Thoughts and Opinions on the 2020 List

[CoffinLodger 1,246]

On 03/12/2020 at 16:32, Joey Russ said:

The ones I would personally drop are: 

 

1. John Edrich

2. Shane MacGowan

3. Emperor Akihito

4. Pervez Musharraf 
5. Lester Piggott 

6. Dick Cheney

7. Imelda Marcos 

 

Unfortunately I think Akihito is a bedblocker at this point so that’s probably the spot they’ll cut off someone who shouldn’t be cut like Joanne Woodward...

IWe can expect Shane MacGowan to choke to death on a turkey sandwich then 

[openviews 240]

Will this year ever be topped, a decimation of the centenarians, a global health crisis. Seems very unlikely.

 

Also, looking at the first list in 1988 why was William Hartnell (1908-1975) on there?

[Joey Russ 7,118]

I guess I can run down the hits (so far) that the Deathlist ultimately got and compare it to my initial thoughts on January 1st. 
 

On 01/01/2020 at 00:23, Joey Russ said:

A bit of a rundown name by name then:

Kirk Douglas - Just seems to be old at this point? Have no idea when he'll go, wouldn't shock either way at this point

Olivia de Havilland - similar situation to Kirk, except she seems to be a bit healthier. 

Vera Lynn - Apparently she has gotten frailer, so might be a good call to become a hit: As you might tell with these first three, it was a bit of a centenarian apocalypse with all the bedblockers gone

Daniel arap Moi - Am kind of surprised he made it on the list (especially this high up), but certainly a welcome addition. Definitely a good bet to become a hit 

Javier Perez de Cuellar - well, he's turning 100 and is as dull as ever

Valery Giscard d'Estaing - typical dull committee name gotta be a typical dull committee name: As it turns out typical dull names sometimes do score

Honor Blackman - She seems to be Zsa Zsa's successor minus health problems. Which is fine tbh, those types of names should exist: So now the Zsa Zsa successor is gone I wonder who’s next in line to take her place

Nobby Stiles - Amazingly he's still alive. Which was weird because I thought he was dying in 2018, yet here we are 2 years later: At the end of the year in 2018 I was surprised he was still alive. Now I’m surprised that he actually died

Hosni Mubarak - I guess the committee just like certain names. Felt like he could've been dropped despite the committee desire to keep picking him: Well, this is one call I was definitely wrong on, so sometimes the committee knows better as seen later. 

Genesis P-Orridge - obvious dead cert. Probably gone in the next few months. And it's the type of cult name they have gone for in the past. Excellent: If P-Orridge and the above Arap Moi had somehow saw the year out, I would definitely be super stunned

Stirling Moss - apparently he's still in poor health. He did make his 90th birthday despite a respected member feeling otherwise. Surely his time is soon, right?: Yes sir it was

Jerry Stiller - eh, another name that's just kind of there, and wouldn't shock me either way: Full disclosure, I probably would’ve dropped him in the beginning of the year, so this is another case of what the fuck do I know

John Edrich - Okay, how the fuck did he get on over Nicholas Parsons? Sometimes I just don't understand the committee...: Well, Parsons definitely still should’ve went on, but as it turns out Edrich was not the worst call out there

Alex Trebek - household name with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Had to be: Some mid year news made it seem like he could see the year out but never underestimate stage 4 pancreatic cancer

Ruth Bader Ginsburg - I'm not sure. I do think it's the right call that she's on the list, but don't know if she'll be a hit or not: Like Trebek, never underestimate stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Though she lasted a lot longer than Trebek did 

Carl Reiner - A bit surprised here, and he also seems to be active. But I guess it's not impossible: As it turns out, never underestimate the oldest debutant on the list, they’ve always scored in recent years

Terry Jones - Sadly, I think 2020 is his year. Those end of the year articles made it seem like he's on his way out: Yeah, he made the list just on time. News seemed super grim then

William H Gates - Yeah, pretty dull name. Could go but then he'll be another Kerkorian name: At least he’ll always be a meme in the forums eyes

Peter Sutcliffe - obviously nobody would shed a tear if he dies. I'm skeptical that he goes, but if he does go, great call: As it turned out great call, although had it not been for covid he definitely could’ve seen the year out

 

Overall, I think it'll be a great list. Even with some drops that shouldn't have happened: Yes, I agree with this sentiment.  

 

[Book 3,343]

For the very first time in 33 years there are 6 hits inside the DL-Top 10! Wow! Another record!

[gcreptile 10,211]

Well-done committee.... My opinion of the 2020 list initially was "Good, but could have been better". But then many of those "You didn't need to pick them" people are actually dead now, Bill Gates Sr., Pierre Cardin, John Edrich.

So yeah, actually not too much room for improvement. I mean, who is left who could have been replaced by Sean Connery, for example, at the outset? Okay, Musharraf, Prunella Scales (should have been Barbara Windsor), but then you get really hard-pressed for choices. All in all, the List is getting better and better.

[ebless 202]

20 deaths is such an astonishing achievement, but have we reached the point that a final tally will likely never be beaten? 

[Bibliogryphon 8,615]

Just now, ebless said:

20 deaths is such an astonishing achievement, but have we reached the point that a final tally will likely never be beaten? 

I think social media makes research a bit easier. I do think that we might struggle for the next couple of years as we have had a clear out this year

[Charles De Gaulle 358]

3 minutes ago, Bibliogryphon said:

I think social media makes research a bit easier. I do think that we might struggle for the next couple of years as we have had a clear out this year

That and the pandemic is ravaging the world right now. 2 picks on the list and it's possible that Cardin was a covid death.

[Lafaucheuse 3,648]

There isn’t even a « 21th hit of 2020 » topic yet ? Ahah you fool, you’re underestimating the enema power 

[Joey Russ 7,118]

Yeah, I think the Deathlist will struggle to top this for a long time. But then again, two covid deaths did assist them in reaching this high of a score, so it’s not out of the question that they could reach 20 hits without the help of Covid...

[Death Impends 7,361]

A bit of a perfect harmony this year. Picking some obvious "let's go for the record" names like Moi or P-Orridge in the same year the four centenarians, Mubarak, Cardin, etc go. In most past years where they went heavy on cancer picks, the bedblockers held steady.

[CoffinLodger 1,246]

4 minutes ago, Death Impends said:

A bit of a perfect harmony this year. Picking some obvious "let's go for the record" names like Moi or P-Orridge in the same year the four centenarians, Mubarak, Cardin, etc go. In most past years where they went heavy on cancer picks, the bedblockers held steady.

The only fly in the ointment is that Leslie Phillips and Bob Dole managed to survive the year.They were the 2 I thought were most likely to go. I 'm pretty sure they wont go now because I'm pretty certain 20 in 2020 is it. 

[Deathrace 1,092]

Have four theories on why this has been a record breaking year:

 

1. A glut of low hanging fruit - the likes of Douglas, De Havilland and Lynn had been defying the odds for so long and had to go eventually. It won't be so easy to replace them with such well known low hanging fruit next year. 

 

2. Covid - clearly this helped several of the list on their way who may well have otherwise lingered. Sutcliffe (good riddance) and Giscard in particular. 

 

3. Social media - with social media it is undoubtedly easier to study form compared to the pre-Twitter, Facebook, Instagram age therefore there's a lot more information out there to make informed selections. 

 

4. Greater transparency - perhaps connected to point 3, celebrities are generally a lot more open about their health than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Therefore there's less hiding of terminal cancer or Alzheimer's diagnoses. In previous decades, someone similar to say Alex Trebek may not have been so open about their illness. 

 

All these factors have combined in my view to make 2020 a perfect storm of sorts. 

[Deathrace 1,092]

1 hour ago, CoffinLodger said:

The only fly in the ointment is that Leslie Phillips and Bob Dole managed to survive the year.They were the 2 I thought were most likely to go. I 'm pretty sure they wont go now because I'm pretty certain 20 in 2020 is it. 

I still think at least one of Philips or Dole will die before the year's out 

[msc 17,712]

1 hour ago, Bibliogryphon said:

I think social media makes research a bit easier. I do think that we might struggle for the next couple of years as we have had a clear out this year

 

I dont think the record will be broken any time soon, but with Philip, Dole, Spinks, Carter, Philips (and maybe Woodward/Crosby) remaining on the list, Gorby, Nolan, Greaves, Pope Benny and Jerry Lee Lewis all potential returnees, and Whale, Limbaugh, Captain Tom and the Duke of Kent as possible newcomers, there's no reason why next years list can't have a respectable total.

[CoffinLodger 1,246]

2 hours ago, Death Impends said:

A bit of a perfect harmony this year. Picking some obvious "let's go for the record" names like Moi or P-Orridge in the same year the four centenarians, Mubarak, Cardin, etc go. In most past years where they went heavy on cancer picks, the bedblockers held steady.

Just found out this is the first time in deathlist history that more than half ie  6 of the top 10 on the list have died.

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,201]

50 minutes ago, msc said:

 

I dont think the record will be broken any time soon, but with Philip, Dole, Spinks, Carter, Philips (and maybe Woodward/Crosby) remaining on the list, Gorby, Nolan, Greaves, Pope Benny and Jerry Lee Lewis all potential returnees, and Whale, Limbaugh, Captain Tom and the Duke of Kent as possible newcomers, there's no reason why next years list can't have a respectable total.

Ooh I'd have put money on the committee choosing The Duchess of Kent before they chose the Duke of Kent.... Interesting. 

[msc 17,712]

2 minutes ago, Gooseberry Crumble said:

Ooh I'd have put money on the committee choosing The Duchess of Kent before they chose the Duke of Kent.... Interesting. 

 

There was some chatter on here around Remembrance Sunday about the Duke looking half dead iirc...

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,201]

1 hour ago, msc said:

 

There was some chatter on here around Remembrance Sunday about the Duke looking half dead iirc...

Might be worth people  considering the Dukes  sister 84 year old Princess Alexandra  who didn't appear at the cenotaph and had a fall last year.

[Bibliogryphon 8,615]

15 hours ago, msc said:

 

There was some chatter on here around Remembrance Sunday about the Duke looking half dead iirc...

But actually visible.