Dead Pool 31st July 2016
Welcome all, to what seems to be a massive list of dead celebrities. Alas, no point scorers and a slight scarcity of news. But worry not, as usual the Dead Pool Master has tried his best to make the newsletter slightly interesting. Not too interesting mind, I don’t want your expectations to elevate to stratospheric proportions.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Shawshank tree, c. 180, North American white oak featured in The Shawshank Redemption.
- Dave Bald Eagle, 97, American Lakota Chief and actor.
- Carl Falck, 109, Norwegian businessman, nation’s oldest living man.
- Marni Nixon, 86, American singer (The King and I, West Side Story, My Fair Lady) and actress (The Sound of Music), breast cancer.
- Forrest Mars Jr., 84, American billionaire businessman (Mars, Incorporated), heart attack.
- JT McNamara, 41, Irish jockey.
- Sandy Pearlman, 72, American record producer and band manager (Blue Öyster Cult, The Clash, Black Sabbath), pneumonia as a complication from a stroke.
- Jack Davis, 91, American cartoonist and illustrator (Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, Georgia Bulldogs), co-founder of Mad.
- Jerry Doyle, 60, American talk show host and actor (Babylon 5), founder of EpicTimes.
- Vivean Gray, 92, British-born Australian actress (Neighbours, The Sullivans, Prisoner).
- Ken Barrie, 83, British voice actor (Postman Pat) and singer, liver cancer.
- Fred Tomlinson, 90, British singer (The Two Ronnies, Monty Python’s Flying Circus), composer (“The Lumberjack Song“) and critic.
In Other News
Travelling to the moon, Mars or beyond could dramatically increase an astronaut’s risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, the first research into the long-term health of Apollo spacemen has revealed. Nasa’s Apollo programme sent nine manned missions and 24 astronauts beyond low Earth orbit during the 1960s and early 1970s, including Apollo 11, which delivered Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon. But it seems such missions might have taken their toll. A team of researchers looking into the fate of the Apollo astronauts has discovered that their rate of death from cardiovascular disease is four to five times higher than that seen for astronauts of the same era who only flew in low Earth orbits, or who never flew on an orbital mission at all. That, the researchers say, suggests that venturing beyond the Earth’s protective magnetic field could cause long-lasting damage to the cardiovascular system, potentially as a result of exposure to deep space radiation. The findings come as a number of space agencies and commercial enterprises are looking to venture to the moon and beyond, with Nasa planning to send humans to Mars in the 2030’s. Time to rewrite those 2017 lists!
1990s styles may be back in fashion, but getting hold of 20-year-old technology is about to get much harder. The last known maker of video cassette recorders, Funai Japan, has announced it is to cease production of VCRs. Those whirring, magic boxes will soon be nothing but a mere memory. Worldwide a total of 900 million VCRs were produced. With nobody producing the format anymore we can officially announce its DEAD!
A skydiver has made history by becoming the first person to leap without a parachute. After a two-minute free-fall, Luke Aikins, 42, landed dead centre in the 100 x100ft net at the Big Sky movie ranch on the outskirts of Simi Valley, California. As cheers erupted, Aikins quickly climbed out, walked over and hugged his wife Monica, who had been watching from the ground with their four-year-old son Logan, who was no doubt fully expecting his father to end up like a pancake. ‘This thing just happened! I can’t even get the words out of my mouth,’ he added as he thanked the dozens of crew members who spent two years helping him prepare for the jump, including those who assembled the fishing trawler-like net and made sure it really worked. Aikins admitted before the jump he was nervous and his mother said she was one family member who would not watch.
On This Day
- 1588 – The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
- 1790 – The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
- 1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
- 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
Deaths
- 1886 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
- 1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh soldier and poet (b. 1887)
- 1964 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Gore Vidal, American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Michael Ansara, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Roddy Piper, Canadian-American wrestler and actor (b. 1954)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Lynda Carter (65), Gus Van Sant (64), Jennifer Lopez (47), Summer Glau (25), Anna Paquin (34), Matt LeBlanc (49), Mick Jagger (73), Helen Mirren (71), Kevin Spacey (57), Sandra Bullock (52), Kate Beckinsale (43), Josh Radnor (42), Paul Anka (75), Arnold Schwarzenegger (69), Jean Reno (68), Laurence Fishburne (55), Lisa Kudrow (53), Christopher Nolan (46) and Hilary Swank (42).
The Last Word
“Ik schiet beter!” – I could shoot better! – Hannie Schaft
Spoken to a German soldier after having been shot in her execution; the soldier subsequently emptied his machine gun into her.
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 24th July 2016
Let me apologise for the lack of deaths this week, it’s a shit week when the most famous deaths are a Swiss clown and a Tibetan beauty queen. One would think that the heatwave would have culled a few, but alas we’re left twiddling our thumbs.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Garry Marshall, 81, American director, producer, writer and actor (Happy Days, Pretty Woman, Murphy Brown), pneumonia.
- John Pidgeon, 69, British broadcaster and writer.
- Tsering Chungtak, 30, Tibetan beauty queen, Miss Tibet 2006, heart attack.
- Dimitri, 80, Swiss clown.
In Other News
In what could have been poetic justice, a plane carrying Boris Johnson was forced to make an emergency landing at Luton airport last Sunday evening. The Foreign Secretary was travelling on board an RAF passenger jet to Brussels, for the first foreign trip he has been on since his appointment. The aircraft began experiencing mechanical difficulties, possibly with the hydraulics. All other flights were temporarily grounded while the issue was investigated. Eyewitnesses at the airport reported seeing numerous emergency services vehicles in the area around the time of the incident. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “There was a technical issue on the RAF flight on Sunday afternoon carrying the Foreign Secretary and his officials from London to Brussels that required the aircraft to land at Luton Airport. “The Foreign Secretary thanked the RAF crew for their professionalism and was grateful to Luton Airport for the brief, unscheduled welcome.
The sports scientist Stephen Dank has been discharged from hospital after he was wounded in what appears to be a drive-by shooting. The 52-year-old sustained a minor head injury when shots were fired into his Ascot Vale home about 2.20am on Saturday. Photos from the crime scene suggest at least three bullets were fired into Dank’s house, shattering one of the windows. The biochemist reportedly told Fox Sports News he and his partner were angry but refused to be intimidated or leave their home. He has a black eye and a badly cut nose, after a bullet grazed the bridge of his nose, Fox Sports News reports.
And finally, an American woman took her dead husband’s body on road trip in Alaska, using ice from local canneries to keep the corpse cold, police have said. Officers responded to a call last week to find the body of a 78-year-old man inside an aluminium transport casket. Ketchikan police chief Alan Bengaard told the Ketchikan Daily News that during the journey, which took place over several days, the woman stopped at canneries for ice to put in the truck bed during the “rolling wake.” Bengaard told the Juneau Empire that the body was supposed to be en route to the mortuary, but “for some reason she decided to not go directly to the mortuary and had been driving around with him for a couple days.” “My understanding is kind of — leading up to the events of the last couple days — there’s been a rolling wake or viewing. It was pointed out to me that, evidently, she had stopped at a couple of the canneries and got ice and filled the bed of the truck with ice to keep the body chilled.” The woman is not facing any charges, police said. The man had died of natural causes.
On This Day
- 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and replaced by her 1-year-old son James VI.
- 1911 – Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, “the Lost City of the Incas”.
- 1950 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station begins operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket.
- 2001 – Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office.
Deaths
- 1862 – Martin Van Buren, American lawyer and politician, 8th President of the United States (b. 1782)
- 1962 – Wilfrid Noyce, English mountaineer and author (b. 1917)
- 1980 – Peter Sellers, English actor, singer, director, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Donald Sutherland (81), David Hasselhoff (64), Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (69), Vin Diesel (49), Kirsten Bell (46), Richard Branson (66), John Glenn (95), Jared Padalecki (34), Benedict Cumberbatch (40), Kim Carnes (71), Louise Fletcher (82), Danny Glover (70), Don Henley (69), Willem Dafoe (61), Rhys Ifans (49), Selena Gomez (24), Woody Harrelson (55), Alison Krauss (45) and Daniel Radcliffe (27).
