The 5th Crowdsource Deathlist (2020 edition)

[Joey Russ 7,228]

MOSS CROSSES THE LAST FINISH LINE

9/50

 

 

12th April 2020

 

Legendary Formula One racer Stirling Moss has won his last race at 90 by being the next success in an ever growing list of successes. His racing career lasted from 1948 to 1962, winning a whopping 212 out of his 529 races. You'd think that means he'd be an easy candidate to win a world championship, but sadly that wasn't meant to be. He competed in the world championship 7 times between 1955 and 1961, winning 2nd four times and 3rd the other three times he raced. Still, his racing career was amazing and was since called the greatest racer who never called a world championship. After racing, he became a colour commentator for ABC's Wide World of Sports from 1962 to 1980, and he also made some one off racing appearances too. His health was reportedly poor in 2017, and he eventually stepped away from the limelight in January 2018. As such, the voters picked him for the last two years, this year increasing his position to 17th place. 

[Joey Russ 7,228]

LONG DEAD, SALLY

10/50

 

 

9th May 2020

 

Rock and roll legend Little Richard has died in order to bring the crowdsource list into double digits. Good golly what a year it has been so far. He began his career after Sister Rosetta Tharpe overheard a 14 year Penniman singing, and she invited him to open her show. Little did she know at the time that it launched perhaps the most important figure in the history of rock. His energy, vocal styling, and flamboyant personality all became traits of rock that so many people followed him on. The song that brought him into the mainstream, "Tutti Frutti", also kicked off the long and ongoing era of very horny music men such as Mick Jagger and Justin Timberlake, for better or for worse. One thing is for certain though. His nickname "The Innovator, The Originator, and The Architect of Rock and Roll" really showed how important to the music scene he was, and even as rock slowly fades away from the mainstream, his impact will never be forgotten. It showed too. He was among the first inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when it began, and he also was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Recording Academy, and won a Rhapsody and Rhythm award from the National Museum of African American Music. It seemed like everything was perfect for him, until he denounced homosexuality in 2017 after being bisexual his entire life. He had health problems in recent years, and while the committee made a poor choice of dropping him, the crowdsource voters Couldn't Help It but pick him for the list. It wasn't until today though that Little Richard let the Grim Reaper in after he Kept On Knockin. The Grim Reaper sure likes to ball, eh? He debuted at spot 36 after just missing out on the list last time.

[Miracle Aligner 249]

Do you keep a points rally for the folk who didn't make it onto the list? 

[Joey Russ 7,228]

16 minutes ago, Miracle Aligner said:

Do you keep a points rally for the folk who didn't make it onto the list? 

If you’re thinking about a particular person, sorry to say that he only got 100 points in the end. Sorry dude. 
The rest will come later...

[Miracle Aligner 249]

11 hours ago, Joey Russ said:

If you’re thinking about a particular person, sorry to say that he only got 100 points in the end. Sorry dude. 
 The rest will come later...

 

I wasn't thinking of anyone in particular just wondering if there's a massive drop off in points below a certain point. 

[Miracle Aligner 249]

Vera Lynn is hit No 11 on here, keeping one hit ahead of the deathlist. 

[Joey Russ 7,228]

VERA, WHAT HAD BECOME OF YOU?

11/50

 

 

18th June 2020

 

The answer, Roger Waters, is dead. Vera Lynn was a national icon like none other in that time. She came into prominence as a wartime singer, and boy did she sing a lot of songs during World War 2. It was the 1939 song "We'll Meet Again" that made her a star in England in 1939. The quite nostalgic lyrics of the song really resonated with a lot of folk during the war, which eventually led to her being named "The Forces Sweetheart". A lesser known fact about that song is that it also used a very early example of a synthesizer called the Novachord, which is something you wouldn't expect to hear in a popular song in the 1930s! She had another wartime hit with "The White Cliff of Dovers", and had her own radio show started in 1941 called Sincerely Yours. It was taken off the air for 18 months though because of how the sentimental nature might undermine the 'virile' nature of the soldiers. After the war, she continued to have success, with the 1952 son "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" becoming the first song to top the US Charts by a British singer. She also made multiple appearances on BBC since the war, and in 1975 she became a dame. In 2014, one her compilation albums even outsold popular groups like The Beatles and Arctic Monkeys. She lived a long life up to 103, and unsurprisingly was very beloved by the folk on forums. This year marks her 5th appearance, jumping all the way to the 4th spot. 

[Joey Russ 7,228]

FOREVERTON GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

12/50

 

 

1st July 2020

 

Barbados cricket legend Everton Weekes has died at 95 in order to get ahead of the record pace of the Deathlist. Weekes first played on a trial match in 1945 representing Barbados on a Goodwill tour of Trinidad and Tobago. Though not the best performance he had in cricket, he certainly showed some potential for the sport. In 1948, Weekes became one of the "Three W's" alongside Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell which were known for their test debut against England. They kept a close friendship for each other long after their cricket career until their eventual deaths. As for Weekes' career,  he participated in the West Indies tour in 1948 which lead him to a batting average of 82.46 and passed 1,000 test runs in the 12th inning (one less than past deathlist hit Don Bradman). He continued to be a force to be reckoned with in cricket, eventually being named the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1951. Though he retired in 1958, he set himself as one of the greats in cricket during his career in the sport. He suffered a heart attack in July of last year and never really recovered from that heart attack. He died 2 weekes after our last hit Vera Lynn, bringing the score up to 12 hits total. Though a very impressive run so far, it still is currently one hit behind the pace of the record breaker in 2017 which suggests the list might come up short of the record...

[Joey Russ 7,228]

There's a good chance that this will be my last obit for a while, as I got some IRL stuff coming up soon. Although if more hits come during July, I should be back to writing obituaries by August or September...

[CastAway 488]

John Lewis dead - I know Joey's not going to be back until next month, so an update of sorts, I guess? List stands at 13/50 hits rn

[Joey Russ 7,228]

I thought I’d pack my computer by now but I still needed it for a few other irl stuff. Will get an obit up tonight. 

[Joey Russ 7,228]

GOOD TROUBLE, SAD DEATH

13/50

 

 

17th July 2020

 

John Lewis, legendary civil rights icon and politician who isn't a UK department store has died at 80 to bring another successful hit to the crowdsource list. John Lewis first heard of Martin Luther King Jr at 15, eventually leading to him meeting King at 18 and Rosa Parks at 17. Those early encounters lead him to be a major leader in the civil rights movement. He was one of the original Freedom Riders in 1961, which rode interstate buses into the segregated south.  In 1963, he won a chairmanship to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. As chairman, he was part of one of the Big Six who help lead the March on Washington later that year, and during the March he gave a very impassioned speech in front of a huge crowd of hundreds of thousands. Perhaps his most famous feat was when he played a big role on the Selma to Montgomery marches in March 1965. In it, he was brutally beaten and tear gassed by the police, which eventually lead to his skull being fractured and some permanent scars he bared for the rest of his life. Eventually, he worked his way up the political system, working in the Jimmy Carter administration after a loss for a seat in Georgia's 5th congressional district. In 1986, he won that very same seat after a very contentious primary. Although his time in congress was not a perfect record by any means, he did provide many courageous votes during congress such as voting against Bill Clinton's terrible welfare reform and voting against the Iraq War. He was a political giant, and certainly among the best there was in Congress. Lewis was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the final days of 2019, and there was a question of whether he'd make the list given that Bob Hawke missed out by over 90 points last year. However, he did end up on the list pretty comfortably, going all the way to the 39th spot in under 48 hours. He is the 13th hit in an ever moving big year of deaths...

[Joey Russ 7,228]

I should be able to get access to my computer again soon (been stuck in a hotel for a while), in which case I’ll catch up on the three hits. And of course if anyone else dies from the list in these next few days I’ll write about them too. 
In other news, I believe we’re tied with the 2019 hit total at this point, though we’re one behind 2017...

[Joey Russ 7,228]

OLIVIA'S GONE WITH THE WIND

14/50

 

 

26th July 2020

 

Hollywood Icon Olivia de Havilland has died at the ripe old age of 104 to bring another score to the Crowdsource list. Olivia was among the last of the A List actors and actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Her screen career began on the 1935 film A Midsummer's Night Dream, and since that film she appeared in many classics afterwards. It was the 1938 classic The Adventures of Robin Hood that really launched her career, She appeared alongside Errol Flynn in that film and began the tradition of Flynn and De Havilland being one of Hollywood's most exciting on screen couples. Despite that distinction though, the two of them never actually pursued a relationship, though Olivia did admit she did have some attraction to Errol. Her best known role was with the 1939 classic Gone With The Wind, where she portrayed Melanie Hamilton in the film. Things went downturn from there, where she got multiple suspensions from the Warner Brothers for not following her contract, and then getting an additional 6 months due to those suspensions. She eventually got released from the contract however. Her film output gradually slowed down, where she eventually had one last television performance in 1988 before she retired for good. For many years she seemed more healthier than her A List contemporaries of her generation like Kirk Douglas and Vera Lynn, and though she did outlive both of them, she did not last too long afterwards. Still, she was making her 5th appearance on the list, and her 2nd top 10 appearance. 

[theoldlady 2,302]

Please update this thread. Thank you! 
At a quick glance we are missing write-ups on Sumner Redstone, Frankie Banali, Lee Kerslake, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Roberta McCain. 

[Joey Russ 7,228]

Just a heads up, I plan on opening up the new crowdsource thread sometime in the next 48 hours. And apologies for not catching up on obits quick enough, mental health has really been a pain in the ass for the past few months, among other irl stuff. 

[Joey Russ 7,228]

DYING ON THESE LONG SUMNER NIGHTS

15/50

 

 

13th August 2020

 

Media magnate and well known lover of steaks Sumner Redstone has died at 97 to give the Crowdsourced list another hit. He began his career as a special assistant to US attorney general Tom C Clark. Afterwards he joined his father's theatre chain National Amusements, and in 1967 he became the CEO of that company. After suffering and recovering severe burns at a fire at the Copley Plaza, he set his eyes at Viacom, which he ended up getting after a four month hostile takeover in 1987. He next went to purchase Paramount Communications in 1994, and won after a bidding war with Barry Diller and John Malone. His biggest acquisition was that of CBS, however, which was the company that used to own Viacom before Redstone got it. He was executive chairman of both CBS and Viacom before he resigned in 2016. In recent years, he was more known for being one of the immortals that would never seemingly die, and was also known for his profound love of the tasty steak. He finally died at 97 to the surprise of everyone, who all thought he would live on forever, but just like Clive Dunn, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Le Duc Anh, it is proven once again that immortals don't exist. He scores after two years of being off the list, in what I believe is the first successful boomerang pick (ie returning after being dropped off the previous year).  

[Joey Russ 7,228]

METAL DEATH

16/50

 

 

20th August 2020

 

Heavy metal drummer Frankie Banali has hit his last beat to bring the Crowdsource list another success. He began his career as a session drummer, where he was considered a very prolific session drummer. He also had a brief stent with Steppenwolf during that time. Though most of the stuff he played on became forgotten, he did land a successful single with Billy Idol's rendition of "Mony Mony" in 1981. In early 1982 he joined a revived version of Quiet Riot, where he joined Kevin DuBrow, Chuck Wright, and Carlos Cavazo into forming the new version of the band after previous Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads gave them his blessing. They recorded the album Metal Health later that year, which ended up landing Quiet Riot on the charts. Indeed, it became the first metal album to top the Billboard 200 charts, replacing The Police's Synchronicity to top the charts. As such, it could be said that this album help lead into the horror that was glam metal (though this album isn't bad). Tensions began to break Quiet Riot apart in 1984, but Banali held on despite those tensions, and basically was in the band until his death. Later on he played a stint with W.A.S.P., and joined Father Pussycat for one tour. Banali was diagnosed with the dreaded pancreatic cancer in 2019, and along with forum support in mid to late December got him a spot on the list, albeit only sneaking on to spot 48 due to multiple DQ's. His death at 68 equals the 2019 score, and it's only August too...

[Joey Russ 7,228]

Given it's almost time for entries for the new crowdsource list to open up (and I wasn't in the best mental health the past few months, which is why it isn't earlier), now I think is the time to reveal everyone who was nominated for the list. This includes the original 50 for this year and everyone else who was nominated. So here you might be able to find some folk who might have a shot at making it next time. So here it is: 

 

1. Kirk Douglas 1128 (5th, 1st)
2. Alex Trebek 1043 (NEW)
3. Prince Philip 1028 (5th, 12th)
4. Vera Lynn 931 (5th, 6th)
5. Jimmy Carter 832 (5th, 21st)
6. Bob Dole 780 (4th, 15th)
7. Genesis P-Orridge 742 (NEW)
8. Nobby Stiles 723 (4th, 7th)
9. Olivia de Havilland 717 (5th, 11th)
10. Mikhail Gorbachev 674 (5th, 28th)
11. Ruth Bader Ginsburg 583 (2nd, 44th)
12. Javier Perez de Cuellar 573 (2nd, 27th)
13. Daniel Arap Moi 561 (NEW)
14. George Alagiah 545 (2nd, 19th)
15. David Gulpilil 545 (NEW)
16. Jean Louis Trintignant 533 (2nd, 4th)
17. Stirling Moss 503 (2nd, 23rd)
18. Beverly Cleary 484 (3rd, 50th)
19. Betty White 466 (2nd, 42nd)
20. Terry Jones 465 (2nd, 31st)
21. Lee Kerslake 454 (2nd, 33rd)
22. Henry Kissinger 434 (NEW)
23. Leslie Phillips 432 (5th, 20th)
24. Bob Barker 423 (2nd, 18th)
25. Glynis Johns 423 (4th, 22nd)
26. Roberta McCain 423 (2nd, 40th)
27. Larry King 420 (NEW)
28. Rosalynn Carter 418 (2nd, 47th)
29. Sidney Poitier 412 (4th, 26th)
30. Pope Benedict 409 (5th, 17th)
31. Dilip Kumar 402 (3rd, 13th)
32. Tom Smith 393 (NEW)
33. Sumner Redstone 389 (3rd, -)
34. Willie Nelson 388 (NEW)
35. Roger Scruton 384 (NEW)
36. John Hume - 381 (DQ) 
37. Little Richard 359 (NEW)
38. Jill Gascoine - 344 (DQ) 
39. Olivia Newton-John 342 (DQ) 
40. Harry Reid 333 (NEW) 
41. Everton Weekes 321 (NEW)
42. John Lewis 314 (NEW)
43. Lata Mangeshkar 309 (NEW)
44. Joanne Woodward 297 (3rd, -)
45. Jimmy Greaves 287 (NEW)
46. Qaboos bin Said al Said 285 (NEW)
47. Prunella Scales 280 (2nd, -)
48. Eva Marie Saint 278 (NEW)
49. Loretta Lynn 262 (DQ) 
50. Clarissa Eden 257 (NEW)
51. Nicholas Parsons 255 (NEW)
52. Frankie Banali 244 (NEW)
53. John Andretti 243 (DQ) 
54. Desmond Tutu 241 (3rd, -)
55. Pierre Cardin 238 (DQ) 
56. Rhonda Fleming 235 (NEW)
57. 234 = Barbara Walters 
58. 223 = Katherine Duchess of Kent 
59. 215 = Sean Connery 
60. 212 = Anne Buydens 
61. 211 = Monica Vitti 
62. 206 = James Lovelock 
63. 198 = Bill Turnbull 
64. 197 = James Watson 
65. 190 = June Brown 
66. 187 = Chris Doleman
67. 183 = Queen Elizabeth 
68. 180 = Lina Wertmuller 
69. 175 = Angela Lansbury, Carl Reiner  
70. 167 = Honor Backman, Jean Luc Godard  
71. 163 = David Attenborough, Michael Lonsdale 
72. 161 = Eddie Van Halen 
73. 160 = Jackie Stallone, Violet Chamorro  
74. 158 = Gianluca Vialli 
75. 157 = William Frankland 
76. 154 = Murray Walker 
77. 153 = Yoo Sang-chul, Hosni Mubarak 
78. 151 = Harry Belafonte 
79. 148 = Gina Lollobrigida, Katherine Jackson 
80. 147 = Ian Holm, Imelda Marcos 
81. 146 = Norman Lloyd, Anastasia Zavorotnuik  
82. 144 = Sam Lloyd 
83. 143 = Mel Brooks 
84. 142 = Peter Tobin 
85. 139 = Bob Gibson 
86. 138 = Chuck Yeager, Jerry Stiller 
87. 136 = Gudrun Ure, Peter Sutcliffe, Joan Plowright 
88. 134 = Valery Giscard d'Estaing 
89. 129 = Ozzy Osbourne 
90. 128 = Leon Spinks
91. 126 = Henry Gray 
92. 125 = George Schultz 
93. 123 = Tabare Vazquez 
94. 120 = Tina Turner, Kamala  
95. 117 = David Prowse 
96. 111 = Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Bernard Tapie 
97. 110 = Katherine Johnson 
98. 108 = Ennio Morricone 
99. 103 = Stanley Baxter 
100. 102 = Buzz Aldrin 
101. 100 = 6ix9ine, Tomasz Schafernacker 
102. 95= Roger Corman, June Spencer
103. 94 = Raymond Briggs, Babu Peggy, Princess Michiko 
104. 93 = Alan Greenspan, Dennis Skinner, Barbara Windsor 
105. 92 = Kane Tanaka, Stanley Ho, Julie Goodyear
106. 90 = Pat Smullen 
107. 89 = Joni Mitchell  
108. 88 = Earl Cameron 
109. 86 = Alain Delon 
110. 85 = Alcee Hastings 
111. 84 = Jordan Peterson, Larry Storch  
112. 82 = Douglas Hurd
113. 81 = Norman Tebbit, Jean Marie Le Pen 
114. 78 = George (Johnny) Johnson, Ruthie Thompson, Christopher Tolkein 
115. 77 = Howard Finkel, Gottfried Bohm 
116. 76 = Balbir Singh 
117. 74 = Sacheen Littlefeather
118. 73 = Alberto Uderzo 
119. 70 = Roy Hattersly, Susan Bayh 
120. 69 = Michael Caine, Giorgo Napolitano, Jiang Zemin
121. 68 = Eric Carle, Nobuhiko Obayashi 
122. 67 = Greg Gilbert
123. 66 = Yoko Ono, Val Kilmer 
124. 64 = Bill Treacher 
125. 63 = Cleo Laine, David Butler  
126. 61 = Vera Miles, Just Fontaine, Bill Freehan  
127. 60 = Wanda Jackson, Akihito 
128. 58 = Pele, Eileen Derbyshire 
129. 57 = Just Fontaine, Ian St John 
130. 56 = Trevor Peacock, Queen Sirikit  
131. 55 = Denis Goldberg, Iris Apfel, Hal Holbrook  
132. 54 = Tony Bennett, George Blake, Juliette Greco, Ged Stokes  
133. 53 = Aaron Carter, Isabel Peron, Dick van Dyke 
134. 52 = Doddie Weir
135. 50 = Margaret Stuart Barry, Rolf Harris, Ed Asner, Doris Payne 
136. 49 = Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Juan Carlos I, Margaret Terekhova, Jack Charlton, James Randi, Abigail Kawanakoa 
137. 48 = Michael York, Ted Turner, Ernie Moss, Kenny Rogers, Neddy Smith 
138. 47 = Clint Eastwood, Jeanne Little, Sian Phillips, Prince Andrew  
139. 46 = Bobby Brown (ranger), Ethel Kennedy, Lisa Lu, Nichelle Nichols, Meat Loaf   
140. 45 = Lou Donaldson
141. 44 = Winnie Ewing, Grace Chang, Geoffrey Palmer, Norman Lear, Keith Richards, Rupert Murdoch, Bill Cosby   
142. 43 = George McGavin, Bernard Cribbins, Linda Nolan, Kim Yong Nam, Ray Reardon, Lee Noble, Peter Bonetti, Patrick Duffy 
143. 42 = Alex Jones, Holly Johnson, Abdullah the Butcher, Shin Kyuk-ho, Burt Bacharach, Benjamin Ferencz
144. 41 = Marsha Hunt, Andy Bell, Sandy Gall, Lee Teng-hui, Bridgette Bardot, Estelle Parsons, Stevie Wonder, Michel Boquet
145. 40 = Joss Ackland, Sargon of Akkad, Nehemiah Persoff, Richard O'Sullivan, Marc Almond, Eddie Large, Mikis Theodrakis, Gaston Glock, Karen Lewis
146. 39 = Richard Bonynge, Alberto Fujimori, Armen Dhzigarkhanian, Sinisa Mihajlovic   
147. 38 = John Prescott, Leslie Caron, Pete Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Valentin Gaft, Pete Doherty, Dries van Agt, K Anbazhagan, Peter Alliss, Aurora Cornu    
148. 37 = Noam Chomsky, Johnny Beattie, Lionel Blair, Tim Curry, Michael Robinson, Allune Gwynne Jones
149. 36 = Bob Harris, Paul Stanley, Ted Luscombe, Andrew Romanov 
150. 35 = Iggy Pop, Renee Taylor, Max von Sydow, Michael Medwin, Claire Maier  
151. 34 = Janet Hefrey, James Buckley, Linda Ronstadt, Hans Jochen-Vogel, Celine Dion, Billy Connolly
152. 33 = Doug Supernaw, Sally Carr, David Bimbleby, Luis Echeverria, John Papworth  
153. 32 = Lynne Reid Bank, Margaret Tebbit, Alexey Zolotnitsky, Ronald Atkins, Christiane F, Anouk Aimee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Michael Schumacher, Gerard Depardieu, OJ Simpson   
154. 31 = Joan Collins, Petula Clark, Alex Ferguson, Katherine Buckley, Vasili Kulkov, Hugh Downs, Ruth Westheimer, Cloris Leachman  
155. 30 = Des O'Connor, James Hong, Brandon Sorenson, Chuck Norris, Mamie van Dore, Elizabeth Sellars, Inga Landgre, Betty Boothroyd  
156. 29 = Gary Glitter, Pearl Carr, Jay Allen, Ron McGarry, Stan Bowles, Lee Grant, Leontyne Price, Sheldon Adelson, Sandra Day O’Connor, Joe Sinott 
157. 28 = Grace Slick, Ursula Andress, Dave Hilley, Marilyn Horne, Zubin Mehta, Cicely Tyson
158. 27 = Michel Piccoli, Gordon Marshall, Kenneth Kaunda, Jane Morgan 
159. 26 = Boris Pahor, Frank Williams, Paul Gascoigne, Justin Bieber, Andrew Mlangeni, Chris Rea, Ghislaine Maxwell, Ann Blyth, Bob Watson, Morrissey      
160. 25 = Georg Ratzinger, Geoffrey Boycott, Henri Richard, Phil Spector
161. 24 = John Williams, Walter Mondale, Dion DiMucci, Renee Simonot, Willie Thorne, Mary Ward, Patricia Routledge, Eric Bentley, Francisco Bermudez Morales, Chris Kirubi   
162. 23 = Demi Lovato, Billy Bingham, Lance Armstrong, Richard K Guy, Richard Donner, Janis Paige, Arlene Dahl, Ronald Blythe   
163. 22 = Bernadette Chirac, Jimmy Tarbuck, Zizi Jeanmaire, Maggie Smith, Alice Munro, Mahatir Mohamad, Carlos Saura  
164. 21 = Cullan Brown, Eminem, Ri Yong-mu, James Ivory, Ed Battle 
165. 20 = Elton John, Lucia Hiriart, William Russell, Kim Hye Ja, Marge Champion, 50 Cent, Tinto Brass, Barbara Eden, Wilbur Smith, Alisdair MacIntyre, Wilfried Benitez  
166. 19 = Valerie Masterson, Tun Tin, Jacques Delors, Robbie Coltrane, Uljana Semjonova, Christopher Lloyd, Liz Sheridan
167. 18 = David Crosby, June Lockhart, Britney Spears, Joan Ganz Cooney, Clio Goldsmith, Anton Coppola, Pope Francis, Arthur Stanley Smith 
168. 17 = Norton Juster, Michael Parkinson, Baroness Alfdera Franchetti, George Pell, John Rigas, Paul Farnes, Louis Farrakhan
169. 16 = Phil Collins, Kenneth Cope, Prince Michael of Kent. Daniella Westbrook, Lady Barbara Marie Louise Constance Berry, Ramsey Clark, Tippi Hedren, Jean Paul Belmondo, Paul Fox, Nick Berry    
170. 15 = Cheryl Cole, Miiko Taka, Princess Beatrice de Boglia, Patricia Hitchcock, Superstar Billy Graham, Ian Hamilton, Nina Van Pallandt, Thich Hant Nanh   
171. 14 = Vivian Pickles, George Cohen, Penelope Lively, Mark Gastineau, Dominic Matteo, Princess Elisabeth de Broglie, Kim Novak, Barbara Barrie, Mike Hoare, Dick Cheney, Constantino Chiwenga   
172. 13 = Jose Carreras, Ysanne Church, Slavoj Zizek, Evelyn de Rothschild, Michael Palin, Butch Miller, Charles Njonjo, Tommy Chong   
173. 12 = Virginia McCaskey, Len Deighton, Bernie Sanders, Neil Primrose, Ankitola Williams, Peter Lorimer, Mike Huckabee, Michael McKevitt 
174. 11 = Katherine Whitehorn, Jean Marsh, Rebecca Pan, Betty Lynn, Countess Magdalene-Sophie von Attems, Hans Wiegel, Brian Urquhart, Shane MacGowan, Samuel Little 
175. 10 = F W de Klerk, Sharon Osbourne, Stanley Wells, Fernando Montenegro, Derek Martin, Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, Ayako Hamada, Driss Guiga, Agnes Keleti, Judith Magre, Norm Coleman   
176. 9 = Donald Trump, William Gaunt, Helen, James Earl Jones, Lady Serena Dunn Rothschild, Ahmed Ben Salah, Nana Mouskouri, Rodrigo Duterte, King Harald of Norway, Ray Kennedy   
177. 8 = Eric Clapton, Fay Weldon, Scarlet Moffat, Dionne Warwick, Milan Kundera, Irene Papas, David Rowat Barclay, Larisa Latyvina, Stuart Whitman, Ernest Angley, John Madden 
178. 7 = Chrissy Metz, Charlotte Crosby, Michael J Fox, Frederick Rowat Barclay, Genevieve Paige 
179. 6 = Estelle Harris, Russell Brand, Bob Dylan, Daizee Haize, Micheline Presle, Willie Mays, Robert Wagner   
180. 5 = Frank Gehry, Bella Thorne, Cheryl Cole, Cissy Houston, Vladimir Putin, Dump Matsumoto, Mary Bergman, Lester Piggott, Christy Dignam, Ryan O’Neal
181. 4 = Ion Illiescu, Kim Kardashian, Arne Sorenson, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michael Epstein, Samantha Last, OJ Brigance, Sylvia Syms, Jackie Mason 
182. 3 = Thomas Keneally, Norma Waterson, Silvio Berlusconni, Tim Dudley Smith, Robert Kuok, Joyce Randolph, Bill Wyman, Slick Woods, Richard Ingrams, Tommy Lasorda, Fred McLafferty, John Turner, Duane Chapman, Rose West, Duchess Camilla of Cornwall, Alan Hinton    
183. 2 = Johnny Gilbert, Harrie Anderson, John Major, Pat Heywood, Larry Niven, Rudolph Marcus, Olivia Ruiz, Nawaal el Sadawi
184. 1 = Barbara Knox, Herbert Kretzmer, Deborah Iyall, Lou Gramm, Tom Baker, Alan Brazil, Gunther von Hagens, Donald Zec, Michael Jopling, Maria Sharapavo, Suzanne Mubarak

[Death Impends 7,976]

After talking with Joey, he's given me the okay to complete the 2020 obit backlog in order to help him fully focus his CSDL duties on this year.

 

Stay tuned...

[Death Impends 7,976]

SUPREME COURT NOW RUTHLESS

 

17/50

 

 

18th September 2020

 

Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has faced judgment day aged 87 in the 17th success for this year's Crowdsourced DeathList. A feminist trailblazer of steely determination, she turned the sexism that impeded her early career into her focal passion, co-founding the ACLU's Women's Rights Project and successfully arguing a number of discrimination-based cases before the Supreme Court. She was henceforth elevated to the US Court of Appeals by Jimmy Carter and then finally to the US Supreme Court by Bill Clinton, her nomination overwhelmingly approved 96-3 in a bygone era from before Newt Gingrich and friends broke US politics. Initially seen as a cautious and moderate-leaning jurist, Ginsburg tacked leftward over the course of her time on the top bench, with her fiery dissents towards right-wing rulings cementing her as a liberal hero. She became the extreme rarity of a SCOTUS pop culture icon - good luck getting an average American to recognize the face of Stephen Breyer or Samuel Alito - even earning the rap-tinged moniker "The Notorious RBG". But timing is often everything in politics, to Ginsburg's detriment. Opting not to retire under Obama even with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, fragile ol' Ruthie now faced the daunting task of having to survive the Trump administration. This Supreme kept us hangin' on for years with her medical history - colon cancer, the aforementioned pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer round 2, falls, infections in her bile duct stents, Mitch McConnell poisoning her coffee... in the end, it was pan can round 3 that killed Ginsburg, marking a death that illustrates how maybe a political system where a frail old lady dying can cause that much pandemonium isn't really ideal. Ginsburg was making her second CSDL appearance, with a strong showing at 11th place.

[Death Impends 7,976]

DISEASE-Y LEAVIN'

 

18/50

 

 

19th September 2020

 

Not long after Frankie Banali's death, the Crowdsourced DeathList once more benefits from a heavy metal drummer putting his sticks down in the form of Lee Kerslake. Kerslake played with a number of short-lived bands before joining Uriah Heep in 1971, a group that has delivered a number of hits such as "Easy Livin'" and two hits for the CSDL (2017 scorer John Wetton was part of Heep for two years). Kerslake left the group in the late 70s over frustrations with their manager, and soon joined forces with another chap who was recently left bandless - Ozzy Osbourne. Yep, the Prince of Darkness manages to outlive another collaborator. Kerslake's span with Ozzy was brief but fruitful, drumming on classics like "Crazy Train" on Ozzy's acclaimed Blizzard of Ozz debut album. After unamicably parting ways with Ozzy (a frosty relationship made all the worse by royalty disputes), Kerslake returned to Heep for a few decades until largely retiring from touring in 2007. Kerslake had been unwell for many years - nicknamed "The Bear" in his youth for his beard and burly physique, going off the above picture "The Walrus" might be a more apt descriptor for the aged Kerslake. He announced in late 2018 he had terminal prostate cancer, which saw a reconciliation with Ozzy (who sent him the platinum discs of their two albums) and an enthusiastic backing from CSDL participants for the next two years. The 73-year-old's death marks the 18th hit for the CSDL, and he placed 21st in his second appearance.

[Death Impends 7,976]

ROBERTA LACK (A PULSE)

 

19/50

 

 

12th October 2020

 

In recent times, the DeathList community has been reeling from a highly controversial death. Could it be Ruth Bader Ginsburg's demise adding even more chaos to a tumultuous US election season? No. The provocative death was DeathList hit Bill Gates Sr., who somehow managed to appear on the official list despite his entire claim to fame being predicated off a sperm cell in his possession early 1955 that went on to revolutionize the computer industry. But then, the official DeathList is decided by a small committee, and the Crowdsourced DeathList was devised as a people's choice counter to the really baffling picks or omissions made on the front page. The forum was gobsmacked by no Howard Marks on the 2016 DL, for instance, but they put their money where their mouth was - he was backed enthusiastically for the year's inaugural CSDL, and their instincts were validated when he became a hit. The community's bar for notability may be a bit lower than the committee's, but I can safely say that anyone who attains enough momentum amongst us to make the CSDL threshold has some legitimate claim to fame off their own accomplishments. After all, there was not a single CSDL vote for Mr. Gates. Surely there's no chance the forum would push a name whose entire claim to fame is "parent of X" over the qualification threshold? Let alone twice? Let me see who I have to pen an obit for now...

 

John McCain's mum!? FFS. I've got nothing. You can go read about her son, who boasted a fascinating and complex life with accomplishments in his own right, and without whom you'd have never heard about Roberta, in the 2018 CSDL thread.

 

The 108-year-old Roberta McCain was the 19th hit of the year, appearing for the second time at 26th place.

[Death Impends 7,976]

HELP ME, RHONDA!

 

20/50

 

 

14th October 2020

 

Get her out of my heart! "Her" being Roberta McCain, of course... Golden Age film star Rhonda Fleming has died at the age of 97 to continue a recent hot streak for the Crowdsourced DeathList. And nothing says fiery quite like Fleming, whose red-haired visage seemed custom-tailored to the nascent color era of film and christened her "Queen of Technicolor". Born Marilyn Louis, her career began by chance as a high schooler when the talent agent who later discovered Rock Hudson spotted her on the streets and signed her up without an audition. Her first film role of note was portraying a nymphomaniac in the 1945 Hitchcock film Spellbound, and looking "nymphomaniac" up in the dictionary startled the young Fleming. She starred alongside era icons like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Kirk Douglas, as well as a future US President (Reagan, lest you think she had a spot in Home Alone 2). Adept at a wide range of genres, from film noir to westerns, she was not keen on her "Queen of Technicolor" label for it emphasized looks over talent. Fleming had largely retired by the 70s, focusing most of her energies on charity work. Among the names recommended for the CSDL by resident oracle Gooseberry "2020 will be a huge enema" Crumble, Fleming barely snuck on the list after DQs, at 50th place. In her debut CSDL appearance, she now brings the score up to a staggering 20 hits, a feat not seen since 2017. Those who thought a CSDL attaining 20+ hits was a one-time stars aligned moment have been proven wrong by that fiendish enema!

[Grim Up North 3,726]

3 minutes ago, Death Impends said:

HELP ME, RHONDA!

 

20/50

 

 

14th October 2020

 

Get her out of my heart! "Her" being Roberta McCain, of course... Golden Age film star Rhonda Fleming has died at the age of 97 to continue a recent hot streak for the Crowdsourced DeathList. And nothing says fiery quite like Fleming, whose red-haired visage seemed custom-tailored to the nascent color era of film and christened her "Queen of Technicolor". Born Marilyn Louis, her career began by chance as a high schooler when the talent agent who later discovered Rock Hudson spotted her on the streets and signed her up without an audition. Her first film role of note was portraying a nymphomaniac in the 1945 Hitchcock film Spellbound, and looking "nymphomaniac" up in the dictionary startled the young Fleming. She starred alongside era icons like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Kirk Douglas, as well as a future US President (Reagan, lest you think she had a spot in Home Alone 2). Adept at a wide range of genres, from film noir to westerns, she was not keen on her "Queen of Technicolor" label for it emphasized looks over talent. Fleming had largely retired by the 70s, focusing most of her energies on charity work. Among the names recommended for the CSDL by resident oracle Gooseberry "2020 will be a huge enema" Crumble, Fleming barely snuck on the list after DQs, at 50th place. In her debut CSDL appearance, she now brings the score up to a staggering 20 hits, a feat not seen since 2017. Those who thought a CSDL attaining 20+ hits was a one-time stars aligned moment have been proven wrong by that fiendish enema!

 

Shit you're good at this!