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Geoffrey Hughes died on this day 12 years ago, aged 68. - Hughes got his start in acting on West End, performing in productions of The Wizard of Oz and Henry V. - One of Hughes' earliest film roles was voicing Paul McCartney's animated counterpart in Yellow Submarine. Other films he was in included the Till Death Us Do Part movie, and Confessions of a Driving Instructor. - Hughes began portraying Coronation Street's garbageman Eddie Yeats (picture used above) beginning in 1974, appearing in 511 episodes until 1987. He was also well-known for his roles as Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances, Twiggy in The Royle Family, and Vernon Scripps in Heartbeat. - Hughes was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996, and it went into remission- until it relapsed in 2010, and he died after a two-year battle with the disease. His diagnosis led to his only appearance on the DeathList in 2011 (spot 14).

Bobbie Gentry is 82.

7/26/2024 33 Lewis Capaldi — Someone You Loved 32 Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa — One Kiss 30 Lil Nas X — Old Town Road +2 30 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper — Shallow +2 28 Jess Glynne — I’ll Be There 26 Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid — Eastside 26 Ariana Grande — Thank U, Next 24 Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid — Beautiful People 24 Stormzy — Vossi Bop 24 Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello — Señorita 22 Ava Max — Sweet But Psycho 22 Calvin Harris & Sam Smith — Promises 20 Rudimental ft. Jess Glynne, Macklemore & Dan Caplen — These Days 20 Drake — In My Feelings 20 Dave ft. Fredo — Funky Friday 20 Ariana Grande — 7 Rings 20 Ariana Grande — Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored 20 Ed Sheeran ft. Stormzy — Take Me Back To London 20 Demi Lovato ft. Clean Bandit — Solo 16 Drake — Nice For What 14 Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds — Three Lions 11 Drake — God’s Plan 08 Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran — River 08 Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber — I Don’t Care 06 George Ezra — Shotgun -1 0 Lil Dicky ft. Rihanna Beater — Freaky Friday -5

7/26/2024 38 Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time 38 Bronski Beat — Smalltown Boy 35 Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill 34 Nik Kershaw - The Riddle +1 34 Queen - I Want to Break Free +1 33 Ultravox - Dancing with Tears in My Eyes 31 Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey - Together in Electric Dreams  31 Tina Turner - What’s Love Got to Do With It 28 Baltimora— Tarzan Boy 26 Tina Turner - We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) 26 Madonna - Like a Virgin 24 U2 - Pride (In The Name of Love) 21 Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover  20 Dee C. Lee - See the Day  18 Bananarama - Robert De Niro’s Waiting  17 The Commodores - Nightshift  16 Elton John - Nikita  13 Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! -4 12 Madonna - Material Girl +2 9 Colonel Abrams - Trapped -2

Winsor McCay died on this day 90 years ago, aged ~65. - McCay's first name was Zenas, and he went by his middle name. His birth date is unknown, ranging from 1867 to 1871; one birth record says 1867, his gravestone says 1869, and he claimed to have been born in September of 1871. - McCay would work on illustrating advertisements before becoming a comics artist. His first recurring strip was 1904's Mr. Goodenough (about a lazy rich man trying to become more active), with McCay seeing further success with Little Sammy Sneeze (the gag can easily be inferred by the title), which ran in papers from 1904 to 1907. - McCay's comic strips soon turned to fantastical dream settings with 1904's Dream of the Rarebit Fiend (which was his longest-running comic, lasting until 1925), and in 1905 he created his most iconic comic series- Little Nemo in Slumberland: Little Nemo was in instant smash-hit, with an extremely expensive stage musical debuting in 1907. McCay would follow this with a 1911 short film bringing the characters into animation (most of which was him displaying the process): - In 1914, McCay made animation history when he made Gertie the Dinosaur, a vaudeville cartoon that was synced to McCay's commands: Consisting of about 14 minutes of animation, Gertie was the first cartoon to use important animation techniques such as keyframes, tracing paper, and animation loops. - McCay was also known for animating 1918's The Sinking of the Lusitania, one of the few propaganda cartoons to come out of World War I: - McCay died of an embolism in his brain, and his son Bob McCay would end up later reviving the Little Nemo comic. Many of the animation industry's most innovative personalities viewed him as a direct inspiration to their work- such as the Fleischer brothers, Chuck Jones, and (of course) Walt Disney.

Mick Jagger is 81.

