Decayó el número de publicaciones en el blog cuando caí en la cuenta de que se estaba convirtiendo en un obituario. No han sido pocas las entradas que hicieran referencia a la marcha de un ser querido, ya sea propio o de alguien cercano, o una reseña de alguna celebridad fallecida. Sin embargo, en unos pocos meses parecía desencadenarse un alud de muerte a mi alrededor. En medio de una ausencia total de ideas, publicar cada fatalidad habría desvirtuado el sentido que tenía este cuaderno de bitácora para mí.

Hace poco más de un año escuchaba de mi padre la sensación de desamparo que produce quedarse en primera fila cuando nuestros ascendientes más directos nos dejan. Hoy, que él ya no está, el que se encuentra en primera fila soy yo. Cuando tu círculo empieza a estar dominado por personas en la misma situación, la muerte comienza a adoptar cierta familiaridad. Es común entre los mayores preguntar por la edad de quien recientemente ha fallecido para ver si era mayor o menor que ellos, y de alguna manera estimar en qué medida los días comienzan a ser un regalo que les ofrece la vida.

Reconozco no escapar a esta curiosidad tras comprobar que mi madre se plantea seriamente mejorar la calidad de vida de sus próximos diez años. De una manera subjetiva, siento el paso del tiempo como una oleada que nos arrastra cuando nos comunican la desaparición de actores (esos personajes que se cuelan en nuestras casas hasta casi formar parte de la familia) cada vez más cercanos.

Esta oleada puede visualizarse en un gráfico tomando como referencia a aquellos actores y actrices que han sido candidatos para ganar un oscar de la Academia en las categorías de mejor actor o actriz, protagonista o de reparto, desde 1927 hasta 2008. En el gráfico se representan el número de candidatos que han existido por año de nacimiento, separados por hombres y mujeres. La ola de fallecimientos se representa en tonos más apagados, que avanza conforme pasan los años hacia la parte inferior del gráfico.

N.B.: El título de la entrada se debe a la sección que aporta en su blog el inmarcesible Tito Fet Stinks. Gracias.

Ellos: Albert Basserman, George Arliss, Henry Travers, H.B. Warner, Edmund Gwenn, Charles Coburn, Harry Carey, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Sydney Greenstreet, George Bancroft, James Gleasson, Donald Crisp, Emil Jannings, Walter Huston, Wallace Beery, Erich von Stroheim, Victor McLaglen, Ed Wynn, Roland Young, Barry Fitzgerald, Monty Woolley, Maurice Chevalier, James Stephenson, Warner Baxter, Clifton Webb, Claude Rains, Brian Donlevy, Sessue Hayakawa, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Morgan, Adolphe Menjou, Stanley Holloway, Michael Chekhov, Gene Lockhart, Ronald Colman, Charles Bickford, Sam Jaffe, Thomas Mitchell, Basil Rathbone, Alfred Lunt, William Demarest, Willian Powell, Leslie Howard, Richard Dix, Cecil Kellaway, Walter Brennan, Louis Calhern, Richard Barthelmess, Paul Muni, Paul Lukas, Lawrence Tibbett, Joseph Schildkraut, Raymond Massey, George Burns, J. Carrol Naish, Fredric March, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Tracy, Oscar Homolka, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Laughton, Akim Tamiroff, Charles Boyer, Dan George, James Cagney, Fred Astaire, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, James Dunn, Chester Morris, Ed Begley, Vittorio De Sica, Melvyn Douglas, Lee Strasberg, Chill Wills, Ralph Richardson, Brian Aherne, John Houseman, Stuart Erwin, Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Dean Jagger, Robert Montgomery, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, John Gielgud, Robert Donat, Misha Auer, Franchot Tone, Thomas Gomez, Leo Genn, William Gargan, Henry Fonda, William Bendix, George Sanders, John Huston, Eddie Albert, John Wayne, Jack Albertson, John Marley, Ray Milland, Laurence Olivier, Alexander Knox, Burgess Meredith, Arthur O'Connell, Tom Tully, Michael Redgrave, Rex Harrison, Jack Gilford, Robert Morley, Don Ameche, Lew Ayres, James Stewart, John Mills, Robert Ryan, James Mason, Burl Ives, Van Heflin, Arthur Hunnicutt, David Niven, Lee J. Cobb, Broderick Crawford, Jack Warden, Hume Cronyn, Hugh Griffith, José Ferrer, Gene Kelly, Karl Malden, John Garfield, Robert Strauss, Gig Young, Trevor Howard, Anthony Quayle, Burt Lancaster, Larry Parks, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland, Alec Guinness, Harold Russell, Richard Widmark, Kevin McCarthy, Dan Dailey, Orson Welles, Edmond O'Brien, Cornel Wilde, Frank Sinatra, Anthony Quinn, Peter Finch, Jackie Gleason, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Ernest Borgnine, Jeff Chandler, John Dall, William Holden, Robert Preston, Ben Johnson, Art Cartney, Martin Balsam, Robert Stack, Dan O'Herlihy, Jack Palance, Red Buttons, Richard Todd, Montgomery Clift, Yul Brinner, Walter Matthau, Richard Farnsworth, Mickey Rooney, Joe Mantell, Peter Ustinov, James Whitmore, Oskar Werner, Vincent Gardenia, Denholm Elliot, Telly Savalas, Jason Robards, Jack Kruschen, Paul Scofield, Jackie Cooper, Dexter Gordon, Michael V. Gazzo, Charlton Heston, Cliff Robertson, Charles Durning, Lee Marvin, Marcello Mastroianni, Marlon Brando, Ron Moody, Theodore Bikel, Peter Sellers, Richard Burton, Rock Hudson, Jack Lemmon, Rod Steiger, Paul Newman, Tony Curtis, George Kennedy, Hal Holbrook, Richard Jaeckel, Frank Finlay, Rupert Crosse, Robert Shaw, Willian Hickey, George C. Scott, Sidney Poitier, Peter Falk, Laurence Harvey, Ian Bannen, James Coburn, Anthony Franciosa, Stuart Whitman, James Garner, Martin Landau, John Cassavetes, Nigel Hawthorne, Max von Sydow, Don Murray, Steve McQueen, James Coco, Richard Harris, Maximilian Schell, Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Loggia, Sean Connery, Armin Mueller-Stahl, James Dean, Nick Adams, James Earl Jones, Robert Duvall, Ian Holm, Rip Torn, Anthony Perkins, Pat Morita, Roy Scheider, Peter O'Toole, Robert Vaughn, Omar Sharif, Joel Grey, Adolph Caesar, Richard S. Castellano, Daniel Massey, Mako, Michael Caine, Gene Wilder, Danny Aiello, Michael Dunn, Alan Bates, Alan Arkin, Russ Tamblyn, George Chakiris, George Segal, Dudley Moore, Chaim Topol, Woody Allen, Seymour Cassel, Judd Hirsch, Bobby Darin, Albert Finney, Robert Redford, Bruce Dern, Frederic Forrest, Louis Gossett, Jr., Dennis Hopper, Dean Stockwell, Burt Reynolds, Alan Alda, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Tom Courtenay, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Ned Beatty, Victor Buono, Leonard Frey, Jon Voight, Frank Langella, Elliot Gould, Sal Mineo, Jason Miller, Paul Winfield, F. Murray Abraham, Ian McKellen, Terence Stamp, Michael J. Pollard, Harvey Keitel, Haig S. Ngor, Al Pacino, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Peter Fonda, James Caan, Burt Young, James Cronwell, Ryan O'Neal, Tom Conti, Nick Nolte, Michael Lerner, Robert Forster, Brandon de Wilde, Giancarlo Giannini, Harrison Ford, Bob Hoskins, Chris Sarandon, Robert De Niro, Ben Kingsley, Cristopher Walken, Joe Pesci, Sam Shepard, Gary Busey, Michael Douglas, Klaus Maria Brandauer, John Lithgow, Pete Postlethwaite, Sylvester Stallone, Stephen Rea, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Davison, Richard Dreyfuss, James Woods, Edward James Olmos, Richard Jenkins, Albert Brooks, Kevin Kline, Jeremy Irons, Gérard Depardieu, Tom Wilkinson, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Bridges, David Strathairn, Tom Berenger, Jim Broadbent, Howard Rollins, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Bill Murray, Randy Quaid, Brad Dourif, William H. Macy, Robin Williams, Geoffrey Rush, Chazz Palminteri, Chris Cooper, Jack Wild, Liam Neeson, Roberto Benigni, Mickey Rourke, Dan Aykroyd, Graham Greene, Massimo Troisi, Tom Hulce, Peter Firth, John Malkovich, John Travolta, Denzel Washington, David Paymer, Kevin Costner, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael O'Keefe, Willem Dafoe, Gary Sinise, Tom Hanks, Eric Roberts, Andy García, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Clarke Duncan, Viggo Mortensen, Tim Robbins, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Ken Watanabe, Kenneth Branagh, Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton, Thomas Haden Church, Laurence Fishburne, Woody Harrelson, Forest Whitaker, George Clooney, Tim Roth, Jackie Earle Haley, Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise, Ralph Fiennes, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Greg Kinnear, Nicolas Cage, Rusell Crowe, Don Cheadle, Djimon Hounsou, Clive Owen, Matt Dillon, Robert Downey Jr., John C. Reilly, Jamie Foxx, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Benicio del Toro, Paul Giamatti, Will Smith, Jaye Davidson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Edward Norton, Javier Bardem, Terrence Howard, River Phoenix, Matt Damon, Ethan Hawke, Justin Henry, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, Adrien Brody, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Shannon, Casey Affleck, Heath Ledger, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal, Haley Joel Osment.

Ellas: May Robson, May Whitty, Marie Dressler, Maria Ouspenskaya, Louise Dresser, Sara Allgood, Ethel Barrymore, Lucile Watson, Jane Darwell, Margaret Wycherly, Edna May Oliver, Billie Burke, Josephine Hull, Spring Byington, Lynn Fontanne, Gladys Cooper, Edith Evans, Beulah Bondi, Marjorie Rambeau, Jeanne Eagels, Marjorie Main, Alice Brady, Margaret Rutheford, Patricia Collinge, Peggy Wood, Mary Pickford, Ruth Chatterton, Fay Bainter, Lillian Gish, Corinne Griffith, Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters, Ruth Gordon, Lilia Skala, Hope Emerson, Betty Compson, Elisabeth Bergner, Judith Anderson, Grace Moore, Lotte Lenya, Bessie Love, Irene Dunne, Shirley Booth, Ida Kaminska, Gloria Swanson, Gale Sondergaard, Aline MacMahon, Eva Le Gallienne, Katina Paxinou, Agnes Moorehead, Jean Arthur, Helen Hayes, Ann Harding, Mildred Dunnock, Marlene Dietrich, Thelma Ritter, Miriam Hopkins, Norma Shearer, Flora Robson, Elsa Lanchester, Nancy Carroll, Una Merkel, Anne Revere, Claudette Colbert, Gladys George, Greer Garson, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Mildred Natwick, Diana Wynyard, Joan Blondell, Janet Gaynor, Hermione Baddeley, Mary Astor, Rosalind Russell, Barbara Stanwyck, Peggy Ashcroft, Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, Anna Magnani, Celia Johnson, Bette Davis, Eve Arden, Margaret Sullavan, Miliza Korjus, Jessica Tandy, Ann Sothern, Barbara O'Neil, Paulette Goddard, Sylvia Sidney, Claire Trevor, Luise Rainer, Gloria Stuart, Merle Oberon, Ginger Rogers, Ellen Corby, Ruth Hussey, Wendy Hiller, Martha Scott, Vivien Leigh, Loretta Young, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Kay Medford, Andrea Leeds, Jo Van Fleet, Beatrice Straight, Ingrid Bergman, Dorothy McGuire, Mercedes McCambridge, Olivia de Havilland, Susan Hayward, Jane Wyman, Joan Fontaine, Celeste Holm, Anne Shirley, Lila Kedrova, Teresa Wright, Joyce Redman, Eileen Heckart, Jennifer Jones, Gene Tierney, Melina Mercouri, Beah Richards, Peggy Lee, Shelley Winters, Susan Peters, Juddy Holliday, Simone Signoret, Donna Reed, Nancy Kelly, Lana Turner, Jan Sterling, Deborah Kerr, Carol Channing, Dorothy Dandridge, Judy Garland, Margaret Leighton, Grayson Hall, Ava Gardner, Kim Hunter, Barbara Bel Geddes, Eleanor Parker, Doris Day, Juanita Moore, Jean Hagen, Gloria Grahame, Anne Baxter, Bonita Granville, Betsy Blair, Glynis Johns, Jocelyne LaGarde, Geraldine Page, Peggy Cass, Katy Jurado, Nina Foch, Eva Marie Saint, Martha Hyer, Lauren Bacall, Ruby Dee, Kim Stanley, Jeanne Crain, Maureen Stapleton, Julie Harris, Angela Lansbury, Colette Marchand, Dorothy Malone, Cara Williams, Valentina Cortese, Patricia Neal, Joan Lorring, Cloris Leachman, Rachel Roberts, Janet Leigh, Lee Grant, Estelle Parsons, Rosemary Harris, Maggie McNamara, Ann Blyth, Nancy Olson, Grace Kelly, Vivien Merchant, Anne Ramsey, Audrey Hepburn, Miyoshi Umeki, Jean Simmons, Fernanda Montenegro, Terry Moore, Joan Plowright, Carolyn Jones, Joanne Woodward, Gena Rowlands, Anne Bancroft, Leslie Caron, Carroll Baker, Rita Moreno, Barbara Barrie, Olympia Dukakis, Elizabeth Taylor, Piper Laurie, Debbie Reynolds, Anouk Aimée, Ellen Burstyn, Marisa Pavan, Sylvia Miles, Eileen Brennan, Mary Ure, Hope Lange, Cicely Tyson, Diane Cilento, Joan Hackett, Shirley MacLaine, Sophia Loren, Maggie Smith, Louise Fletcher, Judi Dench, Shirley Jones, Lee Remick, Julie Andrews, Diahann Carroll, Barbara Harris, Diane Ladd, Glenda Jackson, Mary Tyler Moore, Susan Kohner, Shirley Knight, Norma Aleandro, Sandy Dennis, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, Dyan Cannon, Sally Kellerman, Natalie Wood, Diane Varsi, Ali McGraw, Liv Ullmann, Lynn Carlin, Samantha Eggar, Jane Alexander, Janet Suzman, Karen Black, Lily Tomlin, Brenda Vaccaro, Melinda Dillon, Pauline Collins, Katharine Ross, Julie Christie, Faye Dunaway, Sarah Miles, Ann-Margret, Sally Kirkland, Susannah York, Madeline Kahn, Geneviève Bujold, Marsha Mason, Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Hartman, Lynn Redgrave, Valerie Perrine, Catherine Deneuve, Tuesday Weld, Diana Ross, Marie-Christine Barrault, Jill Clayburgh, Stockard Channing, Teri Garr, Margaret Avery, Carrie Snodgress, Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, Helen Mirren, Patty McCormack, Catherine Burns, Susan Tyrrell, Ronee Blakley, Linda Hunt, Brenda Fricker, Liza Minelli, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Sally Field, Susan Sarandon, Cher, Brenda Blethyn, Patty Duke, Candice Bergen, Lesley Ann Warren, Glenn Close, Sondra Locke, Candy Clark, Anne Archer, Kathy Bates, Penelope Milford, Lindsay Crouse, Amy Madigan, Dianne Wiest, Mercedes Ruehl, Barbara Hershey, Sissy Spacek, Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Jeannie Berlin, Julie Walters, Christine Lahti, Tess Harper, Anjelica Huston, Kate Nelligan, Carol Kane, Mary McDonnell, Mary Badham, Alfre Woodard, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mary Steenburgen, Amy Irving, Kim Basinger, Kathleen Turner, Oprah Winfrey, Lorraine Bracco, Kathleen Quinlan, Isabelle Adjani, Debra Winger, Judy Davis, Whoopy Goldberg, Diana Scarwid, Lena Olin, Woopi Goldberg, Geena Davis, Joan Allen, Imelda Staunton, Adriana Barraza, Melanie Griffith, Frances McDormand, Holly Hunter, Michelle Pfeiffer, Angela Bassett, Miranda Richardson, Sharon Stone, Annette Bening, Leslie Browne, Mary Elezabeth Mastrantonio, Jennifer Tilly, Emma Thompson, Linda Blair, Mare Winnigham, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Herden, Patricia Clarkson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Julianne Moore, Melissa Leo, Cathy Moriarty, Meg Tilly, Tilda Swinton, Janet McTeer, Mariel Hemingway, Elizabeth Mc Govern, Virginia Madsen, Jodie Foster, Felicity Huffman, Joan Cusack, Elisabeth Shue, Helen Hunt, Tatum O'Neal, Juliette Binoche, Laura Linney, Marisa Tomei, Rosie Perez, Marlee Matlin, Diane Lane, Viola Davis, Helena Bonham Carter, Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Julia Roberts, Laura Dern, Emily Watson, Nicole Kidman, Quinn Cummings, Mira Sorvino, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Sophie Okonedo, Cate Blanchett, Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Amy Ryan, Uma Thurman, Minnie Driver, Jennifer Connelly, Queen Latifah, Rachel Weisz, Taraji P. Henson, Winona Ryder, Gwyneth Paltrow, Toni Collette, Juliette Lewis, Hilary Swank, Penélope Cruz, Chloë Sevigny, Amy Adams, Kate Winslet, Charlize Theron, Marion Cotillard, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Morton, Samantha Morton, Kate Hudson, Michelle Williams, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Hudson, Rinko Kikuchi, Anne Hattaway, Anna Paquin, Keira Knightley, Ellen Page, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Saoirse Ronan, Abigail Breslin.