- May 1 Dann Florek, American actor (Law & Order), born in Flat Rock, Michigan
- May 1 Danny McGrain, Scottish soccer right-back (62 caps; Celtic), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- May 1 Marina Stepanova, Russian athlete (3-time 400m hurdles WR; first woman to run sub 53s; 52.94s 1986), born in St. Petersburg, Russia
- May 2 Duncan Gay, Australian politician, Vice-President of the Executive Council (2014-17), born in Crookwell, New South Wales
- May 2 Lou Gramm [Grammatico], American rock singer-songwriter (Foreigner - "Hot Blooded"; "Cold As Ice"), born in Rochester, New York
- May 2 Randy Colley (Moondog Rex), American pro wrestler (WWF Tag Team champion 1981), born in Alexander City, Alabama (d. 2019)
- May 3 Mary Hopkin, Welsh folk singer ("Those Were the Days"; "Goodbye"), born in Pontardawe, Wales
- May 4 Darryl Hunt, British celtic-rock bassist (The Pogues - "Fairytale of New York"), born in Christchurch, Hampshire, England (d. 2022)
- May 4 Hilly Hicks, American actor (Roll Out, Roots), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 4 René van Asten, Dutch actor (Herenstraat 10), born in Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
- May 5 Galen Fous, American acoustic jazz-fusion guitarist (Sacred Ground), born in Portland, Oregon
- May 5 Googoosh [Faegheh Atashin (فائقه آتشین)], Persian singer and actress, born in Sarcheshmeh Street, Tehran
- May 5 Maggie MacNeal, Dutch singer (Mouth & MacNeal - "I See A Star"), born in Tilburg, Netherlands
- May 6 Robbie McIntosh, Scottish drummer (Average White Band - "Pick Up The Pieces"), born in Dundee (d. 1974)
- May 7 (Charles) "Prairie" Prince, American rocker (The Tubes; Chris Isaak; Jefferson Starship, 1992-2008), born in Charlotte, North Carolina
- May 7 Randall 'Tex' Cobb, American boxer and actor, born in Bridge City, Texas
Tim Russert (1950-2008)
May 7 American television journalist and host of NBC's Meet the Press, born in Buffalo, New York
- May 8 Pierre de Meuron, Swiss architect (Herzog and de Meuron - Tate Modern), born in Basel, Switzerland
- May 9 James A Butts, American triple jumper (Olympic silver 1976), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 9 Matthew Kelly, actor/TV host (Holding the Fort, Relative Strangers)
- May 9 Tom Petersson, American rock bassist (Cheap Trick - "I Want You to Want Me"), born in Rockford, Illinois
- May 10 Sally James [Cann], British children's TV-show presenter (Tiswas), born in Chiswick, London
- May 11 Dane Iorg, American MLB baseball player, 1977-86 (Philadelphia Philles, St. Louis Cardinals, and 2 other teams), born in Eureka, California
- May 11 Jeremy Paxman, English broadcaster (University Challenge, Newsnight), born in Leeds, England
- May 11 John Kelly, American General, President Trump's Chief of Staff (2017-), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 12 (John) "Jocko" Marcellino, American rock singer (Sha Na Na, 1969-present), born in Quincy, Massachusetts
- May 12 Billy Squier, American rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist ("The Stroke"; "My Kind Of Lover"), born in Wellesley, Massachusetts
- May 12 Bruce Boxleitner, American actor (Tron; Scarecrow and Mrs King; Babylon 5), and novelist, born in Elgin, Illinois
- May 12 Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor (Hello Again; Cool World), born in Dublin, Ireland
- May 12 Renate Stecher-Meissner, German sprinter (3-time Olympic gold 1972, 76), born in Süptitz, Germany
- May 12 Ronnie Foster, American soul, funk, and acid jazz Hammond B-3 organist, keyboard player, and record producer, born in Buffalo, New York
- May 12 Shōzō Fujii, Japanese judoka (World Champion 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1979), born in Higashikagawa, Kagawa. Japan
- May 13 Danny Kirwan, British musician, singer and songwriter (Fleetwood Mac - "Albatross"), born in London, England (d. 2018)
- May 13 Joe Johnston, American film director (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids; Jumanji; October Sky), and visual effects artist, born in Austin, Texas
Stevie Wonder (72 years old)
May 13 American singer-songwriter ("You Are The Sunshine Of My Life"; "Sir Duke"), born in Saginaw, Michigan
- May 14 Jill Stein, American physician, activist and Green Party nominee for President (2016), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 14 Mark Blum, American actor (Worth Winning, Blind Date, Presidio), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2020)
- May 15 Nicholas Hammond, American actor (The Amazing Spider-Man), born in Washington, D.C.
