Drewsky1211

Dee Wallace is 75. Most notably played Elliott's mom in ET.

12/13/2023 60 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 48 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York 41 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 40 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 36 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 36 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka 36 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 35 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry 35 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 35 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 34 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 34 Wham! — Last Christmas +1 34 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree +1 33 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 30 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again -5 28 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 23 Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 22 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +2 20 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas +2 19 Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 19 Elton John — Step Into Christmas -4 16 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run

12/13/2023 28 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony 18 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart +2 18 The Cardigans — Lovefool +2 16 Supergrass — Alright / Time 14 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger -2 0 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me -4

Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria died on this day 897 years ago, aged 51. - Henry was the son of Welf I of Bavaria, and would administer his lands south of the Alps. - Henry was a major political figure in early twelfth-century Europe- he was one of the leading nobles who got German king Henry V to meet with Pope Callixtus II to sign the Concordat of Worms in 1122 (ending the lay investiture dispute), and was instrumental in the election of Lothair III (the father of his daughter in-law) as Holy Roman Emperor in 1125. - Family played an important role in Henry's life; he gained an interest in genealogy after his relative Conrad of Constance was made a saint in 1123, and commissioned the Genealogia Welforum to show their relation. - On the topic, Henry's notable descendants include his grandsons Frederick I Barbarossa and Henry XII of Bavaria, his direct descendants of the Hanover dynasty (i.e. King George III and Queen Victoria)- and possibly you if you're of European descent and look that far back in your family tree. - Henry's wife Wulfhilde died a mere sixteen days after he did. Posthumously he was given the epithet "The Black".

DeathList Committee favorite Dick Van Dyke is 98.

12/12/2023 54 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 46 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York 38 Jona Lewie — Stop the Cavalry  37 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 37 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka 36 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 36 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 34 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 34 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again 34 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 34 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 33 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 33 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 32 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 30 Wham! — Last Christmas +1 30 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree +1 29 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas +2 23 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +2 22 Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby  21 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 21 Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 20 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 18 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter 17 Elton John — Step Into Christmas  15 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 13 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End 4 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo -9

12/12/2023 22 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony +1 21 Pulp — Common People -3 21 Supergrass — Alright / Time -2 18 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger -1 17 The Cardigans — Lovefool +1 17 Deee-Lite — Groove is in the Heart +1 15 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 7 Blur — Song 2 +1

Norman Bridwell died on this day 9 years ago, aged 86. - Bridwell started off as a commercial artist, designing neckties and filmstrips. - Bridwell became an author to increase his income- and in 1963 wrote Clifford, The Big Red Dog, which became an instant hit: Clifford's owner Emily Elizabeth was named after Bridwell's own daughter. - From there, Bridwell continued writing Clifford books, writing a total of 80 of them (the final two being released posthumously). It was also adapted into a 2021 film and two TV shows- most notably the PBS series that ran from 2000 to 2003: (Birdwell Island is a subtle reference to Bridwell himself, and was based off of his home of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts)

Dionne Warwick is 83.

(image taken from DeathList's own Encyclopedia Dramatica page)

12/11/2023 52 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 44 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +1 39 Jona Lewie — Stop the Cavalry  39 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 39 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 38 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 37 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year  35 Wham! — Last Christmas +1 34 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again 33 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock +1 33 Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 32 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 32 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride  31 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka 31 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 30 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter 28 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree +1 28 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas +1 25.Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby  24 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +1 24 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday  24 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End 22 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 22 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 20 Elton John — Step Into Christmas -2 16 Kay Starr — (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag -2 16 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo -5 15 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 

12/11/2023 24 Pulp — Common People -2 21 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony +1 20 The Cardigans — Lovefool 20 Supergrass — Alright / Time 19 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 19 Deee-Lite — Groove is in the Heart +2 19 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger -3 18 Blur — Song 2 +1 14 James — Sit Down -1

Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel died on this day 59 years ago, aged 85. - Born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Alma was the daughter of noted painter Emil Schindler. - Like her father, Alma would enter the field of arts, albeit in music instead of painting. She made several lieder: - Alma is more famous for her varied celebrity lovers- she dated figures such as Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoscha, and Alexander von Zemlinsky- but only married three people (think of her as the Elizabeth Taylor of early 20th century Europe). - The first one of her marriages was to Das Lied von der Erde composer Gustav Mahler in 1902, having two daughters with him. Their marriage was unhappy due to Gustav forbidding Alma from composing, and the two would seek therapy from Sigmund Freud. - While married to Mahler, Alma began an affair with Bauhaus leader Walter Gropius. Mahler died in 1911, and Alma married Gropius in 1915; he would be away fighting in World War I for most of their marriage, leaving Alma to seek other relations- with the man who soon became her third husband. - Alma divorced Gropius in 1920, and married The Song of Bernadette author Franz Werfel in 1929. The couple fled Austria to France in 1938, then fleeing again to the US in 1940. The two would remain there until their deaths- Franz in 1945, Alma in 1964. - Upon reading her obituary, Tom Lehrer made a waltz about her life:

"HEY YOU GUYS!" Rita Moreno is 92.

12/10/2023 44 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 42 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter 40 Wham! — Last Christmas 40 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +1 37 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again 37 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride  36 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 36 Bing Crosby — White Christmas 36 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 34 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 33 Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 33 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 32 Jona Lewie — Stop the Cavalry 32 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock +1 31 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 31 Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 30 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas +1 29 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 27 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree +1 26 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End  26 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +1 25 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka +1 22 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 22 Elton John — Step Into Christmas 21 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 20 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo -5 18 Gene Autry — Here Comes Santa Claus 18 Kay Starr — (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag 18 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 13 The Wombles — Wombling Merry Christmas -4 5 Perry Como — It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas I find it funny that the song we're trying to avoid is in the top three right now.

12/10/2023 25 The Cardigans — Lovefool 24 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 24 Pulp — Common People -2 24 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger -2 21 James — Sit Down -2 19 Supergrass — Alright / Time 19 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony +1 17 Blur — Song 2 +1 16 Deee-Lite — Groove is in the Heart +1 15 Natalie Imbruglia — Torn 8 Ace Of Base — The Sign +1

Ed Wood died on this day 45 years ago, aged 54. - Wood entered the film industry in 1947, mostly doing advertisements, and directed a few TV pilots. - One of Wood's childhood film heroes was Bela Lugosi, whom he met in 1952. From there, Wood would begin directing grindhouse movies starring both himself and Lugosi- the first being 1953's Glen or Glenda, considered one of the worst movies ever made. Wood starred as the titular crossdresser (he was also one offscreen, too). - Wood made several more Z-movies over the coming years, which included Jail Bait, Bride of the Monster, and The Violent Years. - Wood's magnum opus is considered to be 1959's Plan 9 From Outer Space, a film where aliens try to start a zombie apocalypse to prevent humanity from making a universe-destroying device. This was Bela Lugosi's final film role (he died 3 years before its release). - Wood would shift to pornographic films- examples include 1965's Orgy of the Dead, 1970's Take It Out in Trade, and 1971's Necromania (those first and last movie titles... yikes... (they're fortunately just horror films with smutty elements)) - Wood also wrote over 80 books- in a similar vein to his movies, these mostly consisted of crime novels and erotica. - Wood died from a heart attack in 1978. Sixteen years later, Tim Burton directed a biopic of him, casting Johnny Depp as Wood, which received two Academy Awards.

Kenneth Branagh is 63.

12/9/2023 46 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 43 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 40 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 38 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter 38 Wham! — Last Christmas 37 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 37 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 35 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again 34 Bing Crosby - White Christmas 35 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry 34 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year +1 34.Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 33 Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 31 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +1 29 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas +1 27 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 27 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 26 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End 26 Perry Como — It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas 26 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree +1 25 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +1 24 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 24 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka +1 23 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo 23 Kay Starr — (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag 22 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 22 Elton John — Step Into Christmas 21 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 21 Gene Autry — Here Comes Santa Claus 18.Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 17 The Wombles — Wombling Merry Christmas -4 13 The Waitresses — Christmas Wrapping  13 Perry Como — Winter Wonderland 12 Chris de Burgh — A Spaceman Came Travelling -5

12/9/2023 33 Pulp — Common People 28 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 27 Natalie Imbruglia — Torn 25 The Cardigans — Lovefool 25 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger 22 Deee-Lite — Groove Is In The Heart +1 20 James — Sit Down -3 18 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony +1 17 Supergrass — Alright / Time -3 16 Fatboy Slim — Right Here, Right Now +1 10 Ace Of Base — The Sign 10 Blur — Song 2 +1 A lot of my favorites are in the bottom half...

