List of Famous people who died in 1981

Anders Österling was a Swedish poet and writer. In 1919 he was elected as a member of the Swedish Academy when he was 35 years old, the youngest ever, at that time. He was part of the Academy for 62 years, longer than any other member.

William Frishe Dean Sr. was a United States Army major general during World War II and the Korean War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 20 and 21, 1950, during the Battle of Taejon in South Korea. Dean was also the highest ranking American officer captured by the North Koreans during the Korean War.

Dieudonné Smets was a Belgian racing cyclist. He won the 1926 edition of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

Miguel Contreras Torres was a Mexican-born actor, screenwriter, film producer and director.

Nigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.

Yuki Shimoda was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week Farewell to Manzanar in 1976. He also co-starred in the 1960s television series Johnny Midnight, with Edmond O'Brien. He was a star of movies, early television, and the stage. His Broadway stage credits include Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell, and Pacific Overtures, a musical written by Stephen Sondheim and directed by Harold Prince.

Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music. In 1944, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 4, and received numerous other awards including the George Foster Peabody Award for Outstanding Entertainment in Music in 1946.

Marie Eline was an American child actress in silent films and sister of Grace Eline. Nicknamed The Thanhouser Kid, she began acting for the Thanhouser Company in New Rochelle, New York at the age of 8 and starred in exactly 100 films from 1910 to 1914.