Dead Pool 11th April 2021

As Prince Philip dies just two months shy of receiving a telegram from his wife; for us he  instigates a points avalanche! Some of you scored 51 points, but most of you had him down as a Cert, so 151 points. I’ll not list you all, but well done everyone! Commiserations to Martin, myself and Sarai as the only ones neglecting to put the lizard overseer on our lists this year. Interestingly, the old duke scores a grand total of 2930 points. In comparison, Maggie Thatcher scored 1882 points, Nelson Mandela 1315 points, and Bruce Forsyth 2486 points, so the old fella has punched out at the top. I suspect the only person to beat his score could be The Queen herself! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Paul Ritter, 54, English actor (Friday Night Dinner, Chernobyl, No Offence), brain cancer.  
• James Hampton, 84, American actor (F Troop, The Longest Yard, Teen Wolf) and director, complications from Parkinson’s disease. 
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 99, Greek-born British royal, consort of the British monarch (since 1952). 
• DMX, 50, American rapper and actor.  
• Nikki Grahame, 38, English television personality (Big Brother, Princess Nikki, Big Brother Canada), anorexia nervosa.  

In Other News

Tracey Emin has declared she’s passed a “big milestone” in her battle with bladder cancer as her last scans gave her the “all clear”. She went public with her health battle back in October, revealing she’d undergone treatment and the disease was in remission. The artist, 57, has now opened up about her condition in a new interview on BBC Newsnight, explaining her last three-monthly scan last week showed she was “all clear”. She added: “I’m not painting because I’m using my willpower to stay alive. That’s what I’m doing. I never realised how much I wanted to live until I thought I was going to die.” Tracey – famed for her messy bed art installation – also revealed she’s undergone life-saving surgeries in a bid to beat the cancer including a full hysterectomy. She also had her bladder and urethra, lymph nodes, part of her vagina and intestine removed. In the Newsnight interview, she explained she now has a urostomy bag to take the place of the bladder and urinary system, calling it a “major disability”. She had been undergoing scans every three months to keep a check on the cancer, but after being given the all clear she will now only have to be checked once a year.  

Sarah Harding has revealed her joy at being told her brain and lung tumours had reduced in size following her cancer treatment at the back end of last year. The Girls Aloud singer was first diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year but received the devastating news that it had quickly spread to other parts of her body.The 39-year-old has since been undergoing chemotherapy treatment and ahead of this week’s release of her debut autobiography called Hear Me Out, it has been revealed that some of the tumours have reduced in size. She shared “MRI scans at the end of December revealed that the tumours in my brain and in my lung have shrunk a bit with the treatment.” While she admitted that she didn’t know “exactly what this means” she was happy to announce that it’s moving in the right direction. She continued: “Right now, every little victory feels momentous”.    

Max George has revealed his pal Tom Parker has “shocked” doctors with how well he’ been response to brain cancer treatment. The Wanted star, 32, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and has been undergoing rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in a bid to prolong his life. Speaking on the Dangerous Dinners podcast, Max, also 32, gave the good news that the cancer has been “suppressed”. He explained: “Tom’s got something called glioblastoma, which is quite an aggressive form of brain tumour, but he’s had his first bout of chemo and radio therapy, which he has responded to unbelievably. “Doctors were actually shocked by how well he’s responded – all of his tumours have been suppressed, so he’s in the best hands.” Max went on to insist dad-of-two Tom is being his usual cheerful self and just wants to keep his life as normal as possible. He added: “In himself, Tom… Nothing puts Tom down, nothing. When you talk to him it’s like everything’s normal, and he just wants that – he wants normality. “He’s just had his second child, so he’s got so much to focus on – he’s doing great, he’s doing really well.” 

On This Day

• 1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.   
• 1965 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.  
• 1976 – The Apple I is created.   

Deaths

• 1240 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince (b. 1172). 
• 1890 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities, The Elephant Man (b. 1862).    
• 1985 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (b. 1898). 
• 2001 – Harry Secombe, Welsh-English actor (b. 1921). 
• 2007 – Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1922). 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Tricia Helfer (47), Matt Ryan (40), Jeremy Clarkson (61), Charlie Hunnam (41), Daisy Ridley (29), Haley Joel Osment (33), David Harbour (46), Brad William Henke (55), Steven Seagal (69), Peter MacNicol (67), Kristen Stewart (31), Elle Fanning (23), Dennis Quaid (67), Mark Pellegrino (56), Cynthia Nixon (55), Valerie Singleton (84), Katee Sackhoff (41), Robin Wright (55), Emma Caulfield Ford (48), Patricia Arquette (53), Dean Norris (58), Russell Crowe (57), Jackie Chan (67), Francis Ford Coppola (82), Michael Rooker (66), Paul Rudd (52), Zach Braff (46), John Ratzenberger (74), Billy Dee Williams (84), Lily James (32), Mitch Pileggi (69), Jane Asher (75), and Pharrell Williams (48).