# 1979 in film

The year 1979 in film involved many significant events.

## Highest-grossing films
### United States and Canada

The top ten 1979 released films by North American gross are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1979 (United States and Canada) :
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Box-office gross |
| 1 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Columbia | $106,260,000 |
| 2 | The Amityville Horror | American International | $86,432,520 |
| 3 | Rocky II | United Artists | $85,182,160 |
| 4 | Apocalypse Now | United Artists | $83,471,511 |
| 5 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Paramount | $82,258,456 |
| 6 | Alien | 20th Century Fox | $80,931,801 |
| 7 | 10 | Warner Bros. | $74,865,517 |
| 8 | The Jerk | Universal | $73,691,419 |
| 9 | Moonraker | United Artists | $70,308,099 |
| 10 | The Muppet Movie | Associated Film | $65,200,000 |

### International

Highest-grossing films of 1979 (international markets) :
| International market | Title | Distributor | Admissions | Gross revenue | Gross revenue | Production country |
| International market | Title | Distributor | Admissions | Local currency | US$ | Production country |
| China | Gunshots in the CIB | Changchun Film Studio | 600,000,000 | CN¥180,000,000 | $116,000,000 | China |
| France | The Gendarme and the Extra-Terrestrials | SNC | 6,280,070 | Un­known | Un­known | France |
| West Germany | The Jungle Book | 20th Century Fox | 9,103,582 | €32,092,155 | $44,000,000 | United States |
| India | Suhaag | Sharma Cine Associates | Un­known | ₹100,000,000 | $12,310,000 | India |
| Italy | Superman | Columbia-EMI-Warner | 904,000 | Un­known | Un­known | United States |
| Japan | Galaxy Express 999 | Toei | Un­known | ¥16,500,000,000 | $76,120,000 | Japan |
| Soviet Union | Sholay (Embers) | R. K. Films | 60,000,000 | 15,000,000 Rbls | $28,200,000 | India |
| Spain | Superman | Warner Bros. | 4,795,628 | ₧655,346,759 | $9,763,080 | United States |
| United Kingdom | Superman | Columbia-EMI-Warner | 10,190,000 | £11,547,308 | $24,455,309 | United States |

## Major events

* March 2 – Buena Vista release their first film since the advent of U.S. movie ratings to not be G-rated, Take Down.
* March 5 – Production begins on The Empire Strikes Back.
* March – Frank Price becomes president of Columbia Pictures.
* May 25 – Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released.
* May 29 - Mary Pickford, a silent screen legend and Hollywood pioneer who was, at the height of her career, the most famous woman in the world, dies of a stroke.
* May 31 – The Muppet Movie, Jim Henson's Muppets' first foray into the world of feature-length motion pictures, is released in United Kingdom.
* June 11 – John Wayne, a famous Western movie actor, dies at the age of 72 from stomach cancer.
* June 27 – 20th Century Fox Pictures president Alan Ladd Jr. and vice-presidents Jay Kanter and Gareth Wigan agree to leave Fox.
* June 29 – Moonraker, the 11th film in the James Bond franchise, is released in the United States and goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.
* August 15 – Apocalypse Now is released to worldwide critical acclaim and box office success. Heralded as one of the greatest films ever made to this day.
* September 19 – Don Bluth and a group of fellow animators resign from The Walt Disney Company's animation department to set up a rival studio, Don Bluth Productions.
* October 1 – Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter and Gareth Wigan who agreed to leave Fox earlier in the year formally announce the creation of The Ladd Company.
* October 3 – producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan purchase the film rights of Batman from DC Comics. It would be another ten years, before a Batman feature film would be fully realized.
* November 1 – Production begins on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
* December 7 – Star Trek: The Motion Picture debuts in the United States to mixed reviews but blockbuster box office, launching a film franchise that leads to 9 sequels and 3 reboots over the next 37 years. It also leads to the creation of five spin-off television series based upon Gene Roddenberry's creation.
* Allied Artists files for bankruptcy.

