List of Famous people who died in 1978

Óscar Ortiz de Pinedo was a Cuban character actor best remembered for his numerous roles as eccentric businessmen. Married to actress Lupita Pallás, he was the father of famous comedian Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo.

Ewald Balser was a German film actor. He appeared in 53 films between 1935 and 1975. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria.

Werner Finck was a German Kabarett comedian, actor and author. Not politically motivated by his own admission but just a "convinced individualist", he became one of Germany's leading cabaret artists under the conditions of the Nazi suppression after 1933.

François Duprat was an essayist and politician, a founding member of the Front National party and part of the leadership until his assassination in 1978. Duprat was one the main architects in the introduction of Holocaust denial in France.

Sisavang Vatthana or sometimes Savang Vatthana was the last king of the Kingdom of Laos and the 6th Prime Minister of Laos serving from 29 October to 21 November 1951. He ruled from 1959 after his father's death until his forced abdication in 1975. His rule ended with the takeover by the Pathet Lao in 1975, after which he and his family were sent to a re-education camp by the new government.

Olivier Hussenot was a French theatre and film actor.

Giovanni Gronchi was an Italian Christian Democratic politician who served as the third President of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "opening to the left" in Italian politics. He was reputed the real holder of the executive power in Italy from 1955 to 1962, backward the various Prime Ministers of this time.

Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia was the fifth son and sixth child of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. He was a nephew of Tsar Nicholas II, Russia's last tsar.

Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie, CBE, known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage performances. She was known for her versatility, and appeared in Shakespeare, drawing room comedy, pantomime, modern drama, and classics such as Ibsen and Chekhov. In addition to performing in Britain, Compton appeared several times in the US, and toured Australia and New Zealand in a variety of stage plays.

Michael Wilson was an American screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood film studios during the era of McCarthyism for being a communist.