2016

Dead Pool 24th July 2016

Dead Pool Background

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:

In Other News 

BorisIn 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.

Sport GuyThe 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.

old-woman-driverAnd 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

Deaths

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

Dead Pool Background

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:

In Other News

joe-perryThe 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-kahnChaka 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.”

Michael-CarberryEngland 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.

emperorJapan’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.

bradley-chelsea-manningUS 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.”

Victor BarrioAnd 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

Deaths

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

Dead Pool BackgroundLet’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:

In Other News

bradley-chelsea-manningChelsea 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.

SilvermanSarah 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”.

Putin 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.

Chris-Meehan-TwitterA 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.”

Bullfighter diesAnd 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

Deaths

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

Dead Pool Background

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:

In Other News

HawkingAn 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?

QueenThe 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

Deaths

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!


Dead Pool 26th June 2016

Dead Pool Background

Short and sweet this week, I’m sure you would rather be reading something about the EU Referendum anyway… No points awarded, but you have to be sad over the death of Anton Yelchin who managed to squish himself with his own car.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

selma-blairSelma Blair is feeling especially grateful on her 44th birthday. The actress celebrated her special day with her 4-year-old son, Arthur, on Thursday, and also took some time out to thank everyone on Instagram for their “spirit of loving and forgiveness.” Earlier this week, Blair apologised for having to be removed from an airplane on Monday, after she admitted to mixing alcohol with medication. The actress was coming back from a Father’s Day trip in Mexico on Monday with Arthur and her ex-boyfriend, Jason Bleick, when she allegedly had an outburst while the plane was in the air. She was reportedly taken off the plane on a stretcher. “I made a big mistake yesterday,” Blair said in a statement to Vanity Fair, taking full responsibility for the incident the next day. “After a lovely trip with my son and his Dad, I mixed alcohol with medication, and that caused me to black out and led me to say and do things that I deeply regret.” “I take this very seriously, and I apologize to all of the passengers and crew that I disturbed and am thankful to all of the people who helped me in the aftermath,” she continued. “I am a flawed human being who makes mistakes and am filled with shame over this incident. I am truly very sorry.”

kelly mcgillisKelly McGillis, best known for playing Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood in the 1986 box office hit “Top Gun, was a victim of a house assault last week. The actress told police she heard someone inside her Henderson County, North Carolina house when she returned home, and before she knew it she was under attack. “I was trying to get rid of the stuff in my hand to better assess what was going on when a stranger, a woman, came barreling down the hallway and began yelling at me. I asked her who she is and why she was in my house and she said, ‘You know why. You’ve been stalking me on Twitter.’ From there the woman “began punching and scratching me trying to grab the phone out of my hand.” Finally a neighbour called the cops and the woman, who had a young girl with her, was taken away. Kelly added, “I’m alright. Scratched and bruised. I feel very thankful it turned out well. But who I feel heartache for is the little girl that was with her. Mental illness takes many hostages. I don’t know her name…but I would like to ask that you pray for her and her mother.”

On This Day

Deaths

  • 2003 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Richard Whiteley, English journalist and game show host (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kathleen Turner (62), Paula Abdul (54), Mia Sara (49), Zoe Saldana (38), Gena Rowlands (86), Salman Rushdie (69), Olympia Dukakis (85), Martin Landau (88), Danny Aiello (83), Brian Wilson (74), Lionel Richie (67), John Goodman (64), Nicole Kidman (49), Juliette Lewis (43), Prince William (34), Lana Del Rey (31), Kris Kristofferson (80), Cindy Lauper (63), Meryl Streep (67), Francis McDormand (59), Selma Blair (44), KT Tunstall (41), Mick Fleetwood (69), Carly Simon (71), Ricky Gervais (55) and George Michael (53).

The Last Word

I’ve never felt better. – Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., actor, d. December 12, 1939

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 19th June 2016

Dead Pool Background

Welcome all, another edition of The Dead Pool hits the press! This week we saw the senseless death of a Labour MP at the hands of a bigot and the passing of ALF, which should be good news to all cats. Alas, we didn’t have space to cover kids being eaten by alligators at Disney World, those rides are getting more and more dangerous I tell you, maybe you should rethink your next holiday!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

rick-parfittStatus Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt is in hospital after suffering a heart attack after performing with the band at Expo 2016. He is currently being treated in Antalya and is said to be in a serious but stable condition. In a statement, his management  said: ‘Whilst his condition is serious, he has already demanded his customary cup of tea with two sugars and a sweetener.’ The band’s manager Simon Porter added: ‘No further comment will be made at this stage until the completion of the next round of tests and assessments to be made over the next few days. ‘We would ask you to respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time.’ A self-confessed former drug addict, Parfitt has suffered a catalogue of health problems, including a quadruple heart bypass in 1997, a throat cancer scare in 2005 and a heart attack in 2011.

MeatloafMeat Loaf is stable and recovering after collapsing on stage in Canada due to “severe dehydration”. Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, collapsed mid-way through performing his hit ballad “I Would Do Anything for Love” in Edmonton on Thursday evening. Video footage posted on Twitter showed the singer lean heavily to his right and drop his microphone before collapsing to the ground. Several members of his band and crew then rushed on stage to assist him before he was taken to Edmonton Hospital. A statement posted on the 68-year-old’s Facebook page said the collapse was caused by severe dehydration and he is now in a stable condition and “recovering well”. Prior to the incident, Meat Loaf had cancelled two planned performances due to ill health. The singer has the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and had minor heart surgery in 2003, a week after he collapsed on stage at Wembley Arena.

Lil WayneLil Wayne has reportedly suffered a seizure forcing his private jet to make an emergency landing. The New Orleans rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, was flying from Milwaukee to California when his pilot was forced to land in Omaha on Monday. He apparently blacked out when the plan touched down. Carter suffered two seizures in 2012 and another in 2013. He’s previously said that he’s epileptic and has suffered seizures since his childhood. “This isn’t my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh seizure,” Carter the media in 2013. “I’ve had a bunch of seizures. Y’all just never hear about them. But this time, it got real bad because I had three of them in a row.”

BerlFormer Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been placed in intensive care after undergoing an operation to replace a defective heart valve. The procedure lasted four hours, Milan’s San Raffaele hospital said, giving no further details. But sources told Ansa news agency the operation had been a success. He is likely to take a month to recover. Berlusconi, 79, was admitted to hospital last week after suffering a heart attack his doctor said could have killed him. He is expected to remain in intensive care for another 48 hours. On Monday, Berlusconi wrote on his Facebook page he was “concerned” by the looming operation. “But I am also very moved by the very many demonstrations of appreciation, support and affection which I have received from everywhere, even from political rivals,” he added.

caroline-wyattThe BBC’s religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt is to step down from her position after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Wyatt, who has worked at the corporation for more than twenty years, has had the condition for 25 years but was only diagnosed at the end of last year. She recently announced she had been off work because of the illness on social media. The veteran reporter said she is very sad to be stepping down but is overwhelmed by the support she has received. “I have lived with the condition for the past 25 years, so the diagnosis came as a relief as it enables me to have treatment and to do all I can to manage it. I am tremendously sad to be stepping down from my religious affairs correspondent at a time that understanding religion has rarely been more important.”

conjuring2And finally, an Indian cinema-goer has died of a heart attack while watching new horror sequel The Conjuring 2. The unnamed 65-year-old male collapsed from chest pains at Sri Balasubramaniar Cinema in Tiruvannamalai, a town residing in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, as the film reached its climax. The man was rushed to a nearby hospital where he later passed away. Times of India reports that a strange turn of events then followed; after doctors sent his body to Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital, both the cadaver and the person tasked with transporting it both went missing in the process. It is believed that the unknown person may have possibly absconded with the body. Fresh news is yet to be reported on the subject but we’re sure that when it arrives there’ll be a perfectly rational explanation as opposed to the supernatural forces several commentators clearly believe were at hand.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jason Mewes (42), George H.W. Bush (92), Malcolm McDowell (73), Tim Allen (63), Ally Sheedy (54), David Grey (48), Steve-O (42), Olsen Twins (30), Donald Trump (70), Boy George (55), Steffi Graf (47), Jim Belushi (62), Helen Hunt (53), Courtenay Cox (52), Ice Cube (47), Neil Patrick Harris (43), Barry Manilow (73), Jason Patric (50), Will Forte (46), Newt Gingrich (73), Venus Williams (36), Paul McCartney (74), Isabella Rossellini (64), Alison Moyet (55) and Richard Madden (30).

The Last Word

Ah, that tastes nice. Thank you. – Johannes Brahms, composer, d. April 3, 1897

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 12th June 2016

Dead Pool Background

Another week passes and several notables perish. Alas, none worthy of our listings, but interesting people nevertheless. So no points to dispense but everyone keep an eye out for your Maverick, looks like Americans have finally decided to start shooting celebrities, not just themselves.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

 In Other News

The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital with a heart problem, according to a spokeswoman for his party. The 79-year-old’s condition was “nothing to worry about”, she added. A statement by the San Raffaele hospital in Milan said the hospitalisation was necessary after what it called a “cardiac deficiency”. The leader of Forza Italia, who had a pacemaker implanted in a hospital in the US when he was 70, would undergo tests “in the next few days”, the hospital statement said. Mr Berlusconi was Italy’s prime minister four times, but has since been convicted for tax fraud and bribery, not to mention the fornicating with young ladies, maybe this is what brought on his “cardiac deficiency’.

Eleven German MPs of Turkish origin have been put under police protection. They received death threats after supporting a move to describe the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. Germany’s foreign ministry has warned MPs of Turkish origin against travelling to Turkey, saying their security there could not be guaranteed. The German parliament’s move outraged the Turkish government, which does not recognise the killings as genocide. The 11 MPs of Turkish origin who voted for the resolution have faced a backlash of negative opinion from the Turkish government and from within Germany’s sizable Turkish community. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan castigated them, saying: “What sort of Turks are they?” Ankara’s mayor showed the 11 MPs in a tweet, saying they had “stabbed us in the back”. According to German media, it was retweeted by many Turkish nationalists, some of whom made death threats. Juicy! Who thought that the Turks were such pedants over grammar.

queenIn Royal news, The Queen’s official 90th birthday has been marked with the Trooping the Colour parade in central London. More than 1,600 soldiers and 300 horses took part in the annual event on Horse Guards Parade and she appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with members of her family, including Princess Charlotte, for an RAF flypast.

Celebrations were also held to mark 70 years since Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reining living monarch, came to the throne. The celebrations began with a religious ceremony in Bangkok, led by 770 Buddhist monks, an auspicious number. The 88-year-old king is revered by Thais, for whom he has been a figure of stability through the country’s decades of political upheaval. But he is in poor health and has not been seen in public for months. On Tuesday, he had heart surgery, with what the palace said were “satisfactory results”.  Several hundred people gathered outside the palace on Thursday morning to wish the king well. As expected, he did not make a public appearance.

jack-blackOnline speculation that US actor Jack Black had died was the work of a hacker who posted messages on his rock band’s official Twitter account. Fans expressed dismay after a message on Tenacious D’s Twitter page claimed Black had died at the age of 46. Subsequent messages, however, appeared to suggest the group’s account had been hacked. This was later confirmed by Tenacious D themselves, who called the hacking a “sick ‘prank'”. “WE had our Twitter account hacked,” the band tweeted on Sunday afternoon. “We can assure you that Jack is ALIVE and WELL.” It is not the first time Black, whose films include the Kung Fu Panda trilogy and School of Rock, has been the victim of an online hoax. One in 2012 claimed he had fallen off a cliff in New Zealand, while another in 2014 alleged he had died after a stroke.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kenny G (60), Mark Wahlberg (45), Sandra Bernhard (61), Jason Isaacs (53), Paul Giamatti (49), Bjorn Borg (60), Aaron Sorkin (55), Tom Jones (76), Liam Neeson (64), Bear Grylls (42), Bill Hader (38), Anna Kournikova (35), Jerry Stiller (89), Nancy Sinatra (76), Griffin Dunne (61), Kanye West (39), Barbara Bush (91), Michael J. Fox (55), Johnny Depp (53), Natalie Portman (35), Jackie Mason (85), Elizabeth Hurley (51), Gene Wilder (83), Hugh Laurie (57), Joshua Jackson (38) and Shia Lebeouf (30).

The Last Word

Barbara Olson (1955–2001) – What do I tell the pilot to do?

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 5th June 2016

Dead Pool Background

With the tragic demise off The Greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, we have some points to dispense. Well done to Sarai, Paula, Nick, Mark, Dave, Shan, Wendy, Julia and Nicola, 76 points each. Even more kudos for those of you who have managed to score for the first time. We’re more or less at the half-way point and all but ten of us have scored, which is rather unusual in itself, but the way things are going I strongly suspect that everyone will score something this year, which will be a first for us!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News 

Richard Simmons has been hospitalised after acting strangely at his Hollywood Hills mansion, it has been reported. The reclusive fitness guru was behaving bizarrely at his home on Friday night, leading someone to call 911. Paramedics took Simmons, 67, to a Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. It is not clear if he has been discharged yet. The workout star’s Twitter and Facebook pages continued to be updated with links to news articles through Friday and Saturday, however it is not known whether someone else was in charge of the posts. All the pictures he has posted of himself recently appear to be old. Simmons has been a recluse for the last three years and in March his friends feared he had been ‘kidnapped’ by his housekeeper. Teresa Reveles, 64, was accused of of controlling Simmons using black magic, something the star was forced to deny in phone calls to two chat shows. ‘I am not kidnapped. I am just in my house right now,’ he insisted. ‘No one should be worried about me. The people that surround me are wonderful people who take great care of me.’ Of Reveles, he added: ‘She’s been with me for 30 years. It’s almost like we’re a married couple.’

NawazSharifNawaz Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister, has travelled to the UK with family to have a second cardiac procedure in five years, his daughter has said. Sharif was in high spirits when he went into the operating theatre at about 8am, according to Maryam Sharif. Posting the information on Twitter, she did not say how long the surgery was expected to take. The operation was for a perforation of the heart, a complication from an earlier cardiac procedure in 2011, Maryam said in another tweet last week. Nawaz Sharif, 66, was prime minister for two terms in the 1990s before being overthrown in a 1999 military coup. After years in exile, he returned to Pakistan in 2007 and led his party to a victory in a 2013 election.

