Drewsky1211

Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel died on this day 58 years ago, aged 85. Hailing from Vienna in modern-day Austria, Alma was the daughter of noted painter Emil Schindler. As a teenager, she would practice piano, and made 27 songs (some of them are lost media). Alma is much more known for having relationships with many of the musical and artistic minds of her day. Her first fling was with the painter Gustav Klimt, although their love quickly fizzled. Next was the composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, which was also a short-lived romance. Her first husband was composer Gustav Mahler, whom she had an affair while she was dating Zemlinsky. The two were married in 1902, and Alma's only child to outlive her, Anna Mahler, was born in 1904. Their marriage, however, soon soured, as Mahler either discouraged or forbade Alma from composing- while he was making his magnum opus, Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth). Alma began an affair with architect Walter Gropius in 1910; during this time Gustav sought out marriage counseling from Sigmund Freud. Mahler would die of a heart infection the following year. Alma would have an affair with the painter Oskar Kokoschka following Mahler's death, and would soon go back to Gropius- the two married in 1915. Walter would be drafted to fight in World War I, and was rarely home- Alma pursued another affair with the author Franz Werfel, and the two divorced in 1920. Alma and Franz lived together before tying the knot in 1929. In 1938, the two of them fled Germany as it was unsafe for them (both Jewish), escaping to France, and then New York in 1940 after the invasion. Franz would soon see major success in the US by writing The Song of Bernadette in 1941, which was adapted into a movie two years later. The two moved to L.A., where Franz died of a heart attack in 1945. Alma did not pursue any more romantic partners. Her obituary was published two days after her death- after reading it, Tom Lehrer wrote a waltz about her life: In 2010, her affair with Gropius was adapted as a film called Mahler on the Couch, with the actress Barbara Romaner portraying her. In recent years, Alma's books about Gustav, once the central research material for people writing about him, has since grown to be unreliable due to contradictions between her accounts and other sources- this has come to be known as the "Alma Problem".

Rita Moreno is 91!

48 Althea & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking 47 Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights 36 Blondie – Heart of glass 34 Bee Gees - Night Fever 33 Gary Numan - Cars 29 Ian Dury & the Blockheads – Hit me with your rhythm stick 29 10CC – Dreadlock Holiday 28 Bee Gees – Tragedy +3 27 Police – Message in a bottle 24 Tubeway Army – Are “friends” electric  24 Gloria Gaynor – I will survive +1 23 Art Garfunkel – Bright eyes 22 The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star 21 ABBA – Take a chance on me 20 The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap -2 18 Blondie – Sunday Girl 16 Pink Floyd – Another brick in the wall 11 Police – Walking on the moon 6 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – You´re the one that I want 5 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – Summer Nights -4

Eugene McCarthy died on this day 17 years ago, aged 89. McCarthy was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1948, and the Senate in 1958. McCarthy came to national attention in 1967 by declaring his campaign for president, running against incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson on a platform opposing the Vietnam War. After LBJ withdrew following a strong McCarthy run-up (42% to Johnson's 50%) in the New Hampshire primary, Robert Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey entered the race- after RFK was assassinated, Hubert became McCarthy's primary opponent. Despite winning the most primaries, most states did not hold one (believing Johnson to be the frontrunner), and Humphrey was nominated at the Democratic National Convention. McCarthy would leave the Senate in 1971, and from there became a perennial candidate. He ran again in 1972, dropping out during the primaries, and again in 1976 as an independent candidate. In 1988, he was nominated by the Consumer and Minnesota Progressive Parties. 1992 was his final attempt at running for president. McCarthy died from Parkinson's disease- he had the misfortune of dying the same day as Richard Pryor, who overshadowed him.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is 26.

