- Dec 1 George Earnshaw, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1929-30; Philadelphia Athletics), dies at 76
- Dec 2 Danny Murtaugh, American baseball infielder and manager (World Series 1960, 71; Pittsburgh Pirates), dies from a stroke at 59
- Dec 2 William Tannen, American actor (Jailhouse Rock, Sitting Bull), dies at 65
- Dec 3 Mary Nash, actress (Philadelphia Story, Till the Clouds Roll By), dies at 91
- Dec 4 Ace Gutowsky, Russian/American football fullback (Portsmouth Spartans, Brooklyn Dodgers; NFL C'ship 1935, Detroit Lions), dies of cancer at 67
Benjamin Britten
Dec 4 [Edward] Benjamin Britten, English composer (The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; Peter Grimes), dies of heart failure at 63
- Dec 4 Tommy Bolin, American rock guitarist and songwriter (Deep Purple), dies of heroin and other substances overdose at 25
- Dec 4 W. F. McCoy, Northern Irish politician (b. 1886)
- Dec 5 Benjamin Thackston "Tack" Knight, American cartoonist ("Little Folks"), dies at 81
- Dec 6 João Goulart, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
- Dec 9 Nino Martini, Italian actor (The Gay Desperado, Here's to Romance), dies from a heart attack at 71
- Dec 9 Wes Ferrell, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1933, 37; no-hitter 1931; record 37 career HRs hit by a pitcher), dies at 68
- Dec 12 John "Jack" Cassidy, American singer and actor (Oscar-He & She; The Eiger Sanction), dies in an apartment fire at 49
- Dec 12 Vinko Zganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890)
- Dec 13 Eduard Claudius, writer, dies
- Dec 16 George, a goose that lived to 49 years 8 months, dies
- Dec 16 Réal Caouette, French Canadian politician (Social Credit Party of Canada), dies at 59
- Dec 18 George Emmett, cricketer (England opener v Aust Old Trafford 1948), dies
- Dec 20 Richard J Daley, American politician (38th Mayor-Chicago-D:1955-76), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Dec 20 Walter Fitzgerald, actor (Adv of Sadie, Fallen Idol), dies at 80
- Dec 21 Edward Bartlett, cricketer (WI Test batsman in 5 Tests 1928-31), dies
- Dec 23 Frank Forest, actor (Big Broadcast of 1937, Champagne Waltz), dies
- Dec 23 Paul M Frank Forest, dies at 80
- Dec 23 Walter Bauer, German Canadian writer, dies at 72
- Dec 24 Victor Stanitsin, actor (War & Peace, Jubilee), dies at 79
- Dec 24 Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, heir to the throne of Portugal (b. 1907)
- Dec 25 Arthur Mitchell, English cricket batsman (6 Tests, 2 x 50; Yorkshire CCC), dies at 74
- Dec 25 Frankie Darro [Frank Johnson], American actor (Radio Ranch, Wild Boys of the Road, Valley of Wanted Men), dies of a heart attack at 58
- Dec 26 Philip Hart, American lawyer and politician (U.S. Senator (D) from Michigan, 1959-76), dies from cancer at 64
- Dec 27 Main Rousseau Bocher, American uniform designer (Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Waves), dies at 86
- Dec 28 Freddie King, American blues singer (Hideaway), dies at 42
- Dec 28 Katharine Byron, U.S. Congresswoman, dies at 73
- Dec 29 Ivo van Damme, Belgian 800/1500 m sprinter (Olympic silver 1976), dies at 22