Death Anniversary Thread

[Hell 1,334]

American painter, art instructor, and television host Bob Ross died on this day 27 years ago, aged 52.

 

 

5th president of the United States James Monroe died on this day 191 years ago, aged 73.

 

 

American billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Chris Cline died on this day 3 years ago, aged 60.

 

 

Hungarian actress, businesswoman, singer, and socialite Eva Gabor died on this day 27 years ago, aged 76.

 

 

American attorney and politician who served as vice president of the United States under President Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1865 Hannibal Hamlin died on this day 131 years ago, aged 81.

 

 

English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years Eric Sykes died on this day 10 years ago, aged 89.

 

 

Former United States Senator Jesse Helms died on this day 14 years ago, aged 86.

 

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American character actor Walter Long died on this day 70 years ago, aged 73.

 

[The Unknown Man 587]

Hall of Fame College football coach Terry Donahue, who coached the UCLA Bruins to 5 championships, died on this day last year, aged 77.

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On this day in 1938 , Suzanne Lenglen, one of Frances most succesful tennis players ever , died aged 39.

Her aptitude and gift for tennis was spotted  by her parents as a youngster and was trained and coached by her father for most of her career. Her parents had very high expectations  for their daughter and were not shy about picking her up on the very fine details of her mistakes or missteps on the court and relentlessly  working her to correct them. Suzannes  father was known during training for throwing a handkerchief all over the tennis court and requiring his daughter to hit the handkerchief with the tennis ball with ultra precision.

An extreme  succesful  career in tennis followed , 8 Grand Slam wins in singles and 21 in total, 6 Wimbledon  Singles titles - 5 in a row between 1919-1923. A record only matched decades later by Martina  Navratilova. Olympic golds in tennis at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics  and  wins at the open French championships 

The added to a stellar impressive career. 

Regarded and treated by the French media as a sort of symbol of  national  pride for France in the aftermath of World War one  they nicknamed her La Divine. Lenglen  exuded supreme confidence in her ability to win and would often declare  publicly just before a big game that she knew she was going to win. A practice that irked some especially  Americans who felt it unprofessional and arrogant. 

 

Nevertheless her overall track record was very good and , ranked as the inaugural world number one  from 1921-1926.

    In tennis rankings she is ranked 24th in the 100 greatest of all time series. In teems of popularity  many think of her as the first female athlete to be regarded as a sort of global sporting celebrity/ star. Wimbledon  moved to its present larger venue as a result of her popularity and fame. 

 

In her personal life she never married or had children but had hoped to marry  Baldwin Baldwin,  the heir to the wealthy  real estate and investment fortune of his father Lucky  Baldwin , but he was already  married and while he was in a relationship with Suzanne for 5 years from 1927 to 1932 his wife would not agree to give him a divorce. 

 Suzanne  died at the young age of 39 in 1938. The exact cause of death is unclear-pernicious anaemia  is the given reason but it is thought that she may have been battling leukemia and kept that information private.

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On this day in 1998  british actress  Gladys Ambrose  ,best known  for playing  meddling gossip Julia Brogan in Channel  4s Liverpool based soap  Brookside,  died from cancer aged 67.

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

Baseball legend Ted Williams died on this day 20 years ago, aged 83.

Williams played for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960. He made 19 appearances in the MLB's All-Star games, and is one of only two players to earn a Triple Crown twice (Rogers Hornsby is the other).

 

In 1969, Williams became the manager of the Washington Senators, which relocated and became the Texas Rangers under his management. In 1984, the Red Sox retired his jersey number (9).

 

After Williams died, he had his remains cryogenically frozen- his children argued over this- his oldest supported his wish to be cremated, as written in his will- while his younger two supported his claim of wanting to be frozen via a written note between the three of them.

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On this day in 2019 british horse racing pundit,  television presenter,  journalist and provocateur  John McCricrick died aged 79.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American actor Kerwin Mathews died on this day 15 years ago, aged 81.

