2018

Dead Pool 30th December 2018

Before we start, let’s congratulate Victoria & Louise for scoring 57 points even at this late stage for the sad death of June Whitfield. But if nothing happens between now and Midnight, we will have to declare David J. the winner of 2018! Well done him! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

2018 Most Prominent Deaths

Professor Stephen Hawking – British theoretical physicist and author, who battled motor neurone disease to become one of the finest and most popular scientists of his generation.     

Aretha Franklin – Known as the Queen of Soul, and an icon of the US civil rights movement, she possessed one of the most distinctive voices in popular music, embracing jazz, gospel, soul and rhythm and blues.  

Stan Lee – American creator of comic book superheroes Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk, who transformed comic book art into a multi-million dollar industry, spearheading what became known as the “Marvel age of comics”. 

Dame June Whitfield – Actor celebrated for her comic roles, June Whitfield was a regular fixture of British TV, radio and film. Often playing the female stooge to some of the UK’s most famous entertainers, she called herself “a comic’s tart”. She starred in Hancock’s Half Hour and Carry On films, but will perhaps be best remembered for the sitcoms Terry and June and Absolutely Fabulous.

Jim Bowen – TV host and comedian who presented the darts-based gameshow Bullseye and was famous for catchprases including “Super, smashing, great” and “You can’t beat a bit of Bully!”  

Bella Emberg – Comedy actress whose career spanned 60 years. She was best known for her role as Blunderwoman, a sidekick to hapless superhero Cooperman in the 1980s TV programme The Russ Abbot Show.  

Barry Chuckle – One half of the Chuckle Brothers comedy duo who found fame on ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967. With his brother, Paul, he starred in the BBC programme ChuckleVision which ran for 21 series.  

Geoffrey Hayes – Television presenter, who played the lovable and long-suffering upholder of peace on children’s programme Rainbow from 1974-1992 – alongside characters Zippy, George and Bungle. 

Dolores O’Riordan – Singer, frontwoman of The Cranberries. 

Montserrat Caballé – Spanish soprano known for her huge repertoire and bel canto technique, but best remembered for her duet with Freddie Mercury which became the signature song of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.  

Avicii – Swedish musician, DJ, remixer and record producer who became one of the world’s biggest dance music stars, with club anthems including Wake Me Up, Levels and Lonely Together with Rita Ora.  

Joe Jackson – Father of the musically-talented Jackson family. His single-mindedness in achieving fame for his children – including Michael, Janet and LaToya – often attracted controversy. 

Chas Hodges – One half of duo Chas and Dave, known for their rock and cockney style, they enjoyed fame in the 1970s and 1980s with hits such as Rabbit – which played on cockney rhyming slang “rabbit and pork”, meaning “talk”. 

Sir Ken Dodd – An old-fashioned variety performer – one of the most popular UK artists of his time. He starred on TV, topped the music charts, and filled theatres across the country. 

Burt Reynolds – Actor and director who appeared in hundreds of films, TV movies and series. His role in Deliverance made him a star, his big hit was Smokey and the Bandit, and Boogie Nights won him an Oscar nomination. His extravagant lifestyle also made the headlines. 

Peter Stringfellow – Nightclub owner who was self-made, with a lavish lifestyle and a reputation as a ladies’ man. With his string of nightclubs he was known as the King of Clubs. Stringfellow’s in London’s West End was a magnet for celebrities. 

Trevor Bayliss – Inventor best known for the wind-up radio. He also created hundreds of other devices, including many to help people with disabilities. 

Winnie Mandela – ANC activist and potent symbol of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, she campaigned for black South African rights and the release of her then-husband, Nelson Mandela. Her reputation later became tainted by a fraud conviction and murder accusations, which she denied. 

John McCain – American Vietnam war hero who became one of the country’s best known politicians, representing Arizona in Congress and Senate. A Republican, he established a reputation for challenging his own party leadership. In 2008 he ran for the presidency, losing to Barack Obama.  

George HW Bush – The 41st president of the United States of America. He was vice-president to Ronald Reagan and became the first vice-president for more than 150 years to be elected president. He served in the US Navy in World War Two, made a fortune in the Texas oil industry and represented Texas for the Republicans in the House of Representatives. Appointed US ambassador to the UN by Richard Nixon, and head of the CIA by Gerald Ford.  

Barbara Bush – US first lady – only the second woman in US history to be the wife of one president and the mother of another. She was never content to accept a passive role as political wife. A long-time campaigner for social justice, she spoke out against racial segregation and threw her weight behind the drive to eradicate illiteracy in America.  

Leslie Grantham – Actor – best known as the roguish “Dirty Den” Watts in BBC television soap EastEnders, in which he delivered the opening line in 1985. His own life was also touched by controversy. 

Margot Kidder – Actress who found fame as Lois Lane in the Superman films starring Christopher Reeve of the 1970s and 1980s. She later became a political and women’s rights activist and one of the first Hollywood stars to talk openly about mental health problems.  

Dale Winton – TV and radio presenter. Gained celebrity status presenting Supermarket Sweep in the 1990s, along with National Lottery television programmes and Radio 2’s Pick of the Pops.  

Denis Norden – TV host and comedy writer who – with Frank Muir – formed one of the most successful comedy writing partnerships in British history. He will be more recently remembered as creator and host of the original blooper clip show It’ll be Alright on the Night. 

Peter Wyngarde – Actor who played dandy detective Jason King in the 1970s TV show that was a partial inspiration for the Austin Powers films. 

Verne Troyer – Actor best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers films, the clone and sidekick of Dr Evil, played by Mike Myers. He also played the goblin Griphook in the first Harry Potter film. 

Sir Roger Bannister – The first man to run a mile in under four minutes, establishing him as one of the great names of British athletics. He went on to become a leading neurologist and the Master of Pembroke College, Oxford.  

Kofi Annan – Former UN secretary general and Nobel Peace Prize winner who focused on the organisation’s role in fighting poverty, injustice and disease and was able to act as an honest broker at the highest levels of diplomacy.  

Baroness Tessa Jowell – Former Labour cabinet minister Tessa Jowell played a major role in securing the 2012 Olympics for London. Diagnosed with a brain tumour, she campaigned for more NHS cancer treatments. 

Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon – Jeremy John Durham “Paddy” Ashdown led the Liberal Democrats for 11 years, after having served as a Royal Marine and member of the UK intelligence services. In 2002, he was appointed as UN high representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, helping to steer the country through its post-war reconstruction. He was known for speaking his mind and for his drive and energy – which earned him the nickname Action Man. 

Eric Bristow – Five-time darts world champion nicknamed the Crafty Cockney, whose cheeky man-of-the-people image and charisma were central to the sport’s domination of post-pub TV in the 1980s.  

Baroness Trumpington – Conservative peer Jean Barker was a society girl who became a Bletchley Park codebreaker, working against the Nazis, in World War Two. Known for her independent spirit, she achieved fame for flicking a V-sign at a colleague during a debate in the House of Lords. 

Billy Graham – Preacher who took his mission of mass evangelism worldwide, preaching to an estimated 215 million people in 185 countries – and reaching hundreds of millions more through his radio and television ministry.  

Sister Wendy Beckett – Roman Catholic Carmelite nun and art historian, who became an unlikely television star when she presented a succession of popular TV programmes from art galleries around the world. Her belief that art belonged to everyone, her avoidance of jargon and obvious passion for her subject endeared her to audiences. 

On This Day

  • 1916 – Russian mystic and advisor to the Tsar Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was murdered by a loyalist group led by Prince Felix Yusupov. His frozen, partially-trussed body was discovered in a Moscow river three days later.  
  • 2004 – A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina kills 194.  
  • 2006 – Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed.

Deaths

  • 1916 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic (b. 1869)  
  • 2006 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Luise Rainer, German-born American-British actress (b. 1910)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Denzel Washington (64), Noomi Rapace (39), Maggie Smith (84), Sienna Miller (37), Joe Manganiello (42), Nichelle Nichols (86), Olivia Cooke (25), Gérard Depardieu (70), John Amos (79), Kit Harington (32), Jared Leto (47), Phil Spector (79), Sissy Spacek (69), Helena Christensen (50), Annie Lennox (64), Stephenie Meyer (45), Carol Vorderman (58), Harry Shearer (75), Jude Law (46), Jon Voight (80), Ted Danson (71), Danny McBride (42), Bernard Cribbins (90) and Marianne Faithfull (72).


Dead Pool 23rd December 2018

Apologies for the short issue this week, like most of you I am immensely busy with this thing we call Christmas. Like all of you, I will not be celebrating the birth of Jesus, but will be celebrating consumerism by buying too much food and spending too much money on gifts that dwarf the value of what the Three Mages initially proffered to the ‘virgin’ Mary on the birth of her son, conceived by an angel, so she said… Apparently condoms were in short supply back then and blatant lies were easily believed and turned into a world  dominating religion capable of setting humanity back by hundreds of years and killing vast amounts of people for little more than being a female with a slight interest in science. 

Anyhow, I hope you have a fantastic capitalist holiday, forgetting the meaning of ‘christianity’ by overfilling yourself stupidly whilst some people suffer and starve whilst we sell their governments arms to kill them. 

On another note, get your lists in! I’m too tired to chase you this year. Tell your friends, tweet the fuck out of the website, mumble in pubs, wee on your work colleagues. Generally, do what you normally do. Merry Amazon Day! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

In some American news that didn’t concern Donald Trump, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery on Friday morning for early stage lung cancer, the Supreme Court confirmed in a statement. According to the court’s public information office, Ginsburg underwent a pulmonary lobectomy at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “Two nodules in the lower lobe of her left lung were discovered incidentally during tests performed at George Washington University Hospital to  diagnose and treat rib fractures sustained in a fall on November 7th,” read the statement. The statement also said that both nodules removed during surgery were found to be malignant on initial pathology evaluation. However, “post-surgery, there was no evidence of any remaining disease,” the statement continued. “Scans performed before surgery indicated no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body.” Time to hedge your bets people! Currently, no further treatment is planned for 85-year-old Ginsburg, who is “resting comfortably” and is expected to remain at the hospital for a few more days. Ginsburg previously beat cancer twice; she was treated for colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009. So never say I don’t give you great chances to score!    

Former glamour model Katie Price has been charged with being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. Ms Price, 40, from Horsham, Sussex, will appear at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on 7th January. She was charged by postal requisition last week, after her arrest on suspicion of drink-driving in south-east London two months ago. The Met Police said officers had come across a damaged car on Shooters Hill Road in Woolwich on 10th October. This is one of many signs that Ms Price is fast falling from grace and is quickly superseding ‘The Sheen’ for being a superb Maverick. Along with being sexually abused by her own son on a constant basis, she’s currently seeing some toy boy fuck thing and will be attempting to stay sober at a wedding over the New Year celebrations. Even the scumbag tabloid ‘The Sun’ has now lost track of how many marriages she’s managed in the last year, but one assumes the amount of man-muck that’s been fired up her and sticky white love piss she’s ingested over the years will finally catch up on her, either through severe indigestion or fanny rot, who can tell. Let’s not forget the rehab session of 24 hours for PTSD and drink and drug binges. For your information, the coke this lass likes isn’t available at McDonalds and to  be sure, anyone who makes Peter Andre looks good has to be fucked. 

On This Day

  • 1919 – Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 becomes law in the United Kingdom. 
  • 1947 – The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.  
  • 1954 – First successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.  
  • 1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world. Little over thirty years later, it was demolished by the CIA. 
  • 1972 – The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having reportedly survived by cannibalism.  
  • 1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refuelling.

Deaths

  • 1973 – Charles Atlas, Italian-American bodybuilder and model (b. 1892)  
  • 2006 – Charlie Drake, English actor (b. 1925) 
  • 2013 – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and weapons designer, designed the AK-47 rifle (b. 1919)

Dead Pool 16th December 2018

Slight points jiggle this week  as I ploughed through your lists for missing ‘dead un’s’,  seems we all missed the death of Devin Lima at the age of 41 back in November, points awarded where needed. With just over two weeks to go, I hope you have been working on your ’19 lists. Remember, 13 names in total. I’ve already got a couple of list; I have already submitted mine and my theme this year is Star Trek, all of my listings have a connection to that particular program. Of course, you lot don’t have to have a theme, I just found it more fun. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Police visited Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson after an alarming social media post sparked fears for his welfare. Concerns were raised for the US comedian and actor, 25, following an Instagram post in which he wrote: “I really don’t want to be on this earth anymore.” He added: “I’m doing my best to stay here for you but I actually don’t know how much longer I can last. All I’ve ever tried to do was help people. Just remember I told you so.” Davidson, who was engaged to pop star Ariana Grande earlier this year, concluded the message with a heart emoji. He later deleted his Instagram account and appeared as scheduled on SNL, which is broadcast live. New York police said they had checked on the comedian, but did not say where officers met him. Earlier this month, the comedian wrote on Instagram about suffering from borderline personality disorder, being targeted by online trolls, and feeling suicidal. He said he was speaking out about his mental health “only in the hopes that it will help bring awareness and help kids like myself who don’t want to be on this earth”.  

The latest test flight by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic successfully rocketed to the edge of space and back. The firm’s SpaceShipTwo passenger rocket ship reached a height of 82.7km, beyond the altitude at which US agencies have awarded astronaut wings. It marked the plane’s fourth test flight and followed earlier setbacks in the firm’s space programme. Sir Richard is in a race with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to send the first fee-paying passengers into space. In 2008, Virgin Galactic first promised sub-orbital spaceflight trips for tourists would be taking place “within 18 months”. It has since regularly made similar promises to have space flights airborne in the near future. But delays and a fatal crash in 2014 prevented Sir Richard’s original ambitions. So, what does this mean for us? Many well known celebrities have already booked a flight on Bronson’s ‘almost safe’ space ship. Amongst them Brad Pitt, Paris Hilton, Bryan Singer, Princess Beatrice, Tom Hanks, Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher, although fuck knows how he’s going, maybe they’ll serve him up as the inflight meal. Could this be the way someone scores the perfect 13 in one hit?  

US actress Sarah Hyland has described how having to undergo two kidney transplants left her “contemplating suicide”, US media report. The 28-year-old, who stars in the popular sitcom Modern Family, opened up about her kidney dysplasia in an interview with Self magazine. She said her body rejected a kidney donated by her father when she was 21, but luckily her brother was a match. Now she’s drained her family of organs, she’s feeling rather unenthusiastic of her future. “I had gone through my whole life always being a burden,” Hyland said. “When a family member gives you a second chance at life, and it fails, it almost feels like it’s your fault. It’s not. But it does,” she said. “For a long time, I was contemplating suicide, because I didn’t want to fail my little brother like I failed my dad.” Hyland was treated with dialysis after her body started to reject her father’s kidney two years ago. During her treatment, it was established that her brother, who said he “had her back”, was a match. She said that going through “26 years of always being a burden” because of her health issues made her feel “really helpless”, but that she was now “stable”. Hyland also suffers with endometriosis, a chronic condition where tissue that lines the womb is found in other parts of the body, often resulting in intense pain. Last year, the actress was criticised about her appearance, with some fans suggesting that a photo posted on Instagram made it look as though she was promoting anorexia. “I’m here to say that no-one should aim to be the weight that I am right now,” she responded on Twitter at the time, adding: “I’m not in control of what my body looks like.” “I was born with so many health issues that doctors told my mother I would never have a normal life.” 

On This Day

  • 1653 – English Interregnum: The Protectorate: Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.  
  • 1773 – American Revolution: Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbour as a protest against the Tea Act.  
  • 1901 – Beatrix Potter privately publishes The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It goes on to sell over 45 million copies worldwide.   
  • 1920 – The Haiyuan earthquake of 8.5Mw , rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000.  
  • 1937 – Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Miranda Otto (51), Krysten Ritter (37), Billy Gibbons (69), Christopher Biggins (70), Benny Andersson (72), Charlie Cox (36), Don Johnson (69), Helen Slater (55), Garrett Wang (50), Alex Cox (64), Vanessa Hudgens (30), Natascha McElhone (49), Miranda Hart (46), Ted Raimi (53), Vicki Michelle (68), Dick Van Dyke (93), Jamie Foxx (51), Christopher Plummer (89), Steve Buscemi (61), Taylor Swift (29), Robert Lindsay (69), Jennifer Connelly (48), Mädchen Amick (48), Bill Nighy (69), Sarah Douglas (66), Kenneth Cranham (74), Connie Francis (80), Dionne Warwick (78), Kenneth Branagh (58), Kirk Douglas (102), John Malkovich (65), Judi Dench (84), Michael Dorn (66), Beau Bridges (77) and Donny Osmond (61).


Dead Pool 9th December 2018

Not a good week to be a wrestler, but then again, when is? No points to be awarded this week but plenty read up on. I hope you’ve all been working on your lists for 2019 as I am now officially opening the gates for your submissions. You can either email them to me directly on mail@thedeadpool.rip or fill in the online form on the website. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Canada’s Adonis Stevenson is in a “critical condition” in hospital after losing his WBC and lineal light-heavyweight titles to Ukrainian Oleksandr Gvozdyk in Quebec City. Stevenson, 41, who was boxing’s oldest and longest-reigning champion, suffered an 11th-round knockout, slumping in the corner after a flurry of punches. He was put on a stretcher, before being taken to hospital by ambulance. Stevenson’s promoter Yvon Michel said his boxer was in intensive care. Unbeaten Gvozdyk, 31, told a news conference on Saturday night: “I talked to the people at the hospital. He was very confused when he arrived, we suspect a concussion. It’s very disturbing.” On Sunday, Michel tweeted his thanks on behalf of Stevenson’s wife and family: “Thank you for your many messages of encouragement and support. #Superman is currently under careful medical supervision of very competent doctors in a controlled environment. #hope.”    

An inmate in the US state of Tennessee has been executed by electric chair after arguing that a lethal injection would involve suffering. David Earl Miller, who spent 36 years on death row, was the latest of an increasing number of inmates attempting to avoid lethal injection following several botched executions. Another Tennessee inmate, Edmund Zagorski, was electrocuted last month. Lethal injection is the state’s main method of execution. However, Tennessee inmates on death row whose crimes were committed before 1999 are allowed to choose electrocution instead. Miller was pronounced dead at 19:25 local time on Thursday at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Tennessee department of correction spokesman Tylee Tracer said that Miller’s last words were: “Beats being on death row.” Miller was found guilty of killing a 23-year-old mentally ill woman in 1981. In court, both Miller and Zagorski had cited the August execution of Billy Ray Irick, who turned purple and took 20 minutes to die! It follows a series of executions using different combinations of drug where prisoners have appeared to suffer. The US constitution bans cruel and unusual punishments, yet allows the electric chair? Zagorski’s execution was the second time the state’s electric chair had been used since 1960. In neighbouring Alabama, more than 50 inmates have chosen to be killed in the nitrogen gas chamber rather than be given a lethal injection after being given the option earlier this year.    

A woman who sat on her boyfriend and suffocated him to death during a drunken rage is facing nearly four decades in prison after she admitted to his murder. Windi Thomas stabbed Keeno Butler in the hand with a knife and battered him with a table leg before she smothered him with her body at their home in Erie, Pennsylvania. The 44-year-old pleaded guilty to the third-degree murder although her lawyers argued the she killed Mr Butler by mistake after collapsing on top of him while drunk. Mr Butler’s death was ruled homicide caused by “respiratory insufficiency secondary to blunt force trauma to the neck and thoracic compression, exacerbated by blunt force trauma to the head.” After killing the 44-year-old in March, the court heard that Thomas dialled police and told a dispatcher: “I killed my boyfriend.” After arriving at property, investigators found a table leg with bolts protruding covered with blood. She told police that she had been drinking and looking to purchase crack cocaine. 

On This Day

  • 1892 – English soccer club Newcastle United is founded  
  • 1960 – The first episode of Coronation Street, the world’s longest-running television soap opera, is broadcast in the United Kingdom.  
  • 1979 – The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first of only two diseases that have been driven to extinction (rinderpest in 2011 being the other).  
  • 1996 – Gwen Jacob is acquitted of committing an indecent act, giving women the right to be topless in Ontario, Canada.  

Deaths

  • 1048 – Al-Biruni, Persian mathematician (b. 973)
  • 2012 – Patrick Moore, English lieutenant, astronomer, and educator (b. 1923)   
  • 2012 – Norman Joseph Woodland, American inventor, co-created the bar code (b. 1921)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kim Basinger (65), Teri Hatcher (54), Nicki Minaj (36), Dominic Monaghan (42), C. Thomas Howell (52), Kristofer Hivju (40), Ellen Burstyn (86), Tom Hulce (65), JoBeth Williams  (70), Noel Clarke (43), Nick Park (60), Frankie Muniz (33), Little Richard (86), Marisa Tomei (54), Jeff Bridges (69), Tyra Banks (45), Tony Todd (64), Pamela Stephenson (69), Jay Z (49), Amanda Seyfried (33), Brendan Fraser (50), Julianne Moore (58), Daryl Hannah (58), Jean-Luc Godard (88), Ozzy Osbourne (70), Lucy Liu (50), Britney Spears (37) and Connie Booth (78).


Dead Pool 2nd December 2018

A points extravaganza!!! With the sad passing of George  H.W. Bush, twelve of us have scored! Well done to Paula, Jemm, Debbie, Julia, Christine, Sarai, Doug, Mark, Nick, Laura and Julie who all score 56 points, but an extra gold star to Paul G. for scoring 156 points by having Bush down as his Cert. With only this month left to go, the top end of the table looks quite static as they’ve already scored with their Cert & Woman and just below them are a few of you who have yet to score your big points, who knows what will happen!! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Fernando LaFuente says he has been “watching my own death” after a club he had played for reported he had died. When Ballybrack FC told the Leinster Senior League that LaFuente had died in a traffic accident, one of their matches was postponed and others were preceded by a minute’s silence. The club has apologised and the league has started an investigation. “My work started sending me all these news articles – that’s how I found out I was dead,” LaFuente told RTE Radio. The Spaniard, who has moved to Galway and no longer plays for Ballybrack, said the club contacted him last week to let him know he may hear reports he had been involved in an accident. He added: “I was aware there was going to be some story on me but I thought it was going to be me breaking a leg or something like that. LaFuente acknowledged the idea of a man in his 20s “with his whole life in front of him” dying in a car accident was “sad” but added: “It’s funny for me because I’ve been watching my own death.” Ballybrack’s game against Arklow Town was called off following their announcement, and the league placed a death notice in an Irish newspaper offering its “heartfelt condolences” to his family and the club. LaFuente said: “I have a really good relationship with the club. As soon as I heard the news, I wrote to them. They got straight back to me and told me what was going on and they apologised. “I had to call my mum straight away and she basically didn’t know anything. She saw this morning my photo on all the newspapers. I haven’t spoken with her yet because she didn’t answer any of the messages I sent.” League chairman David Moran told us the club’s secretary had resigned on Tuesday.  

A British rower is in a coma in a US hospital after falling down some stairs. Anna Thornton was hurt in the fall earlier this month in Seattle, Washington, where she is studying. British Rowing confirmed she was in a “stable but serious condition” and are supporting her and her family. The 21-year-old, from Nottingham, defended her double scull title at the World Under 23 Championships in July. In a statement, the University of Washington said: “We have been closely monitoring the condition of Anna Thornton, a member of the UW women’s rowing programme who is in a stable but serious condition with injuries resulting from an accident earlier this month. “At this time our focus is on supporting her, her family and teammates in any way possible. Anna’s family has requested for their privacy to be respected at this time.” Miss Thornton started rowing at the Nottingham Rowing Club at the age of 12 and represented Team GB Juniors at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. She is currently in her third year of studying public health at the University of Washington. The statement from British Rowing added: “At this time our focus is on supporting her and her family in any way possible.”  

A multimillionaire farmer died after his dog hit a lever inside the cab of his tractor, putting the vehicle in motion and crushing him as he was building a rookery, an inquest has heard. Entrepreneur Derek Mead left the JCB farm loader with the engine running and with the animal inside, as he worked on the structure in his garden. The father-of-three was crushed against a gate and suffered a fractured vertebrae and traumatic asphyxia in the accident on 4th June 2017. He was found by his son who called the emergency services. Paramedics tried to save him but he died at the scene. It is thought the small dog may have jumped up to see where the 70-year-old was, and hit the lever, which was apparently as easy to turn on as a car indicator, putting the vehicle into motion, the inquest at Flax Bourton, Bristol, heard. Son Alistair, who cried throughout the one-hour hearing, found Mr Mead trapped against the gate and unresponsive. In a statement read at the inquest, he said: “Dad was crouched down facing the machine with his back to the gate as if he had seen the machine coming towards him and ducked to avoid it.” Summing up, assistant coroner Dr Peter Harrowing said: “Mr Mead was very experienced in using the piece of equipment. “The most likely explanation is that the dog inadvertently moved the shuttle lever, causing Mr Mead to be trapped against the gate. “The death of Mr Derek Mead was one of a very tragic accident.” 

On This Day

  • 1697 – St Paul’s Cathedral is consecrated in London.  
  • 1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.  
  • 1999 – The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive following the Good Friday Agreement.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Sarah Silverman (48), Woody Allen (83), Deep Roy (61), Bette Midler (73), Ben Stiller (53), Ridley Scott (81), Mandy Patinkin (66), Billy Idol (63), Gemma Chan (36), Joel Coen (64), Don Cheadle (54), Diane Ladd (83), Gena Lee Nolin (47), Karen Gillan (31), Judd Nelson (59), Ed Harris (68), Martin Clunes (57), Jon Stewart (56), Armando Iannucci (55), William Fichtner (62), Sharlto Copley (45), Kathryn Bigelow (67), Robin Givens (54), Bill Nye (63), Rita Ora (28), Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (30), Kristin Bauer van Straten (52), Tina Turner (79), DJ Khaled (43), Christina Applegate (47), John Larroquette (71) and Bruno Tonioli (63).


Dead Pool 25th November 2018

Welcome all, to a strangely historical deadly day, where the Earth itself has tried to kill more people than people have. Normally we’d find one or two deadly earthquakes per day, but the 25th of November seems to have fuckloads of disasters listed, so make sure you stay inside! With just over FIVE weeks to go, it’s probably time for you to start researching next years list.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Zimbabwe’s former President Mugabe, 94, is unable to walk because of ill health, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said. Mr Mugabe has been in Singapore for treatment for an undisclosed illness for the past two months, he added. The former president also made several medical trips there towards the end of his time in power. Mr Mnangagwa became head of state a year ago after Mr Mugabe was ousted following the intervention of the army. Up to that point, Mr Mugabe was the only president Zimbabwe had known, having been in power for 37 years. President Mnangagwa was addressing a rally in his predecessor’s home area when he talked about the former leader’s health. “He is now old. Of course, he now is unable to walk but whatever he asks for we will provide,” the AFP news agency quotes him as saying. When Mr Mugabe was in power officials said he was being treated for eye problems, denying rumours that he had cancer. Despite being unable to walk, Mr Mnangagwa said the former leader was feeling better and would be back in the country next week. Unsurprisingly, the government is paying for Mr Mugabe’s treatment.      

A woman allegedly killed her boyfriend and served his remains in traditional dish, police in the United Arab Emirates have said. The alleged victim’s brother was visiting the suspect to ask about his sibling when he spotted a tooth in her blender, prosecutors say. Although she told him they had broken up, his suspicions were aroused and he called in the police. At first the woman denied involvement but then broke down and said that she had killed him during a “moment of insanity” They added that the Moroccan native also claimed that she had supported the victim during their seven-year relationship, and then he told her that he was going to marry someone else in her homeland. It is then alleged that she butchered his body and minced it in a blender. She reportedly told investigators that she used the meat to cook machboos, a dish made from rice, spices, and typically, lamb, not human. She is then alleged to have served this to a group of construction workers nearby in order to get rid of the evidence. The leftovers were fed to neighbourhood dogs. The suspect allegedly asked a friend for help to clean the house. While she noticed the bloodstains, the friend is not thought to have witnessed the crime. Investigators did not offer details on how she carried out the killing, but they said that the woman faces a court date once the investigation is complete.

On This Day

  • 1667 – A deadly earthquake rocks Shemakha in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people.  
  • 1759 – An earthquake hits the Mediterranean destroying Beirut and Damascus and killing 30,000-40,000.  
  • 1833 – A massive undersea earthquake, estimated magnitude between 8.7-9.2, rocks Sumatra, producing a massive tsunami all along the Indonesian coast.
  • 1839 – A cyclone slams India with high winds and a 40-foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (which has never been completely rebuilt). The storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000 ships and thousands of people. An estimated 300,000 deaths result from the disaster.   
  • 1926 – The deadliest November tornado outbreak in U.S. history kills 76 people and injures more than 400.  
  • 1950 – The Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950 impacts 22 American states, killing 353 people, injuring over 160, and causing $66.7 million in damages.  
  • 1984 – Thirty-six top musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio and record Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.  
  • 1987 – Typhoon Nina pummels the Philippines with category 5 winds of 165 mph and a surge that destroys entire villages. At least 1,036 deaths are attributed to the storm. 
  • 1996 – An ice storm strikes the central U.S., killing 26 people. A powerful windstorm affects Florida and winds gust over 90 mph, toppling trees and flipping trailers.  
  • 2000 – The 2000 Baku earthquake, with a Richter magnitude of 7.0, leaves 26 people dead in Baku, Azerbaijan, and becomes the strongest earthquake in the region in 158 years.  
  • 2008 – Cyclone Nisha strikes northern Sri Lanka, killing 15 people and displacing 90,000 others while dealing the region the highest rainfall in nine decades.  
  • 2009 – Jeddah floods: Freak rains swamp the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during an ongoing Hajj pilgrimage. Three thousand cars are swept away and 122 people perish in the torrents, with 350 others missing.

Deaths

Cunt of the Week

An American man who was killed by tribespeople on a remote Indian island said he was travelling there to “declare Jesus to these people”. In a letter to his family in the days before his death, missionary and adventurer John Allen Chau said they “might think I’m crazy”, but that he was willing to risk death to try and convert the people of North Sentinel island to Christianity, even though he didn’t speak their language. Also, what Chau might not have considered is that the Sentinelese are rather quite happy not knowing about Jesus. It is illegal for anyone to travel to the small island, part of the Andaman and Nicobar chain which sits in the Bay of Bengal and is administrated by India. Members of the Sentinelese tribe have resisted contact with the outside world for generations and are known to attack outsiders with bows and arrows. Initial reports of Mr Chau’s death described him as an adventure tourist, and police told journalists it was “a case of misdirected adventure”.  But in his letter and journals Mr Chau makes clear that his primary motivation for visiting North Sentinel was that of a Christian missionary. Describing his first encounter with the tribe Mr Chau wrote that he kayaked to shore and was met by a group of young people carrying bows and arrows. “I hollered, ‘My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you,’” he wrote. One of the young Sentinelese shot at him and the arrow pierced a copy of the Bible he was carrying. As you can see, God did try to intervene to save his life, but the stupid cunt persevered. He returned to the island the next day, 16th November. On the morning of 17th November, the fishermen watched from the boat as members of the tribe dragged Mr Chau’s body along the beach and buried him, police said. It is unclear whether the authorities will risk further conflict with the Sentinelese by travelling to the island to recover Mr Chau’s remains. In Mr Chau’s journals from his final days at North Sentinel, according to the Washington Post, he makes clear just how aware he was of the potentially deadly outcome of visiting the Sentinelese. “I don’t want to die!” he wrote. “Would it be wiser to leave and let someone else continue? No. I don’t think so. I still could make it back to the US somehow as it almost seems like certain death to stay here. His letter to his parents begins: “You guys might think I’m crazy in all this but I think it’s worth it to declare Jesus to these people. Survival International estimates that there are around 100 tribespeople living on North Sentinel. They are primarily hunter-gatherers, although they also fish using small canoes, and unlike most of the protected tribes in India have been almost completely isolated from the outside world “for thousands of years, as far as we know”, Ms Grig said. Researchers don’t even know what language they speak, let alone what belief system they follow. “People in the Andamans are appalled anyone would attempt to go there,” she said. “Not only is there an enormous risk to [the visitor’s] life, but it is potentially devastating for the tribe, who will have no resistance to the sorts of diseases you might bring in from outside. We know of Amerindian tribes where 90 per cent have been wiped out on first contact.” A disastrous British colonial expedition to the island in 1880 could explain why the tribe is so hostile to outsiders. The explorers kidnapped two elderly Sentinelese tribespeople and four children, but when the adults quickly became sick and died, the children were immediately returned to the island with “gifts”. “Who knows what devastation sending them back wrought, particularly if they were carrying any pathogens,” Ms Grig said. “It is conjecture, but it may well be part of their history and shared knowledge – that when you have contact with outsiders, many people die. If that’s the case, it is clearly self-defence when they kill someone [like Mr Chau] in this manner.” What is blatantly obvious from what has happened, Darwinism is certainly beating Christianity at this point.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Katherine Heigl (40), Sarah Hyland (28), Stephen Merchant (44), Denise Crosby (61), Billy Connolly (76), Conleth Hill (54), Michelle Gomez (52), Miley Cyrus (26), Kelly Brook (39), Ricky Whittle (37), Scarlett Johansson (34), Jamie Lee Curtis (60), Mark Ruffalo (51), Mads Mikkelsen (53), Terry Gilliam (78), Goldie Hawn (73), Alexander Siddig (53), Björk (53), Carly Rae Jepsen (33), Sean Young (59), Ming-Na Wen (55), Bo Derek (62), Jerry Hardin (89), Adam Driver (35), Jodie Foster (56), Meg Ryan (57), Terry Farrell (55), Robert Beltran (65), Owen Wilson (50), Linda Evans (76), Delroy Lindo (66) and Alan Moore (65).


Dead Pool 18th November 2018

After what seems to have been months without a single point scored, we’ve now have had a glut of deaths and I can finally bestow some points at last! 55 points to Mark, Laura, Lee and Paula for correctly guessing that Stan Lee would die this year! Well done all of you!    

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke and Gerard Butler are among those whose homes have  been damaged or destroyed as two wildfires sweep through California. The singer said she had been left “devastated” after her Malibu home was destroyed in the blaze as California battles one of the most destructive fire’s on state record. “My house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends stand strong. I am grateful for all I have left. Sending so much love and gratitude to the firefighters and LA country Sheriff’s department!” In another tweet, Ms Cyrus shared details of how to donate to various organisations involved in the relief effort. Actor Gerard Butler also took to Twitter to share a picture of the charred remains of his car and home, which were also destroyed in the Malibu fire.  He wrote: “Returned to my house in Malibu after evacuating,” he wrote in the post. “Heartbreaking time across California.” Singer Robin Thicke’s Malibu home also burned down entirely, according to his representative. The 41-year-old singer said on Instagram that he, his girlfriend and his two kids are “safe and surrounded by friends and family” and “thankful to firefighters”. “As we drove to safety, they risked their lives trying to save our home,” Mr Thicke said. Many other celebrities including Orlando Bloom, Alyssa Milano and Lady Gaga were forced to evacuate their homes in southern California. But don’t feel overly sorry for these people, Gerard Butler is worth £30 Million, Robin Thicke has £15 Million and the 25 year old Miley Cyrus is worth a staggering £200 Million.  

David Arquette was bloody, mangled and nearly tortured Friday night in a wrestling match … and there was NOTHING FAKE about it. David was in a ‘deathmatch’ — that’s the name and not really an understatement — at a Game Changer Wrestling event. The actor-turned-wrestler was up against Nick FN Gage and it was just brutal. Gage broke a light tube over Arquette’s head. You see David grab his neck as blood pours from the area. Shockingly, the fight continues. Toward the end, it looks like David gives up, climbing out of the ring, but then the 47-year-old hops back in as he bleeds profusely. Gage stomps on him, but David fires back by smacking Gage with a chair. It didn’t take long … David gets pinned. After the match, David told his fans he needed a few stitches and he was fine. He ended by saying death matches weren’t his thing… 

And finally, a loyal dog which has waited on a busy road for more than 80 days after its owner died there has captured the hearts of online communities in China. Footage of the animal in the middle of the road in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, has been viewed 1.4 million times on the popular Sina Weibo microblog. China’s Pear Video website said the dog has been seen in the road every day since its owner died on 21st August. A taxi driver said people try to help but the dog runs away. “Drivers often give the little dog bits of food, but when we get out, he goes away,” he said. “This owner’s relationship with her dog was very deep. After she was killed, this little dog has just stayed standing guard. “Every day it’s in the road, I always see it. The relationship between man and dog is so true.” 

On This Day

  • 1421 – A seawall at the Zuiderzee dike in the Netherlands breaks, flooding 72 villages and killing about 10,000 people. This event will be known as St Elizabeth’s flood. Sadly they couldn’t find a little boy with a finger that day…   
  • 1928 – Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronised sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the third appearances of cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. This is considered by the Disney corporation to be Mickey’s birthday.    
  • 1963 – The first push-button telephone goes into service.    
  • 1978 – In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple to a mass murder–suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, 909 of them in Jonestown itself, including over 270 children.    
  • 1987 – King’s Cross fire: In London, 31 people die in a fire at the city’s busiest underground station, King’s Cross St Pancras.   
  • 1991 – Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon release Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland.

Deaths

  • 1247 – Robin Hood, heroic outlaw in English folklore (b. 1160)  
  • 1886 – Chester A. Arthur, American general, lawyer, and politician, 21st President of the United States (b. 1829)  
  • 1962 – Niels Bohr, Danish footballer, physicist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)   
  • 2002 – James Coburn, American actor (b. 1928)   
  • 2015 – Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1975)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Rachel McAdams (40), Martin Scorsese (76), Tom Ellis (40), Danny DeVito (74), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (60), RuPaul (58), Jonathan Ross (58), Maggie Gyllenhaal (41), Missi Pyle (46), Martha Plimpton (48), Gemma Atkinson (34), Gigi Edgley (41), Mark Benton (53), Beverly D’Angelo (67), Jonny Lee Miller (46), Petula Clark (86), Sandahl Bergman (67), Paul McGann (59), Prince Charles (70), Gerard Butler (49), Whoopi Goldberg (63), Jimmy Kimmel (51), Ryan Gosling (38), Anne Hathaway (36), Gustaf Skarsgård (38), Wallace Shawn (75), Neil Young (73), Leonardo DiCaprio (44), Demi Moore (56), Calista Flockhart (54) and June Whitfield (93).


Dead Pool 11th November 2018

After unleashing the evil flying monkeys last week, I was expecting a deluge of celebrity deaths. You could see that the flying beasts were trying their best after the massive blaze in Malibu left many superstars running for their lives, alas none perished, not even Jaden Smith. What mostly rubbed salt into the wound was that whilst they were busy trying to barbecue Lady GaGa, they totally ignored everyone else! The following list is the poorest I have ever seen since starting our Dead Pool in 1994. In fact, you can’t even call it a list, it is just one name. Oh my days! I might have to make a pact with a crossroads demon to kick things off again…. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

The murderer of schoolgirl Sarah Payne has been attacked in his cell at a top security prison. Eight-year-old Sarah Payne was snatched and killed by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting in West Sussex in 2000. Whiting, now 59, was found guilty in 2001 of her abduction and murder and will serve a minimum of 40 years. The Sun newspaper said he was taken to hospital after being “stabbed by two convicted murderers with makeshift blades” at HMP Wakefield. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “A prisoner at HMP Wakefield was attacked on Thursday evening and received hospital treatment. “The prisoner is back in prison in a stable condition and the incident is being investigated by police.” In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said it was called to the prison at about 19:15 GMT on Thursday to a report a prisoner had been assaulted. It said the injuries “were not life threatening” and an investigation was taking place. Upon conviction in 2001, the trial judge, Mr Justice Richard Curtis, said he believed Whiting was “an evil man” and “a cunning and glib liar”. In July 2011, Whiting was stabbed in the eyes at Wakefield jail by fellow inmate, convicted murderer Gary Vinter. In 2002, Whiting was attacked with a razor blade by fellow Wakefield inmate Rickie Tregaskis. Let’s hope someone else has a go.    

John McCririck health update: The star, who recently shed three-stone due to a severe bout to flu, said he now feels like a “dinosaur” following his job loss. “You’re a lost soul wandering around an environment you’re no longer part of,” he told us. He continued: “Life is empty. I don’t expect to be alive this time next year. It’s a question of slipping away. “I’ve prepared the Booby [his wife, Jenny] for it. When I’m gone she knows exactly what to do and she’ll be fine.” John recently revealed he has been suffering for much of the year with a chest infection but doctors are unsure of the cause. Earlier this month, John shocked viewers on Big Brother’s Bit On The Side as he displayed a noticeably thinner frame. After fans commented on his “frail and gaunt” appearance, John revealed he had been ill with the flu. John revealed his flu battle left him unable to speak for three months, one wishes he still had the flu.  

And finally, a tale warning to young men out there. Sam Ballard, an Australian man who was paralysed after eating a slug, has died at the age of 28. The promising rugby player was only 19-years-old when he swallowed the slug as a dare and became infected by a rare parasitic infection. A student at Barker College, He swallowed the mollusc at a party in Sydney in 2010. He was taken to hospital after spells of dizziness and vomiting. He was found to have been infected with rat lungworm, a parasite normally found in rats but also sometimes in snails and slugs. The teenager then contracted eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, a form of meningitis, and lapsed into a coma for 420 days before doctors revived him. But when he woke he was diagnosed with a serious brain injury. Further complications from the original infection left him paralysed and in need of constant care. “Sam was 19, and in a single night, his life had changed forever,” wrote a news reporter on Monday. “While doctors had managed to save him in time, he was now confined to a wheelchair, with limited communication skills, and needing 24 hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week care.” “His friends have stuck by him ever since. On Friday, Sam passed away, surrounded by his family and loyal, loving mates.” His mother Katie Ballard previously said she did not blame the friends who dared her son at the 2010 party. Remember kids, it’s not just drugs and guns that kill, it’s slugs too! 

On This Day

  • 1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged at Melbourne Gaol.  
  • 1918 – World War I: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car in the forest of Compiègne.   
  • 1923 – Adolf Hitler was arrested in Munich for high treason for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch.   

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Taron Egerton (29), Hugh Bonneville (55), Neil Gaiman (58), Ennio Morricone (90), Tracy Morgan (50), Lou Ferrigno (67), Robert Duncan McNeill (54), Tara Reid (43), Matthew Rhys (44), Gretchen Mol (46), Richard Curtis (62), Gordon Ramsay (52), Jack Osbourne (33), Emma Stone (30), Sally Field (72), Thandie Newton (46), Ethan Hawke (48), Rebecca Romijn (46), Lori Singer (61), Nigel Havers (67), Tilda Swinton (58), Sam Rockwell (50), Famke Janssen (54), Robert Patrick (60), Sam Shepard (73), Tatum O’Neal (55), Tamzin Outhwaite (48), Armin Shimerman (69), Elke Sommer (78), Chris Addison (47), Art Garfunkel (77), Bryan Adams (59), Matthew McConaughey (49), Olivia Taylor Dudley (33), Ralph Macchio (57) and Loretta Swit (81).


Dead Pool 4th November 2016

I’d forgive you if you have never heard of any of this weeks deaths before now, we seem to have hit a polar opposite of last year where it seemed that anyone who was someone was dying. Time to free the Evil Flying Monkeys I feel….    

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 60, Thai duty-free retailer (King Power) and football club owner (Leicester City), helicopter crash.  
  • Whitey Bulger, 89, American gangster (Winter Hill Gang) and convicted murderer, beaten.  
  • Sir Jeremy Heywood, 56, British civil servant, Cabinet Secretary (2012–2018), cancer.

In Other News

Ex-Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown is being treated for bladder cancer. The former MP  for Yeovil told us that he had been diagnosed three weeks ago and while the outcome was “unpredictable” he had “complete confidence” in the care he was getting at the Somerset town’s hospital. The ex-marine commando led the party between 1988 and 1999, during which it became a growing force in UK politics. “I’ve fought a lot of battles in my life,” he told the website. “This time I am lucky enough to have the magnificent help of our local hospital, and my friends and family, and that gives me great confidence”. Later, he tweeted that he had been “moved” by people’s reactions, but it “did not merit a fuss”. The longest serving leader of the Lib Dems in its history, the 77-year old peer remains an influential figure within the party. 

Actor Charles Lawson, best known as Jim McDonald on Coronation Street, has said he was diagnosed with exhaustion before suffering a mini-stroke on stage. A doctor asked him whether he would consider pulling out of playing Ian Rankin’s  detective Rebus, he said. But Lawson responded that he would “feel like a chicken” if he did. He went on to have the stroke mid-show in Edinburgh this month. “I knew I hadn’t a clue what was happening, and then it just all went black,” he said. Lawson is now back on tour in Rebus – Long Shadows with co-stars Cathy Tyson and John Stahl, and told BBC Breakfast he feels “very well”. He told viewers who may be in a similar position to “listen to your alarm bells”. “I didn’t sleep properly for a month,” Lawson said. “I lost a stone. [On] press night we opened and everything was fine and all reviews were good.” Lawson said: “First night in Edinburgh. Packed house. Second half, Cathy, John and myself were on stage. There’s a 35-page scene, the climax of the piece, and I was looking at John and I was aware very quickly something was wrong. “I went deaf. The colour changed – my vision changed.” He said he could hardly see Tyson, and thought Stahl was messing about by reciting lines from a different play. “I remember feeling annoyed,” he said. “And I remember moving to where I should have been, and there was a piece of me that knew something was wrong. “And then big John just put his arm around me and said, ‘Come on big lad, off you go’.” Lawson went backstage and said he felt fine within 20 minutes, but scans the following day revealed the transient ischemic attack (TIA) – or mini-stroke. 

Although not famous enough for our purposes, Mario Segale, the man after whom video game hero Super Mario was named, has died aged 84. Mr Segale was a successful Italian-American property developer from the US state of Washington. In the 1980s, he leased a warehouse to Nintendo of America who decided to name the star of their new video game after him. Mr Segale joked to the Seattle Times in 1993 that he was “still waiting for my royalty cheques”. Super Mario was originally called Jumpman until Nintendo decided it wanted to give the character a proper name. Mr Segale said it was Minoru Arakawa, who had been tasked with setting up Nintendo of America, who told him the video game hero carried his name. The Mario series is often cited as the most successful video games franchise of all time.

On This Day

  • 1839 – Newport Rising: The last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain.  
  • 1922 – In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to Tutankhamun‘s tomb in the Valley of the Kings.  
  • 1960 – At the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanzania, Dr Jane Goodall observes chimpanzees creating tools, the first-ever observation in non-human animals.  
  • 2008 – Barack Obama becomes the first person of biracial or African-American descent to be elected President of the United States.

Deaths

  • 1995 – Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli general and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1922)   
  • 1995 – Paul Eddington, English actor (b. 1927)  
  • 2008 – Michael Crichton, American physician, author, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)

Last Meals

A convicted double murderer has been executed by electrocution in Tennessee – the first man in the state to be killed that way since 2007. The Supreme Court turned down the last minute appeals of Edmund Zagorski, 63, without comment. Asked if he had any last words in the death chamber, the inmate said “Let’s rock” shortly before the execution was carried out. Zagorski had asked for the electric chair over lethal injection believing it would be a quicker and less painful way to die. Zagorski was pronounced dead at 7:26pm on Thursday at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. For his last meal, Zagorski chose pickled pig knuckles and pig tails. Death row inmates are allowed $20 for a special meal before they’re executed. Zagorski was convicted of the killing of two men during a drug deal. Prosecutors said Zagorski shot John Dotson and Jimmy Porter and then cut their throats after robbing them. The two men had come to him to buy a large amount of marijuana.  

Last Week’s Birthdays

Dolph Lundgren (61), Kate Capshaw (65), Tom Savini (72), Dylan Moran (47), Anna Wintour (69), David Schwimmer (52), Stefanie Powers (76), Toni Collette (46), Jenny McCarthy (46), Anthony Kiedis (56), Peter Jackson (57), Willow Smith (18), Stephen Rea (72), Michael J. Anderson (65), Vanilla Ice (51), Clémence Poésy (36), Henry Winkler (73), Jessica Hynes (46), Juliet Stevenson (62), Ivanka Trump (37), Winona Ryder (47), Ben Foster (38), Rufus Sewell (51), Richard Dreyfuss (71) and Dan Castellaneta (61).


Dead Pool 28th October 2018

Afternoon Poolers. Not a lot to report this week, a dearth of deaths means a paucity of points. However, if a few pipe bombs would have worked, we would have had a bonanza week!    

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Gilberto Benetton, 77, Italian businessman, co-founder of Benetton Group, pneumonia.  
  • James Karen, 94, American actor (Poltergeist, The Return of the Living Dead, Nixon), cardiorespiratory arrest.  
  • Mighty Shadow, 77, Trinidadian calypsonian, stroke.

In Other News

Former England manager and Tottenham midfielder Glenn Hoddle remains in a “serious  condition” in hospital after suffering a heart attack on Saturday. Hoddle, who is “responding well to treatment”, collapsed after appearing on BT Sport on his 61st birthday.  The station’s Saturday afternoon football results show was cancelled as a result. Hoddle earned 53 England caps and was considered one of the best players of his generation. A spokesman for Hoddle said: “The family are grateful to everyone in the football family – and beyond – that have sent kind messages of support. They are very much appreciated. In particular, Glenn and his family would like to publicly thank the BT Sport staff that treated him immediately on set following his collapse. Glenn is now in the care of the professional NHS medical services, who have also been exemplary in helping him and the family during the last 24 hours. Doctors have advised the most important thing for Glenn is time to rest. Therefore, his family have reiterated the request for their privacy to be respected during this period.”   

 WWE champion Roman Reigns has revealed that he is suffering from leukaemia. The 33-year-old, real name Leati Joseph Anoaʻi, publicly revealed live on Raw that he was first diagnosed with the disease 11 years ago, having been in remission as he rose to the top of the WWE. But in an emotional address on Monday night, Reigns revealed that his leukaemia had returned. “Y’all have made my dreams come true,” Reigns said to the crowd. “It didn’t matter if you cheered me or you booed me, you’ve always reacted to me and that’s the most important thing and for that I have to say thank you so much.” He also stressed that his address “wasn’t a retirement speech”, but confirmed that he will need to take a leave of absence to undergo treatment and, as a result, was relinquishing his WWE Universal Championship title. “When I do [return] it’s not going to be just about titles or being on top. It’s about a purpose,” he added. “I will beat this and I will be back so you will see me very, very soon.” The announcement left fans and viewers stunned given that Reigns had never spoken of his illness publicly before, and it triggered an outpouring of emotion from his colleagues, with his former Shield partners Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose appearing on stage to embrace him after his announcement.  

And finally, a game ranger who was shot through the mouth with an arrow pursued his attacker for almost an hour, with the shaft clenched between his teeth. William Hofmeyr, 51, was on patrol at Olarro Conservancy, Kenya, when he saw a Maasai warrior sleeping under a tree. As he woke up the man to warn him of a hungry pride of lions nearby, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his mouth where an arrow had hit him. The arrowhead sliced through his right cheek and back out of his open mouth, causing it to fill with blood. Unable to call for help on his radio, he ran back to his car and drove after his attacker through the conservancy. “It was painful, but I spent a lot of time in the military and in the police, so my first instinct was to go after him,’’ Mr Hofmeyr told The Herald newspaper. “I’ve been shot before, it happens.” Mr Hofmeyr said he fired two warning shots from his rifle, which led his attacker to flee. “He came after me and I ran to my car but couldn’t easily open the driver’s side because the arrow shaft was hooking on everything. I had to fire warning shots with my left hand and he ran off.” Mr Hofmeyr said the arrow was sticking out of the window of the car and kept hitting against the bushes he was driving through. “To stop the arrow flapping about I had to bite down on the shaft – it may sound like something out of Rambo but I was bloody angry and upset he shot me.” After chasing his attacker for almost an hour, the ranger lost his tracks and drove to a nearby clinic, where staff were unable to remove the arrow from his mouth. Eventually he removed it himself by pulling the tip out through his mouth followed by the shaft.  Police said they were investigating but that the man’s tracks were disturbed by elephants. 

On This Day

  • 1492 – Christopher Columbus lands in Cuba on his first voyage to the New World.  
  • 1726 – The novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is published.   
  • 1929 – Black Monday, a day in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which also saw major stock market upheaval.  
  • 1995 – 289 people are killed and 265 injured in Baku Metro fire, the deadliest subway disaster in history.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Joaquin Phoenix (44), Julia Roberts (51), Matt Smith (36), Gwendoline Christie (40), Annie Potts (66), Bill Gates (63), John Cleese (79), James Cosmo (71), Robert Picardo (65), Cary Elwes (56), Seth MacFarlane (45), Jon Heder (41), Roger Allam (65), Hillary Clinton (71), Katy Perry (34), Nancy Cartwright (61), Glynis Barber (63), Kevin Kline (71), F. Murray Abraham (79), Drake (32), Emilia Clarke (32), Ryan Reynolds (42), Sam Raimi (59), ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic (59), Cat Deeley (42), Jeff Goldblum (66), Bob Odenkirk (56), Christopher Lloyd (80), Catherine Deneuve (75), Derek Jacobi (80), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (43), Ken Watanabe (59) and Everett McGill (73).


Dead Pool 14th/21st October 2018

Firstly let me apologise for the lack of a weekly newsletter last week, life got in the way and to be fair, not many famous people died over the last fortnight. However, we now have a bumper two week edition full of facts and news. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

John McCririck, 78, sparked serious health concerns last week when he appeared on Bit On The Side. John, who presented on Channel 4 racing for over 30 years, began: “I’m getting better. I couldn’t speak for about three months. It really was awful.” The telly personality was struck down with the flu back in January. He added: “I’m recovering, but only slowly. “I’m not well. I’m never going to fully recover because age has taken over.” John urged audiences to “set yourself a target that you will reach. Have an aim, an ambition, a drive.” The former CBB housemate, who appeared in the 2005 series, said being sacked from Channel 4 contributed to his poor health. “I wake up in the morning now and I have no purpose in life,” he admitted. “I’ve worked over 50 years in my life. Work comes first, because you can’t look after your family if you’re not working. “You feel you’re lacking something.” Viewers were gobsmacked by John’s telly appearance and rushed to Twitter worried. One person tweeted: “It’s so sad when you see a usually strapping old man fade to virtually nothing! Wishing John well.” “This John McCririck interview is really uncomfortable. He’s speaking so incoherently,” said another. We’ll give him three months….       

Bill Turnbull has described dealing with cancer every day as “relentlessly boring” and admitted he asked doctors to stop his “unbearable” chemotherapy. The former BBC Breakfast anchor, who’s now a presenter on Classic FM, said: “I just couldn’t bear it any longer.” After that round of chemo in July – his eighth – he went on to have one more. Turnbull said he coped with the “bad phases” of chemo by watching “lots” of TV, including all 67 episodes of Game of Thrones. The broadcaster, who was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer in November 2017. “It’s the fact that having cancer is so relentlessly boring. You go to bed at night thinking about it, and it’s still there when you wake up. “It’s there all day, every day – a fact of life you have to get used to. And it’s a massive pain in the backside.” Turnbull, whose cancer has spread to the bone – across his pelvis, hips, legs and spine – said of chemo: “Each round felt worse.” He lost his sense of taste, and some days could only cope by lying down to wait “for the feeling of crushing fatigue and nausea to pass”. By round six, “it felt as if the chemo was now taking on a life of its own, like some malevolent gremlin”. Turnbull said the disease has stopped spreading but “hasn’t been beaten back entirely”, adding: “We’re at a stalemate.” He said: “I’m still optimistic about hanging around for some time yet.”  

Selma Blair has revealed she has multiple sclerosis (MS). The 46-year-old actor shared the news with fans on Saturday, explaining how she had been diagnosed with the lifelong condition, which affects the brain and the spinal cord, in August. Writing on Instagram, Blair said that despite only just being diagnosed, she has been experiencing symptoms for years, leading her to believe she might’ve had the disease for more than a decade. The Cruel Intentions star begins the candid post by recalling a recent wardrobe fitting for Another Life, the 10-part Netflix series she is currently filming for, explaining how she has the “deepest gratitude” for the show’s costume designer, Allisa Swanson, for helping her into her clothes. “She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself,” Blair writes. “I have Multiple Sclerosis. I am in an exacerbation.” She goes on to thank the producers at Netflix for their compassion before illustrating how the disease is beginning to have an adverse effect on her daily existence. “I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken GPS.” MS is an incurable condition that disrupts the central nervous system and can cause a number of physically debilitating symptoms, including blurred vision, difficulty walking, muscle spasms and fatigue. Two months after receiving the initial diagnosis, Blair explains she is now “in the thick” of her illness and feels perpetually exhausted. 

On This Day

  • 14th October
  • 1066 – Norman conquest of England: Battle of Hastings: In England on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings, the Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeat the English army and kill King Harold II of England.  
  • 1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland’s independence.  
  • 1912 – While campaigning in Milwaukee, the former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, is shot and mildly wounded by John Schrank, a mentally-disturbed saloon keeper. With the fresh wound in his chest, and the bullet still within it, Mr. Roosevelt still carries out his scheduled public speech.   
  • 1913 – Senghenydd colliery disaster, the United Kingdom’s worst coal mining accident claims the lives of 439 miners.  
  • 1926 – The children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne, is first published.  
  • 1947 – Captain Chuck Yeager of the United States Air Force flies a Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft, the Glamorous Glennis, faster than the speed of sound at Mach 1.06 (700 miles per hour (1,100 km/h; 610 kn) over the high desert of Southern California and becomes the first pilot and the first airplane to do so in level flight.  
  • 2012 – Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere in the Red Bull Stratos project.
  • 21st October
  • 1854 – Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.  
  • 1879 – Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb.  
  • 1966 – Aberfan disaster: A colliery spoil tip collapses on the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren.  
  • 1983 – The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second, just because… 

Deaths

  • 14th October 
  • 1066 – Harold Godwinson, English king (b. 1022)  
  • 1944 – Erwin Rommel, German field marshal (b. 1891)  
  • 1959 – Errol Flynn, Australian-American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1909)  
  • 1977 – Bing Crosby, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1903)  
  • 1990 – Leonard Bernstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1918)  
  • 2010 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1952)

Last Two Week’s Birthdays

Viggo Mortensen (59), Danny Boyle (61), Snoop Dogg (46), John Lithgow (73), Michael Gambon (78), John le Carré (87), Zac Efron (31), Jean-Claude Van Damme (58), Pam Dawber (67), Paul Chuckle (71), Eminem (46), Mark Gatiss (52), George Wendt (70), Angela Lansbury (93), Tim Robbins (60), Suzanne Somers (72), Peter Bowles (82), Dominic West (49), Sarah Ferguson (59), Steve Coogan (53), Sacha Baron Cohen (47), Paul Simon (77), Chris Carter (62), Hugh Jackman (50), Robin Askwith (68), Michelle Trachtenberg (33), Emily Deschanel (42), Jane Krakowski (50), Joan Cusack (56), Stephen Moyer (49), John Nettles (75), Dawn French (61), Rose McIver (30), Manu Bennett (49), Charles Dance (72), Martin Kemp (57), Guillermo del Toro (54), Brandon Routh (39), Scott Bakula (64), Chris O’Dowd (39), Tony Shalhoub (65), Brian Blessed (82), Sharon Osbourne (66), Kristanna Loken (39), Matt Damon (48), Sigourney Weaver (69), Chevy Chase (75), Paul Hogan (79), Ardal O’Hanlon (53), Bruno Mars (33), Simon Cowell (59), Alesha Dixon (40), Tim Minchin (43), Thom Yorke (50), Britt Ekland (76), Ioan Gruffudd (45), and Bree Olson (32).


Dead Pool 7th October 2018

What a week! Plenty of interesting people kicking the bucket and too many stories to add to this weeks issue! Sadly no points to award and with little under three months to go, it does seem to be a two horse race at the moment, but this game is as cruel as the unbelievers portray it to be, albeit for a different reason, one Cert could change everything!   

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

DJ Mark Radcliffe will be taking time off from his BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music shows to have treatment for cancer. The 60-year-old, who began his BBC career in 1983, revealed  his diagnosis to listeners while presenting The Folk Show on Wednesday 3rd October. “I’m said to say that I’ve got some cancerous tongue and lymph node issues,” he said, adding that he hoped to be back on air in the New Year, “or sooner, if I feel well enough.” “It’s all been caught very early and so everything should be fine,” he reassured fans. On Twitter he added: “All being well I’ll be back in action in the New Year – or sooner if I feel well enough – but I will be back, you can depend on it, I just can’t say exactly when that will be. So you won’t hear from me for a while now and therefore… well… Merry Christmas I guess. Life eh?” Radcliffe confirmed that he would broadcast his Thursday 6 Music show with Stuart Maconie on 4th October, as usual, before taking a break. Ricky Ross will present the Radio 2 Folk Show for the next few weeks.

The German scientist nicknamed Dr Death because of his pioneering work on preserving corpses has asked his wife to plastinate his own body after he himself passes away. Gunther von Hagens told partner Angelina Whalley he then wants his body to be displayed at the entrance to London’s new Body Worlds Museum Experience – where preserved organs, skulls and corpses are all on show in various poses. The 73-year-old, who is suffering with Parkinson’s disease, is the driving force behind the museum, which opens on Saturday. His decision to be among his exhibits when his own time comes is “a finalising [of] his life’s work”, said Dr Whalley. Plastination involves replacing certain body fats and tissues with silicone so the corpse does not deteriorate or smell. It takes a year to complete. Dr Whalley said her husband’s request had left her “stunned”. “Of course, in the very beginning I thought, Gunther, you are kidding me. This is something I would never be able to do,” but she says she slowly came round to the idea. “He said to me: ‘Angelina, you are entitled to freeze me down to -25C for one year, but after that time you really need to put your hands on me because otherwise I will get freeze burn’,” she said. “So I have one year for mourning and then I will have to do it.” She told the newspaper her husband – who wears a trademark fedora – would like his final pose to be a welcoming one, adding he would like to be wearing his much-loved hat. Dr von Hagens – who has toured his Body Worlds exhibits all across the globe – is perhaps best known in the UK for performing the country’s first public human autopsy for 170 years in 2002.      

Actor Ben Affleck has thanked his family after completing yet another stay in rehab for alcohol addiction. The Oscar-winner wrote on Instagram that he had spent 40 days at a treatment centre, and was still in outpatient care. “The support I have received from my family, colleagues and fans means more to me than I can say,” his post read. “It’s given me the strength and support to speak about my illness with others.” Affleck was pictured looking bedraggled in August while being driven to rehab by his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. The actress filed for divorce in April 2017, but the former couple remain close and have three children together. Garner “staged an intervention” after seeing photos of her ex-husband getting an alcohol delivery outside his home. The Batman star’s latest spell in rehab is his third, following stints in 2001 and 2017. “Battling any addiction is a lifelong and difficult struggle,” he wrote on Instagram. “I am fighting for myself and my family.”  

And finally… A hunter is fighting for life after a bear he shot tumbled down a slope and landed on him. Alaska state police said William McCormick, 28, was also struck by a rock dislodged by the bear as it fell on Saturday afternoon. He was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Anchorage, where he was in a critical condition. Mr McCormick and his hunting partner, 19-year-old Zachary Tennyson, are both US army soldiers stationed at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Mr Tennyson was not hurt and alerted authorities by sending a distress signal. Police did not say what kind of bear was shot, how far how it fell, or whether it died. Alaska is home to several species of bear, including an estimated 30,000 brown bears and 100,000 smaller black bears. Nearly 1,500 brown bears are hunted each year in the state but at least this one got its own back. 

On This Day

  • 1959 – U.S.S.R. probe Luna 3 transmits the first ever photographs of the far side of the Moon. 
  • 1988 – An Iñupiat hunter discovers three gray whales trapped under the ice in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, US; the situation becomes a multinational effort to free the whales.
  • 1996 – Fox News Channel begins broadcasting, the birth of fake news.

Deaths

  • 1849 – Edgar Allan Poe, American short story witer, poet, and critic (b. 1809)
  • 1956 – Clarence Birdseye, American businessman, founded Birds Eye (b. 1886)
  • 1959 – Mario Lanza, American tenor and actor (b. 1921)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kate Winslet (43), Guy Pearce (51), Jesse Eisenberg (35), Karen Allen (67), Neil deGrasse Tyson (60), Clive Barker (66), Bob Geldof (67), Dakota Johnson (29), Melissa Benoist (30), Alicia Silverstone (42), Christoph Waltz (62), Susan Sarandon (72), Liev Schreiber (51), Alicia Vikander (30), Seann William Scott (42), Lena Headey (45), Neve Campbell (45), Clive Owen (54), Gwen Stefani (49), Greg Proops (59), Avery Brooks (70), Ian McNeice (68), Sting (67), Brie Larson (29), Julie Andrews (83), Zach Galifianakis (49), Randy Quaid (68), Ioan Gruffudd (45) and Britt Ekland (76).


Dead Pool 30th September 2018

Slightly food related this week, you can blame Nickie for that as she kept sending these awesome stories she found. The highlight of this week is the passing of John Cunliffe, the creator of Postman Pat, we can only assume that Jess the Cat has been re-homed appropriately. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

A judge in Pennsylvania has jailed US comedian Bill Cosby for three to ten years for sexual assault. Cosby, 81, was classified as a “sexually violent predator” and immediately sent to a state prison in Pennsylvania to serve out his three-to-ten sentence for the 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand. (Constand is one of more than 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault.) Other than putting ‘America’s Dad’ on suicide watch, I’m sure we’d all like to know what he had to eat once Big Brenda finished with him. Meals vary depending on the day and the week. For breakfast, Cosby will have access to fruit and cereal every day, as well as milk, coffee and sugar. On Saturdays, on the current rotation, there are pancakes. For lunch and dinner, the menu is more varied. On Mondays, lunch could be a cheese pizza or a garden burger with bread. This coming Monday, the dinner entrees are roast pork or a tofu oat burger. At lunch that day, the prison is serving chocolate pudding, a product Mr. Cosby was associated with as a pitchman for Jell-O. Cosby famously promoted Jell-O products starting in 1974, with his work talking up Jell-O Pudding Pops in 1979 attaining iconic status. Pudding Pops were discontinued in the late ‘90s. Cosby was discontinued in 2018.    

Remember Gladiators? Other that the sexy Jet, no, I don’t either. However, former Gladiator star Cobra has revealed that he can still fit into his iconic leotard – but that his body is now ‘worn out’ and he is preparing to get both hips replaced. ‘I need new hips. I’ve bolts in this shoulder, bolts in that shoulder. I’ve torn my bicep. I’ve torn the bicep on this side. I’ve got arthritis up and down the spine,’ he said. ‘But it’s just like a car, if you do too much. You do too many miles and your parts wear out.’ Cobra, real name Michael Willson, is now 54; he found fame on the ITV Saturday night game show which saw four contestants compete in a series of physical events against the show’s Gladiators. ‘My friends keep telling me I should stop living in the past, let the Gladiator thing go, but I can’t. I keep looking at myself on the Gladiator magazines and albums. I once was on the front of a cereal packet. I’ve even had my own action figure,’ he said. Michael became a household name alongside co-stars Diane Youdale (Jet), Kim Bets (Lightning), Warren Furman (Ace), and Michael Van Wijk (Wolf), but these days he lives in Kent by the coast, crying into his cornflakes each morning. Just goes to show, being a couch potato is probably better for you.  

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more food related, notorious serial killer Rose West has scooped first prize in a prison bake-off competition. West, 64, who was convicted of ten murders in 1995, came up trumps when inmates in F-Wing at HMP Prison Low Newton voted for her Victoria sponge. West, who is serving a life sentence, loves to bake and uses her culinary skills to impress fellow lags. ‘There are some very violent women on the wing and a lot of them are very aggressive towards West because of her crimes. ‘But she tends to defuse situations by offering other prisoners cakes and biscuits.’ West along with her husband Fred raped and murdered their daughter Heather and buried her under their patio – then did the same to nine others. Despite being a sadistic serial killer, West, who is serving a life sentence for her despicable crimes, is allowed to use knives while under staff supervision. West suffers from breathlessness and high blood pressure and has been warned that she must diet or face developing type 2 diabetes or premature death after her weight ballooned to 18 stone. You can send her more sugary treats c/o HM Prison Low Newton, Brasside, Durham, DH1 5YA.

On This Day

  • 1888 – Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.  
  • 1965 – In Indonesia, a coup by the 30 September Movement is crushed, leading to a mass anti-communist purge, with over 500,000 people killed.
  • 1993 – The 6.2 Mw Latur earthquake shakes Maharashtra, India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) killing 9,748 and injuring 30,000.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Erika Eleniak (49), Ian McShane (76), Mackenzie Crook (47), Luke Goss (50), Patricia Hodge (72), Naomi Watts (50), Mira Sorvino (51), Hilary Duff (31), Brigitte Bardot (84), Jeffrey Jones (72), Dita Von Teese (46), Moon Unit Zappa (51), Gwyneth Paltrow (46), Avril Lavigne (34), Meat Loaf (71), Denis Lawson (71), Jim Caviezel (50), Linda Hamilton (62), Olivia Newton-John (70), Lysette Anthony (55), Serena Williams (37), Ricky Tomlinson (79), Will Smith (50), Catherine Zeta-Jones (49), Mark Hamill (67), Michael Douglas (74), Michael Madsen (61), Heather Locklear (57), Felicity Kendal (72), Sven-Ole Thorsen (74), Jack Dee (57), Karl Pilkington (46) and Bruce Springsteen (69).


Dead Pool 23rd September 2018

Let’s begin with awarding Ashley 66 points for correctly guessing that Denis Norden would finally climb that stairway to heaven. Well done that man! Norden used to be a very popular choice at one time, but like most dwindling celebrities, if they ain’t on the TV, people forget them. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Former X Factor contestant Chico Slimani has suffered a stroke. The 47-year-old, who was a popular star on the second series of the show, fell ill on the way back from performing a ‘gig’ at the weekend, which was most likely a singalong down the pub. A statement from his publicist said he was undergoing further tests and asked for privacy for his family. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 series and had a number one in 2006 with It’s Chico Time. He also took part in Dancing on Ice in 2012. He appeared in the Christmas special of Ricky Gervais’s BBC One sitcom Extras in 2007, and also released a fitness DVD. Since then we assume he’s been selling kebabs from a roadside cafe. His publicist Kym Rowlingson said: “This has been a great shock to Chico, his wife and their two children, also his close friends and family. “We thank you in advance for giving Chico and the family some privacy at this time.” Which sort of suggests that nobody has tried to disturb that privacy as of yet…  

Bolton defender Stephen Darby has announced his retirement from football, aged 29, after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). Fully taking upon himself the mantle of Professor Stephen Hawking, Darby stated “I would like to ask for privacy at this time so I can adjust to the battle I have ahead and that I can spend time with those closest to me. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank my team-mates, manager and all the staff at Bolton for their amazing support at what has been an extremely difficult period,” he said. MND is a degenerative condition that affects how nerves in the brain and spinal cord function. There is currently no cure.  

Former EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook has said she will undergo a hysterectomy as she has been diagnosed with cancer of the womb. The actress and reality TV star, whose battle with substance abuse issues has been highly-publicised over the years, said she does not want to die and that she is determined to get better, but that she took cocaine to cope with the news initially. Westbrook, 44, said that her thoughts turned to her late friend Jade Goody, who died in 2009 from cervical cancer. She told Dead Pool Towers: “I’ve always said I am not scared of dying. But when the doctor said, ‘You have cancer’, straight away my thoughts turned to Jade and that I don’t want to die. I know I need to fight.” Westbrook said her mother was diagnosed with womb cancer 30 years ago, and that she is “still here” thanks to undergoing treatment on the NHS and that she will follow suit. She added: “They are taking me in in three weeks for a full hysterectomy. Before they take it out they won’t know to what extent the cancer has grown.” Westbrook said her doctors believe the cancer is “containable so I’m hopeful”. Westbrook, who rose to fame in the 1990s playing Samantha Mitchell in EastEnders, said the cancer was diagnosed by a doctor in Spain, where she lives, after weeks of heavy bleeding and being unwell. So, yet another immigrant coming into our country and using the NHS!

On This Day

  • 1641 – The still undiscovered Merchant Royal, carrying a treasure of over 100,000 pounds of gold (worth over £1 billion today), is lost at sea off Land’s End.
  • 1980 – Bob Marley plays what would be the last concert of his life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • 2002 – The first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox (“Phoenix 0.1”) is released.

Deaths

  • 1889 – Wilkie Collins, English novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1824)
  • 1939 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (b. 1856)
  • 1994 – Robert Bloch, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Tom Felton (31), Billie Piper (36), Sue Perkins (49), Joan Jett (60), Ruth Jones (52), Nick Cave (61), Andrea Bocelli (60), Bill Murray (68), Stephen King (71), David Wenham (53), Ethan Coen (61), Ricki Lake (50), Alfonso Ribeiro (47), Jon Bernthal (42), Asia Argento (43), Sophia Loren (84), Moon Bloodgood (43), George R.R. Martin (70), Danielle Panabaker (31), Jeremy Irons (70), Jimmy Fallon (44), Twiggy (69), Victoria Silvstedt (44), Faye Reagan (30), Jason Sudeikis (43), James Marsden (45), Jada Pinkett Smith (47), Tim McInnerny (62), Cassandra Peterson (67), Bryan Singer (53), Baz Luhrmann (56), Bruce Spence (73), Bingbing Fan (37), Mickey Rourke (66), Amy Poehler (47), Jennifer Tilly (60) and Danny John-Jules (58).


