time

I dunno where's best, but somewhere, I feel, we should mark the demise of Internet Explorer.

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttts Chriiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssstttttttttttttttttmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasss Biiirrrrrthday! Everyone's favourite gran lookalike, Noddy Holder is 76 today.

Obviously, being the only member of that squad picked by me for a deadpool.

Charlie Kiss, first trans man to stand for Parliament has died. He'd been suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

One of Britain's finest comedians and pianists died on this day 29 years ago. His TV debut came in 1967 as an entrant on Opportunity Knocks, and he was a regular on TV thereafter, as a panellist in Jokers' Wild, his own TV shows, guest appearances on other TV shows and latterly as presenter of Blankety Blank, replacing Terry Wogan. He almost died on two occasions, once from a failing prostrate gland, and once from a heart attack, before a final fatal heart attack in 1993, whilst undergoing a medical check-up at hospital. He was 62.

The brother of Sir Mark Rylance, Jonathan 'Jonno' Waters - a noted sommelier in California - has been killed in a cycle accident in Oakland. This comes just shy of the 10th anniversary of his stepdaughters death. (There's a Daily Heil link with full details out there if you google it)

Is that a euphemism?

Its eight years since comedy writer & performer (& DL avatar) Rik Mayall died before he got old. He was 56 and died from a heart attack following a jog. He'd escaped death some years earlier when he was seriously injured in a quad bike accident, which doctors feared he might not recover from.

The actor most associated with playing the undead Count Dracula, Christopher Lee, died 7 years ago today, aged 93. Other iconic roles included Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun and Lord Summerisle opposite Edward Woodward in The Wicker Man. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for the Finnish Army to fight the Soviets in the Winter War; he, and other volunteers never reached the front lines (lack of skiing ability not helping in this regard) but were deployed on guard duty. he subsequently joined the Home Guard, and later the Royal Air Force, seeing service in Europe and Africa. He also worked with the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, tracking down and interrogating Nazis (he was fluent in French, German and Italian). He was a decent singer too, singing everything from Opera to Heavy Metal. He was 92 when he released this:

Virginia McKenna is 91 today. Famed as an actress in films such as Carve Her Name With Pride and Born Free, she's also a noted conservationist. Along with husband Bill Travers and son Will Travers, she founded Zoo Check, which aimed to ensure the welfare of zoo animals, and to ensure they were kept in a suitable environment. This organisation was renamed The Born Free Foundation in 1991, and currently has active conservation programmes in 20+ countries.

Its 43 years since Jack Haley only had a heart attack & died, aged 81. Best known as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, he got the part after MGM's resident song & dance man Buddy Ebsen suffered a bad reaction to aluminium powder in the make up (Ebsen suffered breathing problems for the rest of his life as a result of the make up but still outlived all the principles'). He appeared in several RKO pictures in the 1940s but moved into real estate, making only occasional guest appearances until 1977. He was actively working until a week before his death, suffering a heart attack on 1st June, dying on the 6th.

Former US sprinter Tommie Smith is 78 today. He won gold in the 1968 Olympic 200 metres - with the first official sub 20second time - and sparked controversy by displaying a Black Power salute atop the medal podium, with bronze medallist John Carlos (who incidentally was 77 yesterday). This lead to both men being being suspended from the team (on the orders of IOC President Avery Brundage; the USOC initially refused but capitulated when the whole track team was threatened with expulsion).

Its 23 years since the final dissipation of The Velvet Fog, singer, songwriter, actor, drummer, Mel Tormé. Forced to retire from performing in 1996 following a stroke, he died following another stroke, aged 73. Widely-known as a singer, he also wrote or co-wrote over 250 songs, the most famous being The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire). He also made ten guest appearances in US Sitcom Night Court, where resident Judge Harry Stone was fan (as was actor Harry Anderson). He wrote a biography of Buddy Rich and owned a set of drums once owned by Gene Krupa.

Scottish singer Moira Anderson, once a staple of TV variety shows, including her own, is 84 today. She made several appearances on The Good Old Days, was a subject of This is Your Life, was lampooned by The Two Ronnies and recorded an album with Harry Secombe. She retired from showbiz in 2010, living on the Isle of Man; she sang two songs at Norman Wisdom's funeral.

Katia & Maurice Krafft died 31 years ago today. They were husband & wife volcanologists, well-known for often being first on the scene at volcanic eruptions. Realising other peoples interest in the footage they had made of Mount Stromboli, they made a career out of filming eruptions, which funded their expeditions. The died on a ridge of Mount Unzen in Japan, along with 41 others, when lava left a channel and engulfed them. All were killed instantly. Their career is documented in the 2022 film Fire of Love.

These aren't of course Ecclestone's words; why is he presenting them as if they are? He's from Lancashire, there's no monarchy next door. This is from The Irish Times (hence 'next door), written by Patrick Freyne (who similarly endorses Eccleson (sic)), in March 2021.

Suzi Quatro is 72 today. She came to prominence in 1973 with her second solo single Can the Can, which reached number one in Europe & Australia, being the first of several hits from the "Chinnichap" stable - Nicky Chinn & Mike Chapman. Never achieving the same success in her native USA, she was cast as Leather Tuscadero in Happy Days, following which she achieved her biggest US chart success with Stumblin' In, a duet with Chris Norman (of Smokie). He latest album The Devil In Me was released last year.

Nope, not gay. This is Herschel Walker's son btw.

Dave Smith the "Father of MIDI", who developed the first polyphonic electronic synthesiser, has died, aged 71/72. The founder of Sequential Circuits, he and co-developer Chet Wood developed what would become the industry standard interface - Musical Instrument Digital Interface - allowing computers and different instruments to communicate. (There are others on here who have a better understanding of what it does than me)

He also wrote this (and this is better than Perry Como).

Its the bloody yanks - 6 Feb in UK is 2-6 in yankeeland, and 2 June is 6-2, hence the confusion.

Its 20 years since the death of former South African cricket captain (Wessel Johannes) "Hansie" Cronje, aged 32. In 200, Cronje was charged with match fixing and barred from involvement in cricket for life. He was killed in a plane crash after his scheduled flight from Johannesburg was cancelled and he hitched a lift in a HS 748; approaching George airport, the pilots lost visibility, and were unable to land; while circling the plane crashed into the Outeniqua Mountains; all three on board were killed. Conspiracy theories abounded that Cronje was killed by betting syndicates to cover up match-rigging.

David Holford, former Barbados & West Indian all-rounder has died aged 82.

Author and screenwriter Stephen S Thompson has died aged 56, a month after being diagnosed with cancer. His drama Sitting in Limbo won a Bafta in 2020.

eta. BBC Obit.