Death Anniversary Thread

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

Jon Pertwee died on this day 26 years ago, aged 76.

Pertwee first rose to stardom as the character of Chief Petty Officer Pertwee on the radio show The Navy Lark beginning in 1959 (he co-starred with longtime DeathList pick Leslie Phillips). Pertwee was also a stage actor, starring in productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and There's a Girl in my Soup. Pertwee appeared in three Carry On movies in the '60s- Carry On Cleo, Carry On Cowboy, and Carry On Screaming! Pertwee was initially chosen to be the role of Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army, but he turned it down, wanting to continue his stage career.

 

In 1970, Pertwee's began his most well-known role as the third incarnation of Doctor Who, starting with the episode "Spearhead from Space". Showrunner Peter Bryant originally wanted Ron Moody to play the character, but Moody was unavailable at the time- Pertwee was Bryant's second choice. During his tenure as the Doctor, the show was broadcast in color for the first time, and the character's personality was made similar to James Bond. Pertwee decided to step down from the role in 1974- once again, to continue his stage career. The final episode to star him was "Planet of the Spiders", and Tom Baker was his successor.

 

In 1979, Pertwee took the role as the title character of family sitcom Worzel Gummidge, a scarecrow who can magically come alive. The series was a massive success, and Pertwee even recorded a song as the character (it reached #33 on the charts in 1980):

 

Pertwee made his only DeathList appearance in 1989, despite still being quite active at the time. He appeared in the final Carry On film, Carry On Columbus, in 1992. He continued making cameos as the Third Doctor, which includes the fanmade Doctor Who episode "Devious" (filming began in 1991), and a series of commercials for the wireless company Vodafone. Pertwee died in his sleep of a heart attack.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American early jazz trumpet and cornet player James "Bubber" Miley died on this day 90 years ago, aged 29.

 

[Hell 1,334]

American professional wrestler and professional baseball player best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling Randy Savage died on this day 11 years ago, aged 58.

 

 

Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur Niki Lauda died on this day 3 years ago, aged 70.

 

 

British singer, songwriter and record producer, who gained worldwide fame as a member of The Bee Gees pop group with older brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice Robin Gibb died on this day 10 years ago, aged 62.

 

 

American stage, television and film actress of the Golden Age of Hollywood and mezzo-soprano singer Patricia Morison died on this day 4 years ago, aged 103.

 

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On this day in 1975 british artist and sculptor  Barbara Hepworth  died aged 72.

She was thought by many in the art world  to  exemplify  modernism  in art especially sculpture. 

She was also famouly part of a colony of artists who lived in St Ives during the second World War. 

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Two big names in british  popular culture  both died today in the year 2000.

 

Firstly on this day in 2000 legendary  british romantic  novelist and all round aristrocratic eccentric  Barbara Cartland  died aged 98. She wrote  hundreds of romantic novels  that are very much set in a bygone era but was hugely successful. 

 She was also latterly  the step grandmother of the late Princess Diana. 

 

 

 

On this day in the year 2000 the legendary,  accomplished and distinguished  british actor John Gielgud  died  aged 96. 

 

John Gielgud was predominantly  a theatre actor and he along with Ralph Richardson  and Laurence Olivier  dominated  britis stage for much  of the 20th century. 

 

The Gielgud  theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in Londons West end is named in his honour. 

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

King Henry VI died on this day 551 years ago, aged 49.

Henry ascended to the English throne at nine months old following the death of his father, Henry V- he remains the youngest British monarch of all time. He was coronated when he was seven years old. It should also be noted that he was born during the Hundred Years' War, and was also disputedly crowned as the king of France (his maternal grandfather was King Charles VI). In 1453, he lost all English lands in continental Europe except Calais, leading to a mental breakdown (Charles was also reported to have a similar ailment).

 

During this time, supporters of a cadet branch of the royal family (the Yorks) began fighting supporters of Henry's family (the Lancasters). In 1460, civil war broke out when Henry's forces attacked the forces of noble York supporters. Henry was captured and imprisoned, while his wife and son escaped to Scotland and began to rally supporters. Queen Margaret returned with an army in 1461, and defeated the Earl of Warwick, freeing Henry. They were soon defeated, and the two again fled to Scotland. Henry was effectively deposed, and the son of the Duke of York, who had defeated him, was crowned as Edward IV.