 

[chel 376]

Russian geneticist Oleg Balanovsky died a year ago (03.07.1977 — 05.07.2021)

 

Obituary on the site from the place of work: http://vigg.ru/news/news-single/article/oleg-pavlovich-balanovskii-03071977-05072021/

Circumstances of death: https://rg.ru/2021/07/06/reg-cfo/pod-kostromoj-pogib-genetik-oleg-balanovskij.html

 

It so happened that during the period of covid restrictions, I came across the works of Balanovsky. There are differences in the presentation of data in articles in English and Russian. I have doubts about some of the results presented. Conclusions about the genetic unity of the Slavic peoples could serve as a scientific basis for Russian aggression. 

I'm sorry

 

 

 

 

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On this day 29 years ago in 1993 british aristrocrat Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy  died aged 84.

Baroness Fermoy  was a lady in waiting  and close confidante to the Queen Mother.  

 

She was also the maternal grandmother  to Princess Diana and was influential in part in match making her granddaughter with Prince Charles. 

Her inclinations and loyalties seemed to be to side with Charles when the marriage failed, causing family tension just as she sided against her daughter Frances in the custody case when she divorced Dianas father Earl Spencer .Questioning her daughters fitness as a mother. 

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

Buddy Ebsen died on this day 19 years ago, aged 95.

Ebsen had a long career. He started off as a Broadway actor, and among his first film roles was as a reference model for how Mickey Mouse should dance in Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies cartoons. In 1939, he was chosen to be the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, but had to withdraw after suffering from a reaction to the aluminum dust used in the costume, with Jack Haley being his replacement. This reportedly led to life-long breathing difficulties.

 

Ebsen would later become a TV actor, and in 1962, landed his most famous role as Jed Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies. The show ran until 1971 and was among the highest-rated series.

This show eventually led to Weird Al singing the show's theme to the tune of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" for his 1989 film UHF. Wonder if Buddy ever heard it.

 

In 1973, Buddy had another major hit as detective Barnaby Jones. As the series progressed and Buddy got older, Ebsen soon became tired of playing the role. The show was cancelled in 1980 due to plummeting ratings, but Ebsen reprised his role as a cameo in the 1994 Beverly Hillbillies movie (in which Jim Varney portrayed Jed Clampett). Ebsen's final role on television was the voice of one-time character Chet Elderson in a season 3 episode of King of the Hill, "A Fire Fighting We Will Go":

 

Ebsen would make his only DeathList appearance in 2002 in the number 34 slot (with his last name misspelled as "Ebson").

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Singer & songwriter Syreeta (Wright) died 18 years ago today. A long-time collaborator with Stevie Wonder (they were married for 18 months), she has writing credits on his albums, as he does on hers, as well as producing her first 2 albums, the second of which, 1974s "Stevie Wonder presents Syreeta" spawned her biggest solo hit, "Your Kiss is Sweet", which reached number 12 in the UK chart; this was eclipsed by her duet with Billy Preston "With You I'm Born Again" (1979) which reached number 2 in the UK and number 4 in the US.

She aged 57 of congestive heart failure brought on by chemo- and radiation therapy she was receiving for breast and bone cancer.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American writer William Faulkner died on this day 60 years ago, aged 64.

 

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On this day in 1960  British Labour politician Aneurin  Bevan  died aged 62 from stomach cancer discovered during treatment  for an ulcer.

Bevan argued and  fought hard  for the setting up of the NHS for years and as secretary state for Health under the post war Labour government from 1945  was given the opportunity to bring his beliefs to fruition  after successfully   leading the steering of the parliamentary  National Health Service act through the House of commons in 1946.

Historically Bevan pulls as one of the  most popular and respected British politicians of all time because of his central key role being the driving force behind the setting up of the National Health Service and welfare state  after World war two. 

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

Edward I of England died on this day 715 years ago, aged 68.

Edward became king in 1272 following the death of his father, Henry III. He is known by two epithets: "Longshanks", for his tall height for the time (6'2", or 188cm), and "Hammer of the Scots": when the heir to the Scottish throne, Margaret, died in 1290 (aged 7, having never been coronated), Edward began to assert feudal dominance over Scotland, even after King John was crowned. In 1296, Scotland formed an alliance with France.

 

The new alliance enraged Edward, and he invaded Scotland, deposing John and imprisoning him in the Tower of London. Edward also stole the Stone of Destiny and installed it in his throne, and it remains in England to this day (an attempt was made by Ian Hamilton to return it in 1950). The leader of the freedom fighters, William Wallace, began incursions onto English soil, and Edward sent more of his army into Scotland, capturing and executing Wallace in 1305.

 

As the recently-crowned Robert I the Bruce and his troops began to defeat Edward's forces, Edward decided to go to Scotland himself. He developed dysentery and died in Cumbria, just south of the border. He was succeeded by his son, Edward II.

 

His death was likely viewed by the Scots as a jackpot- 7/7/07.

[Hell 1,334]

American filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr died on this day a year ago, aged 85.

 

 

American film, stage, and television actress Veronica Lake died on this day 49 years ago, aged 50.

 

 

Argentine born professional footballer and coach who played as a forward, regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time Alfredo Di Stéfano died on this day 8 years ago, aged 88.

 

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Dilip Kumar, Indian actor and massive coffin tease died on this day a year ago, aged 98.

Kumar was one of the most successful Bollywood stars, his career spanning from 1944 to 1999. He was called the "Tradegy King", the first method actor of Bollywood. He retired after a long and successful acting career and after his health seemingly started to fail due to heart problems and a stroke in the 1990s. After retiring from acting Kumar was a member of the upper house of the Parliament of India, Rajya Sabha, for six years from 2000-2006.

In 2008 he was hospitalised and spent days in intensive care for an urinary tract infection, trouble breathing and complications. This could be viewed as the "start of the end", he was plagued by severe health problems for the remaining twelve years of his life. He was again hospitalised, this time with malaria, in 2009 and was reported to be in failing health in 2010. In 2013 he suffered a silent heart attack and was in "delicate condition" after having bronchopneumonia in 2014. From 2016 to 2018 he was frequently mentioned here, hospitalised multiple times in ICU each year for a number of ailments including pneumonia, fever, swollen limbs, dehydration, kidney problems, swollen kidneys, renal failure, aspiration pneumonia, breathlessness and the three stooges syndrome. Each time he was discharged. The most of his last three years were quite calm and he wasn't hospitalised that much around 2019 and 2021, as he most of the time was kept in a mini-ICU at home with oxygen support, BiPAP, a defibrillator, tubes to feed him and other equipment needed to keep him alive. For his last years he was unable to speak, suffered from a degenerative disease for 14 years, needed frequent blood transfusions and for his last years suffered from testicular cancer. At a certain point the mini-ICU at his home wasn't enough to keep him alive, as his body had finally started giving up. His last three hospitalisations were in May and June-July 2021, he suffered from bilateral pleural effusion, but a team of doctors somehow managed to save him twice.

During his last week, he was reported to be "improving" until he "suddenly" died from a cardiopulmonary arrest caused by kidney failure, pleural effusion, long-term heart problems and of course, on top of all that, metastatic testicular cancer. 

I chose that picture, taken around 2020 or 2021, as it is one of the only pictures taken during the last years of his life where he seems alive and happy.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

American football player and advertising executive Clint Frank died on this day 30 years ago, aged 76.

 

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On this day in 1930  Sir Arthur  Conan Doyle,  the author and creative mind behind the legendary fictional detective  Sherlock Holmes  , died aged 71.

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On this day in 2018 american actor  Tab Hunter, who rose to prominence in the 1950s during the golden age of Hollywood,  died aged 86.

He was   promoted as the clean cut wholesome  boy next door  by the Hollywood studios,  dating a number of beautiful actresses.  But  it was a carefully crafted illusion- they were all beards.  He was gay and closeted and eventually revealed all in his autobiographical and a small budget film about his life.

[Drewsky1211 4,767]

King Pepin of Italy died on this day 1212 years ago, aged 33.

Pepin's birth name was Carloman. In 774, his father Charlemagne conquered the Lombards, and shared their newly-acquired throne with Carloman, who took the regnal name Pepin (he had an older brother with the same name) in 781 at the age of 4. He was crowned by Pope Adrian I- who began dating his documents with the start of the Carolingian reign, rather than the Julian calendar (it would be year 8).

 

Beginning in 791, Pepin and his father began to ransack the Avars, though Charlemagne left to quash a Saxon revolt. The Avars were defeated in 796, and Pepin returned home to Verona- the new capital of his empire beginning in 799. In 810, Pepin attempted to invade Venice, but an unidentified disease forced him and his troops to withdraw, and he died from it a few months later. His son Bernard became king- despite being an illegitimate child, his grandfather allowed him to inherit the throne.

[The Ashes Urn 1,358]

First lady of the United States from 1923 to 1929, Grace Coolidge, died on this day 65 years ago, aged 78.

 

[Hell 1,334]

North korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which led from the country’s establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994 Kim II Sung died on this day 28 years ago, aged 82.

 

 

British actress Vivien Leigh died on this day 55 years ago, aged 53.

 

 

American actor whose career spanned over six decades Ernest Borgnine died on this day 10 years ago, aged 95.

 

 

First lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford Betty Ford died on this day 11 years ago, aged 93.

 

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On this day 90 years ago in  1932, american  businessman King C Gilette , died aged 77 in Los Angeles. 

Gilette invented the best selling version of the safety  razor  that is still popular  to this day in slightly modified form - establishing  Gilette as a household name in much of the world. Safety razors had already been invented but with a forged blade- making shaving much more bloody,  tricky and accident prone. Gilette refined and improved these safety features  and  made them thin enough to be safe but sharp enough  to shave effectively.  The first Gilette razor was made and sold in 1903. Their low prices proved to be  popular  and successful  with the public and by the time world war one  came they supplied all american soldiers with a field razor set paid for by the US government. 

In the 1920s  he sold the company out to a fellow director he was in battle with but his name remained on the  brand even after the patent expired. 

 

 

His finances were almost destroyed by the  great depression as the value of his shares and property  portfolio  fell drastically as a result of the economic  woes of the time. 

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Suffragette Alice Paul died on this day 45 years ago, aged 92.

Paul joined the movement in 1907 after seeing a Christabel Pankhurst speech, having moved to England after earning her master's degree. During her time with the Women's Social and Political Union, she was imprisoned three times, regularly demanding to be treated as a political prisoner and going on hunger strikes, while also befriending fellow suffragette Lucy Burns while in jail. She returned to the US in 1910.

 

In 1913, Paul organized the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington DC, which occurred the day before Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated. With inadequate police protection, onlookers began to heckle the protesters, causing it to devolve into a near-riot where the National Guard was activated to help the procession move.

 

In 1917, Paul created the Silent Sentinels- a picketing group who protested outside the White House. Many of them were soon arrested for "obstructing traffic", including Paul- they experienced terrible conditions while imprisoned (this included Paul being forced-fed after going on a hunger strike, and one night in November where prison guards would severely beat the suffragettes).

 

After the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Paul continued to strive for female equality- this included campaigning for women to keep their American citizenship after they married foreigners, and showed support for a future Equal Rights Amendment. Paul advocated for the inclusion of protection against sex discrimination in labor in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

 

Paul suffered a stroke in 1974 and was placed under the guardianship of her nephew, who squandered her fortune and put Paul in a nursing home. News of her condition spread in her home state of Pennsylvania, and her local Quaker congregation organized a charity benefit for her, and ended up getting her into a better facility before her death in 1977.