FACTBOX: Celebrity deaths in 2009

(Reuters) - The year 2009 has been called "the year of the celebrity death" with Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett passing away on the same day in June, and Patrick Swayze dying three months later.

U.S. actress Brittany Murphy joined that list on Sunday, dying of as yet unexplained cardiac arrest at her Hollywood home at the age of 32.

Following is a chronological list of some of the stars of stage and screen who passed away before their time in 2009.

* Natasha Richardson, actress, 45. March 18. A member of Britain's Redgrave acting dynasty and wife of Irish star Liam Neeson died in New York from severe brain injury after a skiing accident in Canada.

* Jade Goody, British reality TV star, 27. March 22. Goody rose to fame with appearances on the popular "Big Brother" TV show in Britain and died after a battle with cervical cancer fought in the full glare of the media spotlight.

* David Carradine, U.S. actor, 72. June 3. The star of the 1970s television show "Kung Fu" and who appeared in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movies, was found naked and hanging dead from a rope in the closet of his luxury Bangkok hotel room.

* Farrah Fawcett, actress, 62. June 25. The star of the "Charlie's Angels" TV series, and a reigning sex symbol of the 1970s, died after a long, public battle with anal cancer.

* Michael Jackson, singer, 50. June 25. The "Thriller" singer and self-styled King of Pop died of cardiac arrest just weeks before a series of 50 planned comeback concerts in London. His death of prescription drugs and the powerful anesthetic propofol was ruled a homicide and is still being investigated by Los Angeles police.

* John Hughes, film director, 59. Aug 6. American filmmaker of memorable 1980s teen comedies like "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" died of heart attack in New York.

* Patrick Swayze, actor, 57. September 14. Best-known as the smoldering dance instructor in "Dirty Dancing", Swayze died less than two years after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

* Stephen Gately, Irish singer, 33. October 10. The member of Irish boy band Boyzone, who made headlines in 1999 by announcing he was gay, died of fluid on the lungs while on holiday on the Spanish island of Majorca.

* Brittany Murphy, U.S. actress, 32. December 20. The co-star of "Clueless", "8 Mile" and Girl, Interrupted" suffered cardiac arrest in the bathroom of her Hollywood home. An autopsy was being carried out on Monday to determine the cause of death.

Source: Reuters

(Writing by Mike Collett-White)