Leaderboard

A little later than expected, the ceremony can begin to formally announce the result of the 2021 Hares Pool. It was a low scoring year in general – not a great surprise given the large numbers of nailed-on corpses who somehow managed to survive 2021. In 2020, 17 people broke the 2000 point barrier. In 2021, only 2 managed the feat. We had our first ever scoreless Joker hit, when Floyd Little bit the dust on January 1st. However, to balance it up, we also had what was (I think!) our first December 31st hit, when Betty White left us to give 3 players the 250 point bonus (henceforth known as the Betty Bonus). At the end of the 365-day long slog, I am delighted to announce that the winner of the 2021 Hares Dead Poll is …….AN FEAR BEAG That’s right – its me!! One of the rare examples of a player winning their own pool. It does happen occasionally you know. Further proof that Fr. Ted was not so much a sit-com, as a Nostradamus-like predictor of the future. Also proof that the old Hare-and-Tortoise moral that “slow and steady wins the race” is a load of old bollox. A late flurry and a quick spurt at the end (ooh-er missus!) is generally what is needed to do the job. December hits of Bob Dole and Harry Reid were enough to sneak me into the lead late on, and there was no time for a late comeback. Ultimately though, my win shows that dead-pooling (like life and death in general) usually comes down to good old-fashioned luck. Forgetting to nominate a Joker gave Belinda Sykes that position by default, and her death in November was the kick-start my team needed to get me within shooting distance of the top. (Insert cliches “You make your own luck” etc. etc.) WINNER An Fear Beag (2799 points) 12 hits [Belinda Sykes*, Bernard Tapie, Bob Dole, David Gulpilil, Dilip Kumar, Harry Reid, Jimmy Greaves, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Lilian Priest, Rush Limbaugh, Yoo Sang Chul] I therefore become the inaugural winner of the Deathray Memorial Cup, and am delighted to present myself with the award. (Yeah I know – it’s a mug, not a cup. Cut me some slack here- you try find a cup with Godzilla and a Deathray on it!!) RUNNER-UP Drol (2716 points) 15 hits [David Gulpilil. Dilip Kumar*, Dovid Soloveitchic, Emmanuel Evans-Anfom, Ernie Moss, Florence Alice Lubega, Frank Worthington, Gerd Muller, Greg Gilbert, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Mikis Theodorakis, Norman Lloyd, Ruthie Tompson, Toko Shinodam, Vittore Bochetta ] In a very unlucky second place, comes Drol. Boasting a far more eclectic and interesting team than the winner (who was that again?), Drol took the lead on 7th July with the seemingly improbable death of joker Dilip Kumar, and held onto the lead until 3 days from the finish. Boasting most hits, he was ultimately undone by the lack of a December hit, so crucial in this game. The only hit in the last 2 months was David Gulpilil, who was also selected by the winner (did I mention that was me!) which allowed him to be pipped at the post. THIRD PLACE Wormfarmer (1948 points) 10 hits [Alcee Hastings, Bill Freehan, Bob Dole, David Gulpilil, Dilip Kumar, Norman Lloyd, Renee Simonot, Ruthie Tompson, Tommy Lasorda, Yoo Sang Chul] In a tight battle for the final podium position. Wormfarmer comes out on top, but a distance back from the top 2. Some good late hits brought them up from a fair bit back, but ultimately they were undone by combination of not enough hits, and the lack of a Joker hit (usually a fatal flaw in this game). THE CHASING PACK : over 1500 Last year this category was the over 2020 points club, which shows what a quiet year it was in general for dead-pooling. Not much separating this group, with Nantonian benefitting from Harry Reid’s demise to reach 4th place, and GcReptile finishing with the second-highest total of hits, but only finishing in 7th. Nantonian (1932 points) 10 hits [Andrew Romanoff, Bob Dole, David Gulpilil, Dilip Kumar, Harry Reid, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding, Tom Moore] Etushispushingupdaisies (1895 points) 10 hits [Bernard Tapie, Bill Freehan, Dai Davies, David