Curated playlist
2015 deaths
- Jihadi JohnMohammed Emwazi, known around the world as Jihadi John, hid everything about himself in front of a camera except his eyes. He dressed in black from head to toe, with only a pair of tan desert boots breaking the colour. His voice gave away…
- Moses MaloneMoses Malone predicted his 76ers would sweep the playoffs, and they went 12-1.
- Norm DruckerNorm Drucker is the only referee ever to eject Wilt Chamberlain from an NBA game. It happened on January 3, 1962.
- Sean PriceSean Price performed as Ruck in the Brooklyn duo Heltah Skeltah. Their 1996 debut album Nocturnal won acclaim.
- Eldar RyazanovEldar Ryazanov first refused to direct a comedy. He wanted to make serious films, but Carnival Night was a hit.
- Christopher LeeSir Christopher Lee was 91 years and 6 months old when his single "Jingle Hell" entered the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart at number 22. Press attention then pushed it up to number 18, which made him the oldest person to have a top 20…
- John Forbes Nash Jr.John Forbes Nash Jr., an American mathematician, once mailed letters to embassies in Washington, D.C., announcing that he was founding a government. He signed them John Nash, Emperor of Antarctica, a title he believed he was in line to…
- Monty OumMonty Oum pulled character models out of Halo 2 and built a viral fight video. Studios called within two months.
- Akiyuki NosakaAkiyuki Nosaka made the hero of his famous story far nobler than he was. He had eaten his dying sister's food in 1945.
- Walter BurkertWhy did the Greeks kill animals at the altar? Scholar Walter Burkert spent his life on that question.
- E. L. DoctorowE. L. Doctorow won the National Book Critics Circle Award three times. He mixed real and invented people.
- Dolph SchayesDolph Schayes played almost a full season with his right arm in a cast. He learned to shoot left-handed instead.
- Andy White (drummer)Session drummer Andy White replaced Ringo Starr on "Love Me Do" in one afternoon. He earned no royalties.
- Yitzhak NavonYitzhak Navon, Israel's fifth president, was the first Sephardi Jew to hold the office. Nobody ran against him in 1978.
- Satoru IwataSatoru Iwata walked onto the stage at E3 in 2005 and lifted the Wii above his head, so the audience could see for themselves how small and light it was. It was a fitting gesture for the man who ran Nintendo as its fourth president while…
- Martin GilbertA boy evacuated to Canada in wartime grew up to write Churchill's official biography.
- Earl LloydEarl Lloyd became the first Black player in an NBA game on Halloween night, 1950. He scored six points.