Death Anniversary Thread

[The Ashes Urn 1,343]

Canadian Army Officer Guy Simonds died on this day 50 years ago, aged 71.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Levi P. Morton died on this day 104 years ago, aged 96.

- Before entering politics, Morton was a business owner, board director, and investor.

- Morton would be elected to the US House of Representatives in 1878. James Garfield asked him to be his running mate in the 1880 election, which he declined. He would, however, accept becoming the US Ambassador to France, continuing after Garfield's assassination and into the Arthur administration.

- Morton would run for Senate in 1885 and 1887, but lost the Republican primary both times.

- Morton would be Benjamin Harrison's running mate in 1888, and they won the electoral vote (but not the popular vote). He was not particularly close with Harrison during his presidency, and he would ultimately be replaced on the ticket by ambassador to France Whitelaw Reid on the 1892 Republican ticket, likely due to Harrison blaming Morton for the failure of the Lodge Bill (a proposed 1891 bill that would allow the military to be called in to ensure the voting rights of African-American men in the former Confederacy).

- Regardless, Morton would be elected governor of New York in 1894, serving for two years until the end of 1896. He would return to business once his term expired.

- Morton died on his 96th birthday. He was the longest-lived US vice president (succeeding John Adams), before John Nance Garner would surpass his age in 1964.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Herman Wouk died on this day 5 years ago, aged 103.

- Wouk started out as a comedian, writing for his university's comedy magazine and for the radio show Joke Factory. Once World War II began, he would use radio to make war bond advertisements, before entering service himself in the Pacific campaign (including the Battle of Okinawa).

- Wouk's first novel, Aurora Dawn, was published in 1947. His most famous work was 1951's The Caine Mutiny, adapted into a successful movie starring Humphrey Bogart in 1954. Another novel of his, 1955's Marjorie Morningstar, also received a film adaptation in 1958 which starred Natalie Wood.

- Wouk was also well known for his World War II/Holocaust novels The Winds of War (1971) and War and Remembrance (1978), which became popular TV miniseries in the 1980s.

- In later life, Wouk would write novels about Jewish identity (such as Inside, Outside and The Hope), and theoretical physics (such as 2004's A Hole in Texas).

- Wouk first appeared on the DeathList in 2001, and made 7 more appearances over the next 18 years. He was the 4th of 13 deaths on the 2019 list, and died 10 days before turning 104.

- Stephen King wrote a short story called "Herman Wouk is Still Alive" in 2011- this is no longer applicable.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Chris Cornell died on this day 7 years ago, aged 52.

- Cornell's birth surname was Boyle, but he took his mom's name after his parents divorced.

- Cornell's first band was a cover band called 'The Shemps', and after they broke up, Cornell and some of its former members would form Soundgarden in 1984.

- Soundgarden's 1988 debut album Ultramega OK would earn a Grammy in 1990 for Best Metal Performance. Their most well-known album was 1994's Superunknown, with its biggest single being "Black Hole Sun":

This music video received heavy airplay on MTV and won the channel's award for Best Metal/Hard Rock Video in 1994.

- Cornell would leave the band in 1997 due to disagreements on creative direction, causing it to disband until they reunited in 2010. He would write a song for The Avengers film soundtrack in 2012:

This was not the only major movie Cornell would contribute a song to; he sung the theme to the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, "You Know My Name".

- During Soundgarden's hiatus, Cornell would form the band Audioslave in 2001; he would leave the band in 2007, but it reunited one last time in 2017 at the Anti-Inaugural Ball (a concert protesting Donald Trump's inauguration as president) hosted by the band Prophets of Rage.

- Cornell suffered from depression and substance abuse throughout his life, and died from suicide. Some believe this may have been the event that would eventually lead to the suicide of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington two months later; he was close friends with Cornell and performed at his funeral.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Pope Celestine V died on this day 728 years ago, aged 81.

- Celestine's birth name was Pietro Angelerio. He became a monk when he was 17, and being receptive to the idea of asceticism, and at the age of 24 he would begin living in a cave alone.

- Celestine's example would soon catch on, and in 1244 he founded the order of the Celestines; he would receive approval from both popes Urban IV and Gregory X. He would deem himself the "superior-general" of 36 monasteries that adopted his beliefs, but would soon quit the position to continue his life of solitary asceticism.

- Following the death of Pope Nicholas IV in 1292, the College of Cardinals could not agree on who to elect pope; this lasted for two years. Celestine sent them a letter stating there would be divine vengeance if they did not pick someone soon, and the dean of the cardinals would nominate Celestine, who refused. He would attempt to flee, but was intercepted and persuaded into taking the job in July of 1294.

- Due to not having any experience in politics, Celestine would appoint people into positions of clerical power who were favored by king Charles II of Naples, and he realized his ineptitude as a pope. Celestine would announce his resignation after five months as pope in December 1294.

- Celestine would return to a life of religious hermitage, but his successor Boniface VIII would imprison him due to being paranoid his opponents would declare Celestine an antipope. He died in captivity after 10 months.

[The Ashes Urn 1,343]

American writer, book editor and socialite Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died on this day 30 years ago, aged 64.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Gilda Radner died on this day 35 years ago, aged 42.

- Radner dropped out of university to follow her boyfriend to Toronto, where she would make her acting debut in the 1972 tour of Godspell (which also helped launch the careers of Martin Short and Eugene Levy). From there, she became a mainstay of National Lampoon's radio show.

- Radner was one of the original SNL cast members when the show began in 1975. Her most notable characters included Weekend Update's Roseanne Roseannadanna, and the  Barbara Walters expy Baba Wawa:

Radner also portrayed celebrities such as Lucille Ball.

- In film, Radner was known for portraying Gloria in First Family, voicing several characters in the 1980 animated TV film Animalympics (which included another Barbara Walters expy- this time a bird), and most notably Kate in Hanky Panky- on the set of which she met her soon-to-be husband, Gene Wilder:

Radner and Wilder married in 1984, but Radner would be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986. It went into remission, but returned in late 1988, and Radner died after a 3-year battle. After her death, Wilder would dedicate himself to research of the disease in hopes of a cure, and would co-found the support group Gilda's Club in 1991.

[The Unknown Man 580]

British actress Barbara Murray died on this day 10 years ago, aged 84.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Archibald Primrose (or Lord Rosebery) died on this day 95 years ago, aged 82.

- Rosebery's father died when he was 3 years old, and as such he inherited the title of "Lord Dalmeny". He became the Earl of Rosebery upon the death of his grandfather in 1868, all three of these people were named Archibald.

- In 1879, Rosebery served as a campaign manager for William Ewart Gladstone in the Midlothian Campaign, considered the first "modern" political campaign in the UK. Rosebery researched how American politicians campaigned (most likely the then-most recent 1876 election), and would have Gladstone speak from open trains to mass crowds. Gladstone would make Rosebery his foreign secretary after his third premiership began in 1886, and was reappointed when Gladstone became PM again in 1892.

- Rosebery would become Prime Minister following Gladstone's retirement in 1894; he was chosen due to Queen Victoria's preference for him out of all the candidates. He would support ethnic Armenians during the 1895 Armenian Genocide and desired to expand Britain's naval fleet, but his actions were largely blocked by divisions within the Liberal Party causing his fellow members to disagree with his approaches.

- Rosebery would resign as Prime Minister in June of 1895, and retired from politics the following year. At the time of his death in 1929, he was the last living Prime Minister to serve under Queen Victoria.

- Rosebery had stated he had only three goals in life: to become Prime Minister, to marry an heiress (he married a member of the Rothschild family in 1878), and to win the Epsom Derby (he owned a few winning horses, which included Cicero and Sir Visto).

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Martha Washington died on this day 222 years ago, aged 70.

- Washington's maiden name was Dandridge. She married wealthy landowner Daniel Custis- 20 years older than her- in 1750, and had four children with him (only two, John "Jacky" and Martha "Patsy" survived to teenhood). Custis died in 1757 from an infection.

- Martha and George Washington married in 1759. When her husband became the commander in chief of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, she moved to the house of her brother-in-law in case British troops went to Mount Vernon. She would help the war effort by sewing uniforms for American soldiers, and would often accompany her husband at his encampments and sent letters to him (some were intercepted by the British- one notably regarding George's dental health).

- Once George was elected president, Martha was reluctant to support his new leadership role, but was responsible for hosting parties at the presidential residence (which changed from New York to Philadelphia in 1790).

- The Washingtons returned to their Virginia home after George's second term expired in 1797. Upon George's death in 1799, she freed all but one of the family's slaves (the only remaining slave was the single person she owned). Shortly before her death, Martha would burn all the letters George sent her, unknowingly destroying items of historical significance.

[John "요한" Sulu 407]

One year ago from yesterday, American pop singer and actor Ed Ames, who is known for the TV series Daniel Boone, passed away at the age of 95.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Ismail I of Iran died on this day 500 years ago, aged 36.

- Ismail had European ancestry through his mother- he was a great-grandson of king John IV of Trebizond.

- Ismail's father was killed by Turkic warlords, and Ismail spent his childhood in hiding with his mother. He would receive education from Persian resistance leaders.

- At the age of 13, Ismail would lead a campaign to drive the Turks out of Persia, where he gathered 7,000 people to fight against them, and would later gain the support of the kings of Georgia. After capturing the city of Tabriz in 1501, Ismail declared himself the shah, considered to be the starting point of modern Iranian history. By 1510, he and his forces had taken back all of Iran from the Turks.

- Being a Shiite Muslim, Ismail was hated by the Sunni Ottoman sultan Selim I. Selim would declare war on Iran after an incursion on Ottoman territory by Iranian military surveyors, and Selim would defeat Ismail in battle in 1514. Selim would end up withdrawing due to his troops fearing the Iranians would encircle them, and therefore Ismail was allowed to live.

- Ismail's defeat would cause him to fall into a depression, and turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows. His grand vizier would run the country for him (and often partook in drinking booze with him). He would also write religious poetry, and in the late 1510s, he would attempt to form an alliance with Habsburg Austria against the Ottoman Empire.

- Ismail's alcoholism was likely what led to his early demise. He was succeeded as shah by his son Tahmasp I.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Tina Turner died on this day a year ago, aged 83.

- Turner's birth name was Anna Bullock. She took her stage name after meeting her future husband Ike Turner, who gave her the first name because it rhymed with the character of the comic book character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, which Ike tried to evoke within Tina. Ike would copyright her name if he were to need another 'Tina Turner' in the Ike & Tina Turner group.

- With Ike, Tina reached mainstream success with their songs such as "River Deep, Mountain High" and their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary":

This would earn the two a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group in 1972.

- After divorcing Ike in 1978, Tina went solo and saw even bigger success. Her 1984 song "What's Love Got to Do With It" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, and her 1989 cover of Bonnie Tyler's "The Best" is considered her signature song:

 

- Outside of her most famous role as Auntie Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Turner was known for her roles in The Who's Tommy as the Acid Queen, a cameo at the end of the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and one episode of Ally McBeal in 2000.

- Turner had a multitude of health problems throughout her later years, which included a stroke, kidney failure, and intestinal cancer. She would appear on the DeathList twice (2019 and 2023), and was the 7th of the 19 deaths on the 2023 list.

[lilham 725]

25 minutes ago, Drewsky1211 said:

Ike would copyright her name if he were to need another 'Tina Turner' in the Ike & Tina Turner group.

trademark

I work in the field and this mix-up (along with patent) happens all the time, but trademarks specifically have to do with branding.

 

The karaoke song I did when she passed away was their cover of Proud Mary.

[John "요한" Sulu 407]

On this day 1 year ago, American actor George Maharis, who starred in the TV series "Route 66", passed away at the age of 94.

[John "요한" Sulu 407]

On this day 1 year ago, American jazz musician and composer Bill Lee passes away at the age of 94.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Charles Nelson Reilly died on this day 17 years ago, aged 76.

- Reilly was a survivor of the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire. The event gave him PTSD which made him afraid of being in an audience, and when he did he often sat near the exit of the room.

- Reilly began acting in 1957 in the film A Face in the Crowd, and his breakout role came in 1960 in Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie as an understudy for Dick Van Dyke when he wasn't able to perform due to scheduling conflicts. He would star in more iconic plays that included How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Hello, Dolly!, both of which earning him Tony Award nominations.

- On TV, Reilly would often appear as a panelist on game shows, most notably Match Game and the '80s revivals of Password.

- In later years, Reilly took to voice acting, often in Don Bluth films- these roles included Carface's lackey Killer in All Dogs Go to Heaven, the Grand Duke of Owls' nephew Hutch in Rock-a-Doodle, and King Llort in A Troll in Central Park. His most memorable voice role, however, was as the Dirty Bubble in the SpongeBob episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II":

- Reilly had respiratory issues in the last few years of his life, and he died of pneumonia. In 2009, Weird Al Yankovic would posthumously make a song about him:

 

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Edmund I of England died on this day 1078 years ago, aged 26.

- Edmund was a son of king Edward ("The Elder"), who died when he was about 4 years old. His older brother Athelstan would be Edward's successor, and Edmund himself would succeed him after he died without an heir in 939.

- Edmund's reign was largely defined by pushing back against Viking advances in the British Isles, and would regain English land in the north following the death of Olaf Guthfrithson in 941. He would also seize York from the Vikings in 944.

- Edmund would also issue legal reform during his rule, which included controlling blood feuds by having the murderer pay the victim's family, and ordering local communities to assist tracking down farmers' livestock stolen by rustlers.

- Edmund was killed while fighting a thief at a feast celebrating Augustine of Canterbury; some historians may believe this could have been a politically-charged assassination. Edmund would be succeeded as king by his brother Eadred.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Simeon I of Bulgaria died on this day 1097 years ago, aged 63.

- Simeon was the son of Boris I, and was not expected to take the throne as he had an older brother, Vladimir; as such his father planned for him to become a church official, sending him to Constantinople to receive theological education in 878. He would return 10 years later to establish a monastery.

- For political reasons, Boris would oust Vladimir (Boris had abdicated to become a monk, then Vladimir would reintroduce pagan religion into Bulgaria), had him blinded, and then put Simeon on the throne in 893.

- Simeon's reign saw a literal trade war initiated by the Byzantines (using the Magyars as a proxy) in 895, and would continue fighting their forces throughout, most notably a war that began in 913 after Emperor Alexander stopped paying Bulgaria an annual tribute. One notable development of this latter war came in 924, when Simeon would send diplomats to seek assistance from the Fatimid Caliphate, hoping they would send their navy in to help him take Constantinople; these diplomats were captured and imprisoned by Byzantine forces.

- Simeon would die from heart failure after 34 years as king, being succeeded by his son Peter I. No Bulgarian monarch would take the name 'Simeon' for a thousand years, until Simeon II in 1943.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Phil Hartman died on this day 26 years ago, aged 49.

- Hartman's last name was initially spelt with 2 Ns, and he dropped the second one at the end. His first TV appearance was on an episode of The Dating Game as a contestant.

- Hartman joined the comedy group The Groundlings in 1975, where he would meet Paul Reubens. The two would create the character of Pee-wee Herman together, and Hartman would collaborate with Reubens when he achieved stardom as the character- he co-wrote the script for Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and was Captain Carl in Pee-wee's Playhouse.

- Hartman joined Saturday Night Live in 1986, and was most known for his roles as the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and his portrayals of Ronald Reagan, Kirk Douglas, Michael Caine, and especially Bill Clinton:

 

- Hartman was also a voice actor. In the 1980s, he provided background characters' voices in The Smurfs, as well as Mr. Wilson, Mr. Mitchell, and Dennis' dog Ruff in season 1 of Dennis the Menace. He was, however, best known for his roles of Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure in The Simpsons:

"You may also remember him from films such as Jingle all the Way and Disney's dub of Kiki's Delivery Service."

- Hartman was tragically murdered by his wife in his sleep following a domestic argument. At the time of his death, Hartman had been planned to have provide the voice of Zapp Brannigan in Futurama (a role that would end up going to Billy West).

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Emperor Constantine XI died on this day 571 years ago, aged 49.

- Of the Palaiologos dynasty, Constantine was a son of Manuel II. After his father suffered a stroke in 1422, Constantine and his older brother John would act as regents, and after Manuel died in 1425, John (VIII) became emperor.

- Constantine would became the despot of the Despotate of the Morea in 1428, serving for 20 years before becoming emperor himself after John's death in 1448 (not being proclaimed until January of 1449).

- Constantine's reign was defined by conflict with the Ottoman Empire. While sultan Mehmed II swore by his faith that he would not begin a war with the Byzantines, Constantine was still suspicious and would attempt to ally with Venice. Mehmed would change his mind when Constantine threatened to release an imprisoned claimant to the Ottoman throne in Constantinople after he refused to increase payment to keep him there, and would quickly build a castle to block sea trade to the Byzantines.

- Constantine died during the Ottoman siege of Constantinople, reportedly via decapitation by Ottoman forces. His death saw the end of the Byzantine Empire; Mehmed would not see it as the end of the Roman Empire once he conquered all of the Byzantines' lands, however, and would proclaim himself caesar.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Charles IX of France died on this day 450 years ago, aged 23.

- Charles was a son of Henry II. His father died in 1559 and his older brother Francis II died the following year, and Charles would become king at the age of 10.

- During his regency period, the Massacre of Vassy occurred, beginning France's Huguenot civil wars. Huguenot rebels planned to kidnap the teenage king in 1567, but eventually, Charles issued a peace treaty in 1570. This peace would not last, as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572 would see thousands killed in a short period of time, but Charles would issue another treaty in 1573 with the Edict of Boulogne. Charles would suffer severe mood swings due to the looming guilt he felt, with his ex-regent mom (Catherine de Medici) calling him insane.

- Charles had two children: a legitimate daughter (Marie) who died at the age of 5, and a bastard son (Charles) who had surviving descendants.

- Charles' young death was due to a bout of tuberculosis, and he would be succeeded by his younger brother Henry III- the last monarch of the Valois dynasty.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Timothy Leary died on this day 28 years ago, aged 75.

- Leary got his PhD in clinical psychology in 1950, becoming a professor on the subject at the University of California San Francisco, and would begin teaching at Harvard in 1959.

- Leary would begin researching magic mushrooms in 1960, and would then lead an experimental project at Harvard observing psilocybin's effects on the brain beginning in 1962. Notable figures would participate in the project, including Allen Ginsberg, Charles Mingus, and Jack Kerouac. Leary further experimented with them by using them as rehabilitation substances for inmates during the Concord Prison Experiment.

- Leary would be fired from Harvard for missing his scheduled lectures, but was also reported to have disregarded safety procedures while experimenting. Leary would later face legal troubles for drug possession (specifically cannabis) and would be sentenced to 10 years in jail in 1970. He would end up being smuggled out by Weather Underground members, and would flee to Switzerland. He wound up in Afghanistan where he voluntarily returned to the US, and was given an extra 5 years to his sentence.

- Leary was released from prison in 1976 after agreeing to become an FBI informant. He would often host debates between himself and Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy, where he would espouse left-wing ideas and Liddy would espouse right-wing ideas. He would continue to use illicit drugs (i.e. MDMA and heroin), and would become a proponent of virtual reality with the advent of the Internet.

- Leary was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in 1995, dying after a year and a half. He would be cremated, and some of his ashes were launched into space (alongside those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry). Leary appeared on the DeathList once, and was the 6th of the 7 deaths of the 1996 list.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

James Buchanan died on this day 156 years ago, aged 77.

- Buchanan became a lawyer in 1812- and speaking of, Buchanan would participate in the War of 1812 by stealing horses from British soldiers while they slept, and giving them to US troops. He was the last surviving US president who was involved in the War of 1812.

- Buchanan would be elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814, and at 31, was its youngest member. He served one term, and would eventually be elected to the US House in 1820. He would serve five terms there, and afterwards, Andrew Jackson would appoint him as the US ambassador to Russia in 1832.

- Buchanan would then be appointed to the US Senate, succeeding the person who ended up taking his job as ambassador to Russia. He served until 1845, and James K. Polk would then appoint him his Secretary of State, in which he oversaw the Mexican-American War and Oregon Treaty. His last political position before being elected president was as the ambassador to the UK during the Pierce administration.

- Buchanan won the 1856 election against John C. Fremont and former president Millard Fillmore 174-114-8 in the electoral college. Immediately he would support the Dred Scot Supreme Court case (the one where slaves were deemed property and not people), hoping it would render the Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional, but it would lead to rage from abolitionists. He would also see an economic depression in his administration's first year, and authorized military force to oust Brigham Young from the governorship of Utah Territory.

- Buchanan did not seek re-election, and the Confederacy would begin seceding during his last few months in office. He did virtually nothing to prevent secession nor prepare the Union military for the Civil War, and has therefore been deemed one of the (if not THE) worst US presidents in history by many historians.

- Buchanan is so far the only US president to have remained unmarried his entire life. His effeminate personality and reported bromance with future Vice President William R. King has made some believe he may have been gay, but this is entirely speculatory.

[Drewsky1211 4,543]

Peter Sallis died on this day 7 years ago, aged 96.

- Sallis would begin his acting career by starring in plays, which included Moby Dick—Rehearsed and She Loves Me.

- Beginning in the 1960s, Sallis would begin turning to TV roles, which included Catweazle and The Ghosts of Motley Hall. He was most known for his role as Norman "Cleggy" Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine, and was the only character to appear in all 295 episodes of the show during its 37-year run.

- Internationally, Sallis was best known as the voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit, and would win an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature in 2005 in Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Sallis was 84 years old when the movie released). Sallis would voice Wallace up until the 2010 mini-series Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention:

- Following said mini-series, Sallis would largely retire from acting due to failing eyesight. He would appear on the DeathList every year from 2013 until his death, and was the 6th death of the 17 in 2017.

- Sallis' son is Crispian Sallis, who was nominated for three Oscars for Best Art Direction for Aliens, Gladiator, and Driving Miss Daisy.