## Awards

| Category/Organization | 37th Golden Globe Awards January 26, 1980 | 37th Golden Globe Awards January 26, 1980 | 33rd BAFTA Awards March 20, 1980 | 52nd Academy Awards April 14, 1980 |
| Category/Organization | Drama | Musical or Comedy | 33rd BAFTA Awards March 20, 1980 | 52nd Academy Awards April 14, 1980 |
| Best Film | Kramer vs. Kramer | Breaking Away | Manhattan | Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Best Director | Francis Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now | Francis Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now | Francis Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now | Robert Benton Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Best Actor | Dustin Hoffman Kramer vs. Kramer | Peter Sellers Being There | Jack Lemmon The China Syndrome | Dustin Hoffman Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Best Actress | Sally Field Norma Rae | Bette Midler The Rose | Jane Fonda The China Syndrome | Sally Field Norma Rae |
| Best Supporting Actor | Melvyn Douglas Being There Robert Duvall Apocalypse Now | Melvyn Douglas Being There Robert Duvall Apocalypse Now | Robert Duvall Apocalypse Now | Melvyn Douglas Being There |
| Best Supporting Actress | Meryl Streep Kramer vs. Kramer | Meryl Streep Kramer vs. Kramer | Rachel Roberts Yanks | Meryl Streep Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Best Screenplay, Adapted | Robert Benton Kramer vs. Kramer | Robert Benton Kramer vs. Kramer | Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman Manhattan | Robert Benton Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Best Screenplay, Original | Robert Benton Kramer vs. Kramer | Robert Benton Kramer vs. Kramer | Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman Manhattan | Steve Tesich Breaking Away |
| Best Original Score | Carmine Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now | Carmine Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now | Ennio Morricone Days of Heaven | Georges Delerue A Little Romance Ralph Burns All That Jazz |
| Best Original Song | "The Rose" The Rose | "The Rose" The Rose | N/A | "It Goes Like It Goes" Norma Rae |
| Best Foreign Language Film | La Cage aux Folles | La Cage aux Folles | N/A | The Tin Drum |
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
    Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, United States
    The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel), directed by Volker Schlöndorff, W. Germany
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
    David, directed by Peter Lilienthal, West Germany

## 1979 films
### By country/region

* List of American films of 1979
* List of Argentine films of 1979
* List of Australian films of 1979
* List of Bangladeshi films of 1979
* List of British films of 1979
* List of Canadian films of 1979
* List of French films of 1979
* List of Hong Kong films of 1979
* List of Indian films of 1979
** List of Hindi films of 1979
** List of Kannada films of 1979
** List of Malayalam films of 1979
** List of Marathi films of 1979
** List of Tamil films of 1979
** List of Telugu films of 1979
* List of Japanese films of 1979
* List of Mexican films of 1979
* List of Pakistani films of 1979
* List of South Korean films of 1979
* List of Soviet films of 1979
* List of Spanish films of 1979

### By genre/medium

* List of action films of 1979
* List of animated feature films of 1979
* List of avant-garde films of 1979
* List of comedy films of 1979
* List of drama films of 1979
* List of horror films of 1979
* List of science fiction films of 1979
* List of thriller films of 1979
* List of western films of 1979

