Death happens. Why not make it interesting?
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. Other hosts: Siegfried Baboon and Rude Kid (2003-7), Octopus of Odstock (2008-9, first tenure), The Man in Black (2010-17), Spade Cooley (2018-19), msc (2020-21), Grim Up North (2020-22), Reptile (2020-23), and Death Impends (2022-2025). Now the Committee of Banana (2023), time (2024), the returning Octopus of Odstock (2026) and the deadpooling equivalent of a gap year temp Marlfox (2026) oversee the biggest deadpool going...
SICK QUICK VIC PICK DOES THE TRICK Versatile racing driver Vic Elford has zipped through his final lap, aged 86. Nicknamed “Quick Vic”, he was considered one of the very best all-rounders of the profession. Porsche was his go-to car brand, though he also utilised Minis, Triumphs, and Ford Cortinas. He notched a string of […]
PRIDE COMES BEFORE A FALL Gay rights trailblazer and Brighton Pride parade fixture George Montague’s 98 years charted the shifts of societal attitudes regarding the LGBT community, from the longtime criminalisation of homosexuality to more widespread acceptance. He realised his sexual orientation in his 20s, though as a result of the era attitudes he was […]
YOUNG ON THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE The rough terrain of Alaska has meant multiple of its political notables perished in plane crashes. Longtime Senator Ted “Series Of Tubes” Stevens died in one, as did early 70s Representative Nick Begich weeks ahead of the 1972 elections. Begich’s challenger, Republican Don Young, embarrassingly lost to a dead […]
I LOST YOU TO THE SOLAR WIND In 2017, NASA named a spacecraft in honour of a living person for the first time when designating a probe researching the Sun the “Parker Solar Probe”. Its namesake, Eugene Parker, attended its 2018 launch and reshaped perception of how the Sun operates through his pioneering research, doing […]
RESTING ON HIS LAUROS Seeing as the typical US Secretary of Education in a GOP administration advocates the viewpoint that all schoolchildren should be spoonfed the notion God founded America while Lincoln and Reagan were riding T-Rexes with guns, it may come as a surprise that the Gipper tapped moderate Democrat Lauro Cavazos for the […]
HENRY ELDRITCH 1940s Hollywood actor Jimmy Lydon has died aged 98. Most noted for roles in his teens and early 20s, his best-received role was as the eldest son in 1947 comedy Life with Father. Also highly popular was a string of leading roles in the Henry Aldrich series of B movies, based off a […]
IT’S TIME TO FLY British TV mainstay Lynda Baron has died aged 82. A theatre dancer in her youth, she turned to acting and was already a recurring TV face when landing her biggest role as the buxom Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in popular BBC sitcom Open All Hours. Her character lived across the grocery owned […]
BRAXTON AXED Braxton sister Traci has died of oesophageal cancer aged 50. One of the five who comprised the Braxtons R&B group noted for catapulting Toni Braxton into 90s superstardom, Traci herself attempted a solo career in the 2010s, with her debut album Crash & Burn perhaps speaking as to how it panned out. Reality […]
PERMA BANDA Levy Mwanawasa, president of Zambia during much of the aughts, garnered respect for his efforts against corruption. He suffered a stroke in the summer of 2008 that thrust VP Rupiah Banda to the acting presidency, which was off to a bumbling start with Banda routinely painting a vague picture of recovery for Mwanawasa. […]
PEMBER TO EMBERS A familiar “you know the face” of British TV for decades, Ron Pember has died aged 87. His biggest role was as Alain Muny in WWII-set drama Secret Army, where he was the wireless operator and food supply for Lifeline. As a character actor, he typically portrayed a common man with street […]
