- 1960 Margaret Sullavan, American actress (Three Comrades), dies of barbiturate overdose at 50
- 1964 Rika Hopper, Dutch actress (Comedia, Anastasia), dies at about 86
- 1969 Barton Maclane, American actor (The Quaterback, I Dream of Jeannie), dies of cancer at 66
- 1972 Jane Morgan, actress (Mrs Margaret Davis-Our Miss Brooks), dies at 91
- 1972 Maurice A Chevalier, French actor and singer (Can Can, Gigi), dies at 83
- 1975 Arthur Pierson, actor and director (Hat Check Girl), dies at 73
- 1982 Victor Buono, actor (Mr Schubert-Man from Atlantis), dies at 43
- 1982 Margot Grahame [Margaret Clark], British actress (The Three Musketeers, Criminal Lawyer), dies from chronic bronchitis at 70
- 1985 Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo), dies at 85
- 1987 Gustav Knuth, German actor (Sissi, Freddy Unter Fremden), dies at 85
- 1988 Marcel Hillaire, German actor (Take the Money and Run, Seven Thieves), dies from surgery complications at 79
- 1990 Charles Boost, Dutch film critic, dies at 82
- 1992 Ginette Leclerc, actress (Baker's Wife), dies at 79
- 1993 June Clayworth, actress (Bodyguard, Criminal Court), dies of lymphoma
- 1993 Phyllis Hill, actress (Singing in the Dark), dies of lung cancer at 72
Cesar Romero
1994 Cesar Romero, American actor (Batman, Ocean's 11), dies at 86
Cesar Romero
- 1997 Joan Rice, British actress (His Majesty O'Keefe, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men), dies at 66
- 2001 Ray Walston, American actor (My Favorite Martian, Damn Yankees), dies at 86
- 2002 Julia Phillips, American film producer (b. 1944)
- 2003 Cyril Shaps, British actor, producer and voice artist (The Pianist), dies at 79
- 2007 A. I. Bezzerides, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 2008 Peter Caffrey, Irish actor (b. 1949)
- 2009 Edmund Purdom, British actor (The Egyptian, Asissi Underground, Pieces), dies at 84
- 2012 Bob Anderson, English Olympic fencer and renowned film fight choreographer, dies at 90
- 2015 Donna Douglas, American actress (Elly May Clampett-The Beverly Hillbillies), dies of pancreatic cancer at 82
- 2016 Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-born American cinematographer (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), dies at 85
January in History
The Beatles? 'They have no future in show business'
In 1962, an unknown group called the Beatles travelled to London for a recording contract audition with one of the major record labels. They were rejected.
January 1, 1962
'The Most Famous of All Streaks'
Erika Roe bounced into the history books on this day when, topless, she skipped onto the pitch at a rugby game to the roar of 60,000 cheering spectators.
January 2, 1982
Designer Throws His Hat Into the Ring; Creates a Sensation
The first time a man stepped out in London wearing a topper it caused a sensation, then a court case. Who now could imagine Fred Astaire without his famous top hat?
January 5, 1797
A Crackdown on Lovers in New York
New York wasn't always a free and easy city. Time was when not only adultery was a crime, but even looking at a lady in the wrong way could land a guy in trouble.
January 8, 1902