 

Henry returned in 1463. Loyalists to Henry were defeated in Hexham the following year, and Henry was once again captured and imprisoned. In 1470, two of Edward's main allies (one of whom was his own brother George) caused him to be exiled to Scotland. Henry was freed by the new Earl of Warwick, and reclaimed the throne on October 3. Warwick soon declared war on Burgundy, and its king, Charles I "The Bold", supplied aid to Edward, allowing him and his troops to fight back. Henry's only child and heir Edward was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury.

 

Henry was once again imprisoned, and died a few weeks later. Following his death, miracles were attributed to him, but this was mostly due to people trying to de-legitimize the York and Tudor families. Contemporary sources claim that Henry reportedly died of broken heart syndrome upon hearing news of Edward's death, but when his skeleton was exhumed in 1910, it was discovered that his skull was damaged, and remaining hair was found to be bloodied- signs that a theory that Edward IV ordered his murder may have been true.

[Bibliogryphon 9,597]

2 hours ago, Drewsky1211 said:

King Henry VI died on this day 551 years ago, aged 49.

Henry ascended to the English throne at nine months old following the death of his father, Henry V- he remains the youngest British monarch of all time. He was coronated when he was seven years old. It should also be noted that he was born during the Hundred Years' War, and was also disputedly crowned as the king of France (his maternal grandfather was King Charles VI). In 1453, he lost all English lands in continental Europe except Calais, leading to a mental breakdown (Charles was also reported to have a similar ailment).

 

During this time, supporters of a cadet branch of the royal family (the Yorks) began fighting supporters of Henry's family (the Lancasters). In 1460, civil war broke out when Henry's forces attacked the forces of noble York supporters. Henry was captured and imprisoned, while his wife and son escaped to Scotland and began to rally supporters. Queen Margaret returned with an army in 1461, and defeated the Earl of Warwick, freeing Henry. They were soon defeated, and the two again fled to Scotland. Henry was effectively deposed, and the son of the Duke of York, who had defeated him, was crowned as Edward IV.

 

Henry returned in 1463. Loyalists to Henry were defeated in Hexham the following year, and Henry was once again captured and imprisoned. In 1470, two of Edward's main allies (one of whom was his own brother George) caused him to be exiled to Scotland. Henry was freed by the new Earl of Warwick, and reclaimed the throne on October 3. Warwick soon declared war on Burgundy, and its king, Charles I "The Bold", supplied aid to Edward, allowing him and his troops to fight back. Henry's only child and heir Edward was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury.

 

Henry was once again imprisoned, and died a few weeks later. Following his death, miracles were attributed to him, but this was mostly due to people trying to de-legitimize the York and Tudor families. Contemporary sources claim that Henry reportedly died of broken heart syndrome upon hearing news of Edward's death, but when his skeleton was exhumed in 1910, it was discovered that his skull was damaged, and remaining hair was found to be bloodied- signs that a theory that Edward IV ordered his murder may have been true.

Went to the RSC last Monday to see Henry VI Part III which deals with his death. It was an excellent production and made me very keen to see their Richard III which follows on later in the season

[chel 376]

Viasna human rights activists declared May 21 the Day of Political Prisoner in Belarus.

 

 It was on this day a year ago in Shklov colony No. 17 that Vitold Ashurok, a political prisoner from Berezovka, died under unknown circumstances.

 

Instead of telling the truth about Vitold's death, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against those who chanted "Shame!"  at the announcement of the five-year sentence to Ashurka.  Among the suspects was Vitold's younger brother Andrei, who was eventually forced to leave Belarus for Poland.

 

Andrei Ashurak: I remember this moment, it was May 25 last year. The body was taken out on a wheelchair. Here he is, lying with his head bandaged, and next to him stands a comrade in a vest and smiling. He says: "Sorry, we wrapped his head, we accidentally injured his body when we took it out of the fridge." Who are you telling this to?

 It was a moment of helplessness. I want to take revenge on them when you see it, but you can't do it, because you still need to bring it home. That was the hardest moment, and you're getting used to the rest.

 

https://youtu.be/weCCKcNh3OU

 

https://d16gbq1owzocfa.cloudfront.net/_mobile_/articles/291256/

https://spring96.org/be/news/107662

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitold_Ashurak

[time 8,641]

Its 57 years since the death of aviation pioneer & entrepreneur Geoffrey de Havilland, aged 82, following a brain haemorrhage. 

 

His initial attempts at flying was unsuccessful, cashing on his maiden flight in December 1909; undeterred he succeeded in September the following year. He was commissioned in the RFC and briefly saw active service during WW 1 protecting shipping from U-boats. In 1920 he founded the De Havilland aircraft company which existed until incorporated into Hawker Siddely in 1953. 

 

The company designed and built the multi-role Mosquito, of which over 7,000 were produced, continuing in active service with the RAF until 1963. 

 

The company's Comet was the world's first commercial jet aircraft, which was in use from 1952 to 1997.

 

 

He was also a cousin of DL alumna Olivia.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

British cookery writer Elizabeth David died on this day 30 years ago, aged 78.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

Thurl Ravenscroft died on this day 17 years ago, aged 91.

In the 1930s, Ravenscroft joined the singing group The Mellomen, and quickly achieved success as background singers for performers such as Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and (ex-DL alumnus) Frankie Laine. In 1940, the group performed the song "Honest John" for Disney's Pinocchio- which was removed during production. However, Ravenscroft's voice remains in the film as the vocal effects of Monstro, the whale that swallows Pinocchio and Geppetto.

 

Ravenscroft soon became the frontman of the group, and they performed in more Disney films- these included Dumbo (for the famous pink elephant sequence), Peter Pan (as the singing pirates and outdated Native American caricatures), and Lady and the Tramp (as a group of singing dogs at the pound). They would also perform songs for rides at Disney amusement parks, including Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion:

 

In 1966, Ravenscroft sang "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" for the still-popular holiday special. Before Ravenscroft was revealed to have sung it, other guesses of the singer's identity were Tennessee Ernie Ford (of "Sixteen Tons" fame) and Boris Karloff (who provided the Grinch's voice).

 

In 1953, Ravenscroft also became the voice of the Frosted Flakes cereal mascot Tony the Tiger, whom he would voice until his death. He voiced Kirby, the vacuum cleaner, in The Brave Little Toaster series of films from 1987 to 1998. His final role was the singing voice of I.M. Weasel on the eponymous Cartoon Network show. At that time, he was still working with Disney, with his final film role as the voice of an elephant in Tarzan.

[Hell 1,334]

American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri Langston Hughes died on this day 55 years ago, aged 66.

 

[time 8,641]

Poet & author, former poet laureate (and Daniel's dad) Cecil Day-Lewis died 50 years ago today, aged 68, from pancreatic cancer.

 

 

Born in Ireland, he was brought up by his father in London from age 2, after his mother died. He worked for the Ministry of Information during the war and was a lecturer in poetry at Cambridge University following. Later he also lectured at Oxford. He was awarded a CBE in 1950 and appointed Poet Laureate in 1968.

 

He supplemented his income from his poetic endeavours by writing crime novels under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake.

 

Politically, he was a communist, becoming a member of the CPGB from 1935 to 1938, but became disillusioned following Stalin's purges. He renounced his communist views in his 1960 autobiography The Buried Day.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

English actress of stage, television and film Margaret Rutherford died on this day 50 years ago, aged 80.

 

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On this day in 1998 american actor and director  John Derek  died aged 71.

 

He was a B list actor during part of the golden age of Hollywood  and starred in films such as  Knock on any door (1949) - a role that the films leading man Humphrey Bogart  secured  Dereks casting in, All the Kings men (1949) , Rogues of Sherwood forest (1950) , Mask of the avenger (1951) in which he played Robin  Hood,  Prince of Pirates (1953) and The Leather  Saint  (1956)

He was married four times , firstly to turkish ballerina  Pati Behns ,secondly to future Bond Girl Ursula Andress whom he split with and threw out of the marital home after persist rumours in Hollywood she had an affair with hu ky Tarzan actor  Ron Ely.

      Third wife was american  actress Linda Evans  who is best known as Krystal Carrington in US soap Dynasty. 

His final wife and widow was actress  Bo Derek.  He met  Bo who had just dropped out of high school at age 16 when he was in his forties  but stayed with her in Europe until she was 18 in order to avoid  statutory rape charges in the USA. 

He latter walked away from acting lamenting that his heart was never really in it and moved over to directing films.  Even directing some of singer Shania Twains music  videos in the mid 1990s. 

He directed his wife Bo Derek  in a hard core pornography film called Fantasies in 1979 and after some delay it was released in 1981. 

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

William Kidd, better known as Captain Kidd, died on this day 321 years ago, aged 47.

Born in Scotland in 1654, Kidd settled in New York as a young adult. He soon became a seaman's apprentice on a privateer ship. In 1689 Kidd and several other crewmates mutinied and ousted their captain, and Kidd was either elected or appointed as the new captain. They headed to the colony of Nevis, and helped defend the island from the French (whom the English were at war with at the time). Kidd soon returned to New York, where he married a wealthy twice-widow (who was still in her 20s) and helped fund the construction of Trinity Church (which still stands in downtown Manhattan).

 

In 1695, New York's colonial governor requested Kidd to go on a mission to attack known pirates (and enemy French ships)- he accepted, considering he would appear disloyal to the crown if he refused. In September of 1696, Kidd and his crew began their journey towards the waters surrounding southern Africa- a third of his crew died of cholera, his ship suffered from leakage, and he failed to find any pirates.

 

This may have caused Kidd to go off the deep end. He began to abuse his power, citing his noble friends in England would vouch for him if he was reported. In 1698, Kidd seized an Indian fabric and gold ship, and when the news came to England, he was labelled a pirate and his capture was ordered. Kidd encountered the pirate Robert Culliford on Madagascar, and the majority of his crew abandoned him to work for Culliford. Kidd decided to return to New York, and he hid his ship on an island in the Caribbean, and hid or sold his stolen treasures along the way.

 

New York's governor Richard Coote was in Boston at the time that he heard about Kidd's return, and lured him to the city promising to pardon him- this was a lie, as he believed that he would be implicated with the pirates if Kidd was allowed to stay free. Kidd was arrested on July 6, 1699, and was sent to England for trial in 1700. Kidd was sentenced to death. On execution day, Kidd needed to be hung twice- the first noose snapped, and Kidd survived the fall. Some called this divine intervention and believed that he should be released, but he was successfully hanged the second time. His corpse was hung over the River Thames until 1704 as a warning to other pirates.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

French-speaking Swiss writer Charles Ferdinand Ramuz died on this day 75 years ago, aged 68.

 

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On this  day in 1994   peer in the House of Baroness Joan Vickers died aged 86.

She was originally  a member of the national Liberal party which had broken away from the Liberal party.  The National Liberal party ceased to exist in 1968  after years of local pacts at the general election with the conservative were there was agreement in some seats not to stand against each other - resulting in a final formal merger between the two parties.

 

Her family background was very well-known connected,  her father being a stockbroker  who counted King Edward VII  as one of his clients. 

Joan was also presented to the Royal Court by  the wife of Winston Churchill- although Winston himself told Joan when she revealed to him that she wanted to go into politics that he did not approve of women going into politics and didn't think it was a good idea . He  did however advise her to wear a pretty hat and join the London County Council.

So in 1936 she was elected a member of the Ladies Grand  council of the Primrose league and in 1937  she was elected to London County council  representing the district of Norwood. 

She was the only  female member of the National Liberal Party  to represent them  nationally.  In 1955 she was elected  as the MP  for Plymouth Devonport  defeating the future leader of the Labour Party Michael Foot by around just 100 votes.   She left the house of commons in 1974 after losing to the labour  candidate and future  SDP  breakaway rebel David Owen in the general election  . 

