- Jan 1 Constantin Poustochkine, Dutch jazz musician and critic, dies at 81
- Jan 1 Ginette Leclerc, French actress (Baker's Wife), dies at 79
Grace Hopper
Jan 1 Grace Hopper, American computer scientist & US Navy admiral who invented the first compiler for a universal computer programming language and is credited with coining the phrase 'debugging’, dies at 85
- Jan 1 Called Abma [Hetter Gerrit Abma], Dutch politician (SGP), dies at 74
- Jan 1 M. J. Frankovich, American football player & film producer (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), dies at 82
- Jan 2 Virginia Field, British-born actress (Dream Girl), dies of cancer at 74
- Jan 3 Anthony Del Casino, band leader (Charlie Barnet Band), dies at 79
- Jan 3 Judith Anderson, actress (Star Trek 3), dies of pneumonia at 93
- Jan 3 Ken Grieves, Australian cricketer (NSW & Lancashire leg-spin all-rounder), dies at 66
- Jan 3 Lewis Michael Friedman, American pianist, dies at 47 of AIDS
- Jan 3 Radomiro Tomic, Chilean president (1970), dies
- Jan 4 Earl Colbert, entertainer, dies
- Jan 4 William Walker, stuntman/actor (Our Man Flint), dies at 74
- Jan 6 Avon Jaeger Hill, entertainer, dies of cancer at 44
- Jan 6 Elaine McKenna, Australian actress (Peg Martin-Cell Block H), dies
- Jan 7 Jhean Burton, American entertainer, dies at 63
- Jan 7 Richard Hunt, American puppeteer and actor (Muppet Movie), dies of AIDS at 40
- Jan 8 Abderrahim Bouabid, Moroccan politician (Socialist Union of Popular Forces) and an opponent of French Imperialism and King Hassan II, dies at 69
- Jan 8 Johnny Meijer, Dutch accordionist known as the King of Accordions (Body & Soul), dies at 79
- Jan 9 Steve Brodie [John Stevenson], American actor (The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp), dies from illness at 72
- Jan 9 Bill Naughton [William John Francis Naughton], English playwright (Alfie), dies at 81
- Jan 10 Barbara Couper, British actress (Last Days of Dolwyn), dies at 89
- Jan 10 Roberto Bonomi, Argentine racing driver (b. 1919)
- Jan 12 Harry van Doorn, Dutch politician (KVP/KRO-chairman/PPR/CRM), dies at 76
- Jan 12 Walt Morey, US children's book writer (Gentle Ben), dies at 84
- Jan 13 Josef Neckermann, German equestrian dressage (Olympic gold 1964, 68), dies at 79
- Jan 13 Yvonne Bryceland, South African stage actress (Road to Mecca), dies of cancer at 66
- Jan 15 Hari Rhodes, American actor (Earth II, Detroit 9000), dies at 59
- Jan 15 (David) Dee Murray [Oates], British bassist (Elton John backing band), dies after a stroke at 45
- Jan 16 Roselle Novelle, silent film actress, dies at 95
- Jan 16 Ajahn Chah, Thai Buddhist meditation master, dies at 73
- Jan 17 Bill Walker, actor (Big Mo, Mask, Harlem Globetrotters), dies at 95
- Jan 17 Charlie Ventura, American jazz tenor saxophonist (Bop for the people), dies of cancer at 75
- Jan 17 Dorothy Alison, actress (Maggie, 3rd Key, Long Arm), dies
- Jan 17 Frank Pullen, English businessman and racehorse owner, dies at 76
- Jan 18 John Remme, American stage and screen actor and singer, dies of AIDS at 56
- Jan 19 Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Bengali singer and composer (Ei Ganga ei Padda), dies at 60
- Jan 20 Muhammad Abd al-Khaliq Hassuna, Secretary-General of Arab League (1952-72), dies
- Jan 21 (William "Champion Jack" Dupree, American boxer and pianist, dies at 81
- Jan 22 A J Antoon, director (That Championship Season), dies at 47
- Jan 22 Ali Amini, Prime Minister of Iran (1961-62), dies
- Jan 23 Frederick "Freddie" Bartholomew, British child actor (Anna Karenina, David Copperfield, Captains Courageous), dies of emphysema at 67
- Jan 23 Ian Wolfe, American actor (Diary of a Madman, Wizards & Warriors, Houdini, THX-1138, Homebodies), dies at 95
- Jan 23 Simon Brand, South African banker and adviser to President F. W. de Klerk, dies
- Jan 24 Charles Moulin, French actor (French Tarzan), dies
- Jan 24 John Bleifer, actor (Highway to Heaven), dies at 90
- Jan 24 Tina Chow, model, dies of AIDs at 41
- Jan 24 Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (b. 1950)
- Jan 25 John Touchstone, American actor (Across Five Aprils), dies of cirrhosis at 59
- Jan 25 Mahmoud Riad, Secretary-General of Arab League (1972-79), dies
- Jan 25 Nico Schuyt, Dutch composer, dies at 70
- Jan 25 Vernon William Reed Sr, singer, dies after a long illness at 73
José Ferrer
Jan 26 José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor and director (Cyrano de Bergerac), dies at 80
- Jan 26 Okke Jager, Dutch theologist, writer and poet, dies at 63
- Jan 26 Gilroy Roberts, American sculptor (Chief Engraver of the US Mint, 1948-64), dies at 96
- Jan 27 Francesca Primus, columnist (Back Stage), dies at 45
- Jan 27 Gene Harris, entertainer, dies after long illness
- Jan 27 Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, British actress (Eliza Dolittle), dies at 101
- Jan 28 Clark Tippet, American dancer and choreographer (American Ballet Theatre) dies at 37
- Jan 28 Nahman Avigad, Israeli archaeologist (Discovering Jerusalem), dies at 86
- Jan 29 Willie Dixon, American blues musician ("Backdoor Man"), dies at 76
Mel Hein
Jan 31 Mel Hein, NFL center (NY Giants), dies of stomach cancer at 82
