List of Famous people who died in 2002

Tita Merello was a prominent Argentine film actress, tango dancer and singer of the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema (1940–1960). In her 6 decades in Argentine entertainment, at the time of her death, she had filmed over thirty movies, premiered twenty plays, had nine television appearances, completed three radio series and had had countless appearances in print media. She was one of the singers who emerged in the 1920s along with Azucena Maizani, Libertad Lamarque, Ada Falcón, and Rosita Quiroga, who created the female voices of tango. She was primarily remembered for the songs "Se dice de mí" and "La milonga y yo".

Harold John Avery Russell was a Canadian-born American World War II veteran who became one of only two non-professional actors to win an Academy Award for acting. Russell also has the distinction of being the only performer to sell his Oscar award at auction.

Song Hye-rim was a North Korean actress, best known for being the one-time favored mistress of Kim Jong-il.

John Graham Mellor, better known as Joe Strummer, was a British musician, singer, songwriter, composer, actor, and radio host who was best known as the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band The Clash. Formed in 1976, the Clash's second album Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Soon after, they achieved success in the US, starting with London Calling (1979) and peaking with Combat Rock (1982), which reached No. 7 on the US charts and was certified 2× platinum there. The Clash's explosive political lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude had a far-reaching influence on rock music in general, especially alternative rock. Their music incorporated reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly.

Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquis of Iria Flavia was a Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist associated with the Generation of '36 movement.

Heinz Drache was a German film actor. He appeared in 42 films between 1953 and 2002. He was born in Essen, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany of lung cancer.

Daniel Pearl was an American journalist for The Wall Street Journal. He was kidnapped and later beheaded by terrorists in Pakistan.

Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken was a Dutch businessman for Heineken International, the brewing company bought in 1864 by his grandfather Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. He served as chairman of the board of directors and CEO from 1971 until 1989. After his retirement as chairman and CEO, Heineken continued to sit on the board of directors until his death and served as chairman of the supervisory board from 1989 till 1995. At the time of his death, Heineken was one of the richest people in the Netherlands, with a net worth of 9.5 billion guilders.

Chico Xavier or Francisco Cândido Xavier, born Francisco de Paula Cândido, was a popular Brazilian philanthropist and spiritist medium. During a period of 60 years he wrote over 490 books and several thousand letters claiming to use a process known as "psychography". Books based on old letters and manuscripts were published posthumously, bringing the total number of books to 496.

Theodore Samuel Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960; his career was interrupted by military service during World War II and the Korean War. Nicknamed "Teddy Ballgame", "The Kid", "The Splendid Splinter", and "The Thumper", Williams is regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history.