7/25/2024 30 Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa — One Kiss 28 Lil Nas X — Old Town Road +2 26 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper — Shallow +2 24 Lewis Capaldi — Someone You Loved 24 Jess Glynne — I’ll Be There 24 Stormzy — Vossi Bop 24 Ariana Grande — Thank U, Next 22 Demi Lovato ft. Clean Bandit — Solo 22 Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid — Eastside 22 Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello — Senorita 20 Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds — Three Lions 20 Drake — God’s Plan 20 Rudimental ft. Jess Glynne, Macklemore & Dan Caplen — These Days 20 Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown — Freaky Friday 20 Drake — Nice For What 20 Drake — In My Feelings 20 Calvin Harris & Sam Smith — Promises 20 Dave ft. Fredo — Funky Friday 20 Ava Max — Sweet But Psycho 20 Ariana Grande — 7 Rings 20 Ariana Grande — Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored 20 Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid — Beautiful People 20 Ed Sheeran ft. Stormzy — Take Me Back To London 16 George Ezra — Shotgun 14 Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran — River 14 Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber — I Don’t Care 02 LadBaby — We Built This City -6 Sausage rolls are a far worse foundation for city buildings than rock and roll, I'm afraid.

7/25/2024 34 Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time 32 Queen - I Want to Break Free +2 31 Nik Kershaw - The Riddle +2 30 Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill 30 Bronski Beat — Smalltown Boy 30 Ultravox - Dancing with Tears in My Eyes 29 Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey - Together in Electric Dreams 26 Tina Turner - What’s Love Got to Do With It 26 Tina Turner - We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) 26 Madonna - Like a Virgin 25 Baltimora— Tarzan Boy 22 U2 - Pride (In The Name of Love) 21 Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover 20 The Commodores - Nightshift 20 Dee C. Lee - See the Day 19 Elton John - Nikita 18 Colonel Abrams - Trapped 17 Bananarama - Robert De Niro’s Waiting 17 Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! 16 Madonna - Material Girl 15 Bronski Beat & Marc Almond - I Feel Love (Medley) 14 Spandau Ballet - Only When You Leave 12 Ashford & Simpson - Solid 06 Jimmy Nail - Love Don’t Live Here Anymore -3 0 UB40 - Don’t Break My Heart -3

Pope Innocent VIII died on this day 532 years ago, aged 60. - Innocent's name before ascending to the papacy was Giovanni Cybo. He was appointed as a bishop in 1467, and as a cardinal in 1473. - After the death of Pope Sixtus IV in 1484, several cardinal electors convinced each other to vote for Innocent to prevent the election of cardinal Marco Barbo (probably due to the Papal States' political strain with Venice). - Innocent spent his early papacy trying to assemble a Crusade against the Ottoman Empire, but failed to do so. Regardless, Ottoman sultan Bayezid II would pay Innocent to keep his brother Cem (claiming to be the true heir to the Ottoman throne) imprisoned- and Innocent would use this to his advantage by threatening to release him (which occurred in 1495, after Innocent's death). - Innocent would issue a papal bull in 1484 condemning the practice of witchcraft, which was written to allow a German inquisitor (named Heinrich Kramer) to take witchcraft investigations into their own hands. Among the things Innocent wrote within the bull was that any cat owner could be identified as a witch, and that the cat was to be burned at the stake with its owner. - Innocent was a slaveowner, having owned 100 Moorish slaves. - Before ascending to the papacy, Innocent had at least seven bastard children (of which two were legitimized). His son Franceschetto married into the powerful Medici family. - Innocent died after an 8-year papacy, and was succeeded by Pope Alexander VI.

Rita Marley (Bob's widow and a reggae musician of her own) is 78.

7/24/2024 (8:29 PM EST) 24 Lil Nas X — Old Town Road +2 22 Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds — Three Lions 22 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper — Shallow +2 21 Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa — One Kiss 21 Demi Lovato ft. Clean Bandit — Solo 21 Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid — Eastside 21 Stormzy — Vossi Bop 20 Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran — River 20 Drake — God’s Plan 20 Rudimental ft. Jess Glynne, Macklemore & Dan Caplen — These Days 20 Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown — Freaky Friday 20 Drake — Nice For What 20 Jess Glynne — I’ll Be There 20 Drake — In My Feelings 20 Calvin Harris & Sam Smith — Promises 20 Dave ft. Fredo — Funky Friday 20 Ariana Grande — Thank U, Next 20 Ladbaby — We Built This City 20 Ava Max — Sweet But Psycho 20 Ariana Grande — 7 Rings 20 Ariana Grande — Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored 20 Lewis Capaldi — Someone You Loved 20 Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber — I Don't Care 20 Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello — Senorita 20 Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid — Beautiful People 20 Ed Sheeran ft. Stormzy — Take Me Back To London 14 Ladbaby — I Love Sausage Rolls -6 14 George Ezra — Shotgun 14 Tones And I — Dance Monkey

