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People You Thought Were Dead

gordonrutter

Within reason
Staff member
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
6,522
You've both just googled him haven't you? You're tempting fate, y'know.
Nope. God help me but some algorithm on Facebook decided when the tickets went on sale that was an advert I needed to see. Needless to say Cliff's music is not my normal choice of listening.
 

Bigphoot2

Not sprouts! I hate sprouts.
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
10,847
I'm probably tempting fate but I was watching Bullitt last night and wondered if composer Lalo Shiffrin was still alive. He is and is 90.
 

Bad Bungle

Tutti but not Frutti.
Joined
Oct 13, 2018
Messages
3,939
Location
The Chilterns
For reasons I can't remember, I checked to see if Tommy Steele was still alive earlier this week. He was: aged 85 and still married to Ann his wife of 62 years. Haven't seen any updates since.
Princess Anne's heart-throb when she was a teenager apparently (see post #873 & #878). Tommy should still be good for a few more years.
 

Trevp666

Don't blame me - I didn't cook it.
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
10,318
Location
Flitwick, Bedfordshire, 1874
So I had a night filled with some bizarre dreams featuring actually really rather mundane things last night, none of which I can remember in any great detail so not worth posting in the 'dreams' thread.
But I did have one scene in which these two guys were talking to each other (as though I was watching it on a TV) and they were talking about the 'hits' they had written together, and listed some of them, and were then saying about one of their best songs was originally going to be called something like "The way you make me love you" but that it felt awkward and didn't 'scan' properly, so they changed the title to "The way you do the things you do".

Now, upon waking this morning, the words were stuck in my head, along with a snippet of music that I thought matched it.
So I looked it up. It was written by 'Robert Rogers / William Robinson Jr.' for The Temptations in 1964.
William Robinson Jr is, of course, Smokey Robinson.
And I thought "I'm sure he carked it 5 or 6 years ago?"
Nope. Still going at 82.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Robinson

Or at least he was, at the time of writing this.
 

catseye

Old lady trouser-smell with yesterday's knickers
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
6,339
Location
York
Oh, and I just Googled Kenneth Cope - not to wish the Curse of the Forteana Forum upon him, but because I wanted to double check his age.

He's 91.

I'm so sorry, Kenneth...
 

oxo66

Devoted Cultist
Joined
Nov 25, 2017
Messages
214
Oh, and I just Googled Kenneth Cope - not to wish the Curse of the Forteana Forum upon him, but because I wanted to double check his age.

He's 91.

I'm so sorry, Kenneth...

Thank you! I remembered the reason: Mike Pratt.

Me said:
For reasons I can't remember, I checked to see if Tommy Steele was still alive earlier this week. He was: aged 85 and still married to Ann his wife of 62 years. Haven't seen any updates since.

I googled the other half of Randall and Hopkirk and Wikipedia told me he was a successful musician and songwriter as well as an actor and that "Pratt collaborated with Lionel Bart and Tommy Steele on many of Steele's early hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s"
 

catseye

Old lady trouser-smell with yesterday's knickers
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
6,339
Location
York
The death of Bill "Arthur Fowler off of Eastenders" Treacher was announced yesterday - I was sure he died about 10 years ago.
So did I! Thought it was cancer - but actually I must have been thinking of Pete Beale.
 

Mooka

Devoted Cultist
Joined
Oct 28, 2022
Messages
172
Location
In the shadow of the ash trees, Derbyshire
I was really surprised when I saw Bill Treacher’s death announced yesterday too as I was absolutely convinced he‘d passed in the early 2000s.

For years both my husband and I thought Connie Booth had tragically died in her late forties, no idea why.
 

Jepra Peld

Devoted Cultist
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
159
Location
Doolish
Some time in around 2010 or 2011, I am watching Frenzy with a friend. 'Isn't it a shame Jon Finch died so young' I say several times throughout the film as I was convinced he died in his 40s. I get home and check to see when and how he died only to discover he was still alive.
Fast forward to New Years Day 2013 and I relate this story to someone and add 'We'll probably find out he died over Christmas now'. He did indeed die in December 2012 though it wasn't announced until later on in January 2013.
 

Spudrick68

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
3,505
I wondered where they had got to. Glad I was able to loan them to you so you could complete your set

Yes had them for ever and ever and eeeeeeeverrrrrr.
 
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The_Discordian

Mmm... crunchy!
Joined
Jun 14, 2002
Messages
111
There was low-level panic on Twitter today because David Soul was trending (he's fine, btw), and I was absolutely convinced that either Paul Michael Glaser and/or Antonio Fargas were already dead.

Nope, turns out they're both still around too. No idea who I'd got either of them confused with.
 

Floyd1

Antediluvian
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
Messages
5,240
There was low-level panic on Twitter today because David Soul was trending (he's fine, btw), and I was absolutely convinced that either Paul Michael Glaser and/or Antonio Fargas were already dead.

Nope, turns out they're both still around too. No idea who I'd got either of them confused with.
David Soul looked like death last time I saw him.
 

Floyd1

Antediluvian
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
Messages
5,240
There was low-level panic on Twitter today because David Soul was trending (he's fine, btw), and I was absolutely convinced that either Paul Michael Glaser and/or Antonio Fargas were already dead.

Nope, turns out they're both still around too. No idea who I'd got either of them confused with.
Paul's wife and child died years ago from HIV via a blood transfusion. I wonder if that had got mixed up in your memory perhaps?
 

Tunn11

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
1,387
Location
Under the highest tree top in Kent
There was low-level panic on Twitter today because David Soul was trending (he's fine, btw), and I was absolutely convinced that either Paul Michael Glaser and/or Antonio Fargas were already dead.

Nope, turns out they're both still around too. No idea who I'd got either of them confused with.
Back in the day he was often compred to Dennis Waterman who died recently. Both blonde, had recorded songs and played a TV detective.
 

Stormkhan

Disturbingly familiar
Joined
May 28, 2003
Messages
5,324
Thank you! I remembered the reason: Mike Pratt.
I googled the other half of Randall and Hopkirk and Wikipedia told me he was a successful musician and songwriter as well as an actor and that "Pratt collaborated with Lionel Bart and Tommy Steele on many of Steele's early hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s"
Recently, I've been watching the 'original' Father Brown series with Kenneth Moore, on You Tube. I saw a heavily made-up face that I thought I recognised and waited for the credits - yup, it was Mike Pratt playing an elderly American frontiersman and indian hunter.

Incidentally, every time I hear of a celebrity death, I think "Oh ... I did think they were dead already!"
 

Trevp666

Don't blame me - I didn't cook it.
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
10,318
Location
Flitwick, Bedfordshire, 1874
'Father Brown' was one of the tv series my dad did a lot of work on.
The old vehicles being used extensively throughout were, lets say, 'uncooperative'.
 

Stormkhan

Disturbingly familiar
Joined
May 28, 2003
Messages
5,324
I know what you mean. F'r instance, in the Petherbridge productions of Lord Peter Wimsey, his trademark Lagonda rarely started and had to be filmed either running down a shallow slope or after the crew had given it a damn good shove! As soon as it did start, they hurriedly changed the shooting schedule to parts where the car had to be seen to move. :)
 

Tigerhawk

Dazed and confused...
Joined
Jan 20, 2016
Messages
3,669
Location
Skaro
I thought Pope Benedict XVI died years ago (after he stood down from being Actual Pope to become Not Exactly Pope) - turns out he's still alive, but very sick, according to a quick Google...
 
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