Arnold

Sadly very seriously ill even though he appears to be buggering on splendidly.

She may have retired 75 years ago (!) but here is the grand obit I anticipated due to her status as the last of the silent queens. Take a look at her portrait picture to see if she really was "A very attractive lady in her prime". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries...rbara-Kent.html

Alas, if we had picked her, along with dear Edmundo Ros, we would have been popping the champagne corks today.

Just beat me too it! I've been sitting here waiting since last November! Now, THAT'S dedication. I've been waiting here since December 2005!

Please, I beg you please, stop posting the names of random elderly people, try to look some things up on the internet and you will find out that deadpooling has so many dimensions, what makes it a lot more intresting than a random guessing game. Thank you in advance. No, no, no. I like the randomness of it all. For that is the essential part of the very nature of death, surely. Miss Kent is 103 this month. I have a very strong feeling in my waters that she will take her final curtain call next year and urge the committee to give her very serious consideration for inclusion in the 2010 list.

Has just strummed his final chord.

This dear old lady is frail and fading and I'm afraid may soon be 'Googie Withered'. One to perhaps put into the 'pending' drawer for consideration for next year?

Died today, aged 83.

This chap could certainly be a very good bet for next year. The world's oldest working actor (104). There will be scores of Dutch and German obits due to both his record holding status and also his notoriety. (Do foreign obits count Moderators?) See here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Heesters And here - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0373535/ Yours cadaverously, Arnold Threads merged [HCW]

The fact that she hasn't been in the news for nigh on 70 years shoud not deter us from including this lady. She will undoubtedly receive several broadsheet obits when she goes, making her a very elligible Death List candidate. She is one of the very last silent screen stars and starred opposite Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Richard Barthelmess, Harold Lloyd, Edward G Robinson, Gloria Swanson and Myrna Loy - all A list movie stars. Even if younger members of this board are a little baffled by some of these names, a little research will show you how each one was as big in his or her day as, say, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt or George Clooney is now. In these movies, she receives second or third billing. She is a true forgotten star. So watch the obits flow when she passes over. And she's 101.

Old Ned has popped off.

I'm getting old. Add me to the list instead.

The widow of the late, great Bob will be 99 next year. No health report but obviously extremely ancient so she could be a decent candidate for 2008. Her obits are assured as she became a Christmas TV institution alongside her husband throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. She was also a notable singer in the 30s before giving up her career to marry.

Barbara Kent, one of the last surviving Holywood actresses from the silent era, is 101 in December and in very frail health. If she lasts the year, I would strongly recommend the moderators include her on next year's list. Very attractive lady in her prime too.

Ned has been absent from Radio 4 for months now due to what has been termed a "paralysed vocal cord". He has been replaced both on Loose Ends and Counterpoint since before Christmas. There are a lot of mutterings (I can put it no stronger than that) that he is in fact quite seriously ill. Does anyone have any more information? I'll try to find out more.