Of course it is Wikipedia that comes to the rescue – with a continually updated list of recent deaths completely free from geographical biases. I think most people will come away from the list with the decision that 'deaths come in 1s'.
This random generator picks 9 dates in a month, and occasionally the results do suggest 3 in succession. It's what you'd expect from a random generator.
The list on Wikipedia may be longer than you expect, as the individuals who are Notable in America differ from those Notable in Italy or Pakistan. Wikipedia covers a worldwide audience. My selected list below is going to be geographically biased as well, though I tried to pick a handful from other nations. There will almost certainly be individuals in the list linked to above that readers will think I should have included below. That is almost the point. Almost every day of the month is represented.
By the way, in case you were under the false impression that Jackson and Fawcett once both appeared on the same Tonight Show episode, with Carson's sidekick McMahon – Snopes has debunked this rumor.
Selected Notable deaths in June 2009
June 2
- Paul O. Williams – American Science Fiction author, and haiku poet
- FrancEYE – (Frances Elizabeth Dean) American poet, noted perhaps most for her relationship with Charles Bukowski, with whom she had a daughter.
- David Eddings – best-selling American fantasy author
- David Carradine – American Actor
- Ward Costello – American Actor
- George Edward Whalen – American Medal of Honor recipient for actions at Iwo Jima
- Ola Hudson – American costume designer for musicians such as The Pointer Sisters, and David Bowie. Mother of musician Saul Hudson (aka Slash from Guns n Roses)
- Jean Dausset – French immunologist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine
- Kenny Rankin – American singer/songwriter – song ‘peaceful’ became hit for Helen Reddy
- Johnny Palermo – American television character actor for the past 5 years, many roles, movie debut scheduled for release in Oct 2009 – age 27
- Sheila Finestone – member of Canadian Parliament 1984-1999, Canadian Senate 1999-2002
- Omar Bongo Ondimba – President of Gabon 1967-2009 (Gabon is a country in West Central Africa.)
- Dave Simons – American comic book artist (best known for his work on Ghostrider)
- Dick May – American NASCAR driver
- Huey Long – American musician, Ink Spots
- Frank Low – American physicist – leader in infrared astronomy - has an asteroid named after him
- Felix Malloum – President of Chad – 1975-1979
- John Saville – British economic and social historian
- Bob Bogle – American musician, founding member of The Ventures
- Dusty Rhodes – American Major League Ballplayer for the Giants in the 1950s.
- Iz the Wiz – American graffiti artist, featured in the 1983 documentary Style Wars
- Hortensia Bussi – First lady of Chile 1970-1973, widow of President Salvador Allende
- Shelly Gross – American Broadway producer, and promoter of concerts
- Neda Agha-Soltan – Iranian student who’s shooting during election riots was captured on video
- Sam B Williams – American inventor of the fan-jet engine
- Eddie Preston – American Jazz trumpeter
- Ed McMahon – American actor
- Ismet Güney – Cypriot artist, designer of the Cyprus national flag.
- Roméo LeBlanc – Governor General of Canada 1995-1999
- Tim Krekel – American musician, songwriter
- Michael Jackson – American singer/songwriter
- Farrah Fawcett – American actress
- Sky Saxon – American musician (The Seeds)
- Don Coldsmith – Prolific American author of Westerns – Redefined Westerns by adopting Native American point of view.
- Jo Amar – Moroccan born Israeli singer; associated with Mizrahi music
- Gale Storm – American actress, star of My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show
- Billy Mays – American television ‘direct response salesperson’, and host of “Pitchmen”
- A. K. Lohithadas – Indian screenwriter, director.
- Mohammad Hoqouqi - Iranian poet
- Pina Bausch - German modern dance choreographer
However, the overall list of notable deceased is significantly longer than the American press spend the time to mourn. June 2009 had several American Entertainers. Other months will have less entertainers, and more of something else. That's how statistics work. It doesn't make June 2009 any more or less unique. There is nothing 'weird' about it. This shouldn't detract from our memories of any of the individuals who have died. Their lives are of course equally worthy of mourning regardless of when they happen to die.
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1 comment:
Last week was definitely a morbid week for me. My uncle died, my boss's mother died, and my sister's grandmother-in-law died. Not to mention all the famous people.
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