Gooseberry Crumble

Very possibly yes. Thanks. She wasn't at the top of my list but we will see what happens in the New Year Honours if any other interesting names come up.

On this day in 1941 Hans Berger a german neurologist died aged 68. He is best known for being the inventor of electroencephalography (EEG) method of recording electrical activity in the brain which helped in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy as well as assessing the extent of brain damage or if brain death has occurred. He also discovered the alpha brainwave.

British actor Tom Holland , now a global film star thanks to being cast as the current incarnation of Spiderman in the popular movie franchise, turns 26 today. American singer and actor Pat Boone celebrates his 88th birthday today. Some of his biggest songs include number one singles Ain't that a shame and I'll be home. Best known as a singer these days Pat did act in a number of Hill films in the 1950s and 1960s including State Fair, Journey to the center of the earth and The Main Attraction.

I was teasing you! As a man who loves the word shagging whilst not doing enough of it I've got no room to be a prude or talk about being classy!!

I find the term masturbation so much nicer sounding and classier!

On this day in 2001 american actress, radio and television presenter and celebrity game show panellist Arlene Francis died aged 93. The acting part of Arlene career began in local theatre and off Broadway plays but her first film role was in 1932 horror film 'Murders in the rue morgue' were she played a a streetwalker pursued by a dangerous mad scientist played by horror move icon Bela Lugosi who iconicly played Count Dracula. Her other screen acting roles were on and off and quite sporadic until the 1970s including a film role playing the wife of James Cagneys character in Billy Wilder directed film One,two, three. The main focus and success in Arlenes career in showbusiness was in either presenting or being a regular guest contributor on TV and radio talk shows. From hosting NBC networks Daytime magazine show 'Home' aimed at housewives to in 1938 becoming the first and only female host of the Radio version of the gameshow 'What's my line?'. A lovematch style Dating show on the Radio called Blind Date were six men behind a wall tried to appeal to three women on the other side of the wall to choose them for an all expenses paid date was also a big success for her- although at the time it was considered to be rather risque! But it was as a regular panellist on the television version of gameshow 'What's my line?' that Arlene achieved most fame and moneys as for a number of years she was the highest paid game show panellist in the US commanding fees much higher than other panellists. Arlene Francis was considered a pioneer for women in television and an established firm favourite on the 'gameshow circuit'. In her personal life she married twice , finding much contentment in her second marriage to actor/producer Martin Gabel but in the 1960s was involved in two tragedies. In 1962 the couple were sued by the widow of a man who was killed in New York after being hit on the head by one of Arlenes dumbbells that had fallen from their 8th floor Ritz apartment. The couple were not at home at the time of the incident but their maid on their instructions had shampooed the carpet and left all the windows open to air the scent thus sadly allowing an unsecured dumbbell to roll out. They settled the lawsuit for an amount that would be several million in todays money. The following year Arlene was involved in a serious car crash in Long Island . She was not at fault but one of the five passengers in the car that hit her died and the physical and mental trauma she experienced took a good while to recover from. Arlene died from alzheimers disease and cancer in San Francisco having outlived her husband by 15 years.

I'm terrible I know!!

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-lucy-mecklenburgh-gives-birth-26384179 Reality television star and model Lucy Mecklenburghand former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas have become parents to their second child together.

On this day in 1321 Birger King of Sweden died aged 40/41. This is quite a Nordic saga! Very Game of thrones as much monarchy was back then. Birger was the son of King Magnus ll of Sweden. But Magnus himself had only become monarch after he lead a rebellion against his elder brother King Valdemar,after disputes over taxation and 'personal matters' , successfully toppling him from the throne. King Valdemar died when his son Birger was only 10 but he had appointed an influential statesman of the time Torglis Knutsson as his sons guardian and constable of the realm. So Birger was effectively King at the tender age of 10 but not initially with much power being exercised by him. In 1302 when King Birger came of age and was ready and willing to embrace his role as monarch and to become a husband to Martha of Denmark ,daughter of King Eric V of Denmark he was formally crowned King of Sweden. But pretty much from the beginning of his reign there was an argument with the church of Sweden over the interpretation of privileges 1280 which had been the price Birgers father had paid to secure the churches support when he usurped his brother from the throne years before. Birgers two brothers Erik and Valdemar spotted a weakness and decided to take advantage of the disagreement between church and monarch and tried establishing mini kingdoms in parts of Sweden fermenting rebellion and dissent. Civil war broke out but by 1306 the situation had somewhat simmered down and Birgers two brothers were prepared to acknowledge their nephew Birger son as the rightful successor to the throne. But this acknowledgement was not without cost because King Birger insisted on his brother Duke Valdemars father in law was executed as a token of reconciliation between the three brothers. So later that year animosity still brewing King Birger was taken hostage by his two Duke brothers on one of the royal estates. Still King in name but largely powerless and held captive for two years before his brother in law now the King of Denmark intervened and forced his brothers to release him in 1308. Upon release he fled to Denmark but very much was by then King of Sweden in name only and having given up Swedish territory and some royal estates to his brothers. Four years later in 1312 King Birgers two brothers both married into the Norwegian Royal family on the same day in a massive double wedding in Oslo They both then started to expand their Kingdoms and territory joining up parts of Norway with parts of Sweden their brother Swedens King had effectively ceded to them. This tense power play rumbled on for several years but in 1317 Birger launched a successful capture of both his brothers during a traditional royal Swedish Christmas banquet and according to historical record starved his brothers to death on a cellar in Nykoping Castle. But jubilation was short lived as his brothers supporters ousted him from power less than a year later and had to go into exile again in Denmark where he died three years later. His son and heir Magnus was killed in battle trying to retake Sweden in 1320 leaving no direct heirs- meaning that Birgers three year old nephew Magnus, son of his treacherous brother Duke Erik, who was already King of Norway with his mother as regent , was to be the next King of Sweden .

