Dead Pool Super Happy Bumper Catch Up Edition!

The Celebrity Dead Pool has been sadly neglected over the last three months, but this hasn’t stopped our celebrity friends dropping off the perch at a rate of knots.

So here’s a quick catch-up.

On the 14th of February we lost, at the age of 89, Welsh novelist Dick Francis. This was a man who managed to turn his interest in horse racing into a lucrative horse-race-based-crime-novel career.

Seriously. How many people can claim that?

On March 10, 1980s screen darling and 2000s reality TV dropout Corey Haim tragically died at the age of 38.

On March 14, we bid a fond farewell to actor Peter Graves at the age of 83. Graves was star of the original classic Mission: Impossible series and the utterer (in the just-as-classic Airplane!) of that immortal line: “Do you like gladiator movies?”

March 15 saw the death of Australian children’s book author Patricia Wrightson at the age of 88. Her legacy includes the much-loved novel The Nargun and the Stars which, along with the subsequent TV series, was instrumental in introducing a whole generation of Australian kids to indigenous legends and creepy horror stories.

On March 24 we lost actor Robert Culp at the age of 79. Culp remains one of the first and easily one of the best wisecracking badass TV sidekicks we’ve ever had.

Whether it was opposite a crappy superhero in The Greatest American Hero or a crappy comedian in I, Spy, he always managed to bring the funny. (Although not so much in that episode of The Outer Limits. That was just weird).

The 8th of April saw the death of artist, singer, musician, manager, designer and shameless self-promoter Malcolm McLaren at the age of 64.

What more can we say that hasn’t been said? Maybe Yellow Planetary Digital Reversion. But seriously, that’s about it.

On April 10 actress Dixie Carter, star of the iconic 1980s series Designing Women died at the age of 70. There is no truth whatsoever to the rumour that her coffin had to be widened to accommodate her shoulder pads.

And I’m ashamed of myself for starting it.

The 19th of April saw the death-by-assassination-with-a-piece-of-exercise-bike of notorious Australian criminal Carl Williams.

He was … um … notorious but … I’m sure … much loved by his family and the members of his gang … who are all very good looking and … nice to their mothers and … hug puppies at every opportunity.

On May 2 we farewelled actress Lynn Redgrave. A brilliantly versatile actress, Redgrave was just as comfortable on the Broadway stage as she was playing the foul-mouthed Trudy in TV’s Rude Awakening. The world of entertainment is poorer for her passing.

May 16 saw the death of heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio at the age of 67. Despite his prolific musical output, his main legacies appear to be the “Devil Horns” hand signal and the vocals on Roger Glover’s classic Butterfly Ball video. Still. That’s very cool.

On May 22 Martin Gardner, a founding member of CSICOP and one of the founders of the modern Skeptic movement, passed away at the very respectable age of 95.

As a math nerd, I’ve followed Martin Gardner’s work for years. Through numerous books and his regular “Mathematical Games” column in Scientific American, Gardner managed to make a connection between mathematics and storytelling that few have managed to repeat.

On May 28 we bid a fond farewell to child star and the world’s most famous security guard Gary Coleman.

Expect reruns of The Gary Coleman Show on a poor-taste cable network near you.

And finally, on May 29 the world lost the great Dennis Hopper at the somewhat surprising (for anyone who knew him) age of 74. As a tribute, may I suggest a movie marathon of Easy Rider, Blue Velvet and My Science Project. Classics one and all.

And with that, we’re all caught up.

The scores have yet to move from their previous position, so Tom is still leading the pack on 9 points.

Thanks for checking in. And stay tuned for further updates.

Who would? Edward Woodward would.

Very late on this one, and quite frankly … Mr. Woodward deserves better.

Yes, the great Edward Woodward has died at the age of 79.

Rising to prominence as the iconic Callan and cementing his position as Breaker Morant and The Equalizer, Woodward was a class act all the way.

Woodward went all out to make television the respectable dramatic medium it now is (back when most movie actors wouldn’t deign to appear on the box) and brought his intense trademark gravity into every role he played.

And let’s never forget the old joke:

Why does Edward Woodward have so many ‘D’s in his name?

Because if he didn’t, he’d be Ewar Woowar.

And we couldn’t have that. Edward Woodward, rest in peace.

The Legendary Don Lane

Don Lane, the lanky American who dominated Australian TV in the 1970s and 80s has died at the age of 75.

As host of the long-running Don Lane Show, Don brought a little bit of American-style variety to Australian television screens.

Lane also brought a fair share of controversy, getting arrested for marijuana possession in 1968 and getting kicked out of the 1982 Logie Awards for throwing a punch at Ernie Sigley.

But who can honestly say they’ve never wanted to do that?

And here’s that infamous footage of Lane cracking it with the Amazing^TM James Randi when he dared to suggest that Doris Stokes and Uri Geller may not actually possess all those amazing paranormal powers they claim.

Despite (or maybe because of) all this Lane managed to win numerous Logies (including the 1977 Gold) back when the award actually meant something.

He was one of a kind, a genuine legend and has well and truly earned his place in Australian television history.

A Farewell to Henry Gibson

On the 14th, as the world stood stunned by the death of Patrick Swayze, another worthy yet less-celebrated celebrity also sadly shuffled off the mortal coil.

James Bateman, a.k.a. Henry Gibson, has passed away just one week before his 74th birthday.

Gaining popularity in the 70s on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In and a cult following in the 80s as leader of the Illinois Nazis in The Blues Brothers, Gibson went on to create many memorable characters, most recently the eccentric Judge Clark Brown in Boston Legal.

Drama nerds may be inclined to wonder if Gibson’s chosen moniker was a reference to playwright Henrik Ibsen. And yes, it was.

And an entirely appropriate name it was, too. While mainly known for comedy, Gibson always managed to bring a dramatic gravity to even the lightest of roles, grounding the story and greatly improving everything he was in.

The world of television just got ever so slightly less interesting.

To Patrick Swayze, Thanks for Everything

After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Patrick Swayze has died at the age of 57.

Whether as a romantic lead, an action hero, a drag queen or a sleazy evangelist (remember Donnie Darko? He was ace in that) Swayze has always been a compelling presence onscreen. We and Hollywood are all the poorer for his passing.

It was first announced way back in March 2008 that Swayze had been diagnosed with cancer, and at that time the prognosis looked to be very short. The fact that he lasted another 18 months is a testament to his strength and the support of this family.

Of course it took about five seconds for tasteless jokes to start popping up on Twitter and, without trying to speak ill of the recently deceased, my favourites were these:

Ghost 2 is now in production ... and "nobody puts baby in a coffin."

Too soon, people. Too soon.

Now you’ll need to ask the other Leyland brother

Mike Leyland, one half of the legendary Leyland brothers, has passed away at the age of 68.

From 1976 until 1984, Mike (right) and his brother Mal were co-hosts of the iconic travel documentary show Ask The Leyland Brothers. They would travel around Australia in response to viewer questions, and shot the whole thing on Super 8. You just don’t see TV like that anymore.

And who could forget that amazing theme? If by some miracle you have, please remind yourself here.

You’ll have it stuck in your head for days, I promise.

Farewell, Mike. It was a pleasure travelling with you.

Vale Ray Barrett

Veteran Australian actor Ray Barrett has died at the age of 82.

Internationally known as “that guy who was in that movie … you know …”, Barrett was an inspiration to a generation of Australian actors.

And he appeared in Doctor Who, way back before it was cool.

Respect.

Estelle Getty

Actress Estelle Getty has passed away at the age of 84.

Condolences to her family.

And 16 points for Kate.