Annie Ross

NO ONE BUT HER After a lifetime of bucking the odds, Annie Ross has died a mere 4 days before her ascension to the true pantheon of the great. Yes, that’s right, a spot on the Genarians website! Ross was the last surviving third of regarded jazz trio Lambert, Henricks and Ross, and collaborated with […]

Maggie Fitzgibbon

Actress and singer Maggie Fitzgibbon died in June to provide another DDP success. On British TV, she starred in early BBC soap The Newcomers, as well as World War Two drama Manhunt (in which you can see future Fenric bad guy Alfred Lynch do a remarkable impression of future Doctor Who Matt Smith). The Newcomers […]

John Lewis

BIG SIX LEWIS DEEP-SIXED John Lewis was the last of the great civil rights leaders of the 1960s who worked with Martin Luther King to push non-violent disobedience. As a student, Lewis became one of the Big Six civil rights leaders who led the March on Washington in 1963. He lead the 1965 march for […]

Earl Cameron

EARL NOW NEVERWHERE Earl Cameron has lost his final battle with life, shortly before his 103rd birthday.Born in Bermuda, Cameron worked in the British Merchant Navy before winding up in London in 1939. Due to race relations at the time, he struggled to find work and had to take on any odd job that was […]

Ennio Morricone

Bit of light listening for the mood…   The Good: ECSTASY OF DEATH The Bad: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MORGUE And the Ugly: THE GOOD, THE DEAD AND THE UGLY. Alongside John Williams, Ennio Morricone was the stand out name in film music of the 20th Century. He became known worldwide after his […]

Johnny Beattie

SCOTCH AND DIE Glasgow comic Johnny Beattie has died after a short time in a local hospice. He worked on the Govan shipyards before moving into comedy after the Second World War. His 1960s sketch show, Johnny Beattie’s Saturday Night Show, was a trailblazer for Scottish comedy, and directly led to the creation of Rikki […]

Jack Charlton

BIG LAD REAPER UP FRONT SCORES WITH CHARLTON Jack Charlton, the man voted by the Irish as the greatest Englishman of all time, has died at the age of 85. Older brother to Bobby Charlton, and part of the Leeds United team that won multiple trophies in the Don Revie era, Jack Charlton was immortalised […]

Judy Dyble

CARNIVAL IS OVER Original Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble has died after a short battle with cancer. Dyble’s run in Fairport Convention did not last long but her role in music lore lasted, including tales such as her quietly knitting in the front row while Richard Thompson and Jimi Hendrix jammed together on stage. In […]

Lord Hutton’s Report

ANOTHER DDP WHITEWASH The CV of Lord Hutton, who has died, can be summed up in two parts: his role in Northern Ireland, and his impact on the BBC. The Irish lawyer has appointed to the judicial bench in 1979, and became the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland in 1988. Despite being a rather […]

Zizi Jeanmaire

WHERE DID YOU GO TO, MY LOVELY? Zizi Jeanmaire has died aged 96. She was a dancer, whom people who talked like Marlene Dietrich danced like. Their clothes were all made by Balmain too. Sadly, the well respected social historian Peter Sarstedt left us with that information alone. Aside from a mention in the most […]