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Pope Benedict VIII died on this day (exactly) 1000 years ago, aged 44. - Benedict's birth name was Theophylact, and he was the son of the count of Tusculum (Gregory I). - Benedict became pope in 1012 following the death of Pope Sergius IV. He would be contested by Antipope Gregory VI, forcing him to flee Rome before the forces of Henry II (the Holy Roman Emperor) intervened. - During his pontificate, Italy's coast (and Sardinia) would be attacked by Moorish troops. At this time, Normans began to settle in northwestern Italy, and so Benedict would form an alliance with them, and they would assist in a battle against them on Sardinia in 1016. - Benedict's church reforms included condemning simony in a 1022 synod, and wrestling influence in the church away from the Byzantines. - Benedict died after a 12-year papacy, and was succeeded by Pope John XIX- who was his brother, Romanus. The two were also related to other popes- Benedict IX was their nephew, John XII was their uncle, John XI was their great-uncle, and Benedict VII was a first cousin once removed.

Tom Lehrer is 96.

4/8/2024 64 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape 63 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 53 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 49 Kate Nash — Foundations 43 The Killers — When You Were Young 43 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah +1 40 Corinne Bailey Rae — Put Your Records On 20 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me -3 12 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder +3 5 Embrace — Nature’s Law -3

Rick May died on this day 4 years ago, aged 79. - May was a theater and movie actor, having had minor roles in films such as American Graffiti and theatrical productions such as Fiddler on the Roof and Death of a Salesman. - However, May was much more famous for his voice acting- particularly in video games. The first gaming role he did was for Star Fox 64 in 1997, voicing both the main antagonist Andross, and Fox's commander Peppy Hare: - May's most famous role, however, was providing the voice lines for the Soldier in Team Fortress 2, and voiced him in a promotional video that added some character to the class: (He also had a prominent role in the Meet the Spy video.) Because of his role as the Soldier- and Team Fortress 2 being the only live service game he did- several in-game memorial services would be held for him: on the day of his death, players would stop fighting each other to mourn him, and a 21-gun salute event was held on the "2Fort" map. Valve would also add a Soldier statue to every map in a patch, where they remained for a month (except for the "Granary" map, where it remains permanently due to it being the setting for the above video): These statues have reappeared in the game every April 8th.

John Schneider is 64.

4/7/2024 66 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape +1 64 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 47 Kate Nash — Foundations 45 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 42 The Killers — When You We’re Young 41 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah +1 37 Corinne Bailey Ray — Put Your Records On 29 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me 27 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder +2 16 Embrace — Nature’s Law -6 15 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California 07 Avril Lavigne — Girlfriend

Stan Freberg died on this day 9 years ago, aged 88. - Freberg started out as a voice actor, with his first notable role being in Looney Tunes beginning in 1947. His most notable voices were Hubie and Bertie the mice, Chester the terrier, and Bugs Bunny adversary Pete Puma: Freberg also lent his voice to Disney, and he voiced Mr. Busy the beaver in Lady and the Tramp and the titular character's sole line in Lambert the Sheepish Lion. - Freberg was also a successful novelty artist in the 1950s, with his most notable song being 1953's chart-topping "Saint George and the Dragonet"- which combined the story with the radio show Dragnet: Freberg would also add comedic effects to popular songs of the decade, such as mumbling The Chords' "Sh-Boom" (in the style of Marlon Brando), adding an echo effect to Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel", and complaints during the production of Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song". - Freberg had another hit in 1958 with his Christmas song "Green Chri$tma$", a criticism of the commercialization of the holiday: - In 1957, Freberg got his own radio show (The Stan Freberg Show), where he would often have political satire sketches. These included portraying the USA and USSR as casinos (named after Sodom and Gomorrah) in a Las Vegas expy where they are both destroyed by a hydrogen bomb (called a tourist attraction), and criticizing McCarthyism by replacing Little Red Riding Hood with Little Blue Riding Hood. - In later years, Freberg got into the advertising business, starting his own agency and injecting comedy into his clients' commercials. He would also occasionally appear in them, such as for Encyclopedia Britannica (along with his son Donovan): - Freberg's later acting career included characters in The Weird Al Show (Weird Al cited Freberg as a heavy influence on his works) and The Garfield Show.

Jackie Chan is 70.

4/6/2024 61 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape +1 60 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 43 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 41 Kate Nash — Foundations 40 The Killers — When You Were Young 37 Corinne Bailey Rae — Put Your Records On 35 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah +1 32 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder +2 32 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me 31 Embrace — Nature’s Law 17 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California 16 Fall Out Boy — This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race 11 The White Stripes — Icky Thump -2 6 Booty Luv — Boogie 2Nite -4 6 Avril Lavigne — Girlfriend

Mickey Rooney died on this day 10 years ago, aged 93. - Rooney's real name was Joseph Yule- he was a nepo baby, as his dad Joe Yule was a vaudeville actor. - Rooney was quick to become a child star, and in 1927 got the role of the titular character of the Mickey McGuire short films. During this time, he also briefly voiced Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (which had been taken from Walt Disney at the time). - Rooney's friendship with Judy Garland was well-publicized, and their 1939 film Babes in Arms got him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. - Rooney served in World War II as an entertainer for troops, and earned several medals from the Army. By the time he returned, he was no longer a teenage heartthrob and caused his career to decline- but he would eventually make a comeback. - Among Rooney's most famous roles were Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's (...a racially-charged character to say the least), Ding Bell in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Lampie in the 1977 version of Pete's Dragon, and Henry in The Black Stallion. Rooney was nominated for four Oscars (winning none but earning an honorary one) and five Emmys (winning one). - Rooney would also delve into voice acting, most notably as adult Tod in The Fox and the Hound, Santa Claus in both of Rankin-Bass' Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and The Year Without a Santa Claus, and as himself in the season 7 Simpsons episode "Radioactive Man": - Rooney appeared on the DeathList eight times between 1997 and 2014, and was the second death (of 10 that year) on the list when he died.

Billy Dee Williams is 87.

4/5/2024 56 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 56 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape +1 39 Corinne Bailey Rae — Put Your Records On 36 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah +1 36 Kate Nash — Foundations 35 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 34 Embrace — Nature’s Law 32 The White Stripes — Icky Thump 31 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me 30 The Killers — When You Were Young  26 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder +2 24 Booty Luv — Boogie 2Nite  19 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California 16 Fall Out Boy — This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race 12 Christina Aguilera — Ain’t No Other Man 09 Mary J. Blige & U2 — One 09 Arctic Monkeys — Brianstorm 08 Avril Lavigne — Girlfriend 0 U2 & Green Day — The Saints Are Coming -6

Kurt Cobain died on this day 30 years ago, aged 27. - As a child, Cobain's influences included The Beatles, ELO, and The Monkees- a surprising contrast to the grunge genre he ended up pioneering. When he grew older, he got into rock bands such as Queen, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. Cobain also obviously was a fan of David Bowie: - Cobain's first band was formed in 1985 after he dropped out of high school- it was named "Fecal Matter". - Nirvana would be formed in 1987, but it had several different names beforehand- these were "Skid Row", "Pen Cap Chew", "Bliss", and "Ted Ed Fred". - Despite Nevermind topping Billboard's Hot 200 albums chart in January of 1992, it wouldn't be until April of that year that Cobain believed he made it as a band- with the release of Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana": A young Tony Hawk is one of the extras in the music video- his son is married to Cobain's daughter. - While not performing music, Cobain was often espousing his liberal activist views, particularly bringing up his support of gay rights and abortion often. He would receive a death threat once due to his opinion on the latter. - Cobain had a drug abuse problem, and he particularly took marijuana, LSD, and especially heroin, the latter of which caused a near-fatal overdose in 1992. - Cobain's suicide made him a member of the infamous "27 Club", and just before his death there had been rumors that Nirvana would break up, which it officially did following this. - Cobain's hometown of Aberdeen, Washington has since adopted one of his band's song's titles as their motto:

Pharrell Williams is 51.

4/4/2024 53 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape 50 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 35 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 34 Kate Nash — Foundations 33 Corinne Bailey Rae — Put Your Records On 32 Embrace — Nature’s Law 31 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah +1 28 The White Stripes — Icky Thump 28 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me 27 The Killers — When You Were Young 26 Booty Luv — Boogie 2Nite 24 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder +1 21 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California 20 Avril Lavigne — Girlfriend 19 Fall Out Boy — This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race 18 Arctic Monkeys — Brianstorm  17 Mary J. Blige & U2 — One 14 Christina Aguilera — Ain’t No Other Man 13 Rihanna — SOS +2 11 U2 & Green Day — The Saints Are Coming -3 8 Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand — Let Me Think About It -3

Pope Formosus died on this day 1128 years ago, aged 80. - Formosus was appointed as a cardinal in 864, and acted as the Catholic Church's diplomat to France. - Formosus became pope in a unanimous vote following the death of Pope Stephen V in 891. Once again he greatly acted in foreign affairs, particularly France's succession crisis between king claimants Charles III and Odo, and dealing with Abbasid troops raiding the coasts of Lazio. - Formosus was distrustful of king Guy of Spoleto, and would request duke Arnulf of Carinthia to oust him. Arnulf would arrive in Rome the following year and be crowned by Formosus- and this would lead to what Formosus is most famous for. - After Formosus died in 896, Pope Stephen VI (who succeeded the very short-reigned Pope Boniface VI) would posthumously put Formosus on trial in January of 897; Stephen was a supporter of Guy's son Lambert. Formosus' body would be exhumed and put on a chair, where a deacon would "answer" for him: This event has become known as the "Cadaver Synod". Formosus was found guilty and his body would be thrown into the Tiber River, but after it washed ashore, rumors spread that it was performing miracles. This led to a riot that led to Stephen's downfall, and Pope Theodore II would pardon Formosus later that year. Theodore's successor John IX would issue a decree that a corpse could not be put on trial, but Formosus' guilty verdict would be reinstated by Pope Sergius III (who was a judge in the original trial).

Craig T. Nelson is 80. Best known to me as the voice of Mr. Incredible.

4/3/2024 49 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape 42 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 35 Kate Nash — Foundations 34 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah +1 33 Corinne Bailey Rae — Put Your Records On 33 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 30 Embrace — Nature’s Law 29 The Killers — When You Were Young 28 The White Stripes — Icky Thump 28 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me 26 Booty Luv — Boogie 2Nite 23 Rihanna — SOS +2 23 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder +1 22 Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand — Let Me Think About It 21 Mary J. Blige & U2 — One 20 U2 & Green Day — The Saints Are Coming 20 Avril Lavigne — Girlfriend 20 Christina Aguilera — Ain’t No Other Man 18 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California 16 Fall Out Boy — This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race 15 Arctic Monkeys — Brianstorm 11 Mutya Buena — Real Girl -6

Pinky Lee died on this day 31 years ago, aged 85. - Lee's real name was Pincus Leff, and he used his real name on vaudeville in the 1920s. He was primarily a tap dancer, but developed his trademark mannerisms in the late 1920s. - Lee was primarily known for the way he dressed- he almost always wore a plaid suit and hat, as well as baggy trousers. He would often provide comedy routines on radio beginning in the 1940s. - Lee got his big break on TV in 1950 with the variety show The Pinky Lee Show, but is better known for his children's entertainment show of the same name that began in 1954: This show was the lead-in for Howdy Doody, and has also been considered to have been the inspiration for Pee-wee's Playhouse over 30 years later. - On one episode dated September 20, 1955, Lee would collapse live on camera due to a sudden illness, with the cameraman and director thinking it was part of the act (this wouldn't be the last time something like this happened- Tommy Cooper for example). Lee was permanently removed from the show after this blunder (which wasn't his fault), and the show ended in 1956. Rumors would persist that he died on screen from a heart attack (also Tommy Cooper), or that he went insane and was put in an asylum. - Lee would have a comeback in 1957 as the host of The Gumby Show, where he would provide interstitials between the Gumby cartoons: - Lee would retire from professional acting in 1979, and worked as an acting teacher. The last productions he worked on were local musical plays. - Lee was the uncle of the famous Sherman Brothers composers- his wife Beatrice's sister Rosa was their mother.

Jane Goodall is 90. She was a witness to the first documented chimpanzee war:

4/2/2024 45 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape +1 38 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 33 Corinne Bailey Rae — Put Your Records On 33 Kate Nash — Foundation 31 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah +1 29 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 28 Embrace — Nature’s Law 27 The White Stripes — Icky Thump 27 The Killers — When You Were Young 26 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me 25 Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand — Let Me Think About It 25 Christina Aguilera — Ain’t No Other Man 24 Fall Out Boy — This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race 23 Arctic Monkeys — Brianstorm 22 Booty Luv — Boogie 2Nite 22 Rihanna — SOS +1 22 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder +1 21 Infernal — From Paris To Berlin 21 Mary J. Blige & U2 — One 20 U2 & Green Day — The Saints Are Coming 20 Avril Lavigne — Girlfriend 20 Mutya Buena — Real Girl 18 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California 12 T2 ft. Jodie Aysha — Heartbroken 0 Bodyrox ft. Luciana — Yeah Yeah -6

Estelle Harris died on this day 2 years ago, aged 93. - Harris got her start on TV working in commercials, but her screen career only began in 1976. - Harris' breakout role was as George's mom Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld, first appearing in the 1992 episode "The Contest". She appeared in 26 more episodes: - From there, Harris would primarily become a voice actress, and lent her voice to many Disney productions. On TV, these included Timon's mother in the Timon and Pumbaa show (she would be replaced by Julie Kavner in The Lion King 1 1/2), Mama Lipsky in Kim Possible, Dave's sword Lula in Dave the Barbarian, and Peg-Leg Peg in Jake and the Neverland Pirates. In movies, she was an elderly bear in Brother Bear, Audrey the chicken in Home on the Range, and most notably Mrs. Potato Head from Toy Story 2 to Toy Story 4: She also played Muriel in the live-action Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. - Harris was also often typecast as old mother characters as well, specifically Oz's mom in Fanboy and Chum-Chum, Professor Farnsworth's mother Velma in an episode of Futurama, and Death's mother in Family Guy. - Harris would appear on the DeathList once in 2022- the third death of the fourteen that year.

Dr. Demento is 83.

4/1/2024 40 Gwen Stefani ft. Akon — The Sweet Escape 33 Manic Street Preachers — Your Love Alone Is Not Enough 31 Rihanna — SOS 31 Corinne Bailey Rae — Put Your Records On 30 Kate Nash — Foundations 30 Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse — Valerie 29 The Killers — When You Were Young 27 Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah 26 Embrace — Nature’s Law 25 Christina Aguilera — Ain’t No Other Man 24 The White Stripes — Icky Thump 24 Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather — Stop Me 24 Fall Out Boy — This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race 24 Arctic Monkeys — Brianstorm 24 Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand — Let Me Think About It 23 Mary J. Blige & U2 — One 22 Booty Luv — Boogie 2Nite 21 Infernal — From Paris To Berlin 20 U2 & Green Day — The Saints Are Coming 20 Avril Lavigne — Girlfriend 20 Mutya Buena — Real Girl 20 Maroon 5 — Makes Me Wonder 18 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California 18 T2 ft. Jodie Aysha — Heartbroken 17 Cascada — Everytime We Touch 10 Bodyrox ft. Luciana — Yeah Yeah -6 9 Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone — Ridin’ +4

Scott Joplin died on this day 107 years ago, aged 48. - Joplin was the son of a recently emancipated father and free-born mother. Joplin began playing the piano when he was 7, and after receiving professional lessons, would form his first band (a quartet) in 1884. - Due to segregation, Joplin mostly found band work at brothels, most notably at one near the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. - Joplin's early compositions were marches, most notably 1896's "Great Crush Collision March" commemorating a staged train crash (whose debris ended up killing two spectators): - By the late 1890s, ragtime music had become a national phenomenon, and Joplin would become one of the most prolific composers of this time. One of his most famous songs was the Maple Leaf Rag, composed in 1898, and Joplin reportedly became the first musician to sell one million copies of an instrumental song: This song became the model for many rags to come afterwards, and Joplin is known as the "King of Ragtime" as such. - Joplin would have another mega-hit with "The Entertainer" in 1902, used as the theme for The Sting 71 years later: - In 1911, Joplin would make the opera Treemonisha. It was never staged within his lifetime, with the first stage performance being done in 1972- and it would posthumously earn Joplin a Pulitzer Prize in 1976. - In his later years, Joplin suffered from chronic syphilis. This would end up killing him as it developed into neurosyphilis.