- Oct 4 Del Porter, American jazz singer (Foursome - "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"; Spike Jones and His City Slickers - "Der Fuehrer's Face"), dies at 75
- Oct 8 Giorgos Papasideris, Greek country singer, composer and lyricist, dies at 75
- Oct 10 Angelo Muscat, Maltese-born British actor (The Prisoner, Doctor Who), dies at 47
- Oct 10 Jean Duvieusart, 36th Prime Minister of Belgium, dies at 77
- Oct 11 Mason Gross, professor (Think Fast, 2 for the Money), dies at 66
- Oct 11 MacKinlay Kantor, American author (b. 1904)
- Oct 12 Doris Davenport, actress (Behind the News, Westerner), dies at 81
- Oct 12 Jan Zrzavý, Czech painter, dies at 86
Bing Crosby
Oct 14 Bing Crosby [Harry Lillis Crosby], American singer and actor (Going My Way), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Oct 15 Ralph Truman, British actor (Henry V, Treasure Island, Web of Evidence), dies at 77
- Oct 16 Michael Balcon, producer, dies at 81
- Oct 17 [Robert] Cal Hubbard, American football and baseball player and umpire (only person in football and baseball Hall of Fame), dies at 77
- Oct 18 Rolph Grant, West Indian cricketer (West Indian captain on 1939 England tour), dies at 67
Andreas Baader
Oct 18 Andreas Baader, German left-wing militant and leader of the Red Army Faction, commits suicide along with other RAF leaders at 34
- Oct 18 Gudrun Ensslin, German terrorist and founder of the Red Army Faction, commits suicide along with other RAF leaders at 37
- Oct 18 Jan-Carl Raspe (b. 1944)
- Oct 18 Kristian Hauger, Norwegian jazz pianist, orchestra leader and songwriter ("Charleston i Grukkedalen"), dies at 71
- Oct 20 Cassie Gaines, American rock singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 28
- Oct 20 Ronnie Van Zant, American rock musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 29
- Oct 20 Steve Gaines, American rock vocalist and guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 28
- Oct 21 Ferit Tuzun, Turkish composer, dies at 48
- Oct 24 Hugo Myrtelius, Swedish conductor, composer, and educator, dies at 85
- Oct 27 James M. Cain, American writer (Postman Always Rings Twice), dies at 85
- Oct 27 Peg Leg Sam [Arthur Jackson], American country blues harmonica player, singer and comedian, dies at 65
- Oct 31 Joan Tetzel, American actress (Hell Below Zero, Joy in the Morning), dies of cancer at 56