## Births

* January 1 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
* January 6 – Cristela Alonzo, American comedian, actress, writer and producer
* January 8
** Ashraf Barhom, Israeli-Arab actor
** Sarah Polley, Canadian actress
* January 10 - Maximilian Brückner, German actor
* January 16 – Aaliyah, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
* January 24 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
* January 26 – Sara Rue, American actress
* January 28 - Angelique Cabral, American actress
* January 29 – Andrew Keegan, American actor
* February 1 – Rachelle Lefevre, Canadian actress
* February 2 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
* February 3 – Costa Ronin, Australian actor and cinematographer
* February 7 - Cerina Vincent, American actress
* February 8 - Josh Keaton, American actor and musician
* February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress and dancer
* February 11 – Brandy Norwood, American actress and singer
* February 12 - Angus Sampson, Australian actor and filmmaker
* February 13 – Mena Suvari, American actress
* February 21
** Tituss Burgess, American actor and singer
** Maryke Hendrikse, Bahamian-born Canadian voice actress
** Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and singer
** Jordan Peele, American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer
* March 3 – Patrick Renna, American actor
* March 5 – Riki Lindhome, American actress, comedian and musician
* March 9 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
* March 10
** Edi Gathegi, Kenyan-American actor
** Danny Pudi, American actor
* March 12 - Rhys Coiro, American actor
* March 14 - Chris Klein, American actor
* March 17 – Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian actor, music producer and stand-up comedian
* March 18 – Adam Levine, American singer, songwriter, musician and actor
* March 19 - Abby Brammell, American actress
* March 20
** Freema Agyeman, British actress
** Bianca Lawson, American actress
* March 24 – Lake Bell, American actress, director and screenwriter
* March 25 – Lee Pace, American actor
* March 28 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer, film organiser and media personalities
* March 29 – De'Angelo Wilson, American actor and rapper (d. 2008)
* March 30
** Jose Pablo Cantillo, American actor
** Pete Holmes, American comedian, actor, writer, producer and podcaster
* April 4
** Bunko Kanazawa, Japanese actress
** Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
** Natasha Lyonne, American actress
* April 5 – Josh Boone, American filmmaker
* April 7 - Nico Santos, Filipino-American actor
* April 9 - Edward Bennett, English actor
* April 11 – Josh Server, American actor
* April 12
** Claire Danes, American actress
** Jennifer Morrison, American actress, director and producer
** Paul Nicholls, English actor
* April 15
** Karen David, Canadian actress and singer-songwriter
** Luke Evans, Welsh actor and singer
* April 17
** Mylene Dinh-Robic, Canadian actress
** Ken Duken, German actor and director
** Tate Ellington, American actor
* April 19 – Kate Hudson, American actress
* April 21 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
* April 23 – Jaime King, American actress
* April 26 – Klára Issová, Czech actress
* April 27 - Tom Davis, English actor and comedian
* May 5 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
* May 6 - Kerry Ellis, English actress and singer
* May 7 – Yōsuke Kubozuka, Japanese actor
* May 9 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
* May 12 – Aaron Yoo, Korean-American actor
* May 19 – Bérénice Marlohe, French actress
* May 20 - Jana Pallaske, German actress and singer
* May 22 – Maggie Q, American actress
* May 23 – Josh Cooley, American animator, screenwriter, director and voice actor
* May 24 - Panos Mouzourakis, Greek singer-songwriter and actor
* May 25 - Corbin Allred, American actor
* May 28
** Jesse Bradford, American actor
** Monica Keena, American actress
* May 30
** Jenny Mollen, American actress and writer
** Tadhg Murphy, Irish actor
* June 2 - Morena Baccarin, Brazilian actress
* June 7 – Anna Torv, Australian actress
* June 12 - Wil Horneff, American former child actor
* June 17 – Young Maylay, American rapper, producer and voice actor
* June 20 - Sarah Stiles, American singer and actress
* June 21 – Chris Pratt, American actor
* June 24 – Mindy Kaling, American writer and actress
* June 25 - Busy Philipps, American actress
* June 27
** Martin Bourboulon, French film director and screenwriter
** Benjamin Speed, Australian film composer
* June 30 - Rick Gonzalez, American actor and musician
* July 3 – Ludivine Sagnier, French actress
* July 5 – Eva Maria Daniels, Icelandic film producer (d. 2023)
* July 6
** Kevin Hart, American actor
** Abdul Salis, British actor
* July 7 - Benjamin Mitchell, New Zealand actor
