- Dec 1 Albert de Klerk, Dutch organist, composer, and conductor, dies at 81
- Dec 1 Bertil Nordahl, Swedish soccer midfielder and manager (15 caps; Atalanta; Olympic gold 1948), dies at 81
- Dec 1 Freddie Young, British cinematographer (Lawrence of Arabia), dies at 96
- Dec 2 Bob Haggart, American dixieland, swing jazz, and session double bass player, and composer ("What's New?"), dies at 84
- Dec 3 Ed Widseth, American College Football Hall of Fame tackle (University of Minnesota; Pro Bowl 1938; NY Giants), dies at 88
- Dec 3 Pierre Hétu, French Canadian conductor and pianist, dies at 62
- Dec 5 Al Gore, Sr., American politician (b. 1907)
- Dec 6 César Baldaccini, French sculptor, dies at 77
- Dec 7 John Addison, British composer (b. 1920)
- Dec 7 Rick Frank, American drummer (Elephant's Memory), dies at 56
Archie Moore (1913-1998)
Dec 9 American light-heavyweight boxing champion (1952-60), dies at 84
- Dec 9 Shaughnessy Cohen, Canadian politician (b. 1948)
- Dec 11 André Lichnerowicz, Polish-French physicist (b. 1915)
- Dec 11 [James] Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot), dies in a car accident at 30
- Dec 12 Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida (1971-89) and Governor of Florida (1991-98), dies at 68
- Dec 12 Marco Denevi, Argentine writer (b. 1922)
- Dec 12 Mo Udall, American politician (Rep-D-AZ, 1961-91), dies at 76
- Dec 13 Lew Grade, British TV mogul (ATV), movie producer (Boys from Brazil), dies at 91
- Dec 13 Richard Thomas, British admiral (Royal Navy) and NATO representative, dies at 66
- Dec 14 Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights activist and author, dies at 70
- Dec 14 Annette Strauss, American philanthropist, dies at 74
- Dec 14 Norman Fell, American actor (Three's Company, The End, Graduate), dies of bone marrow cancer at 74
- Dec 15 Jan Meyerowitz, German-American composer, dies at 85
- Dec 16 William Gaddis, American writer (b. 1922)
- Dec 18 Lev Demin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1926)
- Dec 19 Antonio Ordóñez, Spanish bullfighter (over 3,000 bullfights), dies of liver cancer at 66
- Dec 19 Mel Fisher, American treasure hunter (b. 1922)
- Dec 20 Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British biophysicist (Nobel 1963), dies at 84
- Dec 20 Chester P. Lyons, Canadian naturalist and author (b. 1915)
- Dec 20 Irene Hervey, American actress (b. 1910)
- Dec 21 Ernst-Günther Schenck, German doctor and member of the SS whose memoirs proved historically valuable, dies at 94
- Dec 21 Karl Denver [Angus McKenzie], Scottish pop singer ("Never Say Goodbye"; "Wimoweh"), dies of a brain tumor at 67
- Dec 21 Roger Avon, British actor (Doctor Who, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.), dies at 84
- Dec 22 Michelle Thomas, American actress (b. 1969)
- Dec 22 Virginia Graham, American TV personality (Girl Talk, Where Was I), dies at 86
Raemer Schreiber (1910-1998)
Dec 24 American Physicist (Manhattan Project) who helped develop the first atomic bomb during World War II and prepared the Fat Man bomb that was used in the bombing of Nagasaki, dies at 88
- Dec 25 Bryan MacLean, American singer, musician and songwriter (Love) (b. 1946)
- Dec 25 Hugh Martell, British Vice Admiral, dies at 86
- Dec 25 John Pulman, English snooker player (World Champion 1957-68; News of the World Snooker Tournament 1954, 57, 58), dies after a fall at 75
- Dec 27 Ricardo Tormo, Spanish Grand Prix motocycle racer, dies at 46
- Dec 29 Donald "Don" Taylor, American director and actor (Father's Little Dividend, Escape from the Planet of the Apes), dies of heart failure at 78
- Dec 29 Jean-Claude Forest, writer and illustrator of comics (Barbarella) (b. 1930)
- Dec 29 Jeanne Stern, German screenwriter (The Condemned Village), dies at 90
- Dec 30 George Webb, British actor (Keeping Up Appearances), dies of natural causes at 86
- Dec 30 Johnny Moore, American singer (The Drifters) (b. 1934)
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide