- Dec 3 Elin Pelin, Bulgarian writer (The Gerak Family; Earth), dies at 72
- Dec 3 Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian actress (Spookies), dies at 62
Lead Belly
Dec 6 Lead Belly [Huddie William Ledbetter], American blues 12 string guitarist (Rock Island Line), dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 64
Lead Belly
- Dec 10 Duncan Stewart, 2nd British Governor of Sarawak (1949), dies at 45 after being fatally stabbed in the streets of Sibu by pro-Indonesian Malay student Rosli Dhoby
- Dec 16 Traitsjo Kostov, Bulgarian communist vice-premier, executed
- Dec 16 Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (Ben Hur), dies at 76
- Dec 17 David Stanley Smith, American composer (Merrymount), dies at 72
- Dec 28 Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (Olympic gold 1,500m 1936), dies in rail accident at 39
- Dec 28 Hervey Allen, American writer and poet (Anthony Adverse), dies at 60