Derby Dead Pool

ABUNE A BOON FOR ALTERNATIVE OBSERVATIONS 2022 Horn of Africa nation Eritrea has been under the iron-fisted rule of Isaias Afwerki since its founding in 1993, and his is considered one of the most oppressive governments in the world. It was also among the dwindling ranks of countries that never clocked a DDP hit. Lara […]

I’M SORRY FOR YOUR TRUMBULL Groundbreaking SFX wiz Douglas Trumbull has died at 79. The son of Donald Trumbull (who did the effects in The Wizard of Oz), the younger Trumbull’s early work caught the eye of Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick recruited Trumbull for 2001: A Space Odyssey, where Trumbull was responsible for some of its […]

NIGHTINGALE’S LAMP EXTINGUISHED The playback singer, essentially the usage of a seasoned siren to dub the singing bits in a film, is commonplace in India, and Bollywood’s go-to for decades was Lata Mangeshkar, affectionately known as the “Nightingale of India”. The eldest child of theatre actor Deenanath Mangeshkar and sister of fellow playback singer Asha […]

PLEASE YOURSELF, THE POINTS ARE ROUND THE BACK Beloved stalwart of UK comedy Barry Cryer has died aged 86. Held in high regard for his quick wit, Cryer was inclined towards comedy from a young age. Although his snowtop head and rimmed glasses would eventually become a familiar face, careerwise he quickly decided to focus […]

COURT OF CESSATION The May 1963 assassination of politician and peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis, at the hands of right-wing extremists, was a pivotal moment in modern Greek history. Outrage over the murder was swift and immense, exacerbated by the government of then-PM Konstantinos Karamanlis supporting a police report that indicated it was accidental. A particular […]

VENI VITTI VICI One of the last great “ill before I was born” names is finally dead. When Italian screen icon Monica Vitti had her first signs of memory loss, Ronald Reagan was still president. When she made her last public appearance in 2002, Peter Falk was still doing the occasional Columbo. When it was […]

CARPENTER AIN’T Gangly MGM and Broadway star Carleton Carpenter has died aged 95. He was best known for a string of cheery song-and-dance roles in the late 40s and early 50s, particularly those in tandem with Debbie Reynolds such as Two Weeks with Love. Their duet “Aba Daba Honeymoon”, a peppy novelty ditty about an […]

WOODEN LEGG The doctor is out with EastEnders stalwart Leonard Fenton dead at 95. Following a longstanding and respected career before Walford, reliable GP Dr. Harold Legg became Fenton’s defining role. Dr. Legg, devised as a representation of the Jewish immigrant population at East End, was heavily based off Fenton himself, a Jew who changed […]

WATERY GRAVE British folkie Norma Waterson has died at 82, following years of failing health. She was raised in a tight-knit musical family, and this upbringing inspired her and several siblings to form skiffle-turned-folk group The Watersons. Their sharp and passionate harmonies were praised and put them at the forefront of the UK folk revival […]

SHARP DULLED I’ve written just about every flavour of DDP obit in my first month. It’s tonally easy enough to praise a Poitier or to skewer a Russell Bishop, but hoo boy, now it’s time for the grey life… *cracks knuckles* Top cop Leslie Sharp has died aged 85. After the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy in […]