Drewsky1211

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more Disney films- these included Dumbo (for the famous pink elephant sequence), Peter Pan (as the singing pirates and outdated Native American caricatures), and Lady and the Tramp (as a group of singing dogs at the pound).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.

Chazz Palminteri is 70. (This image is his role in the 2012 film The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, a film that holds the record for the worst wide opening for a film being screened in 2,000 theaters)

That's life for Frank Sinatra on this day 24 years ago, aged 82. Sinatra needs no introduction- he was one of the most famous singers ever. I'll just skip to his final years. Sinatra suffered from many ailments in the 1990s- ranging from high blood pressure to breathing difficulties to bladder cancer, leading to many hospitalizations. In 1997, a heart attack forced him to retire from making public appearances. Two more heart attacks were what "shot him down" in May 1998. Sinatra was also frequently included on the DeathList. He debuted in 1990 and made six appearances in total. He was the fourth death of 1998- coincidentally, he was fourth place on the list. I'm also going to add that the committee thought he was turning 79 in 1998 (he would've been 83 that December).

David Byrne is 70.

Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt died on this day 403 years ago, aged 71. In 1586, Oldenbarnevelt became the Land's Advocate of Holland- in layman's terms, the most powerful politician in the country. Oldenbarnevelt was also a diplomat, visiting France and England. In 1602, he founded the Dutch East India Company, a company whose purpose was to monopolize the spice trade in what is now Indonesia. In 1609, Oldenbarnevelt led the negotiations that resulted in the Twelve Years' Truce between Holland and Spain, which declared a period of ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War (in which Holland was trying to gain independence from Habsburg Spain). During this time, two religious factions arose in Holland: the Calvinist majority, and the Remonstrants, who rejected Calvinism- Oldenbarnevelt sided with the Remonstrants. This led to religious persecution and riots, and Oldenbarnevelt suggested that Holland should raise their own militia to keep peace. The States General saw this as the two states that comprised that region as declaring sovereign independence, and Prince Maurice of Orange sent his army to prevent this. Oldenbarnevelt and several other leaders were arrested. In a kangaroo court trial (with a jury comprising of personal and political enemies), Oldenbarnevelt was found guilty of treason and beheaded. Following this, his sons Reinier and Willem conspired to assassinate Maurice, but the plot was uncovered in 1623. Reinier was captured and beheaded as well, while Willem fled to Spanish-occupied Belgium with his son Pieter, began using the surname "van Stoutenberg" to disassociate himself from the family, converted to Catholicism, and lived there until his death in 1638 (Pieter would emigrate to New Amsterdam immediately after). (Interesting side note: Oldenbarnevelt is one of my ancestors- specifically, one of my thousands of 12x-great grandparents.)

Stevie Wonder is 72.

Pope Sylvester II died on this day 1019 years ago, aged 57. Sylvester's name at birth was Gerbert, and became a monk in 963. Under the tutelage of Borrell II, Count of Barcelona (who took him from his native France to Spain), Gerbert studied mathematics and astronomy, and reintroduced the abacus and armillary sphere to Europe thanks to his interaction with Moorish scholars. The invention of the first fully mechanical clock is also attributed to him, which he did in 996. Historians consider him to be one of the greatest scientists of the Early Middle Ages. Gerbert was elected into the clergy in 991. Upon the death of Pope Gregory V in 999, Gerbert was elected pope, and took the papal name Sylvester II. His papacy is most noted for a) transcending two millennia (a feat that Pope John Paul II would also accomplish in 2000), and b) a nobles' revolt in Rome in 1001 that forced him to flee to Ravenna. There are several legends regarding Sylvester. One accuses him of being a sorcerer, stealing a book of spells from a Muslim scholar while in Spain. Another legend says that Sylvester built a brazen head (essentially, a robot that is programmed to answer any question) that told him that the Devil would come for him if he held a mass in Jerusalem. Sylvester allegedly cancelled a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, held mass at the "Holy Cross of Jerusalem" church in Rome, and soon became sick and died. Another ending to the story is that the Devil attacked Sylvester while he read the mass and gouged out his eyes. Sylvester repented by cutting off his hand and tongue- these stories are obviously fictitious.

Tony Hawk is 54.

Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated on this day 210 years ago, aged 49. Perceval was elected into Parliament in 1796, and quickly rose through the ranks- he became Attorney General in 1802, and the leader of the House of Commons in 1807. He became Prime Minister in 1809. During his administration, King George III's health was in decline- he was blinded by cataracts, and suffered from depression following the death of his daughter Amelia. Initially reluctant to do so due to political reasons, Perceval passed the Regency Act of 1811, in which the Prince of Wales (later King George IV) would step up as prince regent. On the evening of May 11, 1812, Perceval entered the House of Commons as usual- when a man approached him and shot him in the chest. Perceval died within minutes. The assassin, John Bellingham, was a merchant who believed he was wronged by the government, due to the government not offering him financial compensation for being wrongly imprisoned in Russia (Bellingham is also a first cousin many times removed of current MP Henry Bellingham). Bellingham was tried, found guilty, and hanged a week after he killed Perceval. Perceval is (so far) the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated.

Kardinal Offishall is 46.

Shel Silverstein died on this day 23 years ago, aged 68. Silverstein first illustrated for newspapers. In 1957, he became a cartoonist for Playboy, and became friends with its founder, Hugh Hefner. Silverstein soon began writing songs, including some for Johnny Cash. These included the novelty song "Boa Constrictor" (a song about the singer being swallowed by a snake, mentioning which body part the snake is up to- which would later appear as a poem in his poetry collection Where the Sidewalk Ends), and the much more well-known (and serious) "A Boy Named Sue": Silverstein is probably best known for his children's books, the most notable of which is 1964's The Giving Tree- a book about a tree giving its fruit, leaves, and wood away to a man over the span of many years. His poetry collections (particularly Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic) are also quite notable.