Prince PPrince Philip missed a commemoration of the largest naval battle of the First World War following advice from his doctor. The Queen’s husband was told to miss the Battle of Jutland commemoration which saw the Royal Navy fight the Imperial German Navy off the coast of Denmark from 31st May to 1st June in 1916. The 94-year-old, who celebrates his 95th birthday on 10th June, has not been to hospital and is not expected to need an appointment any time soon. “The background is that this is on the doctor’s order, but there are no plans for him to go to hospital,” a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told the media. “This is a temporary health thing.”

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

LaToya Jackson (60), Noel Gallagher (49), Mel B (41), Colm Meany (63), Steven Gerrard (36), Clint Eastwood (86), Tom Berenger (67), Lea Thompson (55), Brooke Shields (51), Colin Farrell (40), Morgan Freeman (79), Ronny Wood (69), Jonathan Pryce (69), Heidi Klum (43), Alanis Morissette (42), Dana Carvey (61), Zachary Quinto (39), Justin Long (38), Rafael Nadal (30), Noah Wyle (45), Russell Brand (41) and Angelina Jolie (41).

The Last Word

Donald Campbell – (1921–1967) – Hallo, the bow is up… I’m going… I’m on my back… I’ve gone. Oh.

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 29th May 2016

Dead Pool Background

Alas no points this week, although I could have sworn that one of you had Burt Kwouk, perhaps it was last year! So the league table remains the same for the time being. I’m rather hesitant to send out the flying monkeys, it seems rather greedy after so many stars have died of late, so for the time being we’ll just coast along with the ‘B’ List celebrities.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Calvin_HarrisCalvin Harris says he feels “lucky and grateful” following his car accident last week. Last Friday, Harris, who was travelling as a passenger in a Cadillac, was involved in a collision on the way to a Los Angeles airport. He was hospitalised and has been resting on doctor’s orders since. Harris, who is the highest earning DJ in the world, was forced to cancel a number of gigs and appearances following the crash. On Thursday, a statement on his Facebook page announced he would not be performing at his Las Vegas residency on Friday night as he is still “recovering from the injuries sustained in the car accident”. On Friday, Harris returned to Twitter saying he was felt “lucky and grateful”. He also thanked fans for their well-wishes and apologised for the cancelled concerts. Following the crash, a Los Angeles police department spokesperson said a Volkswagen Beetle had collided with Harris’ vehicle. “In the other vehicle a juvenile was ejected from the vehicle for not wearing a seatbelt and suffered a broken pelvis.” According to reports from celebrity gossip site TMZ, the driver was a 16-year-old girl. Following the crash, a spokesperson for Harris, whose real name is Adam Wiles, said he had “sustained a number of injuries” from the “serious collision”.

SianThe former BBC presenter Sian Williams has revealed she underwent a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Speaking to Woman & Home magazine, Williams explained how she felt the chances of her having breast cancer were so “improbable” that she went to get the results from a mammogram alone, despite having a family history of cancer. The 5 News at 5 anchor said: “The week after my 50th birthday I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I thought I was healthy. I did all the right things – I was a green tea drinker, a salmon eater, a runner. “My aunt died of breast cancer, and I’d lost my mum to liver and bowel cancer – and I gradually began to realise how bewildered and scared I was.” Williams described how the shock of her diagnosis impacted upon her relationship with her husband, saying she was “horrible” to him at times as she struggled to discuss her fears.

gord-downieGordon Downie, the lead singer of Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. In news that has devastated fans, The Hip confirmed Downie, 52, was diagnosed with cancer in December. A founding member, Downie has performed with The Hip for over three decades and released three solo albums. The band told their fans in a Facebook post, in which they also announced plans to tour again in his honour. “A few months ago, in December, Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Since then, obviously, he’s endured a lot of difficult times, and he has been fighting hard. In privacy along with his family, and through all of this, we’ve been standing by him. “So after 30-some years together as The Tragically Hip, thousands of shows, and hundreds of tours… We’ve decided to do another one. This feels like the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us.

PaulineThe Scottish do-gooder nurse who survived  Ebola has said she has been left with permanent weakness in her leg and will probably never run again. Pauline Cafferkey, 40, from Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, was hospitalised three times, at great expense to the NHS, after contracting the virus while working in Sierra Leone in 2014. She told BBC Radio Scotland that she was now “Ebola negative” and her health had come on “leaps and bounds”. But she said there were long-term issues, such as numbness and dizziness. Speaking on Radio Scotland’s Stephen Jardine programme, Ms Cafferkey revealed that her case was the highest viral load of Ebola ever recorded in a survivor. However, she added: “I’ve still got swelling at the base of my spine, which is very painful and dizziness – my balance isn’t too good.” Paying tribute to her medical team, she added: “Although I am negative Ebola, I still have some remnants there as a result of it. But on the other hand, I am alive and I have received the best care in the world, *for free*.”

Cock biteAnd finally, a Thai man is recovering in hospital after a 3m (10ft) python emerged from a squat toilet and sank its teeth into his penis. Attaporn Boonmakchuay said the python was “yanking very hard” as he and his wife tried to wrestle it off. Doctors said Mr Attaporn, who lost a lot of blood in the ordeal, was making a good recovery. Workers dismantled the toilet and extracted the python which had slithered through domestic plumbing. It was released back into the wild. The incident happened as Mr Attaporn, 38, went to the toilet at his home in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, before leaving for work on Wednesday. As he used the toilet he said he suddenly felt a sharp pain. “I felt snakeas though my penis had been severed. The snake was yanking very hard,” he said,  according to the Bangkok Post. As the python tried to pull him down, he called for his wife and neighbours to help him, the post reported. Mr Attaporn told Thai TV that his wife tied a rope around the snake and he prised its jaws open before passing out. Thai media published images of Mr Attaporn’s blood-spattered toilet. Doctors said Mr Attaporn was recovering well. “He has a really good attitude… even though his own wife and children were in shock. He’s been smiling and giving interviews all day from his bed,” said Chularat Hospital director Dr Chutima Pincharoen. Mr Attaporn said he planned to replace the squat toilet with a sitting one.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Morrissey (57), Naomi Campbell (46), Ginnifer Goodwin (38), Joan Collins (83), Marvin Hagler (62), Tommy Chong (78), Bob Dylan (75), Priscilla Presley (71), Jim Broadbent (67), John C. Reilly (51), Eric Cantona (50), Ian McKellan (77), Frank Oz (72), Mike Myers (53), Anne Heche (47), Stevie Nicks (68), Bobcat Goldthwait (54), Lenny Kravitz (52), Helena Bonham Carter (50), Louis Gossett Jr. (80), Sioxsie Sioux (58), Paul Bettany (44), Denise Van Outen (42), Jamie Oliver (41), Gladys Knight (72) and Kylie Minogue (48).

The Last Word

General John Sedgwick (1813-1864) – “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance”.

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 22nd May 2016

Dead Pool Background

Another week flies by, another Dead Pool newsletter lands in your inbox. Alas no points, although one of our members came close with Ian Watkins, had she dropped the ’s’ in the name she would have scored points, but we all knew she meant the paedophile from The Lost Prophets, not the New Zealand actor…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

David-GinolaFormer France winger David Ginola is recovering in hospital in Monaco after a quadruple heart bypass operation. The 49-year-old former Newcastle, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton player, who retired in 2002, collapsed in the south of  France on Thursday. His surgeon, speaking with authority of the family, told the media that Ginola was “extremely lucky” to be alive. “David played a sort of charity football match. All of a sudden he collapsed and people thought it was a joke but after one or two minutes they realised it was serious,” said Gilles Dreyfus, professor of cardiac surgery at the Monaco Heart Centre. “Fortunately there was one person who had been trained in CPR, because otherwise he would have been brain dead. They then called the emergency services, who arrived eight minutes later with him in cardiac arrest. “They arrived with him in cardiac arrest, he was shocked four times on site, they were able to restore a normal heart rhythm and within 10 minutes a helicopter arrived to transfer him to Monaco Heart Centre. The decision to transfer him to the operating theatre was made and he immediately underwent a quadruple heart bypass, which was very straightforward although difficult. “It was a sequence of events that at every stage went absolutely fine, that is why he is here today. Luckier you can’t be. It’s an unbelievable story.”

sinead-oconnorSinéad O’Connor has been found safe, local police have confirmed, after a desperate hunt was launched to find the Irish singer when she disappeared on Sunday from a suburb of Chicago. News that she had not been seen since early on Sunday morning immediately sparked alarm as reports emerged on Monday that authorities were concerned for her health. Police in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette released a statement on Monday in which they said they were “seeking to check the wellbeing” of the 49-year-old. The singer has opened up about her struggles with suicidal thoughts in the past. In 2007, she told Oprah Winfrey that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attempted suicide on her 33rd birthday. In recent weeks, she became embroiled in controversy after the death of Prince, who wrote her breakthrough hit Nothing Compares 2 U. The talkshow host Arsenio Hall filed a $5m lawsuit against O’Connor after she posted on Facebook to allege that Hall had given Prince drugs “over the decades”.

Tim healyTV star Tim Healy is recovering in hospital after being taken ill during the filming of the ITV show Benidorm. He was flown to Manchester from Spain on Saturday after his condition improved enough to allow him to travel. The media reported that Healy was taken ill almost a month ago and had been fighting for his life. An ITV spokesman said the 64-year-old was “feeling much better” and that filming of the show had been “adjusted to accommodate Tim’s absence”. It is understood his former wife Denise Welch flew to Spain at one point to visit him in hospital, where his wife Joan has been by his side. Healy, who was born in Newcastle and found fame in the 1980s’ show Auf Wiedersehen Pet, has played the cross-dressing character Les/Lesley in Benidorm since 2010.

Human MeatAnd finally, Chinese officials have issued an angry denial following claims the country has been marinating human  cadavers, putting them in cans and then selling them in African supermarkets. The outlandish rumour appears to have been started on Facebook, where a post featuring grisly images, supposedly of human meat being processed, went viral earlier this month. The post was picked up by Zambia’s Daily Post, among others, which published a report saying: “One cannot deny the possibilities (sic) of this being true since we all know that the Asians are among the largest population in the entire world. “Since China is so overpopulated to a point where there is no space to spit, what do they do with the dead bodies of the Chinese? Well the answer might be that they are shipping the bodies to Africa in the form of canned meat, and they make a profit during the process.” Yang Youming, China’s ambassador to Zambia, released a statement saying: “Today a local tabloid newspaper is openly spreading a rumor, claiming that the Chinese use human meat to make corned beef and sell it to Africa. This is completely a malicious slandering and vilification which is absolutely unacceptable to us,” he said in a statement. “We hereby express our utmost anger and the strongest condemnation over such an act.” Zambia’s Deputy Defense Minister Christopher Mulenga has pledged that the government will launch investigations into the reports.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Brian Eno (68), Zara Phillips (35), Pierce Brosnan (63), Debra Winger (61), Janet Jackson (50), Gabriella Sabatini (46), Bill Paxton (61), Enya (55), Jordan Knight (46), Sugar Ray Leonard (60), Chow Yun Fat (61), Tina Fey (46), Pete Townshend (71), Grace Jones (68), Cher (70), Judge Reinhold (59) and Mr. T (64).

The Last Word

Don’t die like I did. – George Best  d. 2005

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 15th May 2016

Dead Pool BackgroundSorry for the lateness of this edition of the Dead Pool, life got in the way. However, we have points to award, so let’s get on with it! Seeing all of you had Susannah Mushatt Jones as a Cert or a Woman, you all score 134 points! Congratulations to Stu, Julie, Lee, Paul C and Dave! It’s certainly upset the leader board somewhat!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

anthony-kiedisAnthony Kiedis, the Red Hot Chili Peppers singer, has been hospitalised, with the band cancelling a concert at the last minute. Flea, the band’s bassist, took the stage  in Irvine, California to announce that the band would be unable to perform. “Anthony is on his way to the hospital right now, and we’re unable to play this evening,” he said. “We are devastated about it, we are really sad. We love you so much, we live to rock.” “Unfortunately there’s a medical thing that happened and he needed to deal with it,” he added. A representative for KROQ, the Los Angeles radio station hosting the concert, told Billboard that Kiedis was suffering from extreme stomach pain. Kiedis, 53, is a founding member of the band, which formed in 1983 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Sheridan smithSheridan Smith has pulled out of her third consecutive performance of the West End musical Funny Girl after saying she is not strong enough. Her leading role as Fanny Brice will be played by her understudy, Natasha  Barnes, leaving it uncertain whether Smith will continue for the remaining five-month run. Smith, 34, first missed a performance on Monday night after responding angrily to suggestions in the press that she had been a sore loser at the Baftas for missing out on the best actress award for her role as the cancer blogger Lisa Lynch in The C Word. Shortly before her performance on Tuesday, the Savoy theatre again stated that Barnes would play Brice because of the “indisposition” of Smith, and then repeated the same announcement on Wednesday afternoon. Smith’s representative has not confirmed when she will return to the stage. The producers of Funny Girl said in a statement that Smith was going through a difficult time.

Serena-Williams-Dog-Food-And finally, the benefits of special diets for athletes have been well documented, but Serena Williams may have taken things too far on Wednesday when she decided to sample her pet dog’s dinner. Williams is playing in the Italian Open, and her hotel had prepared a special menu for her Yorkshire terrier, Chip, including a tempting salmon and rice dish. The world No1 sampled some of it, telling fans on Snapchat: “I ate a spoonful. Don’t judge me.” Williams’s verdict? It tasted “a little bit like a house-cleaner thing.” That was followed by an urgent trip to the bathroom a few hours later. “I don’t think it’s consumable for humans. They should have wrote that,” noted Williams. The incident did little to slow down Williams once she played Christina McHale in the third round in Rome: she won 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Chip’s thoughts on the matter were not available at the time of publication.

On This Day

Deaths

  • Nobody of any importance!

Last Week’s Birthdays

Rosario Dawson (37), Billy Joel (67), Bono (56), Linda Evangelista (51), Emilio Estevez (54), Gabriel Byrne (66), Jason Biggs (38), Malin Akerman (38), Stephen Baldwin (50), Ving Rhames (57), Harvey Keitel (77), Stevie Wonder (66), Stephen Colbert (52), Robert Pattinson (30), Dennis Rodman (55), Samantha Morton (39), George Lucas (72), Tim Roth (55), Cate Blanchett (47) and Mark Zuckerberg (32).

The Last Word

Am I dying or is this my birthday? – When she woke briefly during her last illness and found all her family around her bedside. – Lady Nancy Astor, d. 1964

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 8th May 2016

Dead Pool Background

Another week, a few more deaths. Alas we’re back to scraping the bottom of the barrel for names we barely recognise. However, plenty to read as these celebrities seem to be very fond of doing silly things.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

LITTLE RICHARDLittle Richard has denied claims that he is “clinging to life”. According to his attorney, William Sobel, who has represented him for 30 years, reports of the singer’s poor health are untrue. “I just spoke to him today,” Sobel told Rolling Stone. “He said, ‘You know, I want you to talk to the press because I’m really annoyed this thing started on Facebook. Not only is my family not gathering around me because I’m ill, but I’m still singing. I don’t perform like I used to, but I have my singing voice, I walk around, I had hip surgery a while ago but I’m healthy.’” Rumours concerning the 83-year-old rock’n’roll legend’s health were reported by several sources earlier this week, following Bootsy Collins’ seemingly misinformed message on Facebook: “A friend, a legend & some say the true King of Rock & Roll,” he wrote. “Lil-Richard needs our love & understanding right now. He is not in the best of health so I ask all the Funkateers to lift him up.” Although Little Richard continues to sing, he avoids the spotlight and hasn’t performed live in two years. “He had hip surgery,” Sobel told Rolling Stone. “He’s 83. I don’t know how many 83-year-olds still get up and rock it out every week, but in light of the rumours, I wanted to tell you that he’s vivacious and conversant about a ton of different things and he’s still very active in a daily routine. I used to represent Prince and he just engaged me in all kinds of Prince conversations, calling him a ‘creative genius’.”

dylan-o-brienSeveral weeks ago production on the third Maze Runner film, The Death Cure, was shut down when star Dylan O’Brien was injured on set. Now, a new report says his injuries were worse than originally thought and the film has been postponed indefinitely. “His injuries are very serious and he needs more time to recover,” O’Brien’s publicist Jennifer Allen told The Hollywood Reporter, who broke the story. Fox released the following statement as well: The resumption of principal photography on Maze Runner: The Death Cure has been further delayed to allow Dylan O’Brien more time to fully recover from his injuries. We wish Dylan a speedy recovery and look forward to restarting production as soon as possible. According to the report, on March 18 O’Brien suffered a “concussion, facial fracture and lacerations” when a stunt in which the actor was on top of a moving vehicle went wrong.

Janet JacksonJanet Jackson is pregnant with her first child, according to reports in the US. The singer, who will turn 50 in May, put all tour plans on hold for the foreseeable future earlier this year in order to start a family. The singer embarked on her year-long Unbreakable World Tour – her first in four years – last August, but missed shows due to medical reasons since October. Jackson had to deny rumours that she had throat cancer after worrying fans with an update on Christmas Eve saying that she needed surgery. A video posted on her Twitter account last month explained that she was “planning a family” with husband Wissam Al Mana, who she married secretly in 2012.

Joe-CramerThe former child star of ’80s film Flight of the Navigator has been charged with bank robbery in Canada. Deleriyes Joe Cramer, who was known as Joey Cramer when he starred in the 1986 movie, was arrested in Gibsons, British Columbia. The robbery took place in nearby Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast. Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a statement saying the 42-year-old had been charged with four offences relating to the bank robbery. Cramer, who lives in Gibsons, was in a number of films as a child actor, including Runaway with Tom Selleck and The Clan of Cave Bear with Darryl Hannah. His biggest film was the box office hit Flight of the Navigator, in which Cramer played the lead character David Freeman. He was nominated for the Young Artist Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 1987. Police say a disguise was used in the bank robbery. They have requested anyone with additional information, including information about a man purchasing or discarding a disguise involving a shoulder-length wig, bandana, and dark jacket with a reddish design on the back, to contact Sunshine Coast police. Cramer is facing charges including robbery, disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence, failure to stop for a police officer and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

MorriconeItalian composer Ennio Morricone has cancelled concerts in Rome because of health concerns. The 87-year-old has shelved three performances due to two collapsed vertebrae, according to Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra. The Oscar winner was due to perform with Santa Cecilia and its chorus. Later European concerts will still go ahead, Morricone’s spokeswoman said. Morricone, who has 500 film credits to this name, won his first competitive Oscar this year for his work on Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. He had previously received an honorary Oscar in 2007.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Wes Anderson (47), Dwayne “The Rock’ Johnson (44), David Beckham (41), Ellie Kemper (36), Lily Allen (31), Frankie Valli (82), Christina Hendricks (41), Will Arnett (46), Michael Palin (73), Richard E. Grant (59), Henry Cavill (33), Adele (28), George Clooney (55) and Traci Lords (48).

The Last Word

“Hey fellas! How about this for a headline for tomorrows paper? ‘French Fries!’” – James French, convicted murderer, as he was being strapped into the electric chair.  d.1966

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 1st May 2016

Dead Pool Background

Not a lot to report upon this week, after all, we have been spoiled recently with deaths so it’s impossible to keep the ball rolling unless one of us cheats and decides to kill off some names. So a quick and easy newsletter for you to digest.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

chris-packhamThe wildlife presenter Chris Packham has spoken of having twice been on the brink of trying to take his own life during severe bouts of depression. Packham, 54, revealed he had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in his 20s, and described his thoughts as a “great, hopeless vacuum”. The naturalist, who presents the BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch programmes, unsurprisingly spoke of his difficulties in an interview with the Times marking the release of his memoir, Fingers in the Sparkle Jar. He said: “I have been severely depressed, yes. I nearly killed myself twice.” One crisis came in 2003, he said, but he “didn’t have enough drugs to be sure it would work. I wouldn’t want to make a bad job of suicide”. He chose not to go through with it because he did not want to leave behind his two dogs or hurt his family, he said. Packham, who lives in the New Forest and is in a relationship with the owner of Isle of Wight zoo, Charlotte Corney, said he had no friends but was close to an ex-partner and her daughter.

Glenn CloseGlenn Close, the Hollywood actress, has  battled back from a severe chest infection which saw her hospitalised to make a triumphant return to Sunset Boulevard. Close, who had to pull out of four shows last week, spent three days in hospital and was placed on an intravenous drip after falling ill, it has emerged. Fans had been told she was “indisposed”, leading to fears for her health after nearly a month in the gruelling stage role. A spokesman for the English National Opera (ENO) later clarified Close was “unwell”, as fans who had already bought tickets seeing her alternate, Ria Jones, instead. It has now been confirmed the actress was in fact struck down by a severe chest infection which saw her hospitalised. Close, who is making her West End debut in the role at the age of 69, was finally compelled to rest under doctors order last Thursday.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Shirley MacLaine (82), Djimon Hounsou (52), Al Pacino (76), Bjorn Ulvaeus (71), Hank Azaria (52), Renee Zellweger (47), Joan Chen (55), Jet Li (53), Kevin James (51), Channing Tatum (36), Jay Leno (66), Jessica Alba (35), Mary McDonnell (64), Penelope Cruz (42), Jerry Seinfeld (62), Daniel Day-Lewis (59), Michelle Pfeiffer (58), Uma Thurman (46), Willie Nelson (83), Burt Young (76) and Kirsten Dunst (34).

The Last Word

I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring. – Richard Feynman, physicist, d. 1988

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 24th April 2016

Dead Pool Background

Yet another brutal week, 2016 is seemingly turning out to be a celebrity cull-fest, or is it? Read the article below. So, no points this week, unsurprisingly really as nobody should have listed Prince or Victoria Wood, both were taken away from us far too early. Lots to read today, so lets get on with it!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

 In Other News

Fidel CastroFidel Castro has made what is likely to be his final speech to Cuba’s Congress, telling the assembled politicians that he would die soon but that the revolution’s ideals would live on. The 89-year-old spoke after his brother Raul, 84, was re-elected as head of the Communist party – a position the younger Castro has said he will hold until retiring in 2018. And Fidel Castro said the time was approaching for a younger generation to take over. His declaration appeared to be less of an announcement that he was dying – he has been suffering from intestinal problems since the early 2000s – than a statement of obvious fact. “I’ll be 90 years old soon,” he said. “Soon I’ll be like all the others.” All we can say at Dead Pool Towers is HURRY UP!!

ChimpThe last surviving chimpanzee from the PG Tips adverts has died aged 48. Twycross Zoo said that Choppers, the remaining character from the “tea chimps”, was put down by staff after she began to display signs of heart and liver failure. Known for her performances as Ada in the PG Tips commercials, which ran from the 1960s though until 1980, Choppers became the last surviving member of the troop after her cohabitant at the zoo, Louis, died in 2014. The chimpanzees also appeared in a number of children’s shows, including Tiswas and Blue Peter. They were often dressed up in clothes and filmed acting out messy tea parties, with lip-syncing voice-overs recorded by the likes of actor Peter Sellers and comedian Bob Monkhouse. While the commercials proved popular with TV audiences, Twycross Zoo ended its advertising agreement in the 1980s over concerns of animal cruelty. Animal experts at the zoo later admitted that the use of the apes was wrong, but chimpanzees from abroad continued to appear in tea adverts up until 2003. Choppers was taken in by Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire, after being brought to Britain by a couple who had rescued her from poaches in Liberia. Although she spent her twilight years in a shared enclosure with other chimps, she was known to prefer solitude, often shunning other apes in favour of human company. Choppers made her final TV performance in January last year, when she featured in a Channel 5 documentary looking back on the “tea chimps” and their lives in commercials.

GazzaPaul Gascoigne has insisted he is back to his “best” after suffering another relapse in his battle with alcoholism that saw him pictured with a cut and bloodied face. The former England footballer, who has had a drink problem for more than 20 years, claimed to have suffered a “two-day blip” in his ongoing struggle. The 48-year-old was last month photographed clutching a bottle of gin and being escorted by a police officer in his home town of Poole, Dorset. And more pictures later emerged of the ex-Tottenham player with a bloodied face, showing cuts and bruising to his nose, lip and forehead. Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, Gascoigne said that he was doing “all right” and had been clean for 11 months. Speaking openly to show presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, Gascoigne was smartly dressed, with Morgan telling him: “You look good, mate.” Shrugging off his recent relapse as nothing more than a “blip”, the 48-year-old said he had been sober for months and was “back to my best”. However, he admitted that he only realised the seriousness of his recent relapse after seeing stories in the newspapers. Asked by Morgan if he felt it was right for people to compare him to George Best – the footballer who died in November 2005 after suffering from alcoholism for most of his adult life – Gascoigne said: “He’s passed away, I’m not, I’m still here.

Glenn CloseGlenn Close has pulled out of a performance of Sunset Boulevard over ill health. Close, 69 – who plays Norma Desmond in the West End musical – was replaced by Ria Jones for the performance. The news was announced on Twitter by the English National Opera just hours before the show was due to start at the London Coliseum. Close returned to the role of Desmond earlier this month, marking 20 years since she first played the character. Speaking about the role she said: “She is one of the great parts ever written for a woman, it is infinite in the possibility of exploration and I feel totally new in this role, I feel like I’ve never done it before except I’m wearing these old clothes.” No news on what was actually wrong with Close though…

hammer pornAnd finally, in a slight over-reaction, a furious gran has been spared jail for attacking her husband of 50 years with a meat hammer after catching him watching pornography. Lynda Holmes, 70, repeatedly bashed 78-year-old Gordon Holmes over the head at their Lancashire home after she thought he was trying to destroy the material. Burnley Crown Court heard how Mr Holmes ran out into the street bleeding and told neighbours his wife had gone ‘mad’. When police asked Mrs Holmes what happened she said: “I caught him with porn. He tried to get rid of it. I’ve seen red and attacked him. I wanted to kill him. “He hasn’t touched me for over 10 years and now he’s watching porn. How dare he? How do I go about getting 10 years of my life back?” Mr Holmes told police that he feels ‘partly responsible because of his selfishness’ by playing in a band, playing golf and ‘spending considerable time away from home and not supporting his wife’. Grandmother-of-three Mrs Holmes pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm at the couple’s home on Hornby Street in Oswaldtwistle. She was given a 10 month jail sentence suspended for 18 months.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Sean Bean (57), Jennifer Garner (44), Rooney Mara (31), Victoria Beckham (42), Conan O’Brien (54), Andy Serkis (52), George Takei (79), Ryan O’Neal (75), Jessica Lange (67), Carmen Electra (44), Iggy Pop (69), The Queen (90), Andre MacDowell (58), James McAvoy (37), Charles Grodin (81), Tony Danza (65), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (50), Jack Nicholson (79), Glen Campbell (80), John Waters (70), Lee Majors (70) and Michael Moore (62).

Why are so many celebrities dying in 2016?  

Deaths 2016It certainly seems the case. The death of the musician Prince, at the age of 57, just a day after Victoria Wood died from cancer, aged 62, has shocked their millions of fans. But it also appears to prove that 2016 is cursed in some way.  The two entertainers are the latest in a long line of celebrities to die in 2016, following Ronnie Corbett, Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Sir Terry Wogan, Harper Lee, David Gest, Garry Shandling, Johan Cruyff among others.

But is it true? Are more celebrities dying than normal?

Theory 1: More people are dying

This would seem highly unlikely, unless there was a flu epidemic or a particularly harsh winter, which often causes spikes in mortality rates. According to the Office for National Statistics, which measures all the deaths registered in England and Wales on a weekly basis, 156,041 people have died between the start of this year up until the week ending April 8th. This is indeed slightly higher – just over 3 per cent – than the average over the last five years, which is 151,801. But a spokesman for the ONS says: “This is within the bounds of normal variance.”

Indeed, Wikipedia lists all the deaths of people who merit a Wiki entry. These people include celebrities, as well as far less famous people, such as academics and clergymen. Between January 1st and April 21st this year, there have been 2,109 deaths listed. Last year in the same period there were, in fact, more: 2,202 – despite there being being one fewer days because 2015 was not a leap year.

Theory 2: Celebrities are cursed

This might be possible, bearing in mind that some of the people who have died were counter culture figures of the 1960s and 1970s, who epitomised the sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle of that era: David Bowie, who supposedly spent a year surviving on nothing more than cocaine, milk and red peppers; Howard Marks, the drugs dealer; Keith Emerson, one of the founding members of progressive rock group Emerson, Lake and Palmer; and Paul Kantner, the co-founder of Jefferson Airplane and prolific user of LSD. Andrew Brown, the Telegraph obituaries editor, says: “It’s possible there are more pop stars coming into their 60s and 70s. Even if they corrected their lifestyles in later life, years of hard living might have made them more vulnerable to death now.” There was even an Australian academic study in 2014, which looked at 13,000 different rock and pop stars, and found that on average they die 25 years younger than average.

Theory 3: There’s been a strange statistical blip

It is dubious there has been a glut of celebrity deaths, it’s a couple of strangely busy weeks – Bowie died the same week as Alan Rickman; Gary Shandling and Johan Cruyff both died on March 24th; Ronnie Corbett died on the same day as Dame Zaha Hadid a week later – has skewed our perception. It should even itself out later this year.

Theory 4: The bar for ‘celebrity’ has been lowered

This is possible. David Gest famous for being the fourth husband of Liza Minelli and a contestant on I’m a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here, merited a 1,120-word obituary in the Telegraph. Though this newspaper’s obituary page has always revelled in celebrating quirky lives, it’s fair to say he would not have appeared a decade or so ago. Jade Goody, who died from cervical cancer in 2009 at the age of 27 – after forging a remarkable career as the archetypal modern reality television star – did have a Telegraph obituary, but it was decided by the editor at the time not to run it in the newspaper. But Gest is about the only one of 2016’s celebrity deaths to fit this category.

Theory 5: There are just more celebrities per head of population

The pop music boom of the 1960s and the arrival of television in people’s sitting rooms from the mid-50s onwards has increased massively the pool of household names. In the era of just three TV channels the likes of unassuming, bank-manager lookalike Cliff Michelmore became woven into families’ weekly lives. The Paul Daniels magic show regularly attracted viewing figures of 15 million; the Two Ronnies hit 18 million viewers in 1980 – giving these light entertainment stars a recognition factor that would be impossible in the period before television and celebrity magazines. It would also be far more difficult to replicate in today’s era of countless terrestrial channels, Netflix and iPlayer and YouTube, which has spawned thousands of “celebrities” but few genuine household names, known and loved by two or even three generations in the way that Victoria Wood, Prince or Ronnie Corbett were. BBC Radio 4’s excellent More or Less programme, which looks at statistics behind the headlines, examined the theory that more celebrities had died this year than normal. Nick Serpell, BBC’s obituary editor, calculated that in the period January to March the corporation had run 24 obituaries on its radio stations and online, double the figure for the same period in 2015. There had been 5 in 2012, 8, in 2013 and 11 in 2014. Mr Serpell told the programme: “All these people, and the rise and growth of celebrity if you like, are reaching that period in their seventies and eighties where they are going to start to die and I think that is what’s causing this.”

Theory 6: Social media amplifies the deaths

This is a popular theory. In the old days, a celebrity death was announced on the radio, or in the obituary section. We digested the news in private. Now, within seconds of the news breaking Facebook, Instagram, Twitter is deluged with #RIP and other hashtags as we try to out-bid each other in our public statements of grief. Also, we are now more aware of the demise of celebrities with whom we have no affinity, be they a footballer, an American stand up or British television presenter. It is possible, as a result, that we now have a greater appetite for reading about the deaths of famous people. Facebook, in particular, seems to particularly encourage users to post clips or quotes of their favourite stars – a chance to wallow in a bit of childhood nostalgia. In some ways, we have all become citizen obituary writers.

So, what’s the reason for all the deaths?

The theory that there are just more celebrities – per 1,000 head of population – combined with the fact that many had a terribly unhealthy lifestyle is the most compelling reason why so many have died in recent months. This will be of no comfort to their millions of fans.

The Last Word

Go on, get out – last words are for fools who haven’t said enough. – To his housekeeper, who urged him to tell her his last words so she could write them down for posterity. – Karl Marx, revolutionary, d. 1883

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 17th April 2016

Dead Pool BackgroundAnother week and yet more unforeseen deaths! Alas, no points for anyone, and a surprisingly high count of Welsh people amongst the deceased. I’ll not prattle on, lets get to it as there’s lots to read this week.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

BrucieSir Bruce Forsyth will miss the funeral of his friend Ronnie Corbett because he is  too unwell to attend, his manager has confirmed. Corbett, who died aged 85 earlier this month, will be laid to rest on Monday. The veteran entertainer was expected to attend the service but has opted to remain at his Surrey home while he recovers from keyhole surgery. Forsyth, 88, suffered a fall last October, causing a swelling of the main blood vessel from his heart, which required him to have surgery on the abdominal aortic aneurysm. Following the operation last year, which was a “complete success”, his manager, Ian Wilson, told the media that Forsyth was “two or three weeks away” from being “out and about”. LIES!!!! Corbett’s funeral, which is by invitation only, will take place at St John the Evangelist Church, Shirley, followed by a short service at Croydon crematorium.

PrinceSinger Prince has been released from a US hospital after he was admitted with the flu following an emergency plane landing. A representative for the singer told the media that Prince had performed in Atlanta on Thursday despite not feeling well from the flu, and felt worse after boarding a plane following his concert. The plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, where the singer was treated and released at a local hospital. He then got back on the plane and returned home.  Seems a bit extreme for a bit of a sniffle, typically overblown from a drama queen of his stature! The 57-year-old singer then cancelled two show due to having the sniffles.

James_TaylorJames Taylor, the Nottinghamshire and England batsman, described his world as having been turned “upside down” following his retirement from cricket because of a serious heart condition. The 26-year-old, capped 34 times and part of the Test side who won in South Africa over the winter, will undergo an operation in Nottingham this week to have a defibrillator fitted, having been diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. The condition, which medical experts have said is similar to that of the former Bolton footballer Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed during a match at White Hart Lane in 2012, means the batsman is coming to terms with the fact he can no longer play professional sport. Taylor wrote on Twitter: “Safe to say this has been the toughest week of my life! My world is upside down. But I’m here to stay and I’m battling on!” He hopes…

Shrine to the fallen digestiveIt’s all kicking off in the West Midlands! A vigil has appeared in the middle of a Leamington Spa street in honour of some crushed chocolate digestive biscuits. Daffodils, a candle and a RIP note have been placed next to the fallen treats, left by digestive sympathisers, just days after the end to the great biscuit shortage of 2016 was announced. Warwick university students Hugh Osborn and James Taylor posted the shocking images online, with hundreds of Twitter users sharing the photos. Sadly, the vigil has since disappeared.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Haley Joel Osment (28), Steven Seagal (64), Joss Stone (29), Andy Garcia (60), Claire Danes (37), Ed O’Neill (70), Saoirse Ronan (22), Al Green (70), Paul Sorvino (76), Loretta Lynn (84), Adrien Brody (43), Anthony Michael Hall (48), Robert Carlyle (55), Sarah Michelle Gellar (39), Julie Christie (76), Emma Thompson (57), Emma Watson (26), Seth Rogan (34), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (69), ex-Pope Benedict (89), Ellen Barkin (62), Martin Lawrence (51), and Lukas Haas (40).

Is there a London 2012 Olympics ‘curse’? By Laura Gray 

ringsIt’s been reported that 18 athletes who competed in the 2012 London Olympics have died since the Games. French-language media have begun talking about a “curse”, but is there any justification for this? It seems the first mention of “the terrible curse of the London Olympic Games” was made in November last year, when the French TV channel BFMTV reported the death of the Belarusian sprinter Yuliya Balykina. Balykina, who competed in the 2012 Games in both the 100m and 4x100m relay, was found dead and covered in plastic in a forest outside the Belarusian capital, Minsk. A 28-year-old man was charged with her murder.

La malediction olympique” cropped up again last month, after Australian rower Sarah Tait – a silver-medallist at the London Olympics – died from cervical cancer. “Sarah Tait is just the latest in a very long list of top athletes who have died after taking part in the London Olympic Games,” wrote Gilles Festor in Le Figaro on 5th March.

“This Olympic ‘curse’ has now claimed 18 victims.” But why was it in France that this idea took hold? Maybe because of the shocking deaths of two French Olympians on 9th March 2015, says Paula Kennedy, who monitors European media for the BBC.

Swimmer Camille Muffat and boxer Alexis Vastine were among 10 people killed when two helicopters collided in Argentina, during the filming of a TV survival show, Dropped, where celebrities are dropped in rough terrain and left to find food and shelter. The story had considerable impact in France. “The sudden death of our fellow French nationals is a cause of immense sadness,” said French President Francois Hollande in a statement.

OLYMPIC-deathsAll the athletes who have known to have died after competing in the 2012 Olympics are listed at the bottom of the story.

It sounds like a lot – 18 young athletes dying in four years – but is it really, when you consider that 10,568 people took part in the Games? Based on crude mortality rates “you would expect 7.89 people in 1,000 to die,” says Rob Mastrodomenico, a sports statistician at Global Sports Statistics. So in a group of 10,568 people one could expect about 333 to die over a four-year period, he says. However, Olympic athletes are young – they have an average age of 26. Taking this into account, we should expect approximately seven deaths a year, says Mastrodomenico, or 28 deaths in four years. So the figure of 18 deaths over four years does not seem quite so out of the ordinary – and definitely not the sign of a “curse”.

London Olympians who have died 

  • Keitani Graham, Micronesian wrestler (heart attack)
  • Burry Stander, South African mountain biker (hit by vehicle while training)
  • Andrew Simpson, British sailor (sailing accident)
  • Elena Ivashchenko, Russian judoka (suicide)
  • Billy Ward, Australian boxer (suicide)
  • Abdelrahman el-Trabily, Egyptian wrestler (shot dead)
  • Jakkrit Panichpatikum, Thai shooter (shot dead)
  • Christian Lopez, Guatemalan weightlifter (pneumonia)
  • Besik Kudukhov, Russian wrestler (car accident)
  • Elena Baltacha, British tennis player (liver cancer)
  • Camille Muffat, French swimmer (helicopter crash)
  • Alexis Vastine, French boxer (helicopter crash)
  • Daundre Barnaby, Canadian 400m runner (missing at sea)
  • Trevor Moore, American sailor (missing at sea)
  • Yuliya Balykina, Belarusian sprinter (murdered)
  • Laurent Vidal, French triathlete (heart attack)
  • Arnold Peralta, Honduran soccer player (shot dead)
  • Sarah Tait, Australian rower (cervical cancer)

The Last Word

That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted. – Lou Costello, comedian, d. March 3, 1959

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 10th April 2016

Dead Pool Background

We have to start this weeks edition with a bow towards Nick M, who scores 57 points with the death of Erik Bauersfeld, talk about obscure or what! Who would have guessed that the voice of Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi would have croaked it this year!!! I’d also like to highlight the death of actress Amber Rayne, nobody sent a klaxon, even though she’d starred in over 500 films, perhaps none of you have seen any… Sadly it is thought she died at the age of 31 due to an accidental overdose after her favourite horse died, apparently she was making a name for herself in the dressage world. On another note, Hugh Hefner’s envious younger brother has died, so there is hope for Hugh to cark it sometime, immortality doesn’t run in the family.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Charlie SheenDead Pool favourite, Charlie Sheen, is facing a police investigation over claims he made threats against an ex-girlfriend, who is suing him for assault and battery. The National Enquirer and RadarOnline reported a 35-minute recording, apparently of the actor, making threats about former porn star Scottine Ross. Ms Ross has taken legal action against Sheen, claiming he physically abused her and had sex with her without disclosing his HIV positive status. Sheen has not commented on the reports. In a televised interview in November 2015, Sheen said he had been diagnosed with HIV four years earlier. The former star admitted his history of drink and drug abuse was a “bad decision” but said it was “impossible” he would have passed HIV on to anyone else. In December, Ms Ross – who was engaged to Sheen in 2014 before the relationship was broken off – filed a legal action against him accusing him of “physical, psychological and emotional abuse”.

Fidel-CastroTalking of Dead Pool stalwarts, Fidel Castro has made a rare public appearance, speaking to schoolchildren about his brother’s late wife and revolutionary figure Vilma Espin. The 89-year-old former president regularly writes reflections in the state media and meets with dignitaries but seldom appears in public. His last appearance at a public event was in July 2015. Wearing a white sports jacket and speaking in a scratchy voice, Castro told a room of students and teachers that Espin would be happy to see the fruits of her sacrifice at schools like theirs. Thursday’s appearance came on what would have been her 86th birthday. The revolutionary leader did not make any remarks about last month’s visit to Cuba by president Barack Obama in televised portions of the visit aired on Cuban state news media. Castro wrote a 1,500-word essay in response to Obama’s trip in his only statement about the US leader’s visit to date, reminding Cubans about a long history of US aggression against the island and stating: “we don’t need the empire to give us any presents.” Castro stepped aside in 2006 after suffering a serious illness and officially retired two years later, but his presence still casts a long shadow on Cuban government and society.

Nick BoxerThe boxer Nick Blackwell has woken from an induced coma, a week after collapsing following a domestic title fight against Chris Eubank Jr. The middleweight fighter regained consciousness on Saturday and a day later was well enough to begin talking to family and friends at his bedside, his promoters said on Monday.  Blackwell was placed in a coma after being stretchered from the ring at Wembley’s SSE Arena following his defeat to Eubank on 26th March. The fight had been stopped in the 10th round after the doctor decided he could not see from his heavily swollen left eye. In a statement, Hennessy Sports said the boxer had not been as badly injured as early reports suggested. Rather than suffering bleeding to the brain, “his bleed was outside the brain – on the skull, in fact – and was minor enough for there to be no need to operate,” it said. Speaking to reporters last week, Eubank Jr said he had realised his opponent was in trouble and reduced the ferocity of his punches after his father, who was in his corner during the bout, warned him that Blackwell could be seriously hurt.

Sweeney ToddIn the first of two Darwinian award stories, two boys were taken to hospital after receiving neck wounds during an opening night performance of Sweeney Todd at a school in Auckland, New Zealand. If you don’t know, the musical features a barber who murders his customers by slitting their throats and selling their remains to a pie shop. One of the boys, both aged 16, was more seriously hurt but Auckland Hospital said both were in a stable condition. The head of the private college, Steve Cole told TVNZ, that it was an “unfortunate and isolated incident” involving “a prop that was covered in all sorts of duct tape and silver paper.” The razor did not have a sharp edge and it had been used numerous times in rehearsals, he said. The school has postponed Thursday’s performance of the play, and said the boys were expected to be discharged from hospital on Thursday. Cole admitted that, “in hindsight”, it might have been better to use a plastic prop. No shit Sherlock!!

Snake girlAn Indonesian singer has died after she was bitten by a cobra that was being used as a prop in her performance. Irma Bule was bitten by the cobra on her thigh during a performance in a village in Karawang, West Java in Indonesia on Sunday. An eyewitness told Indonesian news that the 29-year-old singer was bitten after she stepped on the cobra’s tail during her second song. It is believed that the singer thought the cobra was defanged, so she refused any help for the bite and continued to sing. Forty five minutes later and still performing, she began vomiting and having seizures. The singer was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Bule, who frequently performed with snakes and cobras, was a singer of Dangdut music, a genre of popular music based on traditional Indonesian folk music. Lydia Apririasari of the Tulala Snake Research Center told Rappler that dancing with snakes is very common in Indonesian villages. In the past, Bule has also used boa constrictors and pythons in her live shows.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Alec Baldwin (58), Eddie Murphy (55), Leona Lewis (31), Amanda Bynes (30), Robert Downey Jr. (51), David Blaine (43), Pharrell Williams (43), Colin Powell (79), John Ratzenberger (69), Paul Rudd (47), Zack Braff (41), John Oates (67), Francis Ford Coppola (77), Jackie Chan (62), Russell Crowe (52), Robin Wright (50), Patricia Arquette (48), Julian Lennon (53), Hugh Hefner (90), Jenna Jameson (42), Dennis Quaid (62) and Kirsten Stewart (26).

The Last Word

I am about to – or I am going to – die: either expression is correct. – Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 3rd April 2016

Dead Pool Background

Nil points to award this week, mainly because most of the celebrity deaths last week were very unexpected. We’re only into April and we seem to have lost a host of popular names already this year, but our problem is, we never list people we actually like, so all those points go begging! Perhaps the key to winning is to be cruel.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Janice DickinsonSupermodel Janice Dickinson, who is currently fighting a legal battle against Bill Cosby over comments made regarding an alleged sexual assault, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Dickinson discovered what she described as a  pea-sized lump in her breast at a routine doctor’s appointment on 12th March. Following a biopsy and mammogram, she was told that she had a non-invasive ductal carcinoma – a common form of breast cancer which usually responds well to treatment. She will undergo surgery to remove the lump, as well as radiotherapy. “Initially when the doctor found the lump it hurt, it became quite painful when you touch it, that’s the point when I knew this is serious, when the doctor touched this little lump in my right breast, about the size of a pea, and I went bingo, I have cancer,” “I’m going to get through this,” she added. “I’m going to be just fine, kiddo.” “‘Don’t feel sorry for me, this is not a pity party,” she said. “I’m Janice Dickinson and I’m gonna stick around for a long, long time. You ain’t getting rid of me yet.” Dickinson, who is 61, is often described as being the world’s first supermodel – a term she claims to have invented. She was a judge on America’s Next Top Model, and owned her own modelling agency, the Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency, about which there was a reality TV show. Unsurprisingly, her cancer treatment will also be followed by cameras; a reality TV show called The Doctors will follow her through every step of her treatment.

littlemixThe band Little Mix have been forced to cancel their Belfast gigs after singer Jesy Nelson became unwell. The girl band was due to play a matinee and evening show at the SSE Arena on Thursday. The cancellation was announced just minutes after the doors opened for the afternoon performance. Fans were later informed by text message that the show would not be going ahead as scheduled. Thousands of 5-8 year olds complained profusely at how the cancellation was handled. “I’m really, really annoyed. Once again they’ve waited until we got here to tell us it was cancelled,” said Tracy, “and I’m really worried the band will re-schedule for an afternoon when were back at school and mum’s back at work!” “It’s not been handled very well,” she said. “There’s absolute bedlam down here now. Surely they could have informed us before we all landed at the place? This was minutes before the show was due to begin.” The local council is somewhat relieved as the River Legan was a tad low, now it’s full of the tears of toddlers.

Singer Tulisa Contostavlos has been charged with drink driving after she allegedly crashed her Ferrari in north London. The former X Factor star’s car collided with a Saab outside Southgate Tube station. The singer was also charged with dangerous driving, a Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed. A conviction for drink driving could see the former N-Dubz singer banned from driving for up to a year, while a conviction for dangerous driving would result in an obligatory ban of one year. The crash took place at a roundabout outside the tube station shortly before midnight. Officers were called and Ms Contostavlos was breathalysed at the scene. The singer was arrested and held in custody before being released on bail pending further enquiries. Ms Contostavlos had taken possession of the sports car just days before the incident.

ClarksonJeremy Clarkson has revealed the results of his “most dangerous stunt” ever: a bloodied nose and blackened face. The former Top Gear host, who is currently filming his new Amazon Prime motoring show, told fans he was attempting a death-defying feat on Thursday night. He wrote: “Tomorrow morning, I’m doing the most dangerous stunt I’ve ever attempted. This may well be a goodbye.” Clarkson, 55, was clearly not joking. He shared a photograph with his 6 million Twitter followers on Friday evening showing blood dripping from his nose. In response to one fan, who accused him of using makeup to create the effect, he wrote: “You’re going to feel silly when you see the show. It so isn’t make-up.”

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Quentin Tarantino (53), Mariah Carey (46), Jessie J (28), Lady Gaga (30), Dianne Wiest (68), Vince Vaughn (46), Julia Stiles (35), Brendan Gleeson (61), Christopher Lambert (59), Elle McPherson (52), Lucy Lawless (48), Eric Idle (73), Eric Clapton (71), Robbie Coltrane (66), MC Hammer (54), Piers Morgan (51), Christopher Walken (73), Ewan McGregor (45), Al Gore (68), Debbie Reynolds (84), Jimmy Cliff (68), Susan Boyle (55), Linda Hunt (71), Emmylou Harris (69) and Michael Fassbender (39).

The Last Word

Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something. – Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary, d. 1923

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 27th March 2016

Dead Pool Background

Welcome all to a not-so-special Easter edition of the Dead Pool where we will not be mentioning eggs nor the death some chap called Jesus, who just happened to start some kind of vicious religion that we’re all still reeling from over two thousand years later. Lets begin by awarding some points to Wombat, 82 of them to be precise! Well done for guessing that cancer riddled Johan Cruyff would bite the bullet in 2016. I was rather surprised that only one of us had him, but it is a cruel game after all.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

hugh-jackmanHugh Jackman, the Australian actor, rescued his son and another man when they got caught in strong currents on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Saturday. Without any thought of self-preservation, Jackman, who starred in the X-Men films as Wolverine, became a real-life hero when he pulled the pair to safety, then beckoned other swimmers to shore, away from a rip current flowing out to sea. Television footage broadcast by the Nine Network shows Jackman linking hands with a man and pulling him from a fast-flowing channel on to a sandbar, where the water is shallow. Lynzey Murphy told Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper that surf conditions changed quickly, but that Jackman stayed calm. “When we got in the water 20 minutes earlier it was fine. Then the water just came up suddenly,” she said. “Hugh just pulled them calmly on to the sandbar. He then said: ‘All right, we are going to walk towards the flags.’” A lifeguard told the paper that the beach was later closed because of dangerous surf.

eubank jrThe British boxer Nick Blackwell is in an induced coma after suffering a bleed on the brain following a domestic title fight defeat on Saturday night. The referee stopped the largely one-sided fight against Chris Eubank Jr in the 10th round after Blackwell, who had taken heavy punishment in most rounds, was deemed unable to continue by a doctor, due to swelling over his left eye. Shortly after the bout, for Blackwell’s British middleweight title, which was televised live on Channel 5, the 25-year-old, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, collapsed and had to be taken out of the ring on a stretcher with oxygen. After the fight, Eubank said: “I was hitting him with some big shots and the referee saw fit to let the fight go on. Looking back now, maybe he should have stopped it earlier.” Eubank’s father, Chris Eubank Sr, who was in his son’s corner for the bout, said the incident brought back painful memories of his world title fight with Michael Watson in 1991, which left his opponent with severe brain injuries. Watson nearly died as a result of injuries sustained in the fight and the incident forced the BBBC to boost safety at bouts to ensure that boxers who suffer such injuries get speedy assistance, including oxygen. Eubank Sr said he was banging on the canvas during the Blackwell fight urging the referee to stop it, but the referee didn’t understand him.

eddie-izzardEddie Izzard has completed 27 marathons in as many days for Sport Relief. But can his body recover from such a feat? The numbers are astonishing. In 27 days, Eddie Izzard ran or walked 707.4 miles (1,138 km) around South Africa, often in extreme heat, at the age of 54. On the last day, because of earlier disruption, he did a double marathon to ensure he reached his target. The comedian’s exertions for Sport Relief have raised more than £1.35m. But now, as the elation of completing his task recedes and he continues to deal with media interest in his achievement, Izzard must begin his recovery. “I can’t stand upright,” Izzard said, after he crossed the line in Pretoria, sipping from a bottle of champagne. “I have a huge blister and I’m exhausted.” Izzard has risked severe damage to the knee ligaments and there’s a strong likelihood of “massive muscle damage”, says Peter Jones, head of Staffordshire University’s school for psychology, sport and exercise. The immune system will be suppressed during the initial recovery, leading to a greater risk of infection. Izzard’s recovery should take about a month and involve plenty of low-impact, low-intensity training, such as swimming, plus stretching exercises. “What he’s done is a little bit extreme, I guess,” says Jones,” but he should be back to normal after a few weeks, so long as he hasn’t done any major damage to his body.” Many athletes report having “the blues” after completing a huge goal, such as a marathon or a triathlon. “It’s that Neil Armstrong thing, once you’ve been to the moon everything else is really dull, isn’t it?

firemenGood Morning Britain was taken off-air on Friday as a result of a fire at the ITV building. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) confirmed that 50 people had been evacuated from the studios on London’s Southbank after a blaze began in the first floor of the building. Four fire engines and 21 firefighters were sent to tackle the “small fire” and the LFB confirmed on their Twitter account that there were “thankfully no injuries and everyone out safely”. In a statement, LFB said: “Part of a post room on the first floor was damaged by fire. Around 50 people evacuated the building before the Brigade arrived. The fire meant that Good Morning Britain was taken off air. GMB presenter Ben Shephard tweeted that it was unlikely the show would return to the air that morning as the cast and crew took refuge in a nearby restaurant that opened early to accommodate them. He tweeted: “Outlook for getting back on air not great.”

AdeleA fan at Adele’s Glasgow concert has been injured by a falling chain that possibly came from a lighting rig overhead. The singer was performing her sell-out tour at the SSE Hydro on Friday night when a chain that was part of the production came down. The injured spectator was taken to hospital and Adele, who was apparently unaware of the incident at the time, later tweeted her apologies and promised it would not happen again. A spokeswoman for the venue told the media: “A chain belonging to the production came down and hit one person who was taken to hospital as a precaution’. All we can think of at Dead Pool Towers, is where one badly fitted chain falls, many more are capable of doing so too. Adele is scheduled to perform a second show at the 13,000-capacity arena on Saturday, let’s see if she survives!

twatIn a surprise move sure to sadden Beliebers, Justin Bieber has cancelled all meet-and-greets with his fans on his current Purpose worldwide tour. The pop star made the announcement on his Instagram, explaining that the interactions leave him “feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people’s spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy”. His company indicated that Bieber’s decision to cut back on fan face-time has less to do with keeping the musician’s spirits afloat, and more with maintaining his safety. According to TMZ, that show occurred on Monday night, when a “potentially dangerous fan” got within 10 feet of Bieber during a backstage meet-and-greet. The fan in question was allegedly on the “watch list” for Bieber’s security team. The site also reports that Bieber has had his hair pulled and clothes ripped following intimate paid encounters, and that he contracted the flu from one sickly fan.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

The Queen (90), William Hurt (66), Spike Lee (59), Theresa Russell (59), Holly Hunter (58), David Thewlis (53), Timothy Dalton (70), Gary Oldman (58), Rosie O’Donnell (71), William Shatner (85), Matthew Modine (57), Reese Witherspoon (40), Chaka Khan (63), Amanda Plummer (59), Damon Albarn (48), Perez Hilton (38), Kelly LeBrock (56), Jim Parsons (43), Alyson Hannigan (42), Jessica Chastain (39), Tommy Hilfiger (65), Aretha Franklin (74), Elton John (69), Sarah Jessica Parker (51), Melanie Blatt (41), Keira Knightley (31), Alan Arkin (82), James Caan (76), Steven Tyler (68), Martin Short (66) and Larry Page (43).

The Last Word

“Let’s cool it brothers . . .”

Spoken to his assassins, three men who shot him 16 times.
– Malcolm X, Black leader, d. 1966

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 20th March 2016

Dead Pool Background

Firstly, apologies for being missing in action last week, I was brought low by a kidney stone, which is as painful as pushing a child out your foof I’ve been told. However my ruined innards have recovered and I feel much better than Paul Daniels does right now! Fear not, your points are still safe and valid, and as luck would have it, we have some to disperse. Debbie R, Martin G, Jemma L, Nicola R, Julie K all score 56 points for the death of Nancy Reagan last week, but Lukasz B scores a mighty 156 points for listing her as his Woman. Well done all of you!!

So, onwards to a double-bubble of deathly fun!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

Last week

In Other News

WymanBill Wyman, the former bassist of the Rolling Stones, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 79-year-old musician, who joined the rock band in late 1962, is expected to make a full recovery. A spokesman said: “He is undergoing treatment and is expected to make a full recovery as it was caught in the early stages. The Wyman family has asked for their privacy during this time.” Born William Perks in south-east London in October 1936, Wyman joined the Rolling Stones shortly after the band’s formation when they were beginning to play small gigs around the capital. At 25, he was the oldest member of the group, and though he was unkindly dubbed “the boring one”, he and drummer Charlie Watts provided one of the tightest rhythmical backings in rock music, including on hits such as Paint it Black and Gimme Shelter. Wyman and his wife were pictured at the wedding of Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall, the former wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, at St Bride’s church in London’s Fleet Street. In photographs, he showed no apparent signs of illness and mingled with other guests. Wyman is not the first band member to be diagnosed with cancer, in 2004 Watts underwent two operations to rid himself of the disease.

brian readerOne of the Hatton Garden heist ringleaders has had a stroke and is being tested for suspected cancer, a court has heard. Brian Reader, 77, who was known by his fellow gang members as the Guvnor or Master, was “an extremely ill man” who was blind in one eye and hard of hearing, his defence barrister, James Scobie QC, told Woolwich crown court at the start of a three-day sentencing hearing. Reader, the oldest of the seven men convicted of the multimillion-pound burglary in London’s diamond district, had returned to Belmarsh prison’s hospital wing after a period in the critical care unit of Woolwich hospital after a stroke, Scobie said. He was unable to attend court for sentencing on Monday. Scobie said Reader had fallen over twice “ultimately ending up in critical care in Woolwich hospital having had a stroke”. He said he had visited Reader and found him unable to communicate, adding: “There were nine officers there, six armed with machine guns and three in his room, which doesn’t help recovery. “He has a history of prostate cancer, which may return. He has a mass in his face being tested for possible cancer. He has had a stroke and is blind in one eye.”

Dylan O'BrienDylan O’Brien, the lead star of the Maze Runner teen film franchise, has been injured on the set of The Death Cure. The 24-year-old actor, also known for his role in MTV’s Teen Wolf, was hit by a car while filming an action sequence. According to Variety, he may have suffered multiple broken bones in the accident. O’Brien is currently at a local hospital in British Columbia, where the film was shooting, undergoing recovery. Production has shut down in the interim on what will be the third film in the dystopian YA franchise, which is due for release next February. O’Brien stars as Thomas in the Maze Runner franchise, based on the popular book series by James Dashner. The 2014 original was a major hit in the US, grossing $102m. Its 2015 follow-up The Scorch Trials earned $82m domestically. “Our thoughts go out to Dylan for a full and speedy recovery,” a Fox representative said in a statement.

Tod PalinSarah Palin’s husband Todd has been seriously injured in a snowmobile accident, it emerged on Monday. The former Alaska governor canceled a planned campaign appearance with Donald Trump on Monday morning, the Trump campaign announced. However, a non-caring Palin appeared at an afternoon rally in Tampa, Florida, where she told the crowd that her husband was in intensive care. A previous Trump campaign statement had said that Palin was returning to Alaska “to be with her husband and looks forward to being back on the campaign trail soon”. Apparently, Todd Palin, 51, is a champion snow machine, or snowmobile, racer.

George-RR-MartinFantasy author George RR Martin was moved to reassure his fans that rumours buzzing around the web that he had died following the passing of The Beatles producer George Martin had panicked come hasty readers. As tributes poured in for producer Martin, who died aged 90 last week, some readers mistakenly believed that Martin, author of the Game of Thrones novels, was no more. But writing on his blog, the novelist told his fans that he was “not dead yet”. “While it is strangely moving to realise that so many people around the world care so deeply about my life and death, I have to go with Mark Twain and insist that the rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” he wrote, referring to the novelist’s comment to a reporter in 1897 following rumours that he had died. Martin the author said that the Beatles producer would be missed. “I never met Sir George (I did meet Paul McCartney once, for about a minute, while waiting for the valet to bring my rental car up at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills), but like many millions of others, I loved the Beatles, and Martin’s contribution to their music is worthy of recognition and honour,” wrote Martin. “As for me, I am still here, still writing, still editing, still going to movies and reading books, and I expect to hang around for quite a while yet, thank you very much. But thank you all for caring.”

Jack_ReynoldsAnd finally, a great-granddad from Derbyshire is set to become the oldest person in the world to get a tattoo to celebrate his 104th birthday. Chesterfield resident Jack Reynolds appeared on Good Morning Britain, with host Susanna Reid describing him as her “all-time favourite guest”. The centenarian, who two years ago became the oldest person to complete the Ice Bucket Challenge, has also revealed where he would like to get it. “On my bum. I’d prefer to see it on my arm, but I’ve got skinny arms. I’ve got weights to try and make them bigger, but we’ll see,” he said. Asked if he was nervous about getting the tattoo done, he replied: “I’m a big strong lad – and I’ve have plenty of needles in me in my time, in various places.” The silver surfer’s daughter Jayne, who says Guinness World Records have confirmed it would be a new record, explained he is very much young at heart and an avid internet user who is active on Facebook. She told the Ilkeston Advertiser: “Dad wanted to do something to raise money for charity again and I suggested he have a tattoo which he agreed to. We all think it’s great. Asked what the secret to living a long life is, Mr Reynolds said it was a shot of whisky in the morning and another before going to bed. “Work hard, always smile, get plenty of fresh air and last but not least have a tot of Grouse whisky in your tea in the morning and a tot before bed,” he explained.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

William H. Macy (66), Quincy Jones (83), Billy Crystal (68), Michael Caine (83), Judd Hirsch (81), Eva Longoria (41), Will.I.Am (41), Eric Estrada (67), Judah Friedlander (47), Patrick Duffy (67), Kurt Russell (65), Gary Sinise (61), Rob Lowe (52), Queen Latifah (46), Ursula Andress (80), Glenn Close (69) and Bruce Willis (61).

The Australian Woman Who Skinned and Cooked Her Partner 

Oz womanThe story of an Australian former abattoir worker who decapitated and skinned her de facto husband before trying to serve his flesh to his children is set to be told in a new film. Katherine Knight lived a seemingly ordinary life until the day she stabbed John Price 37 times and mutilated him in their home in Aberdeen, in New South Wales’s Hunter Valley, 16 years ago.

The Australian screenwriters Dane Millerd and Ross Murray have been enlisted to find a global audience for the tale of the 60-year-old, who was jailed for life for the killing. Millerd spent almost a decade trying to get the rights to the book, Blood Stains, by journalist Peter Lalor, which details the horrifying crime, and succeeded last year.

meat & vegPrice’s headless body was found by police in the home the couple shared on 1st  March 2000, a day after he was murdered. His skin was hanging from a butcher’s hook in the lounge room, his head was cooking in a stew on the stove, and slices of his buttocks had been cooked and served alongside vegetables and gravy in a meal intended for his adult children. Bloodstains showed Price had tried to escape the house, and had even been briefly successful, but was dragged back inside by Knight, who had a borderline personality disorder.

When Knight was sentenced in 2001, the supreme court justice, Barry O’Keefe, said: “The last minutes of his life must have been a time of abject terror for him, as they were a time of utter enjoyment for her.” Knight, the first Australian woman to receive a life-without-parole sentence, lost an appeal against the sentence in 2006.

The Last Word

I’m bored with it all. – Winston Churchill, statesman, d. January 24, 1965

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 6th March 2016

Dead Pool BackgroundWhat’s all this? Points you say?? Indeed, there are points to be awarded with the sad demise of some cricket player we’ve never heard of at a youngish age. Laura, Paul, Liz and Wombat all score 97, however Lee scores 197 as he had him down as his Cert. Well done all, you’ve certainly shaken up the league table.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News 

Paul DanielsPaul Daniels has left hospital to spend his “final days” at home after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, his son has revealed. The entertainer is sticking to his belief that when “it’s your time it’s your time” as he spends his last days at home surrounded by his family, Martin Daniels told the Sunday Mirror. The 77-year-old fell at home and was taken to hospital suspected of suffering a stroke, although he was later diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, his son said. “There’s no treatment which can help him. Doctors haven’t said how many weeks or months he might have – and we haven’t asked. “He knows things are not in his hands now and we are living in the knowledge every day is a bonus. It is unbearably difficult. He has said before when ‘it’s your time it’s your time’ and that’s how he is trying to face up to things.” Daniels, who is said to be “lucid”, was at his Thames-side home surrounded by his family, said his son, adding that the support of his fans had given them “tremendous strength at what is a very difficult time”.

kevin-friendFor those of you vaguely interested in that game called soccer, the Fourth official Kevin Friend collapsed and hit his head on a dugout during Tuesday’s Premier League game between Bournemouth and Southampton. Friend, who cut his face, was treated in the tunnel before being taken to hospital, where he stayed overnight. The incident happened as the first half came to an end at the Vitality Stadium. The start of the second half was delayed by five minutes as Friend was replaced by Dean Treleaven, a qualified referee who was watching the match. “I was on the bench and he came to us and he fell against the dugout, with his nose, and then fell to the ground,” said Saints boss Ronald Koeman. “For maybe five seconds, he was out of everything.” Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, whose side won 2-0, added: “I saw him collapse. I saw him very dazed and shaken.” Didn’t ask if he was ok though…

PaulinePauline Cafferkey, the Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone in 2014, has been discharged from hospital after she was cleared of any complication related to the virus. She was admitted to the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead, north London, last week for the third time after developing a complication related to her previous infection. With relief and delight among her care team, I bet they didn’t want to catch her germs, she was discharged on Sunday and was expected to be on her way back home to Scotland, much to the horror of all kilt-wearing Brits! In a statement the hospital said that the public should not in any way be concerned about the spread of the virus because of the late complication. “We can confirm that Pauline is not infectious. The Ebola virus can only be transmitted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person while they are symptomatic,” the hospital said. “So don’t get anywhere near Ebola Pauline, and don’t fuck her for fuck sake!” Cafferkey contracted Ebola while working for the Save the Children emergency treatment centre outside Freetown in Sierra Leone in December 2014. Since then she’s been a pain in the arse for the NHS and all who have to pay for her treatment.

Murdoch the cuntMedia mogul Rupert Murdoch has married actress-model Jerry Hall in London. This is Mr Murdoch’s fourth marriage and the first for Miss Hall, 59, after her 1992 Bali wedding to Sir Mick Jagger was later deemed legally void. Australian-born Mr Murdoch, 84, who now has US nationality, tweeted he was “the luckiest and happiest man in world”. The rest of the world laughed and saw the marriage for what it is, Hall looking to make a few billion quickly. The pair held a private ceremony of celebration on Saturday at London’s St Bride’s Church, in Fleet Street, which proclaims itself as the “spiritual home of the media”, or as we know it, “The Bed of Political Lies!” Mr Murdoch, whose family control 120 newspapers in five countries, split up with his third wife Wendi Deng in 2013 and is reportedly worth £7.7bn, making him the 77th richest person on the planet. Jerry Hall on the other hand has scraped a fortune of £7 million with her failed modelling career and association with Mick Jagger. Let’s see how long Murdoch lasts before he sips that poisoned tea!

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

John Turturro (59),  Roger Daltrey (62), Ron Howard (62), Justin Bieber (22), Javier Bardem (47), Harry Belafonte (89), Daniel Craig (48), Bryce Dallas Howard (35), Jon Bon Jovi (54), Chris Martin (39), Miranda Richardson (58), Julie Bowen (46), Patsy Kensit (48) and Penn Jillette (61).

The Last Word

Go away. I’m all right. – H. G. Wells, novelist, d. 1946

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 28th February 2016

Dead Pool Background

Not much to report this week, no points awarded due to a lack of notable deaths. However, plenty to read and comment upon if you wish.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Yoko onoThe artist Yoko Ono, the widow of the late former Beatle, John Lennon, has been admitted to a New York-area hospital after complaining of severe flu-like symptoms, her West Coast-based spokesman, Elliot Mintz, said on Friday. But Mintz denied US media reports that Ono, 83, had suffered a possible stroke or heart attack. He said he understood she would be released from the hospital on Saturday. Ono, 83, was married to former Beatle John Lennon until he was murdered in 1980 outside New York’s Dakota Building, where she still lives. An ambulance was called to the building at 21:00 on Friday, a Fire Department spokesman said. Her son Sean Ono Lennon also tweeted that his mother was doing well. Ono, also an experimental musician and film-maker, was once described by Lennon as “the world’s most famous unknown artist: everybody knows her name but nobody knows what she does.”

Jason_BohnGolfer Jason Bohn is in a stable condition in hospital after suffering a mild heart attack during the second round of the Honda Classic in Florida. The 42-year-old American, a  two-times PGA Tour winner who is ranked 71 in the world, called for a doctor when he experienced chest pains after putting out on the 18th hole at PGA National. A report on pgatour.com said: “He was taken by ambulance to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, where tests revealed a mild heart attack. Bohn was in stable condition and will remain hospitalised overnight before undergoing more tests on Saturday. His wife was home in Atlanta but his in-laws joined him at the hospital, as did fellow player George McNeill, who said Bohn was “in good spirits”. Who knew that golf was so demanding!!

Sticky VickyBenidorm institution Sticky Vicky has announced she is retiring after 35 years entertaining British tourists with her risqué magic show. The 72-year-old who has appeared in the hit ITV show named after the resort, was intending to return to the stage after a hip operation but decided to call it a day after being diagnosed with cancer. Grandmother Vicky, who used to perform a series of X-rated tricks in front of stupefied holidaymakers with ping-pong balls, razor blades and beer bottles, announced her decision on Facebook. ‘Just to let everyone know that the Legend Sticky Vicky Leyton and her real daughter Demaria Leyton have both retired from sexy magic shows. ‘Vicky at the age of nearly 73 has retired to spend more time with her family and her daughter has other projects that have nothing to do with sexy magic shows.’ She was once described by a guide to Benidorm as such a ‘must-see’ that leaving without experiencing her show would be like buying fish without chips or turning on the TV to see Ant without Dec.

PaulinePauline Cafferkey, the do-gooder British nurse who contracted Ebola in west Africa, is being transferred to the specialist unit at the Royal Free hospital in London for the third time since her return. Cafferkey, 39, who is said to be in a stable condition, had been admitted to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University hospital but on Tuesday afternoon an RAF aircraft landed at Glasgow airport to transport her to London at a vast cost to the NHS. A spokesman for the Royal Free said: “We can confirm that Pauline Cafferkey is being transferred to the Royal Free hospital due to a late complication from her previous infection by the Ebola virus. She will now be treated by the hospital’s infectious diseases team under nationally agreed guidelines. Cafferkey was infected while working with victims of the virus in Sierra Leone in December 2014. She spent almost a month in an isolation unit at the Royal Free, where she was treated with a survivor’s plasma and an experimental antiviral drug. She fell ill again in October last year and was readmitted to the same hospital with meningitis caused by the lingering virus. After coming close to dying, she was discharged in November and transferred to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University hospital to continue her recovery before returning home to be forever known as the new Typhoid Mary.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Tyne Daly (70), Kelsey Grammar (61), Williams Baldwin (53), Jennifer Love Hewitt (37), Ellen Page (29), Jonathan Demme (72), Kyle MacLachlan (57), Jeri Ryan (48), Thomas Jane (47), Drew Barrymore (41), James Blunt (42), Peter Fonda (76), Kelly MacDonald (40), Dakota Fanning (22), Edward James Olmos (69), Billy Zane (50), Tia Leoni (50), Carrot Top (51), Sean Astin (45), Fats Domino (88), Michael Bolton (63) and Adam Baldwin (54).

The ‘Ghost Weddings’ of China

scary-ghostGrave robbers in rural China are stealing women’s corpses to feed a new demand for “ghost weddings”, an ancient ritual whereby elderly bachelors are given a “bride” to be buried with when they die. Under a rural tradition that began nearly 3,000 years ago, families in rural China consider it bad luck for a single man to pass into the afterlife without a female companion at his side. One way to prevent his spirit becoming restless is to provide a female corpse for him to be buried with. While the ghoulish practice has long been outlawed under communism, it has now revived as newly-wealthy country dwellers pay up to £10,000 per “bride”.

The village of Dongbao in China’s northern Shanxi province, which has suffered 15 corpse thefts in the last three years alone. At least 15 others have vanished from other hamlets across the region. “Who knows where they took my mother?” said Li Fucai, 53, standing over a tomb where his father now rests alone. “She is now ill-gotten gains for thieves.”

Ancestor worship is deeply-rooted in China, and many people will burn fake money and other tributes to the dead at this year’s annual Tomb Sweeping Festival in April. For those who have been the victims of grave robbers, the yearly festival visit to the family tombs can be a difficult one.

“My grandmother must now be wandering other villages, experiencing a painful afterlife,” said 43-year-old Jiang Chaohui, who also had the remains of his great aunt and great-grandmother stolen.

dead_brides‘Ghost Weddings’ are said to date back to the 17th Century BC in China, and the superstition has persisted despite more than half a century of effort by the Communist authorities to stamp it out. The ritual involves the extra body being reburied and placed along the deceased in their tomb, usually with gongs and drums being played as relatives look on. Brides are more commonly sought by families because of China’s gender imbalance towards males. A deceased single man is also seen as making a family tree incomplete in the traditional Chinese social order. Some families will give such a man a “wife” in a form of a silver statuette or a dough mould of a woman, using black beans for eyes. But a handful of communities in inland backwaters still believe that if they fail to provide a real corpse, the dead relative could return to haunt the family and bring misfortune.

The black market in selling human remains is believed to have grown in recent years as China’s economic boom has seen the rural wealthy pay large sums to meet the needs of their deceased loved ones. Last October, police in Shanxi detained three people suspected of stealing a corpse which they aimed to sell as a bride. In 2013, a gang of four men were jailed after they made £240,000 yuan from the sales of 10 corpses in Shanxi and neighbouring Shaanxi. Remains of younger women and those who have recently died are more expensive on the black market, but decomposed female skeletons can be reinforced with steel wires before they are clothed and buried, according to Chinese media. Matchmaking agents provide the ghoulish service of pairing dead bachelors with the bodies of women from consenting families – which appears to be more tolerated by authorities than the illegal corpse trade.

The Last Word

All is lost. Monks, monks, monks! – Henry VIII, King of England, d. 1547

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 21st February 2016

Dead Pool Background

Welcome all to a points ridden edition of the Dead Pool. Good old Harper Lee has decided to finally kick the bucket, which means that Toby, who listed her as a Cert, gets 111 points! Millie, Ashley, Sarai and John C, each get 61 points!! Well done all of you!!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

 In Other News

PaulDanielsMagician and entertainer Paul Daniels, 77, has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, his family has said. A statement on his website says: “We can confirm that one of our greatest magicians and entertainers of all times, Paul Daniels, has sadly been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. “On behalf of Paul, Debbie and their families, we thank you for your kind concerns and support at this sad time and ask that their privacy continues to be respected. There will be no further comments at this time.” Daniels launched his career by performing at parties, youth clubs and to fellow servicemen during his national service. He later began performing at evening shows in clubs, where it is said that he first developed his long-running catchphrase, “You’ll like this … not a lot, but you’ll like it,” to deal with a heckler. The Paul Daniels Magic Show regularly attracted audiences of 15 million in the UK, and was sold to 43 countries. In addition to performing magic, Daniels also hosted popular quiz shows for the BBC including Every Second Counts, Odd One Out and Wipeout. He also narrated the children’s TV show Wizbit.

THIS_MORNING_DENISEDenise Robertson, resident agony aunt of ITV’s This Morning, has been diagnosed with cancer. The 83-year old explained: “A persistent health issue has turned into something quite a lot bigger. I’ve been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.” Robertson added that she is due to start chemotherapy soon. Ruth Langsford, one of the presenters of the mid-morning show, said the team were in a “state of shock”. “After almost 30 years of providing comfort to millions of viewers, agony aunt Denise Robertson is in need of a lot of love herself today,” Langsford said. Denise Robertson has been with the programme since it began in 1988. She said the diagnosis had “come as a surprise to me and my family” but added: “We know that many others have suffered and dealt with this condition and I don’t plan to give up without a fight.” She also thanked viewers of This Morning who had sent in messages of concern in recent weeks. She lost her first husband Alex Robertson to lung cancer in 1972, but kept his surname when she remarried. In 2006 her stepson, John, also died of cancer, at the age of 44.

shane_warne_snakeShane Warne has been bitten by an anaconda after plunging head first into a tank of snakes on the Australian reality television show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. The episode, which aired on Thursday night on Channel Ten, required Warne to dunk his head into boxes filled with African clawed frogs, scorpions, Madagascan hissing cockroaches and rats as part of the show’s “Tucker Trial”. He was then presented with a Perspex tank of snakes – reportedly his biggest fear. “Aw, no, come on,” the spin legend said. “A little warning, Shane,” the show’s host, Chris Brown, said. “You were just in with those rats for a long period of time. They may see you as being food.” Brown’s caution proved prophetic – Warne was struck on the head by the non-venomous anaconda. News Corp Australia reports that the bite was treated with antiseptic fluid and that a medic is monitoring Warne for signs of infection. “Shane has made no secret that snakes are one of his greatest fears so it’s amazing that after being bitten he bravely continued with the trial,” an executive producer of the show told News Corp Australia. “When Shane puts his mind to a task, he won’t let anything stop him.” Warne is believed to have been paid about A$3m to appear on the show.

art-swordJapanese police say an actor has died after getting stabbed in the stomach during a rehearsal with what is believed to be either a real or mock samurai sword. Daigo Kashino, a  33-year-old theatre group actor, was rehearsing with several people at a Tokyo studio on Monday when the incident occurred. He was rushed to a hospital, but died hours later. Media reports indicated nobody was watching exactly how it happened. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that other members of the theatre group rehearsing with Kashino said they saw him hunched over as they turned around after hearing him groan. Tokyo police said on Tuesday they were investigating whether the death was criminal or accidental.

CabbageMichael Schumacher’s manager hopes that the seven-times Formula One world champion “will be here again one day”. It is more than two years since Schumacher, 47, sustained brain injuries in a freak accident while skiing in the French Alps, and updates on his condition have been infrequent. Earlier this month the former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said news regarding Schumacher’s condition “is not good”. However, speaking at the opening of an exhibition of Schumacher’s career in Marburg, Germany, his manager Sabine Kehm said: “Of course Michael is missing on days like today. Of course it is a great shame that he cannot be here, and no one should regret it more than him. “Unfortunately, however, we cannot change what has happened. We have to accept it – and patiently hope, supporting him with everything that we have, that he will be here again one day.” Kehm’s words will provide some hope to Schumacher’s fans that he may yet recover from the injuries he sustained in his skiing accident in December 2013.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Meg Tilly (56), Jane Seymour (65), Matt Groening (62), LeVar Burton (59), Elizabeth Olsen (27), Ice-T (58), John McEnroe (57), Hal Holbrook (91), Rene Russo (62), Lou Diamond Phillips (54), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (35), Michael Jordan (53), Paris Hilton (35), Yoko Ono (83), Cybill Shepherd (66), John Travolta (62), Matt Dillon (52), Dr. Dre (51), Molly Ringwald (48), Smokey Robinson (76), Jeff Daniels (61), Seal (53), Benicio Del Toro (49), Sidney Poitier (89), Brenda Blethyn (70), Cindy Crawford (50), Rhianna (28), Ivana Trump (67), Mike Leigh (73) and Patty Hearst (62).

The Last Word

I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis. – Humphrey Bogart, actor, died January 14th 1957

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 14th February 2016

Dead Pool Background

Welcome all to a special ‘Fuck Off to Valentines Day Special Edition’ of The Dead Pool, where there will be no further mention to said consumer holiday. Alas no points to award, in fact we’re very thin on the ground this week for deaths. However we have plenty of deathly news for you to read and plenty of gruesome facts.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

 In Other News

Barry-ManilowBarry Manilow is out of surgery and is “doing well” after being rushed to hospital “due to complications from emergency oral surgery”. The 72-year-old singer was taken to a Los Angeles hospital after playing a sold-out show on Wednesday evening. In a message posted on Manilow’s Facebook page, his management team said it was due to complications arising from an operation he had on Monday. “For the next 48 hours, Manilow has been instructed not to talk, sing, or rap,” an updated posting on the singer’s Facebook page said. Manilow is due to attend Monday night’s Grammy awards – it’s not yet known whether he will still be able to make it. He has suffered a series of health scares over his career – having to undergo regular dental treatment after a benign tumour ruptured in his mouth in 1986.

richard-dawkinsRichard Dawkins has had a stroke on the eve of his tour of Australia and New Zealand. Management for the 74-year-old author of The God Delusion said he had suffered a “minor  stroke” in the UK last Saturday but had already returned home from hospital. Management for the 74-year-old author of The God Delusion said he had suffered a “minor stroke” in the UK last Saturday but had already returned home from hospital. “On Saturday night Richard suffered a minor stroke, however he is expected in time to make a full or near full recovery,” the statement said. “He is already at home recuperating.

Ken_watanabeKen Watanabe has revealed he is suffering from stomach cancer. The illness has forced the 56-year-old Japanese actor to delay his return to the Broadway musical The King and I in order to have treatment. The Oscar-nominated actor has had endoscopic surgery and is recuperating in a hospital in Japan, his agent said. Watanabe, who has previously battled leukaemia, was diagnosed “almost miraculously early” with stomach cancer last month and underwent surgery, he said. “I was really shocked, my wife and daughter pushed me to have a health check and the cancer was found. It was a very early stage and they operated immediately,” he added. The actor was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 1989 but resumed acting while still undergoing chemotherapy. He became ill again in the early 1990s and, following further treatment, has been in remission since.

dmxRapper DMX is recovering after being found unconscious in a hotel car park and resuscitated. A representative of the rapper whose real name is Earl Simmons said he had suffered an asthma attack, although one source told the media it was actually a drug overdose. Police in Yonkers, New York, were first alerted to the report of an unconscious man in a Ramada Inn parking lot on Monday night. Lt Patrick McCormack of the Yonkers Police Department told CNN that officers escorted Simmons to the nearby Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, administering chest compressions and oxygen in the ambulance.

Elizabeth TweddleBritain’s most successful gymnast is walking unaided after neck surgery following a fall during training for Channel 4 show The Jump. Beth Tweddle, who won bronze at the London Games in 2012, could only walk a few steps assisted by medics after the operation, which involved having a piece of bone taken from her hip. In a statement, she said: “The medical staff here in Austria have been fantastic and I couldn’t have wished for better people to be around me at this time. I’ve started to feel a lot better in the past 24 hours and I’ve begun walking by myself. It’s still a case of taking one day at a time.” Surgeons took a bone from her hip and used it with pins to fuse together two fractured vertebrae in her neck. The number of injuries on the third series of The Jump – five celebrities have been forced to pull out – has prompted Channel 4 to review safety procedures on the show.

JackmanHugh Jackman has appealed to people to wear sunscreen and get regular skin checks by posting a picture of himself on social media after having a fifth skin cancer removed. The picture shows his nose covered in a dressing after the removal of a basal cell carcinoma, a common and usually non-invasive type of skin cancer. The 47-year-old Australian actor, who starred as the Wolverine in the X-Men film series, says he had his first skin cancer removed in 2013 after his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, suggested he should get a mole on his nose checked. Basal cell carcinomas are relatively common, accounting for about 70% of all non-melanoma skin cancers. They are not invasive, but can require treatment as some may develop into more aggressive skin cancers. About 95% are caused by UV exposure from sunlight.

heart-in-handsThe world’s longest-surviving heart transplant patient has died, 33 years after his life-saving operation. John McCafferty was told he had only five years to live when he received the transplant at Harefield Hospital in west London, on 20 October 1982. His widow Ann said: “The last 30 years we had together were brilliant. We’ve travelled the world.” Mr McCafferty, from Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, died aged 73 on Tuesday at Milton Keynes Hospital. He was officially recognised as the world’s longest surviving heart transplant patient by Guinness World Records in 2013. At the time he said: “I want this world record to be an inspiration to anyone awaiting a heart transplant and to those who, like me, have been fortunate enough to have had one.”

HarryAnd finally, we’re wondering if everything okay with the Queen? The only reason we ask is that the Arts Council have just sent out a document entitled “Advice And Guidance: Category ‘A’ Death” which lets organisations know how they should conduct their affairs in the event of the death of a senior member of the Royal Family. Although they do try to broaden the advice out for other “notable persons”, they return to the theme of Queeny carking it regularly. The most interesting part? We learned that while Charles, Camilla, Wills and Kate all classify as a ‘Category A’ member of the Royal Family, Harry doesn’t, perhaps further fanning the fires that he’s Hewitt’s son, not Charles’.

On This Day

Deaths

Why Are So Many Unnatural Deaths Not Investigated? 

ShipmanThe UK’s most prolific murderer, Harold Shipman, would have been 70 this year had he not killed himself 16 years ago in Wakefield Prison. He managed to kill at least 250 women without alerting suspicion. The whistle was blown by a relative of one of the victims. So why wasn’t the case picked up by a coroner and how many more unnatural deaths are officially missed?

What do coroners do? A coroner is an an independent judicial officer, appointed and paid for by the relevant local authority. He or she is usually a solicitor or doctor of five years standing, although all new appointments now have to be legally qualified. Their job is to investigate deaths that are violent, unnatural or of unknown cause with a view to determine who the deceased was, when and where they died and, crucially, how they died. There are about 507,000 deaths every year in England and Wales, of which about 45% will be reported to coroners. And there are currently 96 separate local coroner areas, each with their own senior coroner.

The coroner has three main decisions to make when a death occurs. First, should they accept the death for investigation? The general principles are that if the death was violent, unnatural or of unknown cause, it should be investigated. However, local reporting rules mean that what’s considered violent or unnatural varies from one area to another.

Second, once investigated, the coroner must decide whether to open an inquest. An inquest is opened when the original reason for accepting the death for investigation – violent, unnatural, or unknown cause – still holds after initial enquiries. Data for the same period showed that deaths advancing to inquest ranged from 6% in some areas to 29% in others.

Coroners-CourtsThe third and final decision for the coroner is to determine the appropriate verdict for the death. There are six common verdicts (now known as  “conclusions”): natural causes, accidental death, suicide, industrial disease, open verdict, and the increasingly used “narrative” verdict where the circumstances of the death are recorded in a brief story.

You might think that coroner areas would have a fairly similar profile of verdicts but, in fact, these too vary widely. For example, narrative verdicts for the period 2000-2010 ranged from almost zero in some areas, such as Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, to 46% of all verdicts returned in another (Birmingham and Solihull). And in South Shropshire, just 3% of inquest verdicts were recorded as natural deaths, while that verdict accounted for an incredible 52% of all inquest conclusions in Sunderland. Suicide rates ranged from 4% to 27%.

Does this matter? Widely varying outcomes across the country prove that not all coroner areas can be striking the appropriate balance between the needs of the state and the rights of the bereaved. This is how Harold Shipman was able to kill people without anybody batting an eyelid. Had he been practising in another area he would have been caught much sooner or perhaps not at all!!!

Last Week’s Birthdays

James Spader (56), Garth Brooks (54), Chris Rock (51), Ashton Kutcher (38), Nick Nolte (75), Mary Steenbergen (63), John Grisham (61), Seth Green (42), Joe Pesci (73), Mia Farrow (71), Greg Norman (61), Glenn Beck (52), Laura Dern (49), Elizabeth Banks (42), Chloe Grace Moretz (19), Robert Wagner (86), Burt Reynolds (80), Taylor Lautner (24), Damien Lewis (45), Jennifer Aniston (47), Sheryl Crow (54), Darren Aronofsky (47), Arsenio Hall (60), Josh Brolin (48), Christina Ricci (36), Mena Suvari (37), Peter Tork (74), Jerry Springer (72), Peter Gabriel (66), Charles Yeager (93) and Robbie Williams (42).

The Final Word

Actress Joan Crawford yelled at her housekeeper, who was praying as Crawford died. Crawford said, “Damn it! Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”

Next week peeps!


Dead Pool 7th February 2016

Dead Pool Background

Alas, no points to be awarded today, which is somewhat of a surprise after the glut of celebrity deaths we’ve been seeing lately. Either famous people are dying exponentially or you lot are getting clued up as to how to play this game!

A quick note about contributions towards the newsletter; I know you have all been enjoying Ceri’s excellent pieces of writing and you probably feel that you could manage a few paragraphs from time to time too. Don’t be shy, email in a short piece, if only to give the us a break from time to time as writing on the same subject on a weekly basis gets very difficult very quickly, as some of you might remember when you took over the Dead Pool when I took a vacation ;P

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News 

320x486The news on Michael Schumacher’s health is “not good”, according to Luca di Montezemolo, the former Ferrari president, in an unusual intervention which only added to the speculation and mystery surrounding the Formula One legend’s condition. What is known is that Schumacher is still receiving treatment in Switzerland after sustaining severe head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 in the Alpine resort of Meribel. The 47-year-old was put in an induced coma following the crash and has been recovering with a specialist medical team at home on the shores of Lake Geneva since September 2014. The seven-time world champion’s family have retained a dignified silence throughout, with updates few and far between. Sabine Kehm, the 47-year-old’s manager, declined to respond to Di Montezemolo’s comments when contacted by the media. “I have news and unfortunately it is not good,” Di Montezemolo told reporters on Thursday, refusing to elaborate in any way. “Life is strange. He was a fantastic driver and only had one accident with Ferrari in 1999 (Schumacher broke his leg in an accident during the British Grand Prix).” Very few people are known to have visited the former Ferrari and Mercedes driver, who won five straight championships from 2000 to 2004.

Hanged ActorTalking about Schumacher’s, an Italian actor who was left in a coma after he accidentally hanged himself during a live theatre performance has been pronounced clinically dead. Raphael Schumacher, 27, was performing in a production of Mirages at the Teatro Lux in Pisa, Italy, when the incident occurred. He was taken to hospital on Saturday night and has been in a coma since. Doctors say his condition has worsened and that he was not responding to treatment. The BBC reports that following a six-hour procedure to establish brain death on Thursday, the hospital issued a statement: “The family and the prosecutor’s office have both authorised that his organs be donated, but their removal will be subject to a medical assessment to be performed in the course of the night.” Mirages is a six-scene immersive performance staged in different parts of the theatre, with audience members walking between them. At the time of the incident, Schumacher was reciting a monologue from Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening alone in a courtyard in front of just one spectator. The actor reportedly changed the ending of the scene by placing his head in a noose instead of using a gun. He was discovered unconscious by a second spectator, reportedly a medical student, who rushed to his aid. While it is assumed that the incident was accidental, an investigation has been launched into the theatre’s safety procedures. That investigation has shifted from grievous bodily harm to culpable homicide, or manslaughter, according to the BBC. Schumacher’s mother has rejected the theory that he may have tried to commit suicide. “My son recently lost his father and had ended a relationship but had found his serenity again,” she said. “He didn’t leave a suicide note and had no reason to kill himself.”

Lord-LucanMore than 40 years after Lord Lucan disappeared from a blood-soaked London crime scene, the high court has finally cleared the way for his only son to inherit the earldom. A presumption of death certificate was granted by Mrs Justice Asplin on Wednesday following a hearing that lasted less than an hour. George Bingham, 48, can now assume the family title as the eighth earl of Lucan. The hearing at the Rolls Building in central London had been scheduled to last three days but Neil Berriman, Rivett’s son, withdrew his objections to a death certificate being issued under the 2014 Presumption of Death Act. The judge made the declaration on the basis that she was satisfied Lucan had not been known to be alive for a period of at least seven years. The death certificate can be revoked if the peer, who would now be aged 81, reappears. The hearing was told that police had confirmed there were no live lines of inquiry into Rivett’s murder, although the case had not been closed.

BrunoFrank Bruno’s death wish of returning to the ring have been dashed after he was told his application for a licence would be declined. The 54-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion posted on Twitter that the British Boxing Board of Control had informed his agent that “should I apply for a licence this would not be granted”. His agent, Dave Davies, confirmed on Monday the board had been in touch, saying: “Frank, like many other former sports stars, misses the good times when he was in the boxing ring and watching his son train has reignited his wish to return to the ring. “However we have had confirmation today … that should an application for a boxing licence be received from Frank it would be declined. As agents for Frank we must respect and accept their decision.” Bruno, who has bipolar disorder, acknowledged he had “certainly set Twitter talking” after he announced on ITV’s This Morning that he was “coming back into boxing” to help him cope with the effects of his medication. Asked how drugs had affected him, he said: “They made me suicidal – mess up your head, mess up your clock – you can’t sleep. I’m walking around break-dancing I’ve got so much energy. Asked how drugs had affected him, he said: “They made me suicidal – mess up your head, mess up your clock – you can’t sleep. I’m walking around break-dancing I’ve got so much energy!”. Almost enough energy to die in the ring!

OliviaGone With The Wind actress Olivia de Havilland, who –  at 99 – is the oldest living Oscar winner, is honoured by satirical magazine The Oldie. However she was unable to travel from her home in France to collect her Oldie of the Year award in person at Tuesday’s ceremony in London. But in a recorded message she said she was “utterly delighted” the judges deemed there was “sufficient snap in my celery” to win the accolade. The tongue-in cheek awards are given out annually by The Oldie, set up by former Private Eye editor Richard Ingrams to take an irreverent stand against ageism. De Havilland said: “It is deeply gratifying to thus find myself in the company of the Queen Mother, whose record I have long wanted to match as well as that of so many other distinguished recipients.” She shared her Oldie of the Year award with 101-year-old former barrister and member of the House of Lords, Jeremy Hutchinson.

mcd-mcdoubleA father of three choked to death as he tried to eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger in one mouthful, an inquest heard. Darren Bray, 29, blacked out when he attempted to fit the 99p burger into his mouth whole following a night out with friends. Cardiff Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Bray, of Barry, South Wales, had been drinking cans of beer, but not enough to affect his judgement, although eating a McDonald’s would be considered bad judgement in our book! He died from a food blockage to his airway and a coroner recorded a conclusion of death by misadventure. The hearing was told that Mr Bray had told friends to “watch this” as he picked up the burger, “rolled it into a ball” and put it in his mouth. However, Mr Bray went “blue” in front of two friends and started choking. Friend Sam Bisgrove told the inquest: “I could see him trying to cough it up and he was making horrible coughing noises. I tried to hit his back to help him clear his airway.” Paramedics arrived and performed CPR on Mr Bray, who was at a friend’s house in Barry, but were unable to restart his heart and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Dr Rhiannon Trefor told the hearing there was a 3in by 1.9in (8cm by 5cm) ball of food stuck at the back of his neck. The moral of the story, avoid McDonalds at all costs!

Ingleside-black-bottles1And finally, Antonio Docampo García, who died last week at the grand old age of 107, attributed his longevity to his drinking habits – four bottles of red wine a day, and no water. Mr Docampo liked to have two bottles of wine with lunch, and another two with dinner, his family told reporters. “He could drink a litre and a half all at once,” said his son Miguel Docampo López. “When we were both at home we could get through 200 litres of wine a month. He never drank water.” Mr Docampo, of Vigo in north west Spain, owned his own vineyard and was founder of the wine company Bodegas Docampo. (A cynic might suggest that tales of the wine’s life-giving properties could contain a teensy trace of marketing spiel.) Mr Docampo’s nephew Jerónimo Docampo, who now runs the vineyard, told La Voz de Galicia: “He sold the majority of the wine he produced, but still kept a decent amount back for himself.” “If he produced 60,000 litres a year he would keep 3,000 litres for himself. He always said that was his secret to living so long.”

On This Day

Deaths

Why Do OAP’s Die Every Seven Minutes During the Winter?

Dicaprio coldOver the last four winters, according to the latest official figures, nearly 120,000 people in England and Wales have died of cold weather, or factors associated with cold weather such as a virulent strain of influenza. But campaigners argue that these excess winter deaths, defined as the difference between the number of deaths that occur each winter (from December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the subsequent four months (April to July), have more to do with poverty than freezing temperatures.

And excess winter deaths seem to be increasing: despite last year’s mild winter, an estimated 43,900 excess winter deaths occurred – a rise of 140% on the previous year and the worst statistics since 1999-2000.  Female deaths leapt nearly 150% in a single year, from 10,250 to 25,500 between 2013-14 and 2014-15. Poverty rates for women remain higher than for men, which compounds health problems.

Weather seems to be a minor factor in explaining these deaths. Across Europe, England and Wales have some of the highest rates of excess mortality in winter months. All Nordic countries have far lower winter mortality rates, despite much harsher weather. Norway’s rate is a quarter that of England and Wales, while Finland reports no difference in mortality rates between the summer and winter months. In contrast, Spanish and Portuguese climates are milder than Britain’s, yet excess winter deaths are far higher.

“The UK has an appalling record on cold-related deaths, with one older person dying every seven minutes from the winter cold. Colder countries like Sweden are better at protecting older people from the cold,” says Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. Abrahams argues the issue is not so much cold weather as increasing fuel poverty, where people cannot afford to heat their homes adequately.

DiCaprio cold again“Cold homes are a bigger killer across the UK than road accidents, drug abuse or alcohol abuse,” says Maria Wardrobe, director of National Energy Action. She agrees that the key to tackling winter deaths is to make sure older people have a well-insulated, warm home and the income needed to pay the fuel bills. The NPC wants a fuel poverty inquiry, and more suitable homes built specifically for older people, extra money for insulation and winter fuel payments.”

Of course, fuel poverty isn’t the only reason for excess winter deaths. The main problem with these statistics is that the measure itself is simplistic. The myriad factors that exacerbate illness, vulnerability or susceptibility aren’t collated. Inequality levels, access to hospitals and social care, loneliness and poverty worsen physical and mental health, and increase people’s vulnerability to dying during the winter months.

So keep all this in mind when you’re hoping for a rich celebrity death during the Winter!

Last Week’s Birthdays

Carol Channing (95), Johnny Rotten (60), Minnie Driver (46), Justin Timberlake (35), Brent Spiner (67), Lisa Marie Presley (48), Michael C. Hall (45), Stephanie of Monaco (51), Graham Nash (74), Shakira (39), Morgan Fairchild (66), Rebel Wilson (36), Isla Fisher (40), Alice Cooper (68), Natalie Imbruglia (41), Charlotte Rampling (70), Christopher Guest (68), Bobby Brown (47), Cristiano Ronaldo (31), Michael Sheen (47), Zsa Zsa Gabor (99), Rip Torn (85) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (54).

The Final Word

Murderer James W. Rodgers was put in front of a firing squad in Utah and asked if he had a last request. He replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”

Next week peeps!