- Aug 7 Billy James, comedian/singer (Women at Play, Lusty Business), dies
- Aug 9 Corrie Hartong, dance pioneer, dies
- Aug 11 Helmut Walcha, a blind German organist (church music), dies at 83
- Aug 12 Irene Campbell, British actress/dancer (Wicker Man, St Justice), dies
- Aug 18 Rick Griffin, American artist and a leading designer of psychedelic posters in the 1960s (Grateful Dead), dies in a motorcycle accident on his Harley at 47
- Aug 19 Richard Maltby Sr., American musician and orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show), dies at 77
- Aug 20 Betty Bowden, British dancer/actress (Vote for Nigel), dies at 86
- Aug 27 Vince Taylor [Brian Holden], British singer (Brand new Cadillac), dies
- Aug 28 Christian Anders, actor/composer (Death Stone, Love Cult), dies
- Aug 29 Dixie Dunbar [Charlotte King], American singer and actress, dies of heart attack at 72