- Sep 1 Philip Loeb, actor (Jake-Goldbergs), dies at 61
- Sep 2 Rudolf Kattnigg, Austrian composer, dies at 60
- Sep 7 Ernst Rabel, Austrian-American lawyer, human rights activist, and author (The Conflict of Laws: A Comparative Study), dies at 81
- Sep 8 Johannes de Young, Dutch cardinal and archbishop of Utrecht, dies at 69
- Sep 10 Robert Blackburn, British aviation pioneer and the founder of Blackburn Aircraft, dies at 70
- Sep 12 Gustave Vanzype, Belgian literary (La Gazette), dies at 86
- Sep 14 Franz Carl Weiskopf, German Czech writer, dies at 55
- Sep 16 Leopold CMS Amery, British minister of Colonies (India), dies at 81
- Sep 19 John D. Dingell, Sr., U.S. Congressman from Michigan (b. 1894)
- Sep 21 Jacqueline Reyneke van Stuwe, Dutch author, dies at 84
- Sep 27 Henri Liebrecht, Belgian stagewriter/journalist, dies at 71
- Sep 28 Arthur Donaldson, Swedish American actor, dies at 86
James Dean
Sep 30 James Dean, American actor and cultural icon (Giant, Rebel Without a Cause), and 1st actor to be posthumously nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award, dies in a car crash at age 24