Death Anniversary Thread

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On this day 37 years ago in 1985 English professional cricketer Dick Pollard died aged 73.

As a fast medium bowler he played for the national team for about 4 or 5 games but spent most of his career playing for Lancashire. 

 

 

On this day in 1974 professional american golfer Helen Hicks died aged 63 from throat cancer. 

She was one of the founders of the Ladies Professional Golf association (LPGA) in 1950.

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Leopold II of Belgium died on this day 113 years ago, aged 74.

Leopold's reign began following the death of his father Leopold I in 1865. Domestically, Leopold was known for commissioning many buildings throughout Belgium, earning him the nickname of "The Builder King".

 

Today, however, Leopold has been viewed as one of the most vile human beings to have lived. In 1879, Leopold commissioned Henry Morton Stanley to explore the basin of the Congo River. Stanley made treaties that effectively gave the native people's land to Leopold, and in 1885, once Europe recognized his claims, the king established the Congo Free State. Leopold used his new colony to increase his personal wealth with the export of rubber, and he would do anything to obtain the material.

 

During this time period, all of the natives were effectively enslaved, with colonial officials beating the local populations into submission- men, women, children, they all harvested rubber. Officials would also take hostages to ensure that rubber quotas were being met. And if they weren't...

the officials would cut off a hand (and maybe also a foot)- children as young as five were murdered this way. Estimates suggest that between one and a half to 13 million Congolese died; disease was also a factor.

 

People were indeed made aware of Leopold's actions, and he was criticized in contemporary media. Protesters would also boo at his funeral. This, however, did not stop statues from being erected decades after his death, and it only took the George Floyd protests in 2020 to take many of them down.

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American college men's basketball player Hank Luisetti died on this day 20 years ago, aged 86.

 

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On this day 30 years ago in 1992, american actor Dana Andrews died aged 83.

 

His film credits include  playing a world war two veteran in the multi Oscar winning film The Best years of our lives (1946)  co-starring with Myrna Loy and Virginia Mayo,  Fallen Angel (1945) with Alice Faye,  Where the sidewalk ends (1950) alongside  Gene Tierney,  film noir crime drama Boomerang (1947) with Karl Malden and  Jane Wyatt, Elephant Walk(1954) with Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch leading the cast,  hit  musical  State Fair (1945) with Jeanne Crain as his leading lady  and  1954 western  Smoke Signal with Piper Laurie. 

 

Later roles in television include  The Love Boat,  The Twilight zone and Falcon Crest. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ronnie Biggs died on this day 9 years ago, aged 84.

A lot of people here already know the below information- but for those new:

 

Biggs was a burglar who was dishonorably discharged from the RAF. In 1963, desperate for cash to buy a house for his family, Biggs and a group of fourteen others (including Bruce Reynolds, whom he had met in prison) robbed a Royal Mail train, taking 2.6 million pounds- he received 147,000 of them. Biggs would be caught and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment- he escaped fifteen months in.

 

From there, Biggs managed to flee to Brussels, asking his wife to meet him in Paris with their children. In 1966, they then went to Australia, and moved to Brazil in 1969 when Interpol was closing in on them. Brazil did not have an extradition treaty with the UK at the time. Biggs was found in 1974, but was not extradited even after an extradition treaty was made in 1997. Due to his worldwide travels, he earned the nickname "The Ambassador".

 

In 2001, Biggs decided to return to the UK to die. He was immediately arrested upon landing, and did not receive any extra time on his sentence for escape and evading authorities. His health continued to deteriorate while imprisoned, which included contracting a severe staph infection and a rumored heart attack. In 2009, following a series of strokes, Biggs was released on compassionate grounds.

 

Sometime during 2010, Biggs became aware of this site, having made appearances on every list since 2000, except for 2001- often appearing within the top five spots each year. His publisher (@CriticalDivide) provided updates on him, and Biggs would make Facebook posts after having purchased (currently unavailable) DeathList merchandise.

Biggs also mentioned DeathList at his autobiography launch in 2011.

 

Biggs is so far the only DeathList alumnus to have publicly reacted to being on the list- the "Ambassador" nickname was also apt for this reason. Following his death, one final statement was released:

"You always did warn me that you would win in the end, so congratulations and thanks for your patience over these many years. I was honoured to be your ambassador and will miss you probably more than you will miss me. And if you ask, yes it was a life worth living, even with the regrets. I hope you all get as much out of life as I have. See you on the other side."

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American actor and comedian Chris Farley died on this day 25 years ago, aged 33.

 

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Hungarian born  American film star, socialite, prototype 'celebrity ' and DeathList legend  Zsa Zsa Gabor died on this day 6 years ago in 2016 aged 99-she was less than 2 months away from her 100th birthday in February 2017.

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Jimmy Hill died on this day 7 years ago, aged 87.

(just look at that magnificent Habsburg jaw)

 

Hill was a footballer who played for Brentford FC beginning in 1949, and then Fulham in 1952. In 1961, he became the manager of Coventry City FC, and would remain so until 1967.

 

Hill would then become a TV personality, co-hosting the 1970 World Cup on ITV. In 1973, he joined Match of the Day as its main presenter before hosting duties were switched to Des Lynam in 1988. Hill would remain on the show until 1999, notably being at the Hillsborough crush in 1989. Hill would then host Jimmy Hill's Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports until 2007.

 

And now for something completely different...

Did you know that Hill was the true and honest creator of Sonichu, the first openly-homosexual children's cartoon character? He planned to launch the series sometime in late 2008. Someone accused Hill of stealing his idea, but his art (seen on the right) was of poor-quality, and deemed fake.

In all seriousness, the Something Awful roleplay account Oedipus Rex Chris-chan fell for introduced Hill to a more international audience (particularly those trolling Chris at the time).

 

The real Hill was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease around the same time the "Jimmy Hill Saga" occurred, which was revealed five years later- surprised he was never on the list due to this.

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English playwright and theatre director John Van Druten died on this day 65 years ago, aged 56.

 

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German psychiatrist and neuropathologist and a colleague of Emil Kraepelin Alois Alzheimer died on this day 107 years ago, aged 51.

 

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On this day 23 years ago in 1999, Welsh actor Desmond Llewelyn  died in a car crash in East Sussex aged 85.

He is best known for playing spy master Q in the James Bond films for over 36 years. He died just a few weeks after  the latest Bond film The world is not enough was released at cinemas worldwide. 

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Twenty years ago today footballer Arthur Rowley died, aged 78.

 

He's the English Football League's leading goalscorer, with 434 goals in 619 games, in a career lasting 20 years with West Bromwich Albion, Fulham, Leicester City & Shrewsbury Town, 

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Brittany Murphy died on this day 13 years ago, aged 32.

Murphy had her breakout role in 1995's Clueless, where she played the character Tai Frasier. Some of her other film roles included Daisy in Girl, Interrupted, Eminem's love interest in 8 Mile, and the voice of Gloria in Happy Feet.

 

Murphy was also well-known for being the voice of Luanne in King of the Hill.

 

Murphy's premature death remains under mysterious circumstances. It was ruled as pneumonia that was likely exacerbated from anemia and drug intoxication. However, her husband and mother claimed that she had a heart condition- things became suspicious when said husband (Simon Monjack) died five months after her, with the same cause of death issued by the coroner. Toxic mold was then considered a probable cause, but was then dismissed. Murphy's father then believed she was deliberately poisoned with metals such as antimony and barium, which her mother claimed as absurd.

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American film studio executive and producer Dawn Steel died on this day 25 years ago, aged 51.

 

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On this day 49 years ago in 1973 , american singer and actor  Bobby Darin died from sepsis aged 37.

He had suffered poor health all his life and previously had heart valve surgery .He didn't take a necessary course of antibiotics before he visited the dentist and sadly as a caught an infection and died of sepsis.

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James Parkinson died on this day 198 years ago, aged 69.

(he's somewhere in this engraving)

 

Parkinson was a political activist who rallied for the poor in London, and was a critic of prime minister William Pitt the Younger. He would often publish his radical ideas in pamphlets under the guise of "Old Hubert". He was a member of the Society for Constitutional Information, and in 1794, was investigated due to his association when some members of the group plotted to assassinate King George III.

 

In 1799, Parkinson decided to quit politics to focus on medicine, and wrote about gout and appendicitis (and bursting of the appendix), and in 1812, described the first instance of the latter affliction being a cause of death. In 1817, after monitoring six of his patients that had tremors, described their illness as "shaking palsy"- this disease would be named after him about sixty years later.

 

Parkinson was also a paleontologist. He collected and illustrated fossils, although he believed that extinction events were God's work, citing Noah's flood. Several extinct animals were named after him, including a genus of ammonites.

 

Parkinson did not die from the disease that was named after him- it was a stroke that did him in.

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American actress and acting teacher Stella Adler died on this day 30 years ago, aged 91.

 

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On this day 9  years ago in 2013, British sports commentator and television presenter  David Coleman died aged 87.

 

His main career focus as a commentator was football,  hence him presenting  BBC football show Grandstand .

He worked for the BBC as a sports commentator for decades,  covering numerous Olympic games up until  the year 2000 .

His very first television appearance  was on the day Roger Bannister broke the record  for the four minute mile. 

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Christine Cavanaugh died on this day 8 years ago, aged 51.

'90s kids will absolutely recognize her voice- in 1991, she began voicing the characters of Gossalyn in Darkwing Duck and Chuckie in Rugrats. Later on, she would voice Bunnie Rabbot in Sonic SatAM, Oblina in Aaah!!! Real Monsters, Babe the pig in the first theatrical film, and Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory.

 

Besides voice acting, Cavanaugh would also appear in shows like Salute Your Shorts, Frasier, The X-Files, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Cavanaugh retired in 2001 to focus on her family, and the last thing that she starred in were episodes of The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald as Birdie the Early Bird. As both Rugrats and Dexter's Laboratory were still making new episodes, she was replaced by Nancy Cartwright and Candi Milo respectively.

 

Cavanaugh died from leukemia thirteen years after retirement.

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Joe Strummer died 20 years ago today aged 50.

 

 

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American film actress and director Alice Terry died on this day 35 years ago, aged 88.

 

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Jean-Victor Poncelet (d. 22 December 1867 @ 79) was a French engineer and mathematician.

 

Gotta love the surname. 
I’m changing it to Ponce-a-lot cuz we have so many Ponce-a-lots around these pages nowadays.

 

 

 

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On this day 8 years ago in 2014 ,British singer Joe Cocker died aged 70.

 

 

On this day 57 years ago in 1965  ,British journalist and broadcaster Richard Dimbleby died from testicular cancer aged 52 

He was the  BBCs first war correspondent  and went on to present their flagship current affair investigative journalism show Panorama. 

 

He is the father of famous British journalists Jonathan and David Dimbleby. 

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Victor Borge died on this day 22 years ago, aged 91.

Borge started out as a pianist in the 1920s. While playing a concert in Sweden in 1940, Germany invaded his home country of Denmark, and he fled to Finland. It was still unsafe (Borge was Jewish- his real name was Borge Rosenbaum), so in 1941, he went to the US, learning English by seeing films.

 

Borge would soon become a radio performer, and soon rose to fame by creating humorous interpretations of the music, with one of his gimmicks being that he segued into another piece of music, and another being that he played music with the song sheet upside-down before realigning it and correctly playing it.

 

Borge would also read books on stage, and added sound effects to signify certain punctuation marks- periods would make a puckering noise, while question marks sounded like a zipper, then the period sound. In later life, he would perform this on shows such as The Electric Company.

Borge also employed "inflationary language"- for example, "for example" becomes "five example", and "great tennis game" becomes "grenine elevennis game".

 

Borge would perform up until his death- in his final televised interview a week before he died, Borge said that he would spend Christmas and New Year's "somewhere completely different". Borge made four appearances on the DeathList: 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1999.

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American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter Jack Webb died on this day 40 years ago, aged 62.