1973 in film

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The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

See also: List of 1973 box office number-one films in the United States

The top ten 1973 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1973

Rank	Title	Studio	Domestic gross
1.	The Sting	Universal Pictures	$156,000,000
2.	The Exorcist	Warner Bros.	$128,000,000
3.	American Graffiti	Universal Pictures	$96,300,000
4.	Papillon	Allied Artists Pictures	$53,267,000
5.	The Way We Were	Columbia Pictures	$45,000,000
6.	Magnum Force	Warner Bros.	$39,768,000
7.	Last Tango in Paris	United Artists	$36,144,000
8.	Live and Let Die	United Artists	$35,377,836
9.	Robin Hood	Walt Disney Productions	$32,056,467
10.	Paper Moon	Paramount Pictures	$30,933,743

Events

• April 11 - Kim Jong-il publishes his film treatise On the Art of the Cinema.
• May 1 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely; she will marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra in 1976.
• July 20 - Martial arts legend Bruce Lee dies before Enter the Dragon is released on July 26.
• November 21 - The sci-fi movie Westworld is the first feature film to use digital image processing.
• December 26 - The Exorcist reawakens the horror film genre and becomes one of the most popular and controversial films ever released.

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: The Sting - Bill/Phillips-Hill, Zanuck/Brown, Universal

Best Director: George Roy Hill - The Sting

Best Actor: Jack Lemmon - Save the Tiger

Best Actress: Glenda Jackson - A Touch of Class

Best Supporting Actor: John Houseman - The Paper Chase

Best Supporting Actress: Tatum O'Neal - Paper Moon

Best Foreign Language Film: Day for Night (La Nuit américaine), directed by François Truffaut, France

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: The Exorcist

Best Actor: Al Pacino – Serpico

Best Actress: Marsha Mason – Cinderella Liberty

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: American Graffiti

Best Actor: George Segal – A Touch of Class

Best Actress: Glenda Jackson – A Touch of Class

Other

Best Director: William Friedkin – The Exorcist

Best Foreign Language Film: The Pedestrian (Der Fußgänger), W. Germany

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, United Kingdom

Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, United States

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray, India

Notable films released in 1973

U.S.A. unless stated

#

• The 14, directed by David Hemmings, starring Jack Wild - (U.K.)

A

• Abhimaan (Pride) - (India)
• Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, starring Cliff Robertson and Pamela Franklin
• The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob) - (France)
• All Nudity Shall Be Punished (Toda Nudez Será Castigada) - (Brazil)
• The Alpha Caper, starring Henry Fonda and Leonard Nimoy
• Alvin Purple - (Australia)
• Amarcord, directed by Federico Fellini - (Italy)
• American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, Harrison Ford
• Ana and the Wolves (Ana y los lobos), starring Geraldine Chaplin - (Spain)
• And Now the Screaming Starts!, starring Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Herbert Lom
• Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray - Golden Bear winner - (India)

B

• The Baby, starring Anjanette Comer and Ruth Roman
• Badlands, directed by Terrence Malick, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek
• Bang the Drum Slowly, starring Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, John Huston
• Battles Without Honor and Humanity (ingi naki tatakai) - (Japan)
• Baxter!, starring Patricia Neal and Britt Ekland - (U.K.)
• Black Caesar, starring Fred Williamson
• Black Holiday (La Villeggiatura), starring Adolfo Celi - (Italy)
• Blood Brothers (Ci Ma), directed by Chang Cheh - (Hong Kong)
• Blood in the Streets, a.k.a. Revolver, starring Oliver Reed - (Italy/France/West Germany)
• Blood of the Dragon (Zhui ming qiang) - (Hong Kong)
• Blue Blood, starring Oliver Reed, Fiona Lewis and Derek Jacobi- (U.K.)
• Blume in Love, starring George Segal, Susan Anspach, Kris Kristofferson
• Bobby, starring Rishi Kapoor - (India)
• Il Boss, starring Henry Silva and Richard Conte - (Italy)
• Breezy, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring William Holden and Kay Lenz
• A Brief Vacation (Una breve vacanza), directed by Vittorio De Sica - (Italy)
• Brother of the Wind

C

• Cahill U.S. Marshal, starring John Wayne and George Kennedy
• Can Dialectics Break Bricks? (La Dialectique Peut-Elle Casser Des Briques?) - (France)
• The Candy Snatchers, starring Tiffany Bolling
• Charley and the Angel, starring Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Kurt Russell
• Charley Varrick, directed by Don Siegel, starring Walter Matthau, John Vernon, Joe Don Baker, Andy Robinson, Sheree North, Felicia Farr
• Charlotte's Web, an animated film directed by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto, with the voices of Debbie Reynolds and Henry Gibson
• Chino, directed by John Sturges, starring Charles Bronson
• Cinderella Liberty, directed by Mark Rydell, starring James Caan and Marsha Mason
• Class of '44, starring Gary Grimes
• Cleopatra Jones, starring Tamara Dobson and Shelley Winters
• Coffy, starring Pam Grier
• Cops and Robbers, starring Joseph Bologna and Cliff Gorman
• The Crazies, directed by George A. Romero
• The Creeping Flesh, starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing - (U.K.)

