Death happens. Why not make it interesting?
The online competition to guess which famous people won't make it to the end of the current year. If they're elderly, ill, or just live a high-risk lifestyle, stick 'em in your team, and for each one whose death you correctly predict, you'll score points. DDP was dreamt up in Derby, England (hence the name...) by Big Iain back in 1996. Other hosts: Siegfried Baboon and Rude Kid (2003-7), Octopus of Odstock (2008-9), The Man in Black (2010-17), Spade Cooley (2018-19), msc (2020-21), Grim Up North (2020-22), and Reptile (2020-23). Now the Committee of DI (2022), time (2024), and Banana (2023) oversee the biggest deadpool going...
GOD SAVE JAMIE Graphic designer and anarchist Jamie Reid helped shape the rebellious look of punk rock with his pulpy collage style evocative of ransom notes. He most famously collaborated with the Sex Pistols, and was the brains behind their album and single covers. His vandalised Queen Elizabeth II portrait for God Save the Queen […]
THE BLACK GODFATHER SLEEPS WITH THE FISHES Clarence Avant was known as “the Black Godfather” for his stature in the music industry, and he had the history to back it up. Active since the 50s, he guided the careers of everyone from Sarah Vaughan to Snoop Dogg, and his Sussex label launched an unknown Bill […]
LAST DRINK FOR THIS AL QUIE Al Quie is the second Republican politician born in 1923 to die in recent days. Everything come in threes, Henry? Quie was elected to Minnesota’s 1st congressional district in 1958, and gained a reputation as a moderate Republican who voted for LBJ-era landmarks such as the Civil Rights Act […]
UNBUCKLED Given its reputation as a dinosaur exhibit, the US Senate rather surprisingly only boasts four centenarians from its former ranks. The fourth, James L. Buckley, was the first to hit 100 in over 20 years. Buckley belonged to a prominent conservative family (his younger brother was National Review founder William F. Buckley) and won […]
ALL OR NOTHING Eurovision’s first British (and English language) contestant, Patricia Bredin was an unknown office worker when offered the gig in 1957 with string-laden ballad “All”. She thought it was a “terrible little song” but agreed as she liked the prospect of being on television. Though the song finished seventh (out of ten songs), […]
SCOTTO FREE Leading soprano Renata Scotto has joined the heavenly choir aged 89. Scotto was mentored by Maria Callas and seen by many as her spiritual successor. A regular at the Met from the 60s through the 80s, she was noted for her interpretation of Madama Butterfly and worked with Pavarotti. The Fat Lady’s singing… […]
MCLAWLESS The Down Under Dr. Fauci, epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws became a familiar face in Australia during the COVID pandemic as a regular media presence on all matters pertaining to the virus. She had a long career curbing prior viruses like HIV, hepatitis B/C, and swine flu that gave her the authority to calmly steer the […]
HOLY TOLEDO! Cyclist Federico Bahamontes was the earliest and oldest surviving Tour de France champion, winning the race in 1959. The first Spanish champion, he was noted for his prowess on mountain courses and was nicknamed “The Eagle of Toledo” after winning the “King of the Mountains” distinction on all three Grand Tours. Amidst all […]
ANYTHING BUT IBRAHIM In his own words, Haris Ibrahim was “an overweight sperm passing through and waiting to return to Mothership”. Ibrahim was a Malaysian activist who was noted for an opposition to the long-ruling UMNO party that he crystallised into the “Anything But UMNO” slogan. He was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer last year, […]
TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF The DDP is always bound to have a few gambles on an upstart athlete whose career is curtailed by a cancer diagnosis. Ice hockey player Rodion Amirov was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020 and had a promising career ahead of him, but a little puck growing in […]
