List of Famous people who died in 1985

Nikolai Pavlovich Yegipko was an officer of the Soviet Navy and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He saw action during the Russian Civil War, the Spanish Civil War, and the Second World War, and rose to the rank of vice-admiral.

William Francis Buckley was a United States Army officer, a Paramilitary Officer in Special Activities Division and a CIA station chief in Beirut from 1984 until 1985. His cover was as a Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy. He was kidnapped by the group Hezbollah in March 1984. He was held hostage and tortured by psychiatrist Aziz al-Abub. Hezbollah later claimed they executed him in October 1985, but another American hostage disputed that, believing that he died five months prior, in June. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery and is commemorated with a star on the Memorial Wall at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Sanjeev Kumar was an Indian film actor. He won several major awards including two National Film Awards for Best Actor for his performances in the movies Dastak (1970) and Koshish (1972). He acted in genres ranging from romantic dramas to thrillers. Kumar did not mind playing roles that were non-glamorous, such as characters well beyond his age. Movies such as Arjun Pandit, Sholay and Trishul, along with the remakes of Tamil films into Hindi such as Khilona, Yehi Hai Zindagi, Naya Din Nai Raat, Devata, Itni Si Baat and Ram Tere Kitne Naam exemplify his talents. He also did suspense-thriller films such as Qatl, Shikar, Uljhan and Trishna. Kumar also proved his ability to do comedy in films such as Manchali, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Angoor, Biwi-O-Biwi and Hero. He is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. His double role in the film Angoor was listed among the 25 best acting performances of Indian cinema by Forbes India on the occasion of celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema.

Udaykumar was an Indian film actor and producer in Kannada cinema. Uday Kumar, along with Kalyan Kumar and Rajkumar, were called the Kumarathrayaru (ಕುಮಾರತ್ರಯರು) of the Kannada cinema.

Delia Dueña Smith, better known as Pepsi Paloma, was a Filipino-American dancer and actress in the Philippines. She was one of the popular Softdrinks Beauties introduced in the 1980s along with Sarsi Emmanuelle and Coca Nicolas. She was known for films such as Brown Emanuelle (1981), The Victim (1982), Krus sa Bawat Punglo (1982), Virgin People (1983), Snake Sisters (1983), Naked Island (1984), Matukso kaya ang Anghel? (1984) and Room 69 (1985).

Kazuo Nagano was chairman of the board at Toyota Shoji which was responsible for swindling 3,855 people, mostly elderly, out of 12 billion yen.

Pavel Mahrer was a Czech football midfielder of German-Jewish ethnicity who played at the 1924 Summer Olympics. Bank clerk and merchant by occupation, Mahrer played professionally in Czechoslovakia and the United States.

John "Jock" Stein was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish League championships between 1966 and 1974.

Walter Richter was a German actor. From 1970 until 1982 he starred in the Norddeutscher Rundfunk version of the popular television crime series Tatort.

Norbert Hans Poehlke, The Hammer-Killer, was a German police officer who after he committed suicide in 1985 was found to have committed several bank robberies and related murders. He was tagged as the "Hammer-Killer" for his modus operandi of killing drivers of cars and using a sledgehammer in later bank robberies in which he would use his victims' cars as getaway vehicles.