The Reaper continues to harvest with another eight names on his list this week as Europe continues to feel the heat:
Film
The surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age continue to dwindle as Ann Blyth passes away at 98. She hit the big time with an Oscar-nominated role as Veda Pierce in 1945’s Mildred Pierce and went on to an extensive career under the Universal and MGM production companies. Eight teams cash her in for five points.
Media
Jill Smokler goes from Scary Mommy to Scary Ghostie after inevitably falling foul of her glioblastoma. Starting her blog in 2008, Smokler grew Scary Mommy into a web-based franchise that included books and a charity designed to help struggling families. Smokler left the site in 2018 and at just 48 years old, she nets a big ten points for four teams, particularly Fade to Black and GUN Fishing in the top ten.
Music
The first musical industry hit this week was the record producer and CCO of Sony Music Entertainment Clive Davis. He started out working as a legal counsel for Columbia Records before moving into the production side of the company. The artists he would sign over the course of his sixty-plus year career with CBS, Arista Records and Sony would include some of the biggest names in music of the last century. Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Barry Manilow, Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston were just a small selection of the names that would be associated with Davis’s production labels.
His tenure with CBS ended in somewhat murky circumstances surrounding misappropriation of some $90,000 of company funds, and he had reputation for being a bit restrictive in the artistic freedoms of his many protégé’s, but it’s mostly been a case of tributes pouring in from the industry after his death at 94. Just don’t ask Kelly Clarkson for a eulogy any time soon. A huge influence on the music industry does not a dead pooling influence make however, netting just five points for What’s the Story, Mourning Glory? and Casket Ready down in joint 224th place.
Then, just two days after Davis, one of his many signings followed him out the door. David Clayton-Thomas was the most prominent of the lead vocalists for Blood, Sweat & Tears, the first three albums he recorded with them all going either gold or platinum. Life on the road disagreed with Clayton-Thomas and he left to pursue a solo career in 1972, ending the chart success of BS&T for good. Said solo career never panned out either and he’d return to the group just a few years later as one of a never-ending revolving door of roster changes and creative mediocrity. It’s in death where his chart performance once again reaches the Top 30 then, as the folk themed Buying Max Yasgur’s Farm get ten points to take them to 25th on the theme board.
Politics
Economist Alan Greenspan was the most popular selection to fall this week, Parkinson’s catching up to him at the age of 100. He was the second longest serving Chair of the Federal Reserve in the USA, first being appointed by Bush Snr. in 1987 and retiring after his fifth term at the start of 2006. Yes, something rather big did happen just two years later, very observant of you.
He was the economic golden boy of America in the late 80’s and 90’s, purchasing Treasury bonds and lowering interest rates in response to the 1987 market crash. With the 90’s leading to some of the greatest economic times the USA had ever sen, little went wrong for him and he was seen as an excellent pair of hands at the helm of the economy. Unfortunately, vast sums of money flowing in to the economy saw concerning rises in inflation towards the end of the decade, particularly in mortgage rates and property values. His reputation started to suffer with the dot com bubble bursting at the turn of the millennium. While the average joe came out of that one mostly ok, the 2008 recession was a different matter entirely given the rates of unemployment that followed it.
I’ll leave how much of it was down to his policies is for economists to argue over, it all goes well over my head. More straightforward is his undisputable popularity for dead poolers, selected by 25 teams and getting a joker hit for Not everyone who makes in to 99 makes in to 100 at eight points. Too old to be considered for most of the contenders however, the highest position on the scoreboard to have him being sister site Deathlist.net, just squeaking into the top 100 as a result.
Sport
Joe Doering was a wrestler mostly associated with All Japan Pro Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling during his career, only having a brief sabbatical in the WWE in 2010. He won two solo titles under AJPW and two tag team titles under TNAW. Unfortunately for Doering, he had to compete while getting brain cancer treatments from 2016 onwards. The second surgery in 2022 effectively ended his career but it wasn’t until his third tumor was diagnosed this year that it became terminal, passing away three days after entering hospice care. The youngest death this week scores a whopping twenty points as the joker for Long Story Short… It’s Over!, and ten for several teams in the top regions of the board.
Television and Radio
Two small screen stars to finish with this week. David Daker was most well known for playing Harry Crawford in the drama series Boon, as well as stints on Z Cars and Coronation Street. Little of interest to write about here but he was a treat in Third Doctor serial The Time Warrior playing the axe-crazy medieval bandit Irongron.
Allan Finnegan by contrast could easily turn out to be one of the most crucial hits of the year come Hogmanay. The Baptist minister came to public notice with a rather dark comedy routine on Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. He made it all the way to the semifinals, managing to generate some 300 complaints from moral guardians along the way. Well Allan, if there’s a demographic out there who can appreciate jokes about the dearly departed it’s surely us, so I’m sure you’ll be pleased to read from on-high that you’ve managed to cut Pretty Noose’s lead to just five points. The Sound of the Underground is among twelve teams getting nine points, and combined with Doering reaches second place as a result.
Scores
| Name | Age | Date of Death | Teams and Scores |
| David Daker | 90 | April 30 | 3 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀= 5 Points |
| Allan Finnegan | 59 | June 19 | 12 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 = 9 Points |
| Clive Davis | 94 | June 22 | 2 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀 = 5 Points |
| Jill Smokler | 48 | June 22 | 3 Teams💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 = 10 Points |
| Alan Greenspan | 100 | June 22 | 24 Teams 💀💀💀💀= 4 Points Not everyone who makes in to 99 makes in to 100 🃏 = 8 Points |
| Ann Blyth | 98 | June 24 | 8 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀= 5 Points |
| David Clayton-Thomas | 84 | June 24 | Buying Max Yasgur’s Farm 💀💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 10 Points |
| Joe Doering | 44 | June 26 | 12 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 = 10 Points Long Story Short… It’s Over! 🃏 = 20 Points |
So with half the year gone, Pretty Noose maintain their lead for now, though with a dwindling pool of Drop 40 selections to draw from. Just five points behind sees The Sound of the Underground reach second, and brief February leader I Will Not Die, it’s the World that Will End! make it back to third.
The Theme Team podium is far less competitive already, with Elton Welsby’s Sporting Triangles pulling away in front at the top on 62 points. Musicians take second with LW’s Latest Hit on 50, and third is a tie between France and Germany with A la vie, a la mort and Deutschland verabschiedet sich! scrapping on 48.
There’s been a significant uptake in dearly departed’s of late and we’re only halfway there with plenty to play for. Fortunately I’m getting a week off to focus on real life shenanigans but Octopus has very kindly agreed to make time for the write-up next week. To my undying gratitude, I can assure you. Chow for now!