The DeathList 2013

13 / 50 dead

The DeathList committee has completed its deliberations and finalised DeathList 2013. To recap, the list comprises the celebrities thought, in the opinion of the DeathList committee, most likely to pass away during 2013. The candidates must have a level of famousness such that their death is expected to be reported by the UK media, however their fame cannot be result purely from the fact they are likely to die shortly. The other main rule is that only a maximum of half the list can comprise of candidates on the previous year’s list. DeathList 2012 saw a return to form with a final score 12 dead, however the list had some notable misses. Some strong new candidates appear on the 2013 list, however, although he may float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, there’s no place on DeathList 2013 for Muhammad Ali!

The 2013 List

Rank	Prev Year	Appear	Name	Age	Description
1	4	13	Ronnie Biggs	84	Ambassador
2		1	Hugo Chavez	59	President of Venezuela
3		1	Mikhail Kalashnikov	94	Inventor of AK47
4		1	Clive James	74	TV presenter
5	8	4	Erich Priebke	100	Nazi
6	17	7	Chapman Pincher	99	Journalist / Investigator
7	16	5	Anna Wing	99	Eastenders Lou Beale
8	12	7	Zsa Zsa Gabor	96	Actress
9		2	João Havelange	97	Ex Fifa president
10		1	George Bush Senior	89	Former President of USA
11	9	11	Eli Wallach	98	Actor
12	31	8	Nelson Mandela	95	Politician
13		1	Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh	92	Casual racist
14		1	Gough Whitlam	97	Former Australian PM
15	25	2	Hosni Mubarak	85	Former Egyptian President
16		3	Ian Paisley	87	Unionist
17	10	11	Kirk Douglas	97	Actor
18	20	6	Olivia de Havilland	97	Actress
19	27	10	Fidel Castro	87	Dictator
20		1	Bernadette Nolan	53	Nolan sister
21		5	Vera Lynn	96	Singer
22		1	Henry Cecil	70	Racehorse trainer
23	29	4	Denis Healey	96	Eyebrowed politican
24		1	Reg Presley	72	Trogg
25	5	2	Harper Lee	87	Author
26		2	Bob Dole	90	Politican
27	14	3	Patty Andrews	95	Last survivor of The Andrews Sisters
28		1	Michael Winner	78	Film director
29	24	6	Margaret Thatcher	88	Milk Snatcher
30	32	4	Peter O'Sullevan	95	UK horse racing commentator
31	13	7	Billy Graham	95	Evangelist
32	30	3	Helmut Schmidt	95	Former German Chancellor
33	33	5	Al Molinaro	94	Happy Days Al
34		2	Richard Attenborough	90	Film director
35	37	2	PD James	93	Author
36		1	Richard Adams	93	Watership Down author
37	35	9	Jake LaMotta	92	Boxer
38		3	Nancy Reagan	92	Actress
39		1	Peter Sallis	92	Last of the Summer Winer
40		1	Doris Day	91	Actress
41		1	Stan Lee	91	Marvel comics
42	23	4	General Jaruzelski	90	ex Polish PM
43	36	3	Henry Kissinger	90	Diplomat
44		1	Pete Seeger	94	Protest singer
45		1	Nicholas Parsons	90	TV quiz show host
46		1	Elaine Stritch	88	Actress
47	46	6	Fats Domino	85	Singer
48		2	James Garner	85	Jim Rockford
49		1	Peter O'Toole	81	Actor
50		4	Ian Brady	75	All round Mr Nice Guy

Latest News

23rd December 2013

Kalashnikov shoots DeathList towards record

DeathList 2013 has scored its thirteenth success of the year with the passing on AK46 developer, Mikhail Kalashnikov. Kalashnikov developed his most famous weapon for the Soviet military in 1947 and was said to describe the assault rifle ‘as a weapon of defence’, with which some of its victims no doubt disagree. Kalashnikov was 94 and had been in and out of hospital throughout the year. He was making his first appearance on DeathList, jumping right into the number 3 spot.

1 appearance: 2013 (3)

13th Death
Age: 94, Inventor of AK47, Cause of death: Unknown
18th December 2013

We salute you, Ronnie!

There have been some big deaths in 2013, however we never saw Margaret Thatcher giving a cheeky shout out to DeathList at the launch of her autobiography and we never caught Nelson Mandela taking a crafty sip from his DeathList mug. For all his faults, it was Ronnie Biggs that eclipsed these world figures in his legendary embracing of DeathList. Ronnie shot to fame in 1963 in being part of the Great Train Robbery crew, albeit as perhaps quite a minor part. His escape from prison and settlement in Brazil, living the life of Riley elevated his notoriety. Ronnie made his first appearance on DeathList in 2000 and was then extradited back to Britain to die in 2001. Despite being picked on the list in every year since 2002 and always near the top of the chart, Ronnie proved to be tough as old boots and turned his taunting in the direction of DeathList with mentions at his book launch and occasional tweets and releases of photos showing him with DeathList merchandise. Perhaps after some initial mixed views, Ronnie soon won over the DeathList audience with his cheeky rascal capers. DeathList salutes you, Ronnie, and thanks you for giving us the 12th success of the year- RIP.

