List of Famous people who died in 2008

Muslim Magometovich Magomayev, dubbed the "King of Songs" and the "Soviet Sinatra" was a Soviet, Azerbaijani and Russian opera and pop singer. He achieved iconic status in Russia and the post-Soviet countries for his vocal talent and charisma. People's Artist of the USSR (1973).

John Emil List was an American mass murderer and long-time fugitive. On November 9, 1971, he killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey, and then disappeared; he had planned the murders so meticulously that nearly a month passed before anyone suspected that anything was amiss.

Rutilio Torres Mantecón, also known as Rui Torres was an artist known for being the presenter for the first and second seasons of the Latin American version of the TV show Art Attack of the TV channel Disney Channel.

Charlton Heston was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film The Ten Commandments (1956), for which he received his first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. He also starred in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Secret of the Incas (1954), Touch of Evil (1958) with Orson Welles, The Big Country (1958), Ben-Hur (1959), for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor, El Cid (1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Planet of the Apes (1968), The Omega Man (1971) and Soylent Green (1973).

Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist, philosopher, historian, short story writer and political prisoner. Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of the Soviet Union and Communism and helped to raise global awareness of the Soviet Gulag forced-labor camp system.

Tukaram Omble AC was a Mumbai police officer and army soldier, who served as assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Mumbai Police. He was martyred in action while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, at Girgaum Chowpatty Mumbai, and was instrumental in apprehending Ajmal Kasab alive. The lone surviving terrorist Kasab was later convicted and hanged. The Indian government posthumously honoured Omble, on 26 January 2009, with the Ashoka Chakra – the country's highest peace-time gallantry award for extraordinary bravery and valour in the line of duty.

Adelir Antônio de Carli, also known in Brazil as Padre Baloeiro or Padre do Balão, was a Brazilian Catholic priest, who died during an attempt at cluster ballooning on April 20, 2008. Carli, an experienced skydiver, undertook the exercise in order to raise money to fund a spiritual rest area for truck drivers in the Paraná port city of Paranaguá.

Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor and amateur boxer. He played Martin Brody in the thriller film Jaws (1975), reprising the role in its sequel Jaws 2 (1978).

Şehzade Burhaneddin Cem was the heir apparent to the headship of the Ottoman dynasty. He was born at Beşiktaş, Istanbul as the son of Prince Ibrahim Tevfik (1874–1931) and his fourth wife Hatice Sadiye Hanım (1898–1986). Burhaneddin was a descendant of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He married Irene Starosselskaya of Russian–Georgian noble descent and had two children, Nilüfer Sultan and Şehzade Selim (1955).

Marpessa Dawn, also known as Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor, was an American born French actress, as well as a singer and dancer. She is best remembered for her role in the film Black Orpheus (1959).