A bumper week to open the books for June, with eight more stiffs to tally:
Business
We start with the biggest hit of the week, Kanya King. She was an entrepreneur most well known for founding the Music of Black Origin awards in 1996, a ceremony designed to recognize artists from genres such as Soul, R&B, Jazz and Hip Hop. The MOBO’s became a major player in the British music scene for black artists and she made it up to a CBE in recognition of her work. Still no sign of a nod for Rock at the awards mind. Chuck Berry’s no doubt, if you’ll forgive me, “Rolling” in his grave!
King had spent the last two years on the cusp of the Drop 40 following her December 2024 announcement of stage 4 colorectal cancer and she’s a hit for thirty teams. The two chief beneficiaries are Bennington & Speight’s Aerial Silk Workshop, and Aaron Aardvark’s Alliteration Association, who move to second on the main board, and joint fifth on the theme league respectively.
Film
Patrick Godfrey was a character actor whose biggest films included A Room with a View, The Count of Monte Christo and Les Miserables. Not restricted to just the big screen, his British telly appearances also included mandatory roles in Doctor Who, Casualty and The Bill. His death at 93 is the fifth hit for The Death Toll is Catastrophic, scoring nine points.
Music
Jazz and Soul continue to pay deadpooling dividends this year, with two more musical hits to report. Guitarist Joe Negri was first, departing at the age of 99. He spent most of his life teaching the art at the University of Pittsburgh, also making a string of appearances on Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. He scores a unique nine points for the very aptly named Not everyone who makes in to 99 makes in to 100.
Peabo Bryson is also in need of a eulogy straight from the heart, having been brought down by a stroke at 75. The R&B and Soul singer enjoyed a string of hit singles and gold-certified albums, with his biggest international hit being 1983’s duet Tonight, I Celebrate My Love For You with fellow deadpooling icon Roberta Flack. He also got two Grammy’s for his Disney duets Beauty and the Beast, and A Whole New World in the early 90’s. His final hit is entirely solitary however, getting the first eleven points of the year for only Gone Solo.
Politics
We’re bidding au revoir to French politician and former spouse of the President, Bernadette Chirac. She entered politics in 1971 and became the first woman to serve as a councilor in the department of Corréze. Her husband Jacques won the presidential election in 1995 and she also devoted much of her time to her charity, Opération Piéces jaunes. Little to joke about here either, she had a torrid time of it in her personal life between her husbands notorious infidelity, losing her daughter to anorexia in 2016 and then Jacques himself in 2019. She hadn’t been seen in public since 2018 unsurprisingly, leading to several picks by French and politics theme teams over the last few years. Vive la France… et la mort in particular get their joker for ten points.
Royalty
The youngest daughter of Louis Mountbatten, Lady Pamela Hicks, is our aristocratic hit this week. She was the oldest surviving descendant of Queen Victoria at the time of her death and one of the last products of British/German royalty lineages before the World Wars put a stop to all those bloodlines being in vogue. She served as one of Elizabeth II’s ladies-in-waiting during her time in the British court and went on to release two memoirs of her time spent across the Empire in it’s dying days. With the sun setting on her now too, she nets five points for three teams.
Sport
Raymond Berry played as a split end for the NFL’s Baltimore Colts with the peak of his career coming in the late 50’s. He lacked the typical brawn for the sport and was instead noted for pinpoint accuracy in the positioning and timing of his runs, holding the all-time record for receptions and receiving yardage when he retired. It’s the second touchdown for NFL-themed Traded to the Saints for the year, scoring nine points.
Finally, NASCAR has lost Gentleman Ned Jarrett, the head of the Jarrett racing family. He was active in the sport from 1952 to 1966, winning fifty races and two championships before moving in to broadcasting after hanging up his gloves. He’s the first hit for NASCAR theme team Turning Left, for nine points.
Scores
| Name | Age | Date of Death | Teams and Scores |
| Raymond Berry | 93 | May 25 | Traded to the Saints 💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 9 Points |
| Joe Negri | 99 | May 30 | Not everyone who makes in to 99 makes in to 100 💀💀💀💀💀+👻= 9 Points |
| Peabo Bryson | 75 | June 2 | Gone Solo💀💀💀💀💀💀💀+👻= 11 Points |
| Kanya King | 57 | June 3 | 27 Teams💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀= 9 Points 3 Teams🃏 = 18 Points |
| Ned Jarrett | 93 | June 4 | Turning Left 💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 9 Points |
| Patrick Godfrey | 93 | June 4 | The Death Toll is Catastrophic 💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 9 Points |
| Bernadette Chirac | 93 | June 5 | 4 Teams💀💀💀💀💀= 5 Points Vive la France… et la mort🃏 = 10 Points |
| Lady Pamela Hicks | 97 | June 5 | 3 Teams💀💀💀💀💀= 5 Points |