13 appearances: 2013 (1), 2012 (4), 2011 (1), 2010 (2), 2009 (1), 2008 (4), 2007 (10), 2006 (3), 2005 (2), 2004 (4), 2003 (10), 2002 (1), 2000 (40)

12th Death
Age: 84, Ambassador, Cause of death: Cancer
15th December 2013

Goodbye, Mr Chips

Hellraising actor, Peter O’Toole, has supped his last drink and provides DeathList 2013 with its eleventh success of the year. Apart from his alcoholic consumption, O’Toole was most famous for starring in Laurence of Arabia, for which he received an Oscar nomination. During his career he earned a further seven nominations but never won for a performance. He was however awarded an honorary Oscar in 2003. O’Toole passed away aged 81 and surprisingly, considering his hard living, was making his first appearance on DeathList, just sneaking into the 49th spot.

1 appearance: 2013 (49)

11th Death
Age: 81, Actor, Cause of death: Unknown
5th December 2013

Nelson's Solemn

Despite the slowing hit rate of DeathList 2013, there was no missing the biggest death of the year, that being Nelson Mandela. An activist and politician who spearheaded the campaign to dismantle apartheid in South Africa, Mandela made his first appearance on DeathList in 1989 while serving the last of his 27 years in prison. With Mandela looking quite frail on his eventual release in 1990, he made a second appearance on the list in 1991, however it soon became clear his work on this earth was not done and he went on to become South Africa first black president in 1994. Into his 90s, Mandela’s health started to fail and finally, after eight appearances on the list, the universally respected figure succumbed. Unlike some candidates, his achievement of providing DeathList 2013 with its tenth success of the year ranks well down the list of what he achieved in his lifetime.

8 appearances: 2013 (12), 2012 (31), 2011 (31), 2010 (27), 2009 (29), 2006 (45), 1991 (19), 1989 (12)

10th Death
Age: 95, Politician, Cause of death: Unknown
11th October 2013

Priebke provides DeathList with Nazi Gold

After a quiet couple of months, it’s time for unanimous celebrations for the death of Erich Priebke, a Nazi officer convicted of the massacre of some 335 Italians in 1944. Priebke lived to the grand age of 100 and lived some 50 years of his life free in Argentina after escaping to there following the war. Priebke was tracked down by ABC reporters in 1994, which began a long process to bring justice and resulted in him being under house arrest for the last 15 years of his life. A nice outcome for Priebke considering the severity of his crimes. Priebke is success number nine for DeathList 2013. This year marked his fourth appearance on DeathList, securing the number five spot on the list.

4 appearances: 2013 (5), 2012 (8), 2011 (39), 2010 (16)

9th Death
Age: 100, Nazi, Cause of death: Natural causes
11th July 2013

Anna Wings another success for DeathList

Former star of British soap opera, Eastenders, Anna Wing, has passed on at the grand old age of 98 to provide DeathList 2013 with another score. Wing was most famous for her role as Lou Beale when the show first started in the mid 1980’s but her character was killed off well ahead of time in 1988. She remained an active actress through the 90s and 2000s appearing in a variety of TV shows. Wing was making her fifth appearance on DeathList (including the inaugral 1987 list) , breaking into the top 10 at number seven this year. She marks the eighth success for DeathList 2013, maintaining the strong pace set in the first half of the year.

5 appearances: 2013 (7), 2012 (16), 2011 (26), 2010 (3), 1987 (21)

8th Death
Age: 99, Eastenders Lou Beale, Cause of death: Unknown
4th July 2013

Bernie puts DeathList In The Mood

Bernadette “Bernie” Nolan, lead singer of the 80s pop group, The Nolans, has succumbed to cancer, at the age of just 52, to give DeathList 2013 another score. Most famous for their tune “In The Mood for Dancing”, The Nolans were a household name in Britain in the early 1980s. Bernie Nolan went on to have an acting career, appearing on British TV in Brookside and The Bill. She announced that she had breast cancer in 2010 and then got the all clear in 2012, only for it to return several months later. Bernie was making her first appearance on DeathList, charting right at the edge of the top 20. She is the seventh success of the year.

