Octopus of Odstock

Well, it probably was, as she's dead. A DDP choice for two teams; 20 Celebrities, Sitting On A Wall, If 1 Got Shot Or.... and Short Distance Clara. Another person from Breakfast at Tiffanys gone. I think Mickey Rooney is the only star from that alive. Hepburn, Peppard, Neal, Cat and Ebsen all gone.

Pah! Who said big celebrity deaths aren't happening any more? John Louis Mansi, von Smallhausen in 'Allo, 'Allo has died after a long fight against Parkinsons and lung cancer. I had considered him for a DP, but not knowing how old he was always put me off picking him. Obit is in the link, the 'Allo 'Allo facebook page. RIP.

Dead. Woot! Another DDP hit! A unique pick as well, so that's 7 more points in the pocket. Still waiting on a UK obit however... Here it is

Erich Steidtmann, former member of the SS and former pick on the DDP has died of a heart-attack, aged 95. Even got a UK obit

Iris Gower, bestselling novellist and favourite of 50 + female readers in the UK has died, aged 75

It's probably also been mentioned somewhere else but Guillet has an obit from the Telegraph. (1st July edition)

According to a few academic sites, Brian Flowers, Baron Flowers has died. Noted academic and member of the House of Lords... Here is one of the links - http://www2.imperial.ac.uk/blog/reporter/2...r-lord-flowers/ and more importantly, a member of my DDP team. I'm sure there will be the customary broadsheet obit shortly and then I think that puts me in the top 5 as things stand? (Though I may have that wonrg 'cos of the Lithuanian chappie...)

Doubt it, as he's not even in the squad...

Right. I'm going to delay the update to DDP by 24 hours to accomodate this. Should get a BBC obit within hours and that'll round off the month neatly.... Well, she's got one from the Guardian anyway... Is this a record month death wise for the DDP?

The problem I'm findng with Telegraph obits is that the URL is too long and so doesn't fit in the DDP database... Best thing to do, as I did, is to link to the obit in the emails, but simply link to the obits page as the actual link in the profile. Not perfect, but then at least everyone gets their due obit & points in a way. Think I might be in the top 10 now Hopper's dead?

UK obit for Martin Gardner - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries...in-Gardner.html

Re. Endersby, I hope to prove one way or another if she is dead soon by checking the UK Death records 2007-2010 - I would've done that last week but am currently moving house, so it'll be delayed a few months. As for Joseph Stone - I am under the strong supicison that it is this chap - same age, same base in Philadelphia.. but it's not 100% certain - http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi. If so he died 12th Dec 2009...

Well done TMIB. However one correcton - Lilienthal has got a UK obit, pushing Grobler even further in the lead - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9068304 or http://news.scotsman.com/obituaries/Obitua...thal.6290973.jp I sent you a email with a few bits & pieces - did you get it at all? I need to send you another one shoryly with a few more additions. PS Hank Jones has gone today - that's another for List of the Missed. I was only checking on his status last night which was alive, when in fact he was already dead....

Now being run by a news agency that he is in a bad way - http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Musi...86531274027770/

Dawn Hughes died in November last year, and didn't get an obituary, as expected - in fact the only mention was this in her local paper 4 months later - Hughes tribute

He's at the Winter Olympics ceremony as I speak. He looks very old, confused & frail. Samaranch, who must be around the same age, doesn't. Ciampi certainly has shot up my DDP list all of a sudden.

Eyes succesfully peeled Well done for yet anohter unique hit!

Running the DDP is a colossal task and TMIB has to balance a life into the equation too. I didn't get the Inane Analysis done until April last year, and that included a holiday to allow some time to devote to it. There's a never ending list of jobs to do and with so many picks and teams now, it takes so much time. Besides, hardly anyone reads it judging by the feedback. I told TMIB to do it last as he still has photos, the history and everything to update, as well as a busy year death-wise. You need to thank him that he was willing to take it over, otherwise there might not even be a DDP. It will all be done in time, and there's 8 months left of the year, so be patient. Considering you can't even take the time to spell correctly or write proper sentences, I'm not surprised you're impatient....

I found the wording strange in the article, which is the same wherever you look - they didn't say that he died last year, for example. Even though I picked him, I would understand if TMIB withheld awarding points until it was proved when he died. But if he died in 2009, I would have to accept that if Vincenzi is discounted, then so would Hewlett. I think the same happened with Karel Cernoch in 2008/2007 when I first took the DDP over.

Cutting it a bit fine to the wire. Is there an actual date of death yet? I don't think there ever will be, to be honest. An unmarked grave, no family members, no press. I think - but only think - he would qualify for points as there was no evidence he was already dead when teams submitted their entries, but that's for TMIB to call, not me any more. He's certainly got a lot of deaths on his plate right now, but I'm better he's glad no-one picked a Polish statesman theme team on the DDP....

Bruce Sewell, mentioned in dispatches 4 years ago by TheManInBlack and myself: has now lost his fight against motor neurone disease. Obit from the BBC, no less - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...eet/8607062.stm, which was the only reason I think me, Blackie and no-one else picked him in 2007 or any other year as chances of a proper obit seemd slim. We were comprehensively wrong..

The famous prison drama about an inmate who is falsely imprisoned and who has terrible taste in lipstick: The Green Smile A film about domestic violence too sordid to relate: Sleeping with the Enema The heart warming film of a young man who manages to be part of the most important events of the late 20th Century and get some serious lurrrrve action: Forest Hump A young woman in Georgian times rejects a wealthy suitor because she could see through his wet shirt after he had been swimming: "Prude and Prejudice" Gone With the Wand - the sequel to the famous, er, prequel. Scarlett O'Hara, desperate to win back the affection of the man she loves, resorts to witchcraft. Okay I cheated - more here - http://forum.ship-of-fools.com/cgi-bin/ult...c;f=28;t=001624

Are we to presume that one of or both of Ivy Shermer and Olive Tucker, former DDP picks, have died since 2007, when they were featured in the papers? They were both born in 1909 as well? Probably they are dead like Trudi Endersby, but no-one has reported it, and now they've scrapped online death records, it's hard to check.

Oh, FFS, she would have to go 2 months after I dropped her off the DDP. Bloody Shamir had better drop this year as he was the one who made it ahead of Dall. And I'm still wondering why I picked Echeverria ahead of Koirala. Ah well, maybe it'll all turn out right in the end.