- Jan 2 Christopher Durang, playwright/actor (Sister Mary), born in Montclair, New Jersey
- Jan 5 Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, American operatic soprano, and actress (Diva), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2024) [1]
- Jan 7 Anne Schedeen, American actress, born in Portland, Oregon
- Jan 10 Teresa Graves, American actress (Laugh-in, Get Christie Love!), born in Houston, Texas
- Jan 12 Wayne Wang, American film director (Chan is Missing; Slam Dance), born in Hong Kong
- Jan 13 Brandon Tartikoff, American TV executive and president of NBC (1981-91), born in Freeport, New York (d. 1997)
- Jan 14 Christine Belford, American actress (Banacek, Empire, 90210), born in Amityville, New York
- Jan 14 Lawrence Kasdan, American screenwriter and director (Accidental Tourist), born in Miami, Florida
- Jan 14 Paul Chubb, Australian actor, born in Arncliffe, Australia (d. 2002)
- Jan 15 Panos Mihalopoulos, Greek actor, born in Kalamata, Greece
- Jan 16 Caroline Munro, British actress (Golden Voyage of Sinbad; Hammer Horror films), and singer ("Tar and Cement"; "Pump Me Up"), born in Windsor, England
- Jan 17 Andy Kaufman, American comedian and actor (Taxi - "Latka Gravas"), born in New York City (d. 1984)
- Jan 17 Billy T. James [William James Te Wehi Taitoko], New Zealand Maori comedian and singer (The Billy T. James Show), born in Cambridge, New Zealand (d. 1991)
- Jan 17 Debbie Watson, American actress (Karen, Tammy), born in La Mirada California,
- Jan 20 Martin von Haselberg, Argentine actor and performance artist, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
John Belushi (1949-1982)
Jan 24 American comedian (SNL, 1975-80), actor (Animal House), and singer (The Blues Brothers), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Jan 26 David Strathairn, American actor (LA Confidential, The Bourne Ultimatum), born in San Francisco, California
- Jan 27 Jaya Suprana [Phoa Kok Tjiang], Indonesian pianist, composer, conductor, writer, educator, and television presenter, born in Denpasar, Bali
- Jan 31 Carol Hawkins, English actress (Dialing for Dingbats), born in Chipping Barnet, United Kingdom
About January 1949
How Old? 75 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No
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