Drewsky1211

Henry Kissinger is 99. "Once you've been to Cambodia, you'll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands". - Anthony Bourdain "Political satire became obsolete when they awarded Henry Kissinger with the Nobel Peace Prize". - Tom Lehrer

RIP. As a member of Gen Z, this was my introduction to him:

Friz Freleng died on this day 27 years ago, aged 89. If you know about the history of animation, you should absolutely know who Freleng was. But for those who don't... Freleng was from Kansas City, and one of his friends growing up was Walt Disney. Disney moved to Hollywood in 1923, and Freleng eventually began working for him in 1927. He worked on the live-action/animation hybrid Alice Comedies and the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons. In 1933, Freleng joined Schlesinger Productions to work on cartoons there. In 1935, he directed I Haven't Got a Hat, which introduced the character of Porky Pig for the first time. He originally looked like this: Freleng would continue to create characters for the now-Warner Bros. Cartoons, including Yosemite Sam in 1945, Sylvester and Tweety in 1947, and Speedy Gonzales in 1955. Freleng, along with his supervisor David DePatie, would form their own studio, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, in 1963. They animated the opening and closing titles of The Pink Panther. The character itself would soon become the mascot of the company, with The Pink Panther Show debuting in 1969. Freleng and DePatie sold the studio to Marvel Comics in 1980, and it would become Marvel Productions. Freleng retired from animation in 1986, and died in 1995. Following his death, Cartoon Network aired a tribute bumper.

Lenny Kravitz is 58.

Wojciech Jaruzelski died on this day 8 years ago, aged 90. After Germany and the Soviet Union kicked off World War II by invading Poland, 16-year old Jaruzelski and his family fled to Lithuania, which was soon forcibly annexed into the USSR. The Russians deported the Jaruzelskis to Siberia (his father was sent to a gulag and died in 1942), and Wojciech was forced to clean the forests. During his labor, he suffered eye damage, causing him to wear his iconic sunglasses for the remainder of his life. He was able to return to Poland by joining the Soviet-controlled First Polish Army. In 1948, he joined the Polish United Workers' Party. He rose through the party ranks, and became the Minister of Defense in 1968. When the liberal Alexander Dubcek began loosening censorship in Czechoslovakia, Jaruzelski began an invasion of the country (along with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary). This saw a Warsaw Pact victory, and Dubcek was forced to resign. In 1981, Jaruzelski was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In December of that year, he declared martial law to strengthen his power against the Solidarity Party (led by Lech Walesa). This lasted until 1983. Thousands of political prisoners were taken, and most of them would not be released until 1986. In 1989, Jaruzelski restored the presidency, following Gorbachev's lead in the Soviet Union. He resigned on December 22, 1990, following the election in which Walesa won. Communist Poland was officially over. In 1998, Jaruzelski made his first appearance on the DeathList. He would appear again in 2000, and consecutively in 2012 and 2013. He was dropped for 2014- he died from complications of a stroke that year. He was the last survivor of the 1998 list- it was the first ever list extinction, having taken 16 years.

Frank Oz is 78. "Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering".

Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison died on this day 143 years ago, aged 73. Garrison began working for antislavery papers as a teen. In 1831, he founded his own newspaper, The Liberator. Garrison also championed for women's rights, and The Liberator became the leading publication for said movement in the 1840s. In 1854, Garrison infamously burned a copy of the US Constitution. The next year, his fellow abolitionist Frederick Douglass disassociated himself with him, as he viewed some points of the Constitution could be used to argue against slavery- they reconciled in 1873. The state of Georgia put a bounty on his head for this. After the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, Garrison ceased publishing The Liberator, and left his positions in antislavery organizations- the issue was over. He would continue supporting African-American and female rights until his death from renal failure. While Garrison was indeed noble in the fight against slavery and the suffrage movement, he was also a rabid anti-Semite. He believed that the scattering of Jews out of Israel was a justified punishment for the crucifixion of Jesus, and called the pro-slavery sheriff Mordecai Noah a "Shylock" (after the main character of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, who was a Jewish stereotype) and claimed he was a direct descendent of the people who nailed Jesus to the cross.

Stanley Baxter, #35 on the list, is 96.

