Drewsky1211

Ian Hamilton is 97. This video below should help those unaware of who he is (THUMBNAIL NOT INTENTIONAL): Definitely a contender for a spot on DeathList 2023.

Northern Irish politician Ian Paisley died on this day 8 years ago, aged 88. Paisley was a Presbyterian minister who founded the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in 1951, a schism from the Irish Presbyterian Church. Paisley was bigoted against Catholics (the majority Christian sect in Ireland), going so far as to say Pope John XXIII was in Hell after his death in 1963. Paisley was also against the civil rights movement the Catholics started, forming the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee in 1966- volunteers associated with Paisley's group infamously bombed a school where mediation between Catholics and Protestants was to take place. In 1970, Paisley was elected to Parliament as a member of the Protestant Union Party, and in 1979, was elected to the European Parliament- on several occasions, he would continuously interrupt whoever was speaking (one time, it was Margaret Thatcher, another was Jack Lynch) and have to be removed from the room. Paisley would remain a member of the European Parliament until retiring in 2004, and the UK parliament until 2010, also retiring. Paisley made four appearances on the DeathList, in 1989 (15), 1993 (22), 2013 (16), and 2014 (18), in which he was the seventh death out of the ten that year.

NBA giant (literally, 7'6"- 2.3m) Yao Ming is 42.

Actor Harold Gould died on this day 12 years ago, aged 86. Gould's career began in the '60s, and he had appearances on shows such as The FBI, Hogan's Heroes, and Hawaii Five-O, with multiple appearances as the villain Honore Vashon in the latter. Gould also appeared in the Love, American Style episode "Love and the Happy Days"- a pilot for Happy Days- as Howard Cunningham. Gould wanted to reprise the role, but he was busy acting in a play and was committed to it, so he was recast with Tom Bosley. Gould would play Rhoda Morgenstern's father Martin on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoff Rhoda, as well as two of Rose's boyfriends in The Golden Girls. Later in his career, he would star in films, often as grandfather characters, including Stuart Little, the 2003 version of Freaky Friday, and The Master of Disguise (seen below). I'm going to go on a tangent here, because The Master of Disguise has an interesting fact also relating to today's date: there has been a long-standing rumor that the "Turtle Club" scene was being filmed when the terrorist attacks occurred. This is only half-true, as production began a few weeks later, with a moment of silence being held (the "Turtle Club" scene was the first scene shot, and Dana Carvey was indeed in the turtle suit and bald cap for the moment of silence). Anyways, back to Gould. Gould's last role was in the penultimate episode of Nip/Tuck, "Walter and Edith Krieger", as the titular Walter Krieger of the episode. Gould died of metastatic prostate cancer six and a half months later.

Moby becomes a 57-year old baldheaded stan today.

Tupou appeared once, in 2003 at the #39 spot.

Huey Long died on this day 87 years ago, aged 42. Long was admitted to the bar in 1915, and was later elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Long ran for governor of the state in 1924- which failed, but ran again in 1928. During this run, he was among the first candidates to use radio to advertise his campaign, and once when governor Oramel Simpson called him a liar, he punched him in the face. Long won by 45,000 votes. In 1929, Long claimed his opponents had been "bought" by oil companies when they wouldn't support a 5% tax. This led to a brawl in the Louisiana Congress, and he was impeached following this. Long was acquitted, and went as far as firing his opponent's relatives from state jobs. Long began to receive death threats following this. Long defeated incumbent senator Joseph Ransdell in the 1930 midterms, yet decided to complete his gubernatorial term, leaving the senate seat empty for almost a year. By doing this, he prevented his lieutenant governor Paul Cyr, an opponent, from undoing his actions. Long opposed FDR's New Deal as not being radical enough, and in 1934, he proposed his "Share Our Wealth" plan, which would set a cap on income and private wealth, make higher tuition free, free healthcare, and a 30-hour four day work week (basically, he was the Bernie Sanders of the '30s). Long's ideas sparked speculation that he may run for president in the 1936 election, and Long began delivering speeches across the USA. On September 8, 1935, Long passed a bill that effectively erased the court district of judge Benjamin Pavy. Shortly after leaving the meeting, Pavy's son-in-law Carl Weiss shot Long in the torso, with Long's bodyguards shooting Weiss dead (there is a theory that they shot before Weiss, and one of their bullets ricocheted off a wall and accidentally hit Long). Long died from internal bleeding 31 hours later. Long's widow Rose would serve out the remainder of his term, while his brother Earl would soon enter politics. Huey's son Russell Long would also become a senator, serving from 1948 to 1987.

Jose Feliciano is 77. Feliz Navidad cumpleaños, prospero año y felicidad.

I found this website (thanks to the Depths of Wikipedia Twitter) that shows how many views any Wikipedia page gets in a day. Data begins with July 2015, so here is how many views each DeathList hit since then has got when their death was announced. Accurate as of July 18, 2024

"...is a "Latest News" panel with sick rhyming headlines announcing the deaths of those who made the hit list." Also, thanks for the "sick rhymes" compliment. A lot of rappers get that, too.

