2009 Year In Review
Choose a notable:
Notables 1 - 10
Jett Travolta
Ron Asheton
Patrick McGoohan
Ricardo Montalban
Andrew Wyeth
John Updike
Millard Fuller
James Whitmore
Betty Jameson
Flight 3407 Crash Victims
Notables 11 - 20
Paul Harvey
Horton Foote
James Purdy
Ron Silver
Natasha Richardson
Jade Goody
Dan Seals
John Hope Franklin
Irving R. Levine
Marvin Webster
Notables 21 - 30
Nick Adenhart
Harry Kalas
Mark "The Bird" Fidrych
Beatrice Arthur
Danny Gans
Marilyn French
Jack Kemp
Dom DeLuise
Dominic DiMaggio
Chuck Daly
Notables 31 - 40
Wayman Tisdale
Wayne Allwine
Roh Moo-hyun
David Carradine
Koko Taylor
Ed McMahon
Michael Jackson
Farrah Fawcett
Billy Mays
Karl Malden
Notables 41 - 50
Steve McNair
Robert S. McNamara
Arturo Gatti
Walter Cronkite
Frank McCourt
Merce Cunningham
Corazon Aquino
John Hughes
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Les Paul
Notables 51 - 60
Kim Dae-jung
Robert Novak
Don Hewitt
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
Dominick Dunne
Ellie Greenwich
DJ AM
Jim Carroll
Patrick Swayze
Mary Travers
Notables 61 - 70
Mercedes Sosa
Irving Penn
Captain Lou Albano
Soupy Sales
Claude Levi-Strauss
Fort Hood Victims
Jeanne-Claude
Abe Pollin
Oral Roberts
Jennifer Jones
Notables 71 - 72
Chris Henry
Brittany Murphy
Featured Tributes commemorating the lives of the most notable personalities lost in 2009.Click on a thumbnail photo to review.
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Jett Travolta »
DIED: January 2, 2009
John Travolta's teenage son, Jett, died in the Bahamas after apparently suffering a seizure and hitting his head at his family's vacation home.
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DIED: January 6, 2009
The guitarist for the Stooges whose raw sound helped inspire the first generation of punk musicians.
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DIED: January 13, 2009
Emmy-winning actor who created and starred in the cult classic television show "The Prisoner"
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DIED: January 14, 2009
The Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's "Fantasy Island"
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DIED: January 16, 2009
Artist who portrayed the hidden melancholy of the people and landscapes of Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley and coastal Maine
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DIED: January 27, 2009
John Updike, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, prolific man of letters and erudite chronicler of sex, divorce and other adventures
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Millard Fuller »
DIED: February 3, 2009
Millionaire entrepreneur who gave it all away to help found the Christian house-building charity Habitat for Humanity.
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DIED: February 6, 2009
Emmy and Tony award winning character actor who delivered strong performances in movies, television and theater
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DIED: February 7, 2009
Betty Jameson was one of the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour in 1950
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DIED: February 12, 2009
A Continental commuter plane coming in for a landing nose-dived into a house in suburban Buffalo, sparking a fiery explosion that killed all 49 people aboard and a person in the home.
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DIED: February 28, 2009
Paul Harvey, news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices
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DIED: March 4, 2009
Horton Foote, playwright of "The Trip to Bountiful," "Tender Mercies" and Oscar-winning screenwriter of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
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DIED: March 13, 2009
Author of underground classics such as "Cabot Wright Begins"
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Ron Silver »
DIED: March 15, 2009
Actor Ron Silver, Tony Award winner and television actor
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DIED: March 18, 2009
Broadway and movie actress and heiress to acting royalty Natasha Richardson
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DIED: March 22, 2009
Jade Goody, a dental assistant turned reality-TV star on the television series, "Big Brother"
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DIED: March 25, 2009
Singer who was England Dan in the pop duo England Dan and John Ford Coley and later had a successful country career.
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DIED: March 25, 2009
Pioneering historian, revered scholar and prodigious author.
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DIED: March 26, 2009
The professorial NBC newsman who explained the fine points of economics to millions of viewers for nearly a quarter century.
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DIED: April 6, 2009
The fierce shot-blocking center who helped lead the Seattle SuperSonics to the 1978 NBA finals.
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DIED: April 9, 2009
22-year-old Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher who was killed by a hit-and-run driver
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DIED: April 13, 2009
Longtime Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster who punctuated innumerable home runs with his "Outta here!"
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DIED: April 13, 2009
The fun-loving pitcher who baffled hitters for one All-Star season and entertained fans with his antics.
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Beatrice Arthur »
DIED: April 25, 2009
The tall, deep-voiced actress who starred in the hit shows "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and musical such as "Mame."
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DIED: May 1, 2009
Singer-actor-impressionist who spent more than a decade as one of the most popular entertainers in Las Vegas
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DIED: May 2, 2009
Author of "The Women's Room" and leading figure in the women's movement.
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Jack Kemp »
DIED: May 2, 2009
The former pro quarterback who turned fame on the gridiron into a career in national politics and a crusade for lower taxes
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DIED: May 4, 2009
The portly entertainer & chef whose affable nature made him a popular character actor for decades with movie and TV audiences.
