- May 1 Floyd "Candy" Johnson, American jazz saxophonist (Andy Kirk; Count Basie; Bill Doggett), and educator, born in Madison, Illinois (d. 1981)
- May 2 Serge Reggiani, Italian-French actor (Paris Blues), chanson singer ("Les loups sont entrés dans Paris"; "Sarah"), and painter, born in Reggio Emilia, Italy (d. 2004)
- May 3 Marina Svetlova, American ballerina and choreographer (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo), born in Paris (d. 2009)
- May 5 J. D. "Jay" Miller, American record producer, born in Iota, Louisiana (d. 1996)
- May 5 Monica Lewis, American jazz singer and film actress (Box Office, Affair with a Stranger), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2015)
- May 7 Lewis "Lew" Anderson, American actor and musician (The Howdy Doody Show), born in Kirkman, Iowa (d. 2006)
Bea Arthur (1922-2009)
May 13 American Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress (Mame; Maude; The Golden Girls), and singer, born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 18 Kai Winding, Danish-American Jazz musician and trombonist (Georgia On My Mind), born in Aarhus, Denmark (d. 1983)
- May 24 Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), born in Tokyo (d. 2012)
- May 29 Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, music theorist, and architect who helped revolutionize 20th century classical music (Metastaseis), born in Brăila, Romania (d. 2001)
About May 1922
How Old? 101 or 102 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: No
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers