- Jan 3 John Thaw, British stage and screen actor (Inspector Morse), born in Gorton, Manchester, England (d. 2002)
- Jan 5 Charlie Rose, American TV host (CBS This Morning), born in Henderson, North Carolina
- Jan 5 Cliff Potts, American television and film actor (Ted-Lou Grant), born in Glendale, California
- Jan 5 Dany Sava [Danielle Savalle], French actress (Moon Pilot), born in Paris, France
- Jan 5 Jan Leeming, English television presenter and newsreader, born in Dartford, United Kingdom
- Jan 8 Yvette Mimieux, American actress (Time Machine; Where the Boys Are; Light in the Piazza), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2022)
- Jan 9 K. Callan, American actress (Joe's World, Martha-Lois & Clark), born in Dallas, Texas
- Jan 10 Walter Hill, American film director (48 Hours, Extreme Prejudice), born in Long Beach, California
- Jan 11 Leo Cullum, American cartoonist (The New Yorker), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2010)
- Jan 16 René Angélil, Canadian music executive, actor and director (Omertà, L'apparition), and husband of Céline Dion, born in Montréal, Québec (d. 2016)
- Jan 17 Nancy Parsons, American actress, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2001)
- Jan 17 Randy Boone, American actor (Cimarron Strip, Virginian), born in Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Jan 19 Shelley Fabares, American actress (The Donna Reed Show; Coach), born in Santa Monica, California
- Jan 21 Mac Davis, American country music singer-songwriter ("Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me"; "In The Ghetto"; "I Believe In Music") and actor (North Dallas Forty), born in Lubbock, Texas (d. 2020) [1]
- Jan 21 Martin Sharp, Australian cartoonist, album cover artist songwriter (Cream), and filmmaker, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2013)
- Jan 23 Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi actor and director (Ki Je Kori, Chandranath), born in Kolkata, British India (d. 2017)
- Jan 23 Willy Bogner Jr., German fashion designer & filmmaker (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), born in Munich, Germany
- Jan 24 Gary Hart, American professional wrestling manager & wrestler, born in Ottawa, Kansas (d. 2008)
- Jan 26 Souad Hosni, Egyptian actress (d. 2001)
- Jan 27 John Witherspoon, American actor (Friday), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2019)
- Jan 29 Claudine Longet, French-American singer, actress, and former Mrs Andy Williams (1961-75), born in Paris, France
- Jan 29 Robin Morgan, American poet, author, political theorist, academic, and former child actor (Dagmar-Mama), born in Lake Worth, Florida
- Jan 31 Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
- Jan 31 Derek Jarman, actor and director (Angelic Conversation, Edward II)
About January 1942
How Old? 82 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
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