D

• Dark Places, starring Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Jane Birkin - (U.K.)
• Day for Night, directed by François Truffaut, starring Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Jean-Pierre Aumont - Academy Award and Bafta winner - (France)
• The Day of the Dolphin, directed by Mike Nichols, starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Paul Sorvino
• The Day of the Jackal, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig - (U.K./France)
• The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron) - (Canada)
• A Delicate Balance, starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Scofield, Lee Remick, Kate Reid, Betsy Blair
• The Devil in Miss Jones, adult film, directed by Gerard Damiano
• Dillinger, starring Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfuss, Geoffrey Lewis
• A Doll's House, starring Claire Bloom and Anthony Hopkins - (U.K.)
• The Don Is Dead, starring Anthony Quinn, Robert Forster, Al Lettieri, Ina Balin
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton
• Don't Look Now, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland - (U.K./Italy)

E

• The Earth Is a Sinful Song (Maa on syntinen laulu) - (Finland)
• Electra Glide in Blue, starring Robert Blake
• Emperor of the North Pole, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine
• England Made Me, starring Peter Finch and Michael York - (U.K.)
• Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly - (Hong Kong/U.S.A.)
• Executive Action, starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan
• The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow—winner of 5 Golden Globes and 2 Oscars

F

• Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage) - (France/Czechoslovakia)
• Fé, Esperanza y Caridad (Faith, Hope and Charity), starring Katy Jurado - (Mexico)
• The Final Programme, starring Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre and Graham Crowden - (U.K.)
• Five on the Black Hand Side, starring Godfrey Cambridge
• The Friends of Eddie Coyle, directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Mitchum, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats, Alex Rocco, Peter Boyle
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (a.k.a. The Hideaways), starring Ingrid Bergman

G

• Godspell, starring Victor Garber
• Godzilla vs. Megalon, directed by Jun Fukuda - (Japan)
• La Grande Bouffe (Blow-Out), starring Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret - (France/Italy)

H

• The Hare Census (Prebroyavane na Divite Zaytsi), directed by Eduard Zahariev, starring Itzhak Fintzi, Nikola Todev, Georgi Rusev - (Bulgaria)
• The Harrad Experiment, starring Don Johnson, Tippi Hedren, James Whitmore
• Heavy Traffic, an animated film by Ralph Bakshi
• Hell Up in Harlem, starring Fred Williamson
• High Plains Drifter, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Geoffrey Lewis
• The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, starring Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles - Palme d'Or winner - (U.K.)
• Hitler: The Last Ten Days, starring Alec Guinness - (U.K./Italy)
• The Holy Mountain (La Montaña Sagrada), directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky - (Mexico/U.S.)
• Home Sweet Home (La fête à Jules) - (Belgium)
• The Homecoming, directed by Peter Hall, starring Cyril Cusack, Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant - (U.K.)
• Hot Winds (Garm Hava), directed by M. S. Sathyu - (India)
• The Hourglass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod klepsydrą), directed by Wojciech Has - (Poland)
• The House in Nightmare Park, directed by Peter Skyes, starring Frankie Howerd and Ray Milland - (U.K.)
• The House on Chelouche Street (Ha-Bayit Berechov Chelouche) - (Israel)
• Hugo the Hippo (Hugó, a víziló) - (Hungary)

I

• The Iceman Cometh, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan
• Idaho Transfer, directed by Peter Fonda
• Indian Summer, directed by Milen Nikolov, starring Georgi Partsalev, Leda Taseva, Tatyana Lolova - (Bulgaria)
• Interval, starring Merle Oberon
• L' Invitation (The Invitation), directed by Claude Goretta - Academy Award for Best Foreign Film - (France/Switzerland)
• Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (Ivan Vasilyevich menyayet professiyu) - (U.S.S.R.)

