List of Famous people who died in 2001

Herbert Lichtenfeld was one of the most successful television screenplay writers in Germany. He wrote over 300 film scripts. Many of his scripts were successful in Germany.

Evelyn Künneke was a German singer and stage, television and film actress. She was the daughter of the famous composer Eduard Künneke.

Jalil Zandi was a fighter pilot in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force who served during all of the Iran–Iraq War. His combat record qualifies him as one of the most successful pilot of that conflict in air-to-air combat, as well as one of the best Iranian aces ever. It also made him the highest-scoring pilot in the history of the F-14 Tomcat.

Major General Muhammad Abdullah Saleh was the first commander of the Yemeni Central Security Forces and one of its leaders and was the brother of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He died on May 14, 2001 in London and his body was transferred to Sanaa.

Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note, Milestone, and Verve.

Cirilo R. Zayas was a Paraguayan composer and writer. He was born in Asunción, capital of Paraguay, on March 9, 1929 to Ramón Zayas and Ramona Román. His father was a lawyer, and also a musician who played the violin, guitar and flute. Zayas died in Asunción, Paraguay on September 19, 2001.

Michael Karoli was a German guitarist, violinist and composer. He was a founding member of the influential krautrock band Can.

Futaro Yamada was the pen name of Seiya Yamada , a Japanese author. He was born in Yabu, Hyogo. In 1947, he wrote a mystery short story Daruma-tōge no Jiken and was awarded a prize by the magazine Houseki (宝石). He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist. He wrote many ninja and mystery stories. Many of his works have been adapted for film, TV, manga, and anime.

Helge Marcus Ingstad was a Norwegian explorer. After mapping some Norse settlements, Ingstad and archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad in 1960 found remnants of a Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows in the province of Newfoundland in Canada. They were thus the first to prove conclusively that the Icelandic/ Greenlandic Norsemen such as Leif Erickson had found a way across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, roughly 500 years before Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. He also thought that the mysterious disappearance of the Greenland Norse Settlements in the 14th and 15th centuries could be explained by their emigration to North America.

Arlene Francis was an American actress, radio and television talk show host, and game show panelist. She is known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game show What's My Line?, on which she regularly appeared for 25 years, from 1950 to 1975, on both the network and syndicated versions of the show.