VSBfromH

As well as that, his man in Nevada has dropped dead at just 44 years of age. The Curse of Obama has started, and he's not even in power yet... This is surely stretching it a bit though: link "The owner of the house that Barack Obama lived in when in Jakarta, Indonesia, has died of prostate cancer. Tata Abubakar Soerono was close to Obama, treating the presidential candidate "as if he were his own son", according to Slamet Danuaji." Next we'll have "the man who lives next door to the cousin of some bloke that once set next to Obama's wife's hairdresser's sister on a train has died"

Oscar winning producer John Daly dies aged 71 The British-born producer was involved in films such as "The Terminator", "Platoon", "The Last Emperor", "Buster"... Also "co-promoted the 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman".

Former Sudanese President dies in Egypt "Sudan's deposed former president Ahmed al-Mirghani has died at the age of 67 in Egypt. Al-Mirghani was removed from power 19 years ago by a military coup that brought the current regime to power. Sudan's news agency said late Sunday that al-Mirghani died in Alexandria where he was recuperating following a stroke." (actually not a despot, as he was the last democratically elected leader of his country)

Hillary's family upset over pizza ad "Hell Pizza posted the animation which depicts Hillary, Australian actor Heath Ledger and the Queen Mother emerging from graves and dancing to Michael Jackson's song Thriller, two days before Halloween, just 10 months after the adventurer's death."

Hmm, wondered where I had heard her name, then found she is name-checked in "Joe Le Taxi" by Vanessa Paradis.

Loosely connected: "Deep Throat" director dies aged 80

Back home after tests "Tests were carried out and everything checked out fine, [her publicist] said"

The world awaits...

Pat Moss, horsewoman and racing driver, sister of Stirling, has died aged 73. OK, corrected the spelling...

Actress and singer Edie Adams has died aged 81

Ballerina Nadia Nerina has died aged 80. She once managed to seriously piss off Rudolf Nureyev: "Renowned as the best technician at Covent Garden in the 1950s and 1960s, she impressed and humbled Rudolf Nureyev when he attempted to show off in a performance of Giselle with a series of 16 entrechats six (jumps with rapid changes of feet). Performing Swan Lake a few nights later, with Nureyev watching from the stalls, Nadia Nerina doubled his feat to 32 — an unheard-of achievement for a female dancer — and a furious Nureyev stormed out of the performance."

Gidget Gein (aka Brad Stewart) original bass player with Marilyn Manson, has died of an overdose aged 39

Austrian far-right politician and Hitler-fan Jörg Haider has died aged 58 in a car crash.

Jazz great Al Gallodoro, "who was called “the best sax player who ever lived” by bandleader Jimmy Dorsey" has died aged 95. "Celebrated for his ability to play both jazz and classical music, Gallodoro played with the great big-band leader Paul Whiteman. He was a member of the NBC Symphony, working with such famed conductors as Arturo Toscanini and Leopold Stokowski ... Gallodoro was also one of the oldest professional musicians in the world who was still playing, recording and teaching. He celebrated his 95th birthday with a gig at the Sego Café in Oneonta on June 20 and didn’t play his last gig until September 20, at the Jazz and Harvest Festival in Corning, New York. ... Gallodoro’s brother Frank was also a saxophone player and worked in the Paul Whiteman orchestra with Al. In fact, with Al’s death, Frank is now the only surviving member of that once-famous band."

His blood pressure must be sky high! Think I'll have him as my joker for 2009 (if he lasts that long!)

Lam Sai-wing, creator of the worlds most expensive (38-million-Hong Kong-dollar ($4.9-million)) toilet, has died aged 53. "The self-made millionaire who moved to Hong Kong from China at 22 was inspired to build the toilet by his boyhood hero, the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, who said gold should be used to make toilets after the victory of socialism to remind people of capitalist waste."

They don't make 'em like him any more!

Yes, MPFC, you have found me out! Frank should be held up as a role model for us all. I think the series did take a bit of a dip a while back, but the last one was back on track. Sheila and Marty were probably 2 of my favourite characters, and I was sad to see them go. But it is a tribute to the writers that they can gradually introduce new characters and flesh them out as they go along. I couldn't stand the Maguire family at first, but now the exploits of Shane and Mickey are hilarious!

Vernon Handley, respected conductor, has died aged 77. Sad news. A stalwart of the British classical music scene for many years.

Joey Giardello The former world middleweight boxing champion, has died aged 78. He successfully defended his title against Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in 1964. The depiction of this fight in the film "The Hurricane" led to him filing a federal lawsuit, and he eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. "For 19 years, I fought the greatest fighters around and I beat Carter fair and square," ... "I just wanted to set the record straight, and I think it has been"

They took their time, but... Daily Telegraph obit

Ah the joys of being a Manchester City fan! Robinho here. By January he will be joined by Kaka, Ronaldo (Cristiano, but why not throw in the fat one for good measure?), David Villa, Messi et al. Or maybe it'll be down to earth with a bump and time to bring Dickov back for his third spell... (After all, we've still got Danny Mills on the books!)

Doherty has had to be revived by medics after going on a drink and drugs binge just before performing in an Austrian porn theatre Rock and roll! P.S. Over 2 months since the last post on this thread. Welcome back, Pete, we've missed you!

Don La Fontaine, king of the voice-overs, has died aged 68. He recorded over 5,000 movie trailers, TV commercials, etc.