39 Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights 38 Althea & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking 34 Blondie – Heart of glass 27 The Buggles – Video killed the radio star 27 Bee Gees – Night Fever 26 Tubeway Army – Are “friends” electric 26 Gary Numan – Cars 26 Police – Message in a bottle 25 Ian Dury & the Blockheads – Hit me with your rhythm stick 25 10CC – Dreadlock Holiday 25 Bee Gees – Tragedy +2 24 Blondie – Sunday Girl 23 Boney M. – Mary´s boy child / Oh my Lord 23 Gloria Gaynor – I will survive +2 22 Art Garfunkel – Bright eyes 21 ABBA – Take a chance on me 21 The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap 15 Police – Walking on the moon 14 The Boomtown Rats – I don´t like Mondays -3 14 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – Summer Nights 13 Pink Floyd – Another brick in the wall 12 Cliff Richard – We don´t talk anymore -3 11 Rod Stewart – Da ya think I´m sexy 10 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – You´re the one that I want

Patrick Moore died on this day 10 years ago, aged 89. Moore's interest in astronomy began when he was six years old, and joined the British Astronomical Association when he was 11. Five years after that, he began to wear his signature monocle due to having worse eyesight in his right eye than his left eye. Moore would study the Moon as an adult, publishing his first book in 1952 and coining the term "transient lunar phenomenon" to describe short-lived events on the Moon's surface (i.e. an asteroid strike). Moore would also discuss space-related topics on television, with his first appearance being a debate about UFOs (being on the opposing side of the idea). In 1957, he began hosting The Sky at Night, a show dedicated to astronomy that tried to appeal to both casual and professional astronomers. The show still runs to this day, and Moore would host until his death 55 years after its inception. He would also show current events in the topic elsewhere on TV, revealing the first pictures of the Soviet Luna 3 mission to the West in 1959, and broadcast all Apollo missions beginning with Apollo 8. In later life, Moore was well-known as the title character of GamesMaster, which ran from 1992 to 1998 and was the UK's first video game-focused show. Moore would give the contestants challenges to complete within the game showcased in the episode. Moore made eight appearances on the DeathList between 1991 and 2009- he is the person with the most appearances to be a miss.

Michael Dorn is 70.

Found the list (at least in the US): https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2022/US/ 1. Betty White (December 31, 2021) 2. Queen Elizabeth (September 8) 3. Bob Saget (January 9) 4. Anne Heche (August 11) 5. Aaron Carter (November 5) 6. Olivia Newton-John (August 8) 7. Ray Liotta (May 26) 8. Leslie Jordan (October 24) 9. Takeoff (November 1) 10. Taylor Hawkins (March 25)

Jet Black dead at 84. EDIT:

37 Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights 31 Althea & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking 30 Blondie – Sunday Girl 28 Tubeway Army – Are “friends” electric 28 Police – Message in a bottle 25 Blondie – Heart of glass 25 Bee Gees – Night Fever 25 ABBA – Take a chance on me 25 The Buggles – Video killed the radio star 25 Gary Numan – Cars 25 Boney M. – Mary´s boy child / Oh my Lord +1 24 Police – Walking on the moon 23 Ian Dury & the Blockheads – Hit me with your rhythm stick 23 Bee Gees – Tragedy +1 21 The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap 21 Gloria Gaynor – I will survive +2 19 Pink Floyd – Another brick in the wall 19 Art Garfunkel – Bright eyes 18 10CC – Dreadlock Holiday -2 18 Cliff Richard – We don´t talk anymore 17 Rod Stewart – Da ya think I´m sexy 16 The Boomtown Rats – I don´t like Mondays -1 15 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – You´re the one that I want 14 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – Summer Nights 11 Anita Ward - Ring my Bell -3 7 Village People – Y.M.C.A.

Charles Lightoller died on this day 70 years ago, aged 78. Lightoller decided to choose a maritime career over a factory job, notably putting out a coal fire on his first ship Primrose Hill, in which he was promoted to its second mate. In 1898, Lightoller joined in on the Klondike Gold Rush, becoming a Canadian cowboy when he was unable to find any. He returned home by becoming a stowaway on trains, and earned enough money to return home by working as a cattle wrangler- he was broke when he returned. Lightoller would soon become a crewmate on White Star Line brand ships, starting with the Medic, making his way up to their flagship at the time, the Oceanic. In 1912, Lightoller became the second officer of one of their three new flagships- the Titanic. On the night of April 14, 1912, Lightoller was on the bridge, and ordered lookouts to be alert of ice in the Atlantic- the water was almost frozen, at 33 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius). Lightoller was getting ready to go to bed when the ship scraped across a large iceberg, and would return back to his room when he saw nothing on deck. During the evacuation, Lightoller was in charge of lowering the lifeboats on the port side of the ship, and interpreted the "women and children first" rule as "women and children only"- Lightoller allowed only one man to board as he was lowering. He also forced male passengers out of a lifeboat by gunpoint. Lightoller would eventually take the frosty plunge into the water, climbing into the Collapsible B lifeboat around the same time the first funnel collapsed (2:15 AM). He would be the most senior officer on the ship to survive. Lightoller considered the inquiries into the sinking to be farcical and blamed the calmness of the water- he was unable to see any waves breaking against solid surfaces. Lightoller would later serve in World War I in the Royal Navy, notably sinking the German U-boat UB-110 in 1918 while aboard the HMS Garry. Lightoller would retire from boating in 1919 because of his association with the Titanic likely making it difficult to find employment. Lightoller still owned a private yacht, and participated in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, rescuing 127 soldiers. Lightoller died from heart disease- his death was somewhat overlooked due to the then-ongoing Great Smog of London.

