List of Famous people who died in 1981

Ivan Henning Hjalmar Eklind was a football referee from Sweden known for refereeing the 1934 FIFA World Cup Final between Italy and Czechoslovakia in Rome. He is the youngest referee, to this day, to officiate a FIFA World Cup final at the age of 29.

Charles Woodruff Yost was a career U.S. Career Ambassador who was assigned as his country's representative to the United Nations from 1969 to 1971.

Umberto Spadaro was an Italian film actor.

Cemal Tural was a Turkish general. He was the Chief of the General Staff of Turkey and previously Commander of the Turkish Army, Commander of the First Army of Turkey and Commander of the Second Army of Turkey. He retired on August 16, 1969. He was elected president of the Nation Party in 1973, but shortly thereafter resigned from the post in 1974. He was appointed as Ambassador to South Korea in 1976 and Ambassador to Pakistan in 1981.

Alexa von Porembsky was a Hungarian-born German actress.

Hermann Karl August Weinkauff was a German jurist. He served in several positions as a judge and later became the first President of the Federal Court of Justice of West Germany.

Oumarou Ganda was a Nigerien director and actor who helped bring African cinema to international attention in the 1960s and 1970s.

Matthew Michael "Matty" Malneck was an American jazz violinist, songwriter, and arranger.