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 to 2007 by Siegfried Baboon and Rude Kid. From 2008 to 2009, it was run by Octopus of Odstock, and from 2010 The Man in Black

Latest Stiffs: 7th December 2014 by The Man in Black

Absolutely Fabiolas!

The former Queen Consort of Belgium, Queen Fabiola has died. Born in Madrid, Fabiola de Mora y Aragon married the King of Belgium, King Baudouin in 1960 and was Queen of Belgium until the king's death in 1993. They had no children, so Prince Albert, Baudouin's brother took the crown instead. She's the second Spanish nob to fall in the last month. Fabiola was 86 and a hit for 10 teams, several of them theme teams.

(10 teams) = 6pts (3 teams) = 12pts

Better chalk these off for next year...

DDP 2015 is close at hand, so here's some names not to put on your lists...
Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah was an alleged leader of Al-Qaeda, who allegedly planned to bomb the New York subway and now has been allegedly killed in a raid in at the Pakistan/Afghan border aged 39. He gains a whopping 16 points for theme team Drone Fodder.
Another, rather more unlikely conspirator was Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party from 1967-76. Thorpe raised the profile of the ailing party considerably in the 1970s and was a popular figure. However, he became embroiled in a scandal involving a gay male model (Norman Scott) and a dead dog, with Thorpe implied in a murderous plot to cover-up an alleged affair which occurred when homosexuality was still illegal in the 1960s. He was acquitted after a trial in 1979, which was famously satirised by the late, great Peter Cook. Thorpe died aged 85 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Did he do it? It's entirely a matter for you.
Jean Béliveau is considered one of the all-time greats of Ice Hockey (or just "Hockey" as the Canadians would have it!). He won the Stanley Cup 10 times as a player for the Montreal Canadiens between 1950 and 1971. He later became an executive with the team. Béliveau was 83 and a unique hit for Stone Dead Cert.
Roberto Gomez Bolanos, better known as Chespirito was a Mexican comedian and actor who became a huge star in his native country with his characters. He later inspired the Simpsons character the Bumblebee Man.
He died aged 85 after a long illness. Curse of Fame takes all the points.
Ismena Clout was one of those terminally ill people who became "inspiring" and ending up with a blog in the national media. She died on September 15th aged 40 but it's only now that an obit has been found, the first I think from the Huffington Post. A welcome boost to The Beatles Are Dying In the Wrong Order, who have had a poor season by recent standards

(el Shukrijumah) + + = 16pts

(Thorpe) (21 teams) = 6pts (1 team) = 12pts

(Béliveau) + = 9pts

(Chespirito) + = 9pts

(Thorpe) (2 teams) = 10pts (1 team) = 20pts

Latest Stiffs: 28th November 2014 by The Man in Black

Death Comes to P.D. James

Best-selling crime novelist P.D. James has died. James only became a novelist in her 40s after a career in administration and it wasn't until she was in her 60s that she finally hit paydirt with her detective creation Adam Dalgliesh. Other novels include her breakthrough best-seller 'Innocent Blood' and the dystopian 1992 novel 'Children of Men'. James was 94 and a hit for seven teams.

(7 teams) = 5pts

It's (Manin)Black Friday!

A new record for the DDP as last year's record of 219 is broken. Jack Kyle is considered one of Irish rugby's all-time greats. The fly-half won three Five Nations championships in the late 1940s/early 50s and was an invaluable member of the British Lions. Upon retirement in 1962 he moved to Africa and worked as a surgeon. He was 88 and a unique hit for Morbid United FC.
[Adopts Alan Ford voice] "Mad" Frankie Fraser was one of the most notorious villains in post-War Britain. He had the reputation as an enforcer for such crime families in London as the Krays and the Richardsons. He had spells in Broadmoor as well as chokey for a total of 42 years before finally getting released in 1989 where upon he became a minor celebrity based on such notoriety. The old lag was 90. Not a bad age for someone who used to get his head kicked in by the Screws!
Another who aged disgracefully was Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, Duchess of Alba. The Spanish aristocrat had a Joan Rivers-like predilection for cosmetic surgery, boasted numerous titles and regularly popped up in the gossip columns, notably in 2011 when she married a man 25 years her junior. She was 88 and confirms a bad year for plastic surgeons everywhere.
Soul singer Jimmy Ruffin's biggest hit single came in 1966 with 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted', which became a top ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic. His younger brother was the late David Ruffin of The Temptations. He was 78 and a unique hit for We Don't Talk Anymore.
Richard Pasco was a highly regarded stage actor at the RSC although he did occasionally dabble in TV and film. His best performances were agreed to be in 1973 as Richard II and Henry Bolingbrook, alternating the roles with that other great, Ian Richardson. Pasco was 88 (a common age in this update for some reason) and a unique hit for Unusual Suspects. Next time - DDP 2015 on it's way!