While on the topic of dead British monarchs... King James IV of Scotland died on this day 509 years ago, aged 40. James became king after his father, James III, was killed in battle in 1488. During his early years, James proved to be an effective diplomat, forming an alliance with France, and creating treaties between Denmark, Spain, and England. The truce with England did not last long, as James invaded it in 1496 to get pretender Perkin Warbeck (an impostor claiming to be Edward IV's son Richard) on the throne. This invasion did not last long, as their resources were quickly used up. James tried again in 1497, sieging Norham Castle. Henry VII, the king of England, took note of the insecure border with Scotland, and signed a seven-year truce with James. In 1502, James was wed to Henry's daughter, Margaret. Ten years later, their son, the future James V, was born- it is through this union that the crown passed from Elizabeth I to James VI and I (James' great-grandson) in 1603. Henry VII died in 1509, and Henry VIII was not as kind to Scotland, declaring himself its "overlord". James declared war on England in 1511 to assist France in the religious proxy War of the League of Cambrai. For breaking his treaty (more likely it was for siding with Italy's enemy in the war), James was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. In 1513, James led his soldiers in the Battle of Flodden, in which he (and many Scottish nobles) were killed. Scotland then withdrew from the war.

Chaim Topol is 87.

"following the passing of her father, King George IV."

1987: Ozzy Osbourne (1/31)  1989: Frank Bruno, Mike Ditka, Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson, David Jenkins (5/32)  1990: Queen Elizabeth II, Mike Ditka, Rex Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Terry Waite (4/42)  1991: Leo Beenhakker (1/40)  1992: Shaun Ryder (1/37)  1993: Tony Bennett, Henry Kissinger, George Lineker, Jerry Lee Lewis (4/56) 1994: Edmund White, Holly Johnson, Peter Shilton (3/50)  1995: Holly Johnson (1/50)  1996: Mr T (1/50)  1997: (0/50)  1998: (0/50)  1999: Nick Leeson, Carly Simon (2/50)  2000: Louis Farrakhan (1/50)  2001: Liza Minnelli (1/50)  2002: (0/50) 2003: (0/50)  2004: Pervez Musharraf (1/50)  2005: Hamed Karzai (1/50) 2006: (0/50)  2007: Tim Johnson, Louis Farrakhan (2/50)  2008: Russell Watson, Hamed Karzai, Charles Taylor (3/50)  2009: (0/50)  2010: Angela Lansbury (1/50)  2011: Ali Khamenei, Dick Cheney, Michael Douglas (3/50)  2012: Nigel Lawson, Henry Kissinger, Dick Van Dyke, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (4/50) 2013: Henry Kissinger (1/50)  2014: Wilko Johnson, Dick Van Dyke, Tony Bennett (3/50)  2015: Leslie Phillips, Henry Kissinger, Jake Roberts (3/50)  2016: Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Tommy Chong, Leslie Phillips, Sandy Gall, Paul Gascoigne (7/50)  2017: Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Queen Elizabeth ll, Bob Barker, Sandy Gall, Pope Benedict XVI, Emperor Akihito (6/50)  2018: Linda Nolan, Bob Barker, Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Henry Kissinger, Dick Van Dyke, Stanley Baxter, Mel Brooks, Pope Benedict XVI, Louis Farrakhan, Ronnie Wood, Joni Mitchell, Paul Gascoigne (14/50)  2019: Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Bob Barker, Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Harry Belafonte, Vanessa Redgrave, Cleo Laine, Loretta Lynn, Prunella Scales, Tina Turner, Shane MacGowan (14/50) 2020: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Angela Lansbury, Bob Barker, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Prunella Scales, Jacques Delors, Willie Nelson, Shane MacGowan, Dick Cheney, Imelda Marcos, Joanne Woodward, David Crosby, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Pervez Musharraf, David Attenborough (21/50) 2021: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Loretta Lynn, Angela Lansbury, Bob Barker, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Jacques Delors, Ali Khamenei, David Crosby, Prunella Scales, Tony Bennett, Rosalynn Carter, Dick Cheney, Queen Elizabeth II, Harry Belafonte, Bob Newhart, Barbara Walters, Pope Benedict XVI, Imelda Marcos, Yoko Ono, Linda Nolan, Joanne Woodward, Mel Brooks, Willie Nelson, Betty Boothroyd, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Raul Castro, Burt Bacharach, Stanley Baxter, Vanessa Redgrave, Shane MacGowan, Shannen Doherty (34/50) Updated for the Queen.

Or "All Dead, All Dead".

