- Oct 1 Christine Forrest, actress (Martin), dies
- Oct 1 Curtis E LeMay, USAF General/VP candidate, dies at 83
- Oct 3 Stefano Casiraghi, Italian speedboat racer, businessman and husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, dies at 30
- Oct 3 Eleanor Steber, eminent American soprano dies in Langhorne, PA
- Oct 4 Avis Bunnage, British actress (Rising Damp, Coronation Street), dies at 67
- Oct 4 Jill Bennett, British actress (Lady Jane, Concrete Jungle), overdoses at 58
- Oct 5 Meir Kahane, American founder of the Jewish Defense League, assassinated at 58
- Oct 7 J Teengs Gerritsen, resistance fighter, dies
- Oct 7 Juan Jose Arevalo, President of Guatemala (1945-51), dies
- Oct 8 B.J. Wilson, English musician (Procol Harum) (b. 1947)
- Oct 9 Richard Murdoch, actor (Lilli Marlene), dies of heart attack at 83
- Oct 10 Carlos Thompson, actor (Mistress of the World), dies at 67
- Oct 10 Dick Jorgensen, NFL referee, dies at 56
- Oct 10 Michael A Salcido, dies at 39
- Oct 10 Tom Murton, American penologist (b. 1928)
- Oct 10 Irene Mayer Selznick, American socialite and theatrical producer (Street Car Named Desire), dies at 83
- Oct 11 Douglas Edwards, WW II correspondent, dies of cancer at 73
- Oct 11 Robert Tessier, actor (Nightwish, Future Force), dies at 56
- Oct 12 Max Tailleur, Dutch adjudant to Prince Bernhard and Jewish humorist, dies at 81
- Oct 12 Rifaat Maghub, president Egyptian MP, murdered
- Oct 13 Hans Freudenthal, German-Dutch mathematician and director (OW&OC), dies at 85
- Oct 13 Lê Ðức Thọ, Vietnamese revolutionary general, politician and negotiator in Paris (1975), dies at 78
- Oct 14 Leonard Bernstein, American conductor and composer (West Side Story), dies of heart attack at 72
- Oct 15 Delphine Seyrig, French actress (Freak Orlando, Reperages) dies of lung disease at 58
- Oct 16 Art Blakey, American jazz drummer (Jazz Messengers), dies of cancer at 71
- Oct 16 Jorge Bolet, Cuban-born American pianist known for his performances of the work of Franz Liszt, dies at 75
Ralph Abernathy
Oct 17 Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights leader (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), dies of a blood clot at 64
Ralph Abernathy
- Oct 19 Lew Worsham, American golfer (US Open 1947; Ryder Cup 1947), dies at 73
- Oct 20 Joel McCrea, American actor (Foreign Correspondent, Sullivan's Travels), dies of pulmonary complications at 84
- Oct 20 Bridget Bate Tichenor (born Bridget Pamela Arkwright Bate), Mexican surrealist painter dies at 72
- Oct 22 Frank Sinkwich, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1942, U of Georgia; NFL Draft #1 pick Detroit Lions 1943; NFL MVP 1944), dies at 70
- Oct 23 Louis Althusser, French philosopher, dies
- Oct 26 William Samuel Paley, American president and CEO of CBS (1928-90), dies of a heart attack at 89
- Oct 27 Elliott Roosevelt, son of FDR, dies at 80
- Oct 27 Ugo Tognazzi, Italian comedy actor, director and screenwriter (La Cage Aux Folles, The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 68
- Oct 27 Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American bandleader, dies at 90
- Oct 27 Princess Sophie von Hohenberg, daughter of assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (b. 1901)
- Oct 28 Nobutaka Shikanai, Japanese media CEO (Fujisankei Communications Group), dies of liver failure at 78 [1]
- Oct 29 William French Smith, attorney general (1980), dies at 73 of cancer
- Oct 30 Craig Russell, Canadian female impersonator, dies of an AIDS-stroke at 42
- Oct 30 Harry Lauter, American actor (Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Waterfront), dies of heart failure at 76
- Oct 31 Graig Russel, Canadian travel expert/transvestite, dies
- Oct 31 Hugh McPhillips, dies at 70