List of Famous people who died in 1997

Manuel Medel was a Mexican film actor. A comedian, during the late 1930s he teamed up with the rising star Cantinflas for three films.

Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th Dimension recording her songs. Wider recognition for her artistry was posthumous while her contemporaries such as Elton John idolized her. Her style was a hybrid of Brill Building-style New York pop, jazz, rhythm and blues, show tunes, rock, and soul. She was praised for her strong emotive vocal style and 3-octave mezzo-soprano vocal range.

Jacques Derogy (1925–1997) was a French investigative journalist.

Fidel Velázquez Sánchez was the preeminent Mexican union leader of the 20th century. In 1936 he was one of the original founders, along with Vicente Lombardo Toledano, of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), the national labor federation most closely associated with the ruling party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He replaced Lombardo as the leader of the CTM in 1941, then expelled him from it in 1948. He led the CTM, which grew increasingly corrupt and conservative, until his death in 1997.

Hideo Fujimoto was a Japanese baseball pitcher. He holds the Japanese records for lowest career ERA (1.90) and seasonal ERA (0.73), as well as best all-time winning percentage (.697). During his career, which spanned the one-league and two-league era, he played for the Tokyo Kyojin/Yomiuri Giants and the Chunichi Dragons. He was the player-manager of the Giants in 1944 and part of 1946.

Toshiro Mayuzumi was a Japanese composer known for his implementation of avant-garde instrumentation alongside traditional Japanese musical techniques. His works drew inspiration from a variety of sources ranging from jazz to Balinese music, and he was considered a pioneer in the realm of musique concrète and electronic music, being the first artist in his country to explore these techniques. In the span of his career, his works included symphonies, ballets, operas, and film scores, and was the recipient of an Otaka prize by the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Purple Medal of Merit.

Amha Selassie was Emperor-in-exile of Ethiopia. As son of Haile Selassie I, he was Crown Prince and was proclaimed Emperor three times. He was first proclaimed Emperor during an unsuccessful coup attempt against his father in December 1960, during which he was detained and compelled to accept the title. After his father was deposed in a later coup, he was proclaimed Emperor again in absentia by the Derg on 12 September 1974 in an act which he never accepted as legitimate and that ended in the abolition of the Ethiopian monarchy on 12 March 1975. He was again proclaimed Emperor in exile on 8 April 1989. This time he sanctioned the proclamation and accepted its legitimacy. After his accession, his full reign name was His Imperial Majesty Emperor Amha Selassie I, Elect of God, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and King of Kings of Ethiopia.

Boris Sergeyevich Brunov was a Soviet actor and entertainer. In 1985, he was named a People's Artist of the RSFSR. He was a director of the Moscow theatre Estrada.

Dr Frederik Paulsen Sr was a Medical Doctor and the founder of Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

Walter Molino was an Italian comics artist and illustrator.