- Dec 1 Bill Playle, New Zealand cricket batsman (8 Tests), born in Palmerston North, New Zealand (d. 2019)
- Dec 1 Sandy Nelson, American rock drummer ("Teen Beat"; "Let There Be Drums"), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 2022)
- Dec 2 Luis Artime, Argentine soccer striker and manager (25 caps; River Plate), born in Parque Civit, Argentina
- Dec 3 José Serebrier, Uruguayan conductor and composer (Star Wagon; Passacaglia and Perpetuum Mobile), born in Montevideo, Uruguay
- Dec 3 Martyn Taylor, teacher/campaigner
- Dec 4 Andre Marrou, American Libertarian Presidential candidate (1992), born in Nixon, Texas
- Dec 4 Frank Myler, English rugby league stand-off (24 caps Great Britain, 1 England; Widnes, St. Helens) and coach (Widnes, Swinton, Oldham), born in Widnes, England (d. 2020)
- Dec 4 Liesbeth Struppert, Dutch actress (Miep Gies-Anne Frank), born in Deventer, Overijssel, Netherlands (d. 1994)
- Dec 4 Lynn Blessing, vibes player (d. 1994)
- Dec 4 Richard Meade, British equestrian (3 x Olympic gold eventing 1968, 72; World C'ship gold team 1970, 82), born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales (d. 2015)
- Dec 4 Yvonne Minton, Australian-British soprano, born in Sydney, Australia
- Dec 5 J. J. Cale, American rock guitarist and songwriter ("After Midnight": "Call Me The Breeze"; "Cocaine"), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 2013)
- Dec 6 Oxana Yablonskaya, Russian concert pianist, and music professor (Juilliard School, 1978-2009), born in Moscow, USSR
- Dec 6 Patrick Bauchau, Belgian actor (Scarpine-A View To Kill), born in Brussels, Belgium
- Dec 9 Deacon Jones, American Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end (8 × Pro Bowl; 5 × First-team All-Pro; LA Rams, SD Chargers), born in Eatonville, Florida (d. 2013)
- Dec 9 Rina Venter, South African Minister of National Health and Population Development (1989-94)
- Dec 9 William Thomas McKinley, American composer and jazz pianist, born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania (d. 2015)
- Dec 10 Bill Mathis, American football halfback (AFL All Star 1961, 63; New York Titans/Jets), born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina (d. 2020)
- Dec 10 Yuri Temirkanov, Russian conductor (Kirov), born in Nalchik, Russia
- Dec 11 Enrico Macias, Algerian-French singer, born in Constantine, Algeria
- Dec 11 Fred Cox, American football kicker (NFL C'ship 1969; Pro Bowl 1970; Minnesota Vikings all-time leading scorer), born in Monongahela, Pennsylvania (d. 2019)
- Dec 11 McCoy Tyner, American jazz pianist (John Coltrane Quartet), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2020)
- Dec 12 Joel Chadabe, American electronic music composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 2021)
- Dec 13 Alvin Curran, American composer (Inner Cities; I Dreamt John Cage Yodeling at the Zurich Hauptbahnhof), born in Providence, Rhode Island
- Dec 13 Tom Shaw, American golfer (The Tradition 1993), born in Wichita, Kansas
- Dec 13 Tony Gomez, British rock keyboardist (The Foundations - "Baby Now That I've Found You"; "Build Me Up Buttercup"), born in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) (d. 2015)
- Dec 14 Hal Williams, American actor (Pvt Benjamin, 227, Sanford & Son), born in Columbus, Ohio
- Dec 14 Janette Scott, English actress (Day of the Triffids), born in Morecambe, Lancashire, England
- Dec 14 Leonardo Boff, Brazilian Catholic theologian (liberation theology) and writer, born in Concórdia, Santa Catarina, Brazil
- Dec 15 Bob Foster, American boxer (world light-heavyweight champion 1968-74), born in Lubbock, Texas (d. 2015)
- Dec 15 Dennis RB Madide, South African Internal minister of Transkei
- Dec 15 Fred Anton Maier, Norwegian speed skater (Olympic gold 5,000m 1968, bronze 1964; silver 10,000m 1964, 68; 11 x WRs), born in Nøtterøy, Norway (d. 2015)
- Dec 16 Frank Deford, American sportswriter
Jimmie Lee Jackson (1938-1965)
Dec 16 American civil rights protester and church deacon, shot and killed by an Alabama State Trooper in 1965, born in Marion, Alabama
- Dec 16 Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress and director (The Emigrants, Persona), born in Tokyo, Japan
- Dec 17 Carlo Little, English drummer (d. 2005)
- Dec 17 Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete (Olympic gold 800m 1960, 64; 1,500m 1964), born in Opunake, New Zealand (d. 2019)
- Dec 18 Roger E. Mosley, American actor (actor (Magnum, P.I. -"TC"; Leadbelly), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2022)
- Dec 18 [Bryan] Chas Chandler, English rock bassist (The Animals - "House of the Rising Sun") and artist manager (Jimi Hendrix), born in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Dec 20 John Harris Harbison, American composer (The Flight Into Egypt), born in Orange, New Jersey
- Dec 21 Larry Bryggman, American actor (Dr John Dixon-As the World Turns), born in Concord, California
- Dec 21 Roland Coryn, Belgian violist, composer, and music educator, born in Kortrijk, Belgium
- Dec 22 Lucien Bouchard, French Canadian lawyer & politician, born in Saint-Cœur-de-Marie, Quebec
- Dec 22 Matty Alou, Dominican baseball outfielder (NL batting champion 1966; MLB All-Star 1968-69; Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Haina, Dominican Republic (d. 2011)
- Dec 23 Bob Kahn, American internet pioneer, born in Brooklyn, New York City
- Dec 24 Hans Küppers, German soccer midfielder (7 caps, West Germany; TSV 1860 Munich, 1. FC Nürnberg), born in Essen, Germany (d. 2021)
- Dec 24 Ralp Inbar, Dutch TV host (Banana Split), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 2004)
- Dec 24 Valentim Loureiro, Portuguese politician, and former football chairman of Boavista F.C. and Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional
- Dec 25 David Borden, American jazz and minimalist keyboard player and composer, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Dec 25 Duane Armstrong, American painter (Fields of Grass), born in Fresno, California
- Dec 25 Wibo van de Linde, Dutch TV host/director (Avro)
- Dec 26 Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (d. 1989)
- Dec 26 Bahram Beizai, Iranian playwright and film director
- Dec 27 Ron Greene, American college basketball coach (Uni of New Orleans, Mississippi State, Murray State, Indiana State), born in Terre Haute, Indiana (d. 2021)
- Dec 28 Bruce Yarnell, American actor (Outlaws) and singer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1973)
- Dec 28 Dick Sudhalter, American jazz trumpeter, and writer, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2008)
- Dec 28 Frank Kelly, Irish stage and screen actor (Father Ted), born in Dublin (d. 2016)
- Dec 28 Janet Hough Bryant, author/performing artist/educator
- Dec 28 John Gleeson, Australian rugby league five eighth (10 Tests; Queensland 25 games; Wynnum-Manly, Brothers RLFC), born in Chinchilla, Australia (d. 2021)
- Dec 28 Pachín, Spanish soccer defender (8 caps; Real Madrid) and manager (Osasuna, Levante, Granada), born in Torrelavega, Spain (d. 2021)
- Dec 29 Gianluigi Saccaro, Italian fencer (Olympic gold épée team 1960; silver épée team 1964; bronze épée 1968), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2021)
Jon Voight (84 years old)
Dec 29 American actor (Deliverance, Midnight Cowboy), born in Yonkers, New York
- Dec 29 Wayne Huizenga, American businessman, CEO (Waste Management, Blockbuster), and sports team owner (Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers, Florida Marlins), born in Evergreen Park, Illinois (d. 2018)
- Dec 31 Atje Keulen-Deelstra, Dutch speed skater (Women's World Champion, 1970, 1972-74; European Champion, 1972-74), born in Grou, Netherlands (d. 2013)
- Dec 31 Henricus G Wijmans, Dutch graphic artist
- Dec 31 Rosalind Cash, American actress (Omega Man, Wrong is Right), born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 1995)
About December 1938
How Old? 84 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Chinese Zodiac: Tiger
Star Signs: Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21), Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)