I thought we might have scored some points this week, those Flying Monkeys did a relatively good job. Alas, no-one listed any of the below, so we’re still where we were.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Uriah Rennie, 65, English football referee.
- Frederick Forsyth, 86, English novelist (The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol).
- Pik-Sen Lim, 80, Malaysian-British actress (Emergency Ward 10, Mind Your Language, Johnny English Reborn).
- Sly Stone, 82, American musician (Sly and the Family Stone) and songwriter (“Everyday People“, “Family Affair“), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Paul Thomas, 76, American pornographic actor (Candy Stripers, Pretty Peaches, Dracula Sucks) and director.
- Harris Yulin, 87, American actor (Scarface, Clear and Present Danger, Ozark), cardiac arrest.
- Brian Wilson, 82, American musician (The Beach Boys), songwriter (“Good Vibrations“).
- Clifton Jones, 87, Jamaican-British actor (Space: 1999, Watership Down, China Moon).
- Stephen Stanko, 57, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection.
- Betsy Gay, 96, American actress (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Our Gang Follies of 1938).
In Other News
Prince William’s polo friend has died after reportedly swallowing a bee during a match – triggering a fatal heart attack, it is claimed. Indian-born billionaire Sunjay Kapur, 53, collapsed during the match at Guards Polo Club in Windsor yesterday. Sources told the Flying Monkeys the bee stung Kapur in his mouth before he suffered anaphylactic shock that caused his heart to stop. He is understood to have requested the match be halted and then fell to the ground. Reportedly, a witness claimed that Kapur said, “I’ve swallowed something,” which seems to be his final words before his fatal heart attack. Medical experts say internal stings can prove deadly, particularly if a person has an undiagnosed allergy. Kapur’s exact cause of death is still being investigated. A well-known figure on the polo circuit in the UK and India, the late industrialist rubbed shoulders with the royals, including the Prince of Wales. Kapur was the chairman of global car parts giant Sona Comstar. He was previously married to Bollywood star Karisma Kapoor, the couple had two children together. Talking about Sunjay Kapur’s health, a source close told the UK portal: “Sunjay was in excellent health. No one could believe what had happened. It’s a shocking reminder of how fragile life can be.”
A ‘seriously ill’ rock legend has been rushed to hospital with the band making a heartbreaking show announcement on Wednesday. James Prime, 64, co-founder and keyboardist of Deacon Blue, is currently undergoing care. The band, made up of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, James, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp and bassist Lewis Gordon, confirmed that their shows would still go ahead. It is unclear why James is in hospital, although he is currently in intensive care. In a statement shared to Instagram, they explained: ‘Dear friends, we wanted to share some news with you about our brother, Jim. Unfortunately, he is seriously ill and undergoing care in hospital. We would like you to join us in wishing him well and to share our love with him. We spoke to Jim yesterday about Deacon Blue’s plans for the rest of the year, and he encouraged us to continue with love in our hearts and with his full blessing that the shows go ahead, even if it means replacing the irreplaceable James Miller Prime for the time being. Together with Jim’s family, we want to thank all the nurses, doctors and ICU staff for their ongoing care, professionalism and compassion. With love, Ricky, Lorraine, Dougie, Gregor, Lewis and Tom.’
On This Day
- 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carta.
- 1648 – Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft in the first such execution for the area.
- 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
- 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.
- 1878 – Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures.
- 1896 – One of the deadliest tsunamis in Japan’s history kills more than 22,000 people.
- 1921 – Bessie Coleman earns her pilot’s license, becoming the first female pilot of African-American descent.
- 1970 – Charles Manson goes on trial for the Sharon Tate murders.
- 1996 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonates a powerful truck bomb in the middle of Manchester, England, devastating the city centre and injuring 200 people.
- 2022 – Microsoft retires its ubiquitous Internet Explorer after 26 years in favour of its new browser, Microsoft Edge, it’s shit too.
Deaths
- 1993 – James Hunt, English racing driver and sportscaster (born 1947).
- 1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer and actress (born 1917).
- 2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio host, producer, and voice actor (born 1932).
- 2023 – Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician (born 1936).
Last Meals
Stephen Stanko was an American prisoner who was convicted of the 2005 murders of two people in South Carolina, as well as the kidnapping and rape of the teenage daughter of one of his murder victims.
Prior to his murder conviction, Stanko had been incarcerated for assault and kidnapping in 1996. Stanko was released from prison in 2004 after serving 81⁄2 years of a 10-year sentence. While in prison, he co-authored Living in Prison: A History of the Correctional System With an Insider’s View.
Stanko has been described as “a highly intelligent, polished ex-convict who didn’t mind talking about his life in prison or the book he’d written about it.”
After his release in 2004, Stanko moved to Myrtle Beach, renting a room for almost a year. His parole officer visited the home to ensure his landlady was aware of his background, which he had disclosed when applying for the rental. His relationship with his landlady was uneventful other than his occasionally being late with the rent. He often complained about his difficulty getting a job because of his background, although he had one or two brief employments. He abruptly moved out after almost a year, moving to a friend’s home in exchange for keeping an eye on her elderly mother.
About one year after being released from prison, Stanko began doing library research, supposedly for a second book. While doing this research, he befriended librarian Laura Ling and eventually moved in with her and her boyfriend. He also had developed a seemingly friendly relationship with a library patron, Henry Turner.
In April 2005, Stanko strangled Laura Ling , shot Henry Lee Turner dead, and sexually assaulted and slit the throat of Ling’s teenage daughter, who survived and made the 911 call for help. He was convicted of these charges after trials in which an insanity defence was used.
Articles on Jeffrey Dahmer, Green River killer Gary Ridgway, and other serial killers were found in Stanko’s home. According to a police spokesperson: “He either was just interested in serial killers, or he was becoming a serial killer.”
After a nationwide manhunt, based on tips received after the posting of a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture, Stanko was arrested without incident by the U.S. Marshals Service in Augusta, Georgia on April 12th 2005, as he was able to hide discreetly around the Augusta area during the 2005 Masters Tournament.
On August 18, 2006, a Georgetown County jury convicted Stanko and sentenced him to death for the murder of Ling, and 110 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and armed robbery in the related assault of Ling’s daughter. In November 2009, Stanko was convicted of murder in the Turner trial. That led to his second death sentence, this time by a Horry County jury.
After receiving his execution date, Stanko requested that the state reveal more information about its protocols for lethal injection and firing squad. Stanko stated that he had been leaning towards choosing the firing squad until details of the execution of Mikal Mahdi were published.
Stanko was executed on June 13th 2025, by lethal injection at the Broad River Correctional Institution. He was pronounced dead at 6:34 pm. Prior to his execution, Stanko ate a last meal of fried fish, fried shrimp, crab cakes, a baked potato, carrots, fried okra, cherry pie, banana pudding and sweet tea.
Last Week’s Birthdays
Helen Hunt (62), Neil Patrick Harris (52), Courteney Cox (61), Jim Belushi (71), Will Patton (71), Donald Trump (79), Chris Evans (44), Stellan Skarsgård (74), Tim Allen (72), Kat Dennings (39), Malcolm McDowell (82), Ally Sheedy (63), Simon Callow (76), Richard Thomas (74), Kathy Burke (61), Shia LaBeouf (39), Joshua Jackson (47), Hugh Laurie (66), Peter Dinklage (56), Adrienne Barbeau (80), Jane Goldman (55), DJ Qualls (47), Elizabeth Hurley (60), Bill Burr (57), Jürgen Prochnow (84), Eddie Marsan (57), Michael J. Fox (64), Johnny Depp (62), and Natalie Portman (44).
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