b. 1931)
- Jul 24 Ernest Morrison [Sunshine Sammy Morrison], American child actor (Our Gang, East Side Kids), dies at 76
- Jul 25 Steve Rubell, American night club owner (b. 1943)
- Jul 28 Jeff Richards [Richard Mansfield Taylor], American actor (Don't Go Near the Water), dies of acute respiratory failure at 64
- Jul 30 Lane Frost, American bull rider, dies from injuries sustained by being gored by a bull at 25
- Jul 31 Michael Harrington, American author (Fragments of Century; The Other America), radio commentator, and political activist (Founder of the Democratic Socialists of America), dies died of esophageal cancer at 61
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning