- Oct 1 Andrzej Krzanowski, Polish classical composer and accordionist (The Wind Carries the Echo Across a Wood Clearing), dies at 49
- Oct 1 Curtis LeMay, American air force general (WWII) and VP candidate, dies at 83
- Oct 1 Phil Napoleon [Filippo Napoli] American early jazz trumpeter and bandleader (Original Memphis Five; Napoleon and HIs Emperors), dies at 89
- Oct 3 Eleanor Steber, American soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1940-66), dies following unsuccessful heart surgery at 76
- Oct 3 Stefano Casiraghi, Italian speedboat racer, businessman and husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, dies in a motor boat race at 30
- Oct 4 Avis Bunnage, British actress (Rising Damp, Coronation Street), dies at 67
- Oct 4 Jill Bennett, British actress (Lady Jane, Concrete Jungle), overdoses at 58
- Oct 5 Meir Kahane, American founder of the Jewish Defense League, assassinated at 58
- Oct 7 Cat Thompson, American college basketball player (hall of fame 1962), dies at 84
- Oct 7 J Teengs Gerritsen, resistance fighter, dies
- Oct 7 Juan Jose Arevalo, President of Guatemala (1945-51), dies
- Oct 8 B.J. Wilson, British session and touring rock drummer (Procol Harum, 1967-77; Joe Cocker), dies of a drug overdose complications and pneumonia at 43
- Oct 9 Richard Murdoch, actor (Lilli Marlene), dies of a heart attack at 83
- Oct 10 Carlos Thompson, actor (Mistress of the World), dies at 67
- Oct 10 Dick Jorgensen, NFL referee, dies at 56
- Oct 10 Irene Mayer Selznick, American socialite and theatrical producer (Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire"), dies at 83
- Oct 10 Michael A Salcido, dies at 39
- Oct 10 Tom Murton, American penologist (b. 1928)
- Oct 11 Douglas Edwards, American newscaster (CBS Evening News, FYI), dies of cancer at 73
- Oct 11 Robert Tessier, actor (Nightwish, Future Force), dies at 56
- Oct 12 Max Tailleur, Dutch adjudant to Prince Bernhard and Jewish humorist, dies at 81
- Oct 12 Rifaat Maghub, president Egyptian MP, murdered
- Oct 12 Tom Carvel, Greek born American ice cream mogul (Carvels), dies at 84
- Oct 13 Hans Freudenthal, German-Dutch mathematician and director (OW&OC), dies at 85
- Oct 13 Hans Namuth, German-born photographer (Todos Santos, Guatemala), dies at 75
- Oct 13 Lê Ðức Thọ, Vietnamese revolutionary general, politician and negotiator in Paris (1975), dies at 78
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Oct 14 American Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1958-69; Israel Philharmonic; London Symphony), and composer (West Side Story; Chichester Psalms), dies of a heart attack at 72
- Oct 15 Delphine Seyrig, French actress (Freak Orlando, Reperages), dies of lung disease at 58
- Oct 16 Art Blakey, American jazz drummer (Jazz Messengers), dies of cancer at 71
- Oct 16 Jorge Bolet, Cuban-born American pianist known for his performances of the work of Franz Liszt, dies at 75
- Oct 19 Lew Worsham, American golfer (US Open 1947; Ryder Cup 1947), dies at 73
- Oct 20 Bridget Bate Tichenor (born Bridget Pamela Arkwright Bate), Mexican surrealist painter dies at 72
- Oct 20 Joel McCrea, American actor (Foreign Correspondent, Sullivan's Travels), dies of pulmonary complications at 84
- Oct 22 Frank Sinkwich, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1942, U of Georgia; NFL Draft #1 pick Detroit Lions 1943; NFL MVP 1944), dies at 70
- Oct 23 Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher ("For Marx"; "Reading Capital") who strangled his wife, dies at 72
- Oct 26 Guus Jansen, Dutch pianist, Hammond organist, and popular song composer ("Net als Toen" - Eurovison, 1957), dies at 79
- Oct 26 William Samuel Paley, American president and CEO of CBS (1928-90), dies of a heart attack at 89
- Oct 27 Elliott Roosevelt, American general, writer and son of FDR (Murder in the Oval Office), dies at 80
- Oct 27 Jacques Demy, French film director and screenwriter (Lola; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; Donkey Skin), dies of AIDS at 59
- Oct 27 Princess Sophie von Hohenberg, daughter of assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (b. 1901)
- Oct 27 Ugo Tognazzi, Italian comedy actor, director and screenwriter (La Cage Aux Folles, The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 68
- Oct 27 Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American bandleader, dies at 90
- Oct 28 Frankie Masters [Masterman], American banjo player, guitarist, vocalist, and big band bandleader ("Scatter-Brain"), dies at 86
- Oct 28 Nobutaka Shikanai, Japanese media CEO (Fujisankei Communications Group), dies of liver failure at 78 [1]
- Oct 29 Anthony Donato, America violinist, composer (The Hidden Fortress), pedagogue, and music writer (Preparing Music Manuscript), dies at 81
- Oct 29 William French Smith, American lawyer, US Attorney General (1980-5), dies at 73 of cancer
- Oct 30 Craig Russell, Canadian female impersonator, dies of an AIDS-stroke at 42
- Oct 30 Harry Lauter, American actor (Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Waterfront), dies of heart failure at 76
- Oct 31 Graig Russel, Canadian travel expert/transvestite, dies
- Oct 31 Hugh McPhillips, dies at 70
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide