List of Famous people who died at 61

Philippe Eidel was a French music producer, writer and film music composer.

Pedro Lazaga Sabater was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He directed 94 films between 1948 and 1979.

Gerard Francis Claude Basset OBE, MS, MW, MBA, OIV MSc was the owner of Hotel TerraVina, a New Forest Hotel near Southampton in Hampshire, United Kingdom. At the time of his death, he was the only person in the world to hold the combined titles of Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, Wine MBA, OIV MSc in Wine Management and World's Best Sommelier.

Sylva Koscina was a Yugoslav-born Italian actress, maybe best remembered for her role as Iole, the bride of Hercules in Hercules (1958) and Hercules Unchained (1960). She also played Paul Newman's romantic interest in The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968).

Yves Ciampi was a French film director. He was married to Japanese actress Kishi Keiko from 1957 to 1975. His 1965 film Heaven on One's Head was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Golden Prize. In 1969 he was a member of the jury at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival.

Hazel Dorothy Scott was a Trinidadian-born jazz and classical pianist, singer, and actor. She was a critically acclaimed performing artist and an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representation of Black Americans in film.

József Antall Jr. was a Hungarian teacher, librarian, historian, and statesman who served as the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, holding office from May 1990 until his death in December 1993. He was also the leader of the Hungarian Democratic Forum from 1989.

Aleksandr Gerasimov was a Soviet ice hockey player. He won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Alfredo Jesús Fernández Sáenz was a Mexican film and television actor, nicknamed El Pichi.

Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy (1952–1959), the Cosmicomics collection of short stories (1965), and the novels Invisible Cities (1972) and If on a winter's night a traveler (1979).