The Derby Dead Pool

The online competition to guess which famous people won't make it to the end of the current year. If they're elderly, ill, or just live a high-risk lifestyle, stick 'em in your team, and for each one whose death you correctly predict, you'll score points. DDP was dreamt up in Derby, England (hence the name...) by Big Iain back in 1996, then was run from 2003-2007 by Siegfried Baboon and Rude Kid. From 2008-2009, it was run by Octopus of Odstock, but from 2010 onwards it's the turn of The Man in Black to run the DDP.

Latest Stiffs: 28th February 2012

Straight Outta Compton!

Another member of the "Band of Brothers" - the soldiers of the 506th Parachute Regiment, Lynn "Buck" Compton, has been demobbed for good. Compton though had a significant career after World War II. He later became a lawyer and judge and was the prosecutor of the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan. Compton was 90 and scored 5 points for three teams including the The Pale Horseman’s Easy Riders theme team.

Leonard Rottiter

Another person involved in World War Two has also bitten the dust. Leonard Rosoman was a war artist for the Admiralty, normally creating murals. He died aged 98. David Quantick's Showbiz Pals was the only team to pick him and get 8 points, vaulting to the top of the leaderboard with 41 points and already 5 hits on the board. He'll be pleased as punch!

Bye, Pola

It's apt that in the week of the triumph of the silent film 'The Artist' at the Oscars, an obit of one of the original era's last surviving actors has come to light. Pola Illéry was born in Romania, but made her name in France at a time just when the talkies were being introduced. She later settled in the United States where she died aged 103. A trio of teams each win 4 points including defending theme team champion Gray Panthers and of the TTL's contenders, One Century Is Enough, Madam! Incidentally, the first theme team league table for 2012 will be uploaded next month.

Latest Stiffs: 23rd February 2012

Grim pulls out a cracker!

Comedian Frank Carson has delivered his last punchline. The 85 year old comic passed away after a long period of illness. Carson, born in Belfast of Italian descent, first emerged as a comedian in the 1960s on the popular talent show 'Opportunity Knocks'. But it was his frequent apperances on 'The Comedians' in the 1970s, his rapid delivery and famous catchphrases "It's a cracker!" and "It's the way I tell 'em", that's he's best remembered. The obits weren't slow in coming. Carson was a hit for 26 teams, who all get 6 points. 'arry-Kiri moves up to second with 35 points...

Dulbecco life...

Nobel Prize-winning virologist Renato Dulbecco has died aged 97. Dulbecco was a co-winner of the prize in 1975 for his work on cancerous cells activity. 10 years later he won again, this time the peace prize as part of the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War group. The Guardian stumped up with the obit.
You Can't Die If You're Already Dead, Darling grab 8 points for a unique hit.

Cliver's no longer a survivor.

Rose Cliver was a survivor of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Cliver was just three years old when she and her family headed for the hills when the quake killed over 3,000 people and virtually reduced the city to ashes. In what maybe a crucial development, the Daily Mail's Mail Online offshoot came up with the obit. Cliver was 109 and a unique hit for theme team One Century Is Enough, Madam! 7 points head their way.

Bob's Carr parked.

Former Home Secretary Robert Carr has died. Carr was a key member of Edward Heath's ill-fated 1970-74 government. Carr was the architect of the Industrial Relations Act, an attempt at taming the trade unions. The act failed spectacularly but paved the way for Margaret Thatcher's more effective reforms of the 1980s. Carr was 95. Bxboy422 wins 5 points and theme team Dead Commons double up with 10.

Latest Stiffs: 18th February 2012

Get Carter!

Gary Carter, baseball catcher and Major League star has died of a brain tumor aged 57. Carter had a career that stretched from the 1970s to the 1990s and won the World Series with the New York Mets in 1986. 24 teams win 9 points, with 3 teams doubling up with 18. One of those teams, Star Dust now takes the lead, 2 points ahead of Gawn...dead...planted.

Fairfax sake...