Former footballer american quarterback Joe Namath celebrates his 79th birthday today. Joe played in both the American football league and the National Football League and mostly played for the New York Jets. In later years he dabbled in acting and became a bit of a pop culture icon after appearing in numerous television adverts during and after his sporting career for products like Ovaltine, Noxzema shaving cream and Hanes beautymist pantyhose. Oscar nominated among actor Tom Berenger turns 73 today. Nominated for best supporting actor by the academy for the role of Staff Sergeant in Platoon (1986) , Toms other acting credits include films The Dogs of War, Training Day, Inception, Born on the fourth of July and Sharon Stone erotic thriller Sliver. TV credits include October Road and Peacemakers.

On this day in 1995 former Southampton FC footballer Bobby Stokes died aged 44. Bobby famously scored the only goal and winning goal in the 83rd minute of the FA cup final in 1976 , clinching victory for Southampton against Manchester United. He played for the Saints aka Southampton from 1968 to 1977 and then for Portsmouth from 1977 to 1978. He struggled to shake off a severe bout of bronchial pneumonia and died aged 44. On this day in 1986 american fashion designer Perry Ellis died aged 46. His career in fashion started in a department store in Richmond Virginia were he worked to get experience as a buyer and merchandiser for Miller and Rhoads department store. He later cofounded his own retail store 'A Sunny Day' and subsequently paired up with Sportswear company John Meyer in New York. He later worked for The Vera Companies who at the time were famous for their polyester double knit pantsuits, to design a collection exclusively for them- his first women's Sportswear line named 'Portfolio' This arrangement proved to be very fruitful and successful with an abundance of new ideas leading to popular new classics that were a hit with the female shopper. Perry eventually went on to form his own fashion house in 1977 - 'Perry Ellis International ' whose most famous and popular efforts included introducing the trend for the double layering of shoulder pads on top of each other- hence what is referred to as the shoulder pad look which is synomous with 1980s fashion in the US, UK and beyond. Flounce mini skirts ,better known as rah rah skirts in Britain, that Perry introduced with Norma Kamali were also a big success story. Perry was a great believer in the philosophy being careful not to take fashion too seriously otherwise you kill it creatively. Perry Ellis died aged just 46 but what of is unclear and somewhat contested . Officially he died of encephalitis but some subsequent sources and listings say he died of AIDS but his company at the time was reluctant to acknowledge this at that time because of the huge stigma and hostility in american society towards those with the illness.

Arrgh of course your so right! Can't believe I forgot about that! but I guess I am more of a Love Boat than Married with children kind of guy!

American actor Ted McGinley celebrates his 64th birthday today. Ted is mainly best known for two roles , Roger the nephew of the character Marion played by Marion Ross in legendary US television sitcom Happy Days and as Ace the photographer on the hit US television series The Love Boat in the 1980s. He also appeared on glamorous 1980s tv soap Dynasty as Buck Fallmont who was briefly married to Heather Locklears character Sammy Jo. Film credits include, Waynes World 2(1993) Revenge of the nerds (1984) and The Big Tease (1999).

Lester Piggott a 'hit' for me in this pool.

I thought she was brilliant in Eldorado as Gwen Lockhead. I firmly believe caving into the press and axing Eldorado was a big mistake by the BBC. The shows ratings had significantly improved and its teething problems/early difficulties pretty much ironed out.

BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood celebrates her 60th birthday today. American singer LaToya Jackson, the seventh child of the famous Jackson family and older sister of Michael and Janet Jackson , turns 66 today. Less commercially successful in her career in music than some of her more famous siblings LaToya still had a respectable career particularly in the 1980s when she wrote and she was one of the singers and celebrities who performed the anti drugs song 'Stop the madness' as part of the 'Just Say No' initiative by first lady Nancy Reagan in her famous antidrug campaign .