William Kidd, better known as Captain Kidd, died on this day 321 years ago, aged 47. Born in Scotland in 1654, Kidd settled in New York as a young adult. He soon became a seaman's apprentice on a privateer ship. In 1689 Kidd and several other crewmates mutinied and ousted their captain, and Kidd was either elected or appointed as the new captain. They headed to the colony of Nevis, and helped defend the island from the French (whom the English were at war with at the time). Kidd soon returned to New York, where he married a wealthy twice-widow (who was still in her 20s) and helped fund the construction of Trinity Church (which still stands in downtown Manhattan). In 1695, New York's colonial governor requested Kidd to go on a mission to attack known pirates (and enemy French ships)- he accepted, considering he would appear disloyal to the crown if he refused. In September of 1696, Kidd and his crew began their journey towards the waters surrounding southern Africa- a third of his crew died of cholera, his ship suffered from leakage, and he failed to find any pirates. This may have caused Kidd to go off the deep end. He began to abuse his power, citing his noble friends in England would vouch for him if he was reported. In 1698, Kidd seized an Indian fabric and gold ship, and when the news came to England, he was labelled a pirate and his capture was ordered. Kidd encountered the pirate Robert Culliford on Madagascar, and the majority of his crew abandoned him to work for Culliford. Kidd decided to return to New York, and he hid his ship on an island in the Caribbean, and hid or sold his stolen treasures along the way. New York's governor Richard Coote was in Boston at the time that he heard about Kidd's return, and lured him to the city promising to pardon him- this was a lie, as he believed that he would be implicated with the pirates if Kidd was allowed to stay free. Kidd was arrested on July 6, 1699, and was sent to England for trial in 1700. Kidd was sentenced to death. On execution day, Kidd needed to be hung twice- the first noose snapped, and Kidd survived the fall. Some called this divine intervention and believed that he should be released, but he was successfully hanged the second time. His corpse was hung over the River Thames until 1704 as a warning to other pirates.

Drew Carey is 64. (he's the one on the left... if you couldn't tell)

Thurl Ravenscroft died on this day 17 years ago, aged 91. In the 1930s, Ravenscroft joined the singing group The Mellomen, and quickly achieved success as background singers for performers such as Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and (ex-DL alumnus) Frankie Laine. In 1940, the group performed the song "Honest John" for Disney's Pinocchio- which was removed during production. However, Ravenscroft's voice remains in the film as the vocal effects of Monstro, the whale that swallows Pinocchio and Geppetto. Ravenscroft soon became the frontman of the group, and they performed in more Disney films- these included Dumbo (for the famous pink elephant sequence), Peter Pan (as the singing pirates and outdated Native American caricatures), and Lady and the Tramp (as a group of singing dogs at the pound). They would also perform songs for rides at Disney amusement parks, including Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion: In 1966, Ravenscroft sang "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" for the still-popular holiday special. Before Ravenscroft was revealed to have sung it, other guesses of the singer's identity were Tennessee Ernie Ford (of "Sixteen Tons" fame) and Boris Karloff (who provided the Grinch's voice). In 1953, Ravenscroft also became the voice of the Frosted Flakes cereal mascot Tony the Tiger, whom he would voice until his death. He voiced Kirby, the vacuum cleaner, in The Brave Little Toaster series of films from 1987 to 1998. His final role was the singing voice of I.M. Weasel on the eponymous Cartoon Network show. At that time, he was still working with Disney, with his final film role as the voice of an elephant in Tarzan.

Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is 36.

King Henry VI died on this day 551 years ago, aged 49. Henry ascended to the English throne at nine months old following the death of his father, Henry V- he remains the youngest British monarch of all time. He was coronated when he was seven years old. It should also be noted that he was born during the Hundred Years' War, and was also disputedly crowned as the king of France (his maternal grandfather was King Charles VI). In 1453, he lost all English lands in continental Europe except Calais, leading to a mental breakdown (Charles was also reported to have a similar ailment). During this time, supporters of a cadet branch of the royal family (the Yorks) began fighting supporters of Henry's family (the Lancasters). In 1460, civil war broke out when Henry's forces attacked the forces of noble York supporters. Henry was captured and imprisoned, while his wife and son escaped to Scotland and began to rally supporters. Queen Margaret returned with an army in 1461, and defeated the Earl of Warwick, freeing Henry. They were soon defeated, and the two again fled to Scotland. Henry was effectively deposed, and the son of the Duke of York, who had defeated him, was crowned as Edward IV. Henry returned in 1463. Loyalists to Henry were defeated in Hexham the following year, and Henry was once again captured and imprisoned. In 1470, two of Edward's main allies (one of whom was his own brother George) caused him to be exiled to Scotland. Henry was freed by the new Earl of Warwick, and reclaimed the throne on October 3. Warwick soon declared war on Burgundy, and its king, Charles I "The Bold", supplied aid to Edward, allowing him and his troops to fight back. Henry's only child and heir Edward was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury. Henry was once again imprisoned, and died a few weeks later. Following his death, miracles were attributed to him, but this was mostly due to people trying to de-legitimize the York and Tudor families. Contemporary sources claim that Henry reportedly died of broken heart syndrome upon hearing news of Edward's death, but when his skeleton was exhumed in 1910, it was discovered that his skull was damaged, and remaining hair was found to be bloodied- signs that a theory that Edward IV ordered his murder may have been true.

