Deadpool Detective Work

[Surprise Demise 70]

IMDb lists her birth date as 29 May 1921, and there's an Elizabeth Kelly born on that date living in Newcastle at the time of the 1939 register. She married John B 'Peter' Trower in 1943. There's a marriage notice in the Journal that notes her as already being a 'respected actress' so she may have continued performing with her maiden name into the era of television. Anyway, her marriage record lists her maiden initial as 'H', and there's a matching birth in Newcastle on 29 May 1921 for an Elizabeth Hutton Kelly. There's an Elizabeth H Trower born 1921-23 living in Scarborough until at least 2014 on the electoral register. No matching deaths up until Q3 2023, so seems like there's a good chance she's still with us if I've in fact followed the right person here. 

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

5 minutes ago, Commtech Sio Bibble said:

Forgive me if this has been brought up before, but for some reason the search function isn't allowing me to search her full name but there is a GRO death record for an Elizabeth C. Kelly born in 1921 died Q4 2016 in south Tyneside (Kelly was supposedly born in Newcastle).

 

It's not too far before the date of that last confirmed autograph which could have been written before she died and then not posted til afterwards or delayed.

Just had a look. Different person. Their birth date was 22 Jan 1921.

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

8 minutes ago, Surprise Demise said:

IMDb lists her birth date as 29 May 1921, and there's an Elizabeth Kelly born on that date living in Newcastle at the time of the 1939 register. She married John B 'Peter' Trower in 1943. There's a marriage notice in the Journal that notes her as already being a 'respected actress' so she may have continued performing with her maiden name into the era of television. Anyway, her marriage record lists her maiden initial as 'H', and there's a matching birth in Newcastle on 29 May 1921 for an Elizabeth Hutton Kelly. There's an Elizabeth H Trower born 1921-23 living in Scarborough until at least 2014 on the electoral register. No matching deaths up until Q3 2023, so seems like there's a good chance she's still with us if I've in fact followed the right person here. 

That is some excellent work. Well done!

[Master Obit 828]

1 hour ago, Ulitzer95 said:

@Master Obit, another one that's puzzled me.

An historic edit to the page of cricketer Mary Johnson (wiki) said she died on 17 July 2017, aged 92. I couldn't match her up with anyone in the GRO, but there's a good chance she married and took on a new surnamed. Also, her real first name, Winifred, could have been dropped in later records, making her harder to find as Mary is a very common name for women born in the 1920s!

This https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/49260488:8753 seems to suggest she married and became Winifred Meeluish (possibly a mistranscription of Melluish or Melhuish).

 

No one matching in the index for anything like that as far back as I can go (to 1984).

 

The 17 July 2017 seems to be false though.

 

Beyond that, I can't really do much.

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

11 minutes ago, Master Obit said:

This https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/49260488:8753 seems to suggest she married and became Winifred Meeluish (possibly a mistranscription of Melluish or Melhuish).

 

No one matching in the index for anything like that as far back as I can go (to 1984).

 

The 17 July 2017 seems to be false though.

 

Beyond that, I can't really do much.

On closer inspection, that appears to be a different person.

Family tree here. Leonard Melluish and Winifred Marie Johnson (1916–1976).

[Master Obit 828]

6 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said:

On closer inspection, that appears to be a different person.

Family tree here. Leonard Melluish and Winifred Marie Johnson (1916–1976).

 

Yeah I didn't have the highest degree of confidence in it, it was just what seemed possible based on the place name. Winifred M Johnson is far too common of a name for me to really whittle down unfortunately.

[Gisooo 3,320]

On 15/03/2021 at 23:44, Ulitzer95 said:

13) Perry Blackwell (IMDb) actress and singer – Early African-American supporting actress best known for her role in Pillow Talk. As of Jan 2021, living in Arizona with her daughter.

 

American actress and singer Perry Blackwell (IMDb), known for her role in Pillow Talk, reported dead

 

Hmm I guess she was born between 1921/1922

 

RIP

 

 

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

29 minutes ago, Gisooo said:

 

American actress and singer Perry Blackwell (IMDb), known for her role in Pillow Talk, reported dead

 

Hmm I guess she was born between 1921/1922

 

RIP

 

No, there are loads of records for her on Ancestry. Definitely born on February 13th, 1925 in Chicago.

[Gisooo 3,320]

4 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said:

No, there are loads of records for her on Ancestry. Definitely born on February 13th, 1925 in Chicago.

 

Why her family member says she was 102? Could be an error? I'm asking because she is not on MyLife?

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

4 minutes ago, Gisooo said:

 

Why her family member says she was 102? Could be an error? I'm asking because she is not on MyLife?

People like to exaggerate ages of their relatives, especially in Indian and African communities?

[cgay 14]

Reports of actress Barbara Baldavin dead coming but I can't find any real evidence 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Baldavin#:~:text=Barbara Baldavin (18 October 1938,American television and movie actress.&text=Quincy%2C Massachusetts%2C U.S.

[Sinbabad 1,115]

31 minutes ago, cgay said:

Reports of actress Barbara Baldavin dead coming but I can't find any real evidence 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Baldavin#:~:text=Barbara Baldavin (18 October 1938,American television and movie actress.&text=Quincy%2C Massachusetts%2C U.S.

I found these Facebook posts : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100044198811154

 

https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?id=1300974480&story_fbid=10232158572769312

Edit : sorry @Gisooo I just realized you already posted the first link in another topic 

Edited April 1 by Sinbabad

[alt obits guy 3,371]

9 hours ago, cgay said:

Reports of actress Barbara Baldavin dead coming but I can't find any real evidence 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Baldavin#:~:text=Barbara Baldavin (18 October 1938,American television and movie actress.&text=Quincy%2C Massachusetts%2C U.S.

 

Barbara Baldavin death now being picked up by the media: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/barbara-baldavin-dead-star-trek-medical-center-1235864334/

[TylerTheCreator 36]

An obscure one, but it's come up in some genealogical research and wondering if we can sort it out [and update WP].

 

Ellie Seagraves is FDR's eldest grandchild - Wikipedia page

 

Her WP page says "At 97, Seagraves resides with her husband in Maryland."

 

However, in a 2023 interview Ellie says "I had a great husband" and "we were married for 70 years" [my emphasis] - Interview link

 

So one might expect her husband, Van H. Seagraves, to have died 2018/9. I can't find any death info though, and it seems like he's presumed alive by most if not all sources.

 

Any pointers?

[alt obits guy 3,371]

7 hours ago, TylerTheCreator said:

An obscure one, but it's come up in some genealogical research and wondering if we can sort it out [and update WP].

 

Ellie Seagraves is FDR's eldest grandchild - Wikipedia page

 

Her WP page says "At 97, Seagraves resides with her husband in Maryland."

 

However, in a 2023 interview Ellie says "I had a great husband" and "we were married for 70 years" [my emphasis] - Interview link

 

So one might expect her husband, Van H. Seagraves, to have died 2018/9. I can't find any death info though, and it seems like he's presumed alive by most if not all sources.

 

Any pointers?

According to the My Heritage website, Van Seagraves died in 2012: https://www.myheritage.com/names/van_seagraves

However, there are no obituaries I could find on him. Given his tie to the Roosevelts, it seems unusual that, if he has died, it would go undisclosed. I suspect the MyHeritage information is incorrect. However, if you are that curious, it appears you might be able to contact Mr. Seagraves directly, as he appears to be alive: https://www.familytreenow.com/records/people/id/gsenneloooeplnkeroaor

 

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

1 hour ago, alt obits guy said:

According to the My Heritage website, Van Seagraves died in 2012: https://www.myheritage.com/names/van_seagraves

However, there are no obituaries I could find on him. Given his tie to the Roosevelts, it seems unusual that, if he has died, it would go undisclosed. I suspect the MyHeritage information is incorrect. However, if you are that curious, it appears you might be able to contact Mr. Seagraves directly, as he appears to be alive: https://www.familytreenow.com/records/people/id/gsenneloooeplnkeroaor

 

He's not really notable. Married a grandchild of a president. Whoopdie-doo. Wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if he died off radar. He was born in 1923 so odds are he's dead.

[tracy 2,392]

He probably died in 2018 or so, as he was already dead by the time of his sister's obituary in January 2019. His parents lived to 101 and 104, what a flop he must feel like in Heaven for not making his ton.

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

On 26/04/2021 at 17:37, arghton said:

A quite interesting topic, I decided to check which country/autonomous territory flags have alive designers.

What I found (only ones known to be alive included):

 

Flag of Nigeria: Taiwo Akinkunmi (1936-2023)

Flag of Greenland: Thue Christiansen (1940-2022)

Flag of North Macedonia: Miroslav Grčev (b. 1955)

Flag of Grenada: Anthony C. George (1938-2024)

Flag of the Marshall Islands: Emlain Kabua (1928-2023) also the widow of 1st President Amata Kabua (1928-1996)

Flag of Bangladesh: Shib Narayan Das (1946-2024)

Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mladen Kolobarić (1933-2009)

 

Just the designer of the flag of North Macedonia left then? And realistically he could live for another 20 years.

[Spade_Cooley 9,515]

Anyone foolish enough to try and find out if Samuel Ajak, an "artist and brigadier general of the Sudan People's Liberation Army" who, in the mid-90s, designed what would later become the flag of South Sudan is still alive? Close to zero information about him online.

[Ulitzer95 12,584]

17 minutes ago, Spade_Cooley said:

Anyone foolish enough to try and find out if Samuel Ajak, an "artist and brigadier general of the Sudan People's Liberation Army" who, in the mid-90s, designed what would later become the flag of South Sudan is still alive? Close to zero information about him online.

According to this Facebook post, he's dead. Died sometime between the 1990s and 2022.

[Gisooo 3,320]

Is American actress Anne Hegira (IMDb) still living?

 

B. June 1917, she made appearances in some memorable classic films like On the Waterfront (1954), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) and The Arrangment (1969) as Thomna

 

I was impressed that she doesn't have a death date on her IMDb yet, I just checked Accurint and no death date for her. Surprisingly, it turns out that she is alive under the name Anne Hegira Forwell, living in New York City, but still I have doubts.

 

I noticed some sites that say she died in 1970-71 but I don't know if it is reliable or not as it could be a bot.

[tracy 2,392]

23 minutes ago, Gisooo said:

Is American actress Anne Hegira (IMDb) still living?

 

B. June 1917, she made appearances in some memorable classic films like On the Waterfront (1954), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) and The Arrangment (1969) as Thomna

 

I was impressed that she doesn't have a death date on her IMDb yet, I just checked Accurint and no death date for her. Surprisingly, it turns out that she is alive under the name Anne Hegira Forwell, living in New York City, but still I have doubts.

 

I noticed some sites that say she died in 1970-71 but I don't know if it is reliable or not as it could be a bot.

 

NAME:	Anne Hegira
BORN:	Jun 1917
AGE:	Deceased (Oct 2015)
LIVES IN:	New York, NY

[Gisooo 3,320]

Thanks @tracy, she lived to be 97, I had a hunch that she was alive for at least the last 10 years

[LWCZ 188]

I got bit of a tricky one. I think many people on this site came across this song (which went viral about a year or two ago as "the first rap song").

 

 I'm 101% sure that George McFadden, the bass vocalist of The Jubalaires is long dead (he'd probably be supercentenarian by now if he wasn't). However, unlike the rest of the group, there seems to be no information about him, anywhere (both when he was born and when he passed). I've been trying to find anything on him for the past few weeks, but to no avail.

 

The only relevant info I have is that after the Jubalaires dissolved, he started performing as "Biggie McFadden" (with The Jubilee Four, with whom he also performed in 1964 Viva Las Vegas; their song "The Climb" has been reportedly produced by Elvis Presley himself), and that he performed at least until 1979 (as a backing vocalist on Ry Cooder's album Bop Till You Drop).

[Clorox Bleachman 2,410]

11 minutes ago, LWCZ said:

I got bit of a tricky one. I think many people on this site came across this song (which went viral about a year or two ago as "the first rap song").

 

 I'm 101% sure that George McFadden, the bass vocalist of The Jubalaires is long dead (he'd probably be supercentenarian by now if he wasn't). However, unlike the rest of the group, there seems to be no information about him, anywhere (both when he was born and when he passed). I've been trying to find anything on him for the past few weeks, but to no avail.

 

The only relevant info I have is that after the Jubalaires dissolved, he started performing as "Biggie McFadden" (with The Jubilee Four, with whom he also performed in 1964 Viva Las Vegas; their song "The Climb" has been reportedly produced by Elvis Presley himself), and that he performed at least until 1979 (as a backing vocalist on Ry Cooder's album Bop Till You Drop).

 

From the comments of the first video:

Quote

I sung with the bass, George (Biggie) McFadden in an Ink Spots group in 1979. He was the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. He passed away a few years later.....RIP sir.