Nicki Minaj is 40. Here's a mashup involving one of her songs:

30 Althea & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking 28 Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights 24 The Buggles – Video killed the radio star 24 Police – Walking on the moon 24 Tubeway Army – Are “friends” electric 23 Blondie – Sunday Girl 22 Art Garfunkel – Bright eyes 22 Ian Dury & the Blockheads – Hit me with your rhythm stick 22 ABBA – Take a chance on me 22 Police – Message in a bottle 22 Gloria Gaynor – I will survive +1 22 Bee Gees – Tragedy +2 21 Blondie – Heart of glass 21 The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap 21 The Boomtown Rats – I don´t like Mondays 21 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – You´re the one that I want +1 20 Brotherhood of Man – Figaro 20 Bee Gees – Night Fever 20 10CC – Dreadlock Holiday 20 Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – Summer Nights 20 Rod Stewart – Da ya think I´m sexy 20 Boney M. – Mary´s boy child / Oh my Lord 20 Anita Ward – Ring my bell 20 Cliff Richard – We don´t talk anymore 20 Gary Numan – Cars 15 Village People – Y.M.C.A. 14 Pink Floyd – Another brick in the wall 14 The Commodores – Three times a lady 11 Brian & Michael – Matchstalk men and matchstalk cats and dogs -3 7 Lena Martell – One day at a time -3

Rube Goldberg died on this day 52 years ago, aged 87. Goldberg became a sports cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle after a brief stint as an engineer. In 1907, he moved to New York to work for the New York Evening Mail. Goldberg would soon make comics, starting with Foolish Questions in 1908- its punchline was that the answers were foolish. In 1929, Goldberg created The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, A.K., where Profesor Butts would create very complex machines in order to achieve simple tasks. The idea of these kinds of gadgets would soon become known as "Rube Goldberg machines", which have been cemented in popular culture from games such as Mouse Trap to films such as Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Goldberg would also write the first Three Stooges film, Soup to Nuts, in 1930, with him making a cameo appearance: Goldberg died from an unspecified type of cancer.

Noam Chomsky is 94. (IDK when the first picture was taken but the second was from August this year)

74 Baccara – Yes Sir, I can boogie 74 Donna Summer - I Feel Love 72 ABBA - The Name of the Game 62 ABBA – Knowing me, knowing you 45 ABBA - Fernando 19 ABBA - Mamma Mia +4 16 Rod Stewart – I don't want to talk about it / The first cut is the deepest -6

Saint Nicholas died on this day 1679 years ago, aged 73. Nicholas was born in what is now southwest Turkey- then a part of the Roman Empire. After his parents died, Nicholas donated the money he inherited to the poor, and one story claims that he donated some to pay for dowries to a father of two women that had lost all of his money- apparently due to Satan's meddling. Nicholas became the bishop of Myra around the year 300. During this time, Emperor Diocletian began to persecute Christians, and Nicholas was imprisoned and tortured (his reported remains corroborated this when a facial reconstruction in 2004 revealed a broken nose that had partially healed). Nicholas would be released once Constantine the Great became emperor. In 325, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea, where he promoted Trinitarianism (God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) over Arianism (God created Jesus and the two are separate entities). One legend that came from this arose in the 1300s: Nicholas slapped a supporter of Arianism during the ecumenical council, and Emperor Constantine revoked his vestments due to the outburst. Another strange legend regarding Nicholas that arose in medieval times involves him resurrecting three children that were slaughtered by a cannibalistic butcher by making the Sign of the Cross. Beginning in the Middle Ages, children would be given gifts on his feast day. This tradition spread across Europe, and Nicholas became synonymous with figures such as England's Father Christmas and the Netherlands' Sinterklaas- once the Dutch colonized New York, Sinterklaas eventually became Santa Claus. While Santa is now largely seen as a secular figure, some of Nicholas' attributes remain- such as his beard, and him being a bearer of gifts.