Gulpilil, Greg Gilbert, Lars Goran Petrov, Michael Cullen Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding, Yoo Sang Chul] Charles De Gaulle (1874 points) 10 hits [Bernard Tapie*, Bob Dole, Carlos Menem, David Gulpilil, Dilip Kumar, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Prince Philip, Sarah Harding, Walter Bernstein] GcReptile (1795 points) 13 hits [Alcee Hastings, Andrew McDonald, Anne Buydens, Don Asmussen, Donna Britt, Jory Post, Josh Evans, Gerd Muller, Leila Meecham, Mike Miller, Rodion Rosca, Sarena Li, Yoo Sang-Chul] Msc (1760 points) 9 hits [Aaron Beck, Beverly Cleary*, Bob Dole, Budge Patty, Clarissa Eden, Hal Holbrook, Kenneth Kaunda, Murray Walker, Prince Philip] Eesti (1748 points) 12 hits [Bill Freehan, Dai Davies, David Gulpilil, Floyd Little, Gerd Muller, Greg Gilbert, Leon Spinks, Noel Conway, Paul Westphal, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding, Yoo Sang Chul] Liz (1724 points) 9 hits [Betty White, Beverly Cleary, Bob Dole, Cloris Leachman, Johnny Isakson, Lester L Wolff, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh, Susan Bayh] Etib8 (1681 points) 6 hits [Bernard Tapie, Betty White, Bob Dole, Gerd Muller, Norman Lloyd, Prince Philip] Grim Up North (1633 points) 12 hits [Dai Davies, David Gulpilil, Frank Williams, Lee Noble, Leon Spinks , Michael Cullen, Paul Westphal, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding, Susan Bayh, Yoo Sang-Chul] Death Impends (1601 points) 12 hits [Beverly Cleary, Carl J. Shapiro, Clarissa Eden, Ian St. John, Jimmy Greaves, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Norman Lloyd, Raymond Cauchetier, Renee Simonot, Ruthie Tompson, S.Prestley Blake, Tom Moore*] Markb4 (1591points) 10 hits [Anne Buydens, Beverly Cleary, Bob Dole, Mort Sahl, Norman Lloyd, Renee Simonot, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh, Ruthie Tompson, Val Bettin] ZZZ (1560 points) 11 hits [Beverly Cleary, Bob Dole, Dilip Kumar, Gerd Muller, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Norman Lloyd, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding, Yoo Sang-Chul] En Passant (1535 points) 12 hits [Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Beverly Cleary, Carlos Menem, Dai Davies*, Dilip Kumar, Gerd Muller, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Orlando Drummond, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding] The “MEH” Group Exu (1427 points) 9 hits [Alan Burgess, Ernie Moss, Gerd Muller, Jimmy Greaves, Leon Spinks, Prince Philip, Ray Kennedy, Tom Moore, Sarah Harding] Kenny (1368 points) 10 hits [Bernard Tapie, Dai Davies, David Gulpilil, Gerd Muller, Kathy Shaidle, Leon Spinks, Paul Westphal, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding, Yoo Sang-Chul] The Quim Reaper (1348 points) 12 hits [Anne Buydens, Carlos Menem, Clarissa Eden, Dai Davies, Dilip Kumar, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Leon Spinks, Norman Lloyd, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Harding, Tom Moore] Buffalo Phil (1338 points) 8 hits [Betty White, Beverly Cleary, Bob Dole, Carlos Menem, Leon Spinks, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh*, Tom Moore] Deadsox (1329 points) 10 hits [Bob Dole, Dai Davies, Floyd Little*, Paul Westphal, Prince Philip, Renee Simonot, Robert Marchand, Rush Limbaugh, Ruth Apilado, Sarah Harding] The Old Lady (1321 points) 9 hits [Abdelazis Bouteflika, Beverly Cleary, Bob Dole, David Gulpilil, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Michael McKevitt, Rush Limbaugh*, Yoo Sang-Chul] Captain Chorizo (1317 points) 7 hits [Anne Buydens*, David Gulpilil, Dominic DeNucci, Jeanne Bot, Leon Spinks, Paul Westphal, Rosita Quintana, Vassos Lyssarides] CalebH (1264 points) 7 hits [Andre Maranne, Gerd Muller, Gloria Henry, Johnny Ventura, Rodion Rosca, Sally Anne Howes, Sarah Harding] Chilean Way (1260 points) 9 hits [Bob Dole, Carlos Menem, Dilip Kumar, Jimmy Greaves, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Norman Lloyd, Prince Philip*, Rush Limbaugh] Lynchian (1206 points) 7 hits [Bob Dole, Gerd Muller, Jimmy Greaves, Leon Spinks, Paul