Leni Riefenstahl, AKA "Hitler's Filmmaker", died on this day 19 years ago, aged 101. Riefenstahl started off as a dancer- and suffered several injuries to the feet. After seeing a poster for the film Mountain of Destiny, Riefenstahl became interested in cinema, and met its director Arnold Fanck. Her breakout role was in 1929's The White Hell of Pitz Palu. Riefenstahl gave into Hitler's charisma at a rally, and once he found out about her talent, he cast her in several Nazi propaganda films preceding World War II, including one for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. During World War II, Riefenstahl became a war correspondent, and attempted to stop a mass civilian execution, which failed when a soldier threatened her at gunpoint. This lasted for less than a year, as she was making the film Tiefland- extras from the film were Romani that were forced to work for her, and sent to Auschwitz after filming was complete. Riefenstahl was captured after the war and held in Allied prison camps until 1948. Throughout the following decades, Riefenstahl expressed regret over meeting Hitler, saying "Until the day I die people will keep saying, 'Leni is a Nazi', and I'll keep saying, 'But what did she do"? Riefenstahl would also become a photographer, particularly taking photos of members of the Nuba tribe of Sudan, and also took pictures of celebrities such as Mick Jagger (at the 1972 Olympics). Riefenstahl first appeared on the DeathList in 2000, and she survived a helicopter crash that year. Riefenstahl became the then-record breaking eleventh hit of 2003 after four appearances on the list.

P!nk is 43.

Meme cat Thurston Waffles has died:

Geoffrey Plantagenet, patriarch of the Plantagenet royal dynasty, died on this day 871 years ago, aged 38. The son of Count Fulk V of Anjou and his first wife Eremburga, Geoffrey was reportedly very skilled as a teen, and king Henry I of England sought Geoffrey's marriage to his daughter Matilda. He was married at the age of 15- and Matilda 26. After his father left for Jerusalem after marrying his stepmother Melisende, Geoffrey inherited Anjou and became count Geoffrey V. While his wife fought against Stephen of Blois for the English crown, Geoffrey was busy capturing Normandy- which Stephen was the duke of- declaring himself duke in 1144. In 1149, he and Matilda ceded it to their eldest son, Henry. Geoffrey died from a fever, and was outlived by his wife and children. The following year, Stephen died, and Henry took the English throne as the first Plantagenet king- the name was derived from the broom flower Geoffrey wore in his hat ("plante genêt"- French for "genisteae plant").

Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge Simpson, is 72.

Margaret Sanger died on this day 56 years ago, aged 86. In the 1910s, Sanger spearheaded the birth control movement- at the time, obtainment of contraceptives was restricted by the government, with it being illegal to mail them as ruled by the Comstock laws of 1873. Sanger imported diaphragms (female condoms) from Europe, in defiance of US law. In 1916, Sanger opened a birth control clinic, and was arrested nine days after it opened. In 1921, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which eventually became Planned Parenthood. Sanger had positive views on eugenics (particularly advocating for the sterilization of the mentally handicapped), which is often an argument brought up by pro-life activists. However, Sanger herself was also against abortion- she stated that her intent was to "Do not kill, do not take life, but prevent." Sanger died a year after the Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court case that repealed the Comstock laws.

Idris Elba is 50.

Catherine Parr died on this day 474 years ago, aged 36. Parr had two husbands before Henry VIII- Edward Burgh, whom she married in 1529, and died in 1533, and John Neville, whom she married the following year, and who died in 1543. Catherine's mother Maud was close friends with Henry's first wife Catherine of Aragon, and used that to become friends with her daughter, the future 'Bloody' Mary I. Henry proposed to her almost immediately, and they were married within four months of John's death. Catherine was the first consort to be referred to as the Queen of Ireland, after Henry added the title to himself in 1542. When Henry went to France in 1544, Catherine led the regency- it was comprised of people close to her, including her uncle Thomas Cranmer. During this time, Catherine controlled finances for Henry's campaign in France, and also oversaw growing tension with Scotland. Henry died in 1547, leaving a £7,000 annual pension to Catherine. Thomas Seymour, a former suitor of her (and the brother of Henry's third wife Jane), returned to Catherine and asked for her to marry him. Catherine accepted, and the two had a daughter named Mary. Catherine died from complications of childbirth (likely a bacterial infection) six days after Mary was born.

Singer David Glen Eisley is 70. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7fnlJ60RO8 YouTube video links aren't working for me, IDK why- the link is to his most notable song, "Sweet Victory", notably featured in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Band Geeks".

Steve Irwin died on this day 16 years ago, aged 44. Steve became interested in herpetology from his parents, who ran a crocodile sanctuary. In 1996, Steve's first show The Crocodile Hunter debuted on TV- despite the name, many different species of animals were featured on the show. Irwin also made wildlife documentaries, citing David Attenborough as his inspiration. While filming one about sea lions in 2003, Irwin facilitated a rescue mission when two scuba divers were reported missing in the area he was filming- one was found alive and brought to his boat, while unfortunately, the other was found dead. Steve's children Bindi and Bob are also nature documentarians. Sadly, Irwin was killed while providing footage for Bindi's upcoming show Bindi the Jungle Girl. He was trying to capture footage of a stingray swimming away from him- the stingray, however, stabbed Irwin with its tail barb in his heart, causing him to bleed to death. This led to fans of Irwin murdering other stingrays (at least ten of the fish) in an act of vengeance, something Irwin would never have wanted to happen.