RIP, 2020

As we crawl slowly towards to that longed-for moment when we can finally tell 2020 to "Fuck Off", there's just one more task to perform.

It's time to open the "Book of the Dead", dear reader - the roll-call of the great and the good, and not-so-good [and I am aware that there were thousands more who will never make such a list, who will be mourned as well] who died this year. It is quite a list, again...

Derek Acorah (British self-styled medium and psychic, TV "celebrity")
Georges Duboeuf (French vintner, creator of the "Beaujolais Nouveau Day" craze)
Christopher Beeny (British actor, Upstairs Downstairs, In Loving Memory)
Buck Henry (US actor born Henry Zuckerman, screenwriter and director: The Graduate, Heaven Can Wait)
Neil Peart (Canadian rock drummer and songwriter, Rush)
Edd Byrnes (US actor, "Kookie" in 77 Sunset Strip, Grease)
Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman
Sir Roger Scruton (British conservative philosopher and author)
Tony Garnett (British fim and TV producer and director: Kes, Cathy Come Home, Beautiful Thing )
"Lord Tim" Hudson (British DJ in 60s America, voice actor in Aristocats and The Jungle Book)
Christopher Tolkien (British academic and editor of his father JRR Tolkien's works: The Silmarillion, The History of Middle-earth)
Barry Tuckwell (Australian horn virtuoso and conductor, London Symphony Orchestra)
Derek Fowlds (British actor, Basil Brush, Yes Minister, Heartbeat)
Therese "Maman" Dion (Canadian TV chef and businesswoman, mother of Céline)
Lord Robert Maclennan (British (Scottish) politician, former leader of the Social Democrat Party, interim leader of the Liberal Democrats)
Peter Hobday (British broadcaster, co-presented BBC Radio 4 Today programme for 14 years)
Terry Jones (British (Welsh) actor, writer, comedian, screenwriter, film director and historian; co-founder of Monty Python's Flying Circus)
Seamus Mallon (British (Northern Irish) politician, former Deputy First Minister)
John Karlen (US character actor, "Harvey" in Cagney and Lacey)
Kobe Bryant (US basketball player)
Michou (French drag cabaret club owner and local legend in Montmartre)
Yasar Halim (Turkish Cypriot baker and supermarket entrepreneur in Harringay, North London)
Nicholas Parsons (British television personality; national treasure; game show host: Sale of the Century, Just a Minute)
"Mad Mike" Hoare (British mercenary who took part in attempted coups in Congo and Seychelles, inspiration for the film The Wild Geese)
Daniel arap Moi (Kenyan statesman and former President)
Kirk Douglas (US actor, legend and supercentenarian: Spartacus, Lust for Life, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)
Margareta Hallin (Swedish coloratura soprano opera singer)
Mirella Freni (Italian soprano opera singer)
Paula Kelly (US dancer, singer, and actress: Sweet Charity)
Joseph Shabalala (South African singer and musician, founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
Caroline Flack (British reality television presenter and gossip column magnet)
Harry Gregg (British (Northern Irish) footballer, survivor of the 1958 Munich air disaster)
Pearl Carr (British singer and entertainer, in partnership with husband Teddy Johnson: Sing, Little Birdie)
Andrew Weatherall (British acid house DJ, producer and remixer: Primal Scream, New Order, Happy Mondays, My Bloody Valentine)
John Shrapnel (British stage and screen actor, England, My England, Personal Services)
Larry Tesler (US computer scientist, designer of "cut, copy and paste")
Heather Couper (British astronomer; TV documentary presenter in the 1980s)
Diana Serra Cary aka "Baby Peggy" (US child actress, last surviving star of the silent film era)
Hosni Mubarak (Egyptian military and political leader, former President)
Michael Medwin (British actor, Shoestring, Doctor At Large, and film producer: If...., O Lucky Man!, Charlie Bubbles)

Javier Perez de Cuellar (Peruvian statesman and diplomat, secretary-general of the United Nations 1982-1991)
Barbara Martin (US singer, early member of The Supremes)
Elinor Ross (American operatic soprano)
Max von Sydow (Swedish-French actor, The Seventh Seal, The Exorcist, Flash Gordon)
Mart Crowley (US playwright, The Boys in the Band)
Tom Watkins (British pop manager: Pet Shop Boys, Bros, East 17)
Michel Roux (French-British award-winning chef and restaurateur, Roux Brothers)
Genesis P. Orridge (British co-founder of avant-garde band Throbbing Gristle)
Roy Hudd (British comedian, actor, presenter, authority on the history of Music Hall and national treasure)
Lyle Waggoner (US actor, The Carol Burnett Show, Wonder Woman)
Betty Williams (British (Northern Irish) peace campaigner and [with Mairead Corrigan] Nobel Prize recipient)
Miranda Quarry, Countess of Stockton (British socialite and model, third wife of Peter Sellers)
Kenny Rogers (US country singer, Coward of the County, Islands in the Stream)
Julie Felix (US-British folk singer (Going to the Zoo) and 60s/70s television star: The Frost Report, Once More With Felix)
Lucia Bosè (Italian actress and mother of Miguel Bosè)
Nashom Wooden (US drag performer, founder member of The Ones (Flawless))
Albert Uderzo (French comic book artist, creator of Asterix)
Manu Dibango (Cameroonian musician and saxophonist, Soul Mokassa)
Terrence McNally (US playwright, The Ritz, Kiss of the Spider Woman musical, Master Class)
Mark Blum (US actor, Desperately Seeking Susan)
Bill Martin (British (Scottish) songwriter, Puppet on a String, Congratulations, Shang-a-Lang)
Liesbeth List (Dutch singer and actress, Kinderen een kwartje)
Curly Neal (US basketball player, Harlem Globetrotters)
Bob Andy (Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter, Bob and Marcia: Young, Gifted and Black)
Alan Merrill (US-British singer-songwriter, The Arrows: I Love Rock'n'Roll)
Adam Schlesinger (US singer-songwriter, Fountains of Wayne)
Cristina (US new wave singer and collaborator with Kid Creole, Disco Clone, Is That All There Is?)
Eddie Large (British comedian, Little & Large)
Bill Withers (US soul singer, Ain't No Sunshine, Lovely Day)
Patrick Gibson (French vocalist and drummer, Gibson Brothers)
Alexander Thynn (British aristocrat, the "mad Marquess of Bath", curator of Longleat Safari Park)
Victor Skrebneski (US photographer, Diana Ross Mahogany promo, David Bowie and Iman nude photoshoot)
Honor Blackman (British actress, The Avengers, Goldfinger, The Upper Hand)
James Drury (US actor, The Virginian)
Mort Drucker (US cartoonist and caricaturist, MAD magazine)
Faith Dane (US actress and musician, "Miss Mazeppa" in Gypsy)
Stirling Moss (British motor racing champion)
Tim Brooke-Taylor (British comedian, broadcaster, actor and national treasure: The Goodies, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue)
Kenny Young (US songwriter, Under the Boardwalk, Ai No Corrida, Captain of Your Ship)
Brian Dennehy (US actor, The Belly of an Architect, To Catch a Killer, Death of a Salesman)
Eddie Cooley (US songwriter, Fever)
Kerstin Meyer (Swedish operatic mezzo-soprano)
Lynn Faulds Wood (British (Scottish) journalist, consumer champion, campaigner and television host: Watchdog)