On this day in 2005 Liberal Democrat MP Patsy Calton died from breast cancer aged 56. She was first diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and it returned early 2005. Patsys political career began in Stockport Metropolitan council were she rose to the level of deputy leader but was first elected to the House of Commons in 2001 , beating sitting conservative MP Stephen Day but only just- she achieved an ultra slim majority of 33. She was relected in 2005 with a much increased majority of over 4000 despite not being well enough to campaign for votes. Patsy died less than four weeks after she was relected and just five days after she was sworn back in the House of Commons seriously ill in a wheelchair by speaker Michael Martin. Martin broke with convention at Patsys swearing in and shook her hand and kissed her saying Welcome home Patsy. I think what happened to Patsy is terribly sad so I hope this doesn't sound cruel or insensitive but I genuinely struggle to put myself in her shoes and understand why when she was clearly dying after her cancer returned in her spine in February 2005 she bothered to put herself forward for reelection? Perhaps some rules over nomination papers? I'm not sure but I do vaguely recall there was some muted criticism of the situation just after she died but it obviously didn't gain much traction because of the sadness of the circumstances and fear of seeming heartless.

British actor Gregg Sulkin celebrates his 30th birthday today. Gregg first found acting fame as a child star in ITVs television drama adaptation of Dr Zhivago . He later went on to star in hit US television series Pretty Little Liars and Faking it as well as films including Affluenza, This is the year and Don't hang up. British actor and singer Adam Rickitt, most famous for playing the previous incarnation of Nick Tilsey in Coronation Street in the 1990s .But also became a firm favourite among British gay men for his many sexy magazine photoshoots and his naked appearance during his brief music career in a pop video for 'I breathe again'. celebrates his 44th birthday today. He has also starred in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and New Zealand soap Shortland Street.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10864181/Camilla-Thurlow-gives-birth-Love-Island-star-welcomes-second-daughter-husband-Jamie-Jewitt.html Former reality tv stars Camilla Thurlow and Jamie Jewitt who met on the ITV2 reality dating show Love Island in 2017, have announced the birth of their second child another daughter.

On this day in 1750 Emperor Sakuramachi , the 115th Emperor of Japan died aged 30. He ascended to the chrysanthemum throne in 1735 after his father Emperor Nakamikado abdicated in his favour. He was thought by many to be the reincarnation of legendary regent of Japan Prince Shotoku who was credited with creating the earliest constitution of Japan known as the seventeen article constitution which rather than being a constitution in the traditional legalistic sense that we think of today but was a constitution rooted in Buddhism and confucianism with a primary focus on morals and virtue in politics, government and the leaders in society. Emperor Sakuramachi was pretty much political leader of Japan in name only as the military dictators effectively had most of the power. However he did work with the leader of the military to create a restoration of some imperial/ royal rites including the return of spiritual shinty rituals including harvest festival which had stopped and effectively put into abeyance for nearly 300 years. He had four children via two women-his wife and concubine and abdicated from the throne aged just 27 in favour of his eldest son and took the title of Daijo Tenno, which simply means retired Emperor. He died less than three years later aged 30.

Belated birthday wishes for yesterday for american actress Lee Meriwether who turned 87. A former winner of the Miss USA beauty pagent but also famously played one of the film versions of Catwoman replacing Julie Newmar and also starred in hit US tv series Barnaby Jones.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10861121/Cricketer-Marnus-Labuschagne-expecting-child-wife-Rebekah.html Australian cricketer and World number one test batsman Marnus Labuschagne has announced he is to become a father for the first time.

Not sure I could alight on one particular special or single reason. I find it interesting. I always have years before my time on DeathList forum and in general not just famous people.

Oscar nominated american actress Carroll Baker turns 91 today. Carrolls film debut was in 1953 technicolor musical film film 'Easy to love' , the lead stars were Esther Williams and Van Johnson . She was also a cast member of James Deans final film in a leading role before he died in a car crash- 'Giant ' (1956) along with Dennis Hopper , Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. 'The Carpetbaggers ' (1956) , 1979 British film 'The world is full of married men' , 'Her harem '(1967) ,erotic X rated italian film 'Orgasmo ' which went under the name 'Paranoia ' in the US as well as her most famous film role in 'Babydoll' (1956) for which she was nominated for a best actress Oscar but lost out to Ingrid Bergman in 'Anastasia' were some of her other roles. She did however win best newcomer at the Golden Globe awards. Her later films which younger audiences may be more familiar with include 'Kindergarten Cop ' in 1990. Carroll has been married three times , her second husband was holocaust survivor and Hollywood film director Jack Garfein and her final husband was british theatre actor Donald Burton whom she lived with in Hampstead London in the 1980s and stayed married to him until his death in 2007 in California.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/18692245/hollyoaks-nadine-mulkerrin-gives-birth-baby/ Hollyoaks actress Nadine Mulkerrin has given birth to her second child.