- May 1 Floyd "Candy" Johnson, American jazz saxophonist (Andy Kirk; Count Basie; Bill Doggett), and educator, born in Madison, Illinois (d. 1981)
- May 2 Serge Reggiani, Italian-French actor (Paris Blues), chanson singer ("Les loups sont entrés dans Paris"; "Sarah"), and painter, born in Reggio Emilia, Italy (d. 2004)
- May 3 Marina Svetlova, American ballerina and choreographer (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo), born in Paris (d. 2009)
- May 5 J. D. "Jay" Miller, American record producer, born in Iota, Louisiana (d. 1996)
- May 5 Monica Lewis, American jazz singer and film actress (Box Office, Affair with a Stranger), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2015)
- May 7 Lewis "Lew" Anderson, American actor and musician (The Howdy Doody Show), born in Kirkman, Iowa (d. 2006)
Bea Arthur (1922-2009)
May 13 American Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress (Mame; Maude; The Golden Girls), and singer, born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 18 Kai Winding, Danish-American Jazz musician and trombonist (Georgia On My Mind), born in Aarhus, Denmark (d. 1983)
- May 24 Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), born in Tokyo (d. 2012)
- May 29 Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, music theorist, and architect who helped revolutionize 20th century classical music (Metastaseis), born in Brăila, Romania (d. 2001)
About May 1922
How Old? 102 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: No
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