CAUGHT THE BOUQUET, NO MORE MONKEY BUSINESS, AND THE SUNDOWN KID
The DI era winds to a close with it now set in stone the DDP front page will be taken over by Marlfox and Octopus of Odstock, but there’s still a few updates to go before that officially begins…
Top billing this update goes to Robert Redford. One of the leading men of the late 60s and early 70s, he gained renown for his Paul Newman tandem roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, All the President’s Men, Out of Africa, and the nodding bearded guy meme in Jeremiah Johnson. He segued into directing and won the Oscar doing so for Ordinary People, and became one of the strongest voices for indie films as founder of the Sundance film festival.
Jane Goodall’s death shocked nearly everyone as much as a 91-year-old can, whether it be from her being one of the busiest nonagenarians around or by one misremembering her as being murdered 40 years ago. Her hands-on studies of chimpanzees at Gombe in Tanzania completely reshaped public perceptions of chimps, revealing behaviours including usage of tools and complex social bonds that proved they had more in common with us than realised. She also embraced the Far Side cartoon about her. Also known for animal work was John Gurdon, the cloning pioneer who paved the way for Dolly the sheep.
Rather than pronounced “bouquet”, she’s pronounced dead. Patricia Routledge had an accomplished stage career spanning Shakespeare to musicals, including a Tony for Darling of the Day, and in film with To Sir, With Love. She had already proven adept at TV in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues before landing her defining role as the pompous Hyacinth Bucket on Keeping Up Appearances. “Bouquet”’s frequent attempts to mingle with upper crust were hilariously derailed by her humble background and eccentric family; Routledge herself was a bit more successful at impressing the top brass with Queen Elizabeth II among KUA’s numerous fans. Also from stalwart Britcoms was Patrick Murray, who played the cocky spiv Mickey Pearce on Only Fools and Horses and graced the Drop 40 after years of lung cancer.
Claudia Cardinale featured in over 100 films, among her most iconic as a director’s “Ideal Woman” in 8½, a merchant’s daughter in The Leopard, and the princess in the original Pink Panther. John Woodvine was a Shakespeare regular and a go-to cop in programmes such as Z Cars and played a doctor in An American Werewolf in London. Ron Dean was a regular tough guy US actor including in The Fugitive and The Dark Knight. Actress Pat Crowley starred in Please Don’t Eat the Daisies on top of numerous guest appearances. Sonny Curtis was the last surviving member of the Crickets to be part of the band during Buddy Holly’s lifespan, also writing for the Everly Brothers and making it after all behind the theme to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Chris Dreja was the original rhythm guitarist for the Yardbirds and was still touring with the band until the early 2010s.
Menzies Campbell went from an accomplished sprinting career to politics, entering parliament in the 80s and a prominent face of the Lib Dems, vocally opposing the Iraq War. He was also a survivor of the 2003 winning DDP team (which still has one remnant with Lee Starkey). Marilyn Hagerty became a brief meme for writing a glowing review of a local Olive Garden, while Georg Stefan Troller helped liberate Dachau and interviewed numerous Hollywood stars. Anne Baker capped off decades of charity work with an MBE she received aged 106; nun Sister Jean served as chaplain to the Loyola Ramblers men’s basketball team in Chicago. Also dead were romance novelist Jilly Cooper, philosopher John Searle, Ted’s ex wife Joan Bennett Kennedy, and cop Alan McQuillan.
Dickie Bird was the world’s most famous cricket umpire, recognisable by his white cap and quirky humour and renowned for his ability to manage some of the game’s most difficult characters. Also out from the cricket world was John Jameson, and snooker lost Mika Immonen. Ricky Hatton was atop the boxing world with a string of wins in the early aughts, culminating with winning the junior welterweight championship in an upset against Kostya Tszyu. His career never rebounded after losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr and he struggled with depression in the years afterwards. College basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis was unlikely to get anything with the relative loophole-proofing of Yahoo but got requisite Mail coverage shortly after her June death, even if no one noticed til a rad guy did the pertinent searches.
Nigel Latta, a New Zealand psychologist, was given a year to live about a year ago with terminal stomach cancer. The obit risk meant he wasn’t terribly popular, but it seemed like a bullet dodged when he attained a miraculous remission earlier this year. But well, you’re reading about him now. Wall Street Journal journo Jonathan Clements was a popular competitive pick due to a lung cancer diagnosis, including top ten placements Reptile, Spade, Banana, and Octopus of Odstock. Reptile had a failure to obit early in the year with Shiu Ka-Chun, and surely would have sworn off picking Asian dissidents forever had Kim Seong-Min not delivered. As it stands he extends his lead and is the one to beat as the clock ticks…