Westphal, Prince Philip, Sarah Harding] Great Uncle Bulgaria (1114 points) 6 hits [Bob Dole, Amy Winifred Hawkins, Anne Buydens, Beverly Cleary, Jimmy Greaves, Tom Moore*] Whoaml (1071 points) 7 hits [Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Greaves, Larry King, Lester L Wolff, Murray Walker, Norman Lloyd, Prince Philip] Book (1068 points) 6 hits [Alfred Biolek, Cicely Tyson, Frank Williams, Mikis Theodorakis, Neddy Smith, Peter Mark Richman] The Unknown Man (1029 points) 8 hits [Bernard Tapie, David Gulpilil, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Leon Spinks, Norman Lloyd, Paul Westphal, Rush Limbaugh, Yoo Sang-Chul] THE “COME ON – MAKE AN EFFORT” Group Death by Arsenic (830 points) 5 hits [Andre Maranne, Frank Williams, Jean-Pierre Adams, Leon Spinks, Vassos Lyssarides] Torva Messor (782 points) 8 hits [Andre Maranne, Brian Urquart, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Leon Spinks, Prince Philip, Renee Simonot, Ruthie Tompson, Walter Bernstein] Joey Russ (764 points) 7 hits [Bob Fass, Clarissa Eden, Larry King, Leon Spinks*, Norman Lloyd, Paul Westphal, Prince Philip, Sylvain Sylvain] The Old Crem (759 points) 9 hits [Carlos Menem, Dai Davies, Floyd Little, Gerd Muller, Larry King, Leon Spinks, Prince Philip, Rush Limbaugh , Sarah Harding] ImNotHades (737 points) 3 hits [Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Greaves, Michael Collins] Predictor (715 points) 3 hits [Doyle Hamm, Mike Carter, Uno Loop] Guyfromfuture (709 points) 4 hits [Biz Markie, Johnny Pierson, Kay Hawtrey, Sarah Harding,] Pedro (674 points) 5 hits [Christopher Plummer, Desmond Tutu, Kenneth Kaunda, Phil Spector, Prince Philip] Ebless(550 points) 2 hits [Desmond Tutu, Ernie Moss] Deathray (533 points) 4 hits [Johnny Briggs, Norman Lloyd, Prince Philip, Sarah Harding] THE "YOU’RE TAKING THE PISS" Group Bibliogryphon (380 points) 3 hits [Clifford Rose, Mark Eden, Murray Walker] Yorkshire Banker (331 points) 1 hit [Frank Williams] THE "WTF” Group Toast (199 point) 3 hits [Leon Spinks, Prince Philip, Trevor Peacock] In last place, comes Toast with a mere 3 hits, and a record low of 66.33 points per hit. What is really amazing though, is that Toast actually had a really strong team. Somehow, Turnbull, Alagiah, Trintingant, Carter, Phillips, Nolan, Gorbachev, Newton-John, and Tom Smith ALL managed to survive the year. Effectively Toast submitted a full team of “how-the-fuck-are-they-still-alive” picks, and has paid the price with the last-place finish. Bad Luck Toast. A few other mentions and awards: THE "BEATEN BEFORE THE COMPETITION HAS PROPERLY STARTED" AWARD (formerly held by the England Ashes Squad) DEADSOX A Floyd Little hit on January 1st followed by Paul Westphal on January 2nd gave Deadsox the worst start in the history of this pool, leaving them 2 down for a solitary point after 2 days, and the Joker gone. Thankfully the middle order put up a bit of a fight (thus ending all comparisons to the Ashes squad) to leave Deadsox on 1329 at the close of play. AWARD FOR MOST POINTS PER HIT (MIN 5 HITS): ETIB8. 6 hits 1681 points – the Betty Bonus played big here to give Etib8 an colossal 280.16 points per hit. If only they could have had a few more of them. Second in this category was me at 233.25 points per hit (Did I mention,,,... oh right I did). Also of note was Yorkshire Banker, who only managed 1 hit all year, but left it until November 28th to do so, giving 331 points for 1 measly hit. AWARD FOR FEWEST POINTS PER HIT: Officially Toast takes the award with 3 hits 199 points 66.33 points per hit. However, I cannot allow a couple of other players go unmentioned The Old Crem had 9 hits, 6 of them in January/February to finish on 759 points or 84.33 points per hit. Joey Russ managed only 8 hits but that included the Joker to reach 764 points or 95.50 points per hit. A late Clarissa Eden hit was all that separated Joey form this dubious award. So that’s all folks. Thanks to everyone for playing, and I will see you all over on the Hares 2022 thread, where we can soon start to laugh at all those who picked Gary Burgess in their 2022 teams.

