People hate me for this but trust me the info is accurate even if the source is Wikipedia but it is the quickest way to verify my answer and trust me I can answer this without Wikipedia and can credit other sources but speed is essential.
Here goes, openning the 1970's was the Death of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر - Jamāl ‘Abd an-Nāṣir; Masri: جمال عبد الناصر - Gamāl ‘Abd el-Nāṣir also transliterated as Jamal Abd al-Naser, Jamal Abd an-Nasser and other variants; January 15, 1918 – September 28, 1970) was the President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970."""
Music & Humanity lost one of the truly greats in 1971
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong
"""Louis[1] Armstrong[2] (4 August 1901[3] – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo[4] and Pops, was an American jazz musician. Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative performer whose inspired, improvised soloing was the main influence for a fundamental change in jazz, shifting its focus from collective melodic playing, often arranged in one way or another, to the solo player and improvised soloing. One of the most famous jazz musicians of the 20th century, he first achieved fame as a cornet player, later on switching to trumpet, but toward the end of his career he was best known as a vocalist and became one of the most influential jazz singers."""
That fine British Actor died in 1972
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Green
""Nigel Green (b. 15 October 1924 in Pretoria, South Africa, d. 15 May 1972 in Brighton, England) was a British character actor.
The son of a professor, Green attended King's College School, Wimbledon and London University followed by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and appeared on stage at the Old Vic before making his first forays into British films in the mid-1950s. Early film roles included Reach for the Sky (1956), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), and as Hercules in Jason and the Argonauts (1963). However, his profile was raised dramatically following his co-starring role as the Colour Sgt. in Zulu, a film which helped to typecast him in military roles in further films such as Khartoum (1966), Tobruk (1967), Fräulein Doktor and Play Dirty (both 1969), although it also brought leading roles in films including The IPCRESS File (1965), The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) (as hero Sir Denis Nayland-Smith) and Deadlier Than the Male (as villain Carl Petersen). Perhaps his wildest roles were in William Castle's Let's Kill Uncle and as the AC-DC Christ in The Ruling Class (1971).
Green's career was cut short when he died from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills in 1972, aged just 47. Ingrid Pitt said in an interview that she was attempting to have Green audition for the role of Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandria (1972)."""
Drummers note this loss in 1973
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Krupa
""Gene Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was a famous and influential American jazz and big band drummer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.""
In 1974 people morned the loss of a fine straight man of a famous comic duo of the 40s and 50s still seen on DVD today..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Abbott
""William Alexander “Bud” Abbott (October 2, 1895 – April 24, 1974) was an American actor, producer and comedian born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.""
Literature lost luster in 1975
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton_Wilder
""Thornton Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. [1]"""
Cinema went dim in 1976
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Lang
""Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of expressionism. His most famous films are the groundbreaking Metropolis (the world's most expensive silent film at the time of its release) and M, made before he moved to the United States.""
Comedy cr^pped out with the loss of two Marx Brothers in 1977
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groucho_Marx
""Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was an American comedian and film star. He is famed as a master of wit. He made 15 feature films with his siblings, the Marx Brothers as well as a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show, You Bet Your Life. [1] He had a distinctive image which included a heavy moustache, glasses and fake eyebrows.""
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gummo_Marx
""Milton Marx (October 23, 1893 - April 21, 1977), known as Gummo, was one of the Marx Brothers. Born in New York City, he worked with his brothers on the vaudeville circuit, but left acting when he was drafted into the Army during World War I, he was the only Marx Brother to have served in the military.""
A lesser light among Comedians but what a Name, see 1978 for the late ----------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Fontaine
""Frank Fontaine (19 April 1920 – 4 August 1978) was an American comedian and singer.
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is best known for his appearances on television shows of the 1950s and 1960s, including Jackie Gleason's The American Scene Magazine, The Jack Benny Show, and The Jack Paar Show. He played the character of Crazy Guggenheim on the Gleason show.
He died in Spokane, Washington from a heart attack, at the age of 58. He was known to have a idiotic laugh that would have been put to good use as Rocky the Rhino ""
and ending the decade a name in the news circa 2007, things do not really change....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Hilton
""Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Sr. (December 25, 1887–January 3, 1979) was an American hotelier and founder of the Hilton Hotel chain.
----------------He is the great-grandfather of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton. There are currently two members of the Hilton family named Conrad. One is Paris' younger brother, Conrad Hughes Hilton. The other is Conrad Nicholson Hilton III, son of Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Jr."""
Peace..
or is that Rest in Peace ........