She was subsequently made a  house of lords peer in 1975. 

She never became a government minister largely many think because  she had a history of voting  by conscience on many issues rather than the party line.

[Hell 1,334]

American business magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller died on this day 85 years ago, aged 97.

 

 

American author, designer and illustrator of children’s books Eric Carle died on this day a year ago, aged 91.

 

 

English actor Roger Moore died on this day 5 years ago, aged 89.

 

 

American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, differential geometry, and the study of partial different equations John Forbes Nash Jr. died on this day 7 years ago, aged 86.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison died on this day 143 years ago, aged 73.

Garrison began working for antislavery papers as a teen. In 1831, he founded his own newspaper, The Liberator. Garrison also championed for women's rights, and The Liberator became the leading publication for said movement in the 1840s.

 

In 1854, Garrison infamously burned a copy of the US Constitution. The next year, his fellow abolitionist Frederick Douglass disassociated himself with him, as he viewed some points of the Constitution could be used to argue against slavery- they reconciled in 1873. The state of Georgia put a bounty on his head for this.

 

After the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, Garrison ceased publishing The Liberator, and left his positions in antislavery organizations- the issue was over. He would continue supporting African-American and female rights until his death from renal failure.

 

While Garrison was indeed noble in the fight against slavery and the suffrage movement, he was also a rabid anti-Semite. He believed that the scattering of Jews out of Israel was a justified punishment for the crucifixion of Jesus, and called the pro-slavery sheriff Mordecai Noah a "Shylock" (after the main character of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, who was a Jewish stereotype) and claimed he was a direct descendent of the people who nailed Jesus to the cross.

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Another excellent detailed post ! @Drewsky1211

 

I enjoy reading your posts on this thread. 

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American film, television and theatre actor Gavin Muir died on this day 50 years ago, aged 71.

 

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On this day in 2003 English actress  Rachel Kempson otherwise known as Lady Redgrave died  aged 92.

She was the wife and widow of Sir Michael  Redgrave and the matriarch of the famous Redgrave acting dynasty  as the mother of  Corin, Lynn and  Vanessa Redgrave  and the grandmother of  actresses Miranda and Natasha Richardson.

[Hell 1,334]

American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life Duke Ellington died on this day 48 years ago, aged 75.

 

 

English actor who portrayed the character of Marcus Belby in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and had signed to appear in the planned film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Rob Knox died on this day 14 years ago, aged 18.

 

 

British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976 Harold Wilson died on this day 27 years ago, aged 79.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

Wojciech Jaruzelski died on this day 8 years ago, aged 90.

After Germany and the Soviet Union kicked off World War II by invading Poland, 16-year old Jaruzelski and his family fled to Lithuania, which was soon forcibly annexed into the USSR. The Russians deported the Jaruzelskis to Siberia (his father was sent to a gulag and died in 1942), and Wojciech was forced to clean the forests. During his labor, he suffered eye damage, causing him to wear his iconic sunglasses for the remainder of his life. He was able to return to Poland by joining the Soviet-controlled First Polish Army.

 

In 1948, he joined the Polish United Workers' Party. He rose through the party ranks, and became the Minister of Defense in 1968. When the liberal Alexander Dubcek began loosening censorship in Czechoslovakia, Jaruzelski began an invasion of the country (along with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary). This saw a Warsaw Pact victory, and Dubcek was forced to resign.

 

In 1981, Jaruzelski was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In December of that year, he declared martial law to strengthen his power against the Solidarity Party (led by Lech Walesa). This lasted until 1983. Thousands of political prisoners were taken, and most of them would not be released until 1986. In 1989, Jaruzelski restored the presidency, following Gorbachev's lead in the Soviet Union. He resigned on December 22, 1990, following the election in which Walesa won. Communist Poland was officially over.

 

In 1998, Jaruzelski made his first appearance on the DeathList. He would appear again in 2000, and consecutively in 2012 and 2013. He was dropped for 2014- he died from complications of a stroke that year. He was the last survivor of the 1998 list- it was the first ever list extinction, having taken 16 years.