Ronald Isley is 81. Ronald sang his biggest hit when he was 18 (in 1959)- and last year, the Isley Brothers released a new song:

Jon Pertwee died on this day 26 years ago, aged 76. Pertwee first rose to stardom as the character of Chief Petty Officer Pertwee on the radio show The Navy Lark beginning in 1959 (he co-starred with longtime DeathList pick Leslie Phillips). Pertwee was also a stage actor, starring in productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and There's a Girl in my Soup. Pertwee appeared in three Carry On movies in the '60s- Carry On Cleo, Carry On Cowboy, and Carry On Screaming! Pertwee was initially chosen to be the role of Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army, but he turned it down, wanting to continue his stage career. In 1970, Pertwee's began his most well-known role as the third incarnation of Doctor Who, starting with the episode "Spearhead from Space". Showrunner Peter Bryant originally wanted Ron Moody to play the character, but Moody was unavailable at the time- Pertwee was Bryant's second choice. During his tenure as the Doctor, the show was broadcast in color for the first time, and the character's personality was made similar to James Bond. Pertwee decided to step down from the role in 1974- once again, to continue his stage career. The final episode to star him was "Planet of the Spiders", and Tom Baker was his successor. In 1979, Pertwee took the role as the title character of family sitcom Worzel Gummidge, a scarecrow who can magically come alive. The series was a massive success, and Pertwee even recorded a song as the character (it reached #33 on the charts in 1980): Pertwee made his only DeathList appearance in 1989, despite still being quite active at the time. He appeared in the final Carry On film, Carry On Columbus, in 1992. He continued making cameos as the Third Doctor, which includes the fanmade Doctor Who episode "Devious" (filming began in 1991), and a series of commercials for the wireless company Vodafone. Pertwee died in his sleep of a heart attack.

Busta Rhymes is 50.

Anne Boleyn died on this day 486 years ago, aged around 35. Henry VIII first met Anne in 1526, and instantly became smitten with her. The following year, Henry attempted to get Pope Clement VII (the the time prisoner of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, but the pope denied their request. In 1531, Catherine was banished from the palace, and her rooms were given to Anne. This infuriated English women, and at one time, Anne was nearly attacked by a mob. Anne and Henry were secretly married in November 1532, while he was still legally married to Catherine- Archbishop Thomas Cranmer soon decreed Henry's marriage to Catherine annulled, but the pope still disagreed. Because of this, in 1534, the English clergy stripped papal authority, and formed the Church of England. Henry was determined to have a male heir. Their daughter (and only surviving child) Elizabeth was born in September 1533 to the king's dismay. Anne suffered from three miscarriages, which also upset Henry. Catherine died in 1536 (the couple celebrated the occasion)- and the king could remarry without consequence if he chose to do so. On May 2 of that year, Anne was arrested under suspicion of treason. Archbishop Cranmer declared Boleyn's marriage to Henry null and void on May 17- the day that her brother George was executed. Anne was beheaded via sword on May 19, and it was reported that she had essentially given up on life- she was reported to be happy in her final days, and the authorship of the poem "O Death Rock Me Asleep" is attributed to her. Below is the final stanza: "Farewell my pleasures past, Welcome my present pain! I feel my torments so increase That life cannot remain. Cease now, thou passing bell; Rung is my doleful knell, For the sound my death doth tell, Death doth draw nigh, There is no remedy."

Grace Jones is 74.

