Nine hits to chronicle this week as we approach the end of the first month:
Fashion
Titan of the fashion world Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani has reached the end of the catwalk, passing away at the age of 93. He started out in 1960 and nearly went bankrupt in the first year due to a lack of financial discipline. Two things kept him afloat, the first was meeting his business and romantic partner Giancarlo Giammetti to save him on the money side, the second was Jackie Kennedy falling massively for his style and becoming a huge early client.
His breakthrough on the international stage came in 1968 and for the next three decades his retro focused haute couture fashion absolutely dominated. Royalty, the Red Carpet, high society weddings, his brand was wanted everywhere. After selling his business for $300 million, he began to wind down his career from the late 90’s onwards and retired with one of the biggest reputations in the industry, a client base that ranged from Audrey Hepburn to J-Lo and a veritable bucketload of Italian honours. All of which no doubt pales in comparison to the nine points he scores on the DDP as a unique hit for Zombie Dance Party!
Music
The winner of this weeks popularity contest with 22 picks is Midnight Oil drummer, vocalist and songwriter Rob Hirst, who has lost his three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. A founding member of the Australian alt rock band, he was in the line up for their entire history, and was also known for playing with the bands Ghostwriters, and Backsliders while the Oils were on hiatus. Drummers tend to be the forgotten element of most bands, but Hirst’s memorable, often furious solos along with his key contributions to the song writing made him a notable exception.
Politics
Ron Boswell is no longer pretty or pretty effective, he’s now just pretty dead. He served as the National Party’s Senator for Queensland for 31 years, served a record 17 of them as the party’s leader in the Senate, and now serves a final time as a unique hit for Alternative Observations 2026.
Perhaps Pointless Punts also scoops a unique hit with Eva Schloss, a holocaust survivor and the posthumous stepsister of Anne Frank. Her family had fled Austria following its annexation by Germany in the run up to World War 2, and they became acquainted with the Frank family while living in Amsterdam. Eva settled in England after the war and went on to dedicate herself to preserving the memory of Holocaust victims and survivors alike, co-founding the Anne Frank Trust UK.
Sport
Our first sportsman to hit the chequered flag is F1 driver Hans Hermann, a unique hit for Aaron Aardvark’s Alliteration Association whose death leaves no more surviving 1950’s podium finishers.
The second is Tommy Wright, the Everton one-club man turned one-team pick for A Question of Sprouts. He made over 300 appearances for Everton, winning the 1966 FA Cup, and playing all 42 games in their 69/70 League Championship victory.
Television
Australian actress Patsy King started out in theatre in the 1950’s before moving into both acting and presenting on television. She was most well known for playing prison governor Erica Davidson the 1980’s cult series Prisoner.
Floyd Vivino has passed away at the age of 74 after several years of mounting health problems. He was a comedian and TV personality best known for The Uncle Floyd Show, a family entertainment and variety show that ran for 24 years stateside. He also held the Guinness World Record for continuous piano playing, at 24 hours and 15 minutes, so should the question ever come up in a pub quiz, now you know!
Wrestling
Finally we have Rick Link, aka “Man Eating Beast”, a wrestler with the NWA whose career peaked in the 70’s and 80’s. Said career declined as the WWF began to dominate the industry, though he continued to perform well into the 00’s. He was a QO doubt for a while there, but the Daily Mail came through for six teams in the end.
Scores
| Name and Age | Date of Death | Points and Teams |
| Eva Schloss, 93 | January 3 | Perhaps Pointless Punts 💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 9 Points |
| Ron Boswell, 85 | January 6 | Alternate Observations 2026 💀💀💀💀💀💀+👻=10 Points |
| Hans Herrmann, 97 | January 9 | Aaron Aardvark’s Alliteration Association 💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 9 Points |
| Rick Link, 66 | January 14 | 6 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 = 8 Points |
| Valentino Garavani, 93 | January 19 | Zombie Dance Party 💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 9 Points |
| Patsy King, 95 | January 19 | 2 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀 = 5 Points |
| Rob Hirst, 70 | January 20 | 23 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 = 7 Points |
| Tommy Wright, 81 | January 21 | A Question of Sprouts 💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 10 Points |
| Floyd Vivino, 74 | January 22 | Rolls off the Tongue 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀+👻 = 11 Points |