J

• Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Ted Neeley and Yvonne Elliman, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Jeremy, starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull, featuring voices of James Franciscus and Juliet Mills

K

• Kanashimi no Belladonna (Belladonna of Sadness), Anime feature film - (Japan)
• Kid Blue, starring Dennis Hopper and Warren Oates

L

• Lady Ice, starring Donald Sutherland and Jennifer O'Neill
• Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime) - (Japan)
• The Last American Hero, starring Jeff Bridges
• The Last Detail, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Otis Young
• The Last of Sheila, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, starring Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon, James Mason, James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, Joan Hackett, Ian McShane
• The Laughing Policeman, starring Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett, Jr., Joanna Cassidy, Cathy Lee Crosby
• The Legend of Hell House, starring Pamela Franklin and Gayle Hunnicutt
• The Legend of Paul and Paula (Die Legende von Paul und Paula) - (East Germany)
• Le Magnifique, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jacqueline Bisset - (France)
• Little Tiger of Canton (Guang dong xiao lao hu), starring Jackie Chan - (Hong Kong)
• Live and Let Die, starring Roger Moore (as James Bond), with Jane Seymour and Yaphet Kotto - (U.K.)
• Lolly-Madonna XXX, starring Rod Steiger, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges
• The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman, starring Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, Jim Bouton
• Lost Horizon, starring Peter Finch, John Gielgud, Liv Ullmann, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey
• Love and Anarchy (d'amore e d'anarchia), directed by Lina Wertmüller - (Italy)
• Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Timothy Bottoms and Maggie Smith
• Luther, a biopic of Martin Luther, starring Stacy Keach - (U.K./U.S.A./Canada)

M

• The Mackintosh Man, starring Paul Newman - (U.K./U.S.A.)
• Magnum Force, directed by Ted Post, starring Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich
• Malizia (Malicious) - (Italy)
• Manson, a documentary film about Charles Manson
• Massacre in Rome (Rappresaglia), directed by George Pan Cosmatos, starring Richard Burton and Marcello Mastroianni - (Italy)
• Maurie, directed by Daniel Mann, starring Bo Svenson and Bernie Casey
• Mean Streets, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro
• The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la Putain) - (France)
• My Dear Brother starring Tarık Akan, Halit Akçatepe and Kahraman Kıral - (Turkey)
• My Name is Nobody (Il mio nome è Nessuno), starring Terence Hill and Henry Fonda - (Italy)

N

• The Neptune Factor, starring Ben Gazzara, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine
• The No Mercy Man, starring Sid Haig and Ron Thompson
• Night Flight from Moscow, starring Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda, Dirk Bogarde - (France/Italy/Germany)
• Night Watch, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey - (U.K.)
• The Night Strangler, TV movie starring Darren McGavin
• The Nutcracker (Schelkunchik) - (U.S.S.R.)

O

• Oklahoma Crude, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Faye Dunaway and George C. Scott
• O Lucky Man!, directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Malcolm McDowell, Ralph Richardson, Rachel Roberts - (U.K.)
• The Olsen Gang Goes Crazy (Olsen-banden går amok) - (Denmark)

P

• The Paper Chase, starring Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman
• Paper Moon, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
• Paperback Hero, starring Keir Dullea and Elizabeth Ashley - (Canada)
• Papillon, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman
• Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, with music by Dylan
• The Pedestrian (Der Fußgänger), directed by Maximilian Schell, starring Peggy Ashcroft - Golden Globe for best foreign film - (West Germany/Switzerland/Israel)
• Property Is No Longer a Theft (La proprietà non è più un furto), starring Ugo Tognazzi - (Italy)

R

• El Retorno de Walpurgis (a.k.a. The Curse of the Devil) - (Spain/Mexico)
• Robin Hood, animated film with voices of Roger Miller, Phil Harris, Andy Devine, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas

S

• Save the Tiger, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Jack Lemmon
• Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino - Palme d'Or winner
• Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett äktenskap), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson - (Sweden)
• Scorpio, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Paul Scofield, Gayle Hunnicutt
• Scream Blacula Scream, starring William H. Marshall and Pam Grier
• Serpico, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino
• The Seven Madmen (Los siete locos), directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson - (Argentina)
• The Seven-Ups, starring Roy Scheider
• Shamus, starring Burt Reynolds, Dyan Cannon, John P. Ryan
• Showdown, starring Dean Martin and Rock Hudson
• Sinbad and the Caliph of Baghdad
• Sisters, directed by Brian De Palma
• Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, starring Jim Brown, Brock Peters, Ed McMahon
• Sleeper, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton
• Slither, starring James Caan, Sally Kellerman, Peter Boyle
• The Society of the Spectacle (La Société du Spectacle) - (France)
• Soul Hustler, directed by Bert Topper, starring Fabian Forte, Nai Bonet, Tony Russel, Casey Kasem
• Soylent Green, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Edward G. Robinson
• The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) - (Spain)
• Stateline Motel, starring Eli Wallach, Ursula Andress, Fabio Testi, Eli Wallach - Canada/Italy
• Steelyard Blues, starring Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda
• Steptoe and Son Ride Again, starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett - (U.K.)
• The Sting, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Ray Walston - winner of 7 Academy Awards
• The Stone Killer, starring Charles Bronson
• Superdad, starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell
• Sweet Kill, starring Tab Hunter

