Death Anniversary Thread

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American musical theatre lyricist Fred Ebb died on this day 20 years ago, aged 76.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Vasili IV of Russia died on this day 412 years ago, aged 59.

- Vasili was a member of the Shuisky family, and claimed to be a direct 20th-generation descendant of Kievan Rus founder Rurik.

- Vasili used his status as a noble to launch an investigation into the death of Dmitry of Uglich (the youngest child of Ivan the Terrible, and heir apparent to his older brother Feodor I), and believed it to be a suicide- note that Dmitry was only 8 years old.

- Several impostors would claim to be Dmitry, with one even becoming tsar in 1605. Vasili would expose him as a fraud, and after the fake Dmitry was executed, Vasili's supporters would crown him as tsar.

- Vasili had very little authority as tsar, with the only reason why his opponents did not oust him for four years was because they had no planned replacement for him. He would be peacefully deposed in 1610.

- Vasili would be forced to become a monk after being deposed, and would then be brought to Poland where he died in exile. The first Romanov tsar, Michael, would recognize him as an official ruler, and would often request Poland to repatriate his body throughout his reign.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American architect Max Abramovitz died on this day 20 years ago, aged 96.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Emperor Titus died on this day 1943 years ago, aged 41.

- The oldest son of Vespasian, Titus would serve in the Roman military for most of his early adult life. During the Celtic revolt of 60 (the one led by Boudicca), Titus would bring reinforcement troops to Britannia.

- Titus' military career is also infamous due to the fact that he was the one responsible for the Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70, where he would order his troops to destroy and loot the Second Temple; Titus himself brought the menorah associated with the origin of Hanukkah to Rome. His actions would also begin the Jewish diaspora, as many residents of the city would flee elsewhere.

-  Titus became emperor upon his father's death in 79, with one of the first major events of his rule being the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash. Titus would organize the relief effort, visiting the sites to assess damage, and donated money to help survivors.

- Titus would also inaugurate the Colosseum upon its completion in 80, with his final official act as emperor dedicating the stadium (as well as a new bathhouse he ordered to be built next to it) after its inaugural games.

- Titus died after a two-year reign, with his brother Domitian succeeding him. Multiple theories exist to what caused his death: Domitian poisoning him with a sea slug, a bug flying up his nose and eating away at his brain- or simply a fever caused by an unidentified illness.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom died on this day 25 years ago, aged 86.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Perez (or Prez) Prado died on this day 35 years ago, aged 72.

- Prado started off as a piano player in Cuba, and would work with some of the country's most popular bands, such as La Sonora Matancera. He would emigrate to Mexico in 1949 to start his own band.

- Perhaps Prado's most well-remembered piece was one of his earliest compositions, from 1950... ladies and gentlemen, this is (the original) "Mambo No. 5":

- Throughout the '50s, Prado had a string of instrumental hits, with "Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)" topping both the US and UK charts in 1955:

 

- In 1958, Prado's song "Patricia" was the last song to top Billboard's Top 100 and Most Played by Jockeys charts before they inaugurated the Hot 100 chart:

- Prado's popularity in the US (and some other countries) diminished due to the advent of rock and roll, but he would remain very popular in Mexico, where he topped that country's charts again in 1968 with "Norma, la de Guadalajara", and would star in a long-running musical revue in the 1980s before his death at the end of the decade.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American actress Barbara Jo Allen died on this day 50 years ago, aged 68.

 

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American journalist Barbara Cloud died on this day 12 years ago, aged 82.

 

 

Although not known nationally, she was extremely relevant to the history of DeathList for writing this article in 2004.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, Greek actress Irene Papas, who starred in the films "Z" and "The Trojan Woman" passed away at the age of 93.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, American actor Henry Silva, who starred in the films "Ocean's Eleven" and "The Manchurian Candidate" passed away at the age of 95.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, American politician Lauch Faircloth, who was a North Carolina senator from 1993 to 1999 passed away at the age of 95.

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Leah Bracknell died on this day 5 years ago, aged 55.

- Bracknell was named after her Malaysian mother Li-Er, 'Leah' being an approximation of what it would be anglicized to. Her father David was a TV director, which led to her getting her first acting role at the age of 12 on the show The Chiffy Kids.

- In 1989, Bracknell would join the cast of Emmerdale in the role of Zoe Tate. She appeared in 1,414 episodes of the show between 1989 and 2005, with the character notably becoming the first lesbian character added to a British soap opera following the character's coming out episode in 1993.

- Besides Emmerdale, other shows Bracknell would make appearances in included The Royal Today, Judge John Deed, and A Touch of Frost.

- Bracknell would be diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in 2016, and notably took immunopathic remedies to treat it. She would have a three-year battle with the disease before she succumbed to it.

- Bracknell appeared on the DeathList each year from 2017 until her death. As it was announced a month after it actually happened, she was technically the 9th death of the 2019 list instead of the 11th.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American musician Johnny Ramone died on this day 20 years ago, aged 55.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero passed away at the age of 91.

 

Photo Credit: Culturespaces per Creative Commons license

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Louis XVIII died on this day 200 years ago, aged 68.

- Louis was a younger brother of Louis XVI. His father named THREE of his kids Louis, so to distinguish him, he was given the second name 'Stanislas' (after his great-grandfather Stanislaw I of Poland).

- Louis would end up going into debt due to his obsession with books (he bought over 11,000), but the 'XVI' Louis would pay them for him.

- During the French Revolution, Louis and his wife would flee to the Netherlands in 1791. While in exile, he would declare himself regent for his young nephew Louis XVII, and after his death in 1795 (only 10 years old), monarchists would declare the elder Louis his successor.

- Louis would officially take the throne after Napoleon's exile to Elba in 1814, and would introduce a series of progressive reforms. These included freedom of religion and the press, and dividing the legislature into two houses. He would be briefly deposed in 1815 due to Napoleon's return, but would quickly regain the throne when he was permanently sent to St. Helena.

- Louis died after a 10-year reign due to gangrene caused by his obesity. He was succeeded by his younger brother Charles X.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American television actor Jack Dodson died on this day 30 years ago, aged 63.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Dred Scott died on this day 166 years ago, aged 59.

 - Scott was born into slavery in Virginia around 1799, taken to Alabama in 1818 and then Missouri in 1830.

- Scott would run away after learning he was planned to be sold, and would briefly escape captivity before being caught and taken to the person who bought him.

- In 1846 Scott would attempt to buy his freedom from the widow of the person who previously bought him, but she refused. Scott would then file a lawsuit to emancipate himself on the basis that he had lived in free states for extended periods of time (the husband was an army soldier constantly on the move with him, and Scott's daughter Eliza was born on a boat on the Mississippi River between Iowa and Illinois). He would be deemed free in 1850, but the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the decision in 1852 (slavery had become an extremely partisan issue by then) on the basis that Missouri law did not have to abide by free states' laws.

- Scott would take his case to the US Supreme Court in 1857, and in they ruled against him in a 7-2 decision, and Chief Justice Roger Taney further stated that African-Americans should not be considered US citizens (largely seen as the worst Supreme Court decision in American history).

- Scott would be deeded to Missouri representative Henry Taylor Blow the same year; and fortunately for him Blow would grant him his freedom. Scott would work as a porter in a hotel, but died one year later from tuberculosis.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American professional tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis died on this day 30 years ago, aged 40.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Frank Morgan died on this day 75 years ago, aged 59.

- Morgan's actual last name was 'Wuppermann', which was used on his first film in 1916- but he likely adopted his stage name due to anti-German sentiment during World War I.

- Morgan's first film was The Suspect. It, and many of the movies Morgan appeared in between then and 1927, are considered to be lost media.

- Morgan would be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor twice: in 1935 for his role as Alessandro de Medici in The Affairs of Cellini, and 1943 for his role as The Pirate in Tortilla Flat.

- By far Morgan's most famous role was as the titular character in The Wizard of Oz:

 

- In 1949, Morgan would narrate the children's novelty record Gossamer Wump, a story about a boy learning to play the triangle (the titular character was actually voiced by June Foray):

- Morgan died of a heart attack during production of 1950's Annie Get Your Gun. He was planned to portray Buffalo Bill Cody and had a few of his scenes recorded, but had to be recast with Louis Calhern.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor Russ Meyer died on this day 20 years ago, aged 82.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, American engineer Nick Holonyak, who created the first visible light-emitting diode (LED), passed away at the age of 93.

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Giles Corey died on this day 332 years ago, aged 81.

- Corey was born in Northamptonshire in 1611, with his surname originally being spelt 'Cory'. He moved to Salem in the then-Massachusetts Bay colony by 1640, working as a farmer.

- Before his final trial, Corey had been accused of several crimes (mostly theft), with the most severe being charged with the murder of one of his indentured servants (named Jacob Goodale) by beating him to death after he was allegedly caught stealing apples from Corey's brother-in-law. He was acquitted of murder (corporeal punishment was acceptable back then), but fined for excessive force.

- In March of 1692, Corey's wife Martha was arrested on suspicion of witchcraft as part of the larger Salem Witch Trials. Giles would believe in the allegations against his wife before he himself was arrested a month later. Corey would refuse to plead guilty nor innocent during his imprisonment, and as such he would be put under wooden boards with rocks being pressed upon him. Despite the torture, Corey continued to refuse a plead and instead requested 'more weight', leading to his death by crushing after two days:

Martha Corey would be executed by hanging three days after the death of her husband.

- Over the following decades, Salem residents began to reconsider the verdicts of the witch trials, and Corey would be posthumously pardoned in 1712. A local legend states that Corey's ghost manifests in the town's Charter Street Cemetery immediately before a disaster strikes; a notable paranormal sighting was claimed the night before the Great Salem fire of 1914.

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

Bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, Guy Gibson, died on this day 80 years ago, aged 26.

 

 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Brian Clough died on this day 20 years ago, aged 69.

- The first football team Clough played for was Middlesborough, from 1951 to 1953. He would return to the team for his senior career beginning in 1955, remaining with them until 1961.

- Of the 274 games Clough played during his senior career, he scored 251 goals- among the highest of any footballer.

- After retirement as a player, Clough would become a team manager, coaching Hartlepool United, Derby County, Leeds United (this one for only six and a half weeks), and Nottingham Forest (his longest tenure, from 1975 to 1993). He was considered for a job as the manager of England's national team, but was never appointed.

- Throughout his life, Clough suffered from alcoholism, which was likely the reason he was put on the 1991 DeathList. It ended up being stomach cancer that did him in.

[time 8,581]

It's 38 years since the death of Dennis Spooner.

 

He was a prolific TV writer and editor. who wrote for just about any programme you've heard of/watched in the 1960s-80s, notably associated with ITC entertainamnet and Gerry Anderson productions, he also wrote for Coronation Street and had a significant relationship with early Doctor Who, being script editor for six months, introducing humour into the historical storylines.

 

With ITC he's credited (along with Monty Berman) as creating some of it's most successful series, The Champions, Department S, Jason King and Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased). His Gerry Anderson writing credits include stories for Fireball XL5, Stingray & Thunderbirds, as well as the  live-action UFO.

 

He died, aged 53, from a heart attack.

 

Photo credit: original owner.