Dead Pool 16th September 2018

Sadly, no movement on the scoreboard this week, it’s also a little bit quiet on the deaths side. We can’t have the likes of Burt Reynolds dying each week, unless we send out the monkeys of course… Fly my beauties!!!!! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

A missing film star has been given a 0% “social responsibility” rating by Chinese authorities, fuelling fears she may have been detained by state officials. Fan Bingbing, who starred in the 2014 Hollywood film X-Men: Days of Future Past, came last in a ranking of 100 celebrities judged on their professional lives, charitable work and what was described as their personal integrity. The zero rating for Bingbing, China’s best-paid actor, comes four months after a Chinese TV presenter appeared to accuse the star of tax evasion. Although her studio denied any wrongdoing, Chinese internet users speculated the two were related.  China still uses the death penalty, some have speculated that Bingbing could be made an example of. Bingbing has not been since 1st July when she visited a children’s hospital, local media has reported. Her last activity on social media came on 23rd July, when she “liked” a number of posts. Of the 100 Chinese actors, singers and public figures in the report, only nine were judged to have “passed” by receiving a score of 60 per cent or more. It praised those who had become “relatively strong role models”, but highlighted cases where celebrities had caused a “negative” social impact. Xu Zheng, a Chinese actor who co-produced and starred in 2018’s Dying to Survive, came top of the list, while Hollywood star Jackie Chan, despite his well-known philanthropy, was ranked 42nd.  

Paralympian David Smith has revealed he faces losing his life if he chooses not to have a tumour removed that is crushing his spinal cord. The Scot has recently been diagnosed with cancer for the fourth time and says he could be left paralysed below the neck if he goes under the knife. In 2016, the Paralympic rowing gold medallist, 40, was forced out of the Rio games due to a similar tumour. “I’m actually stood in hospital right now,” Smith told Dead Pool Towers. “I just got told 10 minutes ago that this aggressive tumour that I have is crushing my spinal cord again and if I choose not to have surgery then basically I’m going to lose my life and, if I make the choice of going for surgery, I might be paralysed from the neck down.””I just got told 10 minutes ago that this aggressive tumour that I have is crushing my spinal cord again and if I choose not to have surgery then basically I’m going to lose my life and, if I make the choice of going for surgery, I might be paralysed from the neck down.” Smith intended to take part in the Brazilian games as a cyclist and even delayed surgery on his tumour to give him a better chance of making the event. However, the threat of having his spinal cord crushed forced his withdrawal.  

Pyotr Verzilov, an activist with Russian protest group Pussy Riot, is reported to have been taken to hospital in a serious condition. Relatives speaking to the Meduza website said they believed he may have suffered poisoning but there is no official word on his condition.  He reportedly fell ill after a court hearing on Tuesday for fellow Pussy Riot activist Veronika Nikulshina. Mr Verzilov was one of the activists who invaded the World Cup final pitch. Ms Nikulshina told Meduza that Mr Verzilov had complained of losing his sight, “then the ability to talk, then the ability to walk”. She said that when he was admitted to hospital, an initial examination “didn’t turn up anything bad”, but that later doctors suddenly moved Mr Verzilov to the hospital’s toxicology wing. He has since been flown to Germany for specialist treatment. 

On This Day

  • 1400 – Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers.  
  • 1959 – The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced in a demonstration on live television from New York City.  
  • 1994 – The British government lifts the broadcasting ban imposed against members of Sinn Féin and Irish paramilitary groups in 1988.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Tom Hardy (41), Tommy Lee Jones (72), Oliver Stone (72), Prince Harry (34), Jimmy Carr (46), Brendan O’Carroll (63), Sam Neill (71), Andrew Lincoln (45), Walter Koenig (82), Amanda Barrie (83), Alfie Allen  (32), Ian Holm (87), Linda Gray (78), Virginia Madsen (57), Roxann Dawson (60), Amy Madigan (68), Johnny Vegas (47), Moby (53), Colin Firth (58), Guy Ritchie (50), Chris Columbus (60), Adam Sandler (52), Hugh Grant (58), Jeffrey Combs (64), Eric Stonestreet (47), Julia Sawalha (50), Rachel Hunter (49) and Michael Bublé (43).


Dead Pool 9th September 2018

Points!!!! Only Sylvia guessed that good old Burt Reynolds would cark it this year, so 68 well earned points to her. Well done!! We also found out that Dolores O’Riordan of Cranberries fame actually managed to drown herself when she was pissed in the bath. Seems to be a very Rock’n’roll way to die nowadays, just ask Whitney Houston’s family…. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Conway Savage, 58, Australian rock keyboardist (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), brain tumour.
  • Jacqueline Pearce, 74, British actress (Blake’s 7, Dark Season, Doctor Who), lung cancer.
  • Bill Daily, 91, American actor (I Dream of Jeannie, The Bob Newhart Show).
  • Rachael Bland, 40, Welsh journalist and presenter (BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC North West Tonight), breast cancer.
  • Richard DeVos, 92, American salesman and billionaire, co-founder of Amway, complications from infection.
  • Liz Fraser, 88, British actress (I’m All Right Jack, Carry On Regardless, Dad’s Army).
  • Johnny Kingdom, 79, English wildlife filmmaker (Johnny’s New Kingdom), digger rollover.
  • Burt Reynolds, 82, American actor (Smokey and the Bandit, Boogie Nights, Deliverance), heart attack.
  • Mac Miller, 26, American rapper, singer and record producer, drug overdose.  
  • Peter Benson, 75, English actor (Heartbeat, The Black Adder, Albion Market)

In Other News

Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson says he is recovering at home after suffering a “mini-stroke”. The American, 50, once the fastest man in the world at 200m and 400m, tweeted that he had a “transient ischemic attack” last week. “The good news is I’m back at home with my family, cleared of any heart issues and have already made great progress on my road to a full recovery,” he added. Johnson, a BBC Sport pundit, also won eight World Championship golds. He was the first man to win both the 200m and 400m at the same Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 and retired in 2000 after defending the 400m title at the Sydney Games.  

A far-right presidential candidate dubbed “Brazil’s Donald Trump” was left fighting for life after being stabbed in the street at a campaign rally. Jair Bolsonaro, a controversial congressman considered the frontrunner ahead of next month’s national polls, was knifed amid a crowd in the city of Juiz de Fora. “His internal wounds were grave and put the patient’s life at risk,” said doctor Luiz Henrique Borsato, who operated on the politician’s serious intestinal injuries. Police in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais have arrested a man over the stabbing, which took place as Mr Bolsonaro was being held aloft on a supporter’s shoulders. TV footage showed a knife being raised above the heads of the crowd and plunged into the candidate’s body, causing him to scream out in pain and fall backwards. The attack on the 63-year-old was a dramatic twist in what was already Brazil’s most unpredictable election since the country’s return to democracy three decades ago. Mr Bolsonaro has outraged many Brazilians with racist, sexist and homophobic comments, but he is leading the polls ahead of voting on 7th October. Mr Bolsonaro, whose trademark pose at rallies is a two-handed “guns up” gesture, has said he would encourage police to kill suspected drug gang members and other armed criminals with abandon. In 2016, he was convicted of inciting the rape of a female politician and he has also been fined for insulting women, black people and homosexuals. He once advocated beating gay children to “change their behaviour” as well as the forcible sterilisation of poor people, who he suggested were too uneducated to use birth control. Thankfully, there’s nobody like him in the UK… Oh….  

Elon Musk’s decline continues. Yet again he’s attacked a British diver he has previously accused without evidence of being a child abuser. Not only this, but he was recorded smoking weed on a radio program! Whatever next?? The latest controversy follows weeks of erratic behaviour on social media. In July he shocked investors by announcing on Twitter that he had funding secured to take his car firm Tesla private. He later said the firm would stay public. He also tweeted that he suffered from “great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress”. He also tweeted that he might suffer from bipolar disorder but then said “maybe not medically”. In August he told the New York Times that he worked “120-hour weeks” and took sedatives. His brother Kimbal Musk told us that the reason Mr Musk “seems to attract drama” is because he is “so transparent, so open, in a way that can come back to bite him”. Not that he’s a twat with too much money then…. 

On This Day

  • 1504 – Michelangelo’s David is unveiled in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.
  • 1888 – In London, the body of Jack the Ripper’s second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.
  • 1966 – The landmark American science fiction television series Star Trek premieres with its first-aired episode, “The Man Trap”.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Martin Freeman (47), Heather Thomas (61), Pink (39), Miles Jupp (39), Evan Rachel Wood (31), Toby Jones (52), Dario Argento (78), Julie Kavner (68), Chrissie Hynde (67), Doug Bradley (64), Idris Elba (46), Rose McGowan (45), Carice van Houten (42), Michael Keaton (67), Raquel Welch (78), Bob Newhart (89), Paddy Considine (45), George Lazenby (79), Damon Wayans (58), Beyoncé (37), Michael Berryman (70), Charlie Sheen (53), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (65), Pauline Collins (78), Keanu Reeves (54), Salma Hayek (52) and Keith Allen (65).


Dead Pool 2nd September 2018

Surprisingly, we have a points scorer today! Dave J had Neil Simon, so 59 points awarded, which propels him to the top of the leader board!! We still have around four months to go with plenty of Certs and Women that have yet to score, so there is ample time and opportunity to catch up. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Neil Simon, 91, American playwright (Biloxi Blues, The Odd Couple) and screenwriter (The Goodbye Girl), Tony winner (1965, 1985, 1991), complications from pneumonia.  
  • Rosa Bouglione, 107, French circus performer.
  • Silvano Campeggi, 95, Italian film poster designer (Casablanca, Singin’ in the Rain, Breakfast at Tiffany’s).   
  • Olive Boar, 113, British supercentenarian, oldest person in Britain
  • Gary Friedrich, 75, American comic book writer (Ghost Rider, Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, Hulk), complications from Parkinson’s disease.
  • Vanessa Marquez, 49, American actress (ER, Stand and Deliver, Wiseguy), shot.

In Other News

Kirsty Young is to step down as host of Desert Island Discs due to illness. Young has presented the show since 2006 and said she would be temporarily stepping down after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, to be replaced by Lauren Laverne. “Casting away some of the world’s most fascinating people is a wonderful job – however, I’m having to take some time away from Desert Island Discs as I’m suffering from a form of fibromyalgia,” Young said. “I wish Lauren all the very best, I know she will be great. And I very much look forward to getting back to good health and back to work.” Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body. As well as inducing severe fatigue, it can cause muscle tiredness, headaches and issues with digestion.    

It’s hard to imagine a worse way to wake up than catching a rat eating your foot. Unfortunately for Tottenham legend Gary Mabbutt, the nightmare became a reality while on a safari in South Africa. The 57-year-old woke to find his bed covered in blood and severe damage to his foot after the horrific incident at Kruger National Park in South Africa. Astoundingly, Mabbut claimed he couldn’t feel the rat chowing down on his toes due to a long career in football and type 1 diabetes. Mabbutt, who played 16 matches for England, was rushed home for treatment following the incident six weeks ago. “Unfortunately, due to the injuries through my career and some diabetes — I have very little feeling in my feet, so I’ve gone to sleep and during the night a rat has come into the bedroom, climbed into the bed and decided to chew on my foot. It made quite a big hole in my toe going down to the bone and ate underneath my foot so it became infected. I then got home quite quickly and then I was in hospital for a week and that was about, crikey, about six weeks ago now.” Due to treatment for an infection caused by the injury, Mabbutt has to visit hospital to get an intravenous drip for a few hours a day.    

Spice Girl Mel B says she’s entering a rehab facility to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we can only assume this is from her five tours of Afghanistan or being groped by Louis Walsh. The singer says the past six months have been “incredibly difficult” and claims she’s been drinking “to numb my pain”. The 43-year-old has been finalising her divorce from Stephen Belafonte, a relationship she says was abusive but the film producer was recently cleared of physically and verbally abusing Mel during their marriage. Mel tried to explain her reasons “Sometimes it is too hard to cope with all the emotions I feel. But the problem has never been about sex or alcohol – it is underneath all that,” she said. “No-one knows myself better than I do. But I am dealing with it. I love my three girls more than life itself.” The Leeds-born star said she was recently diagnosed with PTSD and was speaking about it because it’s a “huge issue” for lots of people. Earlier this month a US judge dismissed claims the singer had made against her ex-husband Stephen Belefonte. In court papers Mel B claimed that the film producer was abusive and that he’d threatened to destroy her career by releasing a sex tape! Although we wonder what career she’s actually talking about… After being cleared of the abuse allegations, a judge refused to grant restraining orders that the pair had both filed against each other. Mel B was ordered to pay her former husband £270,000 in legal fees and more than £3,000 a month in child support payments. 

On This Day

  • 1192 – The Treaty of Jaffa is signed between Richard I of England and Saladin, leading to the end of the Third Crusade and thus declaring it a cake, not a biscuit. 
  • 1666 – The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings, including Old St Paul’s Cathedral.  
  • 1752 – Great Britain, along with its overseas possessions, adopts the Gregorian calendar. Before this, nobody knew what day it was. 
  • 1792 – During what became known as the September Massacres of the French Revolution, rampaging mobs slaughter three Roman Catholic bishops, more than two hundred priests, and prisoners believed to be royalist sympathisers. Ahh, the good old days! 

Deaths

  • 1834 – Thomas Telford, Scottish engineer and architect, designed the Menai Suspension Bridge (b. 1757)  
  • 1969 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (b. 1890)  
  • 1973 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English novelist, short story writer, poet, and philologist (b. 1892)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Lily Tomlin (79), Burn Gorman (44), Steve Pemberton (51), Barry Gibb (72), Gloria Estefan (61), Richard Gere (69), Chris Tucker (47), Todd Carty (55), Cameron Diaz (46), Michael Chiklis (55), Warren Buffett (88), Carla Gugino (47), Rebecca De Mornay (59), Elliott Gould (80), Lenny Henry (60), Jack Black (49), Brian Thompson (59), Billy Boyd (50), David Soul (75), Shania Twain (53), Aaron Paul (39), Peter Stormare (65), Paul Reubens (66), Barbara Bach (71), Reece Shearsmith (49), Melissa McCarthy (48), Chris Pine (38) and Macaulay Culkin (38).


Dead Pool 26th August 2018

As per usual, my lead story this week was John McCain stopping his treatment for brain cancer, alas he never made the week to star in his own pre-death article. However, both Louise and Douglas score 69 points each for his inevitable death. Well done both of you!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Barbara Harris, 83, American actress (The Apple Tree, Freaky Friday, Nashville), Tony winner (1967), co-founder of The Second City, lung cancer.  
  • Ed King, 68, American Hall of Fame guitarist (Strawberry Alarm Clock, Lynyrd Skynyrd) and songwriter (“Sweet Home Alabama”), lung cancer.  
  • Robin Leach, 76, British writer and television host (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous), complications from a stroke.  
  • Lindsay Kemp, 80, English choreographer and actor (The Wicker Man).  
  • Stefán Karl Stefánsson, 43, Icelandic actor (LazyTown), bile duct cancer.  
  • John McCain, 81, American politician and Navy officer, member of the U.S. Senate (since 1987) and House of Representatives (1983–1987), presidential candidate (2008), glioblastoma.

In Other News

The family of the late US musician Prince is suing his doctor, alleging he failed to properly treat the singer for an opioid addiction. A lawsuit filed in Minnesota, reported by ABC news, alleges that failures by Dr Michael Schulenberg played a “substantial part” in the star’s death. Prince died in 2016, aged 57, from an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, a powerful opioid. Dr Schulenberg has denied any wrongdoing. Earlier this year, prosecutors said no criminal charges would be brought over Prince’s death. But the family’s lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County District Court on Friday, alleges that Dr Schulenberg’s actions had played a part. “He failed to appropriately evaluate, diagnose, treat and counsel Prince for his recognisable opioid addiction, and further failed to take appropriate and reasonable steps to prevent the foreseeably fatal result of that addiction,” the lawsuit read. The family of the singer – whose real name was Prince Rogers Nelson – is seeking unspecified damages in excess of $50,000 (£39,000). Prince was found unresponsive in a lift at his Paisley Park Studios, Minnesota, on 21st April 2016. Evidence showed Prince had thought he was taking the prescription drug, Vicodin, when in fact he was taking a counterfeit Vicodin pill laced with potentially deadly fentanyl. Prosecutors said there was no evidence that the pills that killed Prince had been prescribed by a doctor.   

Britain’s Got Talent star Antonio Francis has died aged 54. The reality star, also known as ‘Popeye’, passed away after suffering a stroke. Antonio memorably appeared on BGT with his unique routine, which saw him popping his eyeballs out of their sockets in time with the music. Francis’s death was confirmed by his son Dan, who appeared on BGT also, as part of the band Luminites. On a GoFundMe page for his funeral costs, Dan said: ‘He had slowly been losing his memory a years prior and had been in out of hospital with minor stroke, high blood pressure, heart failure and other organ issues but we never knew the full extent of his illness as he wouldn’t ever say the real problem. Last week a family friend realised he had missed an appointment and knew something was up so went to check on him at his flat. When there was no answer the security opened my dad’s door and he was found unconscious on his bedroom floor. He was rushed into hospital where we were told he was in a coma and wouldn’t have much time left. We had worked out that he must have been in a coma for over 5 days so it was a miracle that he was still alive with no food or drink and having a stroke.” Sadly Antonio wasn’t famous enough for a Wiki listing.    

A man who managed to fight off a shark attack has now contracted a severe flesh-eating infection. Blain Shelton, from Texas, was swimming off the shore of Boliver Island in Galveston County when a shark bit into his leg. The 42-year-old managed to escape, but exposure to the seawater left him with a severe flesh-eating infection. Mr Shelton was admitted to hospital for treatment for the shark bite on his lower thigh, but after he was released the severe pain near the wound only worsened. Upon returning to hospital, doctors said that a flesh-eating bacterial infection was leading to his skin rotting away. “I’d heard there was bacteria in the water, I just never treated it serious,” Mr Shelton said. “But to tell you the truth, if you’ve got a scratch on your arm or your leg, I wouldn’t get in that water. And if you do, bring some alcohol with you to clean it the second you get out. It’s nothing to play with.” Mr Shelton is recovering in hospital and has amassed hospital bills of $30,000 (£23,350). 

On This Day

  • 1346 – Hundred Years’ War: The military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights is established at the Battle of Crécy.  
  • 1768 – Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour.  
  • 1883 – The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa begins its final, paroxysmal, stage.

Deaths

  • 1930 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1883)   
  • 1974 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (b. 1902)  
  • 1980 – Tex Avery, American animator, director, and voice actor (b. 1908)  
  • 2004 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1952)  
  • 2017 – Tobe Hooper, American film director (b. 1943)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Alexander Skarsgård (42), Sean Connery (88), Rachel Bilson (37), Tim Burton (60), Tom Skerritt (85), Gene Simmons (69), Claudia Schiffer (48), Billy Ray Cyrus (57), Regis Philbin (87), Rupert Grint (30), Steve Guttenberg (60), Jared Harris (57), Dave Chappelle (45), Stephen Fry (61), Richard Armitage (47), Kristen Wiig (45), James ‘The Cunt’ Corden (40), Honor Blackman (93), Mark Williams (59), Ty Burrell (51), Valerie Harper (79), Hayden Panettiere (29), Carrie-Anne Moss (51), Kim Cattrall (62), Kenny Rogers (80), Amy Adams (44), Ben Barnes (37), Andrew Garfield (35), Jonathan Ke Quan (47), Demi Lovato (26), James Marsters (56), Misha Collins (44), John Noble (70), Ray Wise (71), David Walliams (47), Sylvester McCoy (75), Matthew Perry (49), Jonathan Frakes (66), Kevin Dillon (53), Jim Carter (70), Simon Bird (34) and Diana Muldaur (80).


Dead Pool 19th August 2018

Last week we sent out the flying monkeys, and they didn’t disappoint. The second they took to the skies the news of Aretha Franklin’s impending death was sent to Dead Pool Towers. We were hoping to lead with the story of her illness, however she didn’t last the week. What is most surprising, none of you listed her. NOBODY!!!! If you only knew how much it costs to feed these flying monkeys and keep their wings supple with Nivea Cream, you’d try harder! Anyhow, a short newsletter this week, the news was slightly overrun by Ms Franklin’s death to notice anyone else. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Jill Janus, 42, American rock and roll singer (Huntress), suicide.  
  • Aretha Franklin, 76, American Hall of Fame soul singer (“Respect”, “Chain of Fools”, “A Natural Woman”), pianist and songwriter, pancreatic cancer.   
  • Sir Peter Tapsell, 88, British politician, MP (1959–1964, 1966–2015) and Father of the House of Commons (2010–2015).
  • Kofi Annan, 80, Ghanaian diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997–2006), Nobel Prize laureate (2001).

In Other News

Tesla shares have plunged after founder Elon Musk revealed to the New York Times he works “120 hour weeks” and takes sedatives. In the interview, Mr Musk also said he was not “on weed” when he controversially tweeted about taking the company private. “This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career,” he said. “It was excruciating.” At times during the interview he stopped speaking, seemingly overcome by emotion – and that he spent the full 24 hours of his birthday on 28th June working. “All night – no friends, nothing,” he said. Mr Musk also said that he took the sedative Ambien to help him sleep when he was not working: “It is often a choice of no sleep, or Ambien.” According to the paper, his use of the drug has concerned some board members. Just goes to show, money doesn’t make you happy and that Rosanne was right, Ambien does turn you into a knob.    

Whitney Houston was found dead in a bathtub in 2012 — and three years later, her daughter died in tragically similar circumstances. Now another death is a final tragic twist. The friend who discovered Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown in her bathtub has died of an apparent drug overdose. Max Lomas was discovered unconscious in a friend’s bathroom with a syringe near his body after his pal grew concerned when he didn’t come out for a long time. Lomas was reportedly rushed to a nearby Mississippi hospital, where he later passed away. Lomas was the one who pulled Brown out of the bathtub and administered CPR with her partner, Nick Gordon, until help arrived. No charges were ever filed against Lomas, though Brown’s family won a $36 million wrongful death civil suit against Gordon for her death. Perhaps we should put Gordon up as a Maverick, everyone he comes into contact with dies, maybe it’s his turn next! 

On This Day

  • 1612 – The “Samlesbury witches”, three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, are put on trial, accused of practicing witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in British history.  
  • 1692 – Salem witch trials: In Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.  
  • 1839 – The French government announces that Louis Daguerre’s photographic process is a gift “free to the world” This is the day that the selfie was born.   
  • 1987 – Hungerford massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide.

Deaths

  • AD 14 – Augustus, Roman emperor (b. 63 BC)  
  • 1977 – Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (b. 1890)  
  • 2005 – Mo Mowlam, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1949)  
  • 2012 – Tony Scott, English-American director and producer (b. 1944)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Robert Redford (82), Edward Norton (49), Christian Slater (49), Madeleine Stowe (60), Roman Polanski (85), Denis Leary (61), Robert De Niro (75), Sean Penn (58), Donnie Wahlberg (49), Belinda Carlisle (60), Steve Carell (56), James Cameron (64), Julie Newmar  (85), Evanna Lynch (27), Madonna (60), Jennifer Lawrence (28), Ben Affleck (46), Natasha Henstridge (44), Debra Messing (50), Jim Dale (83), Tony Robinson (72), Mila Kunis (35), Halle Berry (52), Steve Martin (73), Joseph Marcell (70) and Sarah Brightman (58).


Dead Pool 12th August 2018

Another relatively quiet week, I think we should send out the flying monkeys again, we could do with the demise of a high ranking Dead Pool star to spice things up.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Charlotte Rae, 92, American actress (The Facts of Life, Diff’rent Strokes, 101 Dalmatians: The Series), bone cancer.  
  • Joël Robuchon, 73, French chef and cookbook author, Meilleur Ouvrier de France winner 1976, complications from pancreatic cancer.  
  • Nicholas Bett, 28, Kenyan hurdler, world champion (2015), traffic collision. 
  • V. S. Naipaul, 85, Trinidadian-born British writer (A House for Mr Biswas), Nobel Prize laureate (2001).

In Other News 

Friends star Matthew Perry has undergone surgery after suffering a ruptured bowel, according to reports. A representative for the actor said that he was taken to an LA hospital to repair the perforation. Perry has been a vocal advocate of addiction recovery after struggling with alcohol abuse himself during his time on the show, admitting he has little memory of shooting three seasons. In 1997 and 2001 he completed time in rehab to recover from his use of Vicodin, methadone, amphetamines and alcohol. In 2013 he told ABC News: “Mostly it was drinking, you know, and opiates. I think I was pretty good at hiding it, but eventually people were aware. I honestly recoil. It’s scary to look at that. I was a sick guy.” 

Ant and Dec have postponed next year’s Saturday Night Takeaway, with the show not set to return until 2020. Dec Donnelly will also front November’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!’ alone, while Ant McPartlin continues to take a break from all TV presenting until 2019. They said it was a joint decision to postpone a new series of Takeaway. Ant stepped down from his TV work in March following his arrest on drink driving following a car crash. He was fined £86,000 and given a 20-month driving ban after pleading guilty to drink driving and announced he would immediately be taking time out from presenting and seeking treatment for addiction. In a statement Ant said his recovery is going “very well” and “for that to continue, having spoken to Dec and ITV, I have made the decision to take the rest of the year off”. He added: “I’d like to thank both Dec and ITV for their continued support and I look forward to getting back to work in the new year.”    

A coroner has ruled Superman actress Margot Kidder’s death was suicide. The 69-year-old actress was found dead at her home in Montana on 13th May. Park County Coroner’s office said she died “as a result of a self-inflicted drug and alcohol overdose”. A joint statement from the coroner’s office and her family urged “those suffering from mental illnesses, addiction and/or suicidal thoughts to seek appropriate counselling and treatment”. The actress found fame starring as Lois Lane alongside Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s. The actress, who had bipolar disorder, told People magazine in 1996 about her mental health problems and revealed that she had taken an overdose at 14 and suffered badly from mood swings. She gave the interview following her high-profile disappearance for several days in 1996 where she ended up living on the streets, paranoid that people were out to get her. 

On This Day

  • 1865 – Joseph Lister, British surgeon and scientist, performs 1st antiseptic surgery.  
  • 1883 – The last quagga dies at the Natura Artis Magistra, a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  
  • 1953 – The first testing of a real thermonuclear weapon (not test devices): The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of “RDS-6s” (Joe 4), the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb.  
  • 1981 – The IBM Personal Computer is released.  
  • 1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster.

Deaths

  • 30 BC– Cleopatra, Egyptian queen (b. 69 BC)  
  • 1964 – Ian Fleming, English spy, journalist, and author (b. 1908)  
  • 1982 – Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)  
  • 2009 – Les Paul, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1915)  
  • 2014 – Lauren Bacall, American model, actress, and singer (b. 1924)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Cara Delevingne (26), Sam J. Jones (64), Jim Beaver (68), Pete Sampras (47), Chris Hemsworth (35), Anna Gunn (50), Ian McDiarmid (74), Hulk Hogan (65), Antonio Banderas (58), Rosanna Arquette (59), Rhona Mitra (42), Anna Kendrick (33), Gillian Anderson (50), Sam Elliott (74), Eric Bana (50), Melanie Griffith (61), Audrey Tautou (42), McG (50), Dustin Hoffman (81), Charlize Theron (43), Abbie Cornish (36), Michael Shannon (44), David Duchovny (58), Tobin Bell (76), M. Night Shyamalan (48), Michelle Yeoh (56), Barbara Windsor (81) and Geri Horner (46).


Dead Pool 5th August 2018

Welcome fellow poolers, ’tis a sad day indeed where we can no longer  say “To me, to you.”  It’s now ‘To me, to… um…’ It’s been a terrible week if you’re a fan of wrestling too, they seem to be falling like flies. Anyhow, no points this week, better luck next time! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Brickhouse Brown, 57, American professional wrestler (SCW, WCWA, USWA), prostate cancer.  
  • Brian Christopher, 46, American professional wrestler (WWF, TNA, USWA), suicide by hanging.   
  • Nikolai Volkoff, 70, Yugoslav-born American Hall of Fame professional wrestler (WWF).  
  • Tony Bullimore, 79, British sailor and nightclub owner, stomach cancer.  
  • Sir Alex Fergusson, 69, British politician, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament (2007–2011).   
  • Mary Carlisle, 104, American actress (College Humor, Doctor Rhythm, Dead Men Walk).
  • Rick Genest, 32, Canadian fashion model and actor (47 Ronin), suicide.  
  • Barry Chuckle, 73, English children’s entertainer (ChuckleVision).

In Other News

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says he has survived an assassination attempt involving explosive drones!!! Mr Maduro was speaking at a military event in Caracas when the alleged attack occurred. Live footage of his speech shows the president suddenly looking upwards – startled – and dozens of soldiers running away. Mr Maduro has blamed Colombia for the attack – something denied by Bogota as a “baseless” accusation. Seven soldiers were injured, and several people were later arrested, the Venezuelan authorities said. The incident happened when Mr Maduro was speaking at an event to mark the 81st anniversary of the national army. Two drones loaded with explosives went off near the president’s stand, Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said. Mr Maduro later said in a national address: “A flying object exploded near me, a big explosion. Seconds later there was a second explosion.” Photos on social media showed bodyguards protecting Mr Maduro with bulletproof shields after the alleged attack. To add further to the confusion, firefighters at the scene disputed the government’s version of events. Speaking on condition of anonymity, three of them said the incident was actually a gas tank explosion inside an apartment, but did not provide further details.       

Three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda is recovering in hospital after a lung transplant. The 69-year-old Austrian had been suffering from “severe lung disease”, Vienna General Hospital said in a statement. “The transplant was successfully carried out,” the statement added. Lauda won three world drivers’ titles in 1975, 1977 and 1984 with Ferrari and McLaren. He had cut short a holiday in Ibiza last week and returned to Vienna after developing a lung infection. Lauda was appointed as Mercedes’ non-executive chairman in 2012 and was involved in the signing of Lewis Hamilton to the team. In 1976, Lauda crashed into an embankment at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany. As flames engulfed his car, Lauda had to be rescued by his fellow drivers but despite suffering horrific burns and being given the last rites, he returned behind the wheel six weeks later.    

The coroner investigating the death of TV presenter Dale Winton has found he died of natural causes, the late star’s agent has revealed. The Supermarket Sweep and Hole in the Wall host was found dead in April at his north London home. He was 62. Scotland Yard previously said the star’s death was being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. 

On This Day

  • 1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.   
  • 1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.   
  • 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Meghan Markle (37), Billy Bob Thornton (63), Barack Obama (57), Evangeline Lilly (39), Martin Sheen (78), John C. McGinley (59), Stephen Graham (45), John Landis (68), Steven Berkoff (81), Martha Stewart (77), Tony Bennett (92), Kevin Smith (48), Sam Worthington (42), Edward Furlong (41), Jason Momoa (39), Michael Biehn (62), Wesley Snipes (56), Dean Cain (52), Emilia Fox (44), J.K. Rowling (53), Christopher Nolan (48), Arnold Schwarzenegger (71), Lisa Kudrow (55), Hilary Swank (44), Laurence Fishburne (57), Jean Reno (70), Carel Struycken (70), Frances de la Tour (74), Wil Wheaton (46), David Warner (77), Elizabeth Berkley (46), Taylor Schilling (34) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (41).


Dead Pool 29th July 2018

A surprised welcome to this weeks issue. Surprised because nobody had listed the world’s oldest living person, now dead. Never mind, she’d have only scored you 33 points anyway and she only became the oldest person on April, so maybe I’ll forgive you.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Chiyo Miyako, 117, Japanese supercentenarian, world’s oldest living person.  
  • Lucy Ferry, 58, British model and socialite, apparent suicide by gunshot.  
  • Mary Ellis, 101, British WWII era transport pilot (R.A.F., A.T.A.).  
  • Ellie Soutter, 18, British snowboarder (Team GB), suicide.   
  • Alastair Yates, 66, British news anchor (BBC News, Sky News, About Anglia).

In Other News

Pop singer Demi Lovato is being treated in a Los Angeles hospital after a suspected drug overdose. The Los Angeles Police Department responded on Tuesday to a medical emergency in the Hollywood Hills, where the Sorry Not Sorry singer lives. The 25-year-old was reportedly found unconscious and treated at the scene with naloxone, an anti-opioid medicine. She is awake and breathing at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a family spokesman has said. “Demi is awake and with her family who want to express thanks to everyone for the love, prayers and support,” the spokesman told us at Dead Pool Towers. Lovato has struggled with substance abuse for years, and was feared to have relapsed in recent weeks. Her fans say the singer’s battles with bipolar disorder, bulimia and addiction – often documented in her music – have helped them with their own entitled little struggles. It is unclear what drugs Lovato overdosed on. Early reports said it was heroin but this was later contradicted.      

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he would “not be sitting here today” without the “great care” of hospital staff after his surgery for a brain haemorrhage in May. Ferguson, 76, has spoken publicly for the first time since going home from hospital in a video on social media. The Scot also thanked well wishers “for the support you have given me”. “It has made me feel so humble, as have all the messages I have received from all over the world,” he added. Ferguson had emergency surgery on 5th May and was in intensive care for several days at Salford Royal Hospital. If any of you  give a  shit, Ferguson retired as United manager in May 2013 after winning 38 trophies during 26 years in charge. The most successful manager in the history of the British game, his trophy haul at Old Trafford included 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups.    

Lightning strikes have forced Sir Tom Jones to cancel his comeback concert in York. The 78-year-old star had been due to return to performing on Friday, with a show at York Racecourse after a series of cancelled concerts due to illness. York Racecourse apologised and said it took the decision to cancel “given the atrocious weather conditions”. Singer James Arthur also had to cancel his open-air gig in Scarborough on Thursday because of lightning. Perhaps Mother Nature has a good music taste  after all…. Sir Tom pulled out of five shows this month after a bacterial infection, for which he was admitted to hospital. York Racecourse said it “shares the disappointment of the thousands of fans” for the last-minute cancellation and offered a “50% refund”. Fans took to social media to voice their frustrations over the cancellation and “poor” repayment offer. 

On This Day

  • 1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party. We all know that went well…. 
  • 1967 – During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead. 
  • 1981 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. We all know that went well… 

Deaths

  • 796 – Offa of Mercia (b. 730) 
  • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1853)  
  • 1982 – Harold Sakata, American wrestler and actor (b. 1920)  
  • 1983 – David Niven, English military officer and actor (b. 1910)  
  • 2007 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author, Rrrrrriccccckey!!! (b. 1940)    

Last Week’s Birthdays

Daniel Radcliffe (29), Woody Harrelson (57), Charisma Carpenter (48), Ronny Cox (80), Slash (53), Jo Brand (61), Selena Gomez (26), Willem Dafoe (63), Rhys Ifans (51), Terence Stamp (80), Danny Glover (72), Louise Fletcher (84), Kate Beckinsale (45), Jason Statham (51), Sandra Bullock (54), Helen Mirren (73), Kevin Spacey (59), Eve Myles (40), Nana Visitor (61), Mick Jagger (75), Matt LeBlanc (51), Iman (63), Tera Patrick (42), Lynda Carter (67), Jennifer Lopez (49), Anna Paquin (36), Summer Glau (37), Danny Dyer (41), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (48), Taylor Schilling (34) and Donnie Yen (55).


Dead Pool 22nd July 2018

Afternoon Poolers. Let’s begin with some housekeeping. It was brought to my attention that I had forgotten to award some points last week when Peter Carrington died, luckily for Abi, Shan and Trish that Doug was on the ball and spotted my omission, so 51 points each!! It’s a bit of a slow week to be honest, so you are forgiven for not knowing who the hell these people are!    

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Gary Beach, 70, American actor (The Producers, Beauty and the Beast, La Cage aux Folles), Tony winner (2001).  
  • Shinobu Hashimoto, 100, Japanese screenwriter (Seven Samurai, Rashomon, I Live in Fear), pneumonia.
  • Adrian Cronauer, 79, American disc jockey (AFN), subject of Good Morning, Vietnam.
  • Brickhouse Brown, 57, American professional wrestler (CWA, AWA, USWA), prostate cancer.  
  • Jon Schnepp, 51, American animator, filmmaker and voice actor (Metalocalypse, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Death of “Superman Lives”), complications from a stroke.

In Other News

Sir Tom Jones has told fans he is “determined” to return to performing after being treated in hospital when he fell ill. The 78-year-old has called off four shows this week – three in the UK – due to a “bacterial infection”. Sir Tom has apologised to fans, and a Twitter  statement says he is in “good spirits” and the condition is being “well managed under doctor’s orders”. “Appropriate recovery time and rest is advised,” the statement added. The Grammy and Brit award-winning superstar – a judge on The Voice UK Saturday night TV show – was due to perform at Stansted Park near Portsmouth on Wednesday and Chester Racecourse on Thursday. The It’s Not Unusual singer cancelled his US tour last September, five days before it was due to start. Sir Tom later revealed he had had to have a hip replacement.  

Television and radio presenter Richard Bacon has paid tribute to his wife Rebecca ahead of his expected release from hospital. The 42-year-old, who lives in Los Angeles, became ill on a flight from the US with suspected pneumonia. He was later put into a coma to allow his body to fight the infection. Bacon tweeted: “Last full day in hospital. Every facet of my life would be worse without Rebecca in it. How will I ever thank her?” The message continued: “I was in a coma for nine or ten nights (I just learned). That’s a lot of staring at your husband and his pipes. And a lot of worry. Former Blue Peter presenter Bacon, who was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, said he had been diagnosed with an “unidentified double chest infection”. On Monday he posted on social media saying he had “nearly died”. “At one point, as I was run down a hallway to ICU (an intensive care unit) at midnight, with a massive needle jammed in my chest – bit like Pulp Fiction – I thought, ‘This is it.’”   

Former Emmerdale star Roxanne Pallett is said to be “lucky to be alive” after crashing into a concrete wall at high speed. The actor, 35, was airlifted to hospital after losing consciousness for 30 seconds at a stock race in Hunmanby Raceway near Scarborough. Pallett was rescued by firefighters who spent two hours cutting her from the wreckage before a helicopter transported her to Hull Royal Infirmary 41 miles away. The star – who was racing her Minister FM breakfast show co-host Ben Fry – is reportedly awaiting results of a CT scan and has suffered severe bruising. They were racing to promote the Outlaw Gold Top Shootout event scheduled to take place on 11th August. Pallett starred in Emmerdale as Jo Stiles nee Sugden on the ITV soap between 2005-08. More recently, she starred in BBC series Waterloo Road and will star in forthcoming horror film Habit.   

And just when you thought most people were normal, thousands of people have signed a petition to drink the red liquid found in a 2000-year-old  sarcophagus. Speculation and mystery has surrounded the strange black granite box since it was found in Alexandria earlier this month and some even suggested that it should not be opened, for fear that it could unleash a hideous curse. Upon finally being opened archaeologists found it was filled with dirty water and three skeletons, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities. The water probably found its way into the box from a sewage trench, the ministry said. It may have caused the mummies to decompose and leave only their skeletons. The bodies are probably those of warriors. One of them appears to have a wound that is the result of being hit by an arrow. Should you feel the need to drink this unholy juice, please feel free to sign the petition and fuck off out of my life. 

On This Day

  • 1797 – Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Battle between Spanish and British naval forces during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Battle, Rear-Admiral Nelson is wounded in the arm and the arm had to be partially amputated.
  • 1942 – The Holocaust in Poland: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto begins.
  • 2005 – Jean Charles de Menezes is killed by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 London bombings.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Paloma Faith (37), John Woodvine (89), Ross Kemp (54), Diana Rigg (80), John Francis Daley (33), Gisele Bündchen (38), Benedict Cumberbatch (42), Jared Padalecki (36), Ramin Djawadi (44), Brian May (71), Kristen Bell (38), Vin Diesel (51), Donald Sutherland (83), Alex Winter (53), David Hasselhoff (66), Will Ferrell (51), Phoebe Cates (55), Corey Feldman (47), Travis Fimmel (39), Diane Kruger (42), Forest Whitaker (57), Jan-Michael Vincent (74), Brigitte Nielsen (55), Celia Imrie (66) and Jesse Ventura (67).


Dead Pool 15th July 2018

Welcome all, no points this week. Keep an eye on Jean-Claude Juncker, he seems a bit wobbly lately, he blames it on a bad back but we think he’s about to die of Brexit madness. Believe it or not, Frank Sinatra’s first wife, Nancy Snr, isn’t famous enough to make the Wiki list!! At 101 she wouldn’t have scored you much anyhow. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Television and radio presenter Richard Bacon spent days in a medically induced coma after becoming critically ill with suspected pneumonia. He was taken to hospital eight days ago after becoming unwell on a flight to Britain from the United States. His mother Christine us that he had since opened his eyes briefly, which was “such a relief”. “Although he is not responding to us very well yet, we can see that he is getting better,” she said. She also said family members had not left his side and that “at one point we really felt we might lose him”. The former Blue Peter and BBC Radio 5 live presenter had initially been well enough to post photos of himself on social media. But his condition worsened and he had to have a tracheotomy to help him breathe, his sister said. Bacon, 42, who was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was placed in the coma after failing to respond to treatment for suspected pneumonia.  

Hollywood star George Clooney was taken to hospital after suffering minor injuries in a collision involving his motorbike and a car. The accident happened in Sardinia where the US actor is filming his latest TV series, Catch-22. A representative for the actor, 57, said he was treated and released from a hospital in the Sardinian city of Olbia. “He is recovering at his home and will be fine,” the spokesperson continued. “At 8.15am George Clooney was riding his scooter on the State Road 125 towards Olbia from Puntaldia,” said a spokesman for the Italian Carabinieri in a statement. “A car (a Mercedes E SW) did not respect the right of way and hit him. George Clooney fell and slammed the windshield of the Mercedes. “The car driver called the 112, the emergency number of Carabinieri, and they sent the Municipal Police, an ambulance and the Fire Dept. “[The] MRI was negative, and he is not seriously injured. George Clooney has already been discharged and he stays well.”  

Tesco’s UK chief executive, Charles Wilson, is stepping down from the company board after being diagnosed with throat cancer. Mr Wilson was formerly boss of food wholesaler Booker, but became Tesco’s UK chief following the supermarket’s £3.7bn takeover of Booker in March. Tesco said Mr Wilson had responded well to treatment and all the signs were that it had been successful. However, there was a need for him to “remain vigilant in his recuperation”. Mr Wilson will remain on Tesco’s executive committee and will focus on leading the Booker business. He will continue to report to Tesco’s overall chief executive, Dave Lewis. “Following an operation to remove his tonsils in April of this year, Charles Wilson was diagnosed with throat cancer,” Tesco said in a statement. “During May and June, he has been undergoing daily radiotherapy.” 

On This Day

  • 1834 – The Spanish Inquisition is officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.   
  • 1997 – Fashion designer Gianni Versace is murdered by serial killer Andrew Cunanan outside the front gate of his Casa Casuarina mansion.  
  • 2003 – AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.  
  • 2006 – Twitter is launched, becoming one of the largest social media platforms in the world

Deaths

  • 1904 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (b. 1860) 
  • 1997 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (b. 1946)  
  • 2017 – Martin Landau, American film and television actor (b. 1928)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jackie Earle Haley (57), Matthew Fox (52), David Mitchell (44), Kyle Gass (58), Harrison Ford (76), Patrick Stewart (78), Cheech Marin (72), Anna Friel (42), Michelle Rodriguez (40), Cheryl Ladd (67), Tamsin Greig (52), Bill Cosby (81), Stephen Lang (66), Craig Charles (54), Sofía Vergara (46), Chiwetel Ejiofor (41), Peter Serafinowicz (46), John Simm (48), Tom Hanks (62), Kelly McGillis (61), Fred Savage (42), Brian Dennehy (80), Courtney Love (54), Richard Wilson (82), O.J. Simpson (71), Jack White (43), Kevin Bacon (60), Anjelica Huston (67), Jeffrey Tambor (74), Shelley Duvall (69), Jack Whitehall (30) and Ringo Starr (78).