9 Famous people who died in 2001

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Jack Lemmon

(Actor)

8 February 1925 – 27 June 2001 (Aged 76)

Lemmon was a revered American actor and also a talented musician.

HE won two Academy Awards, one for Best Supporting Actor in Mister Roberts in 1955 and the other for Best Actor for his role in the 1973 film Save the Tiger.

Among his other, most famous films are Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, The Odd Couple, The China Syndrome, Glengarry Glen Ross, Missing, and Tuesdays with Morrie.

During World War II, Lemmon served briefly as an ensign on an aircraft carrier before returning to Harvard after completing his military service.

Renowned as being a gentleman throughout his life, Lemmon died from cancer of the bladder at the age of 76.

George Harrison

(Singer/Musician)

25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 (Aged 58)

Harrison was an English guitarist and singer-songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles.

In 1967, he initiated the band’s embracing of Transcendental Meditation, subsequently developing an association with the Hare Krishna movement.

In 1988, Harrison co-founded the platinum-selling supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, while also releasing several best-selling albums as a solo performer.

Widely recognized as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Harrison is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, as a member of the Beatles in 1988, and for his solo career in 2004.

Harrison died from lung cancer at the age of 58, after which his cremated ashes were scattered in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in India, in accordance with Hindu tradition.

Aaliyah

(Singer)

16 January 1979 – 25 August 2001 (Aged 22)

Aaliyah was an American singer, actress, and model, who became an R&B star at the tender age of 12.

Aaliyah signed with Jive Records, where R. Kelly became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, which sold over three million copies in the United States.

Aaliyah worked with Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million, which sold over eight million copies worldwide.

On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas after filming the music video for the single ‘Rock the Boat’.

The pilot was unlicensed at the time and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.

Prior to her death, Aaliyah had signed up to appear in the two sequels to the blockbuster sci-fi thriller The Matrix. 

She is recognized as being one of the most successful R&B artists in history.

Dale Earnhardt

(Stock Car Driver)

29 April 1951 – 18 February 2001 (Aged 49)

Earnhardt was an American professional auto racing driver and team owner, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR.

Earnhardt won a total of 76 Winston Cup races over the course of his career, including the 1998 Daytona 500.

He also won a record-equaling seven NASCAR Winston Cup championships.

In February 2001, Earnhardt was killed instantly after a collision during the final lap of the Daytona 500, at the age of 49.

In recognition of the esteem in which he was held, Earnhardt has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2010.

Anthony Quinn

(Actor)

21 April 1915 – 3 June 2001 (Aged 86)

Quinn was a renowned Mexican actor, twice winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Viva Zapata! and Lust for Life. 

He was the first Mexican born actor to win an Academy Award.

Among his other best-known films are The Guns of Navarone, Lawrence of Arabia, Requiem for a Heavyweight, The Message, Lion of the Desert, and Last Action Hero.

During his life, Quinn married three times while also having numerous mistresses, and fathered 13 children in total.

He died of pneumonia and throat cancer at the age of 86.

William R. Hewlett

(Engineer)

20 May 1913 – 12 January 2001 (Aged 87)

Hewlett was an American engineer and the co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), along with his friend David Packard.

They founded Hewlett-Packard Company as a partnership on January 1, 1939. Hewlett remained chairman of the executive committee until 1983, then serving as vice chairman of the board until 1987.

Hewlett served in the Army during World War II as a Signal Corps Officer, before heading up the electronics section of the Development Division.

After the war, he was part of a special team that inspected Japanese Industry.

In 1966, Hewlett and his wife Flora founded the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which became one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

Hewlett died of heart failure in Palo Alto, California, at the age of 87.

Perry Como

(Singer)

18 May 1912 – 12 May 2001 (Aged 88)

Como was an American singer and television personality, whose career spanned more than half a century.

He pioneered the weekly musical variety television show, with his becoming one of the most successful in television history.

Como was widely respected for both his professional standards and his conduct in his personal life, those high standards led to numerous awards and accolades during his career.

Como received five Emmy Awards, was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987.

In 2002, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.

Como married his teenage sweetheart, Roselle, and stayed married for 65 years, until her death in 1998. Perry died in his sleep three years later at the age of 88.

Donald Bradman

(Cricketer)

27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001 (Aged 92)

Bradman was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His career’s Test batting average of 99.94 is recognized as one of the greatest achievements by any sportsman in any major sport.

Bradman’s exploits saw him become Australia’s sporting idol at the height of the Great Depression and was kept in that esteem for the rest of his life.

Bradman remained in the game after retirement in 1949 by acting as an administrator, selector, and writer for a further three decades.

He became reclusive in his declining years, yet his status as a national icon remained.

In 1997, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia called him the “greatest living Australian”. 

Bradman’s image has appeared on postage stamps and coins, and a museum dedicated to his life was opened while he was still living.

Bradman was married to his wife, Jessie, for 65 years, until her death from cancer at the age of 88.

Don died four years later after suffering from pneumonia at the age of 92. In 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

William Hanna

(Cartoon Producer)

14 July 1910 – 22 March 2001 (Aged 90)

Hanna was an American animator, voice actor, and cartoon artist, whose television cartoon characters entertained millions of people throughout the 20th century.

In 1937, while working at MGM, Hanna met Joseph Barbera, with the two men began their lifetime of collaboration by producing Tom and Jerry.

In 1957, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, creating and producing programs such as The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear.

In 1967, Hanna-Barbera was sold for $12 million, but Hanna and Barbera remained heads of the company until 1991, after which time they stayed on as advisors until their death.

Hanna is considered one of the all-time great animators, with the Hanna–Barbera team winning seven Academy Awards and eight Emmy Awards during their career.

They were inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1994.