List of Famous people who died in 2008

Earle Harry Hagen was an American composer who created music for movies and television. His best-known TV themes include those for Make Room for Daddy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy, That Girl and The Mod Squad. He is also remembered for co-writing and whistling "The Fishin' Hole", the melody of the main theme to The Andy Griffith Show; writing the instrumental song "Harlem Nocturne" used as the theme to television's Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer; and co-writing the theme song to Tim Conway's Western comedy Rango.

Hidetaka Nishiyama was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was an internationally recognized instructor, author, and administrator, and helped to establish the Japan Karate Association. Nishiyama was one of the last surviving students of Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan karate. He was based in the United States of America from 1961 until his death in 2008, and was a pioneer of karate in that country. He had been posthumously awarded the rank of 10th dan in karate.

Gil Stratton Jr. was an actor and sportscaster who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He most recently resided in Toluca Lake, California, until his death from congestive heart failure.

John Archibald Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in explaining the basic principles behind nuclear fission. Together with Gregory Breit, Wheeler developed the concept of the Breit–Wheeler process. He is best known for using the term "black hole" for objects with gravitational collapse already predicted during the early 20th century, for inventing the terms "quantum foam", "neutron moderator", "wormhole" and "it from bit", and for hypothesizing the "one-electron universe".

Marcel Dupont was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer, who finished 5th place in the 1949 Tour de France.

Milan Kymlicka was a Czechoslovak and Canadian arranger, composer and conductor. He was known for his composition of film and television scores, including those for the animated television series Rupert, Babar and The Busy World of Richard Scarry and the live-action television series Lassie and Little Men. He received a Genie Award in 1996 for his work on Margaret's Museum.

Alwyn Louis Schlebusch was a South African politician, the only holder of the title Vice State President of South Africa from 1 January 1981 to 14 September 1984. He was an Afrikaner with a surname of German origin. He was born in Lady Grey, Eastern Cape. He was the son of Charel Johannes Schlebusch and Elizabeth Cornelia Myburgh.

Lilyan Chauvin was a French-American actress, television host, director, writer, and acting teacher. A native of Paris, Chauvin began her career performing on French radio and onstage in England. She relocated to the United States in 1952 to pursue an acting career, and was initially cast in minor television parts before making her film debut in 1957.