T

• The Tenderness of Wolves (Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe) - (West Germany)
• Theatre of Blood, starring Vincent Price
• That´ll Be the Day, starring David Essex, Rosemary Leach, Ringo Starr - (U.K.)
• Themroc, starring Michel Piccoli - (France)
• There's No Smoke Without Fire (Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu), starring Annie Girardot - (France)
• The Thief Who Came to Dinner, starring Ryan O'Neal, Jacqueline Bisset, Warren Oates
• The Three-Day Reign (Samil cheonha) - (South Korea)
• The Three Musketeers, directed by Richard Lester, starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Raquel Welch - (U.K./U.S.)
• Three Nuts for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku) - (Czechoslovakia/East Germany)
• A Touch of Class, starring George Segal and Glenda Jackson - (U.K.)
• Tom Sawyer, starring Johnny Whitaker and Jodie Foster
• Touki Bouki (Journey of the Hyena) - (Senegal)
• The Train Robbers, starring John Wayne and Ann-Margret
• Tsugaru Folk Song (Tsugaru Jongarabushi) - (Japan)
• Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit), directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Rutger Hauer - (Netherlands)
• Two Men in Town (Deux hommes dans la ville), starring Jean Gabin and Alain Delon - (France)
• Two People, directed by Robert Wise, starring Peter Fonda and Lindsay Wagner

U

• Ultimul cartuş (The Last Bullet) - (Romania)

V

• The Vault of Horror, starring Glynis Johns, Terry-Thomas, Curd Jürgens - (U.K.)
• Voices, starring David Hemmings and Gayle Hunnicutt - (U.K.)

W

• Walking Tall, starring Joe Don Baker
• The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford
• We Want the Colonels (Vogliamo i colonnelli), starring Ugo Tognazzi - (Italy)
• Wedding in Blood (Les Noces rouges), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stéphane Audran and Michel Piccoli - (France)
• Westworld, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin
• White Lightning, starring Burt Reynolds
• Wicked, Wicked, starring David Bailey, Edd Byrnes, Tiffany Bolling
• The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy, starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento - (U.K.)
• The World's Greatest Athlete, starring Jan-Michael Vincent and John Amos

Z

• Zanjeer (Shackles) - (India)
• Ziddi(Action)- (Pakistan)

1973 film releases

U.S.A. unless stated

January-March

• February 1973
  • 7 February
    • Last Tango in Paris
  • 14 February
    • The World's Greatest Athlete
• March 1973
  • 1 March
    • Charlotte's Web
  • 16 March
    • The Crazies
  • 17 March
    • Godzilla vs. Megalon (Japan)
  • 23 March
    • Charley and the Angel

April-June

• April 1973
  • 19 April
    • Soylent Green
• May 1973
  • 9 May
    • Paper Moon
• June 1973
  • 20 June
    • One Little Indian
  • 27 June
    • Live and Let Die

July-September

• August 1973
  • 11 August
    • American Graffiti

October-December

• October 1973
• The Wicker Man
  • 16 October
    • Don't Look Now
  • 19 October
    • The Way We Were
• November 1973
  • 8 November
    • Robin Hood
  • 21 November
    • Westworld
• December 1973
  • 14 December
    • Superdad
  • 16 December
    • Papillon
  • 25 December
    • Magnum Force
  • 26 December
    • The Exorcist

Births

• February 12 - Tara Strong, voice actor
• March 18 - Luci Christian, voice actress
• March 20 - Jane March, actress and model
• April 10 - Guillaume Canet, actor
• April 14 - Adrien Brody, actor
• April 22 - Christopher Sabat, voice actor
• April 30 - Antonino Isordia, Mexican director
• May 5 - Tina Yothers, actress
• May 10 - Tora Sudiro, Indonesian actor
• June 15 - Neil Patrick Harris, actor
• June 16 - Eddie Cibrian, actor
• June 21 - Juliette Lewis, actress
• July 26 - Kate Beckinsale, actress
• August 6 - Vera Farmiga, actress
• August 8 - Jessica Calvello, voice actress
• August 24 - Dave Chappelle, actor
• September 12 - Paul Walker, actor and producer (died 2013)
• September 26 - Julienne Davis, actress and model
• October 3
  • Neve Campbell, actress
  • Richard Ian Cox, voice actor
• October 26 - Seth MacFarlane, actor, voice actor, animator, screenwriter, comedian, television producer, director and singer
• November 26 - Peter Facinelli, actor
• November 27 - Sharlto Copley, actor