(Kyle) + = 9pts

(Fraser) (6 teams) = 5pts (1 team) = 10pts

(Fitz-James Stuart) (3 teams) = 6pts (1 team) = 12pts

(Ruffin) + = 10pts

(Pasco) + = 9pts

Latest Stiffs: 17th November 2014 by The Man in Black

Burney in

Saxophonist Mike Burney has died of cancer aged 70. Burney's background was in jazz but in 1972 he joined glam rocker Roy Wood for his new band Wizzard. Burney played sax on Wizzard's perennial Xmas favourite 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday', which reached number 4 in a highly competititve Xmas chart in 1973. This obit from ITV news is enough for points plus a bit more as he died on the 13th. Four teams benefit including reigning champion David Quantick's Showbiz Pals. A fourth hit in five weeks means that barring a remarkable late surge from nowhere, DQSP is set to retain the title thanks another late run...

(4 teams) + = 9pts

Corpse Diem

Reality TV participant (I hesitate to use the word "star") Diem Brown has died aged 32 of cancer. Brown was a contestant on MTV's 'The Challenge' and appeared on TV as a presenter although was having to deal with ovarian and then later colon cancer for some years The Daily Mail provide the obit, which a few years ago, would not have arrived. A unique hit for Garf Wants You To Die

+ = 13pts

Dugdale? Duuugdale?*

2014 heads towards a finish and a new hits record with the following stiffs: William Dugdale was very much a member of the establishment. An uncle (through marriage) of the Prime Minister, David Cameron, Dugdale fought in the Second World War, ran a colliery, competed in the Grand National as a jockey before becoming bettter known as chairman of Aston Villa FC, who under his guidance won the First Division championship in 1981 and the Europeam Cup the following year. He was 92 and a unique hit for Zsa-Zsa-ah-ah-ah! Zsa-Zsa-Ooh-la-la! who also gets an Unlucky 13 bonus. Back of the net!
Warren Clarke was a familiar face on TV and film for over 40 years. First catching the eye as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi classic 'A Clockwork Orange' in 1971, Clarke later had a long-running starring role in the TV cop show 'Dalziel and Pascoe' in the 1990s. He had been filming an updated version of the 1970s classic 'Poldark' before unexpectedly dying aged 67 after a short illness. He was a unique hit for the Kubrick-themed team 2014: A Death Odyssey.
Before Dugdale, another WWII hero has prompted the flag to go half mast in Remembrance week. Tommy Macpherson received three military crosses, a Star of Bethlehem, the Légion d’honneur and the Papal knighthood amongst a host of awards for his activities in North Africa and Italy. He later became a successful businessman. He was 94 and a unique hit for Amanita Virosa.
The final hit (that we know of) for October was Thomas Menino, the Democrat politician, who became the longest-serving Mayor of Boston from 1993 until earlier this year. Menino quit due to ill health but that didn't help his cause and he died aged 71. He becomes the 5th unique hit of this update, for Sleeping With The Fishes...

(Dugdale) + + = 10pts

(Clarke) + = 11pts

(Macpherson) + = 8pts

(Menino) + = 10pts
*A little pun for the Python fans out there...

List of the Lost - Latest Entrants

Fiorenzo Angelini

List of the Missed - Latest Entrants

Glen A. Larson, John Neal, Orlando Thomas, Keith Martin

Player of the Month - October

David Quantick's Showbiz Pals - 31 points

Latest News

Avoiding terminal illness is apparently not what it's cracked up to be, according to DDP high-value pick Wilko Johnson. How do you think we all feel, Wilko? Stephen Hawking warns that artificial intelligence might bring about the end of humanity. Probably with him still alive and Arsenal STILL qualifying for the Champions League!
Just to confirm that The Man In Black's retirement has been put off and we go on in 2015...
The Theme Team League is updated for November.

Message to all current competitors: There will be no more regular emails except in certain circumstances, such as rules and invitation to next year's competition.

Further Information

Derby Dead Pool is hosted by The Man In Black with contributions from Big-Iain, Rude Kid, Siegfried Baboon, Octopus of Odstock, WEP 2.0 - World's Eternity Prophet Reloaded and The Grey Horde

Archive

November