List of Famous people who died at 72

Alvin Francis Karpis, a Depression-era gangster nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members, was a Canadian-born criminal of Lithuanian descent known for being a leader of the Barker–Karpis gang in the 1930s. Karpis led the gang along with Fred Barker and Arthur "Doc" Barker. There were only four "public enemies" ever given the title of "Public Enemy #1" by the FBI and he was the only one to be taken alive. The other three, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson, were all killed before being captured. He also spent the longest time as a federal prisoner at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, serving twenty-six years.

Roy Chiao was a Hong Kong-based Chinese actor most famous in the United States for playing the minor villain Lao Che in the 1984 movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

John Taylor was a British jazz pianist born in Manchester, England, who occasionally performed on the organ and the synthesizer.

Werner Nekes was a German experimental film director, and a collector of historical optical objects.

Sogyal Rinpoche was a Tibetan Dzogchen lama of the Nyingma tradition. He was recognized as the incarnation of a great Tibetan master and visionary saint of the nineteenth century, Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa. He founded the international Buddhist network Rigpa, and was the author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Before his retirement, in the wake of abuse allegations in 2017, he had been teaching for 40 years in Europe, America, Asia and Australia.

José López Rega was an Argentine politician who served as Minister of Social Welfare from 1973–75, first under Juan Perón and continuing under Isabel Martínez de Perón, Juan Perón's third wife and presidential successor. Lopez Rega exercised Rasputin-like authority over Isabel Perón during her presidency, and used his influence and unique access to become the de facto ruler of Argentina. His far-right politics and interest in the occult earned him the nickname El Brujo. Rega had one daughter, Norma Beatriz, who went on to become the spouse of President Raúl Lastiri.

Thomas Myles Steinbeck was a screenwriter, photographer, and journalist. He published numerous works of fiction, including short stories and novels. He was the elder son of American novelist John Steinbeck.

Felix Landau, was a SS Hauptscharführer, a member of an Einsatzkommando during World War II, based first in Lwów, Poland, and later in Drohobycz. He was a "central figure in the Nazi program of the extermination of Galician Jews". He is known for his daily diary and for temporarily sparing the life of the Jewish/Polish artist Bruno Schulz in 1942. Landau liked Schulz's art and supplied him with protection and extra food. In return, he ordered the artist to paint a set of murals for his young son's bedroom, depicting scenes from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Landau also was the SS officer assigned to watch over Maria Altmann, the subject of the film Woman in Gold (2015).

Julião Manuel Tavares Sena Sarmento was a Portuguese multimedia artist and painter.

Wolfgang Fürniß, also spelt Fuerniss, was a politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).