Celebrity picks for Derby Dead Pool 2004: V

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Vale-Onslow, Len  Born 2 May 1900  (Birmingham, England) Died 23 April 2004  (Worcester, Worcestershire, England) Age at death: 103  (read death notice) Was Britain's oldest motorcyclist. FACT. According to his reminiscences, he was in a coma for fifteen days at the age of eight, as a result of being tied to a bamboo aeroplane constructed by his brother. One Foot In The Grave

van Hoogstraten, Nicholas Born in Shoreham, East Sussex, England  (exact date unknown) Property tycoon, absolute crook and once Britain's youngest millionaire, born in 1946. Constantly employing less-than-legal "business practices", on one occasion he was convicted of ordering a grenade attack on a business associate, and was subsequently described as a "self-styled emissary of Beelzebub" by a judge. In 1999 business rival Mohammed Raja sued him for fraud, so Mr van Hoogstraten (he invented the "van" bit, incidentally) paid two henchmen to "teach Mr Raja a lesson". This lesson involved shooting Mr Raja in the face and stabbing him, resulting in his death. After spending one year of a ten-year sentence for manslaughter, the devil's landlord got out on a technicality in December 2003 and is probably now a marked man. Just in case you needed any further evidence of his despicable nature, he has described Robert Mugabe (but not his swingtime band) as "100% decent and incorruptible". Rude Kid

Vandross, Luther (Died in 2005) Born 20 April 1951  (New York, New York, USA) Soul singer, producer and songwriter whose first break came when he sang backing vocals on David Bowie's "Young Americans" album. After much session work, he went on to become a highly successful solo artist. In April 2003 he clocked up a stroke, meningitis and pneumonia, sending him into a coma; but six months later he was reported to be on the road to recovery and singing once more. These four DDP players offer a different prognosis. Alf Boggis Alison The Assassin I'm Feeling Better...  Rude Kid

Varah, Chad (Died in 2007) Born 12 November 1911  (Barton upon Humber, England) Anglican clergyman, story-writer on the "Eagle" comic, and founder of the Samaritans. Whitaker's Choice

Varney, Reg (Died in 2008) Born 11 July 1916  (Plaistow, London, England) Comic actor (now retired), most famous for playing Stan in the sitcom "On the Buses". Alf Boggis

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