- Aug 1 [Donn Alan] DA Pennebaker, American documentary filmmaker (Don't Look Back), dies at 94
- Aug 4 Nuon Chea, Cambodian Khmer Rouge leader 'Brother Number Two', dies at 93
Toni Morrison
Aug 5 Toni Morrison [Chloe Anthony Wofford], American writer (Tar Baby, Beloved, Song of Solomon), first African American woman to win a Nobel Prize (2010), dies at 88

Toni Morrison
- Aug 14 Reg Scarlett, West Indian cricket off-spinner (3 Tests 1960), dies at 84
- Aug 16 Peter Fonda, American actor (Easy Rider, Ulee's Gold), dies at 79
- Aug 16 Felice Gimondi, Italian road cyclist (Tour de France 1965; Giro d'Italia 1967, 69, 76; Vuelta a España 1968), dies of heart attack at 76
- Aug 16 Jim Hardy, American NFL quarterback (LA Rams; Pro Bowl 1950), dies at 96
- Aug 16 Anna Quayle, British actress (A Hard Day's Night, Stop the World - I want to Get Off), dies at 86
- Aug 18 Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (ABC, CBS), dies of natural causes at 95
- Aug 18 Kathleen Blanco, American politician, 1st female Governor of Louisiana (2004-08), dies from cancer at 76
- Aug 19 Al Jackson, American MLB player (New York Mets), dies at 83
- Aug 20 Russ Conway, American sports journalist (Eagleson NHL scandal), dies of heart disease at 70
- Aug 22 Bobby Dillon, American NFL defensive back (second to record 50 interceptions), dies of dementia at 89
- Aug 23 Sheila Steafel, South African British actress (The Frost Report), dies at 84
- Aug 23 Mario Davidovsky, Argentine-American electro-acoustic composer (Synchronisms), dies at 85
- Aug 25 Pál Benkő, Hungarian-American chess player, author (Grandmaster; record 8 US Open Championships), dies at 91
- Aug 25 Vince Naimoli, American businessman and MLB team owner (Tampa Bay Devil Rays), dies of progressive supranuclear palsy at 81
- Aug 27 Jessi Combs, American auto racer, television personality (women’s land speed class record [4 wheels] 2013, 16), dies in jet-powered high-speed race car crash at 39
- Aug 29 Randy Romero, American jockey (Breeder's Cup 1987-89; Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame 2010), dies from kidney and liver cancer at 61
- Aug 30 Valerie Harper, American actress (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda), dies of cancer at 80
- Aug 30 Franco Columbu, Italian bodybuilder, powerlifter, actor and author (Mr. Olympia 1976, 81), dies at 78
- Aug 31 Wim Statius Muller, Curaçaoa conductor, pianist, and composer, dies at 89