7/24/2024 92 Harry Styles — Sign Of The Times 63 Clean Bandit ft. Zara Larsson — Symphony 53 Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug — Havana +4 22 Dua Lipa — New Rules -6

7/24/2024 32 Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy 29 Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time 29 Ultravox - Dancing with Tears in My Eyes 28 Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill 26 Nik Kershaw - The Riddle +2 25 Queen - I Want to Break Free +2 25 Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey - Together in Electric Dreams 25 Baltimora - Tarzan Boy 24 Madonna - Like a Virgin 24 Tina Turner - What’s Love Got to Do With It 23 U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love) 23 Tina Turner - We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) 21 Bronski Beat & Marc Almond - I Feel Love (Medley) 21 Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover 20 Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! 20 The Commodores - Nightshift 20 Dee C. Lee - See the Day 19 Elton John - Nikita 19 Colonel Abrams - Trapped 18 Bananarama - Robert De Niro’s Waiting 18 Ashford & Simpson - Solid 18 Spandau Ballet - Only When You Leave 16 Madonna - Material Girl 14 Jimmy Nail - Love Don’t Live Here Anymore 12 UB40 - Don’t Break My Heart 10 Red Box - Lean On Me (Ah-Li-Ayo) -3 9 Status Quo - Marguerita Time -3

Alex "Hurricane" Higgins died on this day 14 years ago, aged 61. - Higgins joined a snooker league at his local YMCA in 1967, and from there would compete in amateur tournaments. He would go professional in 1971, and would win the 1972 World Snooker Championship- his first time competing in said competition, beating notable opponents such as John Spencer, John Pulman, and Rex Williams. At 23, he was the youngest winner (until Stephen Hendry won the 1990 tournament at the age of 21). - Higgins would win a second World Snooker Champion title in 1982, and would win the Masters tournament in 1978 and 1981. At the 1990 World Championship, Higgins got drunk on vodka after losing and would insult other players, and punched an official, leading to him being banned for the 1991 Tournament. - Outside of snooker, Higgins was known for recording a version of "Wild Thing" with The Troggs in 1992 (alongside his good friend, the actor Oliver Reed): - Higgins was a severe smoker, reportedly smoking 80 cigarettes a day. He was diagnosed with mouth cancer in both 1994 and 1996, and throat cancer in 1998; the radiation therapy used to treat the throat cancer caused him to lose all his teeth. He would continue to abuse nicotine and alcohol until he died of malnutrition, weighing only 90 lbs (41 kg) at the time of his death. He had also become penniless due to his expensive treatment and addiction. - Higgins appeared on the DeathList once, in 2002 at spot number 30 (his age was erroneously stated to be 54 instead of 53).

Lynda Carter is 73.

7/23/2024 25 Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill +4 25 U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love) 25 Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy 24 Baltimora - Tarzan Boy 23 Queen - I Want to Break Free +2 22 Nik Kershaw - The Riddle +2 22 Ultravox - Dancing with Tears in My Eyes 22 Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey - Together in Electric Dreams 22 Elton John - Nikita 21 Bronski Beat & Marc Almond - I Feel Love (Medley) 21 Colonel Abrams - Trapped 21 Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover 21 Tina Turner - What’s Love Got to Do With It 21 Madonna - Like a Virgin 21 Tina Turner - We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) 20 Status Quo - Marguerita Time 20 Joe Fagin - That’s Livin’ Alright 20 Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! 20 Bananarama - Robert De Niro’s Waiting 20 Spandau Ballet - Only When You Leave 20 Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time 20 Ashford & Simpson - Solid 20 The Commodores - Nightshift 20 Madonna - Material Girl 20 Jimmy Nail - Love Don’t Live Here Anymore 20 UB40 - Don’t Break My Heart 20 Dee C. Lee - See the Day 14 Red Box - Lean On Me (Ah-Li-Ayo) -6 14 Break Machine - Street Dance The Gigi D'Agostino version of The Riddle remains stuck in my head:

7/23/2024 94 Harry Styles — Sign Of The Times 64 Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug — Havana +4 60 Clean Bandit ft. Zara Larsson — Symphony 25 Clean Bandit — Rockabye -6 23 Dua Lipa — New Rules 02 Mike Posner — I Took A Pill In Ibiza

7/23/2024 71 Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 64 Tears for Fears - Mad World 60 Yazoo - Don't Go 55 The J. Geils Band - Centerfold +4 42 Eurythmics - Who’s That Girl? 15 Pigbag - Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag 11 Yazoo - Nobody’s Diary -6

Ulysses S. Grant died on this day 139 years ago, aged 63. - Grant's full name was Hiram Ulysses Grant- he started going by his middle name in college because he believed the fact his initials spelt the word 'hug' would get him bullied. While some thought the 'S' stood for "Simpson" (his mother Hannah's maiden name), it is believed it actually stood for nothing at all (similar to future fellow US president Harry S. Truman). - Before fighting in the Civil War, Grant was a veteran of the Mexican-American war, serving under Zachary Taylor. Grant was initially criticized for the high amount of casualties his unit suffered in the Battle of Shiloh, but it was the Vicksburg campaign that cut the Confederates from the Mississippi River that caused him to quickly rise through the ranks and become a hero. Ironically, Grant was squeamish at the sight of blood (and would also have meaty food served to him charred because of this). After the war's end, Grant and his wife Julia were invited by President Lincoln to accompany him to Ford's Theatre, but he (unknowingly luckily) declined because they wanted to return to their home in New Jersey. - Grant ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1868 and was unanimously named the candidate at the convention, and would win the election 214-80 in the Electoral College (this was the first election African-American men were allowed to vote in). - Grant was known for his support of civil rights (such as advocating the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment protecting African-American voters, increased prosecution of KKK members, and his support of American Jews), but his cabinet has been regarded by historians as one of the most corrupt in American history (most notably the Whiskey Ring scandal of 1875). - Grant was initially the Republican frontrunner for the 1880 election, but unexpectedly lost to James Garfield at the convention's 36th ballot. - Grant was largely bankrupt during his last years, and his autobiography (published with the help of his friend Mark Twain) would not become a bestseller until after his death (Julia Grant, however, would see profits later on, until her death in 1902). - Grant was a chronic smoker and would be diagnosed with throat cancer in October of 1884, dying after a nine month battle. Below is his last photo: Grant's tomb became a staple of popular culture in the 1950s as Groucho Marx often asked contestants on You Bet Your Life "who is buried in Grant's Tomb?'- both Ulysses and Julia Grant are interred in aboveground sarcophagi.

Woody Harrelson is 63.

7/22/2024 82 Harry Styles — Sign Of The Times 64 Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug — Havana +1 54 Clean Bandit ft. Zara Larsson — Symphony 37 Clean Bandit — Rockabye 25 Dua Lipa — New Rules 19 Mike Posner — I Took A Pill In Ibiza +2 15 The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey — Closer +1 0 Calvin Harris ft. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean — Feels Bad Man -6

7/22/2024 66 Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 64 Tears for Fears - Mad World 50 The J. Geils Band - Centerfold +4 47 Yazoo - Don't Go 40 Eurythmics - Who’s That Girl? 29 Pigbag - Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag 23 Yazoo - Nobody’s Diary 13 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence 10 The Beat - Can’t Get Used to Losing You -6

Estelle Getty died on this day 16 years ago, aged 84. - Getty's last name was actually 'Gettleman'. Her first experience with acting was when her father took her to see a vaudeville show, and from that day she desired to become an actress. - Getty would get minor roles in theatrical productions, before her breakout hit came in 1982 as Mrs. Beckoff in the Broadway version of Torch Song Trilogy. - Soon after, Getty would be cast as Sophia in The Golden Girls- she had to don makeup to make herself look much older; she was a year younger than co-stars Betty White and Bea Arthur (who portrayed Dorothy, her daughter), and Sophia was 80 years old in the show- Getty was only 63 when the show began in 1985. - Among Getty's film roles were as Evelyn in 1985's Mask, Estelle in the first Stuart Little movie (in 1999), and more notably as the titular mother Tutti in the critically-panned 1992 film Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot: Getty would win the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress in 1993 for this role. - Getty died 3 days before her 85th birthday due to Lewy body dementia. She was also known to have had a multitude of health issues (such as osteoporosis and possibly Parkinson's disease).

Albert Brooks is 77.