Celebrity picks for Derby Dead Pool 2005: L

 

La Lanne, Jack (Died in 2011)
Born 26 September 1914  (San Francisco, California, USA)
American TV fitness guru, real name François Henri La Lanne.
[Picture of Jack La Lanne]

 

Laine, Frankie (Died in 2007)
Born 30 March 1913  (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Crooner of Italian origin (real name Frank Paul LoVecchio), who enjoyed huge success in the 1950s, before rock 'n' roll rendered him obsolete. His UK chart records of 18 consecutive weeks at number 1 (with 'I Believe' in 1953) and a total of 27 weeks in the top slot in that year remain unequalled to this day.
[Picture of Frankie Laine]

 

Lane, Charles (Died in 2007)
Born 26 January 1905  (San Francisco, California, USA)
Skinny, bespectacled American character actor who appeared in minor roles in over 250 films. Born Charles Gerstle Levison.
[Picture of Charles Lane]

 

Lane, Mills
Born 12 November 1936  (Combalee, South Carolina, USA)
Lawyer, boxing referee and TV show host.
[Picture of Mills Lane]

 

Lange, David David Lange is no longer with us
Born 4 August 1942  (Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand)

Died 13 August 2005  (Auckland, New Zealand)

Age at death: 63  (read death notice)
Former lawyer who served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984-89, before retiring from politics in 1996.
[Picture of David Lange]

 

Langford, Bonnie
Born 22 July 1964  (Hampton Court, Surrey, England)
Squeaky-voiced, lisping child star who won Hughie Green's "Opportunity Knocks" 'talent' contest and became a member of Equity at the age of 6. Went on to tread the boards on Broadway and in the West End by her early teens, and appeared in "Just William" and "Doctor Who". Had a nervous breakdown in the late '80s.
[Picture of Bonnie Langford]

 

Lansbury, Angela
Born 16 October 1925  (London, England)
British stage and screen actress, who has spent most of her working life in the US, often playing characters much older than herself. Best known as Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV detective series 'Murder, She Wrote'.
[Picture of Angela Lansbury]

 

Laughlin, Tom (Died in 2013)
Born 10 August 1931  (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
Actor whose most successful films by far were 'Billy Jack' (1971) and its sequel 'The Trial of Billy Jack' (1974), after which his career bombed. Was credited in films under 9 different aliases, including, bizarrely, Mary Rose Solti. Announced in 1992 that he was going to run for President, but no-one took him seriously.
[Picture of Tom Laughlin]

 

Lauren, Ralph
Born 14 October 1939  (The Bronx, New York, USA)
Fashion designer.
[Picture of Ralph Lauren]

 

Laver, Rod
Born 9 August 1938  (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia)
Australian tennis player who enjoyed his greatest successes in the '60s.
[Picture of Rod Laver]

 

Le Pen, Jean-Marie
Born 20 June 1928  (La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France)
Founder (and still president) of the right-wing Front National party, who has courted controversy throughout his life. Some of his "achievements" have included practising torture in Algeria (allegedly), and losing his seat in the European Parliament for assaulting a rival socialist candidate during an earlier election campaign.
[Picture of Jean-Marie Le Pen]

 

Lee, Christopher
Born 27 May 1922  (Belgravia, London, England)
Actor who has appeared in countless cheesy horror films, particularly those made by Hammer during the 1950s-70s. Last seen storming off in a massive huff after discovering that his character, Saruman, had been totally written out of the final instalment of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy during post-production.
[Picture of Christopher Lee]

 

Lee, Stan
Born 22 December 1922  (New York, New York, USA)
Cartoonist who created "Spider-Man" and "The Hulk".
[Picture of Stan Lee]

 

Leigh, Mike
Born 20 February 1943  (Salford, Lancashire, England)
Film director.
[Picture of Mike Leigh]

 

Leigh Fermor, Patrick (Died in 2011)
Born 11 February 1915  (London, England)
Travel writer, who has written extensively about Greece after serving behind enemy lines in Crete during World War II. Knighted in the 2004 New Year Honours list.
[Picture of Patrick Leigh Fermor]

 

Lessing, Doris (Died in 2013)
Born 22 October 1919  (Kermanshah, Persia (now Iran))
Novelist whose works are strongly influenced by politics, psychology and her own upbringing in colonial Africa. She has often been described as a feminist writer, although she shuns this label.
[Picture of Doris Lessing]

 

Lévi-Strauss, Claude (Died in 2009)
Born 28 November 1908  (Brussels, Belgium)
Anthropologist and all-round intellectual who, in works such as "Anthropologie structurale", developed theories adapted from the structuralist ideas of linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. No relation to that bloke wot invented jeans.
[Picture of Claude Lévi-Strauss]

 

Lewis, Al (Died in 2006)
Born 30 April 1910  (New York, New York, USA)
Grandpa Munster. Had to have part of his right leg and some toes on his left foot amputated after problems during surgery in 2003.
[Picture of Al Lewis]

 

Lewis, Jerry
Born 16 March 1926  (Newark, New Jersey, USA)
Actor, writer, director, producer and composer, born Joseph Levitch. Formed a partnership with Dean Martin and made 18 films with him in 10 years, before going on to have his greatest success in 'The Nutty Professor' (1963). Now suffering badly from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, and looking increasingly infirm.
[Picture of Jerry Lewis]