- May 16 Jock Bartley, American singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Firefall - "Just Remember I Love You"), born in Hutchinson, Kansas
- May 16 Johannes Bednorz, German superconductivity physicist (Nobel 1987)
- May 16 Ray Condo [Tremblay], Canadian rockabilly guitarist and sax player, born in Hull, Quebec (d. 2004)
- May 17 Alan Johnson, British politician (Home Secretary 2009-10), born in London
- May 17 Algirdas Martinaitis, Lithuanian classical composer (Cantus ad futurum), born in Paserbentys, Lithuania
- May 17 Howard Ashman, American playwright and lyricist (Little Shop of Horrors: The Little Mermaid), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1991)
- May 17 Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian politician
- May 18 Mark Mothersbaugh, American new wave rock singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (Devo - "Whip It"), born in Akron, Ohio
- May 18 Rodney Milburn Jr, American athlete (Olympic gold 110m hurdles 1972), born in Opelousas, Louisiana (d. 1997)
- May 18 Thomas Gottschalk, German radio and TV host (Telespiele), born in Bamberg, Germany
- May 20 Andy Johns, British sound engineer (Rolling Stones; Led Zeppelin), and record producer (Free; Humble Pie; L.A. Guns), born in Epsom, Surrey, England (d. 2013)
- May 20 Reinaldo Merlo, Argentine footballer
- May 22 Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician (Member of the European Parliament for Greece), born in Athens, Greece
- May 22 Bernie Taupin, British lyricist (Elton John), and singer, born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire
- May 23 Aleksandr Klepikov, Russian rower (Olympic gold Soviet Union coxed four 1976), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 2021)
- May 23 Linda Thompson, actress (Hee Haw), born in Memphis, Tennessee
Martin McGuinness (1950-2017)
May 23 Irish Sinn Féin politician and IRA member, born in Derry, Northern Ireland
- May 23 William Barr, American lawyer (US Attorney General, 1992-93 and 2019-20), born in New York City
- May 24 Jo Ann Washam, American golfer (3 LPGA Tour titles), born in Auburn, Washington
- May 24 Larry Seidlin, American judge (judge during the infamous Anna Nicole Smith body custody hearing after her death), born in The Bronx, New York
- May 25 (Elizabeth) Ann Crumb, American stage and screen actress and singer, born in Charleston, West Virginia (d. 2019)
- May 25 Robby Steinhardt, American rock violinist and singer (Kansas - "Carry On Wayward Son"), born in Lawrence, Kansas
- May 27 Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Garrett), American Grammy Award-winning jazz singer-songwriter, Tony Award-winning stage actress (The Wiz), and radio host (NPR's "JazzSet"), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- May 28 Ian Bradley, British writer and academic
- May 28 Jim Harris, American professional wrestler
- May 29 (Maureen) "Rebbie" Jackson, American singer (R U Tuff Enuff), born in Gary, Indiana
- May 29 Talat Ali, Pakistani cricket batsman (Pakistan 10 Tests), born in Lahore, Punjab
- May 30 Bertrand Delanoë, French politician
- May 30 Paresh Rawal, Indian Bollywood actor (Woh Chokri, Woh Chokri), born in Bombay, India
- May 31 Edward Barker, English cartoonist, born in Birmingham, England
- May 31 Gregory Harrison, American actor (Trapper John, M.D. - "Gonzo"; Falcon Crest; Logan's Run), born in Catalina, California
About May 1950
How Old? 72 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No