* July 10 – Gong Yoo, South Korean actor
* July 12 – Omid Abtahi, Iranian-American actor
* July 14 – Scott Porter, American actor
* July 16
** Jayma Mays, American actress
** Gerard Monaco, British actor
* July 17 – Mike Vogel, American actor and former model
* July 19 – David Sakurai, Danish-Japanese actor, director and scriptwriter
* July 25 - Juan Pablo Di Pace, Argentine actor, director, singer and musician
* July 26 - Mageina Tovah, American actress
* July 30 - Lucas Babin, American actor
* July 31
** Dana Gourrier, American actress
** B. J. Novak, American writer and actor
* August 1 – Jason Momoa, American actor and filmmaker
* August 3 – Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress
* August 6 – Dayahang Rai, Nepalese actor
* August 10 – JoAnna Garcia Swisher, American actress
* August 12 - Keith Powell, American actor, writer and director
* August 13 - Kasia Smutniak, Polish-Italian actress and model
* August 14 - Jamie Parker, English actor and singer
* August 21 - Kevin Janssens, Belgian actor
* August 22 – Brandon Adams, American actor
* August 23 – Claire Grant, American actress, model and producer
* August 24 – Fabienne Carat, French actress and singer
* August 25 – Şebnem Bozoklu, Turkish actress
* August 26 – Erik Valdez, American actor
* August 27 – Aaron Paul, American actor
* August 29 – Dan Harris, American screenwriter and director
* August 31 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian film composer
* September 1 - Camille Chen, American actress
* September 4 - Max Greenfield, American actor
* September 8 – Pink, American singer and actress
* September 11
** Ariana Richards, American actress
** Cameron Richardson, American actress and producer
** Hu Ting-ting, English-born Taiwanese actress
* September 17
** Neill Blomkamp, South African and Canadian director and screenwriter
** Kat Coiro, American director
** Billy Miller, American actor (d. 2023)
* September 18 – Alison Lohman, American former actress
* September 19 – Noémie Lenoir, French model and actress
* September 20 – Chris Tardio, American actor
* September 22 – MyAnna Buring, Swedish-born British actress
* September 23 – Lisa Loven Kongsli, Norwegian actress
* September 25 - Stephen Rider, American actor
* September 26 - Mark Famiglietti, American actor, screenwriter and producer
* September 27 – Jad Saxton, American voice actress
** Alicyn Packard, American actress, singer, and writer
* September 30 – Jonathan Kasdan, American screenwriter, director, producer and actor
* October 1 – Marielle Heller, American film director
* October 4
** Caitríona Balfe, Irish actress
** Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress
* October 6 – Sareh Bayat, Iranian actress
* October 7
** Tang Wei, Chinese actress
** Aaron Ashmore and Shawn Ashmore, Canadian actors
* October 8 – Kristanna Loken, American actress
* October 9
** Chris O'Dowd, Irish actor and comedian
** Brandon Routh, American actor
* October 20 – John Krasinski, American actor and filmmaker
* October 22 - Tony Denman, American actor
* October 28 – Natina Reed, American singer-songwriter, rapper and actress (d. 2012)
* October 29 – Maya Karin, Malaysian actress
* October 30 - James A. Woods, Canadian actor
* October 31 – Erica Cerra, Canadian actress
* November 5 - Leonardo Nam, Australian actor
* November 8 – Dania Ramirez, Dominican actress
* November 9
** Cory Hardrict, American actor
** Matt McCarthy, American comedian, actor and writer
* November 13 – Riccardo Scamarcio, Italian actor and producer
* November 14 – Olga Kurylenko, Ukrainian-French actress
* November 19 – Barry Jenkins, American film director
* November 20 - Jacob Pitts, American actor
* November 22
** Andrew Knott, British actor
** Leeanna Walsman, Australian actress
* November 23 – Jonathan Sadowski, American actor
* November 25
** Jerry Ferrara, American actor
** Joel Kinnaman, Swedish-American actor
* November 28 – Daniel Henney, American actor and model
* November 29 - Timo Vuorensola, Finnish director, singer and actor
* December 3 – Tiffany Haddish, American comedian and actress
* December 5 – Nick Stahl, American actor
* December 7
** Eric Bauza, Canadian-born American voice actor, stand-up comedian and animation artist
** Sara Bareilles, American actress and singer
* December 11 – Rider Strong, American actor
* December 15 – Adam Brody, American actor, writer, musician and producer
* December 17 - Lil Rel Howery, American actor and comedian
* December 20 - Ramón Rodríguez, Puerto Rican actor
* December 23 – Summer Altice, American model and actress
* December 26 – Chris Daughtry, American actor and singer
* December 28
** André Holland, American actor
** Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress
* December 29 – Diego Luna, Mexican actor, director and producer