Jeannette Rankin died on this day 49 years ago, aged 92. Rankin was a social worker-turned suffragette. In 1911, she became the first woman to speak before the Montana Senate, advocating for female voting rights. This was achieved in 1914. From there, Rankin proceeded to run for Congress as a Republican in the 1916 election. At the time, Montana elected the people with the highest two vote counts, and Rankin came in second. She was the first woman to hold federal office in the US. During her term, Rankin voted against joining World War I and rallied for better labor conditions. In 1918, Rankin set forth discussion about a proposed constitutional amendment that granted universal voting rights for women- this led to the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920. In 1918, Rankin attempted to run for the Senate, but lost the primary. She accepted the nomination of the National Party, and placed third in the general election. During her absence from congress, she bought a farm in Georgia (where she lived most of the time, but still had Montana residence). In 1939, she returned to Montana and decided to run in the 1940 election in an attempt to regain her old seat. She defeated the Nazi-sympathizing incumbent Jacob Thorkelson in the primary (effectively ending his political career), and former Representative Jerry O'Connell in the general election. Because of her pacifist values, she was the only person in either chamber of Congress to vote against declaring war on Japan following the Pearl Harbor attack, and then abstained from voting on declaring war on Germany and Italy. This was met with intense backlash, and she declined to run in 1942. In the 1960s, the second-wave feminist movement emerged, and found Rankin to be an inspiration to them. In 1968, Rankin led a group of 5,000 to the US Capitol, delivering a peace petition in opposition to the Vietnam War. At the age of 91 in 1972, she considered running for Congress again because of her renewed audience, but her health was deteriorating, and she decided against doing so.

Mark Mothersbaugh is 72.

American novelist Herman Wouk died on this day 3 years ago, aged 103. After publishing two novels in the late 1940s to little fanfare, Wouk's first successful book was 1951's The Caine Mutiny. Relying heavily on elements from his service during World War II (which includes serving on a minesweeper boat and enduring Typhoon Ida in the Western Pacific), it was a historical fiction novel about the moral dilemmas naval officers faced during the time. It won the Pulitzer Prize the following year, and was adapted into a film in 1954 starring Humphrey Bogart (it was the second highest-grossing film of the year, behind White Christmas). More of Wouk's movies were adapted into movies, including 1955's Marjorie Morningstar (which drew from his Jewish heritage), starring Natalie Wood. He wrote the screenplay for the 1956 film Slattery's Hurricane. Wouk's career had a revival in the '70s and '80s when he wrote two more historical fiction novels: The Winds of War (1971) and its sequel War and Remembrance (1978)- this time, they focused on a family during the entirety of World War II. These were adapted into TV miniseries in 1983 and 1988, the former of which was viewed by 140 million people- the most viewers of any miniseries at that time. Wouk first appeared on DeathList in 2001, when he was a mere 85 years old. After a nine-year absence, he returned in 2010, then in 2012, and was consecutively on the list from 2015 until his death for a total of eight appearances (three in the top 5). He died ten days before his 104th birthday, and was the third DeathList hit within a week (Doris Day and Bob Hawke were the other two). (this was him at 102- for comparison, the first picture was probably from the 1950s)

Enya is 61.

Jim Henson died on this day 32 years ago, aged 53. Besides the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, you may remember Henson for directing either the cult classic The Dark Crystal (1982) or Labyrinth (1986), the latter of which starred David Bowie. Did you know that Kermit wasn't created for the Muppets? Henson originally created him in 1955 for Sam and Friends, a show Henson created that was locally broadcasted in Washington, DC. A similar-looking and sounding character that Henson created that has erroneously been referred to as a prototype of Kermit was Wilkins, a mascot for the Wilkins Coffee company that Henson made commercials for from 1957 to 1961- Henson would also use them to advertise for other coffee companies in the Washington, DC area, as seen in this compilation below: Henson died of a streptococcus infection. One of his public memorial services in July 1990 featured puppeteer Carroll Spinney as Sesame Street character Big Bird performing his song "(It's Not Easy) Bein' Green":

Beverly Hills, 90210 star Tori Spelling is 49.

Former FLOTUS Louisa Adams died on this day 170 years ago, aged 77. Adams' maiden name was Johnson, and she was born in London. She was the only foreign-born First Lady, until Melania Trump became First Lady in 2017. Louisa first met John Quincy Adams in 1795, while his father (then-VP John Adams) was serving as the consul general (to protect American civilians who were in London at that time). They were married two years later, and Adams and her parents took residence in the United States- she found Massachusetts to be dull compared to her previous homes in London and Paris. They had four children, but only one (Charles) outlived their parents. John Quincy Adams served in a variety of diplomatic positions, and Louisa travelled with him. They moved to Washington D.C., when John Quincy was chosen as President James Monroe's Secretary of State in 1817. John Quincy was elected president in 1824- during her stay in the White House, she tended to be reclusive, but had her hobbies of playing her harp (portrait above) and spinning silk (she kept silkworms as "pets"). The couple moved back to Massachusetts after Andrew Jackson's presidential victory in 1828, but returned in 1831 when John Quincy was elected into the House of Representatives. Following her death from a heart attack, Congress adjourned for a mourning period- this was the first time that the House and the Senate both did so for a woman.