- May 3 Samuel Gonard, Swiss lawyer and chairman (International Red Cross), dies at 78
Moe Howard
May 4 Moe Howard [Moses Horowitz], American actor and comedian (The 3 Stooges), dies at 77

Moe Howard
- May 6 József Mindszenty [József Pehm], Hungarian cardinal who opposed fascism and communism in Hungary, dies at 83
- May 8 Avery Brundage, CEO (Intl Olympic Committee, 1952-72), dies at 87
- May 9 Philip Dorn, Dutch actor (Enemy Agent, I Remember Mama), dies of a heart attack at 73
- May 11 Walter Kinsella, American actor (Martin Kane Private Eye), dies at 74
- May 13 Bob Wills [James Robert Wills], American musician ('King of Western Swing', Steel Guitar Rag), dies from bronchial pneumonia at 69
- May 14 Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish-American television pioneer (Alexanderson alternator), dies at 97
- May 16 Michael X, (Abdul Malik), hanged in Trinidad, for murder
- May 18 Leroy Anderson, American composer (Syncopated Clock), dies at 66
- May 20 Dame Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor, dies in fire at 72
- May 20 Jacques Stehman, composer, dies at 62
- May 22 Lefty Grove, American Baseball Player (b. 1900)
- May 22 Torben Myer, Danish actor (Girl Who Came Back, Judgment at Nuremberg, Sullivan's Travels), dies at 90
- May 23 Jackie "Moms" Mabley, comedienne (Amazing Grace), dies at 81
Ezzard Charles
May 27 Ezzard Charles, heavyweight boxing champion (1949-51), dies of ALS at 53

Ezzard Charles
- May 28 Eric Emerson, entertainer, dies
- May 28 Roy Roberts, American actor (Petticoat Junction, Lucy Show), dies from a heart attack at 69
- May 30 Michel Simon, Swiss actor (Panic, Plague, Two of Us), dies at 80
- May 30 Steve Prefontaine, American runner (5K 1972 Olympic 4th), dies in a car accident at 24
- May 30 Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist and founder of Isshinryu Karate, dies at 66