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: 5th October 2015 by The Man in Black |
![[Picture of Denis Healey]](/images/celebs/2015/healey.jpg) Healey tells taxpayers: 2p off... |
Healey's in a hole, so stop digging |
| Veteran politician Denis Healey has died. Healey was one of the big beasts of the Labour Party in the 1960s and 70s. He was the last surviving member of Harold Wilson's 1964-70 cabinet, serving as Defence Secretary. When Labour returned to power in dramatic circumstances in 1974, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, famously going "cap in hand" to the IMF after the Sterling crisis in 1976, having to implement spending cuts (plus a dab of privatisation) which arguably paved the way for Thatcherism. Those decisions, coupled with his bruising (though often witty) persona meant that he was never the popular choice among the Labour movement to be elected leader, losing out in 1976 and most notably in 1980 to Michael Foot. He served as Deputy from 1980-83 and was infamously challenged for it by his left-wing nemesis Tony Benn, winning by the width of his famous eyebrow. Healey was 98 and a big hit, only the 4th member of the Drop Forty to bite the dust. Those who didn't pick him? Silly Billies... |
![[Scorecard]](/images/score.png)
![[Points]](/images/death.gif)
(57 teams)
= 5pts ![[Joker]](/images/joker2.gif) (1 team) = 10pts |
It's over for Berra |
| Yogi Berra was one of the most celebrated figures in American Baseball, winning 13 World Series as a player and coach for the New York Yankees and New York Mets. He was famous for his often illogical phrases but it was "it aint over til it's over" that has stood the test of time. Berra died aged 90 and was a home run for five teams proving that old adage when it somes to winning the DDP! |
|
(5 teams)
= 5pts |
Close of play for Brian |
| Brian Close was a tough, resilient batsman for Yorkshire, Somerset and England, enjoying a long career in cricket, spanning almost three decades. He made his debut for England in 1949 and continued into the 1970s, doggedly defying whatever the fast bowlers of the day could throw at him. He was briefly captain of the national side in 1966/67 and was successful in his short time in charge of the field. He also won 4 county championships with Yorkshire. Close was 84 with three teams picking up some quick runs... |
|
(3 teams)
= 7pts |
More slumbering September hits... |
| Well it's certainly been a slow time for hits but plenty of misses in what's probably the fallowest month since I took the reigns in 2010. Guy Béart was an Egyptian-born French songwriter, one of the leading exponents of the "Chanson" style of French songwriting. His best-known (at least in French circles and amongst hipsters) song is 'L'eau vive' which has become a standard. The troubadour was 85 and a unique hit for theme team The Soundtrack Of The Dead, their first of the year, c'est la vie... Another singer of a very different style was American rock 'n roller Frankie Ford. Ford's biggest hit was a prime slice of 50s boogie-woogie, 'Sea Cruise', which sold over a million copies. Ford died in his native Louisiana aged 76. Another theme team, Die You On The Bayou, pocket the points. Maybe they should celebrate with some sort of travel-based holiday, not sure which though... The final hit of September is "one of those ones" if you know what I mean. Tom Attwater was a terminally-ill father who put his energy into helping his cancer-stricken young daughter. Heartless bastards that we are at the DDP couldn't resist and poor Tom died at 32 with 5 teams scoring. That's the name of the game. Speaking of which, 2015 has now edged behind last year's total at this stage in the year, so the Grim Reaper has his work cut out if we are to beat last year's all-time hit record of 247... |
(Béart)
+
![[Unique]](/images/unique.gif)
= 9pts |
|
(Ford)
+
= 10pts |
|
(Attwater)
(5 teams)
= 10pts |
| Latest Stiffs: 14th September 2015 by The Man in Black |
![[Picture of Ron Springett]](/images/celebs/2015/springett.jpg) The goalkeeper's fear of the ultimate penalty... |
Ron Springett's into the afterlife |
| Footballer Ron Springett has passed away. Springett was England's first choice goalkeeper in the 1962 World Cup before being usurped by the great Gordon Banks. Springett, who played on the losing side in the FA Cup final for Sheffield Wednesday a couple of months before the 1966 World Cup, was part of the squad but only recieved his winner's medal in 2009. He played 33 times for England. Springett was 80 and a hit for a two teams including theme team The Final Whistle. |
|
(2 teams)
= 6pts |
Our Gang's gone! |
| Not one but two members of Hal Roach's 'Our Gang' film team of child actors have reached the final reel. Jean Darling was the last member of the silent era of the series to pass away. Darling first started way back in 1926 when she was just 4 years old. She appeared in 20 short features until she was 7. She later went on the star on Broadway in 'Carousel' and later spent time in Ireland, reading self-written children's stories as "Aunt Poppy". Darling was 93 with another pair of teams picking up the points. 6 days later, Dickie Moore joined the ghost gang. Moore appeared in the "Talkie" period of 'Our Gang' films, first appearing in 1932. Moore later acted opposite adult stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford and was the first to kiss the legendary Shirley Temple on screen, in 1942. Moore had a later career in public relations and in 1988 married Hollywood starlet Jane Powell, with the marriage lasting until his death aged 89. DDP debutant Corpse, Like The Marines, Except Spelt Differently get a unique hit. Northampton-born Judy Carne found fame in the TV sketch show 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In' in 1968, becoming known as the "Sock it to me" girl, which was an invitation to be doused with water in those non-PC times. She left the show in 1970 claiming boredom although it was just when Goldie Hawn was emerging as a star on the show. She was married to Burt Reynolds in the mid-1960s and reputedly had affairs with Steve McQueen, Anthony Newley, Vidal Sassoon and Warren Beatty (the latter pretty much par for the course for any even remotely attractive actress in the 1960s and 70s). Carne was 76 and appropriately enough a unique hit for Carne and Sarne, Plus Eighteen who may need to change their name for DDP 2016... The final hit is from July and incurred a lot of umming and aahing from your host before allowing it in. Assad Uzzaman was one of five Portsmouth local muslims who decided to pitch their lot with the "so called" Islamic State and fight the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and perhaps behead a few infidels along the way. Well, it didn't work out as planned in the recruiting website and Uzzaman along with his friends have now all been killed. The procrastination on my part to award the points is based on the not-entirely-legitimate proof of his demise, but I am convinced enough now to confirm his death aged 25 in an airstrike as a unique/unnatural/joker points bonanza for A Pelican In The Wilderness. The Pelican has offered up another hit in the form of obscure folkie James Varda but although his obit passes muster (just about), I don't know what his age is, so for the moment he remains on the List of the Lost. Both Uzzaman and Varda present issues for some teams as to what counts as a legitimate pick and what counts as a legitimate obit. I welcome any suggestions for next year regarding the rules and so on, just email at the address at the bottom of the page... |
|
(Darling)
(2 teams)
= 5pts |
|
(Moore)
+
= 9pts |
|
(Carne)
+
= 10pts |
(Uzzaman)
+
+
![[Unnatural]](/images/shock.gif)
= 34pts |
|
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| List of the Lost - Latest Entrants |
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| List of the Missed - Latest Entrants |
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Antoine Lahad, Fred DeLuca, David Willcocks, Dettmar Cramer, Brian Sewell, Jackie Collins, Jack Larson, Jim Meadowcroft, Frank Tyson, Brian Friel |
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| Player of the Month - August |
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Today's The Day The Maggots Have Their Picnic - 23 points |
| Latest News |
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Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin intervenes in the Syrian crisis by odering a bombing campaign, although whether it's against Isis or Bashar Al-Assad's immediate rebel enemies is not made clear... The Theme Team League is updated for September with Red-Flagged snatching the lead. |
| 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, The Grey Horde, Thomas Jefferson Survives, Bibliogryphon, David Quantick's Showbiz Pals, Dickie's Gone the Way of the Dinosaurs & The End Of The World As We Know It
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![[DDP 2015]](/images/ddp2015.jpg) |
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