King Malcolm IV of Scotland died on this day 858 years ago, aged 24. - Malcolm became the heir apparent to the Scottish throne when his father Henry died when he was 11- and became king the next year after the death of his grandfather David I. - Malcolm would attempt to gain the favor of Henry II of England by having several diplomatic meetings with him (accepting ceding Scottish land in exchange for English land), and would be knighted by him after assisting him in besieging Toulouse in 1159. - Malcolm would then face a rebellion in Moray in 1163, and managed to disperse the revolting populace. - Malcolm reigned for twelve years, but died at a young age from what historians believe was hastened by Paget's disease (a bone disorder). His death at said age led to his epithet "Malcolm the Maiden", or "Malcolm Virgo" (also fitting due to his death as a virgin). His younger brother William I would succeed him as king.

Judi Dench is 89.

12/8/2023 40 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles 39 Kate Bush — December Will Be Magic Again 38 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 38 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 37 Gabriella Cilmi — Warm This Winter 37 Wham! — Last Christmas 37. Eartha Kitt — Santa Baby 37 The Wombles - Wombling Merry Christmas -2 34 Queen — Thank God It’s Christmas 34 The Ronettes — Sleigh Ride 33 Beach Boys — Little Saint Nick 33 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 30 Bing Crosby - White Christmas 28 Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas 27 Bobby Helms — Jingle Bell Rock 26 The Darkness — Don’t Let The Bells End 26 Jona Lewie — Stop The Cavalry 26 Perry Como — It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas 25 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree +1 24 Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) +1 24 Saint Etienne — I Was Born On Christmas Day 24 Ray Conniff — Carol Of The Bells 23 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters — Mele Kalikimaka +1 23 Mike Oldfield — In Dulci Jubilo 23 Kay Starr — (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag 22 Dean Martin — Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 22 Elton John — Step Into Christmas 21 Chuck Berry — Run Rudolph Run 21 The Crystals — Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 21 Gene Autry — Here Comes Santa Claus 21 Bing Crosby & David Bowie — Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy 20 Donny Hathaway — This Christmas 20 The Waitresses — Christmas Wrapping 18 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +3 18 Darlene Love — Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) 14 Destiny’s Child — 8 Days Of Christmas -4 13 Perry Como — Winter Wonderland 11 Chris de Burgh — A Spaceman Came Travelling -2 6 The Eagles — Please Come Home For Christmas -1

12/8/2023 33 Natalie Imbruglia — Torn 32 Pulp — Common People 30 James — Sit Down 25 Kylie Minogue — Confide In Me 25 Madonna — Beautiful Stranger 25 The Cardigans — Lovefool 24 Supergrass — Alright / Time 23 The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony 18 Fatboy Slim — Right Here, Right Now +2 15 Deee-Lite — Groove is in the Heart +2 13 Ace Of Base — The Sign 12 Blur — Song 2 11 DNA ft. Suzanne Vega — Tom's Diner -6

John Lennon died on this day 43 years ago, aged 40. - Lennon's middle name, "Winston", was given to him by his parents because Winston Churchill was PM at the time. - Before The Beatles, Lennon formed his first band when he was 15, called The Quarrymen- named after his high school, Quarry Bank. - Animated versions of Lennon were voiced by John Clive in Yellow Submarine, and Paul Frees in the 1965 cartoon series based on the band. - You may have seen this image of Lennon floating around the Internet: This was taken in 1971 at the Cannes Film Festival- it's believed Lennon was either doing an impression of a cowboy's walk, imitating the "Keep on Truckin'" drawing, or referencing Monty Python's "Ministry of Silly Walks" sketch. - Because of his songs denouncing the Vietnam War (i.e. "Give Peace a Chance" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"), US Senator (and one-time DeathList pick) Strom Thurmond suggested to Richard Nixon that Lennon should be deported from the country. The proceedings would be initiated, but dismissed in 1975. - Many people first learned of Lennon's murder while watching a football game, with Howard Cosell being the one to deliver the news: - "Imagine" had initially peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart in 1975, but topped it in 1981.