Life Is Beautiful

Oh, I forgot. And from last year's list: Dr. Kissinger. Say what you want about him, but that guy would be a interesting man to talk to. Even/especially today.

Seriously tho, I'd love to meet Olivia, Fats, Herman and Jimmy: Olivia: This a woman who started her career in the late twenties. Seen the Pre-code days, worked with Erroll Flynn, Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Montgomery Clift...won two Oscars. When she's gone, she will be the last of the last. Fats: Probably the creator of Rock and Roll as we know it today. Was already selling records and topping charts in 1949 when Elvis was still a greasy-haired teenager mowing lawns in Texas. "The Fat Man" is probably the first rock and roll record ever. Most importantly, he is the one most responsible for abolishing racial barriers between whites and blacks in the music industry by playing and selling to white audiences. He did it with ease and with a smile on his face and without any racial or social tension. Which gaves us Elvis, but also Pat Boone and Styx. Herman and Jimmy: two old guys who have seen it all and done it all. They still look remarkably alert and coherent for their age. It is almost surreal how Wouk's mind is still sharp at 102. Jimmy almost died building houses for the poor under the scorching hot sun. At 92 no less! That's all you need to know about the man. I could probably spend a couple of hours with those four.

The God among humans that is Javier Perez de Cuellar!

Unless somebody very big (a US president, Hillary, The Queen...) dies, i'd say NO. I mean just look at the music business. 2016 took Bowie, Prince, Cohen, White, Haggard, George Michael, Scotty Moore, Sinatra Jr., Emerson...Whilst The biggest music death in 2017 so far is Chuck Berry, and he was freaking ninety, which in rock and roll circles, is equivalent to Jeanne Calment levels.

Just look at that Imdb resumé! Just like Chuck Berry, he kept performing until his very last breath.

I think I'm in love with that signature.

Now he'll be asking St Peter to "go get his fucking shinebox".

Renée Simonot, actress and mother of another immortal star (Catherine Deneuve) celebrated her 106th birthday today. Which made me think, was there any known actress who lived beyond the 106 year limit? (I can think of another 106 year old actress: Lupita Tovar).

And then you wonder why there are so few new members.

He'll definitely celebrate another birthday in 20 days and at least surpass Reagan's record.

Jeb is the one who took the picture, because he's a failure.

Now I'm beginning to think he'll beat Reagan's record, but not Ford's.

I counted six.

James Leavelle (1920-), the famous Pearl Harbor veteran and the former Dallas homicide detective who was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby, is 97 years old. His last interview was in 2013. Definitely a historical and iconic name worth watching.

He visited and prayed in a mosque today. So his health has definitely improved. As a movie buff, I'll be very sad when Dilip leaves us. He is one of the last living actors really worthy of the word "legend". He was doing the "revolutionary" acting that Brando supposedly did, but he did it a decade earlier. He also inspired pretty much every Eastern actor that came after him. What a legend.

Football legend Gerd Müller has been suffering from Alzheimer. Not a single update on his health for almost two years now. As they say, no news is good news. Definitely one to watch. I mean we already missed Puskàs, Cruyff and Di Stéfano.

Dilip Kumar and Yoko Ono are musts for next year (if they survive)

I strongly remember the two weeks and a half when you were mildly funny.

I agree Chuck is probably the most important Rock and Roll name to die this decade. A true legend and the one who is most responsible for shaping the genre and making it the guitar-centric crazefest we know and love. PS: Unless Fats Domino dies this year, in that case there is no competition.

Yeah I probably should agree with this one. I chose Todd Beamer as he was the victim that most symbolized that horrible day. A true American hero you might say. Without him and a few other heroes on board, the Capitol and the Oval office would have been destroyed as well.

If we go by my criteria (cultural/social/impact of the person in question) it is very, very hard to top a US president. Heck, even Cobain didn't get more coverage and media attention than Nixon (although Saddam and Kurt are important names and had that shocking factor going on so it is still very close between them and the former presidents). FWIW, only two years had a US president beaten by another death: 1924 with Lenin over Woodrow Wilson, and of course 1945 with Hitler over FDR.

Yes excellent suggestion, thanks! We can mention Pavarotti too. Although only Bhutto's had that shocking/unexpected factor.

Is this one of those British people that are only known by the British? (e.g. more than 10 names on this year's Deathlist) In all seriousness though, I'm not even sure of my choice for 2008. That year had a lot of important deaths that some will argue are more significant than Newman's. Ledger, Suharto, Fischer, Scofield, Heston, Solzhenitsyn, Huntington...2008 and of course 2009 were very rich years when it comes to celebrity deaths, especially when you compare them to that borefest that was 2010.

People who've lost all hope in life do not wear orange sweaters. It's a fact.

Now how is that even possible? (Unless you're talking subjectively. In that case, sorry.) I am a big fan of Bowie. But there is no denying that the only death that came even close to Castro's in 2016 was Ali's.