List of Famous people who died in 1978

Pedro Avilés Pérez, also known as "El León de la Sierra", was a Mexican drug lord in the state of Sinaloa beginning in the late 1960s.

Kurt Friedrich Gödel was a German-Austrian logician, mathematician, and analytic philosopher. Considered along with Aristotle and Gottlob Frege to be one of the most significant logicians in history, Gödel had an immense effect upon scientific and philosophical thinking in the 20th century, a time when others such as Bertrand Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, and David Hilbert were analyzing the use of logic and set theory to understand the foundations of mathematics pioneered by Georg Cantor.

Wyatt Emory Cooper was an American author, screenwriter, and actor. He was the fourth husband of Vanderbilt heiress and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt and the father of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. As an actor, he was usually billed as Wyatt Cooper.

Gig Young was an American actor. He was thrice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Come Fill the Cup (1952), Teacher's Pet (1959), and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), winning for the last of these.

Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau was a Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved over 500 people and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship.

Henry Leroy Willson was an American Hollywood talent agent who played a large role in developing the beefcake craze of the 1950s. He was known for his stable of young, attractive clients, including Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Chad Everett, Robert Wagner, Nick Adams, Guy Madison, Troy Donahue, Mike Connors, Rory Calhoun, John Saxon, Yale Summers, Clint Walker, Doug McClure, Dack Rambo, Ty Hardin, and John Derek. He noticed Rhonda Fleming as she was walking to Beverly Hills High School, brought her to the attention of David O. Selznick, and helped groom her for stardom. He was also instrumental in advancing Lana Turner's career.

Peter Vogel was a German film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1954 and 1978. He was born in Munich, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria, after committing suicide. His father was the actor Rudolf Vogel. He was married to the Austrian actress Gertraud Jesserer and is the father of actor-journalist Nikolas Vogel. was interred next to his father at Bogenhausener Friedhof, Germany.

Adolf "Adi" Dassler was a German cobbler, inventor and entrepreneur who founded the German sportswear company Adidas. He was also the younger brother of Rudolf Dassler, founder of Puma. Dassler was an innovator in athletic shoe design and one of the early promoters who obtained endorsements from athletes to drive sale of his products. As a result of his concepts, Adi Dassler built the largest manufacturer of sportswear and equipment. At the time of his death Adidas had 17 factories and annual sales of one billion marks.

Alexander Alexandrovich Belov, commonly known as Sasha Belov was a Soviet basketball player. During his playing career, he played at the center position. Belov is most remembered for scoring the game-winning basket of the gold medal game of the 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games, which gave the gold medal to the senior Soviet national team.

Keith John Moon was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and drug addiction.