The Last Word
I’m in no pain. No pain. Don’t cry for me, Rahaman. I’m going to be with Allah. I made peace with God, I’m okay… Rahaman, how do I look? – Muhammad Ali
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 17th July 2016
Although plenty of people have died last week, none of the fuckers were famous. We’re literally scraping the bottom of the proverbial bucket this week. Luckily for us, plenty of news to be getting on with, but I’m on the verge of sending out those flying monkeys again!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Héctor Babenco, 70, Argentine-born Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ironweed, Carandiru), heart attack.
- Qandeel Baloch, 26, Pakistani model and social media celebrity, strangled.
- Emma Cohen, 69, Spanish actress (The Glass Ceiling, Voyage to Nowhere, The Grandfather), cancer.
- Helen Bailey, 51, British author. (body discovered on this date)
- Alan Vega, 78, American singer and musician (Suicide).
In Other News
The Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has been rushed to hospital after collapsing on stage during a gig in New York. Perry, 65, was performing with his Hollywood Vampires bandmates Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp at The Amphitheater in Brooklyn when he suddenly slumped onto the drum stage before staggering off. One witness described how Perry went behind a small wall and then passed out in a post on Instagram. “FDNY and NYPD carried him off quickly,” the user named ‘leeniepics’ wrote. Cooper said Perry is in a “stable condition” and “under the best care” in hospital. Perry, Cooper and Depp joined forces in 2015 to form the Hollywood Vampires. Perry’s agent could not immediately be contacted for comment.
Chaka Kahn and her sister have entered an intensive rehabilitation programme to tackle an addiction to prescription pain killers. The Grammy-award winning singer said she was entering a programme voluntarily with her sister Yvonne Stevens, also known as Taka Boom. Khan, 63, said the death of her friend Prince had forced her into action. Khan’s 1984 cover of Prince’s “I Feel For You” is one of her most famous songs and the pair were friends for decades before his death aged 57 in April. Autopsy results showed the iconic musician had died of an overdose of an opioid painkiller. Khan told the press she had been struggling with an addiction to the same prescription drugs used by Prince. “Unfortunately, I will miss concert appearances over the summer,” she said in a statement. “However, it’s vital that I put my health and well-being first. I know that I am disappointing some of my fans, but I also know they would want me to recover and be well and healthy. “The tragic death of Prince has had us both rethinking and reevaluating our lives and priorities. We knew it was time to take action to save our lives. My sister and I would like to thank everyone for their support, love and prayers.”
England batsman c has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumour, his county Hampshire have confirmed. The 35-year-old was sent for tests after missing this week’s County Championship match against Warwickshire because he felt unwell. He will have more examinations before receiving treatment. Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove said: “I would like to send him and his family our very best wishes at this very difficult time.” Left-hander Carberry missed an England Performance Programme tour in late 2010 and part of the 2011 season because of blood clots on a lung.
Japan’s Emperor Akihito has expressed his desire to abdicate in the next few years, public broadcaster NHK reports. The 82-year-old, who has had health problems in recent years, reportedly does not wish to remain emperor if he has to reduce his official duties. But a palace spokesman denied that there is any official plan for the monarch to abdicate in what would be an unprecedented move in modern Japan. Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, is next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. An unnamed government source told Japan’s Kyodo news agency that the emperor, who plays a largely ceremonial role but is respected deeply by many Japanese, has been contemplating the move for about a year. His family had accepted his decision, an unnamed palace source told NHK. Emperor Akihito had surgery for prostate cancer in 2003 and a heart bypass operation four years ago, so there’s no wonder he wishes to take a rest.
US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning tried to kill herself in prison last week, her lawyers have confirmed. Ms Manning, who is transgender, is serving a 35-year sentence at an all-male military facility. Her lawyers accused the US military of violating her privacy by revealing that she had been admitted to hospital. The army had not disclosed the reason for the hospital admission but it was linked to a suicide attempt in media reports. Ms Manning’s legal team said in a statement: “Last week, Chelsea made a decision to end her life. “She would have preferred to keep her private medical information private, and instead focus on her recovery. “She knows that people have questions about how she is doing and she wants everyone to know that she remains under close observation by the prison and expects to remain on this status for the next several weeks.” A tweet was sent from Ms Manning’s account on Monday, reading: “I am okay. I’m glad to be alive. “Thank you for all your love. I will get through this.”
And finally, a campaign to prevent the slaughter of the mother of the bull that killed a Spanish matador has attracted thousands of supporters. Victor Barrio, 29, became the first bullfighter to die in the ring in 30 years when he was gored to death by a bull on live television while fighting in Madrid on Saturday. The matador was fatally pierced in the chest by the animal in the eastern town of Teruel. The bull was subsequently killed. According to Spanish tradition, the mother of any bull that kills a human is also destined to be slaughtered, in order to “kill off the bloodline”. But animal rights campaigners have protested against the killing of the bull’s mother, named Lorenzo, in a movement that has attracted swathes of support through social media. PACMA, a political party in Spain that defends the rights of animals, has set up a petition to oppose the killing and promoted it under the hashtag #SalvemosALorenza – “save Lorenzo” – which has been trending across Spain. Carmen Fraile Martin wrote: “It is shameful that the mother is killed because her son killed a human being. That is absurdity! The fate of Lorenzo is not clear, but Spanish media is reporting that Lorenza is already dead.
On This Day
- 1902 – Willis Carrier creates the first air conditioner in Buffalo, New York.
- 1918 – The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55; five lives are lost.
- 1955 – Disneyland is dedicated and opened by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California.
- 1975 – Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
- 1989 – First flight of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
Deaths
- 1959 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1915)
- 2003 – David Kelly, Welsh weapons inspector (b. 1944)
- 2004 – Pat Roach, English wrestler and actor (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Edward Heath, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
- 2009 – Walter Cronkite, American journalist and actor (b. 1916)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Suzanne Vega (57), Leon Spinks (63), Richard Simmonds (68), Cheryl Ladd (65), Anna Friel (40), Michelle Rodriguez (38), Patrick Stewart (76), Harrison Ford (74), Cheech Marin (70), Harry Dean Stanton (90), Jackie Earle Haley (55), Linds Ronstadt (70), Forest Whitaker (55), Brigitte Nielsen (53), Dianne Kruger (40), Jesse Ventura (65), Michael Flatley (58), Phoebe Cates (53), Will Farrell (49) and Corey Feldman (45).
The Last Word
“It’s okay! Gun’s not loaded… see?” – Johnny Ace, 1950s rhythm and blues singer.
- Ace was playing Russian roulette (or something similar; exact accounts vary) with his revolver on Christmas Day 1954, during a backstage break in his concert that day. Contrary to Ace’s assertion, there was a bullet in the chamber, which, when he pulled the trigger with the barrel of the gun to his face, killed him instantly.
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 10th July 2016
Let’s start off by saying well done to Martin, 37 points for guessing that Gladys Hooper would pop her clogs this year, not many points, but that’s the gamble you take listing supercentenarian’s, you just hope for little and often. Plenty to read this week, so best get on with it!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Noel Neill, 95, American actress (Superman).
- John McMartin, 86, American actor (Sweet Charity, Blow Out, Law & Order), cancer.
- Goldie Michelson, 113, Russian-born American supercentenarian, nation’s oldest living person.
- Gladys Hooper, 113, English supercentenarian.
In Other News
Chelsea Manning, the military whistleblower serving a 35 year sentence, was rushed to hospital after reportedly trying to take her own life. A US media report said that Manning, who us being held at in a cell at the US Military Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, was taken to hospital early on Tuesday morning. CNN said that it was believed that the 28-year-old had tried to kill herself. Manning’s lawyer, Nancy Hollander, said in a statement that she was “shocked and outraged” that an official at Fort Leavenworth provided “confidential medical information” about Manning to the media but had not shared anything with her team. She said she had been due to speak with her client at 2pm on Monday but was told she could not be connected.
Sarah Silverman says she is “insanely lucky to be alive” after developing a serious condition which landed her in intensive care. The comedian was kept in an intensive care unit for a week after experiencing a “freak case of epiglottitis” she says almost killed her. Epiglottitis is an inflammation of the epiglottis – the flap of tissue beneath the tongue at the back of the throat. Silverman explained in a lengthy Facebook post she initially sought treatment for a sore throat. However, doctors soon diagnosed her with the condition. Silverman underwent surgery and required assistance from a breathing pipe. “When I woke up five days later I didn’t remember anything,” she told her Facebook followers. “I thanked everyone at the ICU for my life, went home, and then slowly as the opiates faded away, remembered the trauma of the surgery and spent the first two days home kind of free-falling from the meds/lack of meds and the paralysing realisation that nothing matters. The 45-year-old also thanked her friends and family, paying a special tribute to her partner, the actor Michael Sheen, who she called her “real-life hero”.
Vladimir Putin has cancelled a series of scheduled appointments and meetings amid mounting speculation surrounding his failure to appear in public since July 1st. The last time the Russian president made a public appearance was at a summit in Finland, in which he warned the Kremlin could take action if the country joined Nato. According to Russian news channel RBC, Mr Putin cancelled a meeting on tourism in Altai on 5th July, postponing it for an “indefinite period”. He also failed to arrive to the opening ceremony he was supposed to attend on Wednesday at VI International Sports Games for the Children of Asia in Yakutia. This was blamed on the President having “a specific schedule that has the ability to change”. The President has also cancelled meetings on 7 July in Novogorod where he was due to visit the production site of Akron, a metal and mining company. The various cancellations had already sparked rumours as to the President’s whereabouts, and the Kremlin is yet to address the matter. Rumours abounded the last time the Russian President vanished from the public eye for a few days, back in March 2015. The lengthy list of reasons included suggestions he was dead, had been overthrown, had a bad back, that his alleged secret girlfriend was having an alleged secret baby, and the theory that Mr Putin had been recovering from plastic surgery to preserve his youthful good looks. Reuters reported at the time that the president was ill, but this was refuted by the Kremlin.
A jockey from Northern Ireland was run over by an ambulance on its way to treat him after he had been kicked in the face by a horse. Chris Meehan, from County Down, suffered a broken leg when the vehicle drove over him during a hurdle race in Merano, northern Italy, and now faces two months out of action. He was left lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood after falling from his horse and being kicked in the face, before being placed in the recovery position by the race starter. Meehan also had his nose broken in the accident and suffered a gash to his jaw which required 27 stitches. “The racecourse ambulance came up alongside us and reversed up onto my leg,” Meehan told Racing Post. “They stopped it on top of my leg so I started screaming. It broke it straight away. “Everyone around me had to push it off me. You have to laugh really.”
And finally, if you think that chap was having a bad day, two Spanish men are in a serious condition after being gored during the fourth day of the running of the bulls at Pamplona’s San Fermin festival. The men, aged 29 and 34, were from the south-eastern town of Valencia, and were injured in an alleyway leading to the bullring. No further details were revealed. It comes the day after a well-known matador was killed during a bullfight in eastern Spain, the first such incident to occur in the country this century. Professional bullfighter Victor Barrio, 29, was killed by a bull which flipped him over with a horn, then continued to gore and push him along the ground. The fight was taking place at the festival Feria del Angel in Teruel, during an event which was being shown live on TV. No sympathy…
On This Day
- 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground.
- 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.
- 1913 – The temperature in Death Valley, California, hits 134 °F (57 °C), the highest temperature ever to be recorded on Earth.
- 1962 – Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
Deaths
- 138 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (b. 76)
- 1806 – George Stubbs, English painter and academic (b. 1724)
- 1851 – Louis Daguerre, French photographer and physicist, invented the daguerreotype (b. 1787)
- 1989 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor and singer (b. 1908)
- 2015 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor and screenwriter (b. 1932)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Montel Williams (60), Tom Cruise (54), Yardley Smith (52), Bill Withers (78), Huey Lewis (66), Rza (47), Ned Beatty (79), Sylvester Stallone (70), Geoffrey Rush (65), 50 Cent (41), Dalai Lama (81), George W. Bush (70), Ringo Starr (76), Jeffrey Tombor (72), Anjelica Huston (65), Kevin Bacon (58), Brian Dennehy (78), Richard Roundtree (74), Tom Hanks (60), Kelly McGillis (59), Courtney Love (52) and Fred Savage (40).
The Last Word
You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the Grim Reaper. Executed in California’s gas chamber. – Robert Alton Harris, d. April 21, 1992
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 3rd July 2016
Another shockingly early death on our list of doom this week and for one of you it’s good news! Martin correctly guessed that Caroline Aherne would succumb to throat cancer this year and thus gains himself 98 points. Well done that man!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Aharon Ipalé, 74, Moroccan-born Israeli actor (The Mummy, Fiddler on the Roof, Alias), cancer.
- Mack Rice, 82, American songwriter (“Mustang Sally“, “Respect Yourself“) and singer, complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Alvin Toffler, 87, American writer and futurist (Future Shock, The Third Wave).
- Gordon Murray, 95, British puppeteer and television producer (Trumpton, Camberwick Green, Chigley).
- Robin Hardy, 86, British film director (The Wicker Man).
- Michel Rocard, 85, French politician, Prime Minister (1988–1991).
- Caroline Aherne, 52, English comedian, actress and writer (The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, The Fast Show), throat cancer.
- Michael Cimino, 77, American screenwriter and director (The Deer Hunter, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Heaven’s Gate).
In Other News
An American woman was arrested this week for flooding Stephen Hawking’s email with death threats, then stalking him at an astronomy festival in the Canary Islands. The woman, a US citizen who lives in Norway, sent emails to Hawking telling him she would kill him at the Starmus Festival, a legendary astronomy conference that’s happening this week in Tenerife. According to El Pais, there were over 100 emails and tweets which threatened things like “I am very close to you. I am going to kill you.” The tweets appear to have been deleted, and it’s unclear how the messages were directed at Hawking since he doesn’t have an account. Hawking’s daughter alerted Spanish police, who provided extra security during the festival, including escorting him onstage. Police arrested the woman on Wednesday at a hotel in Tenerife not far from where Hawking was speaking. She had an itinerary showing where Hawking would be each day, as well as detailed notes on his home and office and how she planned to end his life. A Spanish court issued a restraining order barring her from going within 500 meters of Hawking or sending him messages for eight months. Only eight months?
The Queen met Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Hillsborough Castle as she began a two-day visit to Northern Ireland. When asked if she was well the monarch replied: “Well I’m still alive…” Either that was her taking the piss out of the fact that McGuinness failed to kill her during The Troubles of that HRH is starting to feel her age creeping upon her. At 90 years of age The Queen still has an active schedule that belittles some of her sprightly siblings. Maybe listing her has been a waste of time as she still seems to be showing the rest of us how it should be done!
Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader and President Robert Mugabe’s chief rival for the past 17 years has announced he is undergoing treatment for colon cancer. Morgan Tsvangirai, 64, who was prime minister in an uneasy coalition government with Mugabe from 2009-13, said it was important for national leaders to disclose their health status. Morgan Tsvangirai, 64, who was prime minister in an uneasy coalition government with Mugabe from 2009-13, said it was important for national leaders to disclose their health status. “As a leader and a public figure, I have taken a decision to make public my condition,” Tsvangirai said, adding that he had an operation last month and was receiving chemotherapy treatment in neighbouring South Africa.
On This Day
- 1844 – The last pair of great auks are killed.
- 1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent Motorwagen: The first purpose-built automobile.
- 1938 – World speed record for a steam railway locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 125.88 miles per hour (202.58 km/h).
- 1969 – Space Race: The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
- 1996 – Stone of Scone is returned to Scotland.
Deaths
- 1935 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded the Citroën Company (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Jacob Schick, American-Canadian captain and businessman, invented the electric razor (b. 1877)
- 1969 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (The Rolling Stones) (b. 1942)
- 1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter (The Doors and Rick & the Ravens) (b. 1943)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Chris Isaak (60), J.J. Abrams (50), Toby Maguire (42), Mel Brooks (90), Kathy Bates (68), John Cusack (50), Gary Busey (72), Katherine Jenkins (36), Cheryl Cole (33), Michael Phelps (31), Mike Tyson (50), Jamie Farr (82), Debby Harry (71), Dan Aykroyd (64), Pamela Anderson (49), Missy Elliott (45), Liv Tylor (39), Carl Lewis (55), Larry David (69), Jerry Hall (60), and Lindsay Lohan (30).
Next week peeps!
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