Barbara Jefford

Actress Barbara Jefford has died aged 90. She was much acclaimed on stage for her roles in several RSC Shakespeare performances, including Julius Caesar and As You Like It. She starred at The Old Vic, and was nominated for a BAFTA for her role in Ulysses. She dubbed the voices of two actresses in the […]

Bill Gates Sr

CLOSED GATES 2020 has been a hell of a year. So many big names we never got a chance to pick in the DDP, and so their hilarious obits never made the front page. Who could forget Derek Acorah’s “Mary loves Dick” scene as one notorious example? We could have spoken about Roy Horn’s near […]

Hans-Jochen Vogel

Für Vergessen German politican Hans-Jochen Vogel has died aged 94. A former Mayor of Munich, he was the leader of the SDP from 1983 to 1991. As a politician he oversaw the Munich Olympics, squatters rights and he was an outspoken critic of nuclear energy. He had suffered from Parkinsons disease for a number of […]

Sir Ronald Harwood

WONT SEE U NEXT TUESDAY Playwright Sir Ronald Harwood has died aged 85. Best known for his plays The Dresser and Quartet, he won the Oscar for best screenplay in 2003 for his work on grim holocaust drama The Pianist. He was a unique pick for And Its Goodnight from Him Sir Ronald Harwood9 November […]

Tom Seaver

SEAVERED FROM LIFE Former baseball pitcher Tom Seaver has died of covid complications. He won the World Series in 1969 with the New York Mets and in a 19 year career he made the All-Star game twelve times. He was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1992, and last year Tom Brady was […]

Jiri Menzel

PERILS OF THE REAP Czech film director Jiri Menzel has died aged 82. His 1967 film Closely Watched Trains won an Academy Award, but this didn’t stop later works such as Larks on a String being banned by the Czech communist government. His work liked to poke at the activities of authoritarian governments like the […]

“Bullet” Bob Armstrong

BOB TAKES THE BULLET WWE Hall of Famer Bullet Bob Armstrong has died, aged 80, after a battle with cancer. The former fireman’s wrestling career, which started in 1960 and ended last summer, was known for its longevity and generosity. Indeed, Armstrong was known, even in his late 70s, as a man who could be […]

Christopher Guy Harrison

WHAT A GUY Luxury furniture designer Christopher Guy Harrison has died shortly before his 60th birthday. The British designer specialised in expensive living rooms for the stupidly rich in places like Beverly Hills and Java. His view of a chair was that it should be sophisticated and remind you of sitting on a young Vivien […]

Philip Latham

WHERE THERE’S A WILLZ, THERE’S A WAY Actor Philip Latham, who once donned the robes as Doctor Who’s wily old mentor Borusa in Doctor Who, died back in June. Due to current events in the world – I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there’s been a hell of a pandemic lately – coverage of […]