List of Famous people who died in 1985

Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney and Keely Smith. He found commercial and critical success with a new generation in the 1980s, in a trio of Platinum albums with Linda Ronstadt. His orchestrations earned an Academy Award and three Grammy Awards.

Adriaan "Adje" Paulen was a Dutch athlete who competed from 1917 to 1931. During World War II, he was part of the Dutch resistance in the Netherlands. Following World War II, Paulen became a sports official, becoming president of the IAAF, serving from 1976 to 1981.

Heinrich Gattineau was a German economist, Sturmabteilung (SA) leader, director of IG Farben and defendant during the Nuremberg trials.