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DIED: May 8, 2009
Seven-time All Star who still holds the record for the longest consecutive game hitting streak in Boston Red Sox history.
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DIED: May 9, 2009
Coach of the original Dream Team to the Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons
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DIED: May 15, 2009
Three-time All-American at Oklahoma in the mid-1980s before playing a dozen years in the NBA and later becoming an accomplished jazz musician.
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DIED: May 18, 2009
The actor who voiced Mickey Mouse for more than 30 years.
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Roh Moo-hyun »
DIED: May 23, 2009
Former South Korean President, whose hard-won reputation as a corruption fighter was tarnished by bribery allegations.
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DIED: June 3, 2009
Star of the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies.
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DIED: June 3, 2009
Sharecropper's daughter whose regal bearing and powerful voice earned her the sobriquet "Queen of the Blues"
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Ed McMahon »
DIED: June 23, 2009
The loyal "Tonight Show" sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" for 30 years.
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DIED: June 25, 2009
The 50-year-old musical superstar defined in equal parts as the world's greatest entertainer and perhaps its most enigmatic figure.
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Farrah Fawcett »
DIED: June 25, 2009
One of TV's "Charlie's Angels" whose feathered blond hair and dazzling smile made her one of the biggest sex symbols of the 1970s.
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DIED: June 28, 2009
The burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean made him a pop-culture icon.
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DIED: July 1, 2009
Academy Award-winning actor whose intelligent characterizations on stage, screen and television made him a star despite his plain looks.
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DIED: July 4, 2009
Quarterback who led both the Titans and Ravens to playoff berths, including two AFC championship game appearances with Tennessee.
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DIED: July 6, 2009
The cerebral secretary of defense who was vilified for his role in escalating the Vietnam War, a role he later deeply regretted.
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DIED: July 11, 2009
Former boxing champion whose wife allegedly strangled him with her purse strap while he slept.
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DIED: July 17, 2009
The premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority.
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DIED: July 19, 2009
Author of "Angela's Ashes," an "epic of woe" about his impoverished Irish childhood.
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DIED: July 26, 2009
The avant-garde dancer and choreographer who revolutionized modern dance by creating works of pure movement.
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DIED: August 1, 2009
Former President who swept away a dictator with a "people power" revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years.
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DIED: August 6, 2009
Director of popular movies such as "The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Home Alone."
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DIED: August 11, 2009
President John F. Kennedy's sister, who carried on the family's public service tradition by founding the Special Olympics and championing the welfare of the mentally disabled.
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DIED: August 13, 2009
Music icon whose solid-body electric guitar paved the way for rock 'n' roll.
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DIED: August 18, 2009
Former president who spent years as a dissident under military dictatorship and later won the Nobel Peace Prize for seeking reconciliation with communist North Korea.
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DIED: August 18, 2009
Political columnist, a diehard conservative, pugilistic debater and proud owner of the "Prince of Darkness" moniker.
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DIED: August 19, 2009
Newsman who invented "60 Minutes" and produced the popular newsmagazine for 36 years, died at 86.
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DIED: August 25, 2009
Last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history.
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DIED: August 26, 2009
Author of crime stories among the rich and famous through his magazine articles and best-selling novels.
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DIED: August 26, 2009
Co-writer some of pop music's most enduring songs, including "Chapel of Love," "Be My Baby" and "Leader of the Pack"
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DJ AM »
DIED: August 28, 2009
Sought-after disc jockey who became a celebrity in his own right with high-profile romances and a glamorous lifestyle.
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DIED: September 11, 2009
The poet and punk rocker who wrote "The Basketball Diaries" died at 60 from a heart attack.
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DIED: September 14, 2009
The hunky actor who danced his way into viewers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then broke them with "Ghost."
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DIED: September 16, 2009
One-third of the hugely popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary.
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DIED: October 4, 2009
The "voice of Latin America" whose music inspired opponents of South America's brutal military regimes.
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Irving Penn »
DIED: October 7, 2009
Photographer whose work revealed a taste for stark simplicity whether he was shooting celebrity portraits, fashion, still life or remote places of the world.
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DIED: October 14, 2009
Pro wrestling villain who reinvented himself as a pop culture celebrity
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Soupy Sales »
DIED: October 22, 2009
Rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances
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DIED: November 1, 2009
The father of modern anthropology for work that included theories about commonalities between tribal and industrial societies.
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DIED: November 5, 2009
Thirteen people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas.
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DIED: November 18, 2009
Artist who created the 2005 Central Park installation "The Gates" and other large scale "wrapping" projects around the globe with her husband Christo.
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DIED: November 24, 2009
Owner of the Washington Wizards and longest-tenured owner of an NBA team.
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DIED: December 15, 2009
Evangelist who rose from humble tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar ministry & a university bearing his name.
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DIED: December 17, 2009
The beautiful, raven-haired actress who was nominated for Academy Awards five times and won for "The Song of Bernadette."
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DIED: December 17, 2009
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry died from injuries sustained a day after falling out of the back of a pickup truck.
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DIED: December 20, 2009
The actress who gained fame in such movies as "8 Mile" and "Just Married," died at 32 after collapsing in her home.