Nick Park is 64.

72 Baccara – Yes Sir, I can boogie  72 ABBA - The Name of the Game 66 Donna Summer - I Feel Love 64 ABBA – Knowing me, knowing you 43 ABBA - Fernando 41 Rod Stewart – I don't want to talk about it / The first cut is the deepest -6 27 ABBA - Mamma Mia +4 13 The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh, what a night)

King Michael of Romania died on this day 5 years ago, aged 96. Also known by his Romanian name "Mihai", Michael became the heir apparent to the Romanian throne in 1925 following his father Carol renouncing his rights to the throne to marry one of his mistresses. He became king himself at the age of five following the death of his grandfather Ferdinand, starting a regency period. Carol would return to the throne in 1930, but abdicated in 1940 due to general unpopularity, leading to Michael's second reign. Romania's prime minister Ion Antonescu allied with Nazi Germany, and in 1944, Michael participated in a coup that successfully ousted Antonescu, and announced that he would be partnering with the Allied forces. Soon after the war, political pressure from the Soviet Union forced Michael to appoint a pro-Soviet government, and that government forced him to resign on December 30, 1947. Michael and his family would be exiled and first seek asylum in Italy, then Switzerland, then England, and would permanently return to Switzerland in 1956. Exactly one year after Nicolae and Elena Ceaucescu's executions, Michael would return home to his now-democratic country for Christmas, only to be turned away at the airport (despite acquiring a visa). In 1992, the Romanian government officially ended his exile, and Michael's return drew large crowds of Romanian citizens. Michael's citizenship would be restored in 1997, and he would spend time in both Romania and Switzerland. The former king remained popular, topping a 2012 poll as the most-trusted public figure in Romania. Michael retired from public life in March 2016, and was widowed in August. Michael would soon be diagnosed with leukemia, leading to his only appearance on the DeathList in 2017 (his claim for UK notability was that he was a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, and a first cousin once removed of Prince Philip). Michael would top most of the "xth Death of 2017" polls in the final third of the year.

Frankie Muniz (of Malcolm in the Middle fame) is 37.

72 Baccara – Yes Sir, I can boogie 63 Donna Summer - I Feel Love 61 Rod Stewart – I don't want to talk about it / The first cut is the deepest 60 ABBA – Knowing me, knowing you 44 ABBA - The Name of the Game 41 ABBA - Fernando -3 37 ABBA - Mamma Mia 27 The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh, what a night) 14 Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don`t go breaking my heart +4 7 Hot Chocolate – So you win again -3

Bert Lahr died on this day 55 years ago, aged 72. Lahr was born in NYC as Irving Lahrheim to Jewish immigrants from Germany. In 1910, Lahr dropped out of school to perform in vaudeville, and he made his Broadway debut in 1927. Lahr's film career began in 1931 with an adaptation of Flying High, reprising the role he played on the Broadway play the film was based on. In 1938, Lahr signed up to his most famous role- the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. It used real lion fur, and with how the lighting was used, this caused the costume to become quite hot. Lahr would often ad-lib his lines, leading to scenes needing to be reshot due to his costars laughing (particularly Judy Garland). Lahr would continue to work on Broadway, and would make appearances on television in the 1950s and 60s- as the mystery guest in a 1956 episode of What's My Line, and starring in commercials for Lay's potato chips where he would be dressed in a different costume each time- ranging from the Devil to George Washington to Julius Caesar. Lahr's cause of death has been contested- his son John said that he died from cancer that he never knew he had, while the official death certificate listed it as pneumonia that was possibly caused due to damp conditions at the studio he was filming his latest movie (The Night They Raided Minsky's). The film was completed by using his body double, Joey Faye.

Tyra Banks is 49.