## Deaths

| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 11 | Jack Soo | 61 | US | Actor | Flower Drum SongThe Oscar |
| January | 16 | Peter Butterworth | 63 | UK | Actor, writer | Oliver!The First Great Train Robbery |
| January | 16 | Ted Cassidy | 46 | US | Actor | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidMackenna's Gold |
| January | 18 | Cyril J. Mockridge | 82 | UK | Composer | Desk SetThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance |
| January | 25 | Dick Crockett | 63 | US | Stuntman, Actor | Dirty HarrySpartacus |
| February | 12 | Jean Renoir | 84 | US | Director, writer, actor | The Rules of the GameLa Grande Illusion |
| February | 16 | Louise Allbritton | 58 | US | Actress | PittsburghSitting Pretty |
| February | 17 | William Gargan | 73 | US | Actor | The Bells of St. Mary'sCheers for Miss Bishop |
| February | 19 | Leigh Jason | 74 | US | Director | Out of the BlueThe Mad Miss Manton |
| February | 28 | Jane Hylton | 51 | UK | Actress | It Started in ParadiseCircus of Horrors |
| March | 1 | Dolores Costello | 75 | US | Actress | The Magnificent AmbersonsLittle Lord Fauntleroy |
| March | 2 | Edith Craig | 71 | US | Actress | After the Thin ManBroadway Bill |
| March | 6 | John Robinson | 70 | UK | Actor | Lawrence of ArabiaThe Longest Day |
| March | 9 | Barbara Mullen | 64 | UK | Actress | JeannieThunder Rock |
| March | 19 | John Tate | 64 | UK | Actor | Invasion |
| March | 21 | Bomba Tzur | 50 | Israel | Actor | Blaumilch CanalDalia and the Sailors |
| March | 22 | Ben Lyon | 78 | US | Actor, writer | Hell's AngelsNight Nurse |
| March | 24 | Yvonne Mitchell | 63 | UK | Actress | Woman in a Dressing GownJohnny Nobody |
| April | 4 | Edgar Buchanan | 76 | US | Actor | ShaneWichita |
| April | 6 | Norman Tokar | 59 | US | Director | Follow Me, Boys!The Happiest Millionaire |
| April | 10 | Nino Rota | 67 | Italy | Composer | The GodfatherThe Leopard |
| April | 24 | John Carroll | 72 | US | Actor | Go WestFlying Tigers |
| May | 6 | Rosemary La Planche | 55 | US | Actress | Angels' AlleyJack Armstrong |
| May | 8 | Victor Saville | 83 | UK | Producer, director | Goodbye, Mr. ChipsKim |
| May | 10 | Beatrice Campbell | 56 | UK | Actress | Last HolidayThe Master of Ballantrae |
| May | 11 | Joan Chandler | 55 | US | Actress | HumoresqueRope |
| May | 26 | George Brent | 80 | US | Actor | Jezebel42nd Street |
| May | 29 | Mary Pickford | 87 | US | Actress, producer, writer | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the ChristCoquette |
| June | 1 | Jack Mulhall | 91 | US | Actor | The Social BuccaneerThe Three Musketeers |
| June | 2 | Larisa Shepitko | 41 | Soviet Union | Director | WingsThe Ascent |
| June | 2 | Jim Hutton | 45 | US | Actor | Walk, Don't RunWho's Minding the Mint? |
| June | 6 | Jack Haley | 80 | US | Actor | The Wizard of OzAlexander's Ragtime Band |
| June | 11 | John Wayne | 72 | US | Actor, producer, director | The SearchersRed River |
| June | 12 | Henry Berman | 65 | US | Editor, Producer | Swing TimeGrand Prix |
| June | 14 | David Butler | 84 | US | Director | Road to MoroccoCalamity Jane |
| June | 16 | Nicholas Ray | 67 | US | Director, writer, actor | Rebel Without a CauseIn a Lonely Place |
| June | 19 | Nick Grinde | 86 | US | Director | Million Dollar LegsThe Man They Could Not Hang |
| June | 21 | Julian Orchard | 49 | UK | Actor, writer | Revenge of the Pink PantherThe Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother |
| July | 2 | Larisa Shepitko | 41 | USSR | Director, writer, actress | The AscentFarewell |
| July | 8 | Michael Wilding | 66 | UK | Actor, producer | Stage FrightWaterloo |
| July | 13 | Corinne Griffith | 84 | US | Actress | The Divine LadyBack Pay |
| July | 22 | Kathleen Case | 45 | US | Actress | Human DesireRunning Wild |
| July | 25 | Eric Pohlmann | 66 | Germany | Actor | The Third ManFrom Russia with Love |
| July | 26 | Virginia Brissac | 96 | US | Actress | Dressed to KillRebel Without a Cause |
| July | 27 | Ettore Manni | 52 | Italy | Actor | City of WomenLe Amiche |
| July | 27 | Shirley Mason | 79 | US | Actress | Anne Against the WorldSo This Is Love? |
| July | 28 | George Seaton | 68 | US | Director | The Country GirlAirport |
| July | 28 | Frederick Stafford | 51 | Czechoslovakia | Actor | TopazDirty Heroes |
| July | 31 | Beatrix Lehmann | 76 | UK | Actress | The Spy Who Came in from the Cold |
| August | ?? | Betty Henderson | 72 | UK | Actress | The 39 StepsThe Maggie |
| August | 6 | Kurt Kasznar | 65 | Austria | Actor | Kiss Me KateLili |
| August | 7 | Vicente Salumbides | 85 | Philippines | Actor, Director | Ibong AdarnaFlorante at Laura |
| August | 10 | Dick Foran | 69 | US | Actor | The Petrified ForestRide 'Em Cowboy |
| August | 17 | Vivian Vance | 70 | US | Actress | The Great Race |
| August | 21 | Stuart Heisler | 82 | US | Director | TulsaI Died a Thousand Times |
| August | 30 | Jean Seberg | 40 | US | Actress | BreathlessAirport |
| September | 1 | Doris Kenyon | 81 | US | Actress | Alexander HamiltonThe Road to Singapore |
| September | 2 | Felix Aylmer | 90 | UK | Actor | BecketHamlet |
| September | 12 | Les Clark | 71 | US | Animator | FantasiaOne Hundred and One Dalmatians |
| September | 12 | Jocelyne LaGarde | 54 | Tahiti | Actress | Hawaii |
| September | 17 | Willis Goldbeck | 80 | US | Screenwriter | Young Dr. KildareThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance |
| September | 22 | Frederick Piper | 76 | UK | Actor | The 39 StepsThe Man Who Knew Too Much |
| September | 23 | Catherine Lacey | 75 | UK | Actress | The Lady VanishesThe Private Life of Sherlock Holmes |
| September | 26 | John Cromwell | 91 | US | Director | Of Human BondageThe Enchanted Cottage |
| September | 26 | Arthur Hunnicutt | 69 | US | Actor | The Tall TEl Dorado |
| September | 27 | Gracie Fields | 81 | UK | Actress, singer | Sally in Our AlleyHoly Matrimony |
| October | 1 | Dorothy Arzner | 82 | US | Director | Craig's WifeDance, Girl, Dance |
| October | 3 | Dorothy Peterson | 81 | US | Actress | That Hagen GirlPayment Deferred |
| October | 12 | Celia Lovsky | 82 | Austria | Actress | FoxfireI Mobster |
| October | 17 | John Stuart | 81 | UK | Actor | SupermanVillage of the Damned |
| October | 25 | Fernando Soler | 83 | Mexico | Actor | Papacito lindo El gran calavera |
| October | 30 | Graham Ashley | 52 | UK | Actor | Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeHennessy |
| November | 1 | Saro Urzì | 66 | Italy | Actor | The GodfatherBeat the Devil |
| November | 5 | Amedeo Nazzari | 71 | Italy | Actor | Il banditoThe Jester's Supper |
| November | 8 | Sydney Tafler | 63 | UK | Actor | The Spy Who Loved MeAlfie |
| November | 11 | Dimitri Tiomkin | 85 | Russia | Composer | High NoonThe High and the Mighty |
| November | 20 | Michael Darbyshire | 62 | UK | Actor, writer | Chitty Chitty Bang BangThe Slipper and the Rose |
| November | 21 | Paul Wexler | 50 | US | Actor | The Four Skulls of Jonathan DrakeDoc Savage: The Man of Bronze |
| November | 22 | George Froeschel | 88 | US | Screenwriter | Mrs. MiniverScaramouche |
| November | 23 | Merle Oberon | 68 | India | Actress, producer | Wuthering HeightsThe Scarlet Pimpernel |
| November | 30 | Barbara von Annenkoff | 79 | Germany | Actress | Wood LoveDerby |
| November | 30 | Joyce Grenfell | 69 | UK | Actress | The Americanization of EmilyBlue Murder at St Trinian's |
| November | 30 | Zeppo Marx | 78 | US | Actor, director | Duck SoupMonkey Business |
| December | 5 | Jesse Pearson | 49 | US | Actor | Bye Bye Birdie |
| December | 5 | Lesley Selander | 70 | US | Director | BlackmailFlight to Mars |
| December | 9 | James Neilson | 70 | US | Director | The Moon-SpinnersBon Voyage! |
| December | 10 | Ann Dvorak | 68 | US | Actress | ScarfaceThree on a Match |
| December | 11 | Claire Carleton | 66 | US | Actress | Girl from HavanaGildersleeve on Broadway |
| December | 12 | Jon Hall | 64 | US | Actor, director | The HurricaneKit Carson |
| December | 22 | George Pollock | 72 | UK | Director | Murder, She SaidTen Little Indians |
| December | 23 | Ernest B. Schoedsack | 86 | US | Director, cinematographer, producer | King KongThe Most Dangerous Game |
| December | 25 | Michael Collins | 57 | Canada | Actor | GoldfingerThe Battle of the River Plate |
| December | 25 | Lee Bowman | 79 | US | Actor | Love AffairCover Girl |
| December | 25 | Joan Blondell | 73 | US | Actress | GreaseThe Public Enemy |

