Vinegar Tits

I think it was from complications following weight loss surgery. Here we go: "The lymphatic system in her legs was damaged in one of 5 sessions of surgery to remove excess skin during her weight loss."

I think I once heard him on a local radio phone-in.

Awww, she's fabulous. Her autobiography is a great read. Although that article says she's 80, has anyone (including herself) ever found out her real age? IIRC, there was no birth certificate or anything, hence she's a woman who can truly call herself ageless.

How sad. I've just watched Stolen Kisses, Bed & Board and Love On The Run this morning before knowing she was dead

Already mentioned in the near misses or not exactly famous thread but probably worth a mention in here as well - Rosalie Bradford has died.

First celeb death I remember is probably Marc Bolan, yet I don't remember Elvis carking it and that was only a month earlier. I've got a feeling I vaguely recall Sid James dying but that could very easily have come from my dad mentioning it a few years later while we were watching a Carry On film rather than at the time.

You might remember the story of the lorry driver sentenced to 11 years in a Greek jail for allegedly attempting to smuggle illegal immigrants? Well, he was found hanged on Monday. Very sad as he was a well known figure in my village and I remember all the 'Free Willy' campaigning and fundraising that went on at the time. Mind you, what's perhaps as sad is that by the T&A carelessly printing the son's address, and knowing that area as a complete shithole, he'll probably get burgled during the funeral...

Indeed. Always had a lot of respect for Fluff, and Tony Blackburn for that matter, for not taking themselves too seriously and seeing the joke in Smashy and Nicey, unlike the aforementioned Hairy Cornflake and Simon Bates to name but two.

Farewell, pop picker He did look bloody awful in that recent Brinsworth House inmates pic though, didn't he? Definitely looked to be slipping down the charts. Sad as the news is, when I read it I thought: "Bugger, another possibility for 2007 gone". Then I remembered he was on my 2006 list so points it is, and Bod knows we need 'em at the mo.

I don't like the cut of your jib, sonny We were facing similar back in 2005 so time will tell. Mind you, Boycott's not exactly hopeful and he's usually spot on.

She's going to assassinate Ken Bates, his lifeless body then dragged down The Headrow and finally ritually burnt on a bonfire in front of the Billy Bremner statue at Elland Road in front of a crowd of jubilant thousands? Never mind events Jane, we want to know how your liver's doing...

I found Cinema Paradiso to be incredibly overrated. Both Noiret and Jacques Perrin were charming but overall I was left feeling 'so what'. Agreed Coup De Torchon is a great film, and Noiret's death is a huge loss to French cinema.

Great actor, and was on my shortlist for 2007. The fact that he's got quite a prominent mention on the BBC entertainment page gives me hope that a few more on my shortlist will get UK obits...

Pinter. I just get the feeling he might give us all a Christmas present.

I know she's had her problems in the past but how unwell and in what way is she ill at the moment? Vested interest as she's one of only three Royals I've ever seen in person - and yes, it was at Wimbledon before anyone asks.

Perhaps she wasn't faking it afterall... Gawd, another piece of my childhood gone

I thought they used a drum machine?

Ooh, now if you think Jane Tomlinson's a fraud, you should hear what's been said (and in the YTV buildings an' all) about Ms Hauxwell. Opinion is decidedly split about that one and make no mistake.

And quite rightly so. Liz Smith is a bit of a national treasure, and has been for years. Yes, she seemed very spritely on Paul O'Grady the other day so unless she gets a sudden complaint like a bout of pneumonia or a chill on her kidneys I can't see her popping off any time soon. A bit like Dame Thora Hird, I don't ever recall her being young - I know she was quite late on to acting but she's played batty old grannys for at least 20 years now, and both her roles in 2.4 Children and The Royle Family are so spot on it's like seeing my grandmother on the screen. I'm rather surprised both Wikipedia and IMDB list her birth year as 1921. I could have sworn it was more like 1924 or 1926 - perhaps that's what it 'used' to be... She apparently invented the binliner as well!

Has he *ever* played keyboards with the Dead? Even so much looked at a keyboard? If so, he's a goner

There's an update on her health (well, from April) on her website. Basically to sum it up it says she has good and bad days - on her good days she's quite lucid, on bad days she just sleeps. The quote that is of interest to us (and especially those of us foolish enough to have her as our joker...) is "There is nothing life threatening going on". Either way, age is not on her side and I agree it does seem to have gone a bit quiet of late. However, perhaps there simply isn't anything new to report. We'll only know if she makes a public appearance or when she dies how she's doing.

I've gone for George Melly, purely because they're not on my 2006 list and I have them pencilled in for 2007...

I always preferred Kate Jackson myself. Thank you for your warm salutations. I had an...interesting birthday, mainly involving lying on a surgical bed with lasers zapping my eyes and having plastic things inserted into my eyes by a South African bloke. A few days later, my eyesight is still resembling that of the late great Lennie Peters...

Looks in fine fettle judging by the documentaries about the Suez Crisis on TV at the moment but I suppose age is not on her side.

Thanks for the update on her wellbeing, even if it isn't very positive.