 

Lewis, Jerry Lee
Born 29 September 1935  (Ferriday, Louisiana, USA)
The piano-playing rock-n-roller with balls of fire so great that he married his thirteen-year-old cousin and once turned up at Graceland with a gun, threatening to kill Elvis. He has succeeded in surviving where just about everyone around him has failed: his son was killed in a car crash, his fourth wife drowned in a swimming pool, and his fifth wife died of a drugs overdose. Wonder why his nickname is "The Killer"?
[Picture of Jerry Lee Lewis]

 

Lightfoot, Gordon
Born 17 November 1938  (Orillia, Ontario, Canada)
Canadian singer/songwriter, perhaps best known in the UK for "If You Could Read My Mind", the backing track often used in Dom Joly's "Trigger-Happy TV".
[Picture of Gordon Lightfoot]

 

Linkletter, Art (Died in 2010)
Born 17 July 1912  (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada)
Presenter of lame shows on US TV, such as "Kids Say the Darnedest Things". A kind of American Denis Norden.
[Picture of Art Linkletter]

 

Lofthouse, Nat (Died in 2011)
Born 27 August 1925  (Bolton, Lancashire, England)
England and Bolton Wanderers footballer of the 1940s and '50s, who played over 500 games for his club and scored 30 goals for his country.
[Picture of Nat Lofthouse]

 

Lom, Herbert (Died 2012)
Born 9 January 1917  (Prague, Bohemia (now Czech Republic))
Actor, born Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru, but decided that Lom was less of a mouthful, and he may just have been right. Usually played supporting roles, including Peter Sellers' long suffering boss Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movies. Moved into horror films in the 1970s, none of which were particularly memorable.
[Picture of Herbert Lom]

 

Long, Shelley
Born 23 August 1949  (Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA)
Actress - Diane Chambers in "Cheers".
[Picture of Shelley Long]

 

Longthorne, Joe
Born 31 May 1955  (Kingston-upon-Hull, Humberside, England)
Light entertainer and erstwhile TV star, now seriously ill with leukaemia and being kept alive by drugs and blood transfusions.
[Picture of Joe Longthorne]

 

Loren, Sophia
Born 20 September 1934  (Pozzuoli, Italy)
Glamorous actress, born Sofia Villani Scicolone.
[Picture of Sophia Loren]

 

Louganis, Greg
Born 29 January 1960  (El Cajon, California, USA)
Olympic diver with 4 gold medals, a sore head and AIDS.
[Picture of Greg Louganis]

 

Love, Courtney
Born 9 July 1965  (San Francisco, California, USA)
The original Riot Grrl, who formed Hole after being kicked out of Babes In Toyland. Wife of the late Kurt Cobain, she has had numerous verbal and legal scuffles with his former Nirvana bandmates. When not busy being controversial, she spends her time bringing up her daughter and taking heroin.
[Picture of Courtney Love]

 

Lovell, Sir Bernard (Died 2012)
Born 31 August 1913  (Oldland, Gloucestershire, England)
Pioneer of wartime radar and radio astromony. Responsible for the building of the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in Cheshire.
[Picture of Sir Bernard Lovell]

 

Lowe, Ted (Died in 2011)
Born 1 November 1920  (place of birth unknown)
Snooker commentator, nicknamed 'Whispering Ted', due to the fact that he whispers, and his name is Ted.
[Picture of Ted Lowe]

 

Lucia, Sister Sister Lucia is no longer with us
Born 22 March 1907  (Aljustrel, Portugal)

Died 13 February 2005  (Coimbra, Portugal)

Age at death: 97  (read death notice)
Catholic nun. Was the last survivor of the 3 children who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary near the town of Fatima in Portugal in 1917.
[Picture of Sister Lucia]

 

Lynch GC, Joseph (Died in 2006)
Born 6 November 1912  (Wallasey, Cheshire, England)
Recipient of the George Cross and British Empire Medal for bravery during WWII.
[Picture of Joseph Lynch GC]

 

Lynn, Dame Vera
Born 20 March 1917  (East Ham, London, England)
A performer from the age of 7, who really made it big during World War II. Her radio programme, 'Sincerely Yours', on which she was both presenter and singer of dreary ballads, made her 'The Forces' Sweetheart'. Ironic, then, that she had her first number 1 hit shortly after the war with a song sung partially in German - 'Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart'. Despite this gaffe, she was made a Dame in 1976.
[Picture of Dame Vera Lynn]

 

Lynn, Loretta
Born 14 April 1935  (Butcher Holler, Kentucky, USA)
Country & Western musician, who boasts that her ranch is "the seventh largest tourist attraction in Tennessee". Dizzy heights of fame indeed.
[Picture of Loretta Lynn]

 

Lyttleton, Humphrey (Died in 2008)
Born 23 May 1921  (Buckinghamshire, England)
Jazz musician and quizmaster on Radio 4's 'Sorry, I Haven't Got A Clue'. Still touring and performing with his band.
[Picture of Humphrey Lyttleton]

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