Death Anniversary Thread

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It's 18 years since the death of Harry Baird, actor, born in British Guiana (now Guyana). His film debut was in A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) and stage roles follwoed, but he was often cast in low-budget jungle/African themed films.

He had recurring roles in TV's Danger Man and UFO but is probably best known for the part of Big William, the coach driver who manages to park the coach half over a cliff at the end of The Italian Job (1969). He retired from acting following 1975's Four of The Apocalypse, when glaucoma rendered him blind, and died of cancer aged 73.

 

[Hell 1,334]

Japanese entrepreneur, businessman, and politician, noteworthy as the founder and first president of the Nissan zaibatsu, one of Japan’s most powerful business conglomerates around the time of the Second World War Yoshisuke Aikawa died on this day 56 years ago, aged 86.

 

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Count Dietrich of Oldenburg died on this day 583 years ago, aged 41.

- Dietrich was a German feudal lord who became the Count of Oldenburg in 1403 after the death of his father, Christian V.

- Through his grandmother Ingeborg, he was descended from the kings of Sweden, and eventually became the heir to the throne due to the other living descendants of kings Valdemar I and Eric IV being considered illegitimate- his son Christian VII of Oldenburg became the country's king (Christian I) in 1457.

- Dietrich was nicknamed "Fortunatus"- "The Lucky"- for acquiring the county of Delmenhorst for his branch of the family over other cadet branches.

- Dietrich is the direct patrilineal ancestor of many of Europe's reigning and past monarchs. These include:

Tsar Nicholas II (12x-great-grandfather), and

Harald V of Norway, Margarethe II of Denmark, (the late) Constantine II of Greece and King Charles III (14x-great-grandfather- therefore Prince Philip was his direct 13x-great-grandson).

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On this day 40 years ago in 1983, German athlete and Olympic gold medallist Lina Radke  died aged 79.

She won the first  ever 800m  female  athletics race at the Olympics in 1928.

 

 

On this day 2 years ago in 2021 Welsh professional  snooker player Doug Mountjoy, who managed to rank in the worlds top 16 snooker players for 11 consecutive years from the 1970s onwards, died aged 78.

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Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999 Carlos Menem died on this day 2 years ago, aged 90.

 

 

English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half Bob Paisley died on this day 27 years ago, aged 77.

 

 

Austrian-American composer Frederick Loewe died on this day 35 years ago, aged 86.

 

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HH Asquith died on this day 95 years ago, aged 75.

- "HH" stood for "Herbert Henry". His childhood nickname was "Bertie", while his wife Margot called him by his middle name.

- Asquith became an MP in 1886, losing his seat in the 1918 election (in which David Lloyd George's coalition party won in a landslide). He was re-elected in 1920, serving in Parliament until 1924.

- Asquith was PM during World War I, and was shown to be a weak leader due to indecisiveness regarding wartime finance and conscripting troops.

- Asquith was made a lord in 1925, wanting to be known as "Lord Oxford". The College of Arms insisted that he add 'and Asquith' to differentiate him from the Harley family's "Earl of Oxford and Mortimer". He disliked the quality of debates during his time in the House of Lords.

- Asquith's health began to decline after a stroke in 1926, and he had two more the following year. He died two months after his final stroke.

- Helena Bonham Carter is one of his great-grandchildren- Asquith's daughter Violet was her grandmother.

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On this day 4 years ago in 2019,  Lee Radziwill,prominent American socialite  and sister of former American First Lady  Jacqueline Kennedy, died aged 85.

[Hell 1,334]

American singer, jazz pianist, and actor Nat King Cole died on this day 58 years ago, aged 45.

 

 

American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as his work in particle physics for which he proprosed the parton model Richard Feynman died on this day 35 years ago, aged 69.

 

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Lesley Gore died on this day 8 years ago, aged 68.

- Gore was born as "Lesley Goldstein", but used her mother's maiden name as her stage name.

- Gore's dentist was the uncle of songwriter Marvin Hamlisch- Marvin used him to give her his songs, and among the most famous of these was 1963's "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows".

- Gore's feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me" was her last top-ten single. It reached number 2 on the US Chart, but was prevented from becoming a number 1 due to Beatlemania- specifically "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

- Gore acted in two episodes of the Adam West Batman show, playing one of Catwoman's goons, named "Pussycat".

- Gore composed the songs "Out Here on My Own" and "Hot Lunch Jam" for the 1980 film Fame. Both were sung by the late Irene Cara.

- Gore would host the PBS show In the Life several times, and officially came out as a lesbian in 2005, having been in a relationship with a woman named Lois Sasson since 1982.

 

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On this day 21 years ago in 2002, English footballer Walter Winterbottom died aged 88.

Winterbottom was the first manager of the England national football team when the role was created in 1946.

His career as a player was most notably under Manchester United. 

 

 

On this day 30 years ago in 1993 american actor Donald Phelps died aged 61 from AIDS. 

Not a very well known actor but he did star in the hit film Ghost Ship in 1992, the year before he died.

[Hell 1,334]

American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s Keith Haring died on this day 33 years ago, aged 31.

 

 

American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967 Pat Brown died on this day 27 years ago, aged 90.

 

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11 years ago yesterday in 2012 (February 15th) British journalist  James Whittaker,  who specialised in royal coverage and  ended up as the royal editor for the Daily Mirror newspaper,  died  from cancer aged 71.

He was the first journalist to learn that Princess Diana suffered from an eating disorder after his colleague Anne Robinson noticed Diana was very late to an official function she and other journalists were present at. Anne  informed Whittaker of the Princesses increasing pattern of being late,  he made enquiries and learnt from one of her sisters about her medical condition. 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, American Air Force pilot Gail Halvorsen, who was nicknamed the Berlin Airlift "Candy Bomber", passed away at the age of 101.

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Geronimo died on this day 114 years ago, aged 79.

- Geronimo's Apache name, "Goyaale", meant "the one who yawns" in his native language.

-  In 1851, Geronimo's family was murdered by Mexican soldiers while he and the other men in his camp were trading in the town of Janos. From then on, Geronimo would attack and/or kill any group of Mexicans he encountered. The name "Geronimo" came from one of these incidents, where Mexican soldiers called out the name of Saint Jerome (Jeronimo).

- Between 1848 and 1886, Geronimo raided many American settlements with his tribe, and would often escape reservations with them. After his final surrender, he would remain a prisoner of war for the rest of his life.

- Despite his prisoner status, his exploits caught the attention of the American public, and he became a celebrity in Nebraska, and the army allowed him to participate in world's fairs under their guard. Wild West showrunner Pawnee Bill made an agreement with the government to feature Geronimo in his shows.

- In his later years, Geronimo turned to Christianity, and was expelled from the Dutch Reformed Church in 1907 for gambling. He would still somewhat hold on to his traditional religion as well.

- A rumor persists that members of the Skull and Bones society volunteering at Fort Sill stole Geronimo's skull in 1918- among the alleged thieves was Prescott Bush, father of George H. W. and grandfather of George W.

- The first instance of shouting his name when jumping came from a paratrooper named Aubrey Eberhardt in 1940, who had seen the biopic of him in theaters the night before his first jump. His name was shouted due to his fellow paratroopers taunting him for cowardice, saying that he would be too scared to remember the name of the film when jumping.

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On this day 10 years ago in 2013, American country and western singer  Mindy McCready died as a result of suicide by gunshot aged 37. Her boyfriend and father of her child died the same way just a month before. 

Police reported that she shot dead her late boyfriends dog just before she shot herself. 

 

 

 

 

On this day 10 years ago in 2013, British actor Richard Briers died aged 79.

Probably his best known work is playing Tom Good  in iconic Classic BBC sitcom  The Good life , were he has a brilliant onscreen partnership with Penelope Keith.

 

Other  highlights from his acting credits include Watership down, Monarch of the Glen, sitcom Ever decreasing circles and a film titled Rentadick- Margo I suspect would not approve but I certainly do!

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 57 years ago, American automobile executive Alfred P. Sloan, who was the leader of General Motors from 1923 to 1956 and best known for inventing the model year concept for cars being an early form planned obsolescence and getting customers to trade in perfectly good cars for a new one, passed away at the age of 90.

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Mexican writer, lawyer and politician affiliated with the Instituional Revolutionary Party who served as the 58th president of Mexico from 1976 to 1982 José López Portillo died on this day 19 years ago, aged 83.

 

 

American conservative political commentator who was the host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM radio stations from 1988 until his death Rush Limbaugh died on this day 2 years ago, aged 70.

 

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Michelangelo died on this day 459 years ago, aged 88.

- While known by his mononym, Michelangelo's last name was "Buonarroti".

- Among his most famous works are David, Pieta, and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was just 24 years old when he finished Pieta.

- While in art school, Michelangelo's nose was broken by a fellow student, Pietro Torrigiano, who was envious of his works.

- Michelangelo would often become a self-insert in his art, notably drawing himself as Saint Bartholomew's flayed skin in The Last Judgment and as Saint Nicodemus in The Crucifixion of Saint Peter.

- While painting The Last Judgment, the Vatican's Master of Ceremonies was offended by nude figures. Michelangelo then used him as the likeness of Minos, the judge of the underworld, adding donkey ears (indicating foolishness) and a snake biting his dick (as censorship). When the Master of Ceremonies complained again, Pope Paul III (who commissioned the piece) jokingly said that his "jurisdiction did not extend to Hell", and so it remained:

- Michelangelo destroyed many of his sketches shortly before his death.

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On this day 60 years ago in 1963, american actor Monte Blue, died aged 76.

 

He was a romantic lead in the silent movie era who transitioned well to playing supporting roles in the era of talkies. 

 

His acting credits include  Kiss me again (1925), The Marriage circle,  Wagon Wheels, So this is Paris  and Apache (1950s).

 

 

 

 

 

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American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing Dale Earnhardt died on this day 22 years ago, aged 49.

 

 

American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer died on this day 56 years ago, aged 62.

 

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Deng Xiaoping died on this day 26 years ago, aged 92.

(behind him is someone recently admitted to hospice care)

 

- Deng's first name at birth was "Xiansheng", meaning "saint". His teacher objected to calling him that, so he went by "Xixian" ("to aspire to be good").

- Deng joined the CCP in 1924 while in Europe- he had gone to Europe in 1920 for higher education, and briefly worked at factories.

- Deng became the paramount leader of China in 1978. While in power, he opened up diplomatic ties with the US, opened up special economic zones (allowing for controlled capitalism), and signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984 which eventually returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997.

- Deng was the Chairman of the Central Military Commission during the Tiananmen Square massacre. He would resign as paramount leader in November of 1989, passing the rule to (the late) Jiang Zemin.

- In 1995, Japanese game developer HappySoft made Deng's likeness the main antagonist of their deliberately awful Super Famicom (SNES) game Hong Kong 97, referring to him as "Tong Shau Ping". Coincidentally, Deng died the year the game was set in, which also called him "deceased":

- Deng first appeared on the DeathList in 1991, appearing on every list until his death. He was the first hit to receive an obituary headline: "Deng Xiao Gone!!!!!"

[Sir Creep 7,070]

20 years ago (62) Johnny Paycheck said Take This Life and Shove It.

 

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American big-band singer who later became a popular film and television actress Janet Blair died on this day 16 years ago, aged 85.

 

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French singer Charles Trenet died on this day 22 years ago aged 87

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On this day 4 years ago in 2019,  German Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld died aged 85.

Some of his celebrity clients over the years included Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce  Keira Knightley and Victoria Beckham.