That's actually a good argument for keeping him in place a bit longer. The whole rotten lot needs to go.

Well done, An Fear Beag! Winning your own deadpool, makes it worth it ;).

Vague reports that Marc Wilkinson is dead. Former composer and musical director with the RSC and the National Theatre, he moved into film and TV, scoring The Blood On Satan's Claw, If... and The Royal Hunt Of The Sun. https://www.britmovie.co.uk/forum/cinema/obituaries/104572-marc-wilkinson-1929-2022-rip IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0929443/

Toshiki Kaifu reportedly died on the 9th January:

I bet if it emerged that BoJo joined the party and all the attendees broke into Westminster Abbey opened Phils coffin and Boris was photographed teabagging the corpse and video image emerged the cabinet and Michael Fabricant would defend him.

Very entertaining, well done and thank you. Now watch all my old team go down like dominoes now I've dropped them.

I warned us I fucking warned us.

Maybe the first bigger miss for the D-A-CH-List: Herbert Achternbusch, talented writer, film director and painter, has died aged 83: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/herbert-achternbusch-tot-1.5505860 He began as a publisher at Suhrkamp in the 1960s before he atarted writing himself. During the 1970s, Achternbusch began to work as director with the film "Das Kind ist tot" ("The child is dead"). Achternbusch made more than 30 films, wrote more than 25 books and nearly the same number of plays and began to draw and paint in the 1990s. He received several awrdas and was widely respected, even by the Bavarian government, who was always critzised by him.

A protegee of MC Ren. Surely this will finish him off?

Aye, you get the feeling that a biggie - like Frank Field or Russell Bishop could cause a leap over the line that'd see more people than ever hitting the winning total. Reptile's also sneaking up on the payout from Dresner An Fear Beag - 1810 Banana - 1810 Drol - 1797 Joey Russ – 1796 Book – 1445 Captain Chorizo – 1442 gcreptile – 1442

https://www.sohu.com/a/515205723_120952561 Article from last week on Ma Shitu, 107 today. Doesn't have new pictures but seems like he's still writing and will have a birthday celebration. However his 97-year old friend, Mao Dun Literature Prize winning novelist Wang Huo is in bad health due to multiple myocardial infections and can't attend that party.

Israel S. Dresner a hit for me: https://newyorkfolk.com/news/most-arrested-rabbi-israel-dresner-dies-at-age-92/ next round: 1922 Janis Paige / Ronald Blythe 1923 Pamela Sharples, Baroness Sharples / Bob Barker 1924 Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg / Leslie Phillips 1925 June Lockhart / Mahathir Mohamad 1926 Irene Papas / Carl Erskine 1927 Pat Carroll / Harry Belafonte 1928 Nancy Olson / Charles Strouse 1929 Joan Plowright / Don January 1930 Sandra Day O'Connor / Jean-Louis Trintignant 1931 Barbara Barrie / Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Jana Bennett is my third hit within two weeks. Nice start

How could you not pick Irving Berlin in 1989 you stupid fucks

Ricardo Bofill, Spanish architect dead at 82 from Covid. Breaking news in France but I personally didn’t know him…

Another of those deadpooling duos, somewhat linked in our minds due to similarities in their health issues/when they became deadpool picks, who will end up dying in close proximity. Like Valerie Harper and Clive James, or Richard Overton and Shivakumara Swami.

Or, he could be reading this right now! @themaninblack, nice avatar change!

Update for the Hare's Pool 2020 Winner: JiroemonKiruma 2021 Winner: An Fear Beag

Before we put this pool to bed by announcing the winner (spoiler alert - it wasn't you ) there is a small amount of house-keeping to be done. The following were the hits since the last proper updates. I have sifted through the list and checked all the names, so if I have missed anyone, the tough luck - your own fault for not highlighting your pick's demise. 28th November - Andrew Romanoff 30th November - Ray Kennedy 5th December - Bob Dole 19th December - Johnny Isaakson 19th December- Sally Anne Howes 26th December - Desmond Tutu 28th December - Harry Reid 31st December - Betty White The final scoreboard will follow shortly............................

Finally, an obituary with original research, from Best Classic Bands. This settles it beyond any doubt: "R. Dean Taylor, a Canadian singer and songwriter who earned his biggest hit for his 1970 recording, “Indiana Wants Me,” for Motown’s Rare Earth label, died on Friday, January 7, 2022. In the days following, there had been numerous social media posts referring to his death, but no confirmation. Today (Jan. 13), Best Classic Bands received word from veteran music journalist Larry LeBlanc that Taylor’s wife of 52 years, Janee, confirmed his passing. The report indicated that Taylor had been briefly hospitalized a year ago with Covid-19, but had been living at home ever since, under hospice care. Taylor was 82."

Congrats @MariNisia

Best one I’ve seen today

Feeling old.