Deaths

• January 19 - Max Adrian, 69, Northern Irish actor, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, The Terrornauts
• January 24 - J. Carrol Naish, 77, American actor, Sahara, A Medal for Benny
• January 26 - Edward G. Robinson, 79, Romanian actor, Double Indemnity, The Stranger
• February 13 - David Bauer, 55, American actor, Torture Garden, Patton
• February 15
  • Tim Holt, 54, American actor, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Magnificent Ambersons
  • Wally Cox, 48, American actor, Morituri, The Bedford Incident
• February 22 - Katina Paxinou, 72, Greek actress, Rocco and His Brothers, For Whom the Bell Tolls
• February 24 - Art Smith, 73, American actor, In a Lonely Place, Body and Soul
• February 28 - Cecil Kellaway, 82, South African actor, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Postman Always Rings Twice
• March 5 - Rupert Crosse, 45, American actor, The Reivers, Shadows
• March 10 - Robert Siodmak, 72, German director, The Killers, The Spiral Staircase
• March 16 - Carl Benton Reid, 79, The Little Foxes, The Trap
• March 23 - Ken Maynard, 77, American actor, Mystery Mountain, Tombstone Canyon
• March 26 - Noël Coward, 73, prolific English actor, playwright and songwriter, Easy Virtue, In Which We Serve
• April 11 - Ted de Corsia, 69, American actor, The Killing, The Enforcer
• May 11 - Lex Barker, 54, American actor, La Dolce Vita, Apache Gold
• May 29 - P. Ramlee, 44, Malaysian actor, playwright, director, composer and singer
• June 10 - William Inge, 60, American playwright and screenwriter, Splendor in the Grass, Picnic
• June 18 - Roger Delgado, 55, English actor, The Terror of the Tongs, Hot Enough for June
• June 23 - Fay Holden, 79, British actress, Love Finds Andy Hardy, Samson and Delilah
• June 25 - Lars Tvinde, 86, Norwegian actor
• July 2
  • Betty Grable, 56, American actress, How to Marry a Millionaire, I Wake Up Screaming
  • George Macready, 73, American actor, Gilda, Paths of Glory
• July 6 - Joe E. Brown, 80, American actor, Some Like It Hot, Show Boat
• July 7 - Veronica Lake, 50, American actress, Sullivan's Travels, This Gun for Hire
• July 11 - Robert Ryan, 63, American actor, The Wild Bunch, Bad Day at Black Rock
• July 12 - Lon Chaney, Jr., 67, American actor, High Noon, The Defiant Ones, The Wolf Man
• July 18 - Jack Hawkins, 62, British actor, Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia
• July 20 - Bruce Lee, 32, American actor, Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon
• July 30 - Guy Middleton, 66, British actor, Oh! What a Lovely War
• August 10 - Douglas Kennedy, 57, American actor, Dark Passage, The Amazing Transparent Man
• August 11 - Peggie Castle, 45, American actress, 99 River Street, I, the Jury
• August 22 - Louise Huff, 77, American actress, Disraeli, Great Expectations
• August 31 - John Ford, 79, American director, Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath
• September 13 - Betty Field, 60, American actress, Picnic, Birdman of Alcatraz
• September 21 - Diana Sands, 39, American actress, A Raisin in the Sun, The Landlord
• September 26 - Anna Magnani, 65, Italian actress, Rome, Open City, Mamma Roma
• September 28 - Norma Crane, 44, All in a Night's Work, They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
• October 6 - Sidney Blackmer, 78, American actor, High Society, Rosemary's Baby
• October 16 - Gene Krupa, 64, American musician, actor, Raging Bull, Rounders
• October 25 - Cleo Moore, 48, American actress, One Girl's Confession, Over-Exposed
• November 23
  • Claire Dodd, 64, American actress, Roberta, In the Navy
  • Constance Talmadge, 75, American actress, The Duchess of Buffalo, Dulcy
  • Sessue Hayakawa, 84, Japanese actor, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Swiss Family Robinson
• November 25 - Laurence Harvey, 45, Lithuanian actor, The Manchurian Candidate, The Alamo
• December 20 - Bobby Darin, 37, American actor, Captain Newman, M.D., If a Man Answers
• December 26 - William Haines, 73, American actor, Show People, West Point

Debuts

• John Candy - Class of '44
• Bernadette Peters - Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
• Victor Garber - Godspell