List of Famous people who died in 2009

Murasaki Fujima was an eminent figure in the Japanese dance community who also acted in more than 75 films.

Yoshito Usui was a Japanese manga artist known for the popular Crayon Shin-chan series. He was born in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter who worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) before forming Pro Wrestling Noah. Misawa was known alongside Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue under the informal nomenclature of AJPW's Four Pillars of Heaven, whose matches developed the ōdō style of puroresu and received significant critical acclaim. Despite never working in the United States during the 1990s, Misawa had significant stylistic influence upon American independent wrestling, through the popularity of his work among tape-traders in the country. However, while Misawa has been regarded as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, the physical demands and consequences of the style in which he worked and the circumstances of his death have made his legacy, or at least that of ōdō, somewhat problematic.

Project Itoh , real name Satoshi Itō , was a Japanese science fiction writer and essayist.

José Rubianes Alegret, better known as Pepe Rubianes was a Spanish actor and theater director, born in Galicia and brought up in Catalonia, specializing in mime, imitation and monologues. He was known for his irony, his sharp sense of humor and verbal torrents sprinkled with swear words, and rigorously dressing in black clothes when acting in dramatic scenes. He defined himself as a "Galician-Catalan actor: Galician because I was born in Galicia although I hardly ever lived there, and Catalan because I have always lived in Catalonia although I was never born here."

Saʻd bin ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin, better known as Saad bin Laden, was one of Osama bin Laden's sons. He continued in his father's footsteps by being active in Al Qaeda, and was being groomed to be his heir apparent. He was killed in an American drone strike in 2009.

Shabtai Kalmanovich, alternatively spelled Shabtai Kalmanovic, was a KGB spy, who later became known in Russia as a successful businessman, concert promoter and basketball sponsor.

Hisaya Morishige was a Japanese actor and comedian. Born in Hirakata, Osaka, he graduated from Kitano Middle School, and attended Waseda University. He began his career as a stage actor, then became an announcer for NHK, working in Manchukuo. He became famous in films first for comedy roles, appearing in series such as the "Company President" (Shacho) and "Station Front" (Ekimae) series, produced by Toho. He appeared in nearly 250 films, both contemporary and jidaigeki. He was also famous on stage playing Tevye in the Japanese version of Fiddler on the Roof. He also appeared in television series and specials, and was the first guest on the television talk show Tetsuko's Room in 1975. He was long-time head of the Japan Actors Union. Among many honors, Morishige received the Order of Culture from the Emperor of Japan in 1991.

Steven Williams was an American professional wrestler, former collegiate football player, and amateur wrestler at the University of Oklahoma. Williams was known as "Dr. Death", a nickname he acquired in junior high school.

Matthew Eric Wrinkles was a convicted multiple murderer. He served 14 years at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, and was executed there on December 12, 2009.