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...
RONNIE, RONNIE, RONNIE, WHY DID YOU GO… Longstanding Rons theme team …and its goodnight from him was almost retired this year, and the decision against seems to have paid off with it achieving the two Ronnies milestone before February. That second hit was former Southport MP Ronnie Fearn, Baron Fearn, who has died aged 90. […]
BAT OUT OF FUEL Power ballad ham-meister Meat Loaf has belted his last, aged 74. His death comes the year after that of his longtime composer Jim Steinman. Among Steinman and the two artists who best defined his delightfully-over-the-top sound, only Bonnie Tyler remains. She needs a hero to keep her safe throughout 2023… Dallas-born […]
DAMNING KRUGER DEFECT And so it’s auf Wiedersehen to the quintessential German soldier of wartime-set adventure romps. Hardy Kruger was the first of Germany’s postwar film scene to successfully transfer into both Hollywood and British cinema, with stances he took at a young age a crucial reason why in an era where most German actors […]
ZENNED OUT The Reaper has seemingly declared open season on principled religious leaders, beginning with Archbishop Desmond Tutu late last year and Rabbi Israel Dresner in mid-January. Now it’s Buddhism’s turn with Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh achieving nirvana at the age of 95. Noted as “the father of mindfulness”, Nhat Hanh advocated for a […]
LIFELESS LOUIE It’s not truly a DDP year until you have the death of a name celeb who would’ve been a popular lad hereabouts if they announced their cancer on the other side of New Year’s, but instead only reveals it days before their death and is a lucky unique for a theme team. Last […]
DEATH TAKES BISHOP In universally-welcomed news, paedo and murderer Russell Bishop has died of brain cancer, aged 55. In 1986, he molested and killed two 9-year-old girls in what is now referred to as the “Babes in the Woods murders” in a nod to the cautionary children’s tale. The prosecution extensively bungled their investigation, failing […]
GOAL BE SCORED Golfer Bob Goalby has died, aged 92. In a career with 11 PGA championships, his best-known moment was winning the 1968 Masters Tournament, most notable for the peculiar circumstances in which he narrowly beat Roberto De Vicenzo. At the end of the round, Goalby finished with 65, one stroke better than De […]
PLANET UNDER A titan of Brazilian culture has fallen, considered by many in their homeland to embody the soul of the country. Indeed, many on a worldwide scale were also in mourning. Their death was worth 9 points in the DDP. No, we’re not at the point of having to write an obit for Pelé […]
LORD HE CAN’T GO BACK HERE Perhaps the most notable white artist under the classic Motown umbrella has died. Canuck R. Dean Taylor experienced mild success in his homeland before heading to Detroit to further his career. He wasn’t the first white artist to have a charting single with Motown – Debbie Dean did so […]
TIMED OUT MACHINE The Time Machine actress Yvette Mimiuex has died shortly after her 80th birthday. Her breakout role in the 1960 sci-fi classic remains her most enduring, where she portrays peaceful Weena of the Eloi race. She was the last surviving main cast member of the film. Another noted appearance rolled along later that […]