British rower John Fairfax became the first man to row the Atlantic ocean solo in 1969. His achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the first men on the moon in July of that year, although the crew of Apollo 11 actually acknowledged this. He died aged 74. It toook a while for the obit to arrive, but it did courtesy of the ever obit reliable Telegraph. Fairfax was a unique hit for theme team This Is Your Death, who grab 10 points.

Latest Stiffs: 13th February 2012

Whitney's still waiting to exhale...

The World of pop lost another 1980s icon, less than three years after the death of Michael Jackson comes another casualty. Whitney Houston first emerged in the mid-1980s and fitted perfectly into the mainstream slick soul sound of that time, with hits such as "Saving All My Love for You" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" with which The Man In Black recalls bopping to when 11 years old with no embarrasment. Houston later dipped her toes in film, most notably with the hit film "The Bodyguard" with which she scored her biggest hit, a cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You", one of the biggest selling singles ever. The turning point though was her marriage to singer Bobby Brown which seemed to precipitate a steep decline into drugs and drink. Houston was found dead just before midnight GMT on Saturday.
She was 48. 16 teams score 10 points with She's A Goner doubling up with 20 points. This all depends on what the verdict of this death is and whether it is the second unnatural hit of the year.

Kelly kicks Grandpa Bucket!

Irish actor David Kelly has died aged 82. Kelly is best known for his role as the dodgy builder O'Reilly in "Fawlty Towers" and as the one-armed Albert Riddle in "Robins Nest". He didn't always play Oirish types (check out his cut-glass RP accent in the war film "The Mckenzie Break") and he also handled more dramatc roles. But it's his droll parts that he is recognised for: Link. Four teams each win 6 points.

The last post...

The woman believed to be the last survivor of the First World War, Florence Green has died aged 110. Green was a mess steward in an RAF base during the final weeks of the conflict, so hardly in the thick of it.
Green was picked by 13 teams, most get 3 points with Dave's Dead, Aye Dead Drunk, Nobody Gets Out Of Here Alive and One Century Is Enough, Madam doubling up with their jokers.

The grass of death.

Writer Samuel Youd, better known as John Christopher has died. Christopher is best known for his 1956 dystopian novel "The Death of Grass" and for his "Tripod" trilogy of books, which was later turned into a TV series. He was 89. A Pelican In The Wilderness grabs 9 points.

Josh's stiff and saddle-sore.

Former jockey-turned successful trainer Josh Gifford has died aged 70. Gifford trained Aldaniti to Grand National glory in 1981 in one the most memorable races in it's history. Aldaniti was ridden by Bob Champion, who himself was diagnosed with cancer but fought back. Gifford was picked by a trio of teams who each get 7 points.

El Flaco flakes out.

Argentine musician Luis Albeto Spinetta has died of lung cancer aged 62. Spinetta was a unique pick for Star Dust, who get 11 points.

List of the Lost - Latest Entrants

Johanna Ising, Peter Breck, Michele Baldwin, Wendy Butler, Gratia Maria Margretha Schimmelpenninck van der Oye, Elyse Knox, Peter Sharp

List of the Missed - Latest Entrants

Jill Kinmont Boothe, M. R. D. Foot, Maurice André, Erland Josephson

Player of the Month - January

'arri Kiri and Octopus of Odstock - 29 points

Latest News

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has more surgery for cancer. Beleaguered mogul Rupert Murdoch launches a Sunday version of his remaining British tabloid. Will his rivals be hacked off? Big-boned singer Adele scoops up awards galore in the US and Britain and even has time to flip her corporate sponsors the bird. Don't get cocky now....
3 more teams have been found down the back of the sofa leaving a grand total of 546 teams. The Drop Forty has been rejigged as a result. The Theme Team League for 2012 will arrive soon...

Message to all current competitors: If you haven't been receiving the notification mails that we send out whenever a celeb carks it, please check that we have your current email address (re-send it to us if unsure), your inbox is not full, and our address is not blocked by your mail system. The following teams are currently uncontactable; None.

Further Information

Who's dead so far | Celebrity picks | Team selections | DDP main page | DDP Archive