## Film debuts

* Rosanna Arquette – More American Graffiti
* G. W. Bailey – A Force of One
* Tobin Bell – Manhattan
* Lorraine Bracco – Duos sur canapé
* David Bradley – The Frisco Kid
* Patrick Bruel – Le coup de sirocco
* Grand L. Bush – Hair
* Yancy Butler – Savage Weekend
* Gordon Clapp – Running
* Frances Conroy – Manhattan
* Matt Craven – Meatballs
* Denise Crosby – 10
* Ted Danson – The Onion Field
* Keith David – Disco Godfather
* David DeLuise – Hot Stuff
* Matt Dillon – Over the Edge
* Lisa Eichhorn – The Europeans
* Cary Elwes – Yesterday's Hero
* Giancarlo Esposito – Running
* Christopher Fairbank – Agatha
* Danny Glover – Escape from Alcatraz
* Erin Gray – Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
* Bruce Greenwood – Bear Island
* Linda Hamilton – Night Flowers
* Melora Hardin – The North Avenue Irregulars
* Dennis Haysbert – Scoring
* Stephen McKinley Henderson – A Pleasure Doing Business
* James Horner (film composer) – The Lady in Red
* Anna Maria Horsford – An Almost Perfect Affair
* Hawthorne James – Disco Godfather
* Lucinda Jenney – Impostors
* Michael Jeter – Hair
* Sam J. Jones – 10
* David Keith – The Great Santini
* David Patrick Kelly – The Warriors
* Wayne Knight – The Wanderers
* Christine Lahti – ...And Justice for All
* Laurene Landon – Bitter Heritage
* Diane Lane – A Little Romance
* Fredric Lehne – Being There
* Carl Lumbly – Escape from Alcatraz
* Tzi Ma – Cocaine Cowboys
* Hayao Miyazaki (director) – The Castle of Cagliostro
* Bill Nighy – The Bitch
* Will Patton – Minus Zero
* David Paymer – The In-Laws
* Elizabeth Peña – El Super
* Chris Penn – Charlie and the Talking Buzzard
* Rhea Perlman – Swap Meet
* Clarke Peters – The Music Machine
* CCH Pounder – All That Jazz
* Mickey Rourke – 1941
* Zelda Rubinstein – Americathon
* Jay O. Sanders – Starting Over
* Raynor Scheine – Something Short of Paradise
* Wallace Shawn – Manhattan
* Martin Short – Lost and Found
* J. Smith-Cameron – Gal Young Un
* John Snyder – The Warriors
* Timothy Spall – Quadrophenia
* Vincent Spano – Over the Edge
* Mike Starr – Squeeze Play!
* Daniel Stern – Breaking Away
* Emma Suárez – Memoirs of Leticia Valle
* Patrick Swayze – Skatetown, U.S.A.
* Joey Travolta – Sunnyside
* Jean-Claude Van Damme – Woman Between Wolf and Dog
* Christoph Waltz – Breakthrough
* Peter Weller – Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
* Joanne Whalley – Birth of the Beatles
* JoBeth Williams – Kramer vs. Kramer
* Michael Wincott – Title Shot
* Ray Winstone – That Summer!
* Michael Wright – The Wanderers
* Daniel Zacapa – Boulevard Nights