Dr_T

My Team Donald Trump Queen Elizabeth II Chris Rea Paul Gascoigne Little Richard Alberto Fujimori Angela Lansbury Aretha Franklin Val Kilmer Leslie Phillips Olivia Newton-John Prunella Scales Betty White Stan Lee Henry Kissinger Dick Van Dyke Stephen Hawking Vera Lynn Doris Day Stefan Karl Stefansson Prince Philip Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Denis Norden Jimmy Greaves Bob Dole Sub: Jill Gascoigne Thanks for running the game. Best of luck to the other competitors and, of course, the 25 brave souls on my team.

I think the Ted Mulry Gang song "Jump in My Car" would be a tough sell these days. There are a few cover versions that would be ballsy. Gary Glitter or Rolf Harris doing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" wouldn't go platinum. But I would've liked Michael Jackson to fund his legal bills by putting out an EP with a cover of The Divinyls "Young Boys are My Weakness" on one side and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" on the other.

Thanks for the new password and thanks Spade for helping me along. I don't post all that much but I thought I was going to miss Inverse Dead Pool 2018. Cheers Dr_T

I was one of the brave souls that picked Spanky Manikan. I did think at the time he was an obit risk but I loved the name so much I thought I would just run with it. The obit rules add a dimension to the game but it seems vaguely unfair that Spanky doesn't score while Bobby Zarin does. Anyhoo..... Nonetheless Pity Da Foolz is off to a cracking start with 3 hits (Elias, Falkholt and Cryne). Being Australian we had a front row seat to the death of Jessica Falkholt. Absolutely tragic-it is mind-boggling how the bloke who was driving the car that struck the Falkholt's was able to hold a license. She was incorrectly reported as dead a couple of times, once before Christmas when it was her sister that passed and again when they turned off the life support. What is the rule that precludes Falkholt being eligible for the unnatural death bonus? Regretting choosing Stefansson as my Joker. Just saw on his Twitter feed that he got some "very good news" about his health (published Nov 30). For his sake I hope it is all good for him (he seems like a good guy with a young family so I do hope it is all good for him) but I think that would cruel my chances of a top 20 finish this year. Sloppy research.

IMHO....I think the first and over-riding consideration is "My ball, my rules". Anyone who is prepared to put in the amount of time necessary to keep this game going is certainly entitled to make up the rules as per their own taste/moral compass/etc. I agree wholeheartedly with Toast that about the prevalence of non-celebrity types making the whole thing less interesting. I think it also does add to the ghoulishness of the exercise as well. Reading Kate Granger's blog made it all very personal for me, so while I was 90%+ sure that she would die in 2016 I couldn't pick her (although I think that by the time of her death she was sufficiently famous to be considered). On a purely competitive level, not being English I think gives me a disadvantage as I am not exposed to the English media which makes it hard to identify these types and harder still to pick who of these would get the qualifying obit. Is there an answer? Perhaps making the obit a little more difficult would improve things? I believe the standard is that the person is named in an article. Would some of these non-celebrity types get scratched if the standard became that they are named in the headline (article title) in those papers (again without knowing much about the style of British papers it is hard for me to judge). That way if the article is titled "Sad End for Brave Cancer Mum" then that would not score, but if the article said "Sally Major dies aged ??" then it would score. In Australia, the former style would often occur as they might assume that a high proportion of the readership doesn't know the who the person is, hence the description is more helpful. I would be interested in the opinions of the Obit Hunters like YW etc on this point. Anyway, grist for the mill. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Just gone midnight in the UK (much more respectable 9.30 in my part of Australia), so Happy Birthday QE2! Somehow me thinks wishing her happy birthday here will more likely get me an appointment in the Tower than a piece of cake and cucumber sandwich but the sentiment is there nonetheless. Also my 5th wedding anniversary if anyone is interested.

Yes, quite correct....never realised he was across the ditch. So we'll put him in the same category as Clarrie Grimmett, Phar Lap, Russell Crowe and Crowded House.

Haven't seen word of this in other forums (and this seems to be the most appropriate), Australian comedian/satirist John Clarke has died suddenly aged 68. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/renowned-satirist-john-clarke-dead-at-68-20170409-gvhg1r.htm This one is a bit of a shock cause he was active up to his death.

It's funny cause my wife said that McAvaney had cancer when he didn't cover the Australian Open tennis. They spoke to him when it came down to the classic Nadal/Federer final and he looked fine. He looked ok then and put his absence down to a combination of age and work schedule (2016 Olympics) and that seemed reasonable enough. I would say his prognosis is ok but put him on 2018 lists if he doesn't cover the AFL grand final.

In breaking news: legendary Australian entertainer Bert Newton has been rushed to hospital. http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/bert-newton-rushed-to-hospital-with-pneumonia/news-story/840df78da26dd01bb766b82753c72c04 In reality it is a bit of a tease story as it seems he is over the worst, but he is someone who has had multiple serious health issues over the last few years so one to watch. Absolute household name in Australia.

Lizzie and Phil's fight was written in to one of the episodes of "The Crown". Quite a good watch if you have got Netflix. I wonder if Lizzie was watching it when she was convalescing over Christmas and picking plot holes? She might be a little miffed that the actress playing her (although quite attractive) was not in the league of the actress playing Princess Margaret. But I guess that is true to life.