Hamilton Bohannon (US Disco music producer, drummer and band leader)
India Adams (US singer, dubbed the voices of Cyd Charisse (The Band Wagon) and Joan Crawford (Torch Song/Johnny Guitar))
Jill Gascoine (British actress, Onedin Line, The Gentle Touch)
Irrfan Khan (Indian actor, Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi)
Dave Greenfield (British keyboard player, The Stranglers, and songwriter: Golden Brown)
Millie Small (Jamaican singer, My Boy Lollipop)
Mark Barkan (US songwriter, Pretty Flamingo, The Banana Splits Show theme song)
Rosalind Elias (US operatic mezzo-soprano)
Florian Schneider (German musician, co-founder of Kraftwerk: The Model, Autobahn, The Robots)
Hillard "Sweet Pea" Atkinson (US vocalist, singer with Was Not Was, Walk The Dinosaur)
Roy Horn (German-US showbiz magician, one half of Siegfried and Roy)
Little Richard (US musician, songwriter and legend, known as "the King and Queen of Rock'n'Roll", Tutti Frutti, Lucille)
Betty Wright (US soul singer, Clean Up Woman)
Nigel (British dog, Monty Don's companion on Gardener's World)
Jerry Stiller (US comedian and actor, Seinfeld, "Wilbur Turnblad" in Hairspray)
Alberto Carpani (Italian Hi-NRG/Italo Disco singer, aka Albert One, aka Jock Hattle)
Phil May (British singer, The Pretty Things)
Alan Jacob (British theatrical engineer and rigger; projects included Phantom of the Opera, the 2012 Paralympics, the giant mechanical Sultan's Elephant and the Golden Jubilee celebrations)
Mory Kanté (Guinean singer and musician, Yé ké yé ké)
Larry Kramer (US playwright, The Normal Heart; AIDS activist)
Tony Scannell (Irish actor, "DS Ted Roach" in The Bill)
Bob Weighton (British engineer, lecturer and supercentenarian; world's oldest man)
Michael Angelis (British actor, "Lucien" in The Liver Birds, Boys from the Blackstuff, narrator of Thomas the Tank Engine)
Steve Priest (British rock musician, bassist, singer and "camp showman" of The Sweet)
Rupert Hine (British musician, Quantum Jump (The Lone Ranger theme from Kenny Everett Show) and record producer: Howard Jones, Tina Turner)
Bonnie Pointer (US singer, The Pointer Sisters)
Pau Donés (Spanish singer and musician, Jarabe de Palo - Bonito)
Ricky Valance (British (Welsh) singer, Tell Laura I Love Her)
Jean Kennedy Smith (US diplomat, former Ambassador to Ireland, last surviving of John F. Kennedy's siblings)
Willie Thorne (British snooker champion and BBC commentator)
Dame Vera Lynn (British singer, supercentenarian, "Forces Sweetheart" and national treasure, We'll Meet Again, White Cliffs of Dover)
Sir Ian Holm (British stage and screen actor, Alien, Lord of the Rings, Chariots of Fire)
Joel Schumacher (US film director, St. Elmo's Fire, The Lost Boys , Batman Forever)
Margarita Pracatan (Cuban novelty singer, Clive James Show, Manhattan Cable)
Johnny Mandel (US composer and arranger, Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide is Painless), The Shadow of Your Smile)
Carl Reiner (US comedy partner to Mel Brooks, actor, director and screenwriter, Dick Van Dyke Show, The Man with Two Brains, All of Me)
Earl Cameron (British actor and supercentenarian, first prominent black British film actor, Pool of London, Thunderball)
Ennio Morricone (Italian film music composer, A Fistful of Dollars (and other "Spaghetti Western" themes), Gabriel's Oboe (theme from The Mission), Chi Mai (theme from The Life and Times of David Lloyd George))
Charlie Daniels (US country music singer, The Devil Went Down to Georgia)
Jack Charlton (British World Cup-winning footballer (1966 team) and football manager)
Gabriella Tucci (Italian operatic soprano)
Kelly Preston (US actress, wife of John Travolta)
Paula Tilbrook (British soap actress, "Betty Eagleton" in Emmerdale for 21 years)

Tony Elliott (British publisher and entrepreneur, founder of Time Out magazine)
Zizi Jeanmaire (French dancer, cabaret star and legend)
Josephine Cox (British best-selling authoress, The Beachcomber, The Journey and more than 50 other titles)
Annie Ross (British (Scottish)/American jazz singer, songwriter and actress)
Peter Green (British singer-songwriter and guitarist, co-founder of Fleetwood Mac)
John Saxon (US character actor, Enter The Dragon, Nightmare on Elm Street)
Dame Olivia de Havilland (British actress, supercentenarian and legend, Gone With The Wind, Adventures of Robin Hood, The Heiress)
Kansai Yamamoto (Japanese fashion designer, designed Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" stage outfits)
Chris Needs (British (Welsh) broadcaster, Radio Wales)
Denise Johnson (British house/dance music vocalist, Primal Scream, A Certain Ratio)
Sydney Lotterby (British television producer, Porridge, Last of the Summer Wine, Yes Minister, Ripping Yarns)
Clive Ponting (British civil servant and Falklands War whistleblower)
Sir Alan Parker (British film director, Bugsy Malone, Fame, Midnight Express, The Commitments)
John Hume (British (Northern Irish) politician, founder and leader of the SDLP and Nobel Peace Prize winner for his part in the peace process)
Wayne Fontana (British singer, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders)
Trini Lopez (US singer and guitarist, If I Had a Hammer)
Paul Melba (British comedian and impressionist, Who Do You Do?)
Pat Fairley (British (Scottish) bassist and singer, founder member of Marmalade, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da)
Julian Bream (British classical guitarist)
Pete Way (British heavy metal bass guitarist, UFO, Ozzy Osbourne)
Paul Knight (British television producer, Robin of Sherwood, The Adventures of Black Beauty, London's Burning)
Ben Cross (British actor, Chariots of Fire, The Far Pavilions)
Joe Ruby (US animator and producer, co-creator of Scooby-Doo)
Chadwick Boseman (US actor, Black Panther)
Lady Barbara Judge (US-British lawyer and businesswoman)
Erick Morillo (Columbian-US DJ and producer, Real 2 Real I Like To Move It)
Annie Cordy (Belgian actress and singer)
Kevin Dobson (US actor, "Crockett" in Kojak, "Mack" in Knots Landing)
Sir Ronald Harwood (South African-British screenwriter, The Pianist, The Dresser, Quartet)
Ronald Bell (US musician, saxophonist, songwriter and co-founder of Kool & the Gang: Celebration, Ladies' Night)
Shere Hite (US-German sexologist and feminist, The Hite Reports)
Alan Minter (British world champion boxer)
Dame Diana Rigg (British actress and legend, The Avengers, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Evil Under The Sun)
Toots Hibbert (Jamaican pioneering reggae singer, Toots and the Maytals)
Barbara Jefford (British stage and character actress, House of Elliott, Philomena)
Sir Terence Conran (British designer and businessman, founded Habitat stores)
Winston Groom (US author, Forrest Gump)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (US Supreme Court judge, advocate for women's rights and civil liberties)
Pamela Hutchinson (US Disco singer, The Emotions: Best Of My Love, Boogie Wonderland)
Michael Lonsdale (British-French actor, "Hugo Drax" in Moonraker)
Tommy DeVito (US musician and singer, founder member of The Four Seasons)

Jackie Stallone (US celebrity, astrologer, wrestling promoter and mother of Sylvester Stallone)
Juliette Gréco (French actress, bohemian and cabaret singer)
Sir Harold Evans (British investigative journalist, former editor of The Sunday Times, publisher and writer: Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers)
Yuri Orlov (Russian nuclear physicist, human rights activist and Soviet dissident; imprisoned under Brezhnev, critic of Putin)
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait
Mac Davis (US singer-songwriter, In The Ghetto, A Little Less Conversation)
Helena Shenel (British vocal coach: Dame Shirley Bassey, George Michael, Annie Lennox)
Helen Reddy (Australian singer-songwriter, Angie Baby, I Am Woman)
Frank Windsor (British actor, Z-Cars, Softly, Softly)
Sir Peregrine Worsthorne (British journalist, writer and broadcaster, former editor of The Sunday Telegraph)
Kenzo Takada (Japanese fashion designer and businessman, founder of Kenzo stores)
Eddie Van Halen (Dutch-US heavy rock guitarist and songwriter, Van Halen)
Johnny Nash (US reggae singer, I Can See Clearly Now, Tears On My Pillow)
Margaret Nolan (British actress and model, Goldfinger, "cat-fight" scene with Babs Windsor in Carry On Girls)
Erin Wall (Canadian-US soprano opera singer)
Don Hayter (British motor engineer and designer, developer of the classic MG sports car)
Ronald Forfar (British actor, "Freddie Boswell" in Bread)
Roberta McCain (US socialite and campaigner, supercentenarian, mother of presidential candidate John McCain)
Herbert Kretzmer (British journalist and lyricist, Les Misérables, Yesterday When I Was Young, Goodness Gracious Me)
Dave Munden (British drummer and vocalist, founder member of The Tremeloes)
Tom Maschler (British publisher, managing director of Jonathan Cape, founder of the Booker Prize)
Rhonda Fleming (US actress and legend, Spellbound, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral)
José Padilla (Spanish chill-out music DJ, Café del Mar)
Spencer Davis (British (Welsh) musician, founder of The Spencer Davis Group: Keep on Running)
James Randi (US-Canadian stage magician and debunker of faith healers, psychics and the "paranormal")
Marge Champion (US dancer and actress, supercentenarian, Show Boat, Lovely to Look At)
William Blinn (US TV producer, creator of Starsky & Hutch, and screenwriter: Purple Rain)
Jerry Jeff Walker (US country music singer-songwriter, Mr Bojangles)
Joan Hocquard (British supercentenarian (112), oldest person in the UK)
Frank Bough (British television presenter, Nationwide, Grandstand, Breakfast Time)
Dolores Abril (Spanish copla singer and actress)
Belinda "Lindy" Guinness (British aristocrat, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava)
Bobby Ball (British television comedian, Cannon and Ball)
J.J. Williams (British (Welsh) rugby legend, national team, British Lions)
Nobby Stiles (British World Cup-winning footballer (1966 team))
Sir Sean Connery (British (Scottish) actor and legend, James Bond, The Untouchables, The Name of the Rose)
Lady Elizabeth Anson (British aristocrat, cousin to HM The Queen, party planner for royal and society events)
John Sessions (British (Scottish) comedian, actor and impressionist, Spitting Image, Whose Line Is It Anyway?)
Joy Westmore (Australian actress, "Officer Joyce Barry" in Prisoner Cell Block H)
Geoffrey Palmer (British stage and television actor, Butterflies, As Time Goes By, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin)
Lord Jonathan Sacks (British Chief Rabbi)

Ken Spears (US animator and producer, co-creator of Scooby-Doo)
Cándido Camero (Cuban jazz and disco percussionist, Jingo)
John Fraser (British (Scottish) actor, The Doll, The Trials of Oscar Wilde, Repulsion, and gay memoirist)
Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa (Bahreini royal and politician, longest-serving Prime Minister in the world)
Jerry Rawlings (Ghanaian military coup leader and former president)
Peter Sutcliffe (British serial killer "The Yorkshire Ripper")
John Hays (British entrepreneur, founder of Hays Travel, rescued Thomas Cook shops from closing)
Des O'Connor (British singer, comedian and TV host for five decades, national treasure)
Ray Clemence (British football goalkeeper, Liverpool, Tottenham and England national team)
Soumitra Chatterjee (Indian actor, multiple award winner, made more than 300 films)
Tony Hooper (British singer and guitarist, founder member of Strawbs)
Jan Morris (British (Welsh) travel writer and historian, member of the 1953 Everest expedition, famously transitioned from male to female)
Dominic Grant (British pop singer, founder and long-term member of Guys 'n' Dolls)
Paul Callan (British journalist, editor and broadcaster, Evening Standard, Daily Mirror, Daily Express, LBC)
Diego Maradona (Argentine footballer, controversial "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup)
Dave Prowse (British bodybuilder, weightlifter and character actor, "Darth Vader" in Star Wars, "The Green Cross Code Man")
Betty Bobbitt (US-Australian actress, "Judy Bryant" in Prisoner Cell Block H)
Frank Carney (US entrepreneur, co-founder of Pizza Hut)
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (French statesman, former President of France)
David Lander (US actor, "Squiggy" in Laverne & Shirley)
Peter Allis (British former professional golfer, television presenter, golf commentator and author)
Dame Barbara Windsor (British actress, comedienne and national treasure, Carry On films, Eastenders)
Kenneth Alwyn (British conductor and musical director, Friday Night Is Music Night, the memorial service for Noël Coward)
Charley Pride (US singer, first black member of Country Music Hall of Fame)
John le Carré (born David Cornwell, British spy thriller author, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
Ann Reinking (US actress, dancer, and choreographer, Chicago, All That Jazz)
Jeremy Bulloch (British actor, "Boba Fett" in Star Wars, "Rob" (one of the gay neighbours) in Agony)
Doug Crane (US animator, Deputy Dawg, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe)
Peter Lamont (British set decorator, art director and production designer, 16 Bond films, Aliens, Titanic)
Roger Berlind (US Broadway theatre producer, won 25 Tony awards)
Lady Margaret Tebbit (British former nurse, wife of Norman Tebbitt, paralysed in the Brighton bombing)
Rosalind Knight (British character actress, "Beryl" (the ex-prostitute neighbour) in Gimme Gimme Gimme; St Trinians, Carry On Nurse)
Dame Fanny Waterman (British concert pianist, teacher and patron of the arts; supercentenarian)
Eileen Pollock (British (Northern Irish) actress, "Lilo Lil" in Bread)
Stella Tennant (British fashion model, granddaughter of Duchess of Devonshire Debo Mitford)
Rika Zaraï (Israeli singer, popular in her adopted country France)
Charles Campion (British restaurant reviewer, columnist and food critic, Masterchef judge)
Martin Lambie-Nairn (British graphic designer, idents for Channel 4 and BBC 2)
Michael Alig (US club promoter and convicted murderer, portrayed in the film Party Monster )
George Blake (British spy and double agent)
William Link (US screenwriter and producer, co-creator of Columbo and Murder, She Wrote)
Adele Rose (British screenwriter, Coronation Street, Robin's Nest, created Byker Grove)
Armando Manzanero (Mexican songwriter, Somos Novios aka It's Impossible)
Pierre Cardin (French couturier, pioneer of "Space Age" fashion, pret-a-porter and men's couture; designed The Beatles outfits)
Geoff Stephens (British songwriter, There’s a Kind of Hush, Silver Lady, You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me and hundreds more)
Phyllis McGuire (US singer, The McGuire Sisters)
Tommy Docherty (British (Scottish) football manager, Manchester United and Scotland teams)

RIP, [almost] all.