- Aug 1 Lotta Hitschmanova, Canadian humanitarian (founder of the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada), dies at 80 [1]
- Aug 1 Norbert Elias, German-British sociologist and philosopher (Process of Civilization), dies at 93
- Aug 2 Edwin Richfield, British actor (Interpol Calling, The Avengers), dies at 68
- Aug 2 Norman Mclean, American writer (b. 1902)
- Aug 5 Herman Gooding, Suriname police-inspector, dies
- Aug 6 Charles Arnt, actor (Double Exposure), dies of pancreatic cancer at 82
- Aug 6 Gordon Metcalfe, American actor (Monster in the Closet), dies of AIDS at 43
- Aug 6 Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and Minister of Information (Free French forces), dies at 78
- Aug 6 Mário Pinto de Andrade, Angolan poet and politician who founded the Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), dies at 62
- Aug 6 Robert Alex, shot to death by robber at 31
- Aug 7 Eva Sully Block, American vaudeville actress (Kid Millions), dies of heart failure at 88
- Aug 8 Andrzej Dobrowolski, Polish classical and experimental composer, dies at 68
- Aug 9 Dorothy Appleby, American actress (Small Town Boy, Paradise Express), dies at 84
- Aug 9 Joe Mercer, English soccer midfielder (5 caps; Everton, Arsenal) and manager (Manchester City, Aston Villa, England 1974), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 76
- Aug 10 Cookie Lavagetto, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star 1938-41; Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers) and manager (Washington Senators 1957-61), dies at 77
- Aug 10 Richard Haines, director (Splatter University), dies
- Aug 12 B. Kliban, American cartoonist known for his drawings of cats, usually with horrible puns (Love to Eat Them Mousies), dies at 55
- Aug 12 Dorothy Mackaill, British-American actress (Love Affair), dies of kidney failure at 87
- Aug 12 Piotr Perkowski, Polish composer, dies at 89
- Aug 12 Sara Seegar [Stone], actor (Mystery of Room 13), dies at 76
- Aug 13 Jimmy Starr, American screenwriter, actor (The Corpse Came C.O.D.), and gossip columnist, dies at 86
- Aug 14 Chester Zardis, American jazz 'slap-style' double-bassist, dies at 90
- Aug 15 Lew DeWitt, American country singer and composer (Statler Brothers - "Flowers on the Wall"), dies of Crohn's disease complications at 52
- Aug 15 Nina Bara [Frances Bauer], Argentinian actress (Missile to the Moon, Space Patrol), dies of cancer at 70
- Aug 15 Viktor Tsoi, Russian rock singer-songwriter (Kino), dies in a car accident at 28
- Aug 16 Pat O'Connor, New Zealand professional wrestler (b. 1925)
- Aug 17 Pearl Bailey, American Tony and Emmy Award-winning stage and screen actress, singer and dancer (Hello, Dolly!), dies of a heart attack at 72
- Aug 17 Roderick Cook, English actor (Rockabye), dies of apparent heart attack at 58
- Aug 18 B F Skinner, American psychologist (Skinner Box), dies of Leukemia at 86
- Aug 18 Grethe Ingmann (née Clemmensen), Danish pop singer (Eurovision, 1963), dies of cancer at 52
- Aug 18 Raf Reymen, Flemish actor (Huisvuil, Het glas water), dies at 64
- Aug 19 Anna Rutgers Van de Loeff-Basenau, Dutch children's book writer, dies at 80
- Aug 20 Marc Turfkruijer, Flemish movie journalist and writer, dies at 90
- Aug 22 "Boogie" Bill Webb, American Louisiana blues and R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter ("Bad Dog"), dies at 66
- Aug 22 Merlin Marston, American actor (Blue Sky), dies of non-Hodgkins lymphoma at 46
- Aug 22 Thomas W. McKnew, American President of the National Geographic Society, dies at 94
- Aug 23 David Rose, American Emmy Award-winning composer ("The Stripper"; "Holiday For Strings"), and orchestra leader (The Red Skelton Show), dies at 80
- Aug 24 Gely Abdel Rahman, Sudanese writer and poet (b. 1931)
- Aug 24 Sergei Dovlatov, Russian writer, dies at 48
- Aug 25 Morley Callaghan, Canadian writer and radio personality, dies at 87
- Aug 26 Minoru Honda, Japanese astronomer (discovered 12 comets), dies at 77
- Aug 26 Roh Ogura, Japanese composer and writer, dies at 74
- Aug 27 Raymond St Jacques, American actor, director and producer, who was the 1st African-American to hold a regular role in a western series (Simon Blake in "Rawhide"), dies of cancer at 60
Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990)
Aug 27 American blues guitarist (Texas Flood; "Pride And Joy"; David Bowie - "Let's Dance"), dies in a helicopter crash at 35
- Aug 28 Larry Jackson, American baseball pitcher (5 × MLB All-Star; MLB wins leader 1964; St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies), dies from cancer at 59
- Aug 28 Pamela Harrison, British concert pianist and composer, dies at 74
- Aug 28 Patience Strong [Winifred Emma May], English poet and journalist, dies at 83
- Aug 28 Willy Vandersteen, Flemish cartoonist (Suske & Wiske), dies at 77
- Aug 29 Sandy, dog in the play Annie, dies at 16
- Aug 30 Edmund G. Love, American historian and author (A Small Bequest, Subways Are for Sleeping), dies at 78
- Aug 31 Johnny Lindsay, South African cricket wicketkeeper (3 Tests, 5 dismissals; North Eastern Transvaal), dies at 81
- Aug 31 Nathaniel Clifton "Sweetwater", American NBA player (NY Knicks), dies of a heart attack at 65
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide