Celebrity picks for Derby Dead Pool 2005: B

 

Bacall, Lauren
Born 16 September 1924  (New York, New York, USA)
Actress (The Big Sleep, How To Marry A Millionaire, Murder On The Orient Express etc etc), born Betty Joan Perske. Formerly married to Humphrey Bogart. Still working after 60 years in movies.
[Picture of Lauren Bacall]

 

Bafile, Cardinal Corrado Cardinal Corrado Bafile is no longer with us
Born 4 July 1903  (L'Aquila, Italy)

Died 3 February 2005  (Rome, Italy)

Age at death: 101  
Oldest Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, who was still well enough to attend his 100th birthday celebrations in 2003, but didn't manage to dodge the Grim Reaper 18 months after that.
[Picture of Cardinal Corrado Bafile]

 

Bailey, Derek Derek Bailey is no longer with us
Born 29 January 1930  (Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England)

Died 25 December 2005  (Barcelona, Spain)

Age at death: 75  (read death notice)
Guitarist who was one of the founding fathers of free improvisation.
[Picture of Derek Bailey]

 

Baker, Kenny
Born 24 August 1934  (Birmingham, England)
Dwarf actor who played R2D2 in "Star Wars".
[Picture of Kenny Baker]

 

Baldwin, Alec
Born 3 April 1958  (Massapequa, Long Island, New York, USA)
Hollywood actor, whose breakthrough year was 1988, when he starred in no fewer than 5 films. Went on to appear in The Hunt For Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross and Mercury Rising among others, and was married to Kim Basinger for 8 years. His brothers William, Stephen and Daniel are also screen actors.
[Picture of Alec Baldwin]

 

Barbera, Joseph (Died in 2006)
Born 24 March 1911  (New York, New York, USA)
The surviving half of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon-producing duo. Worked with William Hanna at MGM before they decided to go it alone in 1956, and ended up creating Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear and The Flintstones, among others.
[Picture of Joseph Barbera]

 

Barghouti, Mustafa
Born in Bait Rima, Palestine  (exact date unknown)
Hero to the Palestinian people, currently in an Israeli jail. Despite this, he is trying to win the Palestinian Presidency in 2005. Born 1954.
[Picture of Mustafa Barghouti]

 

Barker, Ronnie Ronnie Barker is no longer with us
Born 25 September 1929  (Bedford, Bedfordshire, England)

Died 3 October 2005  (Adderbury, Oxfordshire, England)

Age at death: 76  (read death notice)
TV comedian (The Two Ronnies) and comic actor (the classics Open All Hours and Porridge, and the frankly terrible Clarence). Four candles?
[Picture of Ronnie Barker]

 

Barrett, Syd (Died in 2006)
Born 6 January 1946  (Cambridge, England)
Pink Floyd's original frontman, guitarist and songwriter. Born Roger Keith Barrett, he went to school in Cambridge (where he was given the nickname Syd) with Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour. In 1965, he was a founder member of the group, which went through several name changes before settling on a combination of the names of two American bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. However, the other band members booted him out in 1968, his erratic LSD-induced behaviour having got right on their tits.
[Picture of Syd Barrett]

 

Barrymore, Michael
Born 4 May 1952  (Bermondsey, London, England)
Entertainer and game show host, born Kiernan Michael Parker. In March 2001, an unfortunate incident involving a dead homosexual in his swimming pool wrecked his career and made some DDPers feel that suicide may be on the cards.
[Picture of Michael Barrymore]

 

Basayev, Shamil (Died in 2006)
Born 14 January 1965  (Vedeno, Chechnya)
Chechen terrorist, responsible for most of the atrocities now affecting Russia.
[Picture of Shamil Basayev]

 

Bates, Paddy Roy (Died 2012)
Date and place of birth unknown
Former pirate radio broadcaster (born 1922) who took over an abandoned World War II platform off the coast of Essex, and ultimately declared himself Prince Roy, ruler of the Principality of Sealand. Clearly as mad as a biscuit, but has somehow managed to gain international recognition of his sovereignty. Fair play to him.
[Picture of Paddy Roy Bates]

 

Baxter, Raymond (Died in 2006)
Born 25 January 1922  (Ilford, Essex, England)
Former World War II fighter pilot and presenter of BBC TV science programme "Tomorrow's World".
[Picture of Raymond Baxter]

 

Beatty, Warren
Born 30 March 1937  (Richmond, Virginia, USA)
US actor, lothario in his early days, now tamed by wife Annette Bening. Brother of Shirley MacLaine, ex-boyfriend of most of the entire celebrity female world.
[Picture of Warren Beatty]

 

Beckham, David
Born 2 May 1975  (Leytonstone, England)
Self-effacing brainbox, who founded Mensa and never seeks publicity.
[Picture of David Beckham]

 

Beefheart, Captain (Died in 2010)
Born 15 January 1941  (Glendale, California, USA)
Musician, born Don Glen Vliet (later changed to Don van Vliet). Teenage friend of Frank Zappa, and, like Zappa, didn't enjoy much commercial success, but he and his Magic Band influenced many other artists.
[Picture of Captain Beefheart]

 

Bel Geddes, Barbara Barbara Bel Geddes is no longer with us
Born 31 October 1922  (New York, New York, USA)

Died 8 August 2005  (Northeast Harbor, Maine, USA)

Age at death: 82  (read death notice)
Actress, best known for being Miss Ellie Ewing in "Dallas". Retired from acting due to ill health, and subsequently died of lung cancer.
[Picture of Barbara Bel Geddes]

 

Belafonte, Harry
Born 1 March 1927  (Harlem, New York, USA)
Easy-listening singer, popular for many decades now. Survived a fight with prostate cancer.
[Picture of Harry Belafonte]

 

Bell, Andy
Born 25 April 1964  (Peterborough, England)
Ex-lead singer of Erasure, who announced in 2004 that he is HIV positive.
[Picture of Andy Bell]

 

Bell, Charlie Charlie Bell is no longer with us
Born 7 November 1960  (Sydney, Australia)

Died 17 January 2005  (Sydney, Australia)

Age at death: 44  (read death notice)
President and CEO of McDonalds until his resignation in November 2004 due to cancer.
[Picture of Charlie Bell]

 

Bellow, Saul Saul Bellow is no longer with us
Born 10 June 1915  (Lachine, Quebec, Canada)

Died 5 April 2005  (Brookline, Massachusetts, USA)

Age at death: 89  (read death notice)
Famous author, perhaps best known for his novel "The Adventures of Augie March".
[Picture of Saul Bellow]

 

Bentsen, Lloyd (Died in 2006)
Born 11 February 1921  (Mission, Texas, USA)
Decorated WWII pilot, US senator for Texas, and Secretary of the Treasury under the Clinton government.
[Picture of Lloyd Bentsen]

 

Berg, Rabbi Philip (Died in 2013)
Born in New York, New York, USA  (exact date unknown)
Kabbalah guru, born 1928. Now wheelchair-bound, with his health in decline following a stroke last year.
[Picture of Rabbi Philip Berg]

 

Bergman, Ingmar (Died in 2007)
Born 14 July 1918  (Uppsala, Uppland, Sweden)
Scriptwriter and film director. Has been married 5 times, and has at least 8 children, of whom 4 also work in the film industry.
[Picture of Ingmar Bergman]

 

Berry, Chuck
Born 18 October 1926  (San Jose, California, USA)
Rock 'n' roll guitarist and singer, who has a string of dodgy misdemeanours in his past. Reportedly not in the best of health, but still active.
[Picture of Chuck Berry]

 

Best, George George Best is no longer with us
Born 22 May 1946  (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

Died 25 November 2005  (South Kensington, London, England)

Age at death: 59  (read death notice)
Boozy, womanising ex-Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer, who famously claimed to have slept with 3 Miss Worlds. Underwent a successful liver transplant in July 2002, but continued to hit the bottle (not to mention his wife), and thus remained a DDP favourite right to the end.
[Picture of George Best]

 

Best, Pete
Born 24 November 1941  (Madras, India)
Member of The Beatles from 1959-62, when he was fired and replaced by Ringo Starr, who, unlikely though it may seem, was considered a better drummer than him.
[Picture of Pete Best]

 

Bethe, Hans Hans Bethe is no longer with us
Born 2 July 1906  (Strasbourg, (then) Germany)

Died 6 March 2005  (Ithaca, New York, USA)

Age at death: 98  (read death notice)
Nobel Prize-winning scientist who helped develop the first atomic bomb, before turning to the field of solar physics.
[Picture of Hans Bethe]

 

Bezzerides, A. I. (Died in 2007)
Born 9 August 1908  (California, USA)
Screenwriter, responsible for classic Western movies "Rawhide", "Bonanza" and "The Virginian".
[Picture of A. I. Bezzerides]

 

Biggs, Ronnie (Died in 2013)
Born 8 August 1929  (Lambeth, London, England)
Sentenced to 30 years for his part in the 1963 Great Train Robbery, but escaped from Wandsworth Prison after only 15 months and ended up living in Brazil, from where he could not be extradited. He returned to Britain in 2001 for medical treatment and was promptly arrested. Since then, he has suffered two heart attacks, three strokes, two epileptic seizures and pneumonia, which have apparently left him partially paralysed and barely able to speak. Apart from that, though, he's in great health.
[Picture of Ronnie Biggs]

 

bin Laden, Osama (Died in 2011)
Born 10 March 1957  (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
17th of about 52 (!) children of a multi-millionaire Saudi construction magnate, al-Qaeda terrorist leader bin Laden was already on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, but on September 11th, 2001, he secured his position at no. 1 on this list. Despite this, he's a questionable DDP pick, due to the difficulty of establishing his whereabouts and hence whether he's alive or dead.
[Picture of Osama bin Laden]

 

Bird, Dickie
Born 19 April 1933  (Barnsley, Yorkshire, England)
Well-respected but now retired cricket umpire, who also took the field as a player many moons ago.
[Picture of Dickie Bird]

 

Bishop, Joey (Died in 2007)
Born 3 February 1918  (The Bronx, New York, USA)
Born Joseph Abraham Gottlieb. Last surviving member of the so-called Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr et al). Later hosted his own chat show on American TV. Credited with coining the phrase "son of a gun".
[Picture of Joey Bishop]

 

Biya, Paul
Born 13 February 1933  (Mvomeka, Cameroon)
President of Cameroon since 1982.
[Picture of Paul Biya]

 

Bjelke-Petersen, Sir Joh Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen is no longer with us
Born 13 January 1911  (Dannevirke, Manawatu, New Zealand)

Died 23 April 2005  (location of death unknown)

Age at death: 94  (read death notice)
Premier of the Australian state of Queensland from 1968 to 1987, and one of the most successful politicians in Aussie history, albeit one whose conservative policies were not to everyone's taste.
[Picture of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen]

 

Black, Cilla
Born 27 May 1943  (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)
Former cloakroom attendant at Liverpool's Cavern Club and then pop singer, now presenter of cheesy TV shows. So proud to be a Scouser that she's lived in Surrey for the past 30 years.
[Picture of Cilla Black]

 

Blackman, Honor
Born 12 December 1927  (London, England)
English actress, who has played upon her sex siren status since appearing as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger.
[Picture of Honor Blackman]

 

Blaine, David
Born 4 April 1973  (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
Twat. Really, really annoying, attention-seeking, box-dwelling twat.
[Picture of David Blaine]

 

Blair, Tony
Born 6 May 1953  (Edinburgh, Scotland)
MP for Sedgefield, County Durham since 1983, elected Labour leader in 1994 and Prime Minister in 1997. Not a popular DDP pick, as he's youngish and apparently in good health, but maybe he'll die of embarrassment if Cherie decides to sing in public again.
[Picture of Tony Blair]

 

Blessed, Brian
Born 9 October 1937  (Mexborough, Yorkshire, England)
Large, bearded actor whose presence and booming voice has landed him parts in everything from Shakespeare adaptations to Robin Hood to Star Wars.
[Picture of Brian Blessed]

 

Blofeld, Henry
Born 23 September 1939  (Hoveton, Norfolk, England)
BBC Radio 4 cricket commentator. His father went to school with Ian Fleming, who borrowed his surname for James Bond's long-time nemesis, Ernst Stavro.
[Picture of Henry Blofeld]

 

Bloodvessel, Buster
Born 6 September 1958  (Hackney, London, England)
Formerly 30-stone (420 lb) frontman of ska group Bad Manners. Collapsed and almost died during a gig in Italy in 2001, since when he is reputed to have lost a lot of weight. His real name is Douglas Trendle.
[Picture of Buster Bloodvessel]

 

Blunkett, David
Born 6 June 1947  (Sheffield, Yorkshire, England)
Disgraced ex-home Secretary. Also quite possibly loony. DDP'ers may be hoping for a guide-dog related mishap...?
[Picture of David Blunkett]

 

Borgnine, Ernest (Died 2012)
Born 24 January 1917  (Hamden, Connecticut, USA)
Five-times married, surprisingly prolific TV & film actor, whose portly stature ensured that he specialised in playing tough or just downright fat characters.
[Picture of Ernest Borgnine]

 

Bosnich, Mark
Born 13 January 1972  (Farfield, Sydney, Australia)
Coke-snorting, crap Aussie goalkeeper.
[Picture of Mark Bosnich]

 

Botha, P. W. (Died in 2006)
Born 12 January 1916  (Paul Roux, South Africa)
Former President of South Africa, the last to uphold apartheid. Quieter profile since a stroke in 1989. P. W. = Pieter Willem.
[Picture of P. W. Botha]

 

Bough, Frank
Born 15 January 1933  (Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)
British TV presenter, mainly on daytime television or sports programmes. Wearer of bad sweaters and target of unlikely sex allegations. Had a liver transplant in 2001.
[Picture of Frank Bough]

 

Boutros-Ghali, Boutros
Born 14 November 1922  (Cairo, Egypt)
UN Secretary-General between 1992-96, whose name became a catchphrase on "The Fast Show".
[Picture of Boutros Boutros-Ghali]

 

Bowen, Jim
Born 20 August 1937  (Heswall, Cheshire, England)
Super, smashing, great. The avuncular presenter of ITV's "Bullseye" (1981-93) ensured that no-one ever went home empty-handed, even if they were so laughably bad at darts that they ended up with £7 and a pewter tankard between 2 people. You can't beat a bit of Bully!
[Picture of Jim Bowen]

 

Bowie, David
Born 8 January 1947  (Brixton, London, England)
Sang with Mark Bolan and Bing Crosby in 1977; days later, both were dead. Suffered a heart attack in 2004.
[Picture of David Bowie]

 

Brabham, Sir Jack
Born 2 April 1926  (Hurstville, Sydney, Australia)
3 times Formula 1 champion. First F1 racer to be knighted, still drives in historic races, although mostly retired. In good health, but now completely deaf.
[Picture of Sir Jack Brabham]

 

Bradbury, Ray (Died 2012)
Born 22 August 1920  (Waukegan, Illinois, USA)
Sci-fi author, best known for "Fahrenheit 451".
[Picture of Ray Bradbury]

 

Bradlee, Ben
Born 26 August 1921  (Boston, Massachusetts)
Editor of the Washington Post from 1965-91. Has the truly bizarre middle name of Crowninshield.
[Picture of Ben Bradlee]

 

Brady, Ian
Born 2 January 1938  (Glasgow, Scotland)
Moors Murderer, in prison since 1966, having been caught just 4 weeks after the death penalty for murder was abolished in the UK. Has a tendency to go on somewhat half-hearted hunger strikes. Since the death of his accomplice, Myra Hindley, in 2002, DDP interest in him has picked up.
[Picture of Ian Brady]

 

Brady, Sarah
Born 6 February 1942  (Missouri, USA)
Advocate of gun control ever since her husband Jim was seriously wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. Now suffering from lung cancer.
[Picture of Sarah Brady]

 

Branson, Sir Richard
Born 18 July 1950  (Sharnley Green, Surrey, England)
Entrepreneur since the age of 16, when he started a national student magazine. Now boss of the Virgin records/banking/airline/etc empire.
[Picture of Sir Richard Branson]

 

Briers, Richard (Died in 2013)
Born 14 January 1934  (Merton, Surrey, England)
Very popular British actor & comedian, best known for The Good Life.
[Picture of Richard Briers]

 

Brooks, Mel
Born 28 June 1926  (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
Comic actor and film director.
[Picture of Mel Brooks]

 

Broudie, Ian
Born 4 August 1958  (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)
Musician & producer, best known for fronting - in fact basically being - The Lightning Seeds.
[Picture of Ian Broudie]

 

Brown, James (Died in 2006)
Born 3 May 1933  (Macon, Georgia, USA)
"Ow! I feel good!" yelled the Godfather of Soul on his 1966 hit "I Got You", but his subsequent years of ill health suggest he may have spoken too soon.
[Picture of James Brown]

 

Brown, June
Born 16 February 1927  (Needham Market, Suffolk, England)
Actress who plays Dot Cotton in EastEnders.
[Picture of June Brown]

 

Bruce, Jack
Born 14 May 1943  (Glasgow, Scotland)
Former frontman of Cream, who also wrote most of their songs. Underwent a liver transplant in October 2003, after being diagnosed with cancer of the liver.
[Picture of Jack Bruce]

 

Bruno, Frank
Born 16 November 1961  (Hammersmith, London, England)
Former WBC world heavyweight boxing champion and pantomime dame. Lost the plot somewhat after his wife left him, and was sectioned to a mental hospital in September 2003, although he was later released.
[Picture of Frank Bruno]

 

Buckland, Ray
Born 31 August 1934  (London, England)
TV comedy scriptwriter who moved from the UK to the US in 1962, before turning to writing books, mostly relating to wicca, of all things. Underwent quintuple heart bypass surgery in the spring of 2004.
[Picture of Ray Buckland]

 

Buckley, William F. (Died in 2008)
Born 24 November 1925  (New York, New York, USA)
Right-wing US journalist, prominent in the 1960s. Not that well known over here, but some of his more outspoken remarks may prove quotable enough to earn him an obit.
[Picture of William F. Buckley]

 

Bulger, James 'Whitey'
Born 3 September 1929  (Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
One of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Charges against him include 18 counts of murder, plus racketeering, money laundering, and breaking wind in an elevator.
[Picture of James 'Whitey' Bulger]

 

Burnet, Alistair (Died 2012)
Born 12 July 1928  (Sheffield, Yorkshire, England)
Former ITN newsreader.
[Picture of Alistair Burnett]

 

Burns, Pete
Born 5 August 1959  (Port Sunlight, Cheshire, England)
Androgynous frontperson of '80s electropopsters Dead Or Alive.
[Picture of Pete Burns]

 

Burns, Richard Richard Burns is no longer with us
Born 17 January 1971  (Reading, Berkshire, England)

Died 25 November 2005  (Place of death unknown)

Age at death: 34  (read death notice)
2001 World Rally Champion, who suffered from a brain tumour.
[Picture of Richard Burns]

 

Bush, Barbara
Born 8 June 1925  (Rye, New York, USA)
The wife of George Bush snr, not the namesake daughter of George W. Bush.
[Picture of Barbara Bush]

 

Bush (jnr), George W.
Born 6 July 1946  (New Haven, Connecticut, USA)
43rd and current President of the United States. What with allegations of vote-rigging, the events of 9/11, and the much-criticised war on Iraq, he hasn't exactly had the smoothest of rides. But he's still hanging on in there; as the man himself once said: "They misunderestimated me."
[Picture of George W. Bush (jnr)]

 

Bush (snr), George
Born 12 June 1924  (Milton, Massachusetts, USA)
Son of a senator and related to 4 previous US Presidents. Made his fortune in the oil industry and got involved in Texan politics before becoming US ambassador to the United Nations, vice-President under Ronald Reagan from 1980-88, and President from 1988-92. Was sometimes lambasted for not being overly bright, but then his son Dubya came along...
[Picture of George Bush (snr)]

 

Buttons, Red (Died in 2006)
Born 5 February 1919  (New York, New York, USA)
Composer, actor, comedian and author.
[Picture of Red Buttons]

 

Bygraves, Max (Died 2012)
Born 16 October 1922  (Rotherhithe, London, England)
Wartime radio comedian, later turned stage entertainer, singer, and over-user of the phrase "I wanna tell you a story".
[Picture of Max Bygraves]

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