In something of a novelty for this thread, here is an actual joke courtesy of Adele. During a power out in a recent Australian concert she came out with this little charmer: What do you call a blonde standing on her head? A brunette with bad breath. It never ceases to amaze me that a woman with such a beautiful singing voice can speak like a wharfie with Tourette's Syndrome whilst sounding like Blakey from On the Buses. Here's a link for the full story. http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/tours/adele-drops-xrated-joke-after-temporary-blackout-during-adelaide-show/news-story/5b9c1ed938997609fbd095dca6c6d5d2

Australian political cartoonist, Bill Leak has died http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/cartoonist-bill-leak-dies-aged-61/news-story/6de32e4334557f94ff8086db2fcc236d

My apologies is this has been dealt with earlier in the thread (couldn't find it after a brief look), but is there a reason it says "Actor" and not "Author". I realise some of the other thread descriptions are somewhat cryptically tongue in cheek, but this one seems odd.

Thought Grant Hackett was getting close yesterday after going missing following something of a psychotic episode. He might be a watch this space. Admittedly one of the more obscure death reports, but Greg Doolan has died. He was the lead singer of an Australian showband called Wickety Wak. This means something to the 40+ who grew up in Qld, the rest of you can go about your business. http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/entertainment/entertainment-community-in-mourning-following-the-death-of-wickety-wak-frontman-greg-doolan/news-story/2589fc2baa773da5b38afe652afd825a

Yes this year's list definitely has a different feel to it than previous years, although it is hard for me to judge the fame (in England) of some of the low hanging fruit (Christie, Downie etc). Last year the list avoided "dead certs" such as Joey Feek and Rene Angelil presumably on the basis that they just weren't famous enough. I definitely see the record getting challenged this year. My prediction for the 15 hits are: Mary Tyler Moore, Errol Christie, Gord Downie, Gay Byrne, Valerie Harper, Bob Barker, Leah Bracknell, Tony Booth, Bruce Forsyth, Glen Campbell, King Michael, Joost vdW, George HW Bush, Olivia de Havilland and Billy Graham. I don't see QEII or Phil the Greek dying this year. There was recent news about Jerry Lewis being very feisty with an interviewer so I'll bet on him seeing 2018.

With apologies to the Simpsons Sideshow Bob. "Attempted genocide...what kind of trumped-up war crime is that? Do they give Nobel Prizes for "Attempted" Chemistry?"

Daryl Braithwaite has been hospitalised and cancelled some shows. Seems too young and healthy to be on anyone's radar but here it is anyway. http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/daryl-braithwaite-cancels-mornington-peninula-red-hot-summer-australian-open-shows/news-story/87d9ea0ed0a1d3e26a5f21189edac8fa I went and saw him at the local hotel about 4 years ago and it was a surprisingly good show.

Hi There I would like to enter a team is still ok. Happy with any eventuality regarding Jimmy Snuka. 1. Donald Trump 2. Prince Philip 3. Queen Elizabeth II 4. Paul Gascoigne 5 Val Kilmer 6. Dick van Dyke 7. Angela Lansbury 8 Jerry Lewis 9. Stan Lee 10. Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi 11. Daisy Berkowitz 12. Pope Benedict XVI 13. Vera Lynn 14. Fernando Ricksen 15. Stephan Hawking 16. Hugh Hefner 17. Gordon Banks 18. Chuck Berry 19. Shannen Doherty 20. Helen Fawkes 21.Robert Mugabe 22. Doris Day 23. Mary Tyler Moore 24. Nobby Stiles 25. Ian Brady Very tough this year...had to include a couple of names on my own DDP team. Good luck to my brave 25.

I was surprised to see the ABC News 24 program devote a 3-4 minute slot to the achievements and death of Clare Hollingworth this morning. I had certainly not heard of her until taking an interest in deathlisting so this coverage was unexpected. I doubt the commercial channels would have mentioned it as they have more important and interesting content such as the Kardashians or cross promotion for reality tv shows.

This year during the Boxing Day test, Bill Lawry said a special hello to former Australian captain, Bob Simpson who was "doing it a bit tough health wise". Can't find any details but it was enough for me to include Simpson in my DDP team. I think there's a very good chance he'll be a unique pick. Similar strategy worked well for me last year when Ian Chappell put a similar shout out to Johnny Gleeson.

Just breaking in Australian media is the death of Michael Chamberlain, the father of Azaria Chamberlain who was or wasn't but courtesy of the findings of a coronial enquiry was taken by a dingo. http://www.news.com.au/national/michael-chamberlain-dies-after-battle-with-leukaemia-aged-72/news-story/e326b6ffa36f25de2a57dfd4cf035cc9

Here is my Deathrace 2017 team. Zhou Youguang (J) Imam Ahmad Abdelati (world's fattest woman) Bob Barker Tony Booth Leah Bracknell George H.W. Bush Errol Christie Gord Downie Bruce Forsyth Billy Graham (evangelist) Matt Hirst (Australian opera singer) Clare Hollingsworth Jeanne Little King Michael I of Romania Emma Moreno Connie Sawyer Steve Sumner Murray Walker Eileen Whelan Mary Wilson Subs Betty Cuthbert Jimmy Carter Thanks for running the competition and good luck to all entrants and chosen picks (especially those on other teams)

Without making too light of what happened to Petra Kvitova it reminds me of the joke: If you keep food in food cellars and wine in wine cellars, where do you keep knives? Monica Seles

My shadow list is in my signature and my fame barrier is that these are people whose deaths I would expect to be reported on the 6 o'clock news (in Australia) and they need to be famous in their own right. So no Joey Feek, Rene Angelil, Kate Granger etc. Of those on my list who have died, I did not see Lupita Tovar's death reported on the news which surprised me. I thought her longevity and being one of the few remaining links to those early Hollywood days (I'll stay out of the silent movie argument) might see her get a mention. Luise Rainer's death did get a mention in 2014 but then again she did win a couple of Oscars. Anyway a solid 12 hits this year-although I have had some misses in the last couple of months where a couple of my favourites from previous years had gone toes up (Bernard Fox, Zara Nutley).