- Jan 1 Leo Steiner, American restaurateur (Carnegie Deli), dies at 48
- Jan 1 Marcel Hillaire, German actor (Take the Money and Run, Seven Thieves), dies from surgery complications at 79
- Jan 2 E.B. Ford, British ecological geneticist, dies at 86
Gaston Eyskens
Jan 3 Gaston Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium (1949, 1958-61, 1968-72), dies at 82
Gaston Eyskens
- Jan 3 William Cagney, actor (Torrid Zone), dies of a heart attack at 82
- Jan 3 Rose Ausländer, German poet (b. 1901)
- Jan 3 Joie Chitwood, American racedriver & Daredevil (b. 1912)
- Jan 4 Lily Laskine, French harpist, dies at 94
- Jan 5 "Pistol Pete" Mavarich, NBAer (Atlanta), dies of a heart attack at 40
Pete Maravich
Jan 5 Pete Maravich, American basketball player, dies of heart failure at 40
Pete Maravich
- Jan 6 Brent Collins, soap actor (Another World), dies of heart attack at 46
Trevor Howard
Jan 7 Trevor Howard, English actor in over 70 films (Brief Encounter, Superman, The Third Man), dies of bronchitis at 71
Trevor Howard
- Jan 7 Michel Auclair [Vladimir Vujović], German actor (Funny Face, Day of the Jackal), dies at 65
- Jan 8 Frank Pace Jr, US Secretary of Army (1950-53), dies at 76
- Jan 11 Pappy Boyington, American combat pilot (United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II), dies of cancer at 75
- Jan 11 Isidor Isaac Rabi, nuclear physicist (Nobel Prize-1944), dies at 89
- Jan 11 Florence Knapp, American, one-time oldest person in the world (b. 1873)
- Jan 12 Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
- Jan 13 Chiang Ching-huo, president of Taiwan (1978-88), dies at 69
Georgy Malenkov
Jan 14 Georgi Malenkov, Soviet leader who was briefly leader of the Soviet Union after Stalin's death (1953-55), dies in obscurity at 86
Georgy Malenkov
Seán MacBride
Jan 15 Seán MacBride, Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and founder of Amnesty International (Nobel 1974), dies at 83
Seán MacBride
- Jan 16 Ballard Berkeley [Blascheck], British actor (Fawlty Towers, East meets West, The BFG), dies at 83
- Jan 16 Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)
- Jan 20 Philippe de Rothschild, French race-car driver and manager (Bordeaux Vineyard), dies at 86
- Jan 20 Dora Stratou, Greek choreographer and folklorist (b. 1903)
- Jan 21 Abraham Sofaer, Burmese born British actor (Naked Jungle, Elephant Walk), dies at 91
- Jan 22 Parker Fennelly, actor (Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm), dies at 96
- Jan 23 Charles Glen King, American biochemist and pioneer of nutrition research who isolated vitamin C, dies at 91
- Jan 23 Dan Daniel, politician (Rep-D-VA, 1969-88), dies at 73
- Jan 24 Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
- Jan 25 Colleen Moore, actress (These Girls Won't Talk), dies at 87
- Jan 27 Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian author (b. 1938)
- Jan 27 Edward Pawley, American actor (Angels with Dirty Faces), dies t 86
- Jan 28 Klaus Fuchs, German physicist (b. 1911)
- Jan 29 Bantcho Bantchevsky, US opera singer, commits suicide
- Jan 29 James R. Killian Jr., 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1948-59), dies at 83
- Jan 29 Rogier van Otterloo, Dutch composer and conductor, dies at 46
- Jan 30 Corry [Cornelia Diderika] Vonk, Dutch cabaret performer, dies at 85