Drewsky1211

Roy O. Disney died on this day 52 years ago, aged 78. - Roy was Walt's older brother, and before joining his studio when it was founded in 1923, worked as a bank clerk and served in the Navy during World War I. - Roy was primarily the one who ran the business aspects of the Walt Disney Corporation. He became its first CEO in 1929, albeit he was only officially given the title in 1966 upon Walt's death. - While Roy was not very active in the movie department, he was instrumental during the construction of Walt Disney World- he oversaw its building plans, emphasized Epcot's significance to the park, and managed to get the Reedy Creek Improvement Act passed to circumvent state land use laws (repealed in 2022). - The park would open in October of 1971- but Roy died just two months later due to a stroke.

Jonah Hill is 40.

Well if you want it, then here.

Alois Alzheimer died on this day 108 years ago, aged 51. - Alzheimer graduated from the University of Wurzburg in 1887 with a doctorate in Medicine, and soon became a worker at Frankfurt's insane asylum. - Alzheimer would grow close to Emil Krapelin, another doctor researching patients' disorders, and the two would form a partnership to investigate their causes. - In 1901, Alzheimer recorded the symptoms of a patient named Auguste Deter- a 51 year old woman suffering from short term memory loss. After Deter died in 1906, Alzheimer autopsied her brain and found anomalies within it- things such as neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques. He had discovered a disease that would be named after him- dementia Alzheimer's disease. - Alzheimer would not succumb to his own discovery- rather it was heart failure that did him in.

Limahl is 65.

12/19/2023 43 Jimmy Dean — Big Bad John 41 The Drifters — Save The Last Dance For Me +4 32 John Leyton — Wild Wind 23 Bobby Darin — Lazy River 20 Billy Fury — Jealousy -3 9 Duane Eddy & The Rebels — Because They’re Young -3

12/19/2023 27 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day 24 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +4 22 Greg Lake — I Believe in Father Christmas  15 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles -6 11 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree Damn power outage made me lose a day's vote... Also my asshole brother purposely Whammed me today in the car.

Ronnie Biggs died on this day 10 years ago, aged 84. - Biggs was an RAF officer who was dishonorably discharged in 1949 for breaking into a chemist's shop. He would begin a life of crime from there, stealing a car and robbing a book depository. - Working as a carpenter, Biggs was short on money in 1963, Biggs was among the masterminds of the Great Train Robbery (alongside Bruce Reynolds, whom he befriended in prison). Out of the £2.6M looted, Biggs received £147,000 (5.6% of the share). - Biggs would be sentenced to 30 years imprisonment- he only served 15 months before managing to escape, fleeing to Belgium. He met up with his family in Paris, and they would go to Australia from there. Biggs then fled to Brazil in 1969 as Interpol was closing in on him. - Biggs would make money by hosting barbecues. He was not arrested due to Brazil not having an extradition treaty to the UK, and would even manage to collaborate with the Sex Pistols: Due to his long stay in Brazil, he was often jokingly called a British ambassador. - Biggs would be kidnapped by British mercenaries in 1981 who were seeking his cash bounty, and taken to Barbados. The kidnappers' boat broke down offshore, and the Barbadian Coast Guard would send Biggs back to Brazil- the country also did not have an extradition treaty with the UK. - Biggs decided to return to the UK in 2001, and was arrested and re-imprisoned upon arrival. His health would decline, and he would be released on compassionate grounds after several strokes in 2009. - After release, Biggs became known for wearing a signature skull-and-crossbones scarf- which he started wearing after finding out about his presence on the list: Biggs had debuted on the DeathList in 2000, and made a total of 13 appearances (2001 being the only absence between debut and death), 10 of which within the top 5 (4 at no.1). As seen in the picture above, he bought several pieces of DL merch. He is the only person to have been on the DeathList to publicly acknowledge that fact... so far.

The indestructible Keith Richards is (somehow) 80.

12/17/2023 33 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York 30 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 25 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year +1 22 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 19 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day 18 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles -3 13 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 12 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 8 Wham! — Last Christmas +3 0 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again -3

12/17/2023 35 Jimmy Dean — Big Bad John 33 Ricky Nelson — Hello Mary Lou / Travellin’ Man 32 The Drifters — Save The Last Dance For Me 28 The Allisons — Are You Sure 28 John Leyton — Wild Wind 27 Percy Faith — Theme From ‘A Summer Place’ +4 21 Duane Eddy & The Rebels — Because They’re Young 18 Bobby Darin — Lazy River 16 Billy Fury — Jealousy 6 Duane Eddy & The Rebels — Pepe -6

Kim Jong-il died on this day 12 years ago, aged 70. - Kim was born in far east Russia; his Russian name was "Yuri Kim". - Kim became the Supreme Leader of North Korea upon his father's (Kim Il-sung) death in 1994. His rule was known for economic ineptitude which exacerbated a famine caused by North Korea being unable to sustain its industry (some claim Kim deliberately prolonged it). - Like the rest of his family, North Koreans are fed propaganda that made him seem to be a figure of myth. Among these "legends" include that he did not need to pee or poop, his fashion style was popular around the world, and that he was the inventor of the hamburger. - Kim Jong-il was known to enjoy films such as the James Bond franchise, and had over 20,000 VHSs and DVDs. One film he did not enjoy was 2004's Team America: World Police, where he was the main villain: He would try convincing the Czech Republic government (of all countries) to ban screening of the film in their country- which they refused. - Kim reportedly suffered two strokes in 2008 that left him incapacitated for months. Kim died while on his private train; state propaganda claimed a blizzard paused, ice on a frozen lake loudly shattered, and the sky ove Mount Paektu (a holy site for North Koreans) turned red at his moment of death. State media did not officially confirm his death for two days. - Kim appeared on three consecutive DeathLists until his death (2009-2011), and was the seventh and final death of the 2011 list.

Bill Pullman is 70.

12/16/2023 23 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year +1 23 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +1 21 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again 21 Wham! — Last Christmas +1 21 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree +1 20 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 18 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 18 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 16 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 15 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles -3 14 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day 14 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry -3

12/16/2023 37 Jimmy Dean — Big Bad John  37 Percy Faith — Theme From ‘A Summer Place’ +4 30 The Drifters — Save The Last Dance For Me 29 Ricky Nelson — Hello Mary Lou / Travellin’ Man 27 The Allisons — Are You Sure 25 John Leyton — Wild Wind 21 Duane Eddy & The Rebels — Because They’re Young 18 Bobby Darin — Lazy River 16 Billy Fury — Jealousy 14 Cliff Richard & The Shadows — A Voice In The Wilderness 12 Duane Eddy & The Rebels — Pepe -3 10 Johnny Preston — Cradle Of Love -3

Pepin of Herstal died on this day 1309 years ago, aged 79. - Pepin was named after his maternal grandfather (Pepin of Landen), and became the mayor of the palace of Austrasia- effectively king Theuderic III's greatest advisor- in 680. He would earn this title at the rest of Theuderic's palaces in Neustria and Burgundy in 687. - From there, Pepin had consolidated his power, and began calling himself the "Duke and Prince of the Franks". The established Merovingian dynasty had less power than Pepin had, making him the de facto ruler of the Frankish Empire. - Pepin would lead Frankish troops against those of the Alemanni, Franconians, and most notably the Frisians (a movie about the Frisian king Redbad was made in 2018 with Pepin as the film's antagonist), subjugating their lands into the Frankish Empire; this was largely done to come into control of water trade routes between the Rhine River and North Sea. - Pepin's bastard son was Battle of Tours victor Charles Martel- and in turn his great-grandson was Charlemagne. - A civil war began after Pepin's death due to his legitimate grandson Theudoald fighting against Charles Martel for succession.

Quentin Blake, illustrator of many Roald Dahl books, is 91.

12/15/2023 55 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York 54 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 51 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year +2 50 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 49 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 48 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 46 Wizzard — I Wish it could be Christmas Every Day 39 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 39 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 36 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock  25 Jona Lewie — Stop the Cavalry -5 23 Wham! — Last Christmas +2 18 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again -4 15 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +2

12/15/2023 32 Percy Faith — Theme From ‘A Summer Place’ +4 24 Jimmy Dean — Big Bad John 22 Bobby Darin — Lazy River 22 Ricky Nelson — Hello Mary Lou / Travellin’ Man 22 The Allisons — Are You Sure 21 Duane Eddy & The Rebels — Because They’re Young 20 Cliff Richard & The Shadows — Fall In Love With You 20 Adam Faith — Someone Else’s Baby 20 Johnny Preston — Cradle Of Love 20 Billy Fury — Jealousy 20 John Leyton — Wild Wind 19 Duane Eddy & The Rebels — Pepe -1 18 Elvis Presley — A Mess Of Blues 18 Cliff Richard & The Shadows — Voice In The Wilderness 17 The Drifters — Save The Last Dance For Me 11 Connie Francis — Mama / Robot Man -3 0 Shirley Bassey — As Long As He Needs Me -2 Unfamiliar with all of these songs except the Summer Place Theme:

12/15/2023 18 The Cardigans — Lovefool -6 7 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony +2 7 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart +2

Ottoman sultan Selim II died on this day 449 years ago, aged 50. - Selim was the fourth son of Suleiman the Magnificent- one of his older brothers died of smallpox, and two others were killed on order of their father for rebelling against him. When Selim acceded to the Ottoman throne in 1566, the empire was it its greatest territorial extent. - Selim was mostly known for participating in state affairs- he ended the Austrian Turkish War in 1568 (Austrian emperor Maximilian II agreed to pay Selim 30,000 ducats and cede control of Wallachia and Moldavia), and attempted to build a canal between the Volga and Don Rivers to prevent Russian expansion. - Selim was known to prefer staying in his palace, often having poets, musicians, and philosophers directly meet him there. He was also known for his generosity, donating food to the citizens of Constantinople during a famine in 1573. - Selim reportedly died from blunt force trauma after falling while drunk, after an eight-year reign. His son Murad III then became sultan.

Cindy Birdsong (of The Supremes) is 84.

12/14/2023 55 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 55 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +1 43 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 43 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 42 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 41 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 40 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 39 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 39 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 38 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 34 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry -5 32 Wham! — Last Christmas +2 31 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again -4 27 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka 25 Queen — Thank God it’s Christmas 18 Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 13 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +3

12/14/2023 26 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony +2 16 The Cardigans — Lovefool -6 12 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart +2

Peter O'Toole died on this day 10 years ago, aged 81. - O'Toole began on stage before becoming a TV actor in 1954, with his first film role being Robin MacGregor in the 1960 film Kidnapped. - O'Toole exploded in popularity almost immediately once cast as the titular Lawrence of Arabia (arguably his most well-known role), having been cast after the movie's producer saw his acting in The Day They Robbed the Bank of England. He would be nominated for Best Actor for this at the 1963 Academy Awards. - O'Toole would be nominated for the same award seven more times over the next 42 years- after Lawrence of Arabia, he was nominated for his roles in Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man, My Favorite Year, and Venus. He never won, but was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2002. - O'Toole would occasionally voice act, starring in a series of animated Sherlock Holmes TV movies in the 1980s, the 1990 film The Nutcracker Prince, and most notably Anton Ego in Pixar's Ratatouille: - O'Toole was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the 1976, having a large portion of it and his pancreas removed- resulting in him being dependent on insulin for the rest of his life. The stomach cancer returned in 2012, causing him to retire from acting. O'Toole made only one appearance on the DeathList, in 2013- the 11th death (of 13) that year.