1 appearance: 2013 (20)

7th Death
Age: 53, Nolan sister, Cause of death: Unknown
11th June 2013

Henry Cecil delivers his final winner

Sir Henry Cecil, 10 times flat racing champion horse trainer, has rewarded the DeathList punters for the final time by losing his battle with stomach cancer aged 70. Cecil had many highs and lows throughout his career. He trained eight winners of the Oaks and four Derby winners, but still found time to dabble with drink, drugs, a stable girl and a rather expensive “vice girl”. Towards the end of his life he trained his most highly rated horse, Frankel. Cecil was making his debut appearance of DeathList, drawn at number 22.

1 appearance: 2013 (22)

6th Death
Age: 70, Racehorse trainer, Cause of death: Cancer
8th April 2013

The Lady's for interring...

Former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, has passed away, putting another point on the DeathList 2013 scoreboard. In the earlier stages of her career she attracted the Milk Snatcher moniker, when, as Secretary of State, she cut free milk allowance for school children. Thatcher became leader of the Conservative party in 1975 and Prime Minister in 1979. The Iron Lady ruled Britain for 11 years, during which time she dismantled Britain’s nationalised industries and battered the trade unions, the Argentinians and any others that got in her way. Public feeling against her culminated when she forced the introduction of the poll tax in 1990 and soon after found she had few allies left in her own party. Despite the passage of time, much hatred for Thatcher remains to this day. She was making her sixth appearance on DeathList, this year elected in 29th place. Her death is the fifth success for DeathList 2013.

6 appearances: 2013 (29), 2012 (24), 2011 (13), 2010 (31), 2009 (45), 2006 (36)

5th Death
Age: 88, Milk Snatcher, Cause of death: Stroke
5th March 2013

Another coup for DeathList as Chavez passes

Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, has succumbed to cancer, providing DeathList 2013 with another score. Rumours of 58 year old Chavez’s deteriorating health had been circulating for some time and his return home from treatment in Cuba signalled that the end was near. Despite his poor health, Chavez was re-elected as president in an election as recent as October 2012. His social democratic politics made him a natural enemy of the United States, although perhaps his description of George W Bush as a donkey reinforced that role. Chavez was making his debut appearance on DeathList and found himself sitting in the number 2 slot behind our self-appointed ambassador. Chavez is the fourth success for DeathList 2013.

1 appearance: 2013 (2)

4th Death
Age: 59, President of Venezuela, Cause of death: Cancer
4th February 2013

Wild Thing - You've made DeathList sing!

DeathList’s fast start to the year continues with the news that Reg Presley, lead singer of The Troggs, has passed away. The Troggs had a number of hits through the 60’s to the 90’s including Wild Thing (1966), Wild Thing (new version) (1972), Wild Thing (Reggae version) (1975), Wild Thing '89 (1989) Wild Thing (1992) (featuring Oliver Reed and Hurricane Higgins), Wild Thing (1993) (featuring Wolf from Gladiators), With a Girl Like You (1966) and Love is all Around (1967). Presley succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 71. He was making his first appearance on DeathList, securing the number 24 position.

1 appearance: 2013 (24)

3rd Death
Age: 72, Trogg, Cause of death: Unknown
30th January 2013

Patty's In The Mood for another DeathList success

Patty Andrews, the last surviving members of The Andrews Sisters, has passed away to give DeathList 2013 its second success. Close harmony singing group, The Andrews Sisters, had a string of hits in the 1940, with such songs as Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Hold Tight and Beer Barrel Polka (aka Roll Out The Barrel), but the only bugle that will be heard now is that playing the Taps, as the pallbearers hold tight while the DeathList committee rolls out the barrel. Andrews was 94 years old and making her third appearance on DeathList, this year at number 27 in the charts.

3 appearances: 2013 (27), 2012 (14), 2011 (41)

2nd Death
Age: 95, Last survivor of The Andrews Sisters, Cause of death: Unknown
21st January 2013

Winner's Death Wish granted!

Michael Winner, British film director, pompous food critic and star of UK motor insurance TV commercials, has added to his long list celebrity claims by being the first success of DeathList 2013. Winner was perhaps best known for the Death Wish movies in the 1970s and 80s, although in recent years had also become well known for his weekly Winner’s Dinners column in The Sunday Times. In the early 2000s, he starred in TV commercials for online insurance company, Esure, firing out the infuriating catchphrase “Calm down dear, it’s a commercial”. In later life, Winner suffered from a series of serious illnesses and had his own Death Wish, publicly announcing that he was investigating assisted suicide with Dignitas. He finally passed away aged 77. In 2013 he making his first appearance on DeathList and would have perhaps been disappointed by only claiming the number 28 position.

1 appearance: 2013 (28)

1st Death
Age: 78, Film director, Cause of death: Unknown
1st January 2013

DeathList 2013 is live

How will DeathList fare in the post Clive Dunn era?