Summer in Transylvania

Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies quits. That means only the Northern Ireland Conservatives have a leader who was in the same position at the start of the year.

New video of Oppenheimer from a few days ago. He seems much better than he was back in June when this thread was created. I'm not about to drop him from my own list, but he's also not one that seems a prime candidate for the 2025 DL at this point.

You're not the only one.

Chuwit Kamolvisit, please. Edit: Beaten by a few minutes. I'll go with Donald P. Bellisario.

Oh, bugger. I've done it again. That's the second time I've got dates that I know well entirely wrong. Thanks for pointing it out. Replaced with Betty Brosmer.

Here's him definitely not running for Chancellorship of Oxford University earlier this month. He ultimately lost to William Hague a couple of days ago. He was also part of the BBC General Election coverage in July for several hours into the night, if I recall correctly. If he's well enough to do both of these things, he's probably not going to die any time soon. Of course, he could randomly keel over at any time, but that is much more unlikely.

Congratulations, Polar Duck. 1924: Andrew Bruce / Priscilla Pointer 1925: Tony Christopher / June Lockhart 1926: Abdoulaye Wade / Noreen Riols 1927: L. K. Advani / Micheline Bernardini 1928: Noam Chomsky / Ratna of Nepal 1929: Jamshid bin Abdullah / Betty Brosmer 1930: Gene Hackman / Gladys West 1931: Norman Tebbit / Leslie Caron 1932: Indarjit Singh / Louise Weinberg 1933: Alexander Mitta / Katherine, Duchess of Kent

Thanks, Tracy. I hadn't seen that. I take back what I said, the man seems in no danger.

Robert Redford is another name I'd throw out there. Retired in the last couple of years, approaching ninety, definitely famous enough, and declining healthwise if photos from 2022 are anything to go by. He didn't exactly look on his deathbed then, mind, but it has been two years and he's not getting any younger, either. Picking random, famous, old people has clearly not proved a winning formula this year, so I won't be shocked if he is passed over once again, but he's still a name to keep an eye on going forward and I wouldn't object to his inclusion next year.

1924: Khamtai Siphandone / Priscilla Pointer 1925: Tony Christopher / June Lockhart 1926: Abdoulaye Wade / Noreen Riols 1927: Thomas Noguchi / Micheline Bernardini 1928: Noam Chomsky / Ratna of Nepal 1929: Jamshid bin Abdullah / Betty Brosmer 1930: Sonny Rollins / Joanne Woodward 1931: Norman Tebbit / Isabel Martinez de Peron 1932: Indarjit Singh / Antonia Fraser 1933: Alexander Mitta / Bernadette Chirac Congratulations, Bobytomi.

The paedo, currently 94, didn't.

I'm wary of creating this one, given how quickly the last subject of one of my threads went to the grave, but Donald P. Bellisario, the creator of Magnum, PI (with Glen A. Larson), JAG, NCIS (with Don McGill), Quantum Leap, and Tales of the Gold Monkey is 90 next August and, I certainly would judge him to be, threadworthy due to the notability of his projects and his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Less famously, he served in the United States Marine Corps with Lee Harvey Oswald, which prompted an episode of Quantum Leap about the assassin in 1992. Healthwise, he suffers from hydrocephalus, a brain condition that doesn't necessarily lead to loss of life, but he's also over a decade above the average life expectancy of his home country, so any long-term health conditions are still noteworthy. I hope that he doesn't suffer the fate Zimbardo did, and I wish him the best of health, but I thought I'd get his name out there during the time where many will be looking to their pool entries for the next annum.

Sir John Williams, especially since he started cancelling his performances in recent months due to his health, and I wholeheartedly second the returns of Yoko Ono, Douglas Hurd, and David Attenborough. Others I wouldn't object to seeing on the list next year: Yuri Oganessian - Famous enough, but not necessarily one I expect to ever grace the DL with his presence. Donald P. Bellisario - If Norman Lear can make it, the creator of Magnum, PI and Quantum Leap can too. Trisha Goddard - Easily meets the fame requirements, and has terminal cancer. She may be one to revisit this time next year, but you never know. Alan Oppenheimer - Still attending events, but is clearly declining, in a wheelchair now, and 95 next April.

I hear Dove Windsor isn't feeling too well as of late.