List of Famous people who died at 79

Merian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Cooper was the founder of the Kościuszko Squadron during the Polish–Soviet War and was a Soviet prisoner of war for a time. He was a notable movie producer, and got his start with film as part of the Explorers Club, traveling the world and documenting adventures. He was a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways, but his love of film always took priority. During his film career, he worked for companies such as Pioneer Pictures, RKO Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also credited as co-inventor of the Cinerama film projection process. Cooper's most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Steven Spurrier was a British wine expert and merchant who was described as a champion of French wine. Spurrier organised the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, which unexpectedly elevated the status of California wine and promoted the expansion of wine production in the New World. He was also the founder of the Academie du Vin and Christie's Wine Course, in addition to authoring and co-authoring several wine books.

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, artist, and philosopher. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives.

Thomas Hörbiger (1931–2011) was a German film actor and lyricist. He was the son of the actor Paul Hörbiger. His daughter is the actress Mavie Hörbiger. Hörbiger co-wrote Austria's winning entry at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, which was sung by Udo Jürgens.

Josef Kohout was an Austrian Nazi concentration camp survivor, imprisoned for his homosexuality. He is best known for the 1972 book Die Männer mit dem rosa Winkel, which was written by his acquaintance Hans Neumann using the pen name Heinz Heger, which is often falsely attributed to Kohout. The book is one of very few first-hand accounts of the treatment of homosexuals in Nazi imprisonment. It has been translated into several languages, and a second edition published in 1994. It was the first testimony from a homosexual survivor of the concentration camps to be translated into English, and is regarded as the best known. Its publication helped to illuminate not just the suffering gay prisoners of the Nazi regime experienced, but the lack of recognition and compensation they received after the war's end.

Serena Belinda Rosemary Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, also known as Lindy Guinness, was a British artist, conservationist and businesswoman. She was married to the fifth Marquess from 1964 until his death in 1988.

Tamara Nosova was a Soviet and Russian actress, who was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia in 1992. She appeared in 27 films between 1948 and 1999. She was married to writer Vitali Gubarev.

James Leonard Farmer Jr. was an American civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." He was the initiator and organizer of the first Freedom Ride in 1961, which eventually led to the desegregation of interstate transportation in the United States.

V. R. Nedunchezhiyan was thrice the acting Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India, serving between 4 February 1969 – 9 February 1969, 16 November 1984 – 9 February 1985 and 25 December 1987 – 6 January 1988. He was also finance minister under the governments of C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa.

Ni Zhifu was a Chinese engineer, inventor, and high-ranking politician. When he worked as a technician in the 1950s, he invented the "Ni Zhifu drill" which earned him a patent and the honour of "model worker". During the Cultural Revolution, he was elevated to leadership positions in the municipal government of Beijing and became an alternate member of the Politburo. He was not close to the Gang of Four, and for that reason his career continued to rise when the Gang fell at the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. He became a full member of the Politburo, and served as Deputy Communist Party Chief of Shanghai